Slacker Second Gen C44

Chapter 44: Dragon Dad 14

Meiwa hung her head in frustration, staring at a grease stain on the table, not daring to look up at Teacher Lacia sitting across from her.

The ears on her head were still in the young dragon’s hands, being pinched and played with, making her feel ticklish.

Unconsciously, Meiwa tilted her head, almost leaning against the young dragon.

Right now, she could only hope that the young dragon’s presence would help them get through this ordeal and prevent Teacher Lacia from freezing them into ice on the spot.

Of course, she also hoped there wouldn’t be an impromptu test on their Dragon Language skills—she hadn’t reviewed anything over the break.

A drunk adventurer staggered over, reeking of alcohol, and slurred, “Meiwa! Weren’t you all high and mighty? Wouldn’t even let me touch you no matter how much I paid! But now you’re here entertaining guests? How much did this pretty boy pay?”

This man had been frequenting the place lately, pestering Meiwa relentlessly. She had rejected him multiple times, but he just wouldn’t take the hint.

And now, of all times, he chose to stir up trouble! Meiwa turned to glare at him, rolling her eyes and silently mouthing, “Get lost.”

With the teacher right in front of her, she had to maintain her good-girl image and couldn’t curse him out like she normally would.

Bernie and Dewin, sitting beside her, exchanged a look.

They had originally planned to save up enough travel funds before dragging this guy into a dark alley for a good beating before they left this place.

But now, with Lacia catching them red-handed, there was a real chance he’d send them straight back to school. Would they even have the opportunity anymore?

Just as they were thinking that, the drunken man suddenly froze into a block of ice.

Bernie reacted the fastest. He glanced at the smiling Teacher Lacia, then swiftly extended his leg and kicked the ice block out of the inn.

Since they were already near the entrance, it conveniently rolled right outside.

The surrounding patrons, enchanted by dragon magic, didn’t notice a thing. They continued drinking and chatting as if nothing had happened.

“I’ll be staying here with Qian for the night,” Lacia announced.

Dewin cautiously asked, “And… what about us?”

Lacia raised an eyebrow. “Do you need me to manage you?”

The three siblings immediately understood—this meant he was leaving them alone! Their ears, which had been drooping moments ago, perked up in excitement.

“Understood, Teacher Lacia! Thank you, Teacher Lacia!”

Even though the three of them were being treated as toys, having their ears pinched by the young dragon in turns, most students at the Central Magic Academy had played with the young dragon before. They were enjoying it just fine.

And besides…

Seeing that Teacher Lacia wasn’t paying attention, Meiwa quietly pulled out a bracelet from her pocket.

It was a local stone bracelet, naturally pink, very popular among girls.

“Qian, look! Do you think this is pretty? I’ll give it to you!”

Qian released one hand to lean over and examine the bracelet in Meiwa’s hand. Bernie, who was still being pulled by the ear, grimaced in pain as his body tilted along with her movement.

Following her usual habit, Qian accepted the bracelet and, in return, reached into a small pocket in her skirt’s dimensional space, pulling out a ruby to give to Meiwa.

Meiwa grinned, stealthily accepting the gemstone and whispering, “Thanks, Qian, darling!”

If Teacher Lacia weren’t here, she would have kissed this little cutie who had helped them out so much!

The Next Morning

At dawn, Lacia left with Qian, while the three siblings stood in front of Inn, respectfully seeing their teacher off.

As soon as Lacia was out of sight, they instantly straightened their backs, puffed out their chests, rolled their shoulders, and returned to their usual arrogant demeanor.

“Hahaha, Dewin! A whole patch of fur is missing from your ear! You look like you’ve got a bald spot!”

“Bernie, have you looked at yourself? You’re not any better.”

“Damn, you’re right! Our ears got rubbed bald. Qian’s grip is getting stronger. Good thing these are just magically conjured half-beast ears and not our actual hair—otherwise…”

“If our ears go bald, will the boss just fire us on the spot?”

Hearing her brother’s worry, Meiwa chuckled and pulled out the ruby Qian had given her.

“No need to work anymore! With this gem, we can exchange it for money and continue our adventures!”

Isaac City

Even in summer, Isaac City remained cold. The locals’ faces were flushed red from the chill, dressed in thin fur garments, standing in stark contrast to the heavily bundled-up foreigners.

This season brought many tourists to Isaac City, so street vendors lined the roads, selling hats and gloves, or directly selling furs. The most common goods, however, were fish.

The city’s signature bright red big-mouthed fish had blood-red flesh with a delicious taste. It was only available in this season, drawing many visitors just to try it.

Among the many stalls, one was particularly unique—it sold ice sculptures.

The vendor was a black-haired boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen. Unlike the locals, his facial features weren’t as sharp and defined. Instead, he had a refined, delicate appearance.

His long legs were bent, with a piece of leather draped over them, as he carefully carved an ice block with a small knife.

In front of him, the stall was already lined with various ice-sculpted animals.

As the crisp sound of ice being shaved away filled the air, the boy noticed someone stopping in front of his stall. He looked up.

It seemed to be… a father and daughter?

Regardless of their ages, their appearances were strikingly dazzling.

The boy’s hand paused mid-carving. He gave a brief nod and said, “If you’re looking to buy something, take a look.”

His voice was somewhat cold, and compared to the other vendors, his attitude wasn’t very welcoming. There was a rebellious air in his eyes, making him look anything but well-behaved.

Given that the stall was selling ice sculptures, it was understandable that there weren’t many customers.

Lacia glanced at the boy and picked up an ice-carved penguin from the stall, sensing a faint magical fluctuation within it.

The boy added, “I used magic. These ice sculptures won’t melt easily.”

