I am the Goddess Destined to be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 07

========== EPISODE 7 ==========

The innkeeper turned around to leave, but then paused as if something had just occurred to him.

-By any chance, may I ask where you’re headed?

Sirius couldn’t tell what the innkeeper’s motive was for asking, but knowing the innkeeper wasn’t a bad person, he answered readily.

-I’m going to Tourmaline Village.

At that, the innkeeper’s face brightened. He turned around and asked in a loud voice.

-You’re passing by that way, aren’t you? Could you give these two a ride?

Although I couldn’t see them on the screen, I could guess who he was asking.

-Ah, he says it’s fine. Let’s follow him.

A short while later, they arrived at a place where a cargo wagon was waiting.

Oh. A carriage, nice. It was a fantastic mode of transportation in a fantasy world.

But a strange sense of unease washed over me.

Why? A fast transport to a comfortable rest is a good thing.

After pondering, I sent a Mission Sponsorship.

[Mission]

[While riding in the carriage, keep a lookout on your surroundings.]

[Reward: Bread ×1]

The innkeeper’s acquaintance was a driver who transported goods. Sirius and Vega were currently sitting inside the cargo wagon he was pulling.

Vega kept glancing at Sirius, but didn’t speak. Sirius noticed Vega doing so, but said nothing.

Considering Sirius’s personality, it didn’t seem like he was ignoring Vega, but rather that he didn’t know what to say.

What do I do with these introverts? They’ve become something like companions, but it’s so awkward.

Is it because they haven’t known each other long? I hope they get better later on.

I sighed inwardly and fixed my gaze on Sirius. He had been scanning the outside and keeping watch since he got on the carriage.

He’s doing well, just as I told him to. But am I just making him waste his stamina for no reason?

Maybe that’s better. Rather than something actually happening…

Rustle.

That was when it happened. The bushes outside the path signaled the presence of another being. Sirius’s eyes darted quickly toward that spot.

It’s not, right? Just a wild animal passing by, right?

What revealed itself from the bushes was a rabbit’s head. It wasn’t strange for a rabbit to appear in a place like this, but I didn’t feel relieved at all.

It had long ears and fur, so I called it a rabbit, but honestly, I doubt I should even call that a rabbit.

Its appearance was scarier than a Western rabbit. Its large ears were like two clubs, and its highly developed teeth were sharp.

If I shoved a microphone at that thing and asked, “What is your staple food?”, I feel like it would answer “Humans” and tear the questioner apart.

It’s probably not a rabbit, but a monster.

Its dead-fish-like eyes followed the carriage.

But what are you going to do just by staring like that?

With a body that isn’t even that big, you can’t catch up to a moving carriage even if you run.

Rustle.

The monster pulled its body out of the bushes. Thanks to that, I could see its overall appearance.

It had already moved far away and looked like a dot, but I could tell its form was extraordinary.

Its bizarrely long legs resembled those of a frog. If stretched out, they looked like they would be more than twice the length of its body.

Wow, it could probably jump up a tree in one leap.

However, the monster didn’t seem to have any intention of using those long legs to pick fruit from trees.

It was just chasing the carriage at a crazy speed.

At this speed, it’s going to catch up, isn’t it?

Still, there’s only one, so taking it out shouldn’t be hard…

Rustle-rustle-rustle.

…Huh?

This bastard, was he popular?

The monsters coming out of the bushes were endless. The sight of the brown-furred monsters rushing toward a single goal reminded me of a violent, mud-stained current.

Let’s fight fair and square!

Match the numbers! Of course, since Vega and the driver don’t know how to fight, I mean only one should come!

But the monsters had no such thing as 1:1 etiquette; their only goal was to gang up and then have a meat party.

What do I do? What should I do here?

Even if I stay still, Sirius will figure something out. Since Sirius, the protagonist, wouldn’t die here.

But I couldn’t just sit and watch.

But what can I even do…

Ah. Could that possibly work?

I busily moved my fingers over the item purchase window for sponsorship, just in case.

-Tap.

But what is this sound?

A strange sound played, so I turned my gaze to the broadcast screen, and I witnessed a shocking scene.

[ Σ( ⊙o⊙) ]

Crazy! What are you doing!

Sirius kicked off the carriage and jumped. From a moving carriage, with his bare body.

It was a crazy act, no different from jumping out of a moving car.

Even if the monsters were fast, it seemed like there would have been time to ask to slow the carriage down for a moment.

I didn’t even tell him to roll, but he tried to roll on his own.

He’s a self-rolling hoop.

Contrary to my worries, Sirius executed a perfect landing. As if he had trained to jump off carriages.

10 points. But don’t do that again.

Sirius straightened his lowered posture and prepared to face the impending battle. The eyes of the monsters that had been directed at the carriage all rolled toward him at once.

