After finally finishing all the autograph signings and photo ops, Leon and Rossweise turned around, only to see an amusing scene:
Constantine stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a stern yet helpless expression.
On either side of him were Heifi and Muse.
Heifi: "I will defeat you."
Muse: "That won't work."
Heifi: "I will defeat you."
Muse: "That won't work."
Heifi (clenching her fists, wagging her tail, shouting with all her might): "I will defeat you! Can't you say anything else?"
Muse (tilting her head, blinking earnestly): "That won't work."
The two little girls repeated their lines like broken records next to Constantine, who looked even more exasperated than usual.
"Leon, does your youngest daughter only know how to say those three words?" Constantine finally asked, his tone deadpan.
Leon quickly scooped Muse into his arms and laughed awkwardly.
"She just learned this phrase this morning. I think she finds it amusing, so she keeps repeating it."
Dragon hatchlings develop fast during their early years.
Just this morning, Muse could only babble a fuzzy "Na bu hing." But by now, she could clearly articulate "Not hing," so much so that even Constantine and Heifi seemed close to losing their composure.
As Leon and Rossweise approached, Heifi, who had just been playing verbal ping-pong with Muse, quickly hid behind her father. Peeking cautiously from behind Constantine's leg, she observed the two adults.
Leon glanced at the little red-haired girl.
"Has Heifi fully recovered now?"
Constantine nodded slightly. "Yes."
"Leh!" Heifi shouted indignantly, which earned her a light smack on the head from her father, who gestured for her to come forward.
Heifi obediently stepped out from behind him.
Though she looked visibly tense, it was clear she was making an effort to seem less nervous.
"Heifi, thanks to this uncle here, your injuries were able to heal," Constantine said gently.
"Thank you, Uncle!" Heifi said sweetly, her voice full of gratitude.
"Oh, it was nothing, really," Leon replied, crouching down. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a lollipop, one that a clerk had randomly handed him earlier at the baby store. He offered it to Heifi.
Heifi hesitated, her hand hovering for a moment before she glanced back at her father for permission. Only when Constantine gave her a small nod did she finally smile and accept the lollipop.
"Thank you, Uncle!" she said again, her tone even sweeter this time.
Leon couldn't help but praise her.
"What a polite and well-behaved little girl. So adorable."
Rossweise, standing beside him, naturally felt a sense of pride for such a courteous child.
Leon ruffled Heifi's hair before straightening up and turning to Constantine.
"So, what brings you to Sky City?"
Constantine pulled a gold card from his pocket.
"An invitation from the Tower Master. I heard you'll be fighting Odin here in three days."
Seeing the identical gold card in Constantine's hand—the same as the "shopping card" he'd just been given—Leon couldn't help but smirk and think to himself,
Do these gold cards grow on trees? How many of these is the Tower Master handing out?
"So you just came because of that?"
"Of course. Watching you struggle is one of my greatest joys since reincarnation."
Leon huffed, rolling his eyes.
"And what makes you so sure I'll struggle against Odin?"
"I don't know. I just hope you do," Constantine replied bluntly.
Leon shot him a glare before his expression grew more serious.
"To be honest, I already told the Tower Master last time that this fight against the Thunder Dragon King isn't about winning or losing. It's to gauge the background and strength of Sky City. Frankly, I'm not entirely confident I can beat him."
The mere rumors Rossweise had shared about Odin had already made Leon wary. After further digging through dragon clan history books, he found that nearly every account spoke highly of the Thunder Dragon King.
"Odin is undoubtedly one of the strongest among the dragon clans," Constantine said, his tone steady. "According to what's written, just fighting him once is enough to earn respect throughout dragon society."
"I already get respect in dragon society," Leon quipped.
"Even more respect," Constantine replied dryly.
"What does 'even more' mean?"
"Are you an idiot? You can't understand something so simple?"
"Hey, hold on—"
"Can the two of you not have such cryptic conversations in front of children?" Rossweise finally interjected, unable to listen any longer.
Constantine snorted dismissively, unwilling to bicker further with Leon. Instead, he circled back to the topic at hand.
"You don't need to pressure yourself too much. Even if you lose, no one will think you're weak," he said calmly. "To put it plainly, Odin represents the pinnacle of dragon strength."
Leon raised an eyebrow, studying Constantine.
"I didn't expect you to speak so highly of someone else. I thought the Crimson Flame Dragon King bowed to no one."
"And yet, your praise for Odin is surprisingly fair. It's a little unexpected."
"Odin isn't just anyone, Leon," Constantine replied seriously.
"If dragon kings were divided into tiers, they'd be:
Newly-Dragon King, Dragon King, Super Dragon King, and... Odin.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Seeing Constantine's earnestness, Leon fully grasped the strength of his upcoming opponent.
"I understand. I'll give it my all when the time comes."
Constantine nodded, then casually asked, "What have you done to prepare for this fight?"
Leon shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you expect me to do? Sneak attack him when he's laughing too hard?"
Constantine chuckled lightly.
"To be honest, I don't have anything that could significantly boost your strength in such a short time."
Leon blinked.
"What do you mean? Didn't you say you wanted to see me struggle?"
"Oh, I do. I just mean that even with a temporary power boost, you'd still struggle against Odin."
"Yeah, that's about right."
"And there it is."
"The signature stubbornness of dragon kings," Leon said with a smirk, dropping the subject.
Just then, a familiar voice called out from a distance.
"Daddy! Mommy!"
Everyone turned to see a small figure waving and running toward them.
Constantine couldn't help but smirk.
"Leon, your power-up buff has arrived."