Twenty days later, at the border between territories of human and dragon, inside a mountain cave.

Rebecca and Tiger sat on opposite sides of a wooden table.

In front of each of them was a pile of handgun parts.

The elder and the younger exchanged glances, and soon after, Rebecca softly said,

"Begin."

As her words fell, both of them lowered their heads simultaneously, beginning to assemble the parts laid before them.

Barrel, sleeves, recoil mechanism... intricate components flowed through Rebecca's hands. They were skillfully combined. In no more than ten seconds, Rebecca had fully assembled the handgun.

She then raised it, aiming the muzzle squarely at Tiger's forehead.

As for Tiger, his handgun wasn't even halfway done.

"You are defeated again, old man."

"One more round, one more round."

Rebecca put down her gun, rested her head on her hands, and smiled mischievously at the stubborn old man sitting before her. "Come on, old man, you've already lost to me thirty-four times. Adding more attempts isn't going to change the result."

The crazy girl made a fair point.

Tiger let out a sigh, tossed the unfinished parts onto the table, leaned back slightly in his chair, and closed his eyes to rub his acupoint.

Rebecca picked up his unfinished gun and casually began assembling it, saying, "Why isn't the Silver Dragon Queen here yet? It has already past the agreed meeting time."

She and Tiger had arrived in the morning, and now it was nearly noon.

Given the usual pace of the Silver Dragon Clan, she should have been here by now.

Tiger shook his head. "Not sure, maybe something held her up."

Rebecca's thoughts wandered for a moment before she suddenly remembered. "Oh right, wasn't the Empire trying to root out and destroy the Silver Dragon Clan a while ago? But it seems like... the Empire had failed?"

"Yeah, I don’t know what method the Silver Dragon Queen had used to fend off the joint invasion from the Empire and other Dragon Clans."

"Could it be external help?"

"The only reliable ally the Silver Dragon has is Roswitha's sister, the Red Dragon Queen, Isa. But Isa's territory was also embroiled in war not long ago. She likely has no time to aid others."

Rebecca pouted, propped her hands behind her head, and leaned back on her chair. With her feet up on the edge of the table, the front legs of the chair lifted off the ground, yet she easily maintained her balance.

"If they were planning to root them out entirely, they wouldn’t give up so easily. I still think the Silver Dragon Queen must have found some outside help," Rebecca speculated.

"Let’s hope that’s the case."

Tiger's expression turned grave as he stared at the table. His voice grew low. "If they do have external help, I wonder if it’ll be strong enough to bring Leon back."

Rebecca glanced at Tiger, knowing just how important their captain was to him.

Though Leon was an adopted son, the old man had treated him like his own over the years.

Aunt Charlotte even loved Leon just as dearly.

When their leader disappeared, if not for Rebecca and Martin holding him back, the old man would have gone baring his blade to take on the Royal Guard alone.

Their ragtag team of the old, weak, sick, incapacitated, and otaku had already lost one of their greatest members. If anything else went wrong, the rest might as well disband then and there.

Leon’s absence weighed on Rebecca’s heart as well.

During the Silver Dragon battle years ago, she had abandoned Leon, fleeing alongside the Dragon Slayer Army in disgrace back to the Empire.

Even then, she had held on to a sliver of hope, believing someone as resourceful as Leon couldn’t possibly die so easily.

Three years later, Leon had indeed energetically reappeared.

But this time, Leon disappeared into a dimensional rift.

Alive or dead, his fate remained unknown. No matter how optimistic Rebecca was or how much faith she had in him, she could not convince herself that Leon was still alive.

And all they could do now was to seek vengeance on their leader’s behalf—crush the Emperor and the Dragon Clans’ sinister schemes and expose their crimes to the world.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rebecca exhaled deeply.

She looked back at her father, who was still with a long face.

After some contemplation, Rebecca said, "Old man, why don’t you bring out your granddaughter’s photos for us to have a look?"

Ever since Leon’s disappearance, those photos of the little dragon girls had become the old geezer’s sole solace.

