Chapter 30 – The Evil Dragon Goes to Secretly Repair a Broken Bridge

A few hours after departing the city of Kamiina, about an hour or two away from the royal capital of Shea, Ryuuji and the others stopped their carriage on the side of the highway to take a break alongside Karma.

“Ryu…uuji-san, we’re just a little bit away from the royal capital, aren’t we?”

Sitting on folding chairs, Ryuuji and the group drank tea. Sheila had brewed it the moment they went on break, briskly boiling the water herself. Plus five points.

“Yes. We’ll stay overnight in the royal capital today and head to Zakudira tomorrow.”

“This is Sheila’s first time at the royal capital! I’m so looking forward to it!”

Sheila, sitting next to him, smiled brightly and handed Ryuuji some homemade cookies. “Ah, please have a cookie.”

“Thank you, Sheila.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Ryuuji and Sheila smiled at each other and chuckled.

Mmm, paying attention to the little details… plus five points.

“Please have some too, Kaasan-san.”

“Thank you very much, Sheila-san.”

Sheila’s handmade cookies were delicious with a perfectly crispy texture. Topped with strawberry jam and cream cheese, they had a rich yet refreshing taste.

Grrr… To think she’s even good at making snacks… Do I have no choice but to acknowledge her? While recognizing Sheila’s high capabilities as a potential wife, Karma still couldn’t help but think that it was much too early for her son to get married.

Suddenly, while everyone was taking their break, someone poked Karma’s shoulder. She looked back, but no one was there. From that alone, Karma knew exactly who was responsible.

“Excuse me, Ryuuji-san. Would it be alright if I went over there to look at the scenery for a bit?”

After Ryuuji nodded, Karma stealthily slipped away from the spot. Once she was a good distance away from the group, she muttered into the empty air.

“What is it, Chekiita?”

There was nothing but an expansive grassy plain around her with not a single person in sight. However, in the very next moment, a voice spoke out without any warning.

“Looks like a bit of trouble.”

A tall elf appeared right before Karma’s eyes. It was the droopy-eyed, blonde elf known as The Observer, Chekiita.

“More importantly, please don’t speak to me. You are The Observer. Your job is to stay invisible and watch what I do, isn’t it?”

“Oh, come on, what’s the harm?”

Chekiita playfully tapped Karma’s shoulder. Karma smacked her hand away and asked her question.

“So, what’s this trouble you mentioned?”

“Apparently, there’s been an accident at the river up ahead.”

“An accident?”

“Do you know there’s a river called the Tekuma River up ahead?”

“Not at all. An accident at that river?”

Chekiita crossed her arms and nodded.

“It seems the bridge was destroyed by the rising water levels, and the road is closed off.”

“Rising water… Ah, it did rain quite a bit last night.”

“Yep. So, it’s been closed since this morning. There is a detour bridge, but everyone is heading there, so there’s a massive traffic jam in front of it.”

“There’s a possibility we won’t reach the royal capital today, then.”

To begin with, the bridge serving as a detour was apparently dozens of kilometers away from the broken one, meaning it would obviously take time. They might even have to camp out.

Don’t mess with me. What if my son catches a cold sleeping outside!

“So, what are you going to do? Take the detour?”

“Hmph. As if I’d do something like that.”

Karma muttered a single word to transform. In a flash, she shifted from her human form into the towering, massive figure of the Evil Dragon.

【I am going to repair the bridge. You will pretend to be me… pretend to be Kaasan.】

Karma spread her giant wings and took to the sky.

“Those cognition-obstructing glasses sure are convenient. You can completely become someone else.”

By using those magical glasses, one could become Karma’s human form or Kaasan.

【It would be inconvenient if Kaasan was missing while I am gone. You will pretend to be me.】

“Fine. Big sis will help you out. But you know, The Observer isn’t actually supposed to interfere with their target, right?”

【You’ve been interfering this whole time, what are you even saying?】

Karma sighed and flapped her wings powerfully. She soared high into the heavens and reached far above the clouds. From there, she used 【Hyper-Teleportation】 to arrive directly above the broken bridge.

【Teleporting right in front of the bridge would attract attention, after all. It would also be inconvenient for working.】

From high above, Karma looked down at the Tekuma River and saw that the middle section of the bridge was completely gone.

【Or rather, what is up with that bridge?! It’s made of wood! And the construction looks so incredibly cheap!!!】

Karma let out a fierce roar and spewed flames of anger from her mouth.

【Even if the bridge hadn’t been destroyed, a shoddy bridge like that has a massive chance of collapsing while crossing! If the carriage carrying my son fell into the river, how would they take responsibility for that!!】

Karma raged internally, wanting to drag out the person in charge.

【Since it’s come to this, I’m going to make something absolutely incredible! Something sturdy! Something that will be perfectly fine even if a hundred people get on it!】

While hovering in the sky, Karma activated her skill.

【All-Creation】

Right next to the broken bridge, she instantly manifested a sturdy brick replacement.

【Just in case the bridge ever breaks, let’s place life-saving equipment on it. Furthermore, so they can climb back up if they fall, I’ll add ladders to the pillars…】

Like this, Karma applied every single modification she could think of to the structure. A little while later, she finally finished her work.

【Phew… It’s perfect. With this, there’s no need to worry about Ryuuji-kun and the others falling into the river. Now then, shall I head back?】

Right at that moment, a voice echoed from below.

“W-What is this?!”

It was the voice of her personal angel, Ryuuji. Staring intently at the ground below, she saw the figures of her son, the rest of the group, and their carriage parked by the riverbank right in front of the bridge.

【O-Oh no! I spent too much time building the bridge!】

More accurately, it was the meticulous modifications she added after building the bridge that took too much time. While she was pouring her energy into that, Ryuuji and the others must have finished their break and traveled by carriage all the way to the Tekuma River.

Karma quickly activated her 【Listen (Supreme)】 skill. It was one of her God Slayer skills, allowing the user to hear the conversations of people from incredibly far away.

“T-There’s some incredibly magnificent bridge right next to the broken one!”

“According to the guild, there was only supposed to be one bridge…”

The two of them were completely astounded. Standing behind them was Chekiita, perfectly disguised as Kaasan. Looking up at the sky where Karma was supposed to be hidden from sight, the elf flashed a grin and waved her hand.

“But isn’t it wonderful? Now you can cross the river,” Chekiita said.

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Looking between the broken bridge and the newly constructed one, Ryuuji made a face as if he had just realized something.

“Mom…”

Ryuuji let out a sigh and a wry smile.

“Geez. Really… She’s such a meddler.”

It seemed her astute son had instantly deduced that this was his mother’s doing. Ryuuji smiled toward the empty sky where he assumed she wasn’t even present.

“…Thank you, Mom,” he murmured.

He probably meant for it to be a soliloquy, but with her skill active, Karma heard it perfectly loud and clear.

【I-I-I’m so incredibly happpppppyyyy!!!!!】

Karma let out a booming roar and fired a breath attack straight into the sky.