He understood Noa's personality. She was ambitious and held herself to high standards.
So he absolutely could not say something like, "You won't pass."
That would be no different from denying all the effort Noa had put in before.
"The entrance exam for Saint Hiss Academy's Young Dragon Department is famously difficult, Noa."
Noa nodded.
"So this will be a completely new challenge for you. Of course, for your mother and me, this challenge won't be a small one either."
"But no matter how difficult it is, as long as our family faces it together, we'll get through it. Don't you think?"
His eldest daughter did not like being treated like a child.
Leon knew that well.
So he placed himself and Losweiser on the same starting line as Noa.
What he meant was not, "Your father and mother are your strongest shield," but rather, "Your father and mother will work hard alongside you."
That sense of recognition was what Noa needed.
And Noa's reaction proved that Leon's pep talk had been fairly effective.
A brief expression of surprise and delight appeared on her cold little face.
Though it vanished in an instant, Leon's words had still moved her.
Father and daughter sat cross-legged, facing each other.
Leon raised his right hand and gently curled it into a fist. "I don't know if you understand this gesture for encouragement, but... Dad wants to try it with you."
As he spoke, Leon straightened his arm and held his fist suspended between himself and Noa.
Noa blinked, looking first at Leon's gesture, then down at her own little hand.
After hesitating for a moment, she also clenched her right hand into a fist and copied Leon, extending her arm.
The two fists, one large and one small, lightly bumped together.
Leon smiled with narrowed eyes. "You can definitely do it, Noa."
Perhaps even Noa herself had not noticed that her tail behind her had unconsciously swayed twice.
She lowered her head slightly and softened her voice. "Thank you..."
Noa seemed to want to add something after that "thank you," perhaps a form of address, perhaps a name.
But in the end, she added nothing.
There was only that single sentence: thank you.
Leon did not force his daughter to say anything. As long as she took his words to heart, that was enough.
Lowering his arm, Leon stretched, then leaned back and lay down on Losweiser's back in her Dragon form.
She had insisted on putting him under pressure last night. Now he was going to sleep his heart out!
Several hours later, the family of three arrived at Saint Hiss Academy.
It was located at the very center of the mountain range bearing the same name. Its position was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Like Sky City, only races capable of flight could reach it.
After landing before the academy gates, Losweiser returned to human form.
Quite a few other Dragon race families had come alongside them.
But families like Noa's, with both parents present, were rare.
"Let's go in," Losweiser said, taking Noa's hand as she walked toward the academy gates.
With his hands in his pockets, Leon followed close behind.
The moment they entered, they saw an ancient design style, broad paths through the campus, and farther inside, an enormous dragon-shaped stone statue.
It was probably built to commemorate some Dragon race hero, Leon thought.
After passing through the walkway, they arrived at the Young Dragon Department's enrollment office.
Because it was an aristocratic academy within the Dragon Race, the family of three did not wait long before a staff member personally came to receive them.
The staff member led them into an office and began filling out their basic information.
"Name: Noa K. Melkewei. Silver Dragon Clan. Age: one year and... three months?"
The staff member could not help looking surprised at the information on the registration form.
She raised her head and looked at Losweiser and Leon seated across from her.
"Although Saint Hiss Academy stipulates that young dragons may enroll from the age of one, after centuries of development, nearly all young dragons who enroll are between four and six years old. Is your little princess... perhaps a little too young?"
Losweiser had expected the staff member's doubts.
The other woman was right. Most young dragons did not enroll until after they turned four.
A young dragon like Noa, just over one year old, already possessed basic mobility and thinking ability, but keeping up with the Young Dragon Department's courses would still be rather difficult.
But since Noa herself had requested to enroll, Losweiser would naturally support her daughter with everything she had.
She understood her own child best.
Noa had always disliked having others treat her as a child.
The stubbornness and competitiveness in her bones truly made her no different from an adult.
"Yes, my husband and I have considered the matter of her age. We do not believe it will affect anything, and our daughter has no objections either," Losweiser replied concisely.
The staff member shifted her gaze to the little Dragon girl seated between the couple.
There was little expression on her young face, and her eyes did not dart around.
She simply sat there properly, carefully listening to the adults speak.
Not to mention a young dragon just over one year old—even four- or five-year-old dragon hatchlings were at an age when they were lively and restless.
The staff member had not seen a young dragon like this little Dragon girl in a long time: quiet, yet carrying a faintly composed air.