Whenever he was upset, looking at those pictures would always do the trick.

Sure enough, Tiger nodded, pulling a few photos from his shirt pocket.

Two of them were older—the family portrait, now yellowing, and a solo picture of the little pink-haired girl.

The rest were more recent, brought by Roswitha during her last visit after Leon’s disappearance.

Rebecca got up, walked over to Tiger’s side, and looked at the girls in the photos.

Though the Silver Dragon Clan was constantly embroiled in conflicts, the children’s clean faces and the relatively well-kept scenes in the photos made it clear that Roswitha had done her utmost to protect them.

"Mixed-race dragon babies grow up so fast. Compared to the family portrait, they’ve already matured so much in the latest photos," Rebecca remarked.

"Indeed..."

Tiger stared at the pictures of his granddaughters, and for the first time, a smile graced his weathered face.

Seeing her old man’s mood lift slightly, Rebecca continued teasing,

"One day, I want to be their godmother."

Tiger was momentarily stunned, then smiled while asking, "You are just in your twenties, and you’re already eager to be a mother?"

"Being a godmother isn’t the same as being an actual mom."

Rebecca picked up a photo where Muen and Aurora clung to each other’s tails, saying, "Skipping over the marriage and pregnancy stage while gaining two adorable daughters? What’s not to love?"

Tiger chuckled. "That depends on whether the Silver Dragon Queen agrees to you being their godmother or not."

Rebecca just opened her mouth to say something when a familiar voice echoed from the cave entrance.

"Don’t worry, you don’t need to ask her—I agree."

Hearing the voice, both Tiger and Rebecca froze momentarily.

After a breath, they slowly turned around, looking toward the source of the voice at the cave entrance.

Two silhouettes stood there.

Of course, one of them was the Silver Dragon Queen.

As for the other...

"C-Captain!!"

Rebecca's mind went blank momentarily before her eyes welled up with tears. She shouted and dashed toward Leon.

Leon’s heart skipped briefly.

Seeing the crazy girl’s sprinting momentum, it was apparent that she was going to give him a hug for the long-awaited reunion.

Back in the future, Rebecca had done just the same, and Leon had openly reciprocated his old teammate’s embrace.

But that was when his wife hadn’t been around.

Now, Roswitha was standing right next to him!

Even though it was nothing but pure camaraderie between him and Rebecca, hugging another girl in front of Roswitha...

Who knew how the Silver Dragon Queen—infamous for her jealousy—might settle this account later back at home.

Roswitha stole a sidelong glance at her clearly flustered husband, suppressed a knowing smile, and whispered, "Go ahead and hug her."

"Really?"

"In public, I’ll give my man the respect he deserves."

General Leon brightened up. "You won’t say such things about me at home though."

Roswitha shot him a sidelong glance. "Are you going to hug her or not? If not, I’ll hug her for you."

Leon took his cue immediately and gently embraced Rebecca.

Of course, it was just a brief and reserved hug—though Rebecca made use of it to discreetly wipe her tears on his shirt.

"Captain, I thought you had died this time! Our ragtag group of misfits can’t afford to lose you!"

"... Do you always have to bring up that group?"

Rebecca let out a small laugh and wiped away her tears. Smiling, she exclaimed,

"Good thing you’ve got a conscience and came back! You must have been worried about leaving such a beautiful wife home alone, right?"

Leon forced a half-smile and poked the mischievous girl’s forehead.

"You really know how to make small talk, Rebecca."

Her familiar sharp tongue and humor—whether now or in the future—hadn’t changed.

That consistency put Leon’s heart at ease.

Then, his gaze traveled past Rebecca, landing on the elderly man behind her.

"Master..."

"You brat."

Tiger stood in place, holding the family portrait Leon had given him long ago. Tears glistened in his aged and cloudy eyes. "You’ve finally returned."

"Yes. I’m sorry, Master, for making you and Master Charlotte worry."

Tiger stepped forward, giving Leon’s arms a firm pat. "It’s okay. You’re back now, that’s all that matters."

