"You look so proud, like you're his wife or something," Nacho ruthlessly mocked.
Rossweise covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, "I didn't teach Leon much. Most of it, he figured out on his own. He has great comprehension."
That statement was half true.
Leon's comprehension and learning ability were indeed excellent, but the knowledge and experience Rossweise had taught him were far from as little as she claimed.
The reason she said that was because they were outside, of course she had to give her husband face.
This dog man was here to be the boss, so Rossweise had to help elevate his image from the sidelines.
Oh, of course, she wasn't going to help Leon this much for nothing.
Once things were settled... Naturally, she would demand some... compensation from Leon.
———
Using the topic of Rachel's family restaurant being forcibly acquired by the empire, everyone began actively and eagerly sharing with Leon the grievances and injustices they had personally experienced.
These things, whether big or small, all reflected the corruption and darkness of the imperial regime.
Previously, Leon had thought only the lower class of the empire lived in misery, but among those who had joined the Lionheart Society out of disappointment with the imperial rulers were also members of the middle class, and even a small number from the upper class.
Simply put, as long as you went along with the empire and did shady, unspeakable deals, you could live comfortably within the empire.
On the other hand, if you insisted on sticking to your principles, even if you didn't oppose the empire outright, the empire would still treat you as an enemy.
Under such extreme rule, even if the Lionheart Society didn't exist, there would still be others who would step up and unite the oppressed people to resist together.
Leon silently listened to everyone's stories, remembering them all one by one.
He sat on the edge of the Lionheart Society's speech platform, as if chatting with friends, listening seriously to each person's story, without a trace of superiority.
And at the back of the crowd, Rossweise, Rebecca, and Nacho quietly watched the scene.
"I feel like... Captain has changed a lot."
Rebecca watched Leon, who had quickly integrated into the Lionheart Society, and her heart was full of emotion.
"Haven't you been in contact with your Captain all these years? Meeting once every three months, how come you suddenly feel he's changed so much?", Nacho asked.
Rebecca shook her head, "During intel handovers, Captain was still the same as before, calm, wise, able to devise countermeasures under high-pressure situations, predicting every step and development. All we had to do was act according to his plans."
"But... I've never seen the Captain like this before."
"He was never a cheerful person. The members of the Dragon-Slaying Corps were loyal to him because, after a long time together, he saved us from the brink of death multiple times. That loyalty and kindness made him the captain he became."
"But when people first got to know him, most thought he was stuffy, not fond of talking, and kind of stubborn."
At this point, the blue-haired girl smiled, a smile full of comfort and a bit of release.
Like the feeling of "my precious son has finally grown up."
"Unlike now... in just a few hours, he's already been accepted by everyone and got along so well with them."
Rebecca looked up, turned to Rossweise beside her, and continued, "Sister-in-law, actually, Captain learned a lot from you, didn't he?"
Hearing this, Nacho also looked over curiously.
His previous knowledge of dragonkind came solely from the brainwashing-style education of the empire.
According to that, nearly everyone in the empire saw dragons as: Fierce, brutal, greedy, warmongers, and a barbaric race that only knew how to fight and kill.
But ever since this silver dragon queen appeared before him, up until now, Nacho had not sensed any rash emotion from her.
None of the labels the empire attached to dragons applied to her.
If he ignored Rebecca's introduction, Nacho would have simply taken her for a silver-haired, cool and aloof beauty, completely different from the dragons described by the empire.
And in the past five years, Leon had grown into who he was now with her support.
Rossweise crossed her arms, silver eyes watching her husband.
After a moment, she curved her lips and spoke gently, "Learning is mutual. I've learned quite a bit from him too."
Still holding onto the principle of "give my husband face in public," Rossweise's reply was extremely tactful.
She tacitly acknowledged Rebecca's claim that "Captain learned a lot from you," while also humbly expressing that she too had learned a lot from Leon.
'Hmm... Quite a lot indeed.'
'More than just a lot, really a whole lot.'
As Nacho marveled at how the dragons also had outstanding individuals, his abdomen was suddenly elbowed by Rebecca.
"What's wrong with you, you crazy girl...", Nacho clutched his stomach.
"Didn't you see? My sister-in-law is the perfect woman, can go to battle, can cook, can manage a household and raise kids, she can do everything."
Nacho curled his lips, "Yeah, completely opposite of a certain crazy woman under 1.6 meters tall."
