Over half an hour later, Leon went to Roswitha's room.

At that moment, Muen had just returned and was helping carry dishes from the kitchen.

Leon jogged over and took the tray from Muen's hands. "Go wait at the table, Muen. Daddy can handle this."

"Okay, thanks, Daddy!"

Leon carried a platter of sandwiches and several glasses of milk. Just as he was about to leave the kitchen, he noticed another dish covered by a plate on the countertop. He gestured towards it with his chin. "What about that? Shouldn't we bring it up as well?"

Roswitha glanced at it while washing her hands and replied casually, "Not for now. Just take up what you're holding first."

"Alright."

By the time Leon brought the food to the dining table, Muen had already tied on a little bib and was ready to dig in.

"Sandwiches~ Yay!" Muen cheered, waving her fork enthusiastically.

Leon set the sandwiches down in front of Muen.

For himself and Roswitha, breakfast was simply milk and bread.

Well, "simple" was a bit of an understatement, as the Dragon Clan's milk was top-tier, legendary stuff.

Unlike humans who use ordinary dairy cows, they use armored yaks.

These creatures are bona fide S-class Dangerous Beasts.

To other species, hunting them is seen as a challenge, an honor, a trophy;

But to the Dragon Clan, they’re merely delicious sources of beef and dairy.

The milk produced by armored yaks is several times more nutritious than regular cow’s milk, and thanks to this, Leon’s body was able to recover so quickly.

Roswitha joined the table after washing her hands. She unfastened her apron, let down her sleeves, and fixed her hair. "Alright, let's eat."

"Time to eat~" Muen eagerly began slicing her sandwich with a table knife.

As for the side dishes on the table, the couple tacitly pushed them toward Muen without making it too obvious.

Though their little dragon daughter was still too young to notice such small gestures, she did know that whenever she ate with great enthusiasm, her mom and dad seemed especially happy.

She alternated bites of her sandwich with picking at the side dishes on the table.

Muen was thoroughly engrossed in her meal.

Though small in stature, young dragons are known for their immense appetites, as she had yet to reach Roswitha's stage as an adult dragon, where going without food for days had no impact.

As the meal went on, Leon noticed Muen picking out all the red cabbage from the side dishes and placing it onto an empty plate nearby.

He didn’t think much of it, but Roswitha spoke up,

"Don’t be picky, Muen."

Muen paused mid-bite, a crumb of bread still stuck at the corner of her mouth. She blinked her bright, beautiful eyes. "But Mommy, red cabbage tastes bad. Muen doesn’t want to eat it."

"You're at the age where you’re still growing. Balanced nutrition is very important. Being picky will make it harder for you to grow tall. Isn’t that right, Leon?"

"Uh? She can eat whatever she likes—ouch! Ack, that hurts!"

Under the table, Roswitha had kicked Leon in the shin.

"What did you just say? I don’t think I heard you clearly." Roswitha asked, smiling sweetly.

Rubbing his leg discreetly, Leon shot Roswitha a resentful glance. To avoid any further harassment, he reluctantly said, "Yes, Mommy is right. Muen shouldn’t be picky anymore. You need balanced nutrition to be healthy."

After a slight pause, Leon added, "Your sister never picks her food."

"Really? Then Muen won’t be picky either~ It's just red cabbage. Muen’s not afraid!"

With that, the little dragon girl speared a piece of red cabbage with her fork, glared at it as though facing a formidable foe, and then popped it into her mouth.

Her chubby cheeks puffed out as her lips sealed tight, as if afraid the red cabbage might escape.

After a moment of silent struggle, Muen finally forced the offending bite down.

When it came to pulling tricks on his little daughter, Leon indeed had his techniques.

But most of the time, he simply doted on her. "Alright, just one piece is enough. Take your time. Eat more of your sandwich."

"Thanks, Daddy! Daddy, you’re the best~"

Roswitha smiled faintly, as if something just crossed her mind. "Oh, I almost forgot. There’s a vegetable salad I haven’t brought over yet. Wait a moment."

With that, she got up and went to the kitchen, returning shortly with a bowl of salad.

Leon immediately recognized the large bowl holding the salad—it was the same covered dish he’d seen in the kitchen earlier!

Roswitha had explicitly said it didn’t need to be brought out before. Yet now, her excuse was that she had "forgotten."