The master and apprentice began catching up.

Meanwhile, Rebecca’s sharp eyes had caught sight of a sliver of silver peeking out from under Leon’s short sleeve.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she pointed at her captain’s arms and said,

"Old man, your apprentice has been up to no good again, tattooing himself on his arms now! Hey, Captain, you’re married with three kids already. How are you still acting like a punk with a full sleeve? Aren’t you supposed to set a good example for—Mmmph!"

Leon silenced her by pressing a hand over her face and pushing her to the side.

"Adults are talking here, kiddo. We’ll discuss your delinquent theories later."

"Hey! We haven’t seen each other for six months! Don’t you even miss me a little?!"

Rebecca grumbled, but someone tapped her shoulders.

Turning to look, she found the silver-haired beauty standing silently behind her.

Roswitha gracefully raised her right hand, placing a finger to her lips in a gesture of silence. Then, with a soft smile, she said,

"Shh. Let them discuss serious matters. I’ll keep you company in the meantime."

Rebecca’s eyes widened slightly.

Goodness gracious—the Queen of the Silver Dragons had offered to chat with her? She was utterly flattered.

From her previous encounters with Roswitha, Rebecca had thought of her as nothing but aloof.

But perhaps Leon’s disappearance had contributed to that impression.

Now that Leon was back, Roswitha seemed to be in a much better mood. It made sense for her to be willing to talk.

"Uh, sure, sounds good. Let’s talk over there."

"Alright."

Roswitha and Rebecca moved aside, leaving the pair of mentor and mentee to discuss matters of importance uninterrupted.

After taking their seats, both the girl and the dragon fell into an unexpected silence.

Rebecca had never sat this close to the Dragon Queen before.

To say there was no pressure would be a blatant lie.

She could only steal occasional glances at the beauty beside her, quickly looking away the moment their eyes might meet.

To be honest, the captain's choice in a wife was perfect. No matter at which angle, Roswitha's face was flawless.

So perfect, in fact, that even as another girl, Rebecca had to admit she was a top-tier beauty.

And being around someone so stunning often came with its own kind of pressure.

Rebecca pursed her lips, rubbed her palms together, and darted her eyes around nervously.

“How old are you this year?” Roswitha asked softly.

“Ah... I’m twenty-two.”

Out of politeness, Rebecca returned the question, “What about you?”

“Over two hundred.”

“...Uh, that’s... great.”

Captain, it turns out that you’re a cradle snatcher.

Seeing the mild shock on Rebecca’s face, Roswitha chuckled softly, covering her mouth.

She had a rather favorable impression of this human girl.

Rebecca was Leon’s loyal comrade, a dependable partner, and an exceptional gunslinger—despite her youth, Rebecca’s resolve ran deeper than most of those self-proclaimed righteous types.

Especially in the future, during the catastrophic period when Leon disappeared, Tiger retired, and Roswitha herself was in coma, Rebecca still risked her life to gather intelligence for Noa.

For her sheer willpower and courage alone, Rebecca was already someone Roswitha respected.

Hearing her laugh, Rebecca nervously asked, “What are you laughing at...?”

“Oh, nothing,” the queen replied, propping her chin with one hand, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile as she gazed at Rebecca. “I just find you... very interesting.”

Rebecca’s pupils shifted slightly.

She recalled that during their first meeting, just before leaving, Roswitha had also called her “an interesting human girl.”

Every time their eyes met, Rebecca couldn’t help but feel Roswitha was looking at her as if she were a child.

What’s the deal, Your Majesty? Are you planning to adopt me as your goddaughter?

Wouldn’t that technically make me a generation younger than the captain, that insufferable guy?

That would absolutely be a no-go!

“Have you ever flown before?”

Roswitha’s question derailed Rebecca’s runaway train of thoughts.

Rebecca shook her head. “Flown? No, I’m a gunslinger. I never learned any flight-based magic.”

Roswitha muttered a soft “Oh,” then asked, “In that case... shall I take you out for a ride?”