In fact, Leon had always been quite interested in this Crimson Flame Dragon King, Constantine.

He still remembered that not long after he had first woken up, he had told Muen a story from the book "Little Tales to Enlighten Young Dragons," which mentioned that Constantine had once been a great hero of the Dragon Clan. Constantine had made immense contributions to the expansion and conquests of the Dragon Clan.

Later, when Isa visited Silver Dragon Castle to see Roswitha, she also mentioned Constantine, saying he had been very active recently—a bad omen indicating potential trouble.

In the days that followed, Leon had encountered members of the Crimson Flame Dragon Clan, including the father of the dragon who was defeated in a three-versus-one battle by Noa.

During a vacation in the Floating Cloud Valley, he chatted with a newlywed couple who also spoke of Constantine, mentioning that his actions had escalated from "being active" to outright initiating internal conflicts within the Dragon Clan.

Within the Dragon Clan, Constantine seemed to be a very high-profile figure.

However, from the time Leon graduated from the Dragon Slayer Academy at fifteen to the age of twenty, when his campaign against Silver Dragon Castle was sabotaged by a traitor, during those five years of constant battles, he had never even heard Constantine’s name.

This suggested that Constantine was indeed a very seasoned Dragon King, one who had stayed out of the spotlight within the Dragon Clan and human battlefields for quite a long time.

Otherwise, Leon wouldn’t have remained completely unaware of his existence.

But then, why in the past few months did Constantine seem as if he had taken stimulants, constantly picking fights and expanding his territory?

As a former top-tier Dragon Slayer, Leon had, deep in his bones, a sense of "curiosity" and "impulse" toward Dragon Kings.

He longed to battle different Dragon Kings and to pursue victory in the thin space between life and death.

Countless Dragon Kings had fallen at the edge of his blade.

Alas, the hero of old was no longer in his prime. These days, he had no choice but to settle into the life of a stay-at-home dad, raising kids.

Now, he could only hear tidbits about Constantine from Dragon Kings like Roswitha and Isa.

"What’s happening with Constantine?" Roswitha asked.

"Recently, he’s been aggressively expanding his territory. Up until now, it seems he’s already annexed at least four small Dragon Clan tribes," Isa replied. "Just a few days ago, the leader of the Wind Dragon Clan wrote to say that Constantine’s next target might be her domain."

Roswitha furrowed her brow. "The Wind Dragon Clan... That’s a Dragon Clan with some serious heritage, not something comparable to those smaller tribes. If Constantine intends to take them down, his ambitions are enormous."

Isa shrugged, raising her coffee cup to her lips and taking a light sip. "Constantine seems very confident in his abilities. He’s caused several disturbances near the Wind Dragon territory, almost as if testing their response."

"The Wind Dragon King doesn’t dare to act rashly. With their territory and my Crimson Dragon Castle forming a defensive alignment, she invited me to Sky City to discuss how to deal with Constantine."

Roswitha’s eyes flickered in thought as she contemplated for a moment before responding, "If Constantine does end up launching a war against the Wind Dragon Clan, the scale will definitely be larger than his attacks on the other four tribes. It will also undoubtedly be bloodier. If you get entangled in this, Sis, it might be tough to extricate yourself."

Isa finished the last of her coffee, exhaling softly while staring at the empty cup with a few faint drops of light amber liquid lingering. "There’s nothing I can do. I still have to help. If the Wind Dragon Clan falls, the next one on Constantine’s list might very well be my Crimson Dragon Clan."

"Then, Sis, how about I send some Silver Dragon soldiers to support you?"

Isa smiled faintly and shook her head. "Not for now. That might alert Constantine prematurely. Don’t worry too much. Rosie, Constantine has failed to conquer territories before. He might not dare to attack the Wind Dragons while knowing I could back them up."

Internal war within the Dragon Clan didn’t come as a surprise to Leon.

After all, such conflict wasn’t limited to the warlike Dragon Clan. Humans, intelligent Dangerous Beasts, and even slimes exhibited internal strife.

Resources in this world were finite, but the desires of sentient beings were infinite.

Under the weight of infinite desire, the limited resources appeared all the more precious.

Between these two forces lay a fragile cord.

When desire and resources fell out of balance, that cord would inevitably snap.

And war would follow.

In his youth, Leon seldom reflected on the meaning of war.

His mentor had once told him, "This world is a colossal and intricate machine, and we are merely screws in that machine—oh wait, kid, you might count as two screws, considering how good you are at slaying dragons.

"But even so, your job is just to do what a screw is supposed to do.

"As for how this machine operates, how its energy is supplied, and how its gears interlock, that’s not your business to ponder.

"Even if you do figure something out, can you change anything?

"You can’t.

