Once, a perfect vacation lay before him, but he did not cherish it. He only regretted it deeply after winning the championship. The most painful thing, even more than defeat and capture, was this. If the heavens gave him another chance, he would surely choose to spend a holiday at home, with no Mother Dragon nearby. If he had to set a time limit for this vacation, he hoped it would be seven days.
– Excerpt from "The Glorious Abstract Life of Leon Cosmodeous, the Empire's Strongest Dragon Slayer"
Leon lay on the plush, top-tier bed in the Sky City hotel. The room was filled with the scent of high-quality incense. On the bedside table was a magic bell. A single tap would summon professional service within two minutes.
The service could be a meticulous and refined Sebastian, or a cheeky, sexy dragon maid in black stockings, depending on one's preference. Of course, all services were strictly pure and proper.
For the entire afternoon, Leon lay in the hotel, mourning his lost seven-day holiday.
Mourning alone was not enough. Every half hour, he rang the bell and asked the Sebastian or dragon maid who arrived, "Do you yearn for a vacation?"
The staff, trained rigorously, always replied the same way, "What we yearn for is for you, our esteemed guest, to have a wonderful vacation."
Wonderful? Wonderful, his foot! Could they not see the grief on his face? Or were they just illiterate?
Knock, knock, knock—
A knocking sound interrupted his thoughts.
"I didn't call for room service," Leon said from the bed.
"It's me," Rossweise's voice came from outside.
Leon rolled his eyes and ignored her. She had taken an extra key to his room when they checked in this morning. Now she was knocking, pretending to be polite? This was like a weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken—hardly well-intentioned. Leon pulled the covers over his head.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Open the door, Leon. It's urgent."
What could be so urgent? She was the lady of the champion family, proud as a cow flying on a hot air balloon! He was too angry to deal with her.
Leon turned over, covering his ears with the blanket.
Click— The lock turned. Rossweise had used her key to let herself in.
The sound of high heels echoed in the room, finally stopping by Leon's bed. Luckily, he had turned away just in time, his back to her.
"Turn over. I need to talk to you," Rossweise said.
"I'm asleep."
"Then why are you answering me in your sleep?"
Leon closed his mouth and said no more.
Click, click, click— Rossweise, in her high heels, walked around the foot of the bed to the other side, where she could face him.
But then, Leon rolled over to the other side again.
Rossweise put her hands on her hips, bit her lip in frustration, and walked back around. And Leon rolled back again.
So it went—he turned, she circled, he turned again. After a few rounds, Rossweise lost her patience. She kicked off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and sat on his waist.
"Don't worry, I won't touch you for these seven days," Rossweise said sincerely.
"You saying that while sitting on my waist doesn't exactly inspire trust, you know?"
Rossweise lifted her hips slightly, flipping Leon onto his back, and then sat on his stomach. "Is this better?" she asked.
Leon was speechless. He covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily.
Rossweise gently patted his chest. "I know this holiday means a lot to you. But the school arranged this seven-day hot spring trip for fixed dates. They won't wait for anyone who's late."
Understandingly, she continued, "But think about our daughters. They're so happy. When they're happy, as their dad, won't you be happy too?"
"Yeah, I'm thrilled," Leon replied sarcastically.
"And I promised, I really, really won't touch you," Rossweise added, holding up three fingers, her tail raised for emphasis.
But Leon wasn't convinced. Her promising not to touch him didn't mean she wouldn't touch herself. With her hands and tail attached to her body, she could still touch whatever she wanted.
Leon grunted and buried his head under the pillow.
Rossweise pressed down on the pillow. "What do I need to say for you to believe me?"
"Bring me two boxes of Dragon Strength Pills, and I'll believe you," Leon said.
"Don't be ridiculous, dragon slayer. I swear on the reputation of the Silver Dragon Queen that I won't touch you for these seven days, just like we agreed from the start."
"The reputation of the Silver Dragon Queen…"
"Yes."
"What a fine reputation."
Leon sat up, causing Rossweise to lean back slightly from the movement. With her still sitting on him, they were now closer together.
"Then it's settled. You're not allowed to touch a single hair on my head for these seven days," Leon said, feeling a strange awkwardness as the words left his mouth.
He felt like a delicate young lady marrying into a rich family, saying on her wedding night, "You're not allowed to touch me," while the young master chuckled and replied, "Alright, alright, my little beauty..." leading to a satisfying night.
But he digressed.
Rossweise nodded earnestly. "Hmm, I promise not to touch you. But…"
Leon glanced at her. "I knew there was a 'but'."
"But if you can't control yourself, don't blame me."
With that, Rossweise leaned in slightly. Their foreheads touched, and their noses brushed lightly against each other. Her delicate fragrance was far more pleasant than the high-end incense in the room.
Their silver and black eyes met, as if confirming each other's... trustworthiness.
"Of course, I can control myself. What a joke. I'm a mighty dragon slayer. Why would I touch a Mother Dragon like you for no reason?"
Rossweise chuckled and lightly pushed his shoulder, making him lie back down. Then she stretched her long legs, rolled off the bed, sat on the edge, and put on her shoes.
"Alright then, it's settled. If my dragon mark lights up even once in these seven days, Leon, you're done for."
Leon sat on the bed, carefully pondering her words. Something felt off. Had he fallen into this sly Mother Dragon's trap again? Though he didn't know what the trap was, past experience and his current feeling told him it couldn't be good.
Before Leon could figure it out, Rossweise stood up, tidied her hair, and said, "Get dressed. We're going out."
"Why?" Leon asked.
"To soak in the hot springs, of course. We need to buy swimsuits."
