Chapter 36: Don’t be so awkward. Only kids like playing with toys.

Fortunately, thanks to the master’s training during childhood, Leon’s overall physical condition was still quite good. Even if he felt tired and drained, rest could bring him back to normal health.

Although he couldn’t engage in too much strenuous physical activity, taking a stroll outside and spending time with the kids while reading was no problem.

On this sunny day, Noia went for physical training, and Leon could take some time to accompany his little daughter. If Leon didn’t brush up on his presence with Muen, his obedient daughter might genuinely think her old father had gone on a permanent vacation. He carried Muen and arrived at the backyard of the temple.

“Daddy, let’s continue playing Dragon Knight!”

“Sure.”

With that, Leon was about to lift Muen to let her ride on his shoulders. But halfway through the process, Muen suddenly shook her tail and said, “Wait, Daddy.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Mom said your body hasn’t fully recovered, so Muen can’t play Dragon Knight with Daddy. It might affect Daddy’s recovery.”

Leon was momentarily surprised. His little dragon daughter was still so considerate.

He smiled, “It’s okay, Muen isn’t that heavy.”

“But that’s not allowed.”

Muen stubbornly insisted, kicking her legs, indicating Leon should put her down. He couldn’t resist his daughter’s insistence, so he had to follow her request.

After putting Muen down, Leon squatted in front of her, patiently asking, “So, what game do you want to play?”

Muen pouted, thought for a while, but couldn’t come up with any fun game that didn’t require much physical effort.

Seeing Muen struggling to come up with an idea, Leon suggested.

“Since Muen can’t think of a good game, how about Daddy making you a toy?”

The little dragon’s daughter’s eyes lit up, “Toy!”

“Mm-hmm.”

“What kind of toy?”

“You’ll know when it’s done. Come on, let’s go to the storage room and find some materials.”

“Okay!”

Father and daughter returned to the garden, finding a clear spot to sit on the ground. Leon arranged the collected parts on the ground. After collecting everything, Leon weighed the materials and checked the quantity of the parts.

After some thought, he grabbed a few more parts. Finally, he grabbed some paints of different colors, ensuring everything was ready.

“All set, let’s go.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Leon took Muen to the storage room in the temple, gathering some parts and tools. After collecting everything, Leon examined the object in his hands.

It was a black cube, with each face divided into nine small squares.

“No, one final step remaining.” Leon systematically assembled the various parts.

Some parts could be directly attached, while others required cutting, polishing, or more intricate and detailed secondary operations. He worked with great seriousness.

Muen, on the side, was watching attentively. She already thought Daddy was very handsome. But for some reason, when Daddy got his hands busy with these intricate parts, gears fitting seamlessly in his hands, various linkage devices effortlessly manipulated, his appearance of scrutiny made him look… even more handsome.

Muen didn’t quite grasp concepts like aura or charm. She just felt that compared to other male dragons, her old dad was way more handsome.

“Almost there.”

Leon examined the object in his hands. It was a black cube, with each face divided into nine small squares.

“Huh? Muen can do it?”

“Of course, come on, give it a try.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

Leon had Muen sit on his lap, then gently held her wrist from behind, guiding her in coloring the cube. Although some areas were not perfectly colored, Leon didn’t say anything and patiently helped Muen touch up those spots.

In the end, with the collaboration of father and daughter, a cube with six colors was successfully made. Muen held it in her hands, not quite sure what this thing was, but anything made by Daddy must be cool!

“This little toy is called a Rubik’s Cube. You can twist it freely. Give it a try.”

“Oh, okay!”

Muen tried turning it a few times, and indeed, the differently colored small cubes shifted and ended up in different positions.

“The Rubik’s Cube game is to restore all six colors to their original positions. It might be a bit challenging at first, but as you play, you’ll find some tricks,” Leon explained patiently.

Leon enjoyed studying these types of toys when he was in school. He remembered the first alchemical mechanics class when the teacher assigned them to create a simple mechanical linkage device as homework.

What Leon submitted was a simplified version of the Rubik’s Cube. The teacher was quite satisfied with it and teased Leon, saying that even if he didn’t go on to slay dragons after graduation, he could open a toy store to amuse children – he would surely excel at that too.

It turned out the alchemical mechanics class teacher’s words were prophetic. Leon was indeed now taking care of a child—

And what’s more, he was doing it quite well.

Muen listened to Leon’s explanations while studying the Rubik’s Cube in her hands. Leon patiently explained tips and formulas to her.

As he spoke, Leon suddenly raised his head, looking around vigilantly. Dragon slayers were very sensitive to “gaze,” especially the gaze of a dragon.

Leon thought it might be Rosvitha peeking at them from the balcony. But there was no sign of the mother dragon on the balcony. Leon discreetly observed his surroundings.

Clearly, the eyes secretly watching them were coming from behind.

Leon didn’t turn around but carefully recalled the layout of the Silver Dragon Temple. Now their position’s rear seemed to be… a training ground?

Thinking of this, Leon smiled knowingly.

That child certainly wouldn’t actively join him and Muen.

Leon stood up, took Noia’s hand, and left the garden.

After walking a certain distance, Leon sneakily half-turned to look back. He saw a tiny figure emerging from the bushes behind the garden.

Leon smiled and turned his gaze away. Noia quietly approached the spot where Leon and Muen had been sitting.

An unpainted Rubik’s Cube and several cans of paint were on the bench nearby. Noia walked up, picked up the brush and paint, imitating what Leon had done, and started coloring the Rubik’s Cube.

Soon, a not-so-pretty but playable Rubik’s Cube was successfully completed. She tried twisting it several times, feeling the distinct mechanical clicks under her fingertips.

Noia was slightly surprised, “Seems… quite interesting.”

Then, following the method she had eavesdropped on earlier, Noia scrambled each side of the Rubik’s Cube and began solving it step by step. Her understanding and learning abilities were quick. In less than ten minutes, she had solved most of it.

Just as Noia was about to continue solving, she heard someone shout from a distance,

“Princess Noia! Rest time is over. We should continue with physical training!”

Noia hastily put the Rubik’s Cube into her pocket, ran towards the training ground, and responded, “Oh, I’m coming!”

In the evening, in the sisters’ room, Muen knelt on the bed, still playing with the Rubik’s Cube her dad had made for her during the day. She had been studying it but couldn’t successfully solve it.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Muen threw the Rubik’s Cube aside and, dissatisfied, gave it a flick with her tail.

“I don’t want to play anymore! Muen is so dumb, can’t even solve one side!”

Noia, who was preparing for tomorrow’s lessons on the side, saw her sister getting frustrated and put down her textbooks. She went over and said,

“I’ll teach you.”

“Hmm? Sister, can you do it too?”

Noia didn’t respond. Instead, she picked up the Rubik’s Cube and explained the principles to her sister.

“To solve it, you shouldn’t try to solve one side at a time but rather layer by layer, like this.”

Watching Noia’s skilled movements, Muen was a bit dumbfounded. “Sister… how are you so good at this?”

“Oh? No, not really, just okay.”

“How could I? I have zero interest in toys for kids. There, you learned it, right? Take it back.”

Muen took the fully solved Rubik’s Cube, happily hugged it, and crawled under the covers.

Before long, the rhythmic sound of Muen’s breathing could be heard.

“Muen?” Noia called out to her sister.

Seeing no response, Noia quietly got out of bed. Then, she took out her small wooden box from under the bed and opened it.

Inside was a piece of black metal fragment and a piece of paper with her name written. She removed her little Rubik’s Cube from her pocket and carefully placed it in the wooden box.