Shut Up, Malevolent Dragon! I Don’t Want to Have Any More Children With You

Judging by Leon's expression, Rosvisser could guess which "perfect candidate" he was thinking of.
But...
"He’s not only got a grudge against the Empire; he’s got a pretty big one against you too. Are you sure he’ll help us?”

Leon considered this for a moment. “Last time I went to him for intel on the Empire, he insisted we weren’t allies. But I believe, given the chance for revenge against the Empire, he’ll take it.”
Constantine might be a bit hot-headed, but he was also pragmatic.
Revenge against the Empire outweighed his feud with Leon. After all, finding Leon would be easy—he was right here in the Silver Dragon Sanctuary, taking care of three kids who needed him. But the Empire was different; it was a human territory, well out of dragon reach, and their leaders had countless dirty tricks up their sleeves, most of which even Constantine couldn’t guess.

Leon was counting on this reality, making him confident that Constantine would agree to help.
“So, it’s settled,” Rosvisser nodded. “With Constantine’s support, our odds improve significantly.”
“Yes. We’ll keep this plan for now. I’ll work out more details with my master once he’s regained his strength.”

“Sounds good.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Out of courtesy, the couple answered it together.

It was Claudia.
“Good morning,” Leon greeted her.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Very well, thank you.”
“Great. Come with me—I want you to meet a friend.”
Leon blinked, puzzled. “A friend?”

He glanced at Rosvisser, who looked just as confused. Apart from Claudia and Mistress Charlotte, they knew no one else down here in the Sea Dragon Clan.
Claudia smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see. A human girl is waiting for you outside.”
At that, Rebecca popped up from behind Claudia, practically bouncing with excitement. “Captain, hurry up! Claudia says we’ll be thrilled to meet this friend!”
*You don’t even know who the ‘friend’ is and you’re this excited?* Leon thought with a bemused smile. “Alright, we’re coming.”

Leon and Rosvisser followed Claudia, with Rebecca in tow. They kept to quieter passages, avoiding the palace’s guards and attendants. While Claudia’s high status meant that no one would dare question her friends if they were spotted, it was easier to avoid any potential hassle.
Claudia led them to a beautiful underwater garden, complete with a patch of artificial grass and a small wooden house in the distance.
Leon stood just outside the garden fence, gazing in. In the middle of the grassy area, he noticed a shadow moving leisurely.

“Looks… familiar,” he muttered.
Claudia smirked and put her fingers to her lips, whistling sharply.
The shadow on the grass immediately lifted its head, abandoning the grass it had been chewing to look toward them.

It was then that Leon and Rebecca got a clear look at this “friend.”
“Oh my god…”
“No way… It’s A-Donkey!”

A flood of memories burst forth!
The familiar gray fur, that lively tail, the muscular stance, and those big, gleaming eyes like gemstones—it was unmistakable.
“It’s him! It’s really him!”

Just as Claudia began to say, “This is the friend I wanted to—whoa, Leon, watch out! That fence was expensive!”
Before she could finish, Leon had leaped over the fence and was sprinting toward the figure he’d missed for so long.
And the donkey, as if sensing an old friend, broke into a gallop to meet him.

Man and donkey, like star-crossed lovers separated by fate, were finally reunited in this romantic undersea setting.
What a beautiful moment—a scene worthy of being etched into the history of humans, dragons, and donkeys alike.
“Donkey~”

“Eee-aw!” (Donkey sounds)
“Aaah, Dooonkeeeey~”
“Eee-awww!” (More donkey sounds)

“Aa—Ahh!”
What should have been a heartfelt reunion quickly took a turn.
The donkey lifted its front hoof and, without hesitation, kicked Leon square in the face.

The loud smack echoed, and Rosvisser and Rebecca, watching from the fence, couldn’t help but wince in sympathy.
It was Rebecca who broke the stunned silence first.
“This is the only creature in existence capable of inflicting real, physical harm on the Empire’s most powerful dragon slayer, Leon Cosmod—”

“The one and only—”
“His own donkey!”
Rosvisser sighed, covering her face. “This isn’t the time for dramatic commentary…”

Claudia hadn’t expected such an unusual reunion either, scratching her head in rare confusion.
“Honestly, Charlotte always talks about how close her donkey is to Leon, so I thought their reunion would be… well, touching. Who would have guessed…”
As a princess raised with elite etiquette, Claudia was momentarily at a loss for the right word.

But Rebecca, who was used to the gritty underbelly of the Empire, hit the nail on the head. “Abstract.”
“Yes. Looking back on the captain’s life, it’s been both glorious and abstract,” Rebecca continued. “And most of his more ‘abstract’ moments involve /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ this donkey.”
Rosvisser sighed. “He talks about that donkey so much, you’d think it was his first love.”

“Come on, you’re his real first love,” Rebecca teased. “No need to be jealous of a donkey—ow!”
Yesterday, Rebecca had been on the receiving end of Leon’s forehead flick; today, she received one from Rosvisser.
Meanwhile, on the grass, Leon clung to the donkey’s neck, blood trickling from his nose.

“Donkey, what’s wrong? Don’t you remember me?”
The donkey: ╭(╯^╰)╮
“Are you mad at me?”

The donkey: (￣^￣)
“Listen, I didn’t know you were here! That’s why I couldn’t come see you these past few years.”
The donkey: 乛 3乛

“Now that I do know, I’ll finish my business outside, then come get you so we can be together again, just like old times!”
The donkey: (?? ??`)
Rosvisser gulped, watching this scene in astonishment.

“He can… actually communicate with a donkey?”
“I didn’t believe it at first either,” Claudia said, “but every time he talks to that donkey, he gets kicked. So now, I believe it.”
“He gets kicked every time? Does that mean he’s—”

“Augh!” Leon was sent flying, a trail of blood arcing through the air as he landed flat on his back in the grass, dazed.
“Donkey… you’re just as quick to kick me as ever,” he muttered, staring up at the sky, half-dizzy.