"So, regarding the details of the punishment, we need a longer discussion time and…"
As he spoke, Odin slowly turned to look at Alres, with implication in his tone, and said, "A more professional and fair team. What do you think, Alres?"
"…Hmph! Indecisive. Odin, you're really getting old."
The old Thunder Dragon King didn't care about Alres's disdain toward him.
Anyway, all he dared to do was show "disdain."
"Well then, since everyone has shared their thoughts, let's proceed with the final vote."
After a simple show of hands, the result was the same as last time. With the traitor Dragon King not participating in the vote, most still supported Leon's proposal.
It seems that although the Dragon Kings couldn't make peace with each other, in their hearts, they all longed for a more stable racial environment.
Alres, of course, was not satisfied with such a result.
He left angrily after the vote.
"Thank you all for attending this secret meeting of the Dragon Kings, and also thank you to the Silver Dragon Prince and the Thunder Dragon King for your decisions. Thank you. Then, this meeting—"
"Wait, Kaid, there's one more thing that needs to be confirmed," Odin raised his hand and said.
"Please go ahead."
"With the change of imperial regime, this human-dragon war is also about to come to an end. After a hundred years, we might need to have a formal negotiation with this tenacious race."
"Negotiation…"
"That's right. And for the representative to negotiate with humans, I have a recommendation—", After speaking, the old man raised his hand and heavily patted Leon's shoulder.
"Pfft—", A light chuckle suddenly came from the solemn conference table.
Odin followed the sound of the laughter, "Red Dragon Queen, do you have any dissatisfaction with my recommended candidate, who is also your brother-in-law?"
The eldest sister waved her hand repeatedly while suppressing laughter, "No no, I just… just remembered something happy."
Letting Leon go to negotiate with humans, although Rosweisse also wanted to laugh out loud, she held it in and gently nudged her sister's arm, reminding softly, "Laugh when we get home, laugh when we get home."
At this moment, the already dumbfounded General Leon tried to imagine the scene of himself representing the entire dragon race to negotiate with humans.
The result—
'I can't imagine it at all, damn it!'
———
Leon thought Odin wanting to negotiate with the empire was still just in the conceptual stage.
So the recommended negotiator might just be a symbolic nod to Leon and not actually send him.
But a few days later, while still taking care of children at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, General Leon suddenly received a message from the Lord of the Twilight Tower.
The content of the letter was simple, and explosive.
In general, it meant that after deep contemplation by the Dragon Kings, they decided to draw a period to this world-shaking, enduring human-dragon war. The dragon race would send a representative to negotiate.
And this representative, without a doubt, would be the hero who saved the dragon race during the spatial rift crisis, the Silver Dragon Prince who fought bravely against Constantine in the far north, and the young strategist who repeatedly proposed key decisions at the Dragon King secret meetings, Leon Casmodeous.
'Come on, did you all really think this through thoroughly?'
'Where is the depth? Where is the thought?'
"Mommy, why does Daddy look like he wants to cry but can't?"
"Little Light, this expression has a professional term. It's called 'wanting to cry but having no tears.'"
"Oh~ got it."
"Alright, go play with your sisters, Mommy and Daddy still have things to talk about."
"Yes, Mommy!"
Little Light jumped off Rosweisse's leg, wagged her little tail, and ran towards her two sisters on the training ground.
Once Little Light was far enough, Rosweisse leaned back slightly, resting against the back of the bench, elegantly crossed her long legs, looked straight ahead, with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth,
"Letting you be the dragon race's negotiating representative is backed by Odin's support, so, what do you say? Going or not?"
Leon placed the "appointment letter" aside, sighed slightly, and then said, "Actually, when I first saw the message, I was quite resistant."
Rosweisse nodded in understanding, "Letting a human like you represent the dragon race, it's natural to resist."
"Exactly. But thinking carefully, it seems I really am the most suitable one for the job."
"Oh?"
"Both humans and dragons have suffered the devastation of war for over a hundred years. Now that all conspiracies have been crushed, a truce would undoubtedly benefit both races."
Leon said slowly, "But after fighting for so long, it's not like we can stop just because we say so. So negotiation is a very important process. If other Dragon Kings were to be the representatives, I'm afraid… something might go wrong."
Rosweisse's thoughts stirred slightly, and she quickly understood Leon's meaning.
"Then to ensure the negotiation results are beneficial to both sides, your special 'existence' plays a key role, right?"
Leon smiled helplessly, then also leaned back against the chair, looked up at the clear sky, and said slowly, "Although I never thought that overthrowing the empire's rule would mean everything is over, I truly didn't anticipate things to develop this far."
