The 5000-year-old Herbivorous Dragon

Raiotto, who was holding the communicator in Ariante’s study, perked his ears up to the words “Evil Dragon’s kin.”

『Oh? Are you hesitating? Don’t you want to help your friend, Rēko? I thought I would be of help to you, though.』

「Wait, you…, according to Doradora, you’re one of the Demon King’s highest commanders right? So why do you come to someone like me? If you go yourself, wouldn’t everything be settled?」

『Well, you see, things are complicated.』

From over the communicator, an uncertain voice could be heard.

『The one who entrapped my master Lord Revendia and my comrade, Rēko, is none other than a Demon King Commander, the same as me. In other words, I want to avoid internal conflicts.』

「…? Aren’t you a kin to the Evil Dragon? The Evil Dragon said he would defeat the Demon King, so why do you care about the Demon King Army?」

『That’s very troubling, I have not yet heard any word from Lord Revendia about defeating the Demon King. Neither have I been ordered to leave the Demon King Army. Perhaps my lord has the intention to have me act as a spy. Thinking along those lines, for me to have conflict with my fellow commanders, it would be very disadvantages for me.』

「Why hell would I care for your circumstances.」

Why do I have to be wrapped up as a pawn in the Evil Dragon’s plans? So thought Raiotto but…

『Oh, how heartless, is that okay? With me being unable to move, at this rate, I don’t know what will happen to that friend of yours…』 𝘧r𝘦𝗲w𝘦𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝙡.co𝑚

Sh*t, Raiotto could only grit his teeth.

With Rēko being used as a shield, Raiotto couldn’t just simply turn off the communicator.

『Are you going to abandon her?』

「I’ll save Rēko. However, even so, why would you come to me? I’ll tell you now but I’m just a brat that started training recently. Towards someone that even the Evil Dragon has trouble against, what do you expect me to do?」

『No need to be so humble, within our circle of kin, your name is already famous.』

「Famous…? Wait a minute. What’s with that circle of kin?」

“Do you not know?” the kin responded.

“How would I know?” was Raiottos only thought, were there so many kin made by the Evil Dragon that they formed their own society?

『At this moment, it is a society formed only by myself and Rēko. In other words a small elite group.』

「…I get it now, bastard, you must be an adventurer in this town right? I’ve heard of this kind of joke before.」

Saying so, Raiotto looked around. Now that he thought about it, after losing during training, the scribblings on his forehead that said “Loser” haven’t disappeared yet.

There’s no doubt that those guys are hiding in a corner somewhere and looking at him.

『Unfortunately, you’re incorrect. However to have been mistaken for someone who you are close to, those adventurers must be like me who is honest and sincere.』

「Yeah, they’re so nice that I want to vomit.」

There’s no longer any point to this, Raiotto was trying to find a good place to end this conversation.

If he continued to ride on this joke for any longer, it’ll be more stains in his history to be made fun of.

『It seems that you don’t believe me.』

「Of course, I’ve already got an idea of who you are. To use Rēko as a way to make fun of me, the only people bad enough to do this is the swordsman Saizus or the spearman Ian huh… Since the voice is changed, they should both be in it. If you’re gonna use a voice changing potion then the alchemists…」

『It can’t be helped, in that case, I’ll show you that I’m serious.』

A sound of fingers being flicked could be heard over the communicator.

At the same time, from behind Raiotto, a sound came like something hitting the wall.

『Have a look behind you.』

Looking back without even listening to the voice, stabbed into the wall of the study was a single edged sword.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just a sword.

Even from the eyes of an amateur, although at first glance it looked like a black rusted steel sword, an unbelievable amount of heat emitted from the body of the blade could be felt.

The sword wasn’t too long or too short, an adult adventurer could easily swing it with one hand.

「…What’s with this sword?」

『Your dagger was taken by Rēko, right? Although it is bold of me, i’ve prepared a replacement.』

「Like hell I need it, do you think I would accept a weapon from the subordinate of the Evil Dragon and a Commander of the Demon King Army?」

『Oh? So you believe me now?』

Raiotto kept silent.

It’s not strange that, with the personality of the people in this town, they would make such a bad joke.

However on the other hand, they are all warriors and have their own codes and views and the one phrase they all said was “It’s a hundred years too early for you to handle a real weapon.”

“Only learning a little can be a dangerous thing”- or so they say.

Ariante also said that without even learning the basics, wielding power beyond what one can handle will only lead one down to ruin.

At the very least, within this town, there was no one that would give him a weapon.

『For whatever reason, I would like you to take that weapon. You’re the descendant of the hero who once was able to injure Lord Revendia. To a kin like me, you are worthy of my respect. It’s only a matter of principle that since your sword was taken by Rēko, we would prepare a replacement.』

「… Stop with that hero or whatever. Our ancestors may have once been glorious but my family has now become rotten. We’ve stopped swinging our swords since several generations prior and drowned ourselves in indulgence.」

『However, you have broken away from that. I see the potential of your ancestors in you. That’s why I held expectations for you and came seeking your help.』

Raiotto glared at the sword stabbed into the wall and fell into thought, then asked one question.

「Is Rēko currently in danger?」

『I don’t know the details. However after being taken into a certain demon’s barrier for two weeks now, while I have no idea what has happened inside, it’s just that being trapped in the barrier for so long means that something big has happened there.』

Being agitated, the kin quickly continued.

『The demon that entrapped Lord Revendia is called “Sousou.” A pillar of the Demon King Army’s highest commanders, a demon who wields a massive amount of magic power but the strange thing is that it has a peculiar appearance, it’s in the form of a rabbit doll. Isn’t it strange?』

「It’s not strange. I’m being serious here, I don’t care about appearances.」

『Oh, so you’re someone who doesn’t get jokes. This demon named Sousou, like her name implies, is one who controls dolls but she has one other special trick. This should be a doll’s true role, and that is possession.』

Possession.

It’s not a commonly used term but Raiotto came from a house of priests so he knew.

Used as a catalyst to gather the gods and devils.

A doll is often just a toy but could also be used as an offering to ward off evil. It had the role to take on any curses or disasters that may befall the owner in their stead.

From this, evil magic power is often stored and they become demons.

「So? Just from the name “Possession” what kind of power is it?」

『Originally, dolls are used as substitutes to “house something.” With this role, its power is taken a step further- to take in someone else within its body and “house” them. This time, it’s dealing with Lord Revendia so it would not send a pawn but rather the main body.』

「Even the Evil Dragon can’t escape?」

The kin immediately denied this.

『If Lord Revendia became serious, he could easily tear through the doll’s body. In the first place, it can only act as a sort of binding to buy time against stronger demons. If you had the will to resist and have a sufficient power level, then Sousou would have no choice but to spit you back out. If you had eaten something and it wreaked havoc in your stomach, you would spit it back out right?』

「That’s a strange way to put it.」

『I apologize. Well, with that reasoning, Sousou would usually not use it on something with consciousness. Something like a spirit with a weak ego will have less resistance, so it can easily be sealed though.』

Spirit? So thought Raiotto but he let it slip from his mind. Now wasn’t the time to care about other issues.