Shut Up, Evil Dragon, I Don't Want to Have Children with You Again

Fortunately, the description of the medicine's effects only stated that "Dragon's Might" was a highly effective restorative tonic. It had absolutely nothing to do with aphrodisiacs.

Leon's eyes lit up at that, and he immediately read on, wanting to see where he could get some Dragon's Might.

But the result was like a basin of cold water poured over Leon's excitement.

"Although the medicinal ingredients needed to make Dragon's Might are quite common, even the Dragon Clan's finest pharmacists have a very low chance of successfully preparing it."

"Therefore, despite being a health tonic, Dragon's Might is often in the awkward position of having a price but no supply in the Dragon Clan's market."

Leon stroked his chin and continued reading.

The book also mentioned the method for refining Dragon's Might, but between the lines, it still emphasized just how difficult it was to produce a perfect batch.

Leon pursed his lips and flipped further ahead.

He found that aside from Dragon's Might, which suited his current situation, none of the other medicines were much use.

Moreover, Dragon Clan medicinal herbs differed greatly from human ones, and the refining methods differed even more.

So, on someone else's turf, he could only use someone else's things to get things done.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a pen and paper and made a list of the medicinal herbs needed to prepare Dragon's Might.

He planned to give this list to Anna tomorrow and have her help gather the herbs on it.

Leon could not casually leave this room, so this was the only way he could collect the ingredients.

At the same time, Leon added several other medicinal herbs to the list.

This was to throw people off the scent, so they would not realize he intended to refine Dragon's Might.

"Damn, the more I hear that name, the more absurd it sounds. You dragons give yourselves such nice names—moon, hero, galaxy, and all that—so why are your medicines called things like Kidney Treasure or Might...?"

Grumbling under his breath, Leon carefully put away the completed list. Then he got up, went to the washroom, and gulped down another mouthful of cold water.

His mouth was still numb and burning. He tried breathing out and found that his throat felt somewhat uncomfortable too.

When warm breath passed over his throat, there was a faint burning sensation.

"Tomorrow, I might really have to teach Noa with sign language."

That was a bit of an exaggeration, but his throat was definitely uncomfortable.

After washing up a little more, Leon went to bed and fell asleep.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, maid Anna brought Leon breakfast. He took the opportunity to give her the list of medicinal herbs he had made last night.

Anna did not ask any questions. She merely said she would not be able to gather them all until tomorrow.

Leon said it was fine and that there was no rush.

After Anna left, Leon carried his breakfast into the room. It was bread, boiled chicken breast, and a cup of water.

There was nothing to complain about. Being able to eat food of this caliber already put Leon ahead of 99.9 percent of defeated prisoners.

He tore off a small piece of bread and put it into his mouth. After chewing twice, he swallowed it.

However, when the bread reached his throat, a sharp, painful irritation struck him.

Leon quickly took a drink of water and washed the bread down.

He raised a hand to touch his throat. Even through flesh and blood, he could feel the obvious discomfort.

"Just as I thought... I ate too many chilies."

Knock, knock, knock—

Someone was knocking at the door.

Leon put down the bread in his hand and went to answer it.

It was Noa.

She was alone.

"Morning, Noa." Enduring the discomfort, Leon smiled as he greeted his eldest daughter.

"Good morning."

She still did not add any form of address.

But Leon had grown used to it.

He let Noa into the room.

The iceberg little dragon girl held yesterday's homework in her hand as she followed Leon into the bedroom.

They sat in the same places as yesterday, and Noa handed over her homework sheet.

Leon had only looked it over twice when he heard Noa say, "Um..."

Leon put down the paper. "What is it?"

"This is for you."

As she spoke, Noa pulled a box from her pocket...

"Candy?" Leon blinked. "What kind of candy is this?"

"Throat lozenges."

Leon paused, somewhat incredulous. "For me?"

"Mm. Mom gave them to you, not me."

No matter how mature a child might be, they could never quite hide what was on their mind.

Actually, after Noa had said, "Mom gave them to you," there had been no need for her to add, "Not me."

Saying it that way only made it seem like she was trying to cover something up.

But Leon did not expose her. He simply accepted the throat lozenges. "Help me thank your mom."

"Mm..."

Honestly, they really were from Mom.

Noa recalled what had happened earlier.

That morning, Mom had casually mentioned that after eating so many chilies last night to stay awake, it would be strange if that guy's throat was fine.

Noa had asked why he needed to stay awake.

Mom had said that he seemed to be making some kind of study plan. That bastard might usually seem unreliable, but he was actually a top student.

He had stayed up late to make a study plan for her...

Noa had stared blankly for a while before casually saying that they should give him a box of throat lozenges.

Mom had said that was fine.

