At the bustling barbecue restaurant, Leon and Rossweise first brought their little treasure, Muse, to the counter to place their order. After they finished, Rossweise guided them to a quiet table by the window, away from the main crowd.
Constantine and Hefei joined them shortly after. "Hefei, what would you like to eat?" Constantine asked, his voice a low rumble.
The little girl with striking red-and-black hair stared intently at the illustrated menu, her eyes wide as she swallowed hard. "Steak, lightly spiced chicken wings, and a vegetable platter!" she announced decisively.
The server quickly jotted down her order.
"Is that all, Hefei?" Constantine said, his tone shifting to one of mild admonishment. "Do not forget what I have told you. To build a strong body, sufficient fuel is essential."
Hefei scratched her temple, a look of reluctance on her face. "Alright... I'll have another order of chicken wings, then."
"Good," Constantine replied, a note of approval in his voice.
Muse, who had been quietly observing this father-daughter exchange, glanced thoughtfully between them before turning her big, curious eyes up to her own father. "Daddy," she began, her voice full of innocent logic, "does eating more really make you stronger?"
"Not necessarily," Leon replied with a patient smile. "Why do you ask?"
"Because Uncle Constantine said so."
"...I don't think that's quite what your Uncle Constantine meant," Leon tried to explain, though he saw the gears turning in his daughter's head.
Muse blinked, her lovely eyes filled with confusion, and then asked out of the blue, "So, Daddy, are you stronger than Uncle Constantine?"
At the mention of this topic, Leon's paternal pride flared up. He grinned broadly and pointed a thumb at his own chest. "Of course, your dad is stronger."
"Then that means Daddy eats more than Uncle Constantine, right?" Muse concluded triumphantly.
"...I already said that's not what your uncle meant," Leon sighed, but he could see his daughter was already convinced.
Ignoring her father's protests, Muse seemed to have settled on her own theory: the stronger someone is, the more they must 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 in resignation, realizing further explanation was futile. He simply called the server over and added two more steaks to their order.
Meanwhile, Hefei had overheard the entire conversation between Leon and Muse. She turned to her father with a serious expression. "Father, Uncle Leon says he eats more than you, which makes him stronger."
"Hmph. Such childish nonsense," Constantine scoffed, his arms crossed. But after a brief, thoughtful pause, he raised a hand to summon the server. "Bring four more servings of beef to my table."
"Understood! Four more servings of beef!" the server repeated, scribbling furiously.
"Daddy, look! Uncle Constantine is trying to get stronger now!" Muse said, her excitement bubbling over.
"Miss," Leon called out, feeling the ridiculous competition escalate, "we'll take five more orders of meat over here!"
"Got it! Five more!"
"Miss," Constantine countered, his voice calm but firm, "we will take six more orders!"
Leon tried to interject with some reason. "Hefei, your father might not be able to eat that much."
"Little Muse," Hefei retorted, defending her father's honor, "my father is very strong. Of course, he can eat more than Uncle Leon!"
Muse pursed her lips, her small face set in determination. "Miss," she declared, "we'll add three more plates of chicken wings!"
Not to be outdone, Hefei immediately followed. "Miss, make that five more plates of chicken wings for us!"
The two little dragon girls were now like determined bidders at an auction, relentlessly driving the order higher and higher. The piles of food on the server's notepad grew to comical heights, and both Leon and Constantine's expressions grew increasingly strained. It wasn't the cost—their wealth was vast—but the sheer, physical volume of food was becoming alarming.
There's no way we can finish all this! Leon thought desperately.
"Muse... don't you think this is enough?" he ventured.
"Nope!" his daughter replied, her resolve unshaken.
Constantine tried a similar tactic with his own daughter. "Hefei, that is enough. I am willing to call it a tie with Uncle Leon on this one."
"Father," Hefei said, her voice stern with rebuke, "didn't you teach me that in a competition, we must fight for victory? No ties or surrendering!"
Both fathers fell into a resigned silence.
Rossweise, who had been watching the entire spectacle with an air of detached amusement, finally glanced at the finalized order, which listed enough food to feed a small army. She crossed her arms and elegantly crossed her legs. "You all seem to have developed quite the appetite lately," she remarked dryly.
Leon was certain she had a torrent of thoughts she wished to voice, but was holding back solely because the two young girls were present.
"Mommy," Muse said, climbing onto Rossweise's lap, "do you know if Daddy or Uncle Constantine is stronger?" Rossweise gently supported her daughter's back and replied, "Who do you think is stronger, Muse?"
