I am the Goddess Destined to be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 11

========== EPISODE 11 ==========

[Mission Success! Item has been awarded!]

[Bread ×1]

Sirius got off the carriage, and Vega followed him down.

Most of the buildings had blue accents, making it a city that truly lived up to the name ‘Aquamarine’.

Vega kept looking around, constantly scanning the area while remaining alert. It seemed like everything was new and fascinating to him.

Sirius didn’t make it obvious, but he was focusing on the small footsteps following behind him, worried about losing the child. It would have been easier if they held hands, but they weren’t close enough yet for him to suggest it.

Vega would freeze up just from Sirius looking at him for no reason. And holding hands? He might look like a kidnapped child being dragged away.

If that happened, Sirius might get reported as a child kidnapper and dragged off. And Vega, having his guardian snatched away by righteous citizens, would be too shocked to even explain properly.

No matter how much I vowed to make them get along, physical contact was still too early.

I stared at the screen, recalling the glimmer of the Blessed Golden Apple. I had no intention of selling that precious apple at a place like an Adventurer’s Guild, where items were commonly traded.

[Mission]

[Count Peony’s wife has fallen ill with an unknown disease, and he is filled with grief. Sell the ‘Blessed Golden Apple’ to him.]

[Reward upon mission success: Bread ×1]

There was a wealthy Count in this city, Aquamarine.

Was it around the early-to-mid part of the novel? He appeared when a banquet was held at the Count’s estate to commend Sirius for his achievements.

That day, the Count summoned Sirius to his office past midnight. Even with his invited guest in front of him, he didn’t say much, just kept downing wine until he suddenly spoke.

The Count downed his wine once more.

This episode gave readers a lot to think about. It revealed that the Count, who had only seemed like a distinguished nobleman, was actually hiding a deep wound and just pretending to be okay. It also gave a sense of helplessness, knowing that if they had visited Aquamarine sooner, they might have been able to change the couple’s fate.

But we are currently at the very beginning of the novel.

So, that meant there was a high probability the Countess was still alive, so I would sell the Blessed Golden Apple to the Count.

But wait, wouldn’t that make me look like a piece of trash with no morals, taking advantage of someone else’s illness for profit?

But listen to me.

You need to know how Sirius raised travel funds in .

Due to the Listener’s pressure, he would secretly take other people’s money and valuables, or eliminate the owners and take the ownerless items.

So, between ‘extorting money vs. selling goods legitimately and getting paid,’ I chose the latter.

There was a reason the Listener applied pressure in the original work. As a reader watching a fictional, created story, I also understood it.

First, food.

Sirius didn’t consider meals important. Once the story progressed a bit, he even called it a luxury.

Seeing this, Koreans commented that it clearly showed Sirius was crazy, and they even screamed at the author, begging them to please feed the guy properly.

Next, sleeping arrangements.

Sirius didn’t stay at inns very often. So where did he sleep? Outside.

Yeah. It means sleeping rough.

Sleeping up in a tree or setting up a tent.

For reference, sleeping rough in a world where monsters are happily running around outside was basically the equivalent of shouting, “Please make me your prey.” Yet, Sirius kept doing this.

Even just the readers of the novel were jumping up and down, and the Listener wasn’t about to just sit by and watch Sirius voluntarily create trouble.

Anyway, there are many more reasons, but since that’s not what we’ll be experiencing going forward, I decided not to think about it.

It’s just painful to think about.

-I’ll be back in a moment.

After booking an inn and letting Vega rest, Sirius came out alone.

I watched to see what he would do.

I didn’t know how a commoner usually went about meeting a noble. In , nobles came to Sirius on their own, and protagonists in other fantasy novels were nobles themselves, so they would just send letters to other nobles asking if they could visit.

Even though I didn’t know anything, and didn’t know how to meet a noble, I wasn’t too worried. I figured Sirius, being from this world, would know how.

It wasn’t blind faith. Sirius knew a lot. Even if he didn’t know the method, there was a high chance he knew how to find out the method.

As if my prediction was right, there was no hesitation in Sirius’s steps.

His walk continued for quite a while.

As I was watching quietly, something huge filled the screen.

W-what is that?

Beyond the high wall, a massive mansion was visible.

It was clearly the Count’s estate.

I guess I could have just come straight to the Count’s estate. I overthought it for no reason.

But there wouldn’t be a doorbell here, so how would he ask them to open the door?

Should he make a public announcement with his voice? The distance between the main gate and the mansion is quite far, so that looks difficult.

While I was letting my imagination run wild, Sirius arrived in front of the antique iron gate. Fortunately, there was a gatekeeper, so he didn’t have to become a human doorbell.

Now, I guess he just needs to prove he’s not a peddler.

The fact that the Countess was bedridden wasn’t known to the outside world. If he mentioned this, they would surely be surprised.

He would be suspected since he knew information only people inside the Count’s household would know, but if he explained well that his only purpose was to sell a cure and that no one else knew this information, it should be fine.

Things are going well. As expected, with a competent protagonist and a possessor combo, there’s nothing difficult in the world…….

Wait……. Something’s weird.

The gatekeeper who saw Sirius scrunched up his face and blatantly scanned him up and down.

-What business does some pathetic-looking adventurer punk have in a place like this?

And what he spat out was ridiculous.

What on earth…… is this situation? My brain stopped at the unexpected words.

He’s being this dismissive right to his face? Sirius hasn’t even said a word yet?

Did I underestimate this damn dark fantasy world too much?

Looking only at Sirius’s appearance, he did look like an unremarkable adventurer.

In this place, incompetent adventurers tended to be looked down upon. I knew this because Sirius was also looked down upon in the beginning of .

The current situation is like someone working at a stable job at a wealthy Count’s estate looking down on a freelancer who is on the verge of starving to death because they can’t make money.

For reference, the reason I know about the existence of a freelancer on the verge of starving is because that was my past.

My mood sank rapidly. I felt like my past was being looked down on too.

You shouldn’t look down on people like this!

Besides, Sirius is the hero who will save the world. You wouldn’t know that, since you didn’t even appear in the novel, but can’t you feel that he’s extraordinary just by looking at that shining face?

And this is a spoiler, but Sirius was born into a prestigious noble family.

You might wonder why I’m suddenly slapping you in the face with a spoiler, but it was embarrassing to even call this a spoiler.

There was absolutely no intention to hide it in the novel. When it was revealed that noble blood flowed through Sirius, not a single reader was surprised.

Anyway, what I mean is, if Sirius were to return home, he could easily wipe out someone like that with a single gesture by sending an assassin.

I observed Sirius’s reaction. He was maintaining his usual expressionless face.

The person who should be the most offended had no reaction. It was the reaction of someone who had been looked down upon so many times that they were unfazed.

It was just like the description in the novel. Even though he had noble blood, he lived a life accustomed to being looked down upon.

I felt uncomfortable. I wish he would at least show some sign of being offended.

-Could you please convey a message to the Count?

Sirius steadfastly said what he had to say.