Helena was truly surprised. After pausing for a moment, she asked in confusion again, "But don't all adult dragons know how to fly? Why did Aunt Rossweise just go down to bring Uncle back up?"
Noah blinked, her thoughts stirring, "Oh, my Mommy used to say that Daddy's dragon wings were injured. It takes a long time to heal. Let alone flying, I've never even seen what his dragon wings look like."
Helena nodded, "So that's how it is. Well, anyway, we got to witness it live, so I'm satisfied~ Let's go back to sleep."
"Okay."
Helena turned around and walked toward their little room.
But Noah turned back and took another look at her Mommy and Daddy enjoying their moment together.
Mommy did indeed say before that Daddy's dragon wings had been injured, making him temporarily lose the ability to fly.
"Was Mommy just now… a bit too nervous?"
In the deep night, Noah's thoughts stirred endlessly with the evening wind.
———
Near the Far North region, the temperature dropped sharply, and snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.
Fortunately, the tour group had prepared thick clothes for all travelers, and St. Heath Academy had also made sufficient warming preparations for the students participating in this real-combat assessment.
In the evening, Leon stood outside, watching the group of boys and girls having a snowball fight, full of lively energy.
He recalled that when he was at the Imperial Dragon-Slaying Academy, every winter, everyone would coincidentally rush to the field for snowball fights.
Snowball fights had their techniques. Compared to "team battles," snowball fights leaned more toward "individual battles."
Leon at the time was well-versed in snowball fight tactics:
Never randomly become the target of three or more people throwing snowballs, otherwise, over thirty snowballs would fly at you the next moment.
Regular students built snowmen using two large snowballs stacked together, inserting a carrot and two branches, and that was it;
But the "sports majors" of the Dragon-Slaying Academy? They'd bury live people in the snow, the key was realism.
Thinking carefully, it seemed Leon hadn't had a snowball fight in years.
After graduation, he joined the dragon-slaying army, constantly fighting wars across regions, having no time for such entertainment.
These years at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, since his daughters were too young, snowball fights, such a "violent" game, weren't suitable yet.
So...
Once the daughters grew a bit older, he could relive the fun from back then—
"Hey!"
A voice interrupted Leon's thoughts.
He turned toward the voice, and before even seeing who called, a snowball flew right at him.
Leon couldn't dodge in time and took a direct hit.
Shaking his head and brushing off the snow on his face, Leon looked in that direction.
He saw Rossweise had already bent down and packed a second snowball, eagerly preparing to throw it.
She wore a fur-lined cloak, gloves, and pink dragon-claw earmuffs, looking quite youthfully energetic. Yet two days ago, she'd called Leon the immature chuunibyou.
"Second shot, catch this!"
The queen made a pitching motion and hurled the snowball with force.
This time, Leon had plenty of time to prepare and could've easily dodged.
But seeing the mother dragon's excited look, Leon thought for a moment and only symbolically moved his body to the side.
That small move wasn't enough to dodge.
The snowball hit him square in the chest, scattering into flurries of snow and chunks.
Rossweise grinned proudly, "Two for two. How would you rate that?"
The first shot was because bro wasn't ready;
The second shot was because bro loves his wife.
You ask how bro would rate that?
Bro's rating is just one line:
'Get by, how could I leave?'
Leon clapped his hands with admiration,
"Your Majesty the Queen, hitting the mark from a hundred steps, never missing a shot, truly the greatest dragon in history."
Rossweise smiled smugly, wagged her tail, clapped her hands, and dusted the snow off her gloves.
She actually knew the second hit was just that dog-man letting it land on purpose.
But she was still happy.
Not because of a little snowball, but because there was someone who cared about your feelings in every little way. Even the tiniest thing showed his heart.
Leon might be a stubborn mouth, but he always acted right.
A fake husband should act like a fake husband.
Rossweise stepped forward, snow crunching under her cotton boots on Leviathan's back.
The couple stood side by side, walking slowly in the falling snow, with the kids' joyful snowball fight as their backdrop.
"When the sun rises, we should be arriving at the Far North,"
Rossweise said, "Roughly another six or seven hours."
"Mm… I wonder if we'll really encounter Constantine," Leon spoke in a calm tone, with no tension or ease that could be heard.
Rossweise glanced at him and said, "Last time at the Red Dragon Sanctuary, the three of us barely defeated him. This time, it's just the two of us…"
"It's not the same as before. Last time, I hadn't fully recovered my magic, and your control over the Primordial Energy wasn't very refined, which is why we suffered early in the fight."
