Volume 7 Chapter 18 Echidna, The Invader
After finishing our discussion with Roman and reflecting on our actions, a loud noise echoed from downstairs.
"...? What's going on? I'll go take a look."
"I'll come with you, Wade-kun. Ridge-chan, please wait here."
Roman and I left the discussion room and headed down the stairs. When we reached the entrance, we saw a woman standing on top of the broken door.
She was a woman with a strong presence. A beauty beyond this world. Her tall stature and jet-black hair cascading down to the floor made her an intimidating figure. Her arms were crossed, and her well-shaped eyebrows were raised, clearly showing her anger.
The woman raised her voice loudly.
"Bring out the Arrogant King! Today, I'll finally get to punish that insolent fool! If you don't bring him out, I'll kill one person at a time as the hours pass!"
"Who...?"
I was completely taken aback by this sudden attacker, and before I could even get angry, I realized that Alex wasn't here. Who was this person, and why was she so...?
As I thought this, Roman let out a deep sigh beside me.
"Uh, Roman, do you know her?"
"...Yes, I do. Wade-kun, I've already told you about this person."
"Seriously? I have no idea who she is."
Just then, I noticed a small figure peeking out from behind me. When I turned around, Moruru was looking at me with a surprised expression, saying, "What's going on, Papa? There's a weird person..."
"..."
And that's when it clicked. Roman had told me about this person, who was supposed to join us later. The person who was called to be Moruru's educator.
The woman introduced herself.
"My name is Echidna! I am the ancient dragon Echidna! If you underestimate me because of my appearance, I'll kill you all one by one! Respond, if you dare!"
"Wowwwww~~~! Is that her~~~?! Is that Echidna~~~?!"
This is crazy! This is too much to handle!
As I thought this, I reluctantly headed down the stairs with a gloomy face. Of course, Roman was with me. If we left her alone, she might really kill someone. And Moruru was clinging to me.
Echidna looked at Roman and said,
"Hmm... You, I remember. You were one of the warriors who served the Arrogant King."
"Hello, Echidna. I'm grateful you came to this place at my king's request."
Clash! Echidna transformed her arm into a dragon's and swung it at Roman, but the blessing poured into Roman deflected it.
"Tch... That troublesome god's protection again. What a pain..."
"I'd rather you didn't get too violent, but I guess that's not going to work, huh?"
Roman grasped the brim of his hat with his finger and provocatively curled his other hand.
"Come on. Let me remind you once again what it means to be loved by a god."
"Hmph...? You think a mere human like you can be arrogant? Fine. I'll reduce this place to ashes along with you..."
"No, no, no, wait!"
I intervened between the two. Echidna's eyes widened in surprise, and Roman calmly turned to me, saying, "Yeah, that's right. It's not good to fight here."
I said to Echidna,
"You, Echidna the ancient dragon, right? You came here because of my daughter. And since Alex isn't here, it's pointless to fight anyway."
"What are you talking about...? You're saying the arrogant king isn't here, and that's your daughter?"
"I'm Moruru!"
Moruru ran to Echidna's side and jumped up, her eyes sparkling. Echidna's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
"―――Ancient dragon!? You, are you an ancient dragon?! Did the Creator create a new one? I thought all ancient dragons except me had become gods..."
"Hmm, I don't really get it, but it's a secret!"
Moruru crossed her fingers over her mouth, making a cute face. My lovely daughter, is she an angel?
"By the way, what's with that collar..."
Echidna's voice was tinged with cold anger. Moruru touched her favorite large collar, and it started shaking.
"A collar of obedience on an ancient dragon directly created by the proud Creator...? That's outrageous. Who put it on?"
"Papa!"
Her response was met with an intense stare from Echidna. "You... You're the one who tainted the dignity of this ancient dragon child...!" Echidna's eyes seemed to pierce through me, as if ready to kill me at any moment.
Can I avoid fighting? I thought to myself. While I don't mind fighting, it's not good to cause too much damage to our surroundings. After all, this is our base in the Birk territory. I don't want to destroy it.
Just as I was thinking that, Echidna's expression changed as if she had realized something.
"...What is this? You, are you the first reincarnated person in this world that was welcomed by Silvashearl... Then, I won't make a big deal out of it, even if it's unpleasant."
Echidna's sword-drawing stance relaxed. I was taken aback, having been directly called a reincarnated person for the first time.
"Huh? Wait, what's going on? How did you know? Why was I forgiven... I don't get it."
"You outsiders are blessed by the Creator. In other words, you're considered equal to the Creator. It's not strange for us, the Creator's followers, to acknowledge the Creator's equal."
Echidna stated clearly, her nose twitching in annoyance. I tilted my head, still confused, but Moruru's casual explanation, "Papa is really amazing, you know!" somehow made me feel better.
Then, Roman spoke up again.
"So, Wade-kun is a reincarnated person or something? I don't really get it, so let's skip that. Can you at least put your swords away for now?"
"I may not like it, but that's fine. There's no arrogant king around, after all. Then, tell me why I was summoned."
Although Echidna's attitude was still stubborn, at least she wasn't being hostile anymore. I took a step forward and began to explain to Echidna.
"As I said earlier, I want to educate this child, Moruru... But first, let's go up to the floor above. There are too many onlookers here."
Echidna had broken the door, and now the curious onlookers were peeking inside. I chased them away, saying "You can't just watch!" and called out loudly, "Gold! Fix the door!"
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