In reality, given their status, they could have any service delivered to their doorstep. But the children preferred going out with their parents. Naturally, Leon and Rossweise had no objections.
The two little dragon girls held hands in the swimsuit store, picking out various cute swimsuits. Meanwhile, Rossweise and Leon browsed the adult section.
To be honest, Leon hated accompanying women shopping. Back in his academy days, all he wanted during holidays was to lie in the grass on his master's farm, hang out with the sheep and cows, and chat with the donkey.
But his mistress always dragged him out shopping, and the trips felt endless. It was just like now, except instead of his master's wife, it was a Mother Dragon.
"What do you think of this one?" Rossweise asked.
"It looks fine," Leon said.
"You didn't even look properly!"
Seeing he couldn't brush her off, Leon reluctantly turned to Rossweise. She stood in front of the mirror, trying on a swimsuit. It seemed to suit her well.
"Hmm, it looks good," Leon said.
"Tch, feels like there's too much fabric."
With that, Rossweise changed into another one. This time, there was much less fabric. So little that even without wearing it, it would make people blush. Leon seemed to realize something and quickly looked away.
"Hey, what about this one?" Rossweise asked.
"Well... it's not really working," Leon said.
"You didn't even look properly again!" Rossweise stomped her foot.
"I did look. It's just... average."
From a purely male perspective, if Rossweise wore this swimsuit to the hot springs, not only would his dragon mark light up, it might glow all night!
Rossweise pouted. "Fine. I was just browsing anyway. I already prepared my swimsuit before coming. Let's go, I'll help you pick out some swim trunks."
"I'm fine going bare," Leon said boldly.
"Haha, you're really funny."
In the end, swimsuits were chosen for the two little dragon girls and Leon, and the family of four left the store. Next was the celebration, commemorating their first-place win at the school sports meet.
At dinner in the Sky City hotel, the family was harmonious, celebrating this wonderful moment. Yet Rossweise felt that Leon lacked enthusiasm.
Sure, he was happy when the daughters were happy. But sometimes, he wanted to shed the roles of father and "husband" and just be himself.
Rossweise thought about speaking up but was preempted by Noah.
Noah held out cups of drinks to Leon and Rossweise. The couple quickly picked up their glasses and handed them over.
"We're really grateful for winning the school sports meet. I... I..." Noah clearly wanted to say more, but she was never good at expressing herself, especially at times like this.
Fortunately, Rossweise understood her daughter and stepped in. "When adults express gratitude, they often start by drinking their own drinks."
Noah understood and immediately lifted her head to drink the contents of her cup. Leon and Rossweise also drank their glasses of red wine in one go.
"Oh, and also..." Noah's cheeks were rosy, looking incredibly adorable in the candlelight. "I promised you... that if I won, I would... I would call you..."
Noah looked up at Leon, pursing her soft lips, as if gathering all her courage to meet his gaze. The flickering candlelight shimmered in the trembling eyes of father and daughter.
Then, the girl whispered softly, "Daddy."
Before her father could even show any reaction, Noah quickly added, "Actually, even if I didn't win, I would still... I would still call you... um... thank you for supporting me, Daddy."
Hearing this, Rossweise felt much more relieved. Kinship was a mysterious thing, like an eternal flame capable of melting the hardest ice.
Rossweise glanced at Leon. Clearly, the girl's father was now in a complete daze. Noah's simple "Daddy" could unleash his potential to seize first place, but it could also leave him disoriented, lost in his own world.
In the end, it was Rossweise who gently kicked his leg under the table to bring him back to reality.
"Ah... it's... it's okay. You worked hard for the win too. Your mother and I only did what we could. Um... where's the wine? Pour me a glass. I'll drink to that."
Rossweise poured him half a glass of wine. Leon drank it in one gulp. It was clear that aside from being happy and excited about Noah calling him "Daddy," he was also a bit overwhelmed.
Rossweise smiled with relief. Despite the overwhelmingly harmonious atmosphere, who would have guessed this family's situation was actually so complex?
"Oh, right... there's one more important thing," Noah said. "Close your eyes first."
"Huh? Why?" Muen asked.
Noah covered her sister's big eyes with her hand. "Be good and listen. No matter what, you can't open your eyes later."
"Okay~" Muen agreed.
With a smile, Rossweise rested her chin on her hand and closed her eyes. Leon naturally followed suit.
In the private dining room, Noah jumped down from her chair, making a rustling sound. She deliberately lightened her footsteps, walked to Muen's side, and gave her sister a hug.
Then she walked to Rossweise and gave her mother a big hug. Finally, she walked to Leon's side, stood on her tiptoes, stretched out her arms, and gently hugged him around the neck.
Leon realized it was Noah and raised his hand to hug her back.
Noah leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Thank you, Dad."
Leon didn't open his eyes, just nodded. But just when he thought the hug was over, he felt a warm sensation on his cheek.
Was... Noah sneakily kissing him? No wonder she wanted everyone to close their eyes. Such an act... Noah would never do it if anyone were watching.
What Leon didn't know was that among the family of three, only he received this special treatment from Noah: a gentle, fleeting kiss on the cheek from his daughter.
Noah returned to her seat. "Okay."
Muen couldn't wait and opened her eyes, pretending to be puzzled. "What happened? What happened?"
"I secretly took your steak," Noah said.
"Aww, Sister, how could you!" Muen pouted.
"Just kidding. Here you go."
"Sis, you're the best~ Love you~"
The heartwarming scene of the daughters' playful laughter made Rossweise retract her gaze and look at Leon. He seemed even more dazed than before. But in an instant, his mood had visibly improved, and by a significant margin.