Book 4: Chapter 9 |
“But you heard it just now too. Even if we include Aunt Isha, we still don’t have enough people to join this game,” Noah said.
“Use that clever little brain of yours and think of a way. Think about it—if it were your invincible father, what would he do?”
Hearing this, Noah pondered for a moment, then replied in an extremely serious tone,
“He’d first figure out how to get off the wheelchair.”
…
This answer from a dutiful daughter carried a hint of dark humor, but the situation really was exactly like that.
Leaving aside the issue of numbers—even if they somehow scraped together enough people, Dad’s legs still weren’t very convenient, and he couldn’t exactly participate in an interactive game like this.
The old ancestor was unwilling to give up, but there really wasn’t much she could do.
Thinking this over, the old ancestor let out a soft sigh.
“Alright. But if there’s a chance, we should still try.”
It was rare for the old geezer to speak in a negotiating tone. It was clear that this piece of Night Spirit Crystal was truly important to her.
Naturally, Noah couldn’t snap back with her usual bickering tone.
She nodded.
“Okay. I understand.”
Exiting the consciousness space, she found Mu’en and Little Light already preparing to play blindfolded ghost-catching.
The game might have been old-fashioned, but at least it was classic—barely counting as one of the little dragon girls’ treasured standby activities.
“Big Sister, come on!” Mu’en waved at Noah from over there.
“Coming!”
Noah called back, immediately hopping up and jogging over to join her sisters’ game.
For now, the matter of the live-action interactive game had to be set aside.
However, two weeks later—just when the three sisters were about to forget all about it—Helena and Claudia arrived at the Silver Dragon Clan for a visit.
As the Sea Dragon Clan’s eldest princess and future Sea Dragon Queen, Helena naturally warranted a personal reception from Leon and Rosvitha.
Compared to previous meetings, the elegant woman’s outfit today looked more relaxed. Her blue hair was worn loose, her makeup light, which only highlighted her refined temperament.
When Noah heard that Helena had arrived, she excitedly ran toward the courtyard.
“Long time no see, Rosvitha.”
“Long time no see, Senior.”
“Hello, Auntie Rosvitha!” little Helena greeted warmly.
Rosvitha bent slightly, silver hair falling forward as she reached out to gently ruffle Helena’s head.
“Hello to you too, Helena.”
“Hey, Leon—your leg looks pretty much healed, doesn’t it?”
Leon patted his knee and said with a smile, “Yeah. Rosvitha used our Silver Dragon Clan’s secret medicine. It healed not long after.”
“Secret… medicine? What kind of secret medicine works that fast?”
Even the well-traveled Claudia was intrigued.
But that question left the couple at a loss.
Both of them froze, then looked at each other.
There was a trace of grievance in the queen’s eyes, as if saying, You idiot—why did you say that much?
Leon shrugged innocently.
Truth be told, this so-called “secret medicine” really wasn’t easy to talk about.
It was the thing known as—
“Brother Leon’s Uh-Oh Pill.”
Dragon Strength!
Because Leon was eager to recover quickly and move on to the next stage of his training, Rosvitha had helped him try all kinds of specialized trauma medicines.
None of them had much effect.
Until they accidentally discovered the hidden function of Dragon Strength. After taking it, in less than three days, General Leon ditched the wheelchair, threw away the crutches, and was running around briskly, nimble as a rabbit!
Of course, the night before he became “nimble as a rabbit,” the queen had experienced the effects of “Brother Leon’s Uh-Oh Pill” for the third time.
Mm… unforgettable. And deeply memorable.
Rosvitha shook her head, clearing away the random thoughts, and said,
“It’s nothing. Just a secret formula passed down by our predecessors.”
Claudia nodded. “Since it’s a secret formula, I won’t ask further.”
“Helena!”
Noah’s voice came from behind.
Everyone turned to look.
When Helena saw Noah, the smile on her beautiful face grew even brighter. She waved and ran toward her best friend, calling out happily,
“Noah-chan~”
More than two weeks ago, when Mom and Dad returned, they’d said Helena would come visit in a while.
But after waiting so long, Noah had started to think her good friend had stood her up.
Turns out she’d just been worrying for nothing.
Helena really did come to see her—and she even brought Aunt Claudia along. Didn’t that mean… Helena could stay here for a few extra days?
Noah was happily thinking this when she suddenly felt a chill behind her.
Slowly turning around, she saw a single cowlick standing straight up, rigid like a blade, radiating a faint air of killing intent.
“Big Sister, I tried to stop her. I couldn’t,” Little Light explained from the side.
Noah could only smile helplessly.
“Mu’en, Helena came to play with us.”
