"But you heard it too," Noah reasoned within her mind. "Even if we include Aunt Isha, we still don't have enough people to play this game."
"Use that smart brain of yours to come up with a solution," the ancestor urged. "Think about what your unbeatable father would do."
Hearing that, Noah thought for a moment and replied with deadpan seriousness, "He would first figure out how to get out of the wheelchair."
.
.
.
Her cheeky answer had a touch of dark humor, but it was the undeniable truth. Setting aside the issue of participant numbers, her dad's recent limited mobility meant he couldn't join an active, interactive game like this anyway.
The ancestor, despite her reluctance, had no other ideas. The Night Spirit Crystal, even without being activated by primordial power, was still a rare and valuable crafting material. It wasn't something that could be easily obtained. With that in mind, the ancient spirit sighed in resignation.
"Fine. But if the opportunity arises, try to go for it."
It was rare for the ancestor to speak in such a negotiating tone, which showed just how important the Night Spirit Crystal was to her.
Noah nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Leaving her inner consciousness, Noah saw that Muen and Aurora had already moved on and were preparing to play a game of blindfolded tag. The game was a bit old-fashioned but remained a classic, reliable pastime for the young dragon girls.
"Come on, big sis!" Muen called, waving at Noah.
"Coming!" Noah responded, getting up and running to join her sisters, pushing thoughts of the game aside for now.
But two weeks later, just as the sisters were starting to forget about it, an unexpected visit brought the topic back to life. Helena and Claudia arrived at the Silver Dragon Sanctuary.
As the eldest princess of the Sea Dragon Clan and the future Sea Dragon Queen, Claudia was personally welcomed by both Leon and Rossweise. Compared to their previous encounters, the elegant woman appeared more relaxed today, her blue hair flowing freely and her makeup light, which only enhanced her refined charm.
When Noah heard that Helena had arrived, she excitedly ran out to the courtyard.
"Long time no see, Rossweise," Claudia greeted warmly.
"Long time no see, Senior," Rossweise replied.
"Aunt Rossweise, hello!" Little Helena chirped.
Rossweise bent down slightly, her silver hair cascading over her shoulder as she reached out to ruffle Helena's hair. "Hello to you too, Helena."
"Hey Leon, it looks like your leg has almost healed?" Claudia remarked, turning her attention to him.
Leon patted his knee and smiled. "Yes, thanks to Rossweise's Silver Dragon secret remedy, I recovered quickly."
"Secret... remedy? What kind of remedy works so instantly?" Even the well-informed Claudia was intrigued.
But her question left the couple momentarily speechless. They exchanged a quick glance. Rossweise's eyes held a touch of exasperation, as if to say, "Idiot, why did you have to mention that?"
Leon shrugged innocently.
The truth was, the so-called "secret remedy" was indeed a difficult topic to explain. It was the infamous "Leon's Not-So-Good Medicine"—better known to a select few as Dragon Strength! Desperate to heal quickly and resume his training, Leon had tried various special remedies Rossweise had sourced for external injuries. None of them had worked. Until they rediscovered the hidden regenerative effects of Dragon Strength. Within three days of taking it, General Leon was out of his wheelchair, had thrown away his crutches, and was moving like the wind!
Of course, the night before he regained full mobility, Rossweise had experienced the... vigorous side effects of Leon's restored energy for the third time. It was an unforgettable experience that had left quite an impression.
Rossweise shook her head, dispelling those private thoughts, and said diplomatically, "It's nothing special, just an old recipe passed down through generations."
Claudia nodded, accepting the answer. "If it's a secret recipe, I won't press for details."
"Noah!" Helena's voice called out brightly from behind.
Everyone turned to look. Seeing Noah, Helena's smile widened. She waved and ran toward her friend, calling her name aloud, "Noah-chan~"
Over two weeks ago, Noah's parents had told her that Helena would be visiting. After waiting so long with no sign of her friend, Noah had started to worry that Helena might have forgotten. But it turned out she had worried for nothing. Helena had come to see her, and she'd even brought Aunt Claudia along. Did this mean Helena might stay for a few days?
