Twenty years had passed, and Rebecca, a pureblood human who had never crossed a spatial rift, had naturally grown and aged in this world where "Leon Casmod" no longer existed.
Gone was the neurotic, wild energy she had back then. Even the simple phrase "long time no see" now exuded her calmness and restraint.
Although her height hadn't changed, her sense of fashion had improved drastically. She wore slim-fit trousers paired with a black trench coat, which flattered her figure.
And those iconic twin ponytails she used to wear became a single one, likely for easier maintenance.
Leon never imagined that he would reunite with Rebecca under such circumstances.
Leon opened his mouth, suppressing his surprise and excitement and said, “I thought you would have left the Empire after our master disappeared.”
Rebecca holstered her gun and walked toward him. “Dad was too old to keep staying in the Empire, but I'm still dynamic and well. There was no reason for me to leave. Besides…”
Rebecca tilted her head slightly, her gaze moving past Leon to the three young girls behind him.
Following her line of sight, Leon suddenly recalled that Rebecca had never met his daughters before—she had only seen pictures of Noa and Muen when they were in their childhood.
So he introduced them, “Oh, they’re my—”
“Daughters,” Rebecca interrupted coolly. “I know.”
“Huh? Have you… met before?”
Before Rebecca could reply, Noa stepped forward and stood naturally beside her. With a smile, Noa greeted, “Rebecca Auntie.”
Rebecca’s teal eyes flashed briefly with annoyance and resignation. She sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Stop calling me Auntie. It makes me feel old.”
“But you are from the same generation with our dad—what else could we call you?” Aurora, standing with her hands in her pockets, drawled nonchalantly.
“She’s right! Aurora and big sis are totally correct,” Muen chimed in.
Rebecca crossed her arms and looked up at Noa, who was about 1.7 meters, with a deadpan expression and her height which was under 1.6 meters. She retorted coldly,
“It's been a few years, and all you three seem only care about getting taller. What on earth is in those heads of yours?”
Her sharp wit seemed to have dulled a little over time.
But as Leon listened to the chat between his old teammate and his daughters, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Noa, was the incredibly reliable informant you mentioned is… Rebecca?”
Noa nodded. “Twenty years ago, when you disappeared into the spatial rift, words of it spread quickly within the Empire. Grandpa Tiger and Rebecca Auntie both took the risk of contacting Mom, and that's when we met.”
“It was in that mountain cave,” Rebecca said. “Dad and I decided to stay in the Empire to see if there was a way to reopen the spatial rift. If we failed, we were prepared to avenge you in our own way.”
“For twenty years, Dad and I have been fugitives. There were two times we did get caught, but thanks to Martin pulling strings within the royal court, we managed to escape and make it look like an accident.”
“Martin... how is he now?” Leon asked.
In Leon's memory, during those years when he was captured by the Silver Dragon Clan, Martin had reverted to be the timid boy he once was.
Leon had always hoped that Martin could learn to grow strong and courageous without relying on him.
After all, being born into a noble family meant weakness would only invite more relentless bullying from enemies.
“After dealing with Victor’s incident twenty years ago, Martin changed quite a bit,” Rebecca said. “Maybe it was knowing that his beloved captain was still alive, or maybe it was something else entirely. But one thing is for sure: your little fan has been thriving ever since he took over his father’s position.”
“He… took over his father’s position?” Leon asked.
“Yes. But don’t worry. Martin hasn’t lost himself to power. And thanks to his help, I’ve been able to stay informed about the latest intel within the royal court, which I then passed along to Noa,” Rebecca explained. “So, did you manage to get the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale?”
Leon held up a pitch-black pouch, heavy with contents.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, taken aback. “You didn’t take all of the dragon scales, did you?”
“Can’t leave empty-handed, can I?”
“That’s a severe crime— the minimum punishment is ten executions,” Rebecca warned.
“What’s the difference between ten executions and one?” Leon shrugged. “Only the first one will be fatal anyway; the rest would just be mincing up the meat.”
“I hate minced meat,” Rebecca muttered.
