The following day, the Melkevi family arrived in Sky City.

Roswitha had scheduled an appointment a few days earlier with Selena, the same photographer who had taken Noa's enrollment photos last time.

When Selena saw the family of seven standing before her, she was genuinely taken aback.

Typically, families from the Dragon Clan consisted of only two or three members, with larger ones rarely exceeding five.

But this family… anyone who knew better would figure they were here for a family photo shoot. Anyone who didn’t might assume they were gathering a team to hunt an ultra S-ranked Dangerous Beast.

Regardless of how many people showed up, Selena was confident in her professional skills and her ability to deliver a perfect family portrait.

After a bustling session of positioning and posing, Selena informed Roswitha that the photos wouldn’t be ready until the evening.

With some time to kill before the photos were developed, the Melkevi family wandered around Sky City to sightsee.

Isa and Grandmother Veronica quietly lagged behind the group, allowing some distance between themselves and the others—Roswitha, Leon, and the children.

“Grandma, after talking to you last night, I’ve made up my mind to deeply investigate my brother-in-law’s origins,” Isa whispered.

Grandmother Veronica seemed to have anticipated this. Her eldest granddaughter was someone who always took action, and once she set her mind on something, she wasn’t the type to give up halfway.

“How do you intend to investigate?”

“Well,” Isa began, “didn’t we go over a few plausible racial backgrounds yesterday? I’ll start by examining those possibilities.”

She continued, “We can test my brother-in-law against each race’s natural instincts and traits, then deduce his origins based on how he reacts. What do you think, Grandma?”

Grandmother Veronica gazed at Leon's back in thought. After a brief silence, she finally said, “Alright. Which race do you want to start with?”

Isa pondered for a moment before replying, “Let’s begin with… the Garuda Clan.”

Grandmother Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Are you familiar with this race?”

Instead of answering directly, Isa grinned mischievously, leaned closer to her grandmother, and asked, “Grandma, have you noticed anything different about me today?”

Grandmother Veronica scrutinized her granddaughter’s elegant and beautiful face from top to bottom. Her gaze lingered on Isa’s eyes before she finally remarked, “You have dark circles.”

“Exactly~” Isa said with a chuckle. “I stayed up all night researching the biological traits of the races we discussed, just so I’d be ready to investigate my brother-in-law today!”

Grandmother Veronica shook her head with a dry smile. “If you put this level of dedication into the development of your clan, the Red Dragon Clan would’ve been among the top-tier Dragon Clans ages ago.”

Though those were her words, the Red Dragon Clan under Isa and the Silver Dragon Clan under Roswitha were already highly ranked within the Dragon Clan as a whole. Veronica’s remark was less a criticism and more an expression of parental hope than anything else.

Isa waved her hand, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

“The Garuda Clan,” Isa explained, “are rulers of the skies. They have extraordinary dynamic vision and excellent night vision.”

“My brother-in-law is such a skilled fighter, incredibly adept at close combat. His dynamic vision must be exceptional as well.”

“So… I thought I’d test how good his night vision is.”

Veronica nodded slightly. “And how exactly do you plan to test it?”

Isa smirked enigmatically, then stopped in her tracks. She pointed to a storefront by the roadside. “There.”

Following her granddaughter’s gaze, Veronica looked over… and saw a—

Haunted house?

“You want to use something as childish as that to investigate your brother-in-law’s background? That’s a bit naïve, Isa.”

Over their long lifespans, members of the Dragon Clan had faced countless dangers and unknowns in their lives. Even the most easygoing Dragon Clans had weathered their share of trials.

For that reason, “haunted houses” were mainly designed for inexperienced younglings and adolescent dragons who hadn’t yet ventured out into the world.

Isa shrugged. “Of course I know a haunted house isn’t enough to scare him, but that’s not the point. What matters is the environment inside the haunted house—it’s perfect for testing night vision.

“Once we go in, if my brother-in-law navigates the darkness effortlessly and clears the course like it’s a walk in the park, then it’s clear there’s something unusual about his bloodline.”

Isa’s reasoning wasn’t unfounded.

The Dragon Clan was undoubtedly one of the most formidable species on Samael Continent, their abilities near perfect in every way—but they did have a few trivial shortcomings.

For instance… their vision.

To be more specific—night vision.

Dragon pupils were vertically slit, akin to a narrow line.

This pupil structure allowed them to pinpoint their opponent’s every move with stunning accuracy and keep track of prey even at high speeds.

However, the drawback was that these slit pupils couldn’t take in a lot of light. Especially at nighttime, their vision would experience a slight decline.

(When in human form, the shape of their pupils would shift slightly, but it didn’t completely eliminate this limitation on their night vision.)

That said, this didn’t mean the Dragon Clan went blind in the dark.

The so-called “weak night vision” was only a minor imperfection when compared to their other top-tier abilities.

Still, in an environment as pitch-black as a haunted house, even seasoned dragons who had sailed through storms would find it difficult to see.