The little moon puffed out her cheeks, the tip of her tail lifting slightly, and said in an extremely friendly tone,
“Very happy to have you visit our home, Sister Helena.”
Didn’t sound happy at all…
Helena had no good way of dealing with this sister-obsessed little girl, so she could only reply politely,
“Thank you~”
The pink-haired dragon girl blinked her pretty eyes, looking at Big Sister, then Second Sister, then Helena—
She got it.
During the time she’d spent frantically absorbing all kinds of knowledge from books, she’d also read some novels meant purely for relaxation.
There was a certain type of novel that revolved around conflicts between a “romantic protagonist” and various ambiguous love interests.
And when those ambiguous interests appeared in the same place at the same time—especially when that “romantic protagonist” was also present—this classic situation was known as—
A shura field.
Readers absolutely loved watching the so-called master of time management crash and burn, trapped awkwardly between multiple girls. The embarrassment was so intense it made people curl their toes, yet they couldn’t stop reading!
If Little Light’s understanding of novel knowledge was correct, then at this very moment, her Big Sister was experiencing a delightful shura field!
On one side—her close friend from the academy.
On the other—her sister who’d grown up with her.
Mm~~~~
The air was thick with the scent of joy!
Just as Little Light was wondering whether she should add some fuel to the fire and upgrade the fun, she heard Claudia speak.
“Oh right, Leon. Since your injury has healed, it’s time to fulfill the promise you made to me earlier, isn’t it?”
Promise?
The little dragon girls glanced at one another, all clueless about what promise she meant.
“Of course, Senior.”
As he spoke, the three adults all turned to look at the four little dragon girls.
Helena scratched her head in confusion. “What is it, Mom?”
“Do you remember telling me before that you really wanted to go with Noah to that… live-action—what was it called again?”
Helena’s eyes sparkled.
“The live-action interactive game!!”
Claudia smiled and nodded. “Right. Now Noah and her sisters are all here, and her parents have agreed to go as well. That should make enough people, shouldn’t it?”
“Interactive game?”
Noah joined the conversation.
“Is it that castle exploration game that’s been popular in Sky City lately?”
The little Sea Dragon girl nodded furiously.
“Yeah, yeah! How did you know?”
“I saw the flyer a few days ago and wanted to go too, but couldn’t gather enough people.”
Noah smiled.
“I didn’t expect you and Aunt Claudia to be planning on playing it as well.”
“Mm-hm. I had to pester my mom for a long time before she agreed.”
Back when they were in the Imperial Library, Claudia’s added condition had been exactly this.
At the time, Leon had been a little puzzled, wondering why someone like her would enjoy a live-action interactive game.
Claudia had answered that it was because Helena wanted to go.
Accompanying their daughters to a family-friendly game like this was something neither parent would refuse, so they’d agreed right away.
Now that they heard this, it turned out the daughters had already wanted to go too.
Perfect timing.
“Mu’en, Little Light—you two said you wanted to go play a few days ago too, right?” Noah asked.
Mu’en nodded.
She’d wanted to go as soon as she saw the flyer, but because they didn’t have enough people, the plan had been shelved.
Now that Helena and Aunt Claudia were joining, of course she’d go.
What’s more…
How could she possibly let her sister go play an interactive game like that with Helena without her being there?
So she had to participate!
But the usually silent Little Light noticed a blind spot amid all the laughter.
“But we still don’t have enough people.”
“Dad, Mom, Big Sister, Second Sister, Helena, Aunt Claudia, plus me—that’s only seven. But the flyer said eight people are needed to start the game.”
Leon put his hands on his hips and said easily,
“You don’t need to worry about that at all, Little Light. Your fun-loving Red Dragon aunt will absolutely not miss this opportunity.”
…
Footnotes:
- Dark humorPinyin: hēi sè yōu mòExplanation: Humor that treats serious or grim situations in a joking way.
- Treasure standby activityPinyin: yā xiāng dǐExplanation: A reliable fallback option saved for when nothing else comes to mind.
- Nimble as a rabbitPinyin: jiàn bù rú fēi, dòng ruò tùExplanation: A vivid idiom describing swift, agile movement.
- Shura fieldPinyin: xiū luó chǎngExplanation: Internet slang for a tense social situation where multiple romantic interests collide.
- Time management masterPinyin: shí jiān guǎn lǐ dà shīExplanation: A sarcastic term for someone juggling multiple romantic relationships.
- Curling toes from embarrassmentPinyin: jiǎo zhǐ kōu dìExplanation: Slang describing second-hand embarrassment so intense it feels physically awkward.
- Adding fuel to the firePinyin: huǒ shàng jiā yóuExplanation: Making an already lively or tense situation even more intense.