Vol 7. Chapter 65.1: Leon’s Addicted to Making Her Call “Mom”

Isha brought Valendna over to the group. Leon’s eyes immediately went to the green-haired girl who was at least twenty centimeters shorter than Isha. From a distance earlier, he had almost thought his sister-in-law had somehow lured Rebecca here. But up close, it was easy to tell that the girl’s hair and eye color were just a little different from Rebecca’s.

Probably the difference between teal and green, Leon thought to himself.

“Hey, Little Ross, brother-in-law, and Senior Claudia’s here too.”

After a pause, Isha corrected herself:

“Oh no, I should be calling you Vice Principal Claudia now.”

Claudia smiled and waved a hand.

“I still have a lot of people to greet, so I’ll leave you for now. Take your time looking around with your family.”

“Alright, Senior, you go ahead.”

Claudia left.

Isha immediately began introducing Valendna to Isha’s younger sister.

“This is—”

“Oh, I know who she is! Sis!” Leon blurted out.

Isha blinked, and even Rosvisser beside her was caught off guard. Valendna herself was curious. She had only ever heard about this Silver Dragon prince from Isha’s words or from rumors in town. Today’s visit to the academy was for the purpose of meeting Isha’s family. By all logic, this was their first meeting—so how could Leon possibly know who she was?

Isha didn’t argue, just crossed her arms over her chest, the corners of her mouth curved in a faint smile, and asked:

“Oh? You know? Then who is she?”

Leon put one hand on his hip, pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, and said with absolute confidence:

“Today is the start of a new term, and you, of all people, have never come to the academy on a day like this before—so anyone who shows up at the academy today is either a new student’s parent, or a parent dropping a child off.”

“In other words—”

Leon, loudly enough to make the gods wince:

“This green-haired beauty is your newly adopted daughter! You came today just to drop her off for school!”

Isha: “?”

Rosvisser: ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) “==”

Isha quietly pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a breath.

“She’s not my adopted daughter, brother-in-law, she’s—”

“Mom!”

“???!?!”

Valendna grabbed both of Isha’s wrists in her small hands, looking up at her with eyes brimming with tears. In Isha’s crimson eyes, Valendna could see shock, confusion, bewilderment, and a clear What the hell is wrong with you?!

“Mom... I didn’t think... I didn’t think you’d actually admit in front of other people that I’m your adopted daughter.”

Her acting switch flipped instantly, and Valendna’s performance was fluid and flawless.

“Valendna... have you gotten addicted to calling me ‘Mom’?” Isha said helplessly.

“No! Mom! Forever Mom! Even if you deny me in front of others, you’ll always be my most beloved Mom!”

“Ugh—”

“I told you! This unfamiliar beauty is Sis’s adopted daughter!”

Leon came up to join her, the two working in perfect tandem.

“Ah, Sis, something this important, you should’ve written to tell us ahead of time. Look at how rushed this is, we didn’t even prepare a gift for the kid. How about next time, I’ll—”

Rosvisser’s elbow cut her grinning husband off mid-sentence, her voice calm as she said:

“She’s no adopted daughter. She’s Valendna, the Wind Dragon King. My sister’s mentioned her before.”

The Wind Dragon King let out a breath through her nose.

“And if I’m not mistaken, Valendna is actually a few years older than me.”

Leon froze. He looked down at Valendna, then up at his wife; looked down again, then up again; repeated the process a few more times before handing back the “general” he’d been holding in his mind.

“Can you tell me... how a girl who looks like she grew up with you is actually decades older than you?”

Rosvisser nodded.

“For our long-lived kind, it’s like that. Dragons in youth have too much oppressive presence. That leads, in some cases, to small mismatches in temperament, appearance, and age.”

After all, the more ancient the body, the more variety it can hold.

Rosvisser had ascended the throne at only a hundred and fifty—very young for the Silver Dragon race and all dragonkind—and even then, her temperament during her military years had been aloof and self-willed, the archetypal “cool big sister.”

But that didn’t mean there weren’t dragons who’d lived more than two centuries yet still retained the lively spirit and youthful appearance of a little girl.

The Wind Dragon King standing before them was exactly such an example. In the backstabbing of political games and the life-or-death struggle of battlefields, she could fight with everything she had—but in private, she kept her truest self.

The very same Valendna they were seeing now. In just a few brief exchanges, she’d shown them all her bubbling springlike energy, her fondness for harmless little jokes, and her openhearted nature.

Isha had her cleaned up and composed again.

“Bringing you to the academy’s opening day was so I could introduce you to my family, not so you could become one of them. You sure call ‘Mom’ fluently.”

Isha poked Valendna in the forehead. The Wind Dragon King held her cheeks and tilted her head, streaks of “noodle tears” running down her face.

“Wuwu, I won’t dare again~”

The joking eased the atmosphere, and Isha proceeded with the introductions.

“My sister, Rosvisser Melkvey, current Silver Dragon Queen; my brother-in-law, Leon Casmod, current—”

“Eh eh eh, hold up, hold up.”

Thankfully Leon’s ears were sharp and his reflexes quick, or she might’ve slipped it past him.

“What’s this about ‘Silver Dragon babysitting king’? Makes me sound like some kind of househusband. I’m a legitimate, queen-certified—Silver Dragon Prince!”

Isha half-lowered her eyes, her tone calm as she asked:

“Do you lead patrols to the border in your spare time?”

“No.”

“Do you help Little Ross with her work?”

“No.”

“Do you make daily rounds among your people?”

“No.”

“Then what do you do at home?”

“...”

General Leon raised the white flag, matching “noodle tears” sliding down his face.

“I’m the babysitting king. I’ve given up. Sis, don’t tease me anymore.”

Rosvisser chose the right moment to change the subject, looking toward Valendna.

“So Sis, you brought the Wind Dragon King here just to introduce her to us?”

“Mm. I’d thought to go to the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, but then realized the academy’s opening day was near, and you’d probably come to see Noa off—so I figured I’d come here instead for a more casual meeting.”

Rosvisser nodded.

“Oh, so where are the kids?”

“Off playing. They’ll probably be back for the principal’s speech.”

Hearing that, Valendna hopped over beside the two sisters and asked excitedly:

“Then I get to see Little Muse again?”

Isha smiled. “You can, and you’ll see her sisters too.”

“Yay~”

Seeing Valendna so happy, Leon and Rosvisser exchanged a look and shared a knowing smile. It seemed Muse and Valendna had gotten along quite well last time.

The group strolled across the field, chatting.

“Little Ross, brother-in-law, what were you talking to Senior Claudia about just now?” Isha asked.

“Oh, about the Five-Spirit Saint Shadow.”

Isha nodded thoughtfully. “Little Ross wrote me some time back saying you were training in the Five-Spirit Saint Shadow. How’s the progress?”

Leon shrugged and let out a small sigh.

“The rest is fine, but I keep getting stuck on the water and wind elements. I was forced to learn water magic back in Corovon, but... as for wind magic, I still don’t know who would be suitable to teach me.”

Isha stopped walking.

“Wind magic?”

“Yeah, we need someone... who specializes in wind magic—and someone we can trust completely.”

Isha looked straight at Leon, not looking away. Then she raised an arm, grabbed Valendna—who had just come back with an ice cream—by the collar, and lifted the slightly shorter girl right in front of her. Placing both hands firmly on Valendna’s shoulders, she said,

“Far away in the sky, right here before your eyes, brother-in-law.”