Leon swallowed hard, an almost imperceptible movement. An uneasy feeling was stirring within him.

He glanced sideways at Roswitha.

Supporting her head with one hand, Roswitha was delicately nibbling a piece of bread.

Noticing Leon’s gaze, she returned it. "Why are you looking at me? Eat."

"Oh…"

"Muen, try some of the vegetable salad."

"Okay~"

Muen leaned forward and spooned a small portion of salad onto her plate.

"Whoa, it’s carrots! We haven’t had carrots in forever~"

Delighted, Muen stabbed a small orange chunk on her plate with her fork and happily put it in her mouth.

Carrots.

Leon froze mid-bite.

The word alone hit him harder than if his master’s wife had called him by his full name.

Before he could recover, Roswitha added, "Muen, I noticed your daddy keeps eyeing that salad. What should you do in this situation?"

Muen’s little tuft of hair perked up. "Help Daddy serve some!"

"That’s right. Quickly now."

"Got it~"

The little dragon girl eagerly stood up again and served a portion of salad onto Leon’s plate. "Here you go, Daddy."

Leon lowered his eyes to his plate. Salad dressing, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and...

Carrots!!

Of course it was carrots!

These things were no different than SSS-class Dangerous Beasts!

Leon’s hand trembled as he held his fork, his chair scraping backward slightly as he instinctively recoiled.

"What’s wrong, Leon? Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like the salad Muen served you?"

"Would Daddy not like it?" Muen asked pitifully.

Leon pressed his lips together and forced a smile. "No, I like it. If Muen served Daddy salad, of course Daddy likes it. Daddy will eat it right now."

"Mm-hmm! Daddy, eat up! Carrots are delicious~"

Darn it.

Why couldn’t you inherit my distaste for carrots?!

Leon silently cursed as he prodded the salad on his plate with his fork.

He ate all the vegetables except for the carrots, and then patted his stomach with exaggerated satisfaction. "Ah~ That was delicious! Thanks, Muen~"

"If it’s delicious, then why not finish it all?" Roswitha asked, her eyes narrowing in a smile as she nodded at the leftover carrot chunks on Leon’s plate. "Don’t tell me you’re being picky about your food?"

"I… I..."

"Daddy, you just told me not to be picky and to maintain a balanced diet!"

The little dragon girl then parroted back Leon’s advice, "Otherwise, you won’t be healthy. And Daddy, you’re already so dizzy all the time, so you need to take even more care not to be picky with your food."

"Muen’s absolutely right, Leon. Your health isn't great to begin with; you can't afford to be picky."

Roswitha’s voice was gentle, as if she genuinely cared about Leon’s well-being—

Well, she actually did.

"Come on, eat up. Don’t make Muen worry about your health."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand tenderly, resting it on Leon’s trembling hand. "Taking care of your body is more important than anything else."

To top it off, she mouthed three silent words: "Dar~ling~."

Leon’s mind was an incoherent blur, unable to function in the face of carrot-induced terror.

He understood one thing, though: under the duo's joint attack, there was no escaping the remaining carrot chunks.

...Fine!

He’d eat them!

A top-tier Dragon Slayer wouldn’t cower before ordinary root vegetables!

Eat! Eat them all! This shattered dignity...

Who says heroes are defined by their fear of carrots?!

Leon stabbed a piece of carrot with his fork and boldly shoved it into his mouth.

The moment the carrot met his taste buds, Leon felt as if he were having a near-death experience—

despite having no idea what that might look like.

"Oh~ Daddy didn’t pick his food. Daddy’s awesome~ Then Muen will eat another piece of red cabbage~"

Good daughter, you know how to offer solidarity.

Roswitha smiled faintly and picked up a whole carrot beside her, taking a small bite.

Crunch—

Leon awkwardly turned his head to the side.

Only to see Roswitha calmly munching on that horrifying vegetable.

Noticing Leon’s stare, she deliberately took another crunchy bite, slowly chewing it with exaggerated poise.

"Why are you staring at me? Want some? Here."

Roswitha held the carrot out toward Leon.

Leon: Keep that thing away from me! Away!

Watching his reaction, Roswitha looked utterly pleased.

But...

Did you think this was the end, dear Mr. Cosmod?

Oh no~

We’ve got a long road ahead.