Unlike the other Dragon Kings present, Leon showed not a trace of fear when facing Odin.

He stood there quietly, neither obsequious nor arrogant, meeting the Thunder Dragon King's gaze directly.

Two powerful auras clashed invisibly, creating a sense of tension throughout the conference hall.

Odin's shadow was reflected in Leon's black pupils. Leon's expression remained impassive, and he did not intend to speak first. After all, it was Odin who approached him. Naturally, it was Odin who should initiate the conversation.

After a brief moment of eye contact, Odin finally spoke.

"May I have a word with you, Prince of the Silver Dragon Clan?"

Without much thought, Leon replied steadily, "Of course."

"Please."

Odin gestured with an inviting motion, and Leon nodded politely.

The two of them left through the conference hall doors, one after the other.

As they left, the overwhelming pressure of their combined auras gradually dispersed.

The Dragon Kings in the hall slowly began to relax from the earlier tension, and soon, speculative murmurs filled the room as they guessed what Odin might want to discuss with the Silver Dragon Prince.

"Are they close?"

"Haven't you heard? Back when Constantine caused that huge uproar under the ruins in the Far North, it was the Silver Dragon Prince who saved Odin's daughter."

"That’s just repaying a debt, right? Doesn't mean they're close."

"Who knows? Maybe the two of them have some sort of personal relationship."

...

Isa glanced at her brother-in-law's departing figure and turned to Roswitha.

"That old man isn't planning to give my brother-in-law any trouble, is he?"

Roswitha shook her head. "No. He's probably just trying to gauge Leon's perspective on this matter before the meeting begins."

Roswitha was confident Odin wouldn't trouble Leon for two reasons.

First, the two had no grudges or conflicts between them—there was no cause for trouble.

Second, after the last meeting regarding Constantine, the Twilight Tower Master privately told both her and Leon that Odin had taken quite an interest in Leon. Moreover, if Leon hadn't planned to attend this meeting, Odin likely wouldn't have appeared either.

Thus, Roswitha wasn't worried that Leon's private conversation with Odin at this moment would put him at any disadvantage.

As for why Odin might find Leon interesting... Roswitha figured it might simply be the mutual magnetism between strong individuals.

Meanwhile, out in the corridor beyond the conference hall, Leon and Odin stood by the railing, gazing out over Sky City through the nearby windows.

"Prince of the Silver Dragon Clan, you are likely aware of the topic this Dragon King convocation intends to address, aren't you?"

Leon nodded. "Yes, I am aware."

"Then I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Leon’s thoughts stirred, but instead of answering immediately, he posed a question in return.

"Given how complex the situation involving the human-dragon war is, perhaps you could clarify, Thunder Dragon King. Exactly which aspect of the matter do you want my opinion on?"

Leon understood all too well the principle of saying less to avoid mistakes. He couldn't afford to lay all his views and opinions about the human-dragon war bare from the outset.

Mistakes were easily made that way, potentially allowing an old fox like Odin to catch on to any hidden intentions.

That was why Leon asked Odin to be more specific, enabling him to provide a more precise and measured response.

"Then let's discuss... how we should handle the Dragon Kings who have colluded with the human Empire to manipulate the course of the war," Odin replied. "I want to know—if the final decision were left in your hands, how would you deal with them?"

Fortunately, Odin's question steered clear of the Empire and focused solely on the Dragon Clan's "internal affairs."

If this had been the Leon of old, his answer to Odin's question would undoubtedly have been to strip all those Dragon Kings of their titles and subject them to severe punishment.

Much like how King Kant had been strung up and made to face the judgment of the people.

But after learning so much about the art of power and strategy from Roswitha, Leon now understood that the Dragon Kings were not the same as King Kant.

First of all, the internal dynamics of the Dragon Clan were fundamentally different from those of the Empire.

The Dragon Clan had no centralized rule; each clan reigned independently. Though these winged lizards revered the doctrine of survival of the fittest, the Dragon Kings had no formal hierarchy among themselves.

