Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: The Mother's Test
Seeing Victoria's mother's suspicions, I had no choice but to remove my mask.
I didn't want my beloved's parents to misunderstand me like that.
Even if it affected the future, or if my very existence became a paradox and vanished, I didn't care.
"...Is this satisfactory now?"
I wasn't the coward I used to be anymore.
"Hmmm..."
As I took off my mask, Victoria's mother, Elizabeth Aberhardt, stared intently at my face.
Seeing her guard against me instead of trusting me immediately reminded me of when I first met Victoria.
I guess this part is hereditary after all.
Seeing that her looks and personality were the spitting image of Victoria, I felt my tension ease a little.
However,
"...You look quite decent? I was worried our Victoria had fallen for a strange man."
As soon as I revealed my identity, Elizabeth's expression softened.
Why on earth? Just a moment ago, she was glaring at me as if she'd kill me on the spot.
"It seems she thankfully inherited a bit of an eye for people from someone. Hmm, I'd say you're a handsome man by human standards."
"......?"
"Well, there's no trace of charm magic being used... and since altering your voice is the extent of it, it seems you haven't resorted to any other tricks either."
Victoria's mother, sitting back down in her seat, continued the conversation with a more relaxed demeanor than before.
Seeing her even compliment me for being handsome, I felt something was off.
"Is this all it takes to be acceptable? You still don't know who I am or what I do."
"...If you were truly a human who hunts dragons, you wouldn't have revealed your identity like this in the first place, would you?"
In response to my question, Elizabeth smiled slyly and spoke in a bright voice.
Perhaps she was leaning towards the former, thinking it was far too suspicious for me to be a dragon slayer.
"What hunter in the world would obey the orders of a weakened dragon?"
"Ah, is that so?"
"Isn't it? There's a dragon with broken horns right before your eyes..."
As she said that, Elizabeth pointed a finger at the top of her own head.
A dragon's body part that could be called the source of their power. Without it, they become so weakened they might as well be ordinary humans.
"If you weren't a foolish idiot without greed for money, there'd be no need to reveal your identity, right? You could just slit their throat and be done with it."
"......"
"Of course, if it was to gain my trust by saving my daughter... or by healing the other people, then it's not entirely nonsensical either."
As she said that, Elizabeth propped her chin on her hand and slowly looked me up and down.
An attitude and smile that were the complete opposite of before.
It felt strangely like I was being judged on my appearance, which made me uncomfortable.
"Are you trusting me because I'm handsome, by any chance?"
The assumption that if I had been an ugly, unattractive man, she would have been hostile immediately came to mind.
"No, even if you were unattractive, if you made Victoria fall for you, you must have other charms."
Elizabeth looked at me with a strange gaze and waved her hand dismissively.
"Isn't a person's inner self more important than their outer appearance? If a man treated my daughter based solely on his face, I'd have gotten angry right away."
Then why on earth was she reacting like this?
Just because I took off a mask, I didn't feel like I'd passed the test Victoria's mother had prepared.
"...It's just, I realized our daughter really takes after her mother a lot."
"Huh?"
"A dragon's love is deep and heavy like poison. That arrogant emotion causes suffering for other living beings."
As she said that, Elizabeth plucked a scale attached to her neck with her finger and placed it on the table.
Its luster and color were like that of pure gold. And seeing the concentrated magical power, its value seemed astronomical.
"Son-in-law... can I call you that? Yes. Why do you think dragons create their own societies and live amongst themselves?"
*Gulp.*
In response to Elizabeth's question, I recalled all the legends about dragons I knew until now.
A small kingdom that coveted a dragon's treasure and turned to ashes overnight, a man kidnapped by a Lair who was forced to live an immortal life...
"Because of the dragon's unique possessiveness, I suppose. There are many traditions of people suffering after laying hands on their belongings."
I found one commonality in those stories.
Namely, that they all happened because of a dragon's possessiveness.
"That's right. Dragons have a culture and instincts far removed from ordinary beings... and so they often come into conflict with other races."
