Vol 8. Chapter 8: I’ll Eat You Up for a Lifetime, Leon

"None of this has anything to do with us."

When the old city lord spoke, his expression was calm and composed, yet his tone was firm beyond doubt.

Leon had thought the problem with the Blazing Sun Clan lay only with Fuyuan—that it was Fuyuan who had shifted his resentment toward Apollo onto the dragon race as a whole. But in truth, when the old city lord declared this with such conviction, Leon suddenly understood that this way of thinking had already taken deep root in the Blazing Sun Clan.

If that were truly the case, the future of the dragon race would become even more difficult. Their views on life and death, on belief and reverence, would inevitably shape the destiny of the entire clan. And so, in that moment, Leon abandoned any further attempts to persuade the Blazing Sun Clan to join the fight against the Void.

He rose to his feet, lowering his eyes toward the old city lord, and said evenly, without arrogance or humility:

"In that case, I won’t press you further. Thank you for your understanding, Old City Lord."

The old man replied slowly:

"Since you’ve come from afar, weary from travel, as honored guests—if you don’t mind, why not stay among our clan for a few days."

Ordinarily, Leon and Rosvisser would have refused outright and walked away.

But since last night, when they had learned of the mishap in the Star Academy’s exam, they had been on the road without pause. Upon reaching the academy, they hadn’t even had time for a proper meal before setting off through the night to the Blazing Sun Clan.

For more than ten hours straight, they hadn’t had proper rest. Though as a Silver Dragon, Rosvisser held an unparalleled advantage in speed, her endurance was still lacking.

So to the old city lord’s suggestion, Leon could only accept with gratitude.

"Then thank you, Old City Lord."

"Very well. Soon someone will guide you to the guest inn. For today, let it end here. If you need anything, you may come into the inner city to find me."

"Understood, Old City Lord."

"Prince, Silver Dragon Queen, this old man takes his leave first."

With that, Orion once again supported the old city lord as they departed the reception hall.

Not long after, an attendant led Leon and Rosvisser to a guest inn near the inner city.

That evening, after hastily settling their dinner, the two, restless with nothing better to do, decided to stroll the streets of Blazing Sun City.

Even if it was now clear the Blazing Sun Clan would not lend their aid, it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about them.

The sun sank in the west, crowds bustled, merchants busied themselves. Shops lined both sides of the street, vendors everywhere—the social order of the Blazing Sun Clan wasn’t much different from that of the Empire.

To avoid attracting attention, Rosvisser tucked away her tail. After all, from the outside, the Blazing Sun people looked very much like humans. Without careful scrutiny, one wouldn’t notice the difference.

The couple walked side by side along the streets, listening to the hawkers’ calls, chatting idly.

"What do you think—if one day the Blazing Sun Clan encounters a trouble they cannot solve themselves, would they come to ask us for help?" Rosvisser asked.

Leon thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"A clan that chooses its leader through trials of combat and competition... Whether their temperament is good or bad, one thing they surely have is backbone. So I think, when faced with a crisis truly beyond their ability, they would rather fall in the face of danger than turn to those they once rejected for help."

At his words, Rosvisser gave a faint smile. She lifted her hand to brush back her hair, and said softly:

"They slammed the door in your face, yet here you are, praising them for having backbone."

Leon chuckled, patting his shoulder indifferently.

"Backbone isn’t necessarily praise. Too much backbone can be a flaw. Just as I said, they’d rather wait for extinction than open their mouths to ask for aid."

"Hm. That makes sense."

They continued to wander, conversing as they went.

Turning a few corners, Rosvisser sighed.

"Those two city lords—old and young—dared to speak to us that way. Do they truly not care that we’re heroes from the Samael Continent? Aren’t they afraid that if soft words don’t work on us, we might resort to hard ones?"

Though she called it a sigh, in truth it was more her way of standing up for her husband.

And from anyone else, those words might have sounded like provocation. But coming from Leon’s wife, no one would see them that way. It was simply her gentle way of voicing a little indignation on his behalf.

Leon only gave a wry smile.

"Wife, don’t put that crown on my head. I’ve never thought of myself as a hero. If the Void was repelled, it was thanks to you all as much as me."

He paused, his steps slowing. Lowering his gaze to the ground, he fell into thought for a moment before continuing slowly:

"Ross, I’ve witnessed restless nations. When humanity still had its Dusk Kingdom, I saw endless wars among your kindred dragons. Those experiences taught me something."

Rosvisser slowed too, tilting her head toward her husband. Her voice was gentle.

"And what lesson was that?"

Leon lifted his head, meeting her eyes, and said each word with weight:

"Force cannot solve everything. Even if we possess overwhelming force... it only shatters what fragile trust there might be with the Blazing Sun Clan. It breeds resentment and rejection among the Samael races, who are not yet united. If true unity cannot be achieved, then at least we must preserve what stability we have. That is the most important thing."

Rosvisser gazed at him, her silver eyes trembling faintly.

In that moment, she felt Leon seemed like a different man.

He was no longer speaking as a good husband, a good father, nor from the standpoint of Silver Dragon King or leader of the Lionheart Order, but as one who surveyed the world from above.

Yes, he held grudges, had personal emotions. But in the end, he would dissect problems with ruthless objectivity.

It was something Rosvisser herself could not do. She was skilled at leading the Silver Dragons, but did not know how to rally all of Samael against enemies from beyond the world.

But Leon had already cast his gaze that far, that deep.

As bearer of Zeus’s power, Leon had absolute might. He could easily use that power to command all of Samael.

But he knew—loyalty won through violence and coercion was the least reliable.

What he sought was genuine unity, true solidarity; not false worship born of fear and oppression.

This was why he could face the city lords of the Blazing Sun with such composure.

Not because he didn’t care—but because he was already standing on a different height from them.

Rosvisser pulled back her gaze, silent for a moment, then suddenly narrowed her ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) eyes and laughed.

Leon blinked.

"What are you laughing at all of a sudden? You’re scaring me..."

Rosvisser shook her head.

"It’s nothing. I just think you’ve become incredible. So few people, after gaining absolute power, can still think so calmly and rationally."

Leon blinked again, then spread his hands.

"I don’t think I’m all that incredible. It’s just that every time I think of using force to rule the world, I can’t help but think of you."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Think of me? What about me?"

"I think about how, if you knew I was trying to rule the world, you’d dig up every embarrassing thing from my past. Where would the great King of the World’s face be then?"

"..."

So this so-called objectivity wasn’t maturity at all—it was just fear that his wife would expose his black history once he became famous (not serious).

Rosvisser could only laugh helplessly and let him off the hook, saying:

"That’s right, Leon. Your dirty little secrets—I’ll eat them up for a lifetime."

Chatting and teasing, the couple wandered into the grounds of an abandoned school.

Through the chain-link fence, they saw a broken-down court, where quite a few children were still playing ball.

Their skills were poor, but each child’s face bore a smile.

What drew the couple’s attention, however, was not only the children—

"The cold, aloof captain of the guard... actually comes here after work to play ball with the kids?"

At the same time, cries rang out from within the court.

"Sister Orion! Catch the ball! Catch it!"

The ball arced through the air. A slender figure leapt high, body stretching, long arms reaching to seize it, then dunked it into the hoop with flawless precision.

A sharp crack rang out as both ball and player hit the ground.

The golden-haired girl wiped the sweat from her cheek.

"Good pass, Anton. Again!"

"Mm, yeah! Eh... Sister Orion, are those two people over there here to see you?"

"See me?"

Orion turned her head. Her brow furrowed at once.

"Leon, Rosvisser..."