Leon analyzed, "But this time, I have two full dragon marks of magic reserves. And you, not only have better control over the Primordial Energy, even your Soul Judgement has improved a lot. No matter how you look at it, our chances are better."
"I've considered all that too, but there's still an uncertain variable."
Rossweise said, "Last time Constantine used Heart-Protecting Dragon Scales to merge with other dangerous organs, but this time, he's using the Primordial Energy. We can't be sure how much stronger he's become, so we must be cautious."
Hearing this, Leon nodded seriously.
"If things go south, we retreat immediately. Anyway, we're just here to scout and confirm whether that mad dragon is really after the Primordial Energy."
"Yeah, we have both options, advance or retreat. The initiative is in our hands."
After a pause, Rossweise sighed, "Sigh, we just don't know if our plan will work. Constantine has Fel by his side. That guy probably knows where to find the remaining Primordial Energy. But we'll have to rely on luck."
Days ago, Rossweise tried to contact Grandmother Veronica to ask where in the Far North they had found the Primordial Energy.
If they knew the exact location, sniping Constantine would become much easier, possibly even catching him off guard.
But Grandmother was always on the move. Even Isa and Oullette didn't know her whereabouts.
Helpless, the couple could only hope that the Primordial Energy condensed by Rossweise herself would resonate with the one beneath the Far North ice layers, allowing them to locate Constantine.
"Nothing ever goes completely smoothly. Difficulties are always part of the process," Leon comforted her.
Rossweise gave a humming laugh and lightly jabbed his chest, "When did it become your turn to comfort me, you Scattered Second Forest Planning Fourth Human Kid?"
"Human kid refers to me?"
"Who else?"
Leon narrowed his eyes, "Your Majesty the Queen, don't tell me you also practice—"
"Eat a snowball, dummy!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the snowy battlefield, away from the snowball fight, Noah and Helena were invited to a small indoor barbecue dinner.
Ah, calling it a "dinner" was generous, counting them, there were only six people total.
There was the enthusiastic senior Yuna, whom Noah had met before boarding Leviathan.
Her partner Anton, and two other seniors.
"These ingredients were swiped by Anton from the neighboring tour group. Absolutely delicious, try it," Yuna eagerly handed skewers of meat to Noah and Helena.
The two little ones took them obediently and took small bites.
"Thank you, senpai~" x2
Yuna smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescents, "You're welcome. Eat as much as you like if you enjoy it."
Everyone chatted while eating.
Noah happened to notice the bracelet on Yuna's wrist.
The bracelet was milky white, crystal clear, and glossy.
The little dragon girl blinked and praised, "Yuna-senpai, your bracelet is so pretty."
Yuna was startled, then raised her hand to look and laughed, "Oh, this was a gift from my dad recently. It's said to be made from very rare material."
"Senpai's… dad?"
"Yeah, Thunder Dragon King, Odin."
Upon hearing that, the two little ones' eyes widened in shock.
"Senpai, your Daddy is actually a Dragon King?"
Although students at St. Heath Academy were all from royal and noble families of various tribes, daughters of Dragon Kings like Noah were still rare.
They hadn't expected the enthusiastic senpai to have such a powerful background.
Yuna smiled modestly and scratched her head shyly,
"Ahaha, didn't I mention it? Maybe I forgot."
"Your dad's never home, it's normal to forget," Anton said nearby.
Yuna shot him a glance, "Tch, adults have their own things to take care of."
Anton shrugged and stopped interrupting, focusing back on grilling.
Yuna and Noah continued their conversation.
"My Mommy has a pendant necklace made of what seems like the same material as your bracelet," Noah said.
"Really… then maybe this material isn't as rare as my dad said."
"Oh~ you got scammed~", Anton teased.
Yuna threw a pillow at him, which Anton caught steadily.
"No, no, my Mommy's pendant was a wedding gift from my great-grandmother, it's a very precious material too," Noah quickly explained.
Yuna nodded, then changed the topic, "By the way, juniors, have you found a team for the practical assessment?"
Noah raised an eyebrow, "Team? The assessment needs a team?"
"Of course! The Far North has harsh conditions, and the test is hard. Just the two of you would struggle to get good results."
Taking the opportunity, Yuna directly offered, "How about..."
"Yuna, I remind you, we're here for the assessment, not to play babysitter," Anton muttered.
Yuna glared at him, ignored him, and continued to Noah, "How about the two of you join us?"
"Um…"
Senpai's offer was kind, but Noah wasn't sure whether she should just go along with it naturally.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/ZenonTL
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.