It’s not even worth mentioning, but I’m not on friendly terms with the Servant of the Black Sun.
I’ve never met her, nor have I had a conversation with her.
I didn’t even know of her existence until I heard Liam’s story.
All I know about the Servant of the Black Sun is her name and appearance. There’s no way I could consider her a friend.
If anything, I could say she was closer to being an enemy.
And that’s why this situation was simply unbelievable.
“Isn’t this place nice?”
In the Rest Area for Members on the 3rd Floor, as soon as a girl dressed in a black dress walked in, she dashed to the window to look outside.
“Wow—!”
She exclaimed repeatedly, excitedly taking in the scenery outside.
Her small stature and the way she stood on tiptoes were just adorable.
From this perspective, she looked like an innocent little girl.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, she was far removed from innocence.
“The view is amazing. But wouldn’t it be even cooler if it were all set ablaze?”
“….”
I pressed my temples for a moment, then spoke up.
“Hekatrith.”
“…What is it?”
The Young Dragon, responding in a quiet voice, slowly flew over and landed near my feet.
Then she flopped down on the floor.
Her wings and tail drooped like a deflated puppy. It was cute enough to almost soften my heart, but I had to say what I needed to.
“Please explain where you found her and why you brought her here.”
The Evil God’s servant, Icle, entered the heart of our Order.
This was not something I could overlook as just a simple mistake or misunderstanding.
What if Icle harbored ill will towards me?
Then by now, something major would’ve happened at the Sun Cathedral.
This was a much bigger problem compared to when the Great Demon Rema sent Wip to me last time.
“If you don’t explain properly, you’ll have to undergo a month of character education from the Archbishop.”
“Th-That’s too much!”
The Young Dragon, who had been huddled up, suddenly sprang to her feet, waving her front paws around frantically. It felt like a desperate gesture.
Is she really that opposed to it?
I mean, it did sound too harsh.
If she had to attend Kelaout’s classes for a month, she’d probably lose all enjoyment and laughter in her life.
But I had no intention of backing down, so I continued to press her.
“Quickly, tell me. Where did you meet her?”
“…If you promise not to get angry, I’ll tell you.”
“…….”
She’s trying to negotiate in this situation.
If I lost my temper and exploded, she’d probably plan to slip away, labeling me as a liar.
Such cunning tactics, typical of someone born of an Evil Dragon.
But those tricks wouldn’t work on me, the Pope. I already had a countermeasure in place.
“…….”
As I silently stared at her, the Young Dragon hurriedly opened her mouth.
“Um, well… before I fought the Priestess on the roof yesterday, didn’t you poke fun at me? So, feeling upset, I tried to run away.”
Running away because she got teased?
She had to be at least a thousand years old, so why is she acting so childlike? Apparently, she thinks she really is a pet.
Nonetheless, since she was upset, I felt a bit sorry for her.
“I’ll apologize. I won’t tease you again.”
I squatted down and petted the sulking dragon’s head.
Immediately, the Hekatrith, who had been downcast just moments ago, broke into a beaming smile, her tail wagging back and forth.
“Woohoo!”
And thus, I succeeded in soothing the Young Dragon’s heart. This was way easier than calming Erina or Ibailla down.
“Now, please continue.”
“Okayyy.”
Now flapping her wings, Hekatrith resumed talking.
“First off, I just randomly flew into the sky. But then I suddenly heard someone calling me from somewhere on the mountain. Curious, I looked down and saw her. She claimed to be your friend.”
“And how did you react?”
“At first, I tried to ignore her, but she began telling me detailed stories about your childhood. There was no way I could dismiss that.”
So she thought they were close friends, huh?
That wasn’t exactly a foolish assumption. If she mentioned even unknown parts, it would be hard not to believe her.
I nodded and gave the Young Dragon a couple of pats on her back.
“I’ll let it slide this time. But do reflect on this.”
“I understand….”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
To cheer her up, I groomed her tail, and the Hekatrith started smiling again.
Is that all it takes to make her happy?
Out of curiosity, I decided to test it. She kept giggling no matter where I touched her, like a pet welcoming its owner’s touch.
At this point, both the Archbishop and the highest-ranking Holy Knight, who had been watching from behind, chimed in.
“My character education has been effective. There’s been a noticeable improvement in her conduct.”
“…How did such a being turn out to be an Evil Dragon? Isn’t she a bit too innocent?”
The two closest aides offered entirely opposite impressions despite witnessing the same scene. Neither of them presented an incorrect assessment.
In reality, the Young Dragon’s behavior had become closer to that of a Guardian Dragon, and her simplicity seemed quite naive for someone descended from Evil Dragons.
In other words, the Young Dragon was far too pure.
