Vol. 3 Ch. 20

After the game of blindfolded tag, the little dragon girls continued to play a few other games.

Most of them involved some physical interaction.

Though Moon was usually known for being a bit lazy and considered the mascot of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, today she was unexpectedly sharp. All because she was determined to “guard the tower.”

She spent half the morning in Noa’s arms.

Noa even briefly considered that maybe they should just sit down and chat, with her holding Moon and Helena holding Aurora. However, she decided to go along with Moon’s playful mood, indulging her in various little games.

After lunch, having gotten up early and spent all morning playing, exhaustion and drowsiness started to creep up on Moon. She tried to resist.

But she couldn’t.

In the end, with Leon’s gentle coaxing, she went to her room for a nap.

Seeing that there was no more fun to be had in the afternoon, Aurora wandered off to her mother’s private library to pass the time.

Noa and Helena, not needing rest, returned to the sanctuary’s back garden, lying on the grass to enjoy the warm, comforting midday sun.

“Noa.”

“Hmm?”

“Your sisters seem to like you a lot,” Helena said, staring up at the cloudless sky.

Her pupils were the same deep blue as the sky above.

“Yeah, especially Moon. She’s been attached to me since she was little.”

After a brief pause, Noa added, “Although, these past couple of days, she’s been more clingy than usual... Normally, she’s not this intense.”

Helena smiled and closed her eyes, speaking slowly, “But you’ve accepted all of it without complaint.”

Noa smiled as well. “Of course, she’s my sister.”

“You once told me that all your hard work and diligence was so you could protect and care for your sisters and not disappoint Uncle Leon and Aunt Rosvisser, right?”

Noa nodded.

“From what I’ve seen, you’ve done a wonderful job so far.”

Helena continued, “Your sisters rely on you, and I can see the pride in your parents’ eyes when they look at you. Noa, you’re really doing amazing.”

After a short pause, Helena turned her head slightly to look at the girl beside her, her tone shifting. “But don’t you ever feel tired?”

Noa blinked, then turned to look at Helena. “What?”

“All you do is for others. Never for yourself. Doesn’t living like that exhaust you?”

Noa’s eyes flickered briefly before she averted her gaze, looking back up at the sky.

“Haven’t we talked about this before, Helena?”

“That was a long time ago. I want to know how you feel about it now,” Helena said.

Noa pursed her lips, thinking for a moment before replying.

“Now? Well, my answer is still the same as before: No, I don’t feel tired.”

“Because my sisters need me, and I don’t want to see my mom sad again, nor do I want my dad to leave me.”

“Helena, you say I’m doing everything for others, but that’s not entirely true.”

“What I do is for them, yes, but it’s also for myself.”

Looking at Noa’s youthful yet determined expression, Helena smiled.

She withdrew her gaze, stretching lazily on the ground.

“That’s why I say I’m envious of you.”

“Envious of me for having two sisters?”

“Not just that.”@@novelbin@@

Helena smiled at Noa. “Now I’m also envious of the sense of responsibility and determination you have. If it were me, I don’t think I could do what you’re doing.”

Noa’s face turned serious. “Don’t worry, Helena. Once you reach my age, you’ll naturally be able to handle it.”

The younger sister talking to her friend, who was three years older than her, said this matter-of-factly.

Helena burst into giggles and lightly brushed Noa’s shoulder with her tail. “What are you talking about? I’m older than you.”

After a bit more chatting, the conversation shifted to Leon and Rosvisser.

“I saw your uncle and aunt at the parent-child event at the academy last time. They really made quite the impression on me,” Helena said. “They seem to be very loving, don’t they?”

“Hmm... I guess so.”

“You guess?”

Noa nodded.

“Don’t you know how they get along in private?” Helena asked.

Noa’s thoughts stirred, and she replied, “There’s not much to know about a relationship where they blush just from holding hands.”

“...Oh, so they’re the kind of couple that’s polite and respectful?”