In other words, the idea of "stripping a Dragon King of their title" simply did not exist.

As for imposing severe punishment or subjecting them to public trial—that was even more unrealistic.

Dragon Kings couldn't judge each other, let alone be judged by the ordinary members of the Dragon Clan.

For precisely these reasons, the Tower Master of Twilight convened this Dragon Clan meeting.

The goal wasn't to produce a definitive resolution, but rather... to provide an explanation of sorts.

After a moment of contemplation, Leon responded.

"I've thought long and hard about this, and it all boils down to one conclusion."

Odin raised his white eyebrows, intrigued. "Oh? And what is that?"

"Stability is more important than unity."

"Stability?"

"Yes."

Leon nodded, explaining in an unhurried tone:

"Now that the darker side of the human-dragon war has come to light, and so many Dragon Kings have been implicated, concealing this is no longer an option. News will soon spread throughout the Dragon Clan.

"When that happens, the already fragile relationships within the Dragon Clan will become all the more turbulent.

"Mutual suspicion, mutual denial, mutual hostility—it’s certain that even minor disagreements from the past will be magnified as a result, leading to more intense conflicts and possibly even civil war."

"To be honest, I’ve never expected the various Dragon Clans to come together in unity. But even without cohesion, we cannot afford to become a scattered mess.

"When members of a race begins to see each other as their primary enemies, no matter how strong the race is, its eventual decline and destruction are inevitable."

As Leon spoke, he raised his left hand.

"Those who colluded with the Empire did so out of selfish motives, seeking personal gain from the war."

Then, raising his right hand, he added,

"The so-called 'judges' demanding severe punishment for these individuals also seek to benefit themselves through punitive measures."

"Senior Odin, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

Hearing Leon's analysis, Odin narrowed his eyes slightly, approvingly nodding his head.

"Alrez."

"Indeed. Alrez. The one who, during the last meeting about Constantine, tried to use the Dragon King convocation to seize Constantine's Primordial Power for himself."

At that meeting, Alrez had been the first to propose dividing Constantine's Primordial Power.

It was thanks to Leon's refusal of the proposal—along with Odin's support—that Constantine was able to retain his foundational strength.

At the time, Leon's reasoning had been simple: Constantine, for all his flaws, was far more trustworthy than the scheming Alrez.

And as time passed, Constantine proved him right. Mad as he might be, he always stepped up resolutely whenever Leon needed help.

Thus, drawing on that experience, Leon was fully prepared for Alrez to attempt more machinations at this convocation.

"If Alrez insists on leveraging the punishment of colluding Dragon Kings to serve his own interests, it will undoubtedly provoke rebellious sentiments among that group of Dragon Kings.

"They might accept punishment, but the punisher must never be Alrez.

"Everyone knows what sort of man he truly is.

"If he is allowed to act freely, as I mentioned earlier, the already fragile Dragon Clan would grow even more fractured.

"That 'stability' would shatter as well.

"And at that point, the Dragon Clan would face far graver issues than 'how to handle the traitorous Dragon Kings.'"

Leon exhaled softly and stretched his arm out.

"That's all I have to say."

Odin listened intently, deep in thought.

After a moment, he finally responded in a low voice,

"Your understanding is impressive, Leon. You’ve considered the mindset of the treacherous Dragon Kings while pinpointing Alrez's greed with precision.

"And I must say, I agree with one particular statement you made.

"'They might accept punishment, but the punisher must never be Alrez.'

"The fact that you can articulate such a perspective proves you're neither a detached bystander nor a blindly conciliatory appeaser."

Pausing briefly, Odin encapsulated his assessment of Leon.

"You are destined for an extraordinary life, Leon."

"Thank you for your kind words, Senior."

Leon asked, "Then...what about you, Senior? What are your thoughts?"

"To be honest... I don't care about collusion or conspiracy, nor about the war itself."

Odin said slowly, "My Thunder Dragon Clan refrains from participating in external conflicts of its own volition. Neither the Empire nor those treacherous Dragon Kings dare lay their schemes on my domain, so punishing such individuals brings me neither benefit nor harm.