"So focus on being the best screw you can be. Focus on slaying those dragons. That’s what’s best for you."

In Leon’s memory, that had been the first time his mentor had spoken to him in such riddles.

The words were so cryptic and unclear, leaving Leon utterly baffled.

But whenever Leon tried to sit down and unravel his mentor’s words, new orders came from above:

"Leon, take out this Dragon King."

"Leon, eliminate that Dragon King."

Balabala, the demands went on.

During those days of slaying Dragon Kings, Leon eventually began to grasp some of the surface-level meaning behind his mentor’s words:

He was just a brick of the Empire, moved to wherever it was needed.

Hiss—

Why had his thoughts gone there all of a sudden?

Leon clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.

This line of thinking only further irritated him.

Back then, he had worked diligently for the Empire, killing more dragons than most people had eaten meals—how on earth had he ended up betrayed by a damn traitor within their ranks?

Could it be that his efficiency as a "screw" had been too high, causing the machine to overheat?

Damn.

What a joke.

Leon closed his eyes, exhaling deeply.

Roswitha noticed the subtle shift in Leon’s mood.

It seemed unrelated to his earlier social embarrassment.

"What’s wrong?" Roswitha asked.

Leon rubbed the tip of his nose. "Nothing."

He gave no further explanation and instead turned his gaze out the window.

Roswitha chose not to press him further.

"Well," Isa said, breaking the silence, "I originally came to Sky City just to discuss tactics with the Wind Dragon King. I didn’t expect to run into you two here."

Perhaps sensing the previous topic had gotten too heavy, Isa deftly steered the conversation in another direction. "But honestly, if I hadn’t bumped into you, would you have even told me about the second baby?"

She smiled while watching the couple in front of her.

"Ah, come on, Sis," Roswitha said. "Leon already told you earlier: we were definitely going to let you know. Right, Leon?"

"Uh? Oh... yeah, of course," Leon replied.

"Hmph. A united front, I see. Your relationship is even better than I imagined."

Yes, yes, our relationship is so good.

So good, in fact, that despite being married for over two years, they’d only started living together yesterday.

But if someone as sharp as Isa genuinely believed the couple had a strong marriage, then Leon and Roswitha had clearly done an excellent job acting the part.

What was that saying again?

No feelings, just pure skill.

Yes, pure skill. (Confirmed.)

The two sisters continued chatting about various topics. Later in the afternoon, they strolled casually around Sky City.

As an elder sister, Isa naturally cared about her younger sibling’s well-being.

She bought additional supplements that hadn’t been on the shopping list.

When they passed by a prenatal yoga studio, Isa took the liberty of signing Roswitha up for a class.

"…Sis, yoga isn’t really necessary, is it?" Roswitha protested.

"It absolutely is. I heard that doing yoga during pregnancy is beneficial for the baby’s health," Isa said, handing the registration form to Roswitha.

The form indicated that yoga classes could begin after three months of pregnancy.

Which left only one month to go… Roswitha was at a loss for words.

From Roswitha’s expression, Leon could tell she wasn’t thrilled about the idea.

And if she wasn’t thrilled, Leon had something to say about that.

Plop—

Leon rested a hand on Roswitha’s shoulder. "Sis is just looking out for you and the baby. When the time comes, make sure you go to those classes."

Roswitha gripped the registration form, shooting a glance at Leon.

Ah, so this was payback for her earlier social embarrassment, wasn’t it?

Hmph, petty man.

Roswitha scrutinized the registration form again, letting out a small laugh. "Fine, I’ll go. But it says here that for pregnant women to enroll, their husbands must accompany them. Honey, you’ll join me for the classes, won’t you?"

That "honey" was so sweet—could she keep calling him that and just retract everything else she’d said?

Leon clicked his tongue. "Yeah, yeah, I’ll go with you."

"If you don’t want to, darling, I can just go by myself. It’s fine," Roswitha said in a mock-aggrieved tone.

"…Can you not?"

"Hu~sband~"

"Both of you, knock it off," Isa said, finding their antics a bit too much. If she didn’t intervene, the pair might just get overly affectionate right there on the street.

Seriously, I'm here to interrogate you, yet you two are shoving your public displays of affection in my face!

But what Isa perceived as sickeningly sweet affection was, to Leon and Roswitha, merely a way of tormenting each other.

So, let’s not get it twisted—it was pure theatrics.

After chatting a while longer, the sisters said their goodbyes.

Roswitha carefully stowed away the yoga class registration form. "Let’s head home too. Once we’re back, it’ll be just in time to make dinner for the girls."

Leon weighed the Jade Dragon Fruit in his hand. It had been quite a fruitful day.

Not only had he gained some spoils, but he had also endured a grilling from his sister. A fulfilling day indeed.

He nodded. "Alright, let's go home."