As Noah's excitement grew, she felt a sudden, familiar chill behind her. Turning slowly, she saw Muen, a single upright hair on her head sticking up as straight and sharp as a sword, exuding a palpable 'menacing' aura.
"Big sis, I tried to stop her, but I couldn't," Aurora whispered by way of explanation.
Noah could only offer a helpless smile. "Muen, Helena's here to play with us."
Muen pouted, the tip of her tail twitching. She spoke in a tone that was trying far too hard to sound cheerful, "I'm so glad you came to visit, Sister Helena."
It didn't sound cheerful at all...
Helena, knowing she couldn't do much about the perpetually jealous younger sister, simply replied with good grace, "Thank you~"
The pink-haired dragon girl, Aurora, blinked her big eyes, looking between her older sisters and Helena. A spark of understanding lit her face. During her many late-night reading sessions, she had come across certain dramatic novels that depicted tense scenarios involving a "charming protagonist" and "various potential love interests." When all these love interests appeared in the same place at the same time, with the protagonist caught in the middle, such classic situations were known as—a battlefield of love.
Readers loved seeing these "time management master" protagonists get into sticky situations, stuck between the affections of multiple girls. It made their toes curl with second-hand embarrassment, yet they couldn't look away! If Aurora wasn't misunderstanding the stories she'd read, her big sister was now standing on the edge of a delightful battlefield of love! On one side, a best friend from school. On the other, a sister she grew up with.
Mmmmmm~ The air was filled with such delightful tension!
Aurora was just debating whether to fan the flames and heighten the drama when Claudia spoke up, changing the subject entirely.
"Oh, right, Leon. Now that your leg has healed, it's time to fulfill that promise you made to me."
Promise?
The young dragons exchanged confused glances. They had no idea what promise Claudia was talking about.
"Of course, Senior," Leon replied without hesitation.
With that, the three adults turned their attention to the four young dragon girls.
Helena scratched her head, puzzled. "What is it, Mom?"
"Remember how you told me you wanted to join Noah in that... what was it... live-action game?"
Helena's eyes lit up like twin suns. "The live-action interactive game!!"
Claudia smiled and nodded. "Yes. Now that Noah and her sisters are all here, and her parents have agreed to come with us, we have enough people, right?"
"Interactive game?" Noah asked, her interest immediately piqued. "Is it the castle exploration game that's popular in Sky City?"
The young sea dragon princess nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! How did you know?"
"I saw the flyer a few days ago and wanted to go, but we didn't have enough people," Noah explained with a smile. "I didn't expect you and Aunt Claudia to be planning on going too."
"Yes, yes! I begged my mom for a long time before she finally agreed."
Back when they were at the Imperial Library, Claudia had mentioned this outing as one of her conditions for her alliance. At that time, Leon had been confused and asked why she was so interested in such a game. Claudia had explained that it was simply because Helena wanted to go. Attending a family-friendly game like that with their daughters was something both Leon and Rossweise were happy to agree to. Now, hearing that their own daughters were also eager to go, it seemed like a perfect plan.
"Muen, Aurora, didn't you both say you wanted to play this game a few days ago?" Noah asked, turning to her sisters.
Muen nodded vigorously. She had been excited about it ever since she first saw the flyer, but the plan had been shelved due to the participant shortage. Now, with Helena and Aunt Claudia joining, Muen was definitely in. Besides... there was no way she was letting her sister and Helena play an interactive game together without her! So, she had to join!
But Aurora, who had been quietly observing, pointed out the one critical oversight in their mounting excitement, "But we still don't have enough people."
She began counting on her fingers. "Dad, Mom, big sis, me, Muen, Helena, Aunt Claudia... that's only seven of us. The flyer said the game needed eight people."
Leon put his hands on his hips, a confident grin spreading across his face. "Don't worry about that, Aurora. Your red dragon aunt who loves excitement more than anyone won't miss this chance for anything." He pulled a glowing red dragon scale from his pocket. "I'll send a message to Isha right now. Knowing her, she'll be here before the day is out."