There was also a milky-white crystal inlaid on the thumb ring, translucent and sparkling.
Isa did recognize the jade, but as for the material of this crystal… it seemed like she had never seen it before. "Grandma, this crystal…"
"Primordial crystal," Veronica did not hide it.
"Primordial… crystal?"
Isa's thoughts stirred, and suddenly she recalled, "I remember when Constantine attacked my sanctuary last week, Little Rose also used something called the Primordial Power… Grandma, this is—"
"There's also the same kind of crystal on the necklace I gave her."
Veronica said, "I just didn't tell her."
Isa frowned slightly, "Why?"
Veronica slowly looked at her granddaughter, meeting her red eyes.
The grandmother and granddaughter looked at each other for a moment. Isa suddenly understood, "Because of brother-in-law… right?"
Veronica chuckled softly, "You've always been this smart, Isa. Primordial crystals can help you all gather primordial power more easily and use stronger magic. But this thing involves too much dragon history, and I don't want Little Rose's husband to know too much."
"Grandma, you also think brother-in-law is… of unknown origin?"
"Yes," Veronica turned around, placed both hands on the railing, and looked at the distant night scene.
"In just a few short years, Little Rose's Silver Dragon Sanctuary has been invaded multiple times by various dragon kings. That's not normal."
"Even if the Silver Dragon territory is rich in resources, it shouldn't be involved in wars this frequently."
"And all of this likely began after Leon awakened."
"So I think… this man of unknown origin must be hiding some kind of secret."
"To be fair, he has saved Little Rose and the children from danger several times. Some even call him the 'Hero of the Dragon Race.' But at the same time—"
"He also attracts danger."
"Little Rose must know this too, but… she loves her mysterious husband deeply. Even if she is in danger, I believe she wouldn't leave Leon."
"So, I could only leave the primordial crystal to her as a gift, hoping she can grasp this powerful force."
"Of course, also left one for you, so that you cheeky girl won't say your grandma is biased."
Isa smiled and carefully stored away the jade thumb ring embedded with the primordial crystal.
"I understand, Grandma."
"What do you think Leon's objective is?", Veronica asked.
Isa pondered for a moment and replied, "My mysterious brother-in-law loves Little Rose, and Little Rose loves him. That's beyond doubt. But if you have to say he has an objective… maybe he's waiting for an opportunity?"
"Waiting for an opportunity?"
"Mm, I think he's waiting for a specific moment."
Isa said, "You said earlier that brother-in-law attracts danger. I think that's only half correct. Little Rose wouldn't entrust everything to a man who only brings danger."
"That guy's charm lies in how he attracts danger, resolves it, and gives that 'danger' a heavy counterattack."
"As for why I think he's waiting for an opportunity, it's probably because I believe that one day in the future, he'll resolve all the current crises and troubles, and even… change the entire structure of the world."
"With what he's shown so far, I believe he can do it."
Listening to her granddaughter's analysis, Veronica nodded thoughtfully, "A mysterious and dangerous man… No wonder Little Rose is so infatuated with him. Your mother was also conquered by your father like this back then."
Isa raised an eyebrow, "Grandma, tell me more, I love this stuff."
Veronica chuckled with a snort, "We'll talk later. For now, let's focus on your mysterious brother-in-law. Since we can't determine his true objective, let's talk about his… origin."
"Origin…"
"Mm, or rather… his race."
Isa froze, "Grandma, you mean… brother-in-law might not even be of the dragon race?"
Veronica shrugged, "Since we're guessing blindly, might as well guess boldly."
"Alright alright, Grandma, you're really getting braver with age."
"Then do you have any leads, my clever granddaughter?"
Isa rubbed her chin and thought for a while, then a lightbulb lit up above her head, "Got it. Grandma, wait here for a bit."
After speaking, Isa spread her dragon wings and flew down from the rooftop.
A few minutes later, she returned with paper and pen.
"I really do have some clues about what race brother-in-law might come from."
As she spoke, Isa spread out the white paper, writing as she explained, "Last time when I faced off against Constantine, I clearly heard brother-in-law call his move 'Chidori.'"
"But judging from the move's actual effect, it was obviously 'Lightning Thrust.'"
"Afterwards, I looked it up and found that they're actually the same move, just called differently by different races."
"And the races that call 'Lightning Thrust' as 'Chidori' are…"
Isa wrote down several race names and handed the paper to Veronica.
"Wolfkin, Garuda, Elf branch 'Lightning Elves', Mamba, and… Humans."
Veronica looked at these names, and her eyes paused briefly on the words 'Human', then shifted to 'Mamba'.
"Mamba should be a sub-branch of the Giant Serpent race, right?"
"Yes, this sub-race is also good at using lightning magic."
Veronica frowned slightly, then shook her head, "I think we can rule out this race."
"Eh? Why?"