"All right, I was only curious."
The staff member smiled as she filled out the rest of their forms. Then she took a card from beneath the drawer and presented it to Noa with both hands.
"Your daughter meets the basic requirements to take our academy's entrance test. Please keep this test card safe and proceed to the fourth floor to wait for the test."
Noa put away the test card, jumped down from her chair, and said, "Then I'm going, Mom."
"Okay. Good luck."
"Mm-hm."
Noa jogged out of the office.
The staff member stood as well. "Little Noa should be a viviparous young dragon, correct?"
Losweiser nodded.
"Then please follow me to the third floor for the assessment for viviparous families."
Leon and Losweiser exchanged a glance, then gave each other an almost imperceptible nod.
At this point, no one understood assessments better than our family!
Leon nearly told Losweiser how many times he had been kicked by his master's donkey as a child.
If they failed this one too, Leon would put on the Black-Gold War Chariot and go explain some reason to the people who wrote the questions in the principal's office.
The staff member led them to the third floor, but it seemed that two other families were already waiting ahead of them.
It looked like they would have to wait for a while.
After all, Saint Hiss Academy placed great importance on family assessments.
"I'll go in and register the two of you first. There are still two families ahead of you, so please be patient," the staff member said with a slight nod.
"Okay, thank you for the trouble."
The staff member entered the office ahead.
Leon and Losweiser sat down on a bench in the hallway.
Losweiser lowered her head, her tail unconsciously curling slightly. With her hands on her knees, she repeatedly pressed and rubbed at her fingernails.
She looked somewhat nervous.
Leon leaned against the back of the bench and glanced sideways at Losweiser.
Since last night, she had kept saying that she was nervous and under a lot of pressure—for which she had even used her classic methods to "teach Leon a lesson."
Afterward, she had even specifically explained herself. In the past, she had never explained her reasons.
She must really care about this entrance test. After all, it concerned Noa.
Leon pursed his lips and raised his hand, looking at the back of Losweiser's fair hand.
But after hesitating, his hand ultimately landed on Losweiser's shoulder.
"What's wrong? Did the stress relief treatment from last night wear off that quickly?"
Losweiser shot him an annoyed yet amused look. She could tell that Leon was trying to joke around and ease her nerves. "That does absolutely nothing to comfort me."
Leon spread his hands. "Then how do you want me to comfort you? Do it a few more times?"
"Go die."
Losweiser laughed as she cursed him, then moved her shoulder and shook off Leon's hand.
Still, that little joke did help ease some of her anxiety.
Losweiser lifted her head, let out a long breath, and quietly waited for the assessment to begin.
About an hour later, the two families ahead of them had finished their assessments.
The staff member from earlier led Leon and Losweiser into the office.
This office was larger and more lavishly furnished.
Inside, three white-haired elders—dragons—sat side by side behind a long table.
The two seated on the left and right looked stern, sitting upright with meticulous seriousness.
The one in the middle wore a more approachable smile and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a refined, scholarly appearance.
The staff member had Leon and Losweiser wait by the door while she stepped forward and spoke quietly with the three elders.
Taking advantage of the moment, Losweiser leaned toward Leon's ear and lowered her voice. "Based on your experience, do you think those three will be easy to deal with?"
Leon carefully examined the three dragons before giving his evaluation.
"Easy to kill."
Losweiser froze. "Easy... to kill?"
He nodded. "Mm. Before you captured me, I could have easily taken their heads within fifty rounds."
Losweiser helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. "That's not what I mean by easy to deal with... I mean, will they give us difficult questions during the assessment later, okay?"
Leon shrugged. "Don't worry. We prepared so much for the written assessment. Nothing will go wrong."
About five minutes later, the staff member came over with two sets of test papers.
"Please come over here for the assessment. There is no time limit, but you may not speak during the assessment. Thank you for your cooperation."
As she spoke, the staff member led Leon and Losweiser to a table and had them sit on opposite sides.
An opaque partition separated the middle of the table.
The assessment officially began.
Leon looked over the questions on the paper. Most of them were things he and Losweiser had discussed during their previous all-nighters.
It could be said that during those few short nights, their understanding of each other had already surpassed that of couples who had been married for years.
So when answering these questions, they did not stumble much at all. It went quite smoothly.
Half an hour later, they handed in their respective answer sheets.
The staff member gave the answer sheets to the Director of Studies on the left for review.
Before you continue