The Queen considered her words carefully. If they were judging by their two recorded matches in the official agility tournament, Leon did hold a slight edge. But she decided it was best not to fuel her daughter's competitive fire with tales of past, bloodline-fueled battles.
Muse tilted her head, clearly still unsure, then exclaimed, "Muse doesn't know. But... Muse will find out soon!" The little girl pointed a determined finger at the mountains of food that were beginning to arrive at their table. "If Daddy eats more than Uncle Constantine, then Daddy is the strongest!"
Rossweise arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow, highly amused. Before she could formulate a reply, Hefei countered from across the table, "Don't celebrate too early, Muse. My father will definitely eat more!"
"Fine, then let's see! Daddy, eat faster!" Muse urged, patting Leon's arm.
"Father, you cannot lose to Uncle Leon!" Hefei insisted, her eyes locked on Constantine.
Leon and Constantine shared one last, long, resigned look across the table. They saw no escape. With a simultaneous, silent sigh, they picked up their utensils and began to eat.
Two laborious hours later, the battle was over. Muse and Hefei meticulously tallied the empty plates piled high on the table. In the end, Leon had won by a single serving of chicken wings.
"Yay! Daddy won! You're amazing, Daddy!" Muse cheered, rewarding her groaning father with a sweet kiss on the cheek.
Leon patted his painfully full, round stomach. He felt utterly overstuffed, but as he touched the spot on his cheek where his daughter had kissed him, he decided the entire ordeal had been worth it.
Meanwhile, Constantine, though he knew the contest had been utterly pointless, couldn't help but feel a tinge of frustration at his narrow loss.
"Father, you were amazing!" Hefei said, clutching his hand, her face filled with fierce determination. "Next time, we'll win for sure!"
Seeing his daughter's unwavering spirit, Constantine's frustration melted away. He patted her head gently. "Alright, Hefei. Next time, we will win."
"Next time," Leon groaned, leaning back in his chair, "I'm bringing Muen along. Ten Constantines couldn't out-eat the two of us!"
As they finally left the restaurant, Rossweise walked ahead with the two girls, who, despite the massive meal, were now skipping and chattering happily.
Leon and Constantine trailed behind them, walking at a much slower, more careful pace.
"This is not quite how I imagined spending a day out with my daughter," Constantine muttered, one hand resting on his stomach.
Leon stretched as best he could, his hands clasped behind his head as he watched his wife and daughter ahead. "You'll get used to it. Daughters have a special talent for switching between being adorable little angels and mischievous agents of chaos."
"It sounds as though you speak from extensive experience," Constantine grumbled.
"Ha! Once you've been through it a few more times, you'll understand completely," Leon replied with a wry smile.
Their conversation then drifted into more serious territory.
"The Black Dragon Scale I gave you last time," Constantine began, his voice dropping lower, "did you find anything useful from it?"
Leon's demeanor shifted immediately. He dropped his hands into his pockets, his expression turning grim. "I passed it to some trusted contacts within the Empire's new administration. They've been using it to track the movements of the Shadow Serpent Cult. It's slow work—the search range is vast, and it's difficult to be precise."
He continued, "But since giving them the scale, their progress has improved. Just last week, they identified a cell of the cult that was in possession of Black Dragon Scales and have begun a more detailed investigation."
"Is there any chance they will catch the 'Shadow'?" Constantine asked.
Leon frowned and shook his head. "It's too soon to tell. I've instructed them to notify me the moment they have any solid news."
Constantine nodded thoughtfully. "If you need any help..." He hesitated, leaving the offer hanging.
Leon managed a grin. "Don't worry, Spitfire. If I need you, you'll be the first to know. After all, you still owe me a rather large favor."
"Fair enough," Constantine conceded.
Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to shake.
Leon's focus instantly snapped to Rossweise and the girls ahead. The Queen reacted with lightning speed, her magnificent silver wings unfurling in a flash of light as she lifted both Muse and Hefei safely into the air.
Around them, the citizens of Sky City paused, but their reactions were calm, almost routine, as if such tremors were a common occurrence here.
As for Leon and Constantine, one was famously earth-bound, and the other, in that moment, seemed to have forgotten his ability to fly in his concern for his daughter.
Luckily, the tremor was brief and subsided after a few moments, leaving no visible damage in its wake.
The bustling street gradually returned to its normal rhythm.
"Another earthquake..." Leon muttered, his eyes scanning the ground beneath him with a frown. "This is starting to happen a bit too often for comfort."