Leon carried Noah on his back and, very naturally, stood beside Constantine.
Constantine glared at him unhappily but didn't say anything.
"Everyone, don't judge a person by their looks. You have to discover the true goodness and beauty in a person's heart through the details."
Leon spouted nonsense with confidence, "And this time in battle, Uncle Constantine made great contributions. Without him, the bad guys would have escaped."
"I believe you little friends can tell right from wrong, isn't that so?"
The students all looked at each other, but were fooled by Leon's few words into behaving obediently.
"Right~"
"That's good then. Everyone go ahead and ask this fierce-looking uncle for his autograph. He's got loads of patience!"
"Hooray! Uncle Constantine, I've always admired you! The article about you in the textbook, I've read it so many times!"
"Uncle... are you really... not scary..."
"Ah um... my little brother really likes you, really admires you. Can you give him an autograph?"
"..."
Old Con was speechless, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
How he wished he could slap a sweating bean emoji on his face, then kick that hopeless daughter-obsessed idiot beside him flying away. Then his world would finally be peaceful.
"Smile, come on, smile a bit," Leon leaned in and whispered.
Constantine, helpless, had no choice but to force a smile.
"Forget it, you smiling is even scarier."
"I really want to beat the crap out of you, Leon Casmdeous."
———
After signing autographs for the kids, Constantine let out a long breath of relief.
"Well? Doesn't it feel good?", Leon chuckled.
Old Con shot him a glance and snorted coldly, "Boring."
"Eh, how can this be boring? Before, in the eyes of kids, you were already the old dragon hero turned dragon tribe super-bro, always starting fights at the drop of a hat."
Leon said reasonably, "I gave you the credit, so you could return to the public eye in a whole new way. In the Empire, this is called 'crisis public relations.' Very professional, you understand?"
Constantine couldn't be bothered to bicker with him. He flicked his sleeve and was about to leave.
But after sending the kids away, several exam instructors came over, offering another round of thanks.
Old Con clearly didn't have the same patience for adults as for kids. He only listened to a few words before saying, "Scram, scram, scram. Don't delay me going home to torture my enemy."
Naturally, the teachers didn't dare say more, only asking if they should arrange Leviathan to take Constantine back.
Constantine: ?
'I have a private jet, way better than your passenger planes.'
Before leaving, Constantine waited until there were fewer people around, then said to Leon in a low voice, "Thanks."
Leon raised an eyebrow, deliberately asking, "Didn't hear that, what did you say?"
Old Con closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and told himself inwardly, 'Hold it in. He's only lived a bit over twenty years. I've lived hundreds. Don't stoop to his level.'
"I said, thanks for telling me Adam's whereabouts."
Leon, the type to take advantage and still act smug, would never miss a chance to strut in front of the Dragon King.
"Ah, just a lift of the hand, nothing big."
"Tch! Childish."
Constantine paused, then added, "If you ever have any trouble, just come find me."
The truth was, Old Con always kept high principles and bottom lines as a dragon. He always repaid grudges, and he also always repaid kindness.
Leon had dragged him into two big moves: once for revenge on the Empire, once for revenge against Adam.
Without Leon, Constantine might still be endlessly waiting for the right chance, or scouring the world for that hammer-wielding beast.
So when he promised "if you ever have trouble, come find me," he absolutely meant it.
Leon, of course, believed that the Crimson Flame Dragon King kept his word. He nodded, smiling, "Got it. I will."
Constantine said no more, turned, and left.
Everyone watched as Constantine departed the Nightmare Moon Forest. Shortly after, a giant azure dragon shot from the forest skyward, vanishing into the horizon.
After Constantine left, one of the teachers stepped forward and asked, "Apologies again, Mr. Leon, for such an incident. The exam can't continue normally now. We'll arrange Leviathan to escort the children back to the Academy. Do you want to return to the Silver Dragon Sanctuary with them?"
Old Con had a private plane, but General Leon did not.
Besides, after helping these giant lizards with such a big problem, what's wrong with hitching a free ride, a free dragon ride?
"Alright. But wait a bit, just ten minutes, I'll be right back."
"Of course, Mr. Leon."