Rebecca blinked, her thought process a bit long. She pointed at herself and asked in confusion, "Is the crazy woman under 1.6 meters me?"
"Nope, hehe."
———
"Captain Leon, Rebecca said we had a mysterious helper this time, but we haven't seen them these past few days. Can we meet them now?", a Lionheart member asked excitedly.
Leon paused slightly, then nodded, "Sure, no problem."
He stood up from the edge of the speech platform. The Lionheart Society members below all turned their attention to him in unison.
"Before introducing our mysterious helper, I want to ask everyone a question."
Leon said, "You should all know that in a battle five years ago, I was betrayed by teammates, gravely injured, and failed to retreat with the team, right?"
"We know. Uncle Tiger told us roughly, and the memory stone Martin gave us also held evidence of the empire's backstabbing and framing of you," a member replied.
"Good. Then do you know how I survived?"
At this point, Leon looked toward Rossweise in the back.
Their eyes met. Rossweise quietly lowered the glass she was holding and took a deep breath to compose herself.
"Uncle Tiger said you were saved by a dragon king."
"No, no, Uncle said Captain Leon was fighting fiercely against the dragons while badly injured, and in the end, forced them to heal him."
"Not true! I heard Captain Leon survived because he recognized a mother dragon as his godmother."
"..."
'Perfect.'
Leon and Rossweise both felt their hearts completely give out now.
They had expected the topic to lead into a discussion about attitudes toward dragons, and then Leon could naturally introduce his wife.
But why were there so many different versions of "General Leon's Capture and Torture Story"?
'Master, just how many magical edits did you make to my resume back then?'
Leon clapped his hands, signaling everyone to quiet down.
"I was gravely injured back then, and with a dragon king... um..."
He carefully chose his words. How could he naturally describe being a "prisoner dragon knight"?
"With a dragon king... 'interacted' for a long time. Eventually, she saved my life, which is why I'm standing here today."
"Captain Leon, is this dragon king the godmother you recognized?"
"...Can we not talk about the godmother thing?"
"Okay, please continue, Captain."
"But although I was saved, I remained unconscious for two years. After waking up, I lived with that dragon king for another three years."
Leon said, "During those three years, through our interactions, I gradually changed my view of the dragonkind."
"Of course, I can't guarantee all dragons are like her, but I can guarantee that she is absolutely nothing like what the empire describes in popular science books or literature."
The members were a bit surprised hearing this, but not overly so.
After all, Tiger had told them a little about Leon and the mysterious dragon queen.
But hearing it directly from Leon now still made them excited and curious.
"She was never the one who initiated war, because her own ability was enough to lead her people to a prosperous life."
"During the years I lived with her, I learned a lot of entirely new knowledge."
"Maybe some of you still have stereotypes about dragons, I did too. That's okay."
"But please trust me. This dragon queen who saved my life is someone worthy of trust."
"She is also the helper I invited for this mission."
His eyes once again turned to the back of the crowd.
Everyone followed his gaze.
There stood a silver-haired beauty, tall, stunning, still as a statue, beautiful like a finely carved sculpture.
"She... she's the dragon queen?"
"Oh my god, I actually spent two whole hours in the same room with a dragon queen!"
"M-my knees are shaking! This is too scary!"
"..."
This was why Leon had laid out so much groundwork.
Although people's attitudes toward dragon queens had softened, they still harbored some fear.
After all, in their eyes, dragon queens were monsters who could fly through the sky and breathe fire.
"Come on, this beauty's so pretty, how could she be a dragon queen?", said a short-haired girl.
As soon as the words fell, Rossweise unfurled her dragon wings and revealed her silver tail, clearly showing her dragon queen identity.
In an instant, everyone retreated ten meters.
Fifteen meters?
Twenty meters?
No further!
The Lionheart Society's hall wasn't that big.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. She doesn't bite," Leon quickly explained.
"You—"
'Fine, I'll endure.'
'Just wait till we get home.'
Rossweise folded her wings and tail, returning to her icy beauty form.
Once everyone's emotions settled slightly, a member asked,
"Captain Leon, we were mentally prepared, but seeing a real dragon queen in person is still a bit shocking. Please forgive us."
"No worries, I understand."
Ordinary people or even regular Dragon-Slaying Corps members were indeed afraid of dragon queens.
Only General Leon would treat a dragon queen as a medal of honor.
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