"Although Mambas can also take human form, most of the time their human forms have black skin. Your brother-in-law only has black eyes and hair, so he probably isn't Mamba."
On the Samael Continent, all major races, after shapeshifting, would tend toward human forms, but no one knew why such a strange biological trait existed.
A more scientific hypothesis was:
The human body is the most harmonious and balanced structure, also the most aesthetically simple lifeform.
Another more mystic explanation was:
The Creator looked like a human, so all races and living beings on the Samael Continent would eventually evolve their forms toward human appearance.
Back to the point.
"Oh, I see… then we'll rule that one out."
As she spoke, Isa crossed out that race from the list with her pen.
"Mamba… out!"
———
The next day, the Melkvei family arrived at Sky City.
Rossweise had booked in advance with Teacher Selena, who took Noah's school entrance photos last time.
When Selena saw this full house of seven people, she was indeed shocked.
Normally, dragon families stayed between two to three members, and at most not more than five.
But this family… those who knew might think they came for a family photo shoot, while those who didn't might assume they were headed off to fight some ultra S-class monster as a team.
However many people came, Selena could rely on her professionalism to shoot them the perfect family portrait.
After a round of busy preparation, Selena informed Rossweise that the photos would be ready only in the evening.
Taking advantage of the photo-developing time, the Melkvei family started wandering around Sky City.
Isa and Veronica silently walked at the back, keeping a certain distance from the front group of Rossweise, Leon, and the children.
"Grandma, after our talk last night, I've decided to properly test out my brother-in-law's racial makeup," Isa whispered.
Veronica seemed to have expected this. Her eldest granddaughter had always been the action type, and definitely not the kind to lose interest after three minutes.
"How do you plan to investigate?"
"Didn't we list a few high-probability races yesterday? Let's start with those."
Isa said, "We can test my brother-in-law based on the nature and traits of each race, then infer his origin from how he performs. What do you think, Grandma?"
Veronica looked at Leon's back. Her thoughts stirred. After a brief silence, she replied, "Alright. Then which race do you want to start with?"
Isa thought for a moment and replied, "Let's start with… the Garuda."
Grandma raised her eyebrows, "Do you know that race well?"
At that, Isa giggled without giving a direct answer, and instead leaned close to her grandma, "Grandma, notice anything different about me today?"
Grandma looked at her beautiful and delicate face, sizing her up from head to toe, finally stopping at her eyes, "You have dark circles."
"Correct~"
Isa said with a smile, "I stayed up late last night researching the biological traits of those races, just so I can test brother-in-law's composition today."
Grandma shook her head and smiled wryly, "If only you'd put that kind of diligence into tribe development, the Red Dragons would've made it into the top-tier dragon ranks already."
Though she said so, the Red Dragon tribe of Isa and the Silver Dragon tribe of Rossweise were still top-ranking among dragons.
Her words were just a parent's expectations of their child.
Isa waved it off and returned to the topic.
"The Garuda are rulers of the skies, with extremely strong dynamic vision and night vision."
"Brother-in-law is a strong fighter, especially in close combat, so his dynamic vision must be excellent."
"So… I want to test his night vision ability."
Veronica nodded, "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Isa smiled mysteriously, then stopped walking and pointed at a nearby shop, "There."
Veronica followed her gaze — it was a…
'Haunted house?'
"You want to test your brother-in-law's makeup with something like this that kids play with? That's a bit naive, Isa."
Over their long lives, dragons would experience countless dangers and unknowns. Even the most laid-back tribes had weathered many storms.
So haunted houses were mostly made for young or untraveled dragons.
Isa shrugged, "Of course I know haunted houses might not scare brother-in-law, but that's not the point. The point is, the haunted house environment is perfect for testing night vision. Later, when we go in, if brother-in-law walks through like it's flat ground and clears it like drinking water, then his bloodline definitely has some issues."
Isa's reasoning had some basis.
Dragons were nearly perfect beings on the Samiel Continent, but they had a few harmless little flaws.
For example… eyesight.
More specifically, night vision ability.
Dragon pupils were vertical slits, like a narrow seam.
This eye structure let them precisely capture every move of their opponent and instantly lock onto prey during high-speed movement.
But the drawback was that slit pupils couldn't receive much light. Especially at night, their vision would drop slightly.
[A/N: In human form, pupil shape would change slightly, but not enough to fix the night vision flaw.]
Of course, this didn't mean dragons became blind at night.
So-called 'poor night vision' just meant that compared to their other top-tier abilities, this one was relatively weaker.
In a haunted house's dark environment, even seasoned dragons couldn't see clearly.
Isa wanted to use this fact to test her brother-in-law's bloodline.
"Alright, we'll go with your plan," Veronica agreed.
Isa blinked in surprise, "Oh, Grandma, I thought you wouldn't go along with me."
"Heh… Let's say it stirs up a little ripple in this dull-as-water elderly life."
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