Vol 7. Chapter 19: Two Kids Aren’t a Challenge

Hera’s matters had come to a temporary close. The Melkvey family returned to their usual daily life.

On a crisp autumn morning, Leon wandered into the great hall of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary.

As usual, Rosvisser was seated on the throne, dealing with clan affairs both big and small.

Hearing his familiar footsteps, she didn’t even look up, continuing to lean over her work as she lazily said,

"Downstairs this early? What, coming to inspect my work?"

"Mhm, I’m here to inspect you."

Rosvisser felt like he was trying to make a pun, but she had no proof.

She chuckled and asked:

"Had breakfast yet?"

"Yeah, already ate."

He walked up beside the throne without sitting down, just stood next to her, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder, fingers absentmindedly toying with a lock of her hair.

The two of them chatted idly like that.

"By the way, a few days ago you sent Sherry and the others to investigate the descendants of Apollo. Hey, are you really sure you don’t need me to go with them?" Leon asked.

After getting intel and signals from Hera about the lineage of Apollo, Rosvisser had dispatched a scout team led by Sherry to investigate.

The recon team had left days ahead, and just last night, Sherry sent a message that they’d reached the vicinity of the indicated area and were preparing to infiltrate.

So far, everything was going smoothly.

"Since they’re already near the objective, when we eventually make direct contact with Apollo’s descendants, I’ll be the one to approach them with Sherry. Right now, we’re just gathering general information, not engaging directly," Rosvisser explained patiently. "It’s not like when we were searching for the Spirit Core. There’s no urgency, so we can take our time and do itproperly for the best result."

She was completely right.

Back then, their search for the Core had been urgent enough that even Leon had resorted to some unorthodox tactics.

Take the Fire Spirit Stallion Clan, for example. Had the stakes not been so high with the Void’s advance, of course they would’ve preferred to negotiate calmly with the Spirit Stallion people.

But at the time, they simply didn’t have that luxury.

Leon nodded in understanding.

"Got it, makes sense."

"Mhm. Besides, Elder Noa also said that uniting the descendants of the original gods isn’t something we can rush. It has to be done gradually, step by step. There’s no need to force it."

Rosvisser set down her pen and looked up at Leon, resting her cheek in one hand with a smile.

"So don’t stress too much, alright?"

Leon shut his mouth, grunted a quiet "mm" in response.

Seeing this, Rosvisser raised a pretty eyebrow.

"What, you look kind of... gloomy?"

Leon froze, then smiled and shook his head.

"Not really gloomy. Just..."

Rosvisser tilted her head slightly, silver hair cascading past her ear.

"Just?"

Leon let out a deep breath, hesitated a moment, then finally said,

"The other day I was bored and picked up that book Aurora gave me for my birthday. After reading it, I realized I’m feeling a bit... directionless."

The birthday gift from Aurora had been a pair of books titled

A Middle-Aged Man’s Guide to Home Life

and

How an Unemployed Married Man Can Start the Second Half of His Life Anew.

"Directionless?" Rosvisser narrowed her eyes, trying to grasp what he meant.

"Why describe yourself that way? It’s not like we’re obligated to do something meaningful every single day. That’s just life, isn’t it?"

Leon scratched his head.

"But... you’re always handling clan work, the kids spend most of their time at school... Rebecca’s running the Lionheart Order and the Empire. My Master and Mistress are off flirting with the Sea Dragons in their twilight years—I can’t exactly go bug them all the time. And Hera just returned to the Golden Thunder Clan, she’s definitely swamped. So, you see, everyone in my social circle has something to do—except me."

This wasn’t the first time Leon had had this thought.

That book he read last night had something along the lines of:

A man must not be cut off from life beyond the family. Otherwise, he risks losing his sense of social belonging and falling into self-doubt and self-erasure.

In simpler terms: "I don’t care what y’all are doing—include me!"

"It feels like back in school, when your friends are playing some weird team game you don’t get, but you really wanna join in anyway. Afraid of ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) being left out. Afraid of falling out of sync with everyone."

Which is why the old saying ‘Men are boys until they die’ has a certain truth to it.

Right now, Leon was clearly in one of those awkward stages in life.

If you didn’t think too hard about it, it was fine. But once you looked closely, it became painfully clear that his life had quietly drifted out of alignment with the people around him.

Not by anyone’s intention—just gradually, subtly.

Hearing all this, Rosvisser took the issue seriously.

"Hmm... to put it simply, everyone’s busy, and no one’s got time to play with you."

Leon wiped a hand down his face.

"I’m not saying I want someone to play with me..."

Rosvisser snickered.

"I get it, I get it. Hmm... If you’re looking for something to do, I actually have a brilliant idea."

She paused, then added,

"But... the solution has a bit of a delay. You’ll have to wait at least ten months."

Ten months. Such a specific, suspicious number.

Leon blinked and frowned. He had a pretty good idea what Rosvisser was hinting at.

"I think we should hold off on baby number five for now. Besides, I can’t just keep having kids to fill the time. That’s kind of... weird."

Rosvisser laughed behind her hand.

"I’m teasing. But if you’re really looking for something to do, I actually do have a suggestion."

"As long as it doesn’t involve childcare, I’m in."

"Emmm..."

Seeing Rosvisser hesitate, General Leon’s heart dropped.

"Wait. Don’t tell me you actually want me to take care of kids?"

"No no no—uh, not exactly."

Leon’s chill deepened.

"What do you mean ‘not exactly’?"

"Because it’s not one kid," Rosvisser said.

Leon raised a brow.

"Two? Honey, I think you misunderstood what I’m looking for. I want something challenging. Raising kids doesn’t get more challenging just because you go from one to three."

Rosvisser shook her head.

"Not one. Not two. But—"

She pulled a letter out from the pile of documents on her desk.

The sender: Saint Heath Academy.

She handed the envelope to Leon.

"But... an entire school full of kids."