“Hahaha, not exactly. It’s more like they don’t seem to know how to date properly, but deep down, they really care about each other.”

Noa laced her fingers behind her head, recalling the many scenes of her parents bickering. “Even though they argue every day and get embarrassed just from holding hands, I think they must really love each other in private. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have Aurora.”

(Aurora: Big Sister, you know I was an accident, right?)

“Hmm... that makes sense. Couples who don’t love each other wouldn’t consider having a second child.”

Helena sighed. “Sigh, your house is so lively. I’m really jealous. As a child of a cocoon-born family, I have to say, I envy you.”

Noa turned on her side, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at her blue-haired friend.

“Has Aunt Claudia really decided not to have another child?”

Helena shook her head. “Mom says one child is enough. Besides, you know how unique our tribe is. Even among the students at the academy, I’m the only one from our clan.”

“The Sea Dragon Clan... What happened that caused them to become so isolated?” Noa asked.

“I’m not sure. Mom never really talks about it.”

Helena stood up, brushing grass off her dress. “Anyway, let’s not dwell on it.”

Noa got up too, thinking for a moment before pointing toward the back of the Silver Dragon Sanctuary. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the mountain behind the sanctuary. There’s a cherry blossom forest there.”

“Really? Let’s go!” Helena replied excitedly.

...

With Moon eagerly guarding her sister and Aurora offering covert support, the weekend passed pleasantly.

On Monday morning, the whole family gathered in the front yard of the sanctuary to see Noa and her friend off as they waited for Leviathan to arrive.

Aurora leaned against Leon, sneaking glances at her second sister.

Moon was tugging at Noa’s tail, whining that she didn’t want her to leave and asking if she could take a few days off to stay at home with her.

*Silly girl,* Aurora thought. *Asking the most diligent one to take time off? You’d have better luck trying to kill her.*

Moon knew full well that her sister wasn’t going to take time off to stay with her.

She was just pouting for show.

But it had been a while since she had whined like this, and she realized how satisfying it was!

A moment later, the massive dragon Leviathan hovered over the sanctuary, its transportation beam descending.

Noa pinched her little sister’s cheeks. “Be good, Moon. I’ll come back next weekend, okay?”

“Okay~”

Moon wasn’t actually being unreasonable.

After snuggling with her sister one last time, she went back to Rosvisser’s side, holding her mother’s hand.

“Be careful on your way, Noa,” Rosvisser reminded her.

“I will, Mom.”

“Take care of yourself,” Leon added.

“Yes, Dad.”

Noa then looked at the youngest sister in her father’s arms and smiled. “Will you miss me, Aurora?”

“Of course. I’ll even dream about you,” Aurora replied.

Noa laughed, waving to her family.

“Goodbye, Uncle Leon, Aunt Rosvisser~”

Helena politely said her goodbyes as well. “Goodbye, Moon. Goodbye, Aurora~”

“Goodbye, Helena!” Aurora responded energetically.

Though a bit sad that the fun was over, Aurora was quite satisfied with how the weekend had gone.

Moon, holding her mother’s hand and fiddling with her dress hem, hesitated for a moment but then politely said, “Goodbye, Helena.”

Over the past two days, Moon had come to realize that Helena was a genuinely good person—gentle, honest, and sincere.

Rosvisser knew her daughter well, and she was right: Moon rarely harbored feelings of hostility toward anyone.

Moon didn’t dislike Helena. She didn’t resent her either. She just feared that Noa’s attention and affection toward her would fade because of Helena’s presence.

That’s why, over the past two days, she had made sure to assert her presence in front of Noa, desperate for her sister not to forget about her.

As she watched Noa and Helena run toward Leviathan’s transportation beam, Moon’s gaze grew complicated.

The giant dragon slowly lifted off, rising into the sky.

Moon stared at the receding figure, and a bold idea suddenly popped into her little head:

“If I went to the academy too... wouldn’t I get to see Noa every day?”

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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~!