Vol. 3 Ch. 1

*The dragon returns to the sea*

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

Rebecca and Tiger sat across from each other at a wooden table.

In front of them was a pile of handgun parts.

The older man and the young woman locked eyes for a moment. Then, Rebecca calmly said, “Start.”

As soon as the word left her mouth, both lowered their heads and began assembling the gun parts in front of them.

Barrel, slide, recoil spring... Each intricate piece swiftly moved through Rebecca’s hands, and in just ten seconds, the handgun was fully assembled.

She lifted the gun, pointing the barrel directly at Tiger’s forehead.

As for Tiger, his gun wasn’t even halfway done.

“You lost again, Dad.”

“Let’s go again.”

Rebecca put the gun down and leaned forward, propping her chin up with her hands, a teasing smile on her lips as she looked at the stubborn old man across from her. “Again? Dad, this is the thirty-fourth time you’ve lost to me. No matter how many times we go again, the result will be the same.”

The crazy girl had a point.

Tiger sighed, tossing the unfinished gun onto the table before leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes, and rubbing his temples.

Rebecca picked up the gun he hadn’t finished assembling and lazily put the parts together as she said, “Why isn’t the Silver Dragon King here yet? It’s already past the time we agreed to meet.”

She and her dad had arrived early that morning, and now it was nearing noon.

At the speed dragons usually traveled, they should have arrived by now.

Tiger shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe something came up and delayed them.”

Rebecca’s thoughts shifted as she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right. Not too long ago, the Empire tried to wipe out the Silver Dragon Clan for good, but... didn’t they fail?”

“Yeah. No one knows what the Silver Dragon King did, but they managed to repel the combined invasion of the Empire and other dragon clans.”

“Could it have been outside help?”

“The only reliable ally the Silver Dragons have is Rosvisser’s sister, the Red Dragon Queen Isha. But Isha’s territory has been caught up in its own battles recently, so she probably didn’t have time to help.”

Rebecca shrugged, leaning back in her chair and propping her feet on the edge of the table. The front legs of her chair lifted off the ground, but she easily balanced herself, remaining steady.

“If they were trying to wipe out the Silver Dragons, I doubt they’d give up that easily. I still think the Silver Dragon King got some outside help,” Rebecca mused.

“Let’s hope so.”

Tiger’s expression grew serious as he stared at the table, his voice low. “If there really was outside help, I wonder if they can help bring Leon back.”

Rebecca glanced at her father quietly. She knew how much the captain meant to the old man.

Even though Leon wasn’t his biological son, Tiger had always treated him like his own.

Aunt Charlotte had been even more doting toward Leon.

After Leon disappeared, if it hadn’t been for Rebecca and Martin holding Tiger back, he would have stormed the Royal Guard alone with a sword.

Their old, ragtag team had already lost one crucial member. If something else went wrong, they might as well disband.

As for Leon’s disappearance, Rebecca was deeply upset too.

During the Silver Dragon War, she had left Leon behind and fled with the Dragon Slayers, barely making it back to the Empire.

At the time, she held on to a sliver of hope, believing that someone as resourceful as Leon wouldn’t die so easily.

Three years later, Leon had indeed reappeared, alive and well.

But this time, he vanished again—into a spatial rift.

No body, no sign of life or death. As much as Rebecca wanted to remain optimistic and believe in Leon, she couldn’t convince herself that the captain was still alive.

Now, all they could do was avenge him—tear down the Emperor’s and the dragons' conspiracies and expose the truth.

Brushing aside her thoughts, Rebecca exhaled slowly.

She glanced at her father, still frowning.

After thinking for a moment, Rebecca said, “Dad, how about you take out the pictures of your granddaughters? Let’s have a look.”

Since Leon’s disappearance, those pictures of the little dragon girls had become Tiger’s only solace. Whenever he was in a bad mood, looking at them always seemed to help.

Sure enough, Tiger nodded and pulled out a few photos from his coat.

Among them, one was an old family photo, yellowing with age, and another was a solo picture of a little girl with pink hair.

The rest were more recent photos that Rosvisser had brought during their last meeting.

Rebecca stood up and moved to Tiger’s side, looking at the pictures of the girls.

Despite the constant wars surrounding the Silver Dragon Clan, from the clean faces of the children and the well-kept rooms in the photos, it was clear that Rosvisser had been protecting them well.

“Dragon-human hybrids grow up so fast. Compared to the family photo, they’ve grown so much in these recent pictures,” Rebecca remarked.

“Yeah...”

Tiger gazed at the photos of his granddaughters, and finally, a smile appeared on his weathered face.

Seeing his mood improve slightly, Rebecca continued teasing, “I want to be their godmother someday.”

Tiger blinked, then chuckled. “You’re in your twenties, and you’re already eager to be a mom?”

“Being a godmother doesn’t mean I want to be a mom!”

Rebecca picked up a picture of Moon and Aurora, where they were hugging each other’s little tails. “Skipping the whole marriage and pregnancy thing and getting adorable daughters like these? Why not?”

Tiger smiled. “That’ll depend on whether the Silver Dragon King agrees to let you be their godmother.”

Rebecca opened her mouth to respond, but just then, a familiar voice echoed from the cave entrance.

“No need to ask her—I agree.”

Hearing that voice, both Tiger and Rebecca froze for a moment.

Slowly recovering from the shock, they turned toward the cave entrance.

Two figures stood there.

One of them was the Silver Dragon Queen.

And the other...