At the time, Noa had not realized the seriousness of the matter, so she said, "Mm, then you can bring them to him later."

Mom shook her head and said, "You take them."

And so, what had just happened came to pass.

So... saying they were from Mom was absolutely true, right?

That was what Noa thought to herself.

Leon put a throat lozenge in his mouth. As it soothed his throat, he began checking Noa's test paper.

"Mm, not bad. You completed it very well. So, our main task this morning will be to reinforce yesterday's key points. Shall we start now?"

Noa obediently nodded. "Okay."

That night, Leon placed several chilies and the box of throat lozenges Noa had given him during the day beside him, then began preparing the content and plan for tomorrow's tutoring session.

Noa's comprehension and talent were simply too outstanding. He had to keep racing ahead of his eldest daughter without stopping; only then would he avoid delaying her growth.

Raising such a clever daughter was like tending to a thriving sapling.

You had to water and nurture her without pause, giving her a constant stream of nourishment, before she could grow into a towering tree that sheltered others from sun and rain.

Fortunately, Leon had mastered quite a few efficient study methods back when he was at Dragon Slaying Academy, and he was used to staying up late by overdrawing his body.

Otherwise, he might already have been looked down upon by his daughter and that stubborn mule of a Dragon Queen.

At that thought, Leon suddenly froze.

He realized that he seemed to care more and more about what Losweiser thought of him.

If the family dinner a few days ago had made Leon realize that Losweiser had never thought highly of him—that in her eyes, Leon was no longer the high-spirited, unstoppable Dragon Slayer who had once been her arch-enemy—and that was why Leon had suddenly "fallen ill" after dinner to teach the Queen a lesson;

Then everything after that, such as secretly preparing Dragon's Might to nourish his body, and now staying up late to prepare lessons because he wanted to raise his daughter well, had more or less been connected to how much Leon cared about Losweiser's opinion of him.

Leon scratched the tip of his nose and gave a derisive snort.

"Tch. It's only for my daughter. It has absolutely nothing to do with that Dragon Queen."

It was the first time he had said those words, but why did they sound a little familiar?

It seemed that on the day of the double dragon-mark in the warehouse, Losweiser had said something similar too?

Leon shook his head, gathering his thoughts, and began focusing on lesson preparation.

It was not until after eleven at night, when drowsiness came flooding over him, that Leon grabbed a chili and took a bite.

Just like yesterday, it was plenty potent.

After gulping down a mouthful of cold water, Leon set the completed tutoring plan aside, then took out the medicinal ingredients Anna had brought him at dinner from the drawer.

There were more than a dozen packets of various sizes, but only five or six of them were needed to prepare Dragon's Might.

Leon opened the corresponding packets. The ingredients were a mixed bag—some he had seen in the Empire, while others were specialties of the dragon race.

He rubbed his hands together, opened the medicine book, and flipped to the detailed page on Dragon's Might.

"Alright, alright, let's begin!"

Following the method in the book for preparing Dragon's Might, Leon began the process of making the medicine.

First, he mixed and crushed two kinds of medicinal ingredients together. This was the most basic step;

Then came burning a certain medicinal herb to a charred crisp, collecting its powder, and storing it in a bottle for later use.

Leon searched all around the room but couldn't find a bottle that could hold powder.

At last, inspiration struck. He remembered his nutrient solution—it came in a test tube bottle.

Leon took out the nutrient solution. He had originally planned to pour out the liquid inside, but after thinking it over, he unscrewed the cap and chugged it all in one go.

Then he wiped his mouth. "Can't waste it."

After rinsing out the test tube, Leon continued reading:

"The next step is... mix these three medicinal herbs together, then pour in the upper clear liquid prepared from Sky Blue Wood, stir evenly, and then..."

Leon followed the book's instructions, proceeding in an orderly fashion.

"The most crucial step, and the problem that has plagued all dragon alchemists, is precisely this one. Because of it, most attempts at refining end in failure."

Reading that line, Leon immediately sharpened his focus and studied it closely.

"How to separate the active substances from the mixed powder of several medicinal herbs... The book provides two methods."

"One is high-temperature separation, but this method has extremely strict temperature requirements. Too high or too low simply won't do;"

"The second is physical separation: using high-speed rotation to shake out the needed active substances. However, the physical separation method is particularly inefficient..."

Leon looked at the amount of medicinal herbs he had. Physical separation definitely wouldn't be enough.

High-temperature separation, meanwhile, required professional equipment as well, such as an alcohol lamp fitted with a Fire Element Rune.

But Leon had struggled just to find a test tube in his room—where was he supposed to get an alcohol lamp?

Just as he was worrying over it, Leon heard the lock make a sound. He hurriedly stuffed the pile of medicinal herbs back into the drawer in a mess.

Tap—tap—