To be honest, I was starting to feel puzzled myself.
“It’s no wonder I’m curious.”
After the interview yesterday.
For the first time in a while, I contacted Quick Eagle. I had something I wanted to ask regarding the doubts I had during the interview.
“Oh, Pope Friend!”
Since I’m not particularly good at English, I had to momentarily cut the call and summon Liam to get a translation spell, which turned into a bit of a fiasco.
Anyway.
We had a lengthy conversation, and at the end, we came to this conclusion.
“Pope Friend. It seems Evil Dragons started changing drastically after crossing into our world.”
Originally, in Quick Eagle’s world, Hekatrith was truly a fearsome dragon.
She slaughtered half of the humanity spread across various continents and exploited the souls of the remaining half.
She was so powerful that it was nearly impossible to confront her, and she was extremely cunning, making it hard to find any opportunities to deal with her.
And now, that same dragon is…
“Heeeng… Pope, please stroke between my wings…”
“Like this.”
After all this, she had turned into this.
When I informed Quick Eagle, he nearly had a thirty-minute long breakdown over this unnatural transformation.
It was so bad that I had to send the dragon playing with kids’ videos just so she’d understand I wasn’t teasing her.
“They’ve lost their malevolence. Just like the Black Sun.”
No matter how I thought about it, this occurrence couldn’t be coincidental.
I deduce that someone impersonating the Black Sun must have manipulated her into losing her inner malice.
So then, was the impersonator’s goal to ‘reform’ evil?
That didn’t seem right either, so I decided to gather stories from involved parties.
“Hekatrith.”
“What is it?”
“Please elaborate a bit more on the story about the Black Sun you mentioned yesterday.”
At my request, the Young Dragon, who had been lounging around with a smile, suddenly straightened up her neck.
Then, she spoke with seriousness.
“There’s not really that much to say. Remember when I told you I saw a possibility in the future, but it was so dark that I couldn’t make out the content?”
“Yes. It sounded worrisome, but you mentioned that since all the others died in it, you had no choice but to choose that option.”
“I just need to add one thing.”
The Guardian Dragon tapped the ground with her tail and squinted her eyes.
“I struggled for almost a week. No matter how much I was in danger, I didn’t want to choose a vague future.”
“Was it the dream of the black sun you saw then?”
“Exactly. A black sun rose in the sky and spoke to me. It told me to choose the darkened future.”
It was around the time Hekatrith’s story was nearing its end.
“That’s not our sister.”
The Servant of the Black Sun, Icle, had approached while gazing outside.
“You know already, right? The black sun in Young Dragon’s dream was an impersonator. Ultimately, that guy tricked the Evil Dragon into crossing into this world.”
“…….”
“Oh dear. Do you know how furious our sister was because of that?”
Pouting and grumbling, Icle then sat next to the Young Dragon and looked up at me.
As she did, her eyes concealed beneath a wide-brimmed hat became visible.
Her eerie gaze was unsettling.
The strange pink eyes.
When I observed her other features closely, I found that she looked very much like her owner.
More accurately, she resembled the childhood version of the Black Sun. It seemed she was a detached part of herself.
“I have a question.”
I gently opened my mouth while matching my gaze with the girl.
Icle tilted her head slightly and responded.
“What is it?”
“You mentioned that the impersonator appeared in the dreams of five people. Do you know who they are?”
“Aha, I see what you’re getting at.”
With a light smile, Icle suddenly reached out and touched the Young Dragon’s nape.
But unlike how I felt when I did, maybe it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling. The Hekatrith quickly flew up and clung to my back.
In that tightly pressed state, she began to whine at me.
“Pope… when that girl touched me, my whole body got suddenly hot as if it were on fire! She’s strange, so hurry and kick her out!”
“…….”
If only she hadn’t brought her here in the first place, there would have been no need to kick anyone out. I flicked the Young Dragon’s snout and turned back to Icle.
“Will you tell me?”
“Nothing’s stopping me. But I can’t just tell you. My sister didn’t send me for nothing.”
Just like I suspected, there was a reason that she had come all the way to the Sun Cathedral.
What kind of request would it be, I wondered.
The Black Sun wanted me to make her a part of my goddess, so perhaps she would ask me to learn something like “the Doctrine of the Pitch-Black.”
Or maybe she’d ask me to accept her sister as a concubine. Whatever condition she placed, it surely wouldn’t be something ordinary.
I resolved not to show any shock, no matter what I would hear and asked.
“What do you want?”
“It’s simple.”
Icle lifted her hat slightly and smiled.
“Officially recognize our sister as the ‘Sister Goddess’ of your deity.”
“…….”
Despite my resolution, I was taken aback.
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