“C-Captain?!”

In that moment of stunned silence, Rebecca felt tears well up in her eyes as she dashed toward Leon.

Seeing her sprinting toward him, Leon’s heart skipped a beat.

Was she about to give him a long-lost reunion hug?@@novelbin@@

In the future, she’d done this plenty of times, and Leon had always welcomed his comrade’s hugs.

But that was when his wife wasn’t around.

Now, Rosvisser was standing right next to him.

Even though there was nothing but pure camaraderie between him and Rebecca, hugging another girl in front of his jealous Silver Dragon Queen...

Who knew how she’d punish him later?

Rosvisser glanced at her husband, who was clearly torn between decisions. Holding back a smile, she whispered, “Go ahead.”

“Really?”

“In public, I’ll always give my man face.”

Leon’s eyes lit up. “You never call me your man when we’re at home.”

Rosvisser shot him a sidelong glance. “Are you hugging her or not? If not, I’ll hug her for you.”

Leon immediately stepped forward, giving Rebecca a brief, light hug.

Of course, it was a careful hug—Rebecca even used his shirt to wipe her tears.

“Captain, I thought you were really gone this time! Our old, ragtag team can’t make it without you!”

“...You still care about that B-team nonsense?” Leon replied, raising an eyebrow.

Rebecca wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, grinning. “Well, I’m just glad you came back. I bet it’s because you couldn’t stay away from your gorgeous wife for too long, huh?”

Leon forced a smile, poking her forehead. “You’ve really perfected the art of small talk, Rebecca.”

Her familiar teasing hadn’t changed—whether in the past or future, Rebecca was always the same. That brought Leon a sense of comfort.

Then, his eyes moved past her to the older man standing behind her.

“Master...”

“Kid.”

Tiger stood there, holding the family photo Leon had given him long ago. His eyes, cloudy with age, gleamed with unshed tears. “You finally came back.”

“Yeah, sorry for worrying you and Aunt Charlotte, Master.”

Tiger stepped forward, giving Leon’s arm a firm pat. “It’s good you’re back. That’s all that matters.”

As the two exchanged words, Rebecca’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse of something silver beneath Leon’s sleeve.

She squinted, then pointed at his arm. “Dad, your disciple’s up to no good again—he’s got a tattoo! Hey, Captain, you’re married with three kids now, and you’re still trying to look like a delinquent with a full sleeve tattoo? What kind of example is that for your kids—mmph!”

Leon quickly covered Rebecca’s mouth with his hand, pushing her aside.

“Adults are talking. You can wait a bit before we discuss delinquents.”

“Hey! We haven’t seen each other in six months, and you don’t even miss me?”

Rebecca pouted, but a tap on her shoulder made her pause.

She turned and saw the silver-haired beauty standing right behind her.

Rosvisser gracefully lifted her right hand, placing a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. Then, she smiled gently. “Shh, let them talk. I’ll keep you company.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened in surprise.

The Silver Dragon Queen herself was offering

to keep her company? That was an honor!

In her past meetings with Rosvisser, the queen had always seemed... distant.

But maybe that had been because Leon was missing.

Now that Leon was back, the queen was in a good mood. Chatting with Rebecca didn’t seem so strange after all.

“Sure, let’s go chat over there,” Rebecca said.

“Mm.”

Rosvisser and Rebecca moved off to the side, leaving Leon and Tiger to their conversation.

Once seated, an awkward silence fell between the dragon queen and the young woman.

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

To say she wasn’t feeling the pressure would be a lie.

She stole a glance at the beautiful woman beside her, only to quickly look away again.

Honestly, the captain had great taste. Rosvisser’s face was flawless from every angle.

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

But sitting next to someone that beautiful could be intimidating.

Rebecca bit her lip, rubbing her hands nervously as she looked around.

“How old are you?” Rosvisser asked softly.

“Ah... I’m twenty-two.”

Out of politeness, Rebecca asked in return, “And you?”

“Over two hundred.”

“...That’s... nice.”

Captain, I didn’t realize you’re in a cougar relationship.

Seeing Rebecca’s slightly shocked expression, Rosvisser covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.

She found this human girl rather amusing.

Leon’s loyal comrade, a reliable partner, an excellent gunner. Despite being so young, her resolve surpassed many who claimed to be righteous.

Especially in the future, when Leon had gone missing, Tiger had retired, and Rosvisser herself was unavailable, Rebecca had risked her life to gather information for Noa.

Her will and courage alone earned Rosvisser’s respect.

Rebecca heard her soft laughter and nervously asked, “What’s so funny...?”

“Nothing. I just think you’re... quite interesting.” The queen rested her chin in her hand, watching Rebecca with a faint smile.

Rebecca’s pupils dilated slightly.

She suddenly recalled that the first time they had met, before leaving, Rosvisser had said the same thing: “You’re an interesting human girl.”

And every time the queen looked at Rebecca, there was this... maternal glint in her eyes.

Wait a second, Your Majesty, are you trying to adopt me as your daughter?

Wouldn’t that make me younger than the captain?

Absolutely not!

“Have you ever flown before?”

Rosvisser’s voice snapped Rebecca out of her thoughts.

Rebecca shook her head. “Flown? No, I’m a gunner—I never learned any flying magic.”

Rosvisser made a soft sound of understanding and then asked, “Then... how about I take you for a flight?”

_____________________________

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - I'd really like to see how far Leon goes and how far we can increase the number of chapters. Thanks~!