Chapter 29 – The Evil Dragon’s First Battle 【Part 1】

Two days after the interview, the Evil Dragon Karma Abyss had ended up following along on her son’s adventure. Using the glasses enchanted with 【Cognition Obstruction】, she disguised herself as the adventurer Kaasan rather than Mother Karma to accompany him.

Currently, Karma was swaying in a carriage alongside her son and the others.

In the carriage’s cargo bed, Karma clasped her hands over her chest and prayed, “Ahh, Ryu-kun… Please forgive your sinful Mother for falsifying her identity to follow you on your adventure…”

“Um, umm… Kaasan-san. What are you praying to?” Sheila, the rabbit beastman sitting next to her, asked.

“Were you praying to God?”

“Yes, that’s right, Sheila-san. I was praying to my son.”

“Y-Your son? Not to God?”

“My son is God, is he not?” Karma tilted her head with a completely straight face while Sheila stared intently at her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Um… well, I just thought that you look a lot like someone Sheila knows, Kaasan-san.”

“Oh? So there is someone like that.”

To think there is someone else out there who treats my son like a god or an angel. She would probably get along great with that person, and I absolutely want an introduction.

“It’s Ryuuji-kun’s Mom, though.”

Oh, she means me. Tch.

“Ryuuji-kun’s Mom is a very kind person who cares deeply for her son.”

“O-Ohho…” While feigning nonchalance, Karma couldn’t stop herself from grinning since she couldn’t help but be thrilled.

Plus 5 points! Inside Karma’s mind, Sheila’s “Wife Points” increased.

“She’s so beautiful, and so good at cooking, and Sheila thinks she’s amazing… She’s a truly amazing person!”

“O-Ohhohoho…”

Plus 10! Plus 15! The points were skyrocketing. Karma thought to herself that this was the perfect opportunity to see exactly how her son and the others went about their adventuring.

Of course, she had been constantly observing their adventures using the Sky Castle, but she had never adventured together with her son from the same perspective like this. By being together, she might be able to see things she couldn’t see before, which was exactly why Karma thought this was a good chance to learn more deeply about her son and the others.

Let me put you to the test… Sheila. To see whether or not you are a suitable candidate to be my son’s wife.

Fufufu. Karma took out a notepad and went scribble, scribble, tallying up the points. For now, the fact that she praised his Mother deserved high marks.

Setting that aside for now.

Karma and the others were currently heading north through the country toward their destination, Zakudira, located at the eastern edge of the country. Kamiina was a southern city, so one would think they should just head northeast, but that wasn’t the case. If you drew a straight line between Kamiina and Zakudira, there was a massive mountain range in the way that made it impossible to travel directly northeast. Therefore, the travel itinerary was to head north first, pass through the royal capital of Shea, and then head east from there.

“Still, carriages are quite slow, aren’t they?” Karma muttered, looking outside through the carriage window.

If she flew, they would arrive instantly, and if she used teleportation, they’d reach their destination in the blink of an eye. However, if she flew or used her skills, it would reveal Kaasan’s true identity to her son, so she had to endure it and resign herself to swaying in the sluggishly moving carriage for now.

By the way, Ryuuji was sitting next to the driver, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings. Normally, with the Sky Castle’s surveillance system active, there would be no need for such vigilance, but because she didn’t want to interfere with her son’s diligent efforts to stand guard, she had intentionally turned off the surveillance this time. Furthermore, the fact that she was right by his side and could respond instantly to anything was another reason she wasn’t putting much effort into guarding the perimeter herself.

Just then, her son’s voice rang out from outside the cargo bed. “Both of you! Enemies!”

“Right away!”

“Understood.”

Sheila grabbed her staff, and Karma, empty-handed, stepped out of the cargo bed.

The carriage had stopped in the middle of the highway where Ryuuji had his sword drawn with his eyes fixed on the path ahead.

Ahh, my son on high alert… What a gallant figure he cuts!!!

“So precious…” Karma excitedly squealed to herself.

She wanted to record this on video, but if she pulled out the recording crystal, it would reveal she was his Mother. Well, she had asked someone else to handle the recording, so she would endure it for now.

“Are you both ready with your weapons?” Ryuuji asked.

“Yes, I am!” Sheila raised her staff.

“Yes.” Karma drew a longsword from her waist.

…That being said, Karma found it strange. What exactly was this 【Sword】 necessary for?

Karma had been born with the body of a Dragon and had never used a weapon before. On top of that, having devoured the Evil God King Belial and becoming the strongest entity, her very existence was akin to an ultimate weapon, so even while in a human body, she felt no need for a weapon.

But well, when you think of adventurers, you think of swords. More importantly, she wanted to carry matching gear with her son, which was the main reason she had decided to use a sword.

With his sword at the ready, Ryuuji stared straight ahead and spoke, “Here they come!!”