"In fact, if I hadn't heard that the Tower Master invited you, I wouldn’t have come to this meeting at all.

"My sole reason for being here is to observe the choices and decisions of a promising junior like you."

There was one thing Leon didn’t know about Odin: like Roswitha’s grandmother Veronica, Odin had a keen interest in nurturing younger generations—or perhaps more accurately, the future generations.

Veronica had once remarked to the headmaster of Saint Hiss Academy, Olette, that she admired humanity's methodical approach to progress—leaving the fruits of their labor for the next generation, building themselves up slowly and clumsily.

And Odin, for the second time, displayed the attitude of "If Leon's not going, neither am I."

It was obvious that he genuinely valued this young man named Leon—not just because Leon had saved his daughter.

Though it did raise the question: if the old Thunder Dragon King ever learned that General Leon was actually a human, how would he feel about it?

"Senior, I... I don't quite understand. Why are you so invested in me? If it's because I saved your daughter, that was just a small effort on my part. Anyone else would have done the same," Leon said.

"Ah, of course, it's not only because of Yuna. There’s another reason... Your innate magic, like mine, is also lightning-based."

Odin explained, "Among the Dragon Clan, only a very small number of individuals are naturally born with lightning affinity—and those as powerful as you are rare indeed."

Hmm... Senior, is there a chance, just a chance, that I’m not actually a dragon?

"I think if there's ever an opportunity, I’d love to spar with a talented young one like you to have a race."

Wow, you dragons are *really* into sparring, aren’t you?

Roswitha had challenged him before, Noa had said during the bell-stealing game earlier, and Old Constantine had agreed to a future duel as well.

And now, this powerful elder says he also wants to spar with Leon.

The Dragon Clan—live for the thrill of combat, am I right?

"Alright, the meeting is about to begin. Leon, when the time comes, I’ll support your decision. And I believe most of the Dragon Kings will support you as well."

"Thank you, Senior."

Maintaining internal stability in the Dragon Clan was not General Leon’s act of altruism.

From start to finish, he only had one goal:

To ensure that the Dragon Clan's internal wars never threatened his family.

So gaining Odin’s support was of significant importance.

---

The two returned to the conference hall, where Alrez and his group had already taken their seats.

The meeting was about to start.

"So, such a significant matter, and the Tower Master still isn’t showing up?" Alrez asked lightly.

The servant Caid bowed slightly. "Apologies, my lord is overwhelmed with pressing matters and unable to attend in person. Thus, this meeting is to be conducted by the Dragon Kings themselves, and I will faithfully report the results to my lord afterward."

"Hmph, Timothy, that bastard—does anyone even know what he’s always so busy with?"

Alrez waved dismissively, then turned his attention to several Dragon Kings seated on one side of the table.

These were the key players in today's Dragon King secret meeting.

"Let's get straight to the point then," Alrez said. "In the past human-dragon war, you secretly collaborated with the Empire and managed to gain a considerable expansion of territory and resources, right?"

---

As Leon had anticipated, during the meeting, Alrez made not-so-subtle attempts to extract benefits out of the Dragon Kings who had collaborated with their enemies.

Under the guise of "compensating the entire Dragon Clan," of course.

But anyone with a bit of critical thinking would quickly realize that Alrez's proposals were entirely self-serving.

And, just as Leon predicted, the accused Dragon Kings, provoked by Alrez's aggressive rhetoric and overt personal greed, reacted with defiance and resistance.

From Leon’s perspective, neither side consisted of good people.

This only affirmed his belief that calls for unity within the Dragon Clan were nonsense. As long as stability was preserved, everyone should already be thanking their lucky stars.

The heated discussions dragged on for hours.

Ultimately, Alrez threw down the last sentence:

"You must surrender all the land and resources you gained during the war!"

“That’s absurd! Many of those territories were rightfully conquered by us on our own—they have nothing to do with the Empire!”

“And after all this time, how exactly do you propose determining which lands were earned through collaboration and which were ours originally?”