After some light banter, the two old teammates looked at one another.
For a moment, they stood in silence. Then, together, they opened their arms and hugged.
Rebecca rested in her captain’s solid and warm embrace, fighting the prickling sting of tears. She mumbled, “Twenty years ago, when I tried to hug you, you stepped back half a pace.”
“Now is a different situation,” Leon said.
Muen blinked curiously. “How is it different, Dad?”
Leon: ...
Do you really want to know, sweetie?
Because back then, your mom and I were practically still in the honeymoon stage of our relationship. What if I hug some other pretty lady outside? That’d be breaking all the rules of ‘husbandly virtue’!
But now, your mom and I are an old married couple. We both know how much we love each other, so hugging an old teammate? She wouldn’t mind.
“Second Sister, don’t ask unnecessary questions. Men are all like this after years of marriage,” Aurora said with a sly grin.
Rebecca pushed Leon away and shifted her attention to Aurora. She asked flatly, “Little pink-haired girl, have you given any thought to acknowledging me as your godmother?”
“You just said we weren’t allowed to call you Auntie, and now you’re bringing up the case of being our godmother!”
“Auntie is Auntie. Godmother is godmother. So, come on, call me godmother and let me hear it.”
Aurora stomped her foot and turned to her sisters for help. “Big Sis, look at her! She’s bullying me again!”
Noa waved her off, unwilling to involve herself. She couldn’t deal with Rebecca’s snarkiness either.
Leon blinked, and finally understood.
This was what they meant by “the wicked are naturally subdued by the more wicked.”
Two sharp-tongued characters meeting? It was bound to be a battle of wits.
And obviously, Rebecca had crushed Aurora!
“Are you planning to leave the city before dawn?” Rebecca inquired.
“Yes, time’s tight, and there’s more to do once we’re back. We need to continue refining the reverse spell,” Leon said, then paused to explain further. “Oh, the reverse spell is—”
“I know,” Rebecca interjected. “Noa already gave me a brief explanation when we exchanged intel. I didn’t fully understand the theory behind it, but in short… Captain, you’re going off to save the world again, right?”
“Ugh, like I have a choice. I’ve got the skills; if I don’t do it, who will?”
Rebecca chuckled to herself.
Yup, he was back to his old ways. The same familiar bravado, the same old Leon.
It had been twenty long years since she’d seen him like this. Somehow, life was a little bit empty in his absence.
Now it finally became complete again.
“But before you go to save the world, you’ll need to leave the Empire, won’t you?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes, but a few hours ago, we captured Nacho to locate the Heart-Guarding Dragon Scale. This has already alarmed the Empire. Leaving now will be extremely risky,” Leon admitted. “My plan was to sneak to the city gates under the cover of darkness, then have Noa and the others transform into dragon form to force our way out. The Silver Dragon Clan has an innate speed advantage, so we should be able to shake off any pursuers.”
Rebecca frowned slightly as she processed the plan.
“The problem is, over the past twenty years, the Empire has been raising numerous flight-type Dangerous Beasts. While these beasts don’t match the overall capabilities of dragons, some could rival the Silver Dragon Clan in speed. If the Empire deploys them to chase you, your escape won’t be easy.”
“That’s... troubling,” Leon mumbled, his thoughts momentarily hitting a dead end.
Getting in had been relatively easy—but getting out, not so much.
Hiding somewhere in the Empire to wait it out wasn’t an option either. And how long they would need to lie low was another uncertainty.
Only less than three months left of the six-month timeframe Aurora had initially mentioned. They couldn’t afford to waste time getting tangled up with the Empire.
They had to leave the city as soon as possible.
“In that case, let me have Martin make arrangements. He can use a royal transport cart to smuggle you out,” Rebecca suggested. “Even though the city is on lockdown, it’s not entirely hopeless. We can take the gamble. If we’re discovered, then you can rely on brute force.”
Leon considered her idea. At this point, it seemed like their best option.
“How soon can Martin have everything settled?” he asked.
Rebecca raised an elegant eyebrow. “Right now. How does that sound?”
