At the barbecue restaurant, Leon and Rossweise brought their little treasure, Muse, to the counter to place their order. After they finished, Rossweise chose a quiet table by the window.
"Heifi, what do you want to eat?"
The little red-and-black-haired girl stared at the array of dishes on the menu, swallowing hard.
"Steak, lightly spiced chicken wings, and a vegetable platter!"
The server jotted down her requests.
"Just that, Heifi? Don't forget what I told you."
"To have a strong body, food is essential," Constantine said sternly.
Heifi scratched her temple and reluctantly added,
"Alright... I'll take another order of chicken wings then."
"Good."
Muse, observing the father-daughter duo, glanced thoughtfully at them before turning to her own father. Her big, curious eyes blinked up at him as she asked,
"Daddy, does eating more make you stronger?"
"Not necessarily. Why do you ask?"
"Uncle Constantine said so."
"...I don't think that's quite what your Uncle Constantine meant."
Muse blinked again, her lovely eyes filled with confusion, and then asked out of nowhere,
"So, Daddy, are you stronger than Uncle Constantine?"
At the mention of this topic, Leon's pride flared. He grinned broadly and pointed a thumb at his chest.
"Of course, your dad is stronger."
"Then that means Daddy eats more than Uncle Constantine, right?"
"...I already said that's not what your uncle meant."
Ignoring her father's protests, Muse seemed to arrive at her own conclusion, repeating it like a mantra: the stronger someone is, the more they eat. Her eyes sparkled with determination as she exclaimed,
"Daddy, let's order two more steaks! That way, you'll definitely be stronger than Uncle Constantine!"
Leon sighed but gave up on explaining. He called over the server and ordered two more steaks.
Meanwhile, Heifi overheard the conversation between Leon and Muse. She turned to Constantine and declared,
"Father, Uncle Leon says he eats more than you, which makes him stronger."
"Hmph. Such childish nonsense."
Constantine scoffed in disdain, but after a brief pause, he waved the server over.
"Bring four more servings of beef to my table."
"Understood! Four servings of beef!"
"Daddy, Uncle Constantine is stronger now!" Muse said excitedly.
"Miss, we'll take five more orders of meat over here!"
"Got it! Five more!"
"Miss, we'll take six more orders!"
Leon tried to intervene.
"Heifi, Uncle Constantine might not be able to eat that much."
"Little Muse, my father is very strong. Of course, he can eat more than Uncle Leon!"
Muse pursed her lips, then bit down in determination.
"Miss, we'll add three more plates of chicken wings!"
Not to be outdone, Heifi followed.
"Miss, make that five more plates of chicken wings!"
The two little dragon girls were like bidders at an auction, refusing to back down as they kept ordering more.
The piles of food grew higher, and Leon and Constantine's expressions became increasingly strained. They weren't worried about the money—after all, their wallets were bottomless. But the sheer amount of food...
"There's no way we'll finish this!"
"Muse... don't you think this is enough?"
"Nope!"
😐
"Heifi, that's enough. I'm willing to call it a tie with Uncle Leon on this one."
"Father, didn't you teach me that in a competition, we must win? No ties or surrendering!"
😐
Rossweise, arms crossed and legs elegantly folded, glanced down at the table piled high with steaks and chicken wings.
"You all seem to have a great appetite lately."
Leon was sure Rossweise had countless thoughts she wanted to voice, but she was holding back because the two little girls were present.
"Mommy, do you know if Daddy or Uncle Constantine is stronger?" Muse climbed onto Rossweise's lap. Rossweise gently supported her daughter's back and replied,
"Who do you think is stronger, Muse?"
"If we're talking about their two matches in the agility tournament, your dad has a slight edge." Rossweise, however, decided it was better not to fuel her daughter's competitive spirit with tales of bloodline-fueled battles.
Muse tilted her head, clearly unsure, then exclaimed,
"Muse doesn't know. But... Muse will find out soon!"
The little girl pointed at the mountains of steaks and announced,
"If Daddy eats more than Uncle Constantine, then Daddy is the strongest!"
The queen arched an amused eyebrow, but before she could formulate a reply, Heifi countered,
"Don't celebrate too early, Muse. My father will definitely eat more!"
"Fine, then let's see! Daddy, eat faster!"
"Father, you cannot lose to Uncle Leon!"
Leon and Constantine exchanged resigned looks.
Two hours later, Muse and Heifi tallied the empty plates on the table.
In the end, Leon won by a single serving of chicken wings.
"Yay! Daddy won! You're amazing, Daddy!" Muse rewarded her father with a sweet kiss on the cheek.
Leon patted his now-round stomach, feeling overstuffed but content. After touching the spot where his daughter had kissed him, he decided it was all worth it.
Meanwhile, Constantine, though he knew the contest was pointless, couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret at his loss.
"Father, you were amazing! Next time, we'll win for sure!" Heifi clutched her father's hand with determination written all over her face.
Seeing her resolve, Constantine's frustration dissipated. He patted his daughter's head.
"Alright, Heifi. Next time, we'll win."
"Next time, I'll bring Muwen along. Ten Constantines couldn't out-eat us!"
As they left the restaurant, Rossweise walked ahead with the two girls, who ran and skipped happily.
Leon and Constantine trailed behind.
"This isn't quite how I imagined spending time with my daughter," Constantine muttered.
Leon stretched and clasped his hands behind his head, watching his wife and daughter ahead.
"You'll get used to it. Daughters switch between being sweet and mischievous all the time."
"Sounds like you speak from experience."
"Ha! Once you go through it yourself, you'll understand."
Their conversation turned more serious.
"The Black Dragon Scale I gave you last time—did you find anything useful?" Constantine asked.
Leon's demeanor shifted. He dropped his hands into his pockets and replied,
"I passed the Black Dragon Scale to some trusted people in the Empire. They've been tracking the movements of the Shadow Serpent Cult. It's slow going—the range is just too vast for precise searches.
"But since giving them the scale, their progress has improved. Last week, they identified a cult division carrying Black Dragon Scales and have begun a detailed investigation."
"Any chance they'll catch the 'Shadow'?"
Leon frowned and shook his head.
"Not sure yet. I told them to notify me immediately if there's any news."
Constantine nodded thoughtfully.
"If you need help..." He hesitated, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Leon grinned.
"Don't worry, if I need you, you'll be the first to know. After all, you owe me a big favor."
"Fair enough," Constantine replied.
Their conversation was interrupted when the ground suddenly began to shake.
Leon's immediate focus was on Rossweise and the girls ahead. Rossweise acted swiftly, unfurling her dragon wings and lifting Muse and Heifi into the air.
The citizens of Sky City responded calmly, as if earthquakes were a common occurrence here.
As for Leon and Constantine, one was notorious for his inability to fly, while the other had seemingly forgotten how.
Luckily, the tremor was brief and left no lasting damage.
After a few minutes, the streets returned to normal.
"Another earthquake..." Leon muttered, glancing at the ground.
"This is getting a bit too frequent for comfort."