“So everything just depends on whatever *you* say, does it?”

“Silence! Don’t forget your current status—you are all traitors to the Dragon Clan!”

“Securing benefits for our tribes and kin—if that’s treason, then the accusation itself is ridiculous.”

"…"

Both parties were stubborn, unwilling to budge, and the debate continued endlessly.

Finally, a low cough from Odin brought the escalating argument to a halt.

Everyone fell silent—Alrez included.

All eyes turned toward Odin, who was seated prominently in the center of the conference table, awaiting his judgment.

Golden Sand Dragon King Morgan leaned close to Odin’s ear under everyone's scrutiny, whispering in a low voice,

"This is exactly why I hate sitting next to you. You always have to be ready to deal with *all* the stares.”

The old Dragon King shot him a glare full of irritation.

Morgan shrugged nonchalantly and sat upright again.

"Everyone here has voiced their opinions, though a few remain silent," Odin said.

With that, he looked toward Leon and the individuals seated near him who had yet to speak.

"Silver Dragon Queen, Prince of the Silver Dragon Clan, Red Dragon Queen, and Princess of the Sea Dragon Clan, what do you have to say?"

Earlier, after his private conversation with Odin, Leon had shared his thoughts with Roswitha and the others.

They had unanimously agreed with his decisions.

So when Odin posed his question, they each spoke up in turn, presenting Leon’s ideas from their own perspectives.

As expected, Leon’s views clashed directly with Alrez's.

But before Alrez could offer a rebuttal, Odin interjected.

"Punishment is non-negotiable, Alrez. But hold your objections for now."

“You! —”

“Still,” Odin continued, “as one of the Dragon Kings just mentioned, so much time has passed. It is difficult to determine which lands and resources result from collusion with the Empire versus which belong to them legitimately.”

"So, regarding the specifics of their punishment, we’ll require extensive discussions and..."

Odin paused, directing a meaningful look at Alrez.

"...a team with better expertise and fairness. Don’t you agree, Alrez?"

“...Hmph. Indecisive as always, Odin. You really are getting old.”

The elder Thunder Dragon King couldn’t care less about Alrez’s disdain.

Besides, disdain was about the only thing Alrez possessed the guts to express.

“Well then, since everyone has had their say, let’s move on to the final vote."

A straightforward show of hands concluded the session, yielding the same result as before. With the collaborating Dragon Kings excluded from voting, the majority still backed Leon’s proposal.

It seemed that while the Dragon Kings were incapable of achieving true unity, stability was an aspiration that resonated across the board.

Of course, Alrez was far from satisfied with the outcome.

After the vote, he stormed out in a fit of anger.

“Thank you all for attending this Dragon King meeting. I’d also like to thank the Prince of the Silver Dragon Clan and the Thunder Dragon King for their contributions. With that, this meeting is officially—"

"Wait, Caid, there's one more matter to address," Odin interrupted, raising a hand.

“Please, go ahead.”

“As the reign of the current Empire transitions and the human-dragon war draws to a close, it is time—after a century apart—for our race to formally negotiate with this tenacious species.”

“Negotiation...”

"Precisely. And as for who should represent us in talks with the humans, I have a candidate in mind—"

As he spoke, the elder’s hand fell heavily onto Leon’s shoulder.

"Pfft—"

A stifled laugh broke the solemn atmosphere around the conference table.

Odin turned toward the source. "Red Dragon Queen, is there something dissatisfactory about my choice of representative—your brother-in-law, no less?"

The elder sister waved her hands frantically, struggling to suppress her laughter.

“No, not at all! I just—uh—remembered something amusing.”

Sending Leon to negotiate with humans... While Roswitha also found it hard to suppress her laughter, she held it in, nudging her sister’s arm as she whispered,

"Save it for when we get home. Laugh all you want once we're home."

Meanwhile, the thoroughly bewildered General Leon tried to picture how he’d look representing the entire Dragon Clan in talks with humanity.

The result?

He couldn’t picture it at all—damn it!