Chapter 50 - What are your motivations for applying?

Chapter 50 - What are your motivations for applying?

Rēko’s movements were quick. She instructed the white haired girl to take a seat with her hand and sat in front of her in seiza style.

“Erm… What are you doing, Rēko?”

“As expected, the day has come. It was a given there will be people wishing to become kin when in front of the Evil Dragon Lord’s grand authority. Naturally because the Lord’s capacity is such, even if he were to be attended by an army of ten thousand strong it would still be overflowing.”

“Uwaa, this child’s going for some hard words, isn’t she? Somehow, her trying so hard is kinda cute―”

Saying ‘good girl’, she lightly patted Rēko’s head. I was bewildered. What if Rēko takes it as provocation and gets mad? However, she surprisingly looked to be in a good mood, showing on her face a proud smile.

“Human, the Evil Dragon Lord is known for his generosity - still, it’s not like he deems everyone acceptable as kin. Only the chosen elect are granted the honour of being counted amongst his claws.”

“Oh? Sounds like an annoying test.”

“Therefore, I’ll inquire into your propriety as newbie kin right here and now. In the name of Rēko, the Evil Dragon Lord’s chief kin――”

“Wait, don’t just proceed swimmingly. I’ve no intentions to add more kin.”

“I understand Evil Dragon Lord. Please leave it to me. This I will not allow any half-baked talents to pass through the examination.”

You understand nothing. Still, I had no means of stopping her when she turned like that. She fixed her gaze on the white-haired girl and calmly opened her mouth.

“First off, why do you wish to become the Evil Dragon Lord’s kin?”

“Because I want to get my hands on the status, gold and the overwhelming power without putting in any work―!”

“I see. She’s a much more pure type than I expected. Well then, proceeding to the next question――”

“Stop right there Rēko. Even I’m not able to let that one pass.”

I desperately rocked Rēko back and forth.

“No matter how you look at it, wasn’t that answer a clear fail? Why are you trying to leisurely continue the interview?”

“Personally I thought it was not that bad.”

“I sensed nothing but wickedness though.”

“Yes. I felt she is a talent hiding inside her unprecedented Evil.”

“Evil huh? The evil you’re talking about somehow seems really questionable.”

“Well, let us see it to the end Evil Dragon Lord. She might turn out to be an outstanding talent.”

Rēko firmly clenched her fists. Just where did this zeal come from? Maybe she wants a junior?

“Well then, next, I’ll test your knowledge in regards to the Evil Dragon Lord. The current Evil Dragon Lord has set out to subjugate the Demon King while keeping peaceful relations with humans, but you already know that, right?”

“I know I know―. Some letter like that came from the guild.”

Is that so, I silently digested it. Now that she mentioned it, I remembered that Ariante discussed it with the guild and had the price on my head suspended. As a matter of course, the reason for the suspension also had to become common knowledge.

“However, the past Evil Dragon Lord was an existence devouring whole heaven and earth, extolled as the God of Destruction. Now then, the question―― what was the incident which caused the Evil Dragon Lord to have a change of heart? I await a concise answer.”

“Eehh, it suddenly got hard. I’m sorry, I don’t know, I didn’t study enough―. I surrender.”

“That’s really hard. I wonder what happened to me in the past.”

An event which caused a dragon that amazing to degrade into a herbivorous one should be pretty huge. And surely the answer to that lies only within Rēko. However, Rēko’s momentum didn’t waver.

“Yes, that’s okay. After all the likes of kin trying to see through the Lord’s noble heart is from the start a large mistake. The answer lies only within the Evil Dragon Lord, that’s true.”

“And what if that answer couldn’t be found in me no matter how hard you looked?”

“So Evil Dragon Lord did personally seal his own memories… It’s understandable, after all such a thing happened…”

“No doubt your own answer is shaping up nicely in you, isn’t it?”

“More importantly…” The white haired girl chimed in. “What will you do? If you make me kin I’ll work my ass off, but I ask for one day off every three and five days in a row once a month…”

At that time a dull thud resounded and the white haired girl cowered. The cause was simple. A man in the prime of life standing behind her dropped his clenched fist on her head. He had a short-cut white hair. Although at a glance his physique looked slim, by no means did it give off a meagre impression. Instead he had an air just like a simple sword, with useless parts chipped off due to tempering.

“My apologies. It seems like my daughter spewed some rash remarks, it would be great if you could forget them.”

“Ah, her parent?”

“Yes, Sir Evil Dragon Rēvendia. I have heard the rumours for some time. That in order to defeat the Demon King, you have decided to walk with us, mankind. It is most reassuring.”

“Yeah… Ah, leaving that aside there’s something I want to ask, how did you know it’s me? My original form naturally does stand out, but was this small form also put inside the guild instructions?”

“『The Evil Dragon is accompanied by a blue-eyed girl possessing a tremendous power』―― that is the information which came from every direction.”

“Rēko, next time let’s buy you a pair of tinted glasses. And maybe a hat to pull over your eyes.”

“Is it fine? I am looking forward to it.”

Thinking about it, Rēko was the one who gave me a huge presence in the towns we’ve been to so far. I should have put some effort into concealing her features.

“Hey papaa―. So suddenly, that’s cruel. Why are you getting in my wayyy―?”

The white haired girl with a lump on her head and tears in her eyes raised her voice in protest.

“Be quiet. You’re already 15 years old, you should learn some ordinary composure. There’s no way a halfwit like you could become Sir Evil Dragon’s kin.”

“But I feel like I can do it, if even such a tiny kid can serve him.”

“You can’t. For the time being I’ve no intentions to add more kin. Rēko alone is more than enough after all. You too Rēko, you might think it’s a shame, but give up…”

However my worries were unnecessary. Rēko was gazing into empty space with a smile on her face, which all things considered was not so bad. Lately, I was jealous how she constantly seemed to have fun.

“Well then, Sir Evil Dragon. I would like to begin with a cordial reception to our house, but before that could I inquire something?”

“That’s great to hear. If you’re letting us stay over you can ask us anything.”

With a serious face, the man turned his gaze upwards.

“To tell you the truth, inside this mountain lies idle a vast gold vein. We were thinking to subjugate the demons and turn it into a large production area, but just when we laid down our assault plans, the whole mountain suddenly burst into flames. Since there is so much flames, I fear most likely it was the Demon King’s executive class―― no doubt a demon able to control mighty flames has inferred our plans. I will inquire directly; did Sir Evil Dragon come to defeat this demon?”

I could do nothing, but repeatedly say how sorry I was.