Elizabeth pushed the golden scale toward me as if to praise me.
From what my eyes, which see magical power, could tell, this would be worth more than its weight in gold.
Was it okay to receive such a precious item so casually?
"You can take it. It's a token meaning I'm entrusting our Victoria to you from now on."
Elizabeth said, smiling slyly at me.
Hearing her say that only made a corner of my heart feel more uneasy.
What exactly had I done to Victoria, who was of age?
To remove the flowers blooming on her body, I engaged in pseudo-sexual acts, and to relieve her engorgement, I tormented and troubled her.
And also...
The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had been a madman.
"Seeing you hesitate, did you perhaps torment our daughter?"
"......"
I have no face to show you.
"Oh my, she must be in her prime. Dragons have stronger sexual urges than ordinary people, so be careful. You might break your back."
Noticing my flushed face, Victoria's mother responded with a subtle, teasing poke.
"You know about dragon's play, right? Later, when you realize, it's like, 'Actually, my wife was a sea dragon.' That sort of thing."
"Ah, yes, I know about that."
This was a famous story I knew too.
A dragon, living almost eternally, polymorphing into a human for a moment's interest or fun to play around.
"I didn't like that. Because I thought there was no man in this world more wonderful than my husband."
As she told that story, Victoria's mother let out a deep sigh.
"Telling me to forget my loved one and meet someone new, isn't that just too irresponsible?"
Was that why she broke her own horns with her own hands? It seemed she had abandoned all the wealth, glory, and abilities she could enjoy as a dragon.
"At first, I tried to persuade the elders, and I also tried to secretly run away from the dragon's nest to live."
"...That probably didn't go well."
"Right. So after snapping my horns off like this, that's why I'm here."
However, the expression Victoria's mother was showing me now was one of perfect happiness.
Elizabeth smiled a sun-like smile, as if she had found no treasure more precious than this.
"When I was curious about human life and secretly went outside, got lost, and was starving, the one who showed me pure goodwill was my current husband."
"......"
"I am the happiest I've ever been now. Marrying my husband, having Victoria, and living together as a family in this village."
I couldn't refute that smile and kept my mouth tightly shut.
"I don't care if our son-in-law is ugly or poor. Just by the scent clinging to your body, I can tell how much you adore her."
"So... you were trying to verify it for yourself at the end? To see if I would reveal my identity on my own?"
"Yes, there's always a possibility, you know. Among dragon slayers, there are bad ones who use charm magic..."
As she said that, Elizabeth opened the tightly shut door to show me.
"...But, it seems that worry was for nothing. Seeing this reaction."
As soon as the door opened, platinum blonde hair came into view. My eyes met those of the small-statured girl.
"If our cute Victoria is waiting behind the door like this, doesn't that mean she's quite taken with you?"
"......"
Victoria from her childhood stared at me with wide eyes, frozen in place, unable to speak.
And then,
*Plop, plop, plop.*
Crimson blood dripped onto the wooden floor, leaving a trail.
"So... so you really weren't an uncle...?"
Victoria from her childhood looked at me, a nosebleed streaming down her face.
"That's right, Victoria. You can call him 'Oppa' comfortably. Mom's conversation with him is all finished."
Elizabeth was smiling contentedly as she looked at me and the young Victoria.
It seems she planned this from the start, threatening me like that. It was the moment I became certain who Victoria took after.
"O... Oppa..."
A single, trembling word.
And so, for the first time, I heard an honorific come from Victoria's mouth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At that moment, in Astal's hometown village.
"No, Lord Astal. If you do it like this, it looks less like a dragon and more like a voluptuous-chested maiden."
"B-but... the things you told me about were all like this..."
"Oh my, should I teach you again then? This time, let's take off our clothes so there are no secrets between us...♡"
"N-no! I'll try to make it again on my own!"
The young Astal was flustered, trying to create a dragon with his illusions.
It was a point where only five days remained until the Demon King's army's invasion.