At the border between the lands of humans and dragons, within a ravine cave.

Leon stood on the cliff's edge, gazing solemnly at the hidden cave behind the waterfall.

This was the designated meeting spot between him and his master.

Earlier, Rosvisser had asked him if he was nervous—what if his master didn't show up?

Leon had confidence in his master's abilities. He couldn't imagine him being easily captured by the Empire. After all, when his master pressured the Empire by killing the casino owner and the 'Metallurgy' priest, the Empire had spent a full year failing to capture him.

However, even though Leon trusted his master, Rosvisser’s question stirred a small sense of unease within him, gnawing at the back of his mind.

The sound of the waterfall crashing filled his ears, and a chill rose from the ravine below. Leon closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He turned to Rosvisser beside him, “Let’s head down.”

The queen nodded, spreading her wings as she gently flew into the ravine with Leon.

Upon reaching the waterfall, Rosvisser flapped her wings, parting the water, allowing them to enter the cave hidden behind it.

Inside, the cave was the same as it had been the last time they were here: simple furnishings, a table and chairs, no unnecessary decorations.

Leon glanced around the entrance, then looked toward the darker depths of the cave.

It was dim there, cloaked in shadow, and difficult to see clearly.

Leon called out cautiously into the darkness, “Master, are you there?”

His voice echoed throughout the cave, but there was no response.

Leon’s heart clenched.

Had something really happened to them?

He unconsciously clenched his fists, and his heartbeat quickened, dread seeping into his thoughts.

What if something had gone wrong? How would he explain this to his master’s wife...?

And what about Rebecca? That reckless girl had thrown herself into this conspiracy between humans and dragons to help him. If she had met the same fate, Leon knew he’d blame himself forever.

And if his master and Rebecca hadn’t escaped the Empire’s pursuit, it was likely that Martin would also be caught in the crossfire.

Even with his father's protection as a high-ranking official, the Empire would stop at nothing to eliminate anyone who knew their dirty secrets.

Leon swallowed hard, his mind racing as he tried to formulate a plan. But the growing fear inside him made it impossible to think clearly.

What should he do? What if—

"Feeling a bit sweaty there, Captain?"

A familiar voice rang out from the shadows.

Leon’s mind froze for a moment, then quickly rebooted—it was as if his brain was clearing out the mental clutter from his frantic thoughts, allowing him to focus on the task at hand.

He looked up toward the dark depths of the cave.

From the shadows, two figures emerged.

One was tall, the other short.

The tall figure carried a katana. Despite his age, the aura radiating from him was still formidable, rivaling that of a young warrior.

The shorter figure had twin ponytails, muscular legs peeking out from beneath her short shorts, with two handguns strapped to her thighs. She had her arms crossed behind her head, chewing bubblegum as she gazed at Leon, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.

Seeing them standing there, unharmed, Leon let out a huge sigh of relief. Then, with an exasperated expression, he rolled his eyes at Rebecca.

“Was that fun? Was it fun?”

Rebecca blew a bubble and popped it with a grin. “Hehe, yeah, it was fun! I’ve never seen you so flustered before, Captain!”

Leon decided it wasn’t worth arguing with the crazy girl. Instead, he turned to the older man, “Master, she’s fooling around, but you too?”

“I thought it was pretty amusing.” 

The old man, despite being well past fifty, seemed to enjoy indulging in youthful pranks. “To be honest, aside from the donkey back home, I’ve never seen you this worried about anyone before.”

“...”

Rebecca, still amused, was about to throw in more teasing, but her attention was suddenly drawn to someone else.

A breathtakingly beautiful woman stood behind Leon. She had flowing silver hair that shimmered like a river of stars. Her face looked as though it had been sculpted by the gods, with elegant, sharp features and a noble air. Her deep eyes resembled calm lakes, holding a distant, aloof beauty.

She exuded a cold, untouchable presence, as if she were destined to remain untainted by the world.

Even in this simple cave, her aura made her stand out, like the brightest star in the night sky.

Rebecca couldn’t help but think: *She’s exactly Captain’s type.*

A silver-haired goddess in a high-slit dress. Rebecca was starting to wonder if Leon had somehow mastered forbidden magic and created the perfect wife based on his preferences.

Wait a second.

*Wife.*

Rebecca leaned closer to Tiger and whispered, “That’s the Captain’s wife, right? The Silver Dragon Queen?”

Tiger nodded subtly.

This was his second time seeing Rosvisser, and her majestic aura was just as overwhelming as it had been the first time.

However, Rosvisser had no interest in joining their conversation. She simply turned and walked to a nearby wooden chair, sitting down in silence.

Her posture was impeccable, sitting tall with her back straight, resting one arm lightly on the table as she closed her eyes.

There’s something strange about royalty—when they fall silent, it tends to affect everyone around them, causing conversations to die out, and drawing all attention toward them.

Rosvisser was no exception.

She simply sat there, quietly, not saying a word, yet she immediately became the focal point of the entire cave.

“Captain, is your w—” Rebecca hesitated, correcting herself, “Is your wife upset?”

Leon glanced at Rosvisser, who was resting with her eyes closed, and said nothing.

He turned back to his master and Rebecca. “She’s fine. She doesn’t really like talking to strangers. Let’s focus on the mission.”

With that, the teasing ended, and it was time to get down to business.

“I’ll start by updating you on my side of things.”

