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Chapter 31 - Storms and Schemes

Leon stood on the balcony, looking seriously at the dark clouds in the distance.

"It's going to rain," he said to himself.

Noah didn't come for tutoring today. According to Rossweise, she had physical training, so the lesson was moved to tomorrow. This was perfect. It gave Leon a whole day to himself.

In the morning, he had tried to make the Dragon Power medicine by following the book. But he failed completely. Leon had expected this. He thought about why it didn't work.

As the book said, it was very hard to do. Whether using high heat or spinning, the smallest mistake would ruin everything. If the heat was too high, it burned the good parts of the herbs. If it was too low, it didn't work. The spinning method needed special tools, and Leon's tries without them were useless.

The dark clouds were getting closer, bringing a heavy, quiet feeling with them. Leon closed the window, went back into the bedroom, and sat at his desk, thinking.

How can I properly separate the final medicine powder?

Leon sat on the chair with his legs crossed. Without thinking, he picked up a pen from the desk and bit the end of it. This was his habit when he needed to concentrate.

Biting the pen, Leon blinked. "Noah bites her pen too when she's thinking, doesn't she?" He smiled a little. "She really is my daughter."

After his small joke, Leon focused again on his problem.

His mind wandered, and he remembered what his old teacher had told him years ago, when he was struggling to learn a spell: "If one way doesn't work, kid, try another path."

Leon whispered, "If one way doesn't work… try another path…"

While he was thinking, a bright flash suddenly lit up outside the window, followed by a loud, crashing sound of thunder. It rumbled, as if it wanted to break the sky.

Leon turned his head and looked at the lightning cutting through the dark clouds.

"Lightning… thunder…"

Leon muttered, "Maybe… I can try using the Lightning element? The book didn't mention that."

If high heat and spinning couldn't separate the powder, Leon thought of trying something different with the Thunder element. It helped that he was very good at lightning magic.

He didn't wait. He held a test tube in one hand. With the other hand, a soft blue light glowed. Even though he was weak, he could still manage a small lightning spell.

Leon was skilled at controlling lightning carefully. Lightning magic was mostly for attacking, but if controlled well, it could be used for finer work.

The powdered herbs inside the tube immediately started to react.

Leon's eyes lit up. "It's actually working."

He wanted to use more magic power, but he realized his weak body could only handle this much right now. This magic, meant to hurt enemies, would probably just feel like a tiny tickle to someone if he used it at this strength.

Leon sighed quietly. He saw he could only go slowly. After about forty minutes, the powdered herbs in the test tube were clearly separated into two layers.

He had made this small pill with very basic tools and little cost. Leon was amazed it worked.

He held the pill between his thumb and finger, looking at it carefully.

"Dragon medicine is pretty simple to make," he marveled.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Leon quickly hid the Dragon Power pill in a drawer and opened the door.

It was Muen.

"Dad!" she shouted happily, raising her arms, asking to be picked up.

Leon bent down and lifted her into his arms. "Good morning, Muen. What brings you to Daddy?"

"My sister said she has physical training today, so Daddy, you should be free. That's why Muen came to find you."

Oh.

So that's why Muen hadn't been around much during the day lately, except for dinner. It seemed she didn't want to interrupt Leon's teaching. Who said only the oldest daughter was thoughtful? This little daughter was still her daddy's little comfort!

Leon carried Muen into the room, and the father and daughter chatted about fun things that had happened recently.

While they were talking, Muen sniffed the air. "Daddy, why does your room smell like medicine?"

Leon was speechless.

Wait, did all you dragons have such sensitive noses? Yesterday, Rossweise smelled it. Today, Muen did too.

"There's no medicine smell, Muen. You must be mistaken," Leon said.

But Muen stubbornly shook her head. "No, I'm not wrong. It definitely smells like medicine."

Muen jumped down from Leon's lap, followed the smell to the drawer, and pulled it open. Leon wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

Muen took out the Dragon Power pill Leon had just made. She tilted her head and asked, "Daddy, what's this? Is it chocolate?"

Seeing his little dragon daughter's excited face, Leon quickly walked over and gently held her small hand. "Th-this isn't chocolate."

"Then what is it?"

Leon's mind raced as he tried to think of a good reason.

After a short pause, Leon spoke seriously. "This is medicine I made for Mom."

Muen was shocked for a second. She immediately stopped playing and asked worriedly, "Medicine for Mom? What's wrong with Mom? Is she sick?"

"No, Mom isn't sick. She's just been very tired lately from working too hard. So Daddy made this medicine to help her feel better. I'll give it to her tonight."

Muen nodded, as if she understood. "Daddy, you have to take good care of Mom, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy will."

The father and daughter talked a little more, and then Muen skipped away. She said that since Daddy was busy with her sister's entrance test, she didn't want to bother him too much. She only came today because she hadn't seen much of Daddy lately and missed him a lot.

Darn it.

This little dragon daughter really knew how to melt her old father's heart. She was even more heartwarming than the Black Gold War Chariot Armor!

[Author's Note — The Black Gold Armor to Leon: "Huh! So this is how you repay me?" You Ba*tard!]

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In the evening, after a busy day, Rossweise went to the room Muen and Noah shared.

Noah was still at the temple's training ground, doing her physical training. Even though it was getting late, Rossweise knew her eldest daughter's personality. She wouldn't stop unless she was too tired to move.

Only Muen was in the sisters' room. She was sitting on the carpet, playing with her own cute tail, looking bored. Her other small toys were scattered around.

When she saw her mom, Muen immediately stood up and ran over.

"Mom~"

The way she addressed Rossweise had changed from "Mother" to "Mom." Just like Leon had said, she preferred this more affectionate name.

Muen ran to Rossweise and hugged her legs, looking up. "Mom, are you feeling better?"

Rossweise blinked, confused. She crouched down. "Mom has always been fine. Why would you ask that?"

Muen was shocked. "Dad said you've been working too hard lately and haven't been feeling well! He even specially made medicine for you!"

Rossweise raised an eyebrow. "He made medicine for me? What kind?"

"Um… it's dark brown. Like chocolate. Very shiny."

"Dark brown… chocolate… body tonic…"

Rossweise thought about these words, then muttered, somewhat in disbelief, "That guy actually managed to make a medicine in a nursery that even skilled medicine-makers struggle with…"

"Mom?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Rossweise paused. She remembered saying "Your body is not as strong as before" a few days ago. She probably guessed the real reason Leon was making the Dragon Power.

A mischievous feeling stirred inside the Queen. She told Muen,

"Mom is fine. It's Dad who isn't feeling well."

"Dad is sick?"

"Yeah, Dad is a man. Men have to be strong for the family, so they can't admit when they're sick. So, let's not let Dad know we found out. Let's just take extra good care of him, okay?"

Muen suddenly understood and nodded her little head. "Muen understands! Muen will take very good care of Dad!"

Rossweise smiled and pinched her daughter's chubby cheek. "Muen is so good. Mom is going to go check on Dad now. You be good and wait for your sister to come back, okay?"

"Okay! Mom, you have to take good care of Dad!"

Rossweise stood up, a gentle smile on her face. "Don't worry, Muen. I will definitely take very good care of your dad."

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