"Take care of Noah for me."
"No problem."
Leon handed Noah into the teacher's arms, then ran off in another direction.
———
Passing through some shrubs, Leon reached a hidden spot.
Nacho, Rebecca, and Martin were waiting there.
"All settled, Captain?", Martin asked.
Leon nodded, "Done. Adam was taken away by Constantine."
"Your daughter's okay, right?", Nacho asked.
Because too many people might blow their cover, and Nacho wasn't a frontline fighter anyway, he hadn't rushed out earlier. That's why he now asked if Noah was safe.
"Nothing serious, just overused her strength. Some rest will do."
"That's good."
After a few words, Nacho got to the point, "So how should we plan the next step of the investigation?"
He skipped asking "Did you get any info from Adam?" outright.
Though he hadn't seen the battle himself, Rebecca and Martin had briefly told him. Plus, from here he could hear the fighting and feel the aftershocks of magic clashing.
So Nacho knew how dangerous it had been.
Leon had been too focused on saving his daughter to extract intel, and they all understood that.
Nacho thought this southern trip's only gain was killing one of the enemy's henchmen. But unexpectedly, Leon gave him a concrete plan for the investigation ahead.
"Dangerous species," Leon said.
Nacho didn't get it, "Dangerous species? What do you mean?"
"Remember the dead mammoth we came across on the way? Judging from its wounds, Adam killed it."
Leon explained, "And in the Nightmare Moon Forest, there were more dangerous species that died in the same way. So I guess Adam wasn't just aimlessly slaughtering, Shadow must've given him some mission."
"You should take back some of the dangerous species' corpses that are easy to transport. Examine and analyze them carefully. You might find useful clues."
"The next stage of investigation should also focus on large dangerous species across regions. If Shadow wants to use them to achieve his secret plan, just the ones in the Nightmare Moon Forest aren't enough."
"So he may continue hunting dangerous species elsewhere. Following that trail could very likely lead us to Shadow."
Nacho realized, "I see. Got it."
"Mm... also, sorry."
Hearing this apology, the three of them froze.
"Sorry for what, Captain?", Rebecca asked.
Leon frowned slightly, pursing his lips, voice low, "Actually, right before Adam's last breath, he wanted to make a deal. If I let him go, he'd tell me info about Shadow. I think... that would've been far more straightforward than us chasing shadows like this."
"But... I refused."
"Sorry. Because of my choice, our operation almost went to waste."
"I—"
"Tch! That's nonsense, Captain."
Rebecca didn't want to hear this blockhead of a straight man wallow in self-reproach. She lightly bumped his shoulder and said, "I saw the situation too. That blind Dragon King was clearly out to kill little Noah. If it were me, I wouldn't have taken the deal either."
"Yeah, Captain. And besides, we can't be sure Adam's intel on Shadow would've been real anyway. He's been a mercenary for years, only caring about money, not trustworthiness," Martin added.
Nacho, who had always been the brains behind the team and put in no small effort each mission, also expressed understanding.
"Nothing is more important than family. Like Rebecca said, anyone else in your place would've made the same choice. So you don't need to blame yourself, Leon."
Indeed, the understanding of comrades is the best cure for regret.
Leon felt much lighter inside.
But... what he had to say next was the real important matter.
"Actually... there's one more thing... I may need to go home for a while."
"Oh."
"Mm."
"Okay, Captain."
Leon: ?
"What kind of reaction is that? Like you already knew I'd be going home? And you don't even ask me why?"
Rebecca patted her captain's shoulder, looking serious.
"Of course we know. Sister-in-law's pregnant again. Things here have wrapped up for now, so of course you're rushing home to take care of your wife."
"Don't tease. I just want to personally witness the baby's birth, that's all."
"Then you're not taking care of Sister-in-law?"
"I will."
"Pfft~ stiff-mouthed married man."
———
A cool, refreshing breeze brushed past.
Noah slowly woke, finding herself among the clouds, beneath the blue sky.
Behind her was a solid chest she leaned on. Looking back, it was her dad.
He sat cross-legged, and she had slept soundly in his arms all the way.
Looking down further, it seemed like the scales of the great dragon Leviathan.
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