Isa intended to use this very fact to uncover clues about her brother-in-law’s bloodline.

“Alright, let’s go with your plan.” Veronica gave her assent.

Isa was momentarily surprised. “Oh, Grandma, I thought you wouldn’t indulge me in this.”

“Heh… Think of it as adding a bit of excitement to my otherwise uneventful old age.” Veronica’s gaze lingered on Leon’s retreating figure, and she lowered her voice. “Besides… I’m curious myself about what kind of man our Little Ros has married.”

The plan in place, Isa immediately called out to the group ahead and invited them to explore the haunted house together.

The children were, of course, the most excited at the idea.

Noa: Great, I’m going to act totally calm in the haunted house. That way, I’ll seem more grown-up!

Muen: Perfect! I’ll cling to my sister as soon as I see a ghost.

Aurora: Awesome! I can scare the ghosts instead!

Seeing their daughters so eager, the parents had no objections.

“This old lady won’t join you inside,” Veronica said. “My heart’s too fragile at my age. I’ll wait for you at the exit.”

“Alright, Grandma,” they agreed.

Their group bought tickets, and a staff member gave them the rules:

“No Dragon Flame or other light-producing magic is allowed in the haunted house~! If you get lost, just chant the ‘magic words’ printed on your ticket, then a ‘little sprite’ will guide you out~!”

Leon glanced down at the “magic words” on his ticket.

Got it.

A safe word.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander. He’d been meaning to work out a safe word system with Roswitha recently—her frequent bouts of awakened S tendencies were becoming too much for him. He might not survive without them.

Distracted by these thoughts, Leon held Muen’s tiny hand and followed the group into the haunted house.

As predicted, the interior was pitch-black, with only the faint, flickering glow of ambient lights offering any sense of direction.

“Sis~ Where are you?”

“Here.”

“Where’s 'here'? Muen can’t see you. I’m all alone and scared! Waaah~”

“When we entered, I saw you holding Dad’s hand, remember?

“...”

“Dad, can I uppercut the ghost uncles?”

“Um… That might lead to some medical liability issues…”

“You two, could you stop cracking jokes at a time like this? Totally ruins the atmosphere!”

“Where’s the path? Where—AH! What’s that glowing green thing up ahead?!”

“What green—AHHH! A ghost!! Can’t we use magic? Dad, just torch it already!!”

In the darkness, the group turned into a chaotic mess.

“Mother dragon… Are you scared?” Leon asked.

“Why would I be frightened by something so childish?”

“Then why are you holding my hand?”

“That’s not me.”

“Then… who is it?”

“It’s~~~ me~~~”

“SH*T—”

General Leon withheld his words and stifled his instinct to unleash a Chidori on the spot.

Surviving the first scare, the Melkevi family braved onward alongside another group.

After a few more jump scares, everyone was starting to get used to the rhythm of it. The true challenge, however, was less about the scares and more about the sheer difficulty of navigating the suffocating darkness.

Plus, there were occasional… difficulties.

“Leon, if you step on my tail one more time, I swear I’ll cut yours off!” Roswitha growled in the darkness.

Leon chuckled sheepishly and whispered, “That’s an empty threat. I don’t have a tail.”

“I’m talking about the one in front.”

“...”

An icy chill ran down Leon’s spine. Tightening his grip on Muen’s hand—not even sure if it was still Muen—he hastily led the group forward, determined to reach the exit.

After several more twists, turns, and minor incidents, everyone finally emerged from the haunted house.

Nearby, another group was spiritedly debating which ghost had been the scariest.

Leon, meanwhile, glanced down to confirm that little Muen was still holding onto him.

Thank goodness. He didn’t lose his second daughter.

But as he looked around again, a realization struck him. “Where’s Aurora?!”

“Here, Dad.”

Leon turned toward the sound of her voice and saw his pink-haired youngest daughter emerging from the exit of the haunted house. She was dragging a “ghost” by the collar.

“He said I was cute and wanted to hug me, so my uppercut reflex activated. Then he fainted,” Aurora explained innocently.

The haunted house’s staff member twitched slightly before sighing. “How many times has this happened now? Whatever, just file another injury report.”

Roswitha flicked her tail against Leon’s backside to complain about how much he’d hurt it back in the haunted house.

Isa stood off to the side, quietly observing all this with a slight frown on her face.

Grandmother Veronica stepped forward. “Well? What do you think?”

Isa shook her head. “Definitely not the Garuda tribe.”

“Oh? You’re certain so quickly?”

“Mm.”

Isa silently picked up her tail, her face filled with grievance.

“In the haunted house, my brother-in-law stepped on my tail 11 times, stepped on Little Ros’s 23 times, and stepped on the neighbors’ 48 times. With vision like that, don’t insult the Garudas.”

Grandmother covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. “Alright, alright. So, which species are we testing for next?”

Isa turned to look at Leon and said slowly,

“Thunder Elves.”