As he spoke, he retracted his gaze and looked at the silver-haired beauty beside him, "Tell me, letting a human like me represent the dragon race, and then negotiate with humans again, isn't that pretty abstract?"
Rosweisse covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "For someone else, it would be abstract. But for you, I can only say, it's standard procedure."
Leon bumped her shoulder lightly in mock annoyance, then stood up and walked toward his daughters at the training ground.
"Where are you going?", Rosweisse asked.
"Negotiation doesn't stop me from playing Dragon Rider with my precious daughters."
At this point, Leon paused for a second, then corrected himself, "Oh no, if the war really ends, then we can't play Dragon Rider anymore. Not good for interspecies unity."
"Leon."
"Hmm?"
The queen also slowly stood up. Leon heard the sound of fabric rubbing against her skin.
Her tone suddenly became serious and solemn.
Looking at Leon's back, Rosweisse said slowly, "If this war really ends in a few days, then the name 'Leon Casmodeous' will be written into the history books of both humans and dragons."
"Your life may also undergo earth-shaking changes."
After she finished speaking, a breeze lifted the hem of her skirt.
After a brief silence, the man in front of her slowly turned his head halfway, revealing a determined yet gentle profile.
He squinted and smiled, replying softly, "Compared to becoming history, I still prefer the life I have with you now, Rosweisse."
———
Half a month later, at a cliff at the border of human and dragon territories.
On one side of the cliff stood the mighty members of the Lionheart Society and the former Imperial Guards.
At the very front of the lineup were Nacho, Martin, and Rebecca.
Half a month ago, they received a truce proposal from the dragon race, inviting them to negotiate here.
At first, they thought it was some trap or scheme, but Leon's letter followed closely after, saying the invitation could be accepted. It was an honest, aboveboard negotiation without tricks or plots.
Only then did they feel assured and rushed to the site.
"Negotiation, huh… Looks like news of the empire's regime change spread fast," Rebecca said.
"Not just the regime change. More importantly, the conspiracy between the empire and certain Dragon Kings has also come to light. That's the real key that led to this truce negotiation."
Nacho narrowed his eyes, looking at the mass of dragon troops on the other side of the cliff, who were slowly approaching.
"Of course, your captain probably helped a lot too."
"Whoa, so you're saying that after the war, the captain didn't just cozy up with his wife and kids by the warm hearth, huh? Still did some proper business."
Nacho blinked and scratched his nose, "No no no, I think after all he's done, his final goal was still that warm hearth with wife and kids."
Rebecca suddenly understood, "Oh~ I see now. As expected, never underestimate a family man."
After a few idle chats, Martin suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what kind of Dragon King will they send to negotiate with us?"
Rebecca raised her hand to answer quickly, "Of course someone super powerful, super badass, a heroic figure well-known among the dragons!"
Nacho glanced at the crazy girl, "Have you ever fought with such Dragon Kings?"
"No."
Rebecca dropped her playful grin and answered seriously, "Because most of those kinds of Dragon Kings were basically killed off by the captain."
"..."
"So what you're saying is, if all the high-status Dragon Kings were killed off by the captain, then the dragon race can't even send a single negotiator?", Martin spotted the crux of the issue.
"Huh? Then what's the point of negotiating? Someone bring my fire-element cannon, let's show those giant lizards something today!"
Martin quickly held down Rebecca's wrist, "No no no, let's not go that far."
Rebecca giggled and bumped Martin's chest playfully, "Just kidding, look how scared you are."
At the side, Nacho looked at the approaching dragon army and slowly let out a breath,
"So… without a pillar to lean on, who exactly will they send—"
———
"What the hell, why is it you?"
"Captain, have you actually been turned into a part of the dragon race by your wife's strange magic all along?"
"You know me, Captain. I've always admired you, but how can a human like you represent the dragon race for negotiations?"
Leon: "—_—"
"Listen to me, don't be hasty, I'm more anxious than you."
———
Leon briefly explained the cause and effect of the situation.
But the three of them, Nacho, Martin, and Rebecca, still found it a bit hard to accept.
"Captain, you're saying, your status among the dragons and among humans… is pretty much the same?"
Leon scratched his temple, "Well, not exactly the same, but… not far off."
"And they actually sent you to negotiate."
"Because they don't know I'm human."
"The fact that you've kept this secret for so long is a miracle."
"Miracle's too much. It's all thanks to my astonishing intelligence and disguise skills."
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