Leon began, “From the information I’ve gathered, Constantine isn’t the only Dragon King collaborating with the Empire. There are other Dragon Kings secretly working with them, all scheming together.”

“One of Constantine’s confidants probably knows the identities of these other Dragon Kings. My plan is to start investigating this confidant once the Flame Dragon Clan settles down. Hopefully, I can uncover more information from there.”

Tiger frowned. “More Dragon Kings... The Empire’s ambitions really know no bounds.”

Leon shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how many Dragon Kings there are. If needed, we’ll just kill them. What’s more important is figuring out what exactly the Empire and the dragons are planning together.”

"‘It doesn’t matter how many Dragon Kings there are.’ ‘We’ll just kill them.’"

*Do you hear this man?* 

Rebecca nearly blacked out. She had to grab onto her father’s arm for support.

Few people in the world could pull off this level of arrogance so naturally and with such impact as Leon Cosmode, her captain.

“What about you, Master? What information have you gathered?”

Tiger responded, “Ah, we’ve uncovered some new leads, and we’ve made some analyses as well.”

He continued, “After you left, the Empire was relentless in pursuing me and Rebecca, but this high-intensity chase only lasted for about a month.”

“After that, the Empire shifted its focus, directing more resources toward their anti-dragon forces. There have been many more operations targeting dragon clans.”

“According to Martin’s intel from the royal court, they haven’t launched any direct attacks against the Silver Dragon Clan—likely because they’re afraid of your power. After all, killing Constantine has made you a figure of terror in the Empire.”

“Even so, Leon, you and the Silver Dragon Queen cannot afford to be complacent. The fact that they sent Constantine after you in the first place shows how determined they are to eliminate you.”

“It’s possible that the Empire’s current attacks on other dragon clans are merely a distraction. Their real target is still you.”

Leon nodded. “I understand, Master.”

“Good. Now, let’s move on to the other leads we’ve gathered over the past three months. They don’t directly relate to the dragons, but they do involve the Imperial royal family.”

Tiger continued, “Do you remember when the previous king died?”

Leon was taken aback by the unexpected question but quickly recalled, “Over thirty years ago, right? It’s mentioned in the textbooks at the Dragon-Slaying Academy and in various biographies.”

“Exactly, thirty years ago. Recently, Rebecca and I went through all the newspapers, records, and accounts surrounding the previous king’s death. And we found something strange.”

Leon’s brows furrowed. “What was strange?”

“In every single record of the king’s death, there are no photos of his body.”

Tiger’s tone grew heavier, and his speech quickened.

“When a king dies, the nation is supposed to mourn, and the people are supposed to pay their respects to their great leader. Yet, during the funeral, the king’s casket was sealed tight. Not even his closest confidants were allowed to see his body.”

“Furthermore, we looked into records from other years, and discovered that not just the king, but many royal family members and ministers also had no photographs taken of their bodies after death. Only written records of their lives were kept, and no images of their corpses were captured at the funeral.”

“If the reason

 for this was to protect the privacy of the royal family, then why was it that every previous king before this one had images of their bodies released to the public upon their deaths? What’s the explanation for that?”

Tiger took a deep breath and looked Leon in the eye, revealing his bold theory: “I suspect… the ones truly holding power in the Imperial royal family now are people who should have died decades ago.”

Leon was stunned.

He scratched his head, trying to process his master’s theory. “Are you basing this on the absence of corpse photos? That’s a pretty wild conclusion, Master.”

Leon knew his master was a bit of a madman, but this theory seemed too far-fetched to be taken seriously.

“Of course, it’s not just that.”

Tiger explained, “The reason I started digging through the old records in the first place was because I realized something strange during my time in the Empire. The current king’s policies are nearly identical to those of the previous king. There hasn’t been any significant reform.”

Leon’s mind stirred. He glanced at Rosvisser, who was still sitting quietly nearby.

Thanks to his time studying politics with her, Leon quickly grasped the point his master was making and added, “For a ruler to continue the exact same policies as their predecessor is highly unusual. When a new leader takes power, they typically try to erase any traces of the previous ruler to establish their own dominance. From the moment they ascend to the throne, the nation becomes theirs, and they won’t tolerate any interference from the former ruler’s influence.”

“Put simply, every new leader 'lights three fires' upon taking office. 

The first fire burns their enemies.  
The second fire burns their past mistakes.  
The third fire burns the legacy of the previous ruler.”

Tiger’s eyes lit up at Leon’s insight, momentarily speechless with surprise.

*Wait a minute—wasn’t I trying to shield him from learning about power struggles like this? When did he get so knowledgeable?*

Meanwhile, Rosvisser, still seated quietly, allowed a small, barely noticeable smile to cross her face.

*Not bad for a fool. He’s learning pretty fast.*

“You’re exactly right,” Tiger said. “Since the current king ascended to the throne, the Empire’s economy, social structure, culture, education, and welfare policies have remained unchanged. This is highly irregular. That’s why I started investigating the previous king. That’s when I uncovered the mystery surrounding the funeral and the missing corpse photos.”

Leon pondered this for a moment, then said quietly, “If what you’re suggesting is true, and the previous king and other ministers faked their deaths, then they’d be… what, over a hundred years old by now? Very few humans live that long.”

Even if they did, their physical and mental faculties would be far too degraded to run a country.

“Immortality, kid.”

Tiger let out a heavy sigh.

“Immortality. It’s something those in power have sought for centuries.”