Luckily, thanks to his master's tough training when he was a boy, Leon's overall health was still good. Even when he felt tired and drained, some rest could bring him back to normal.
He couldn't do very hard exercise, but taking a walk outside, spending time with the kids, and reading were all fine.
It was a sunny day. Noah was at her physical training, so Leon had some time to spend with his little daughter. If Leon didn't show Muen he was still around, his good daughter might really think her old dad had gone on a very long trip.
He carried Muen to the backyard of the temple.
"Dad, let's play Dragon Knight again!"
"Sure."
With that, Leon started to lift Muen up to put her on his shoulders. But in the middle of lifting her, Muen suddenly wagged her tail and said, "Wait, Dad."
"What's wrong?"
"Mom said your body isn't all better yet. So Muen can't play Dragon Knight with you. It might slow down your recovery."
Leon was surprised for a second. His little dragon daughter was so thoughtful.
He smiled. "It's okay, Muen. You're not that heavy."
"But we still can't."
Muen was stubborn. She kicked her legs, telling Leon to put her down. He couldn't say no to his daughter, so he did what she asked.
After putting Muen down, Leon crouched in front of her. He asked patiently, "So, what game do you want to play instead?"
Muen pouted her lips and thought for a while. But she couldn't think of any fun game that didn't need a lot of moving around.
Seeing Muen struggling, Leon had an idea.
"Since Muen can't think of a game,how about Daddy makes a toy for you?"
The little dragon's daughter's eyes lit up. "A toy!"
"Mm-hmm."
"What kind of toy?"
"You'll see when it's done. Come on, let's go to the storage room to find some stuff."
"Okay!"
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.
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Father and daughter went back to the garden and found a clear spot to sit on the ground. Leon laid out the parts he had collected. He checked how much stuff he had and how many parts there were.
After thinking a bit, he picked up a few more parts. Finally, he grabbed some paint in different colors. Now he was ready.
"All set, let's go."
"Mm-hmm."
Leon took Muen to the temple's storage room. They gathered some parts and tools. After getting everything, Leon looked at the thing in his hands.
It was a black cube. Each side was divided into nine smaller squares.
"Is it done, Dad?"
"Not yet. One last step." Leon started putting the different parts together carefully.
Some parts could just be attached. Others needed to be cut, or smoothed, or needed more detailed work. He worked very seriously.
Muen watched closely from the side. She always thought Daddy was very cool. But for some reason, when Daddy worked with these small parts, when the gears fit perfectly in his hands, when he moved the different pieces so easily, the way he looked things over made him seem… even cooler.
Muen didn't really understand ideas like "aura" or "charm." She just felt that compared to other male dragons, her old dad was way cooler and more handsome.
"Almost there."
Leon looked at the object in his hands.
"Okay,Muen. It's a Rubik's Cube. Try to play with it."
"Huh? Muen can do it?"
"Of course. Here, give it a try."
"Thank you, Dad!"
Leon had Muen sit on his lap. Then he gently held her wrist from behind and helped her paint the cube. Some spots weren't painted perfectly, but Leon didn't say anything. He just patiently helped Muen fix those spots.
In the end, working together, the father and daughter made a cube with six different colors. Muen held it in her hands. She wasn't sure what this thing was, but anything made by Daddy must be cool!
"This little toy is called a Rubik's Cube. You can twist it any way you want. Try it."
"Oh,okay!"
Muen tried twisting it a few times. Sure enough, the little colored squares moved and ended up in different places.
"The game is to get all six colors back to their own sides. It might be hard at first, but you'll learn tricks as you play," Leon explained patiently.
Leon liked studying these kinds of toys when he was in school. He remembered his first Alchemical Mechanics class. The teacher told them to make a simple machine for homework.
What Leon made was a simple version of a Rubik's Cube. The teacher was very happy with it. He joked that even if Leon didn't become a dragon slayer after graduation, he could open a toy store to make kids happy—and he would be great at that, too.
It turned out the Alchemical Mechanics teacher was right. Leon really was taking care of a child now—and he was doing a pretty good job.
Muen listened to Leon's explanations while looking at the Rubik's Cube in her hands. Leon patiently told her tips and tricks.
While he was talking, Leon suddenly looked up. He looked around carefully. Dragon slayers are very sensitive to being watched, especially by a dragon.
Leon thought it might be Rossweise watching them from a balcony. But the mother dragon wasn't on any balcony. Leon quietly looked around.
The person secretly watching them was clearly from behind.
Leon didn't turn around. He thought about the layout of the Silver Dragon Temple. Behind them was… a training ground?
Thinking of this, Leon smiled. He understood.
That child definitely wouldn't just come join me and Muen.
Leon stood up and took Muen's hand. They left the garden.
After walking a little way, Leon sneakily looked back over his shoulder. He saw a small figure come out from the bushes behind the garden.
Leon smiled and looked away. Noah quietly walked over to the spot where Leon and Muen had been sitting.
An unpainted Rubik's Cube and several cans of paint were on the bench nearby. Noah walked up, picked up the brush and paint, and copied what Leon had done. She started painting the Rubik's Cube.
Soon, a Rubik's Cube that wasn't very pretty but still worked was finished. She tried twisting it a few times. She could feel the clear clicks from the mechanism under her fingers.
Noah was a little surprised. "It seems… pretty fun."
Then, using the method she had overheard earlier, Noah mixed up all the sides of the Rubik's Cube. She started solving it step by step. She learned things very quickly. In less than ten minutes, she had solved most of it.
Just as Noah was about to finish, she heard someone shout from far away.
"Princess Noah! Rest time is over! We need to continue physical training!"
Noah quickly put the Rubik's Cube into her pocket. She ran toward the training ground and shouted back, "Oh, I'm coming!"
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That evening, in the sisters' room, Muen knelt on her bed. She was still playing with the Rubik's Cube her dad had made for her that day. She had been trying to solve it, but she couldn't.
After failing a few more times, Muen threw the Rubik's Cube aside. She was unhappy and flicked it with her tail.
"I don't want to play anymore! Muen is so stupid! I can't even solve one side!"
Noah, who was getting ready for tomorrow's lesson, saw her sister getting upset. She put her books down and went over.
"I'll teach you."
"Huh?Sister, you can do it too?"
Noah didn't answer. Instead, she picked up the Rubik's Cube and started explaining how it worked to her sister.
"To solve it,you shouldn't try to finish one side at a time. You have to do it layer by layer, like this."
Watching Noah's skilled hands, Muen was amazed. "Sister… how are you so good at this?"
"Oh? No, not really. I'm just okay. I have zero interest in kids' toys. There, you see how it's done? Take it back."
Muen took the fully solved Rubik's Cube. She hugged it happily and crawled under the covers.
Soon, the steady sound of Muen's breathing could be heard.
"Muen?" Noah called to her sister.
When there was no answer, Noah quietly got out of bed. Then, she pulled her small wooden box out from under the bed and opened it.
Inside was a piece of black metal and a piece of paper with her name written on it. She took the little Rubik's Cube from her pocket and carefully placed it inside the wooden box.