Sirius drew his old sword and easily took care of a few monsters running at the front. Fortunately, the enemies didn’t look very strong, aside from the fact that they looked scary.

The problem is the numbers.

While dealing with the monsters in front, a monster that suddenly popped out from the side tore Sirius’s skin with its large front teeth. His eyes winced in pain.

The monster licked the blood on its mouth. It was a terrifying sight that would haunt my dreams.

[ (꒪Д꒪三꒪Д꒪;) ]

I was worried about Sirius. If you aren’t worried when a person is being torn apart by a monster right in front of your eyes, you’re either a psychopath or a Listener.

Please, let this work. I moved my hands even faster.

The monsters surrounded him on all sides. In the blink of an eye, he was encircled.

To escape this situation, he has to endure a certain amount of injury. He can’t block all the attacks coming from every direction.

Sirius’s gaze sank. It seemed he had already anticipated that this situation would come.

Only then did I realize the motive behind his actions. The act of jumping off the carriage without saying a word to the others.

He was trying to shoulder all the hardship by himself.

Yeah. You were that kind of person.

But do you know what? You’re not alone.

[Your contracted god, ‘Listener of Wishes Drawing Lines’, has sponsored an Old Sword.]

[Your contracted god, ‘Listener of Wishes Drawing Lines’, has sponsored an Old Sword.]

[Your contracted god, ‘Listener of Wishes Drawing Lines’, has sponsored an Old Sword.]

The endlessly appearing system windows filled Sirius’s field of vision.

He lifted his head and looked beyond them. Countless blades were filling the air.

Swords were appearing, with their blades pointing downward.

The swords’ airtime wasn’t long. Because the world didn’t allow it.

The ground pulled the swords.

They fell with staggered timing, as if invisible strings were being cut one by one. The swords pouring down from the sky looked like rain.

-Screech!

-Kek!

The monsters were impaled by the swords and fell.

Thank goodness. It worked!

How I did this was…

[Sponsorship item has been designated.]

[Please select the location where the sponsorship item will be sent.]

[Sponsee’s Inventory] / [Appropriately in front of the sponsee] / [User Defined]

When I designated sponsorship items before, this window popped up. Here, I pressed the third button, ‘User Defined’, made the sword blades point downward above the monsters, and then sponsored them.

In other words, it meant I used a bit of a trick.

It’s a relief that even if I select message sponsorship, I can sponsor without entering any content. Otherwise, I would have had to annoyingly type it out one letter at a time.

All I have is money, so I should show off a bit.

-Thud.

The sword that appeared in mid-air was stuck into the last monster.

[ ✧( < ᵘ ᵕ ᵘ )/✧ ]

Did I do well? Isn't it great that we made a contract?

Sirius stared quietly at the last sword that was stuck.

Uh… did he want to take care of the last one left in a cool way himself?

That probably isn't it. Sirius isn't the type to care about looking cool.

Sirius said nothing. He just caught his breath, which had become rough from the battle, and wiped away the monster's black bodily fluid that had splattered on his cheek.

The situation was over.

[ ( ･-˙ ) ]

So what now?

The carriage had left. All that was around were numerous monster corpses and old swords.

I guess there's no choice but to walk.

That was when it happened.

-Thud-thud-thud-thud!

At the loud sound, Sirius turned around. It was the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground.

It was the carriage he had been riding in just a moment ago.

It was an unexpected situation. The carriage was coming back.

The approaching carriage gradually slowed down and stopped near Sirius.

There was a question in the look Sirius gave as he looked up at the driver.

-This kid was shouting so much, saying you jumped off the carriage and we had to go pick you up. The little one has a good set of lungs.

The driver laughed heartily. Behind him, Vega looked embarrassed and avoided eye contact.

-But what are all these swords? Are they yours?

-No.

The driver looked at the swords stuck in the monsters with suspicion. No matter how you looked at it, it was a sign that someone had attacked the monsters.

What do I do? How should I explain this?

There was no way the sponsored items would be retrieved.

Sirius chose his words and opened his mouth.

-I received help.

Hmm. It's not a lie, though.

-Is that so? To think someone was passing by here, that's unusual.

Fortunately, he misunderstood on his own that a righteous person passing by had helped and left again.

-Get on. We need to get going again.

-Could you wait a moment?

-Sure. Do as you please.

Sirius retrieved all those many swords, cleared the monster corpses off the road, and then climbed onto the carriage.

Vega, who was inside, flinched but kept glancing at Sirius.

Anyone who saw would think it's a puppy that did something wrong.

-Thank you.

At Sirius's words of thanks, Vega's downcast eyes sparkled. It looked happy that it had been helpful to someone else.