Lacia nodded and reservedly praised, “Not bad.”

This little mage’s ice magic was quite well-practiced.

He was just about to ask his young one whether she liked the ice penguin when he noticed her gripping the edge of the stall with both hands, staring intently at the boy sculpting the ice.

The boy also noticed the gaze of the adorable little girl. He set down his knife, brushed off the snowflakes from his clothes, and pulled out a few more finely crafted ice sculptures from a nearby box.

“There are also these to choose from.”

But instead of looking at the sculptures, the child glanced at the boy again, then suddenly spread her arms and said, “Hug!”

The boy: “?”

Lacia: “?”

…

……

The boy, carrying his toolbox with a blank expression, was now holding a little girl in his arms as he walked toward his home.

Lacia walked beside him, his scrutinizing gaze sweeping over the boy repeatedly, filled with suspicion.

Since the girl was a big customer who had purchased all of his ice sculptures, he endured the scrutiny, though his expression remained sour.

“What’s your name?”

“Leo Lagun.”

“…Lagun?” Lacia’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

He was familiar with the name “Lagun.” It once belonged to a renowned family, long ago known as the Dragon Hunters.

In the previous era, this family had hunted magical dragons—dragons that had been tainted by corrupt magic.

Over time, however, for various reasons, the family had declined and had not produced any outstanding individuals since.

The name “Lagun” was not one that just anyone dared to use lightly.

“A descendant of the Dragon Hunters?” Lacia asked with a touch of mockery.

Leo was accustomed to such attitudes and answered directly, “Yes.”

Seeing this human boy carrying his young one, Lacia found him even more displeasing.

It wasn’t the “Dragon Hunter” name that bothered Lacia. What truly irked him was something else entirely.

A thousand years ago, an Ice Dragon had fallen in love with a human man from the Lagun family. Before dying, she used the power of her soul to bestow a blessing upon the family’s descendants.

If any of the Lagun bloodline possessed a talent for ice magic, it was due to the Ice Dragon’s gift.

Lacia had always firmly believed that dragons should not fall in love with humans. Naturally, he had no fondness for those who received a dragon’s affection and stole their soul power.

Moreover… his young one seemed inexplicably fond of this boy. Not only had she voluntarily asked to be held, but she had also stayed clinging to him the entire time. How could Lacia not be on guard?

Fortunately, his dragon child was still very young, far from reaching maturity. By the time she came of age, this boy would be long dead from old age. Only this thought stopped Lacia from outright eliminating this descendant of the Lagun family, who had a history with dragons.

“Qian, come here. Let Father hold you.” Lacia attempted to coax his child back.

The young dragon hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not leave. Instead, she reached out and tugged on Leo’s ear.

Leo: “…”

He shifted his ear out of reach, lifted the child off himself, and handed her back to her father.

“Here, take her.”

Lacia’s eyes turned cold as he stared at Leo. “What do you mean? Are you rejecting my child?”

Leo: “Didn’t you want to hold her?”

Lacia became even more displeased. “Didn’t you see that she wants to stay with you?”

Leo felt this man was utterly unreasonable.

Upon arriving at his home, Leo was finally able to put the child down.

His house sat on the outskirts of Isaac City, a sturdy-looking cottage with numerous frozen fish hanging outside.

“The penguins are out back. Follow me.”

Leo grabbed a bunch of fish and tossed them into a bucket before heading behind the house.

The reason these two guests had followed him home was that he had mentioned penguins, and it just so happened that there was a penguin colony behind his house.

In Isaac City, people frequently saw these chubby, clumsy creatures. They spent most of their time on the ice fields, but occasionally, they wandered into human settlements, even stealing fish and other food left outside.

Leo often suffered such losses, but he didn’t mind much. In fact, he would even take the initiative to feed them.

“You can look and touch, but don’t grab them,” Leo warned.

He skillfully found the penguin colony and called them over with fish.

Squatting down, he began feeding the penguins while Qian finally shifted her attention to the truly adorable creatures before her.

She was shorter than the penguins and had to look up at them within the colony.

As the penguins squabbled over the fish, they occasionally glanced down at the strange little intruder.

Qian wandered among them.

She pinched one penguin’s flipper, stroked another’s belly and back.

Some penguins remained indifferent to being touched, while others were more irritable and squawked in protest, even pecking at her.

Qian caught the pecking penguin’s beak, and the bird, unable to maintain its balance, toppled over, sliding on its belly across the ice.

The familiar sight of a “penguin sled” immediately piqued Qian’s interest, and she instinctively tried to climb onto its back.

A pair of fish-scented hands lifted her away from the penguin.

“No riding,” Leo said.

Lacia stepped forward, took his child from Leo’s hands, and placed her back onto the penguin.

“Of course, she can ride.”

Leo: “If the penguin goes wild, she’ll fall.”

Lacia: “Heh, she won’t.”

Leo studied this elegant man for a moment before suddenly saying, “You don’t seem like this child’s father.”

Lacia’s violet eyes seemed to freeze over, his voice eerily gentle. “What did you say?”

Unaware of his identity and unafraid of death, the defiant youth Leo smirked. “You look more like her grandfather. Only grandfathers spoil children this irrationally.”

Lacia: “…”

The aura of an enraged dragon descended upon the area. The penguins, trembling under the overwhelming pressure, flattened themselves to the ground, too scared to move. Qian, still atop one of them, watched the two men.

A gust of cold wind swept through the area, and Qian suddenly sneezed.

It was an earth-shattering sneeze.

Right in front of her, a small patch of land unexpectedly burst with vibrant life. In the blink of an eye, lush green grass sprouted, buds emerged, and delicate yellow flowers bloomed.

The defiant youth, Leo, stiffened. “!!!”