I am the Goddess Destined to be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 13

========== EPISODE 13 ==========

I knew he could do it.

It wasn’t easy to leak information to the Count’s estate, either. It’s a place where tons of information rolls in even if you just sit still.

-You could just sell it to me. My skin has been feeling so dry lately.

Bluebird stroked her cheek with a worried expression as she joked, but seeing Sirius not even respond, she pretended to be sulky at his boring reaction.

-Please wait for one hour.

Clack.

Bluebird placed an hourglass on the desk and made her quill dance over the parchment. The parchment was rolled up, tied with a blue ribbon, and handed over to an employee.

It was when the sand inside the hourglass had almost run out.

Knock, knock.

The sound of the knock broke the silence of the room, where only the scratching of the quill had been echoing.

Following the employee’s guidance, a man entered. The man briefly scanned the interior, spotted Sirius, approached him, and asked.

-Are you the one who possesses the Golden Apple?

I scanned his appearance. He wore no accessories other than a ring on his left ring finger, but his wealth was evident from the clothes he wore.

I pressed my lips together hard to keep a wicked laugh from escaping.

He came himself?

That man was none other than Count Peony.

He was trying hard to hide his nervousness, but he was anxious enough that even I, watching from beyond the screen, could tell.

In the original plan, it would have been a success even if just a servant had come.

Well, look at that, we’ve caught a big fish.

This was a positive sign.

[ ٩(✧ω✧)و ]

Even if I hadn’t bothered to send an emoticon, Sirius would have realized the man’s identity as well.

I had already written everything that needed to be done in the mission details, so all that was left was to cheer for Sirius.

-That is correct.

As Sirius held up the Golden Apple, the Count’s eyes filled with surprise.

-How much do you want? I will buy it at a high price.

The Count spoke hastily, forgetting his noble dignity.

Thank you for the kind words right from the start.

-Before that, could you grant me one request?

The Count nodded with a stiff face.

-I visited the Count’s estate a few hours ago.

Hearing that, the Count widened his eyes in surprise. If Sirius had visited him, there would have been no reason for him to be surprised and come here later.

-However, I had to turn back at the gate.

-Why? Did something happen there?

At the Count’s question, Sirius recounted what had happened to him. His tone was calm, as if he were talking about someone else’s business.

-The person who sent me was very upset when they found out about this.

Yeah, yeah. Sell me out however you want.

The Count bit his lower lip anxiously. It would be a disaster if Sirius refused to sell the apple to him because of this.

-So, the request is…

-I intend to receive an apology from that person.

The name given to this plan was as follows:

‘If you make them apologize, I’ll sell the apple.’

The Count’s only fault was having placed such a guy as a gatekeeper. The Count was relieved by the easy request.

-I understand. Do you happen to remember the man’s physical characteristics?

-He had dark brown hair and green eyes.

-Ah. I know who that is. I shall order him to be brought here immediately.

The gatekeeper was delivered more swiftly than any delivery service.

The gatekeeper, who had been practically thrown into the room by the knights, had a face that had turned deathly pale.

Because he was on the verge of being fired from the job he was so proud of.

On top of that, he might not even be able to get another job. Many would wonder what on earth he had done to get kicked out of a place with such an excellent master like the Peony estate.

The gatekeeper crawled on all fours to the Count’s feet and prostrated himself flat.

-I, I’m sorry! Count-nim! I have committed a grave sin.

The sight was utterly pathetic. The arrogance he had when ignoring Sirius was nowhere to be found.

-Please, just once, give me one more chance! You know how much effort I put in to get here!

Seeing this state of affairs, I regretted not being there in person.

I wanted to whisper the truth into that human’s ear that nobody was curious about such things.

What should I do? Should I ask them to shut his mouth for a moment?

But before I could even press the mission sponsorship button, Sirius spoke first.

-Did you perhaps not receive word of what request I made to the Count?

It was his usual tone, without a hint of sarcasm, but it was enough for the man to realize his mistake.

The gatekeeper’s head snapped toward Sirius. It seemed he had only just noticed Sirius’s presence.

What Sirius had just said could have easily offended the noble’s sensibilities. That a mere commoner dared to point out the incompetence of his subordinate.

However, I understood his actions. It was because the gatekeeper had chosen the wrong person to apologize to.

Sirius had said he wanted to receive an apology; he had never said he wanted to see the gatekeeper apologize to the Count.

-It seems that is the case. I will apologize on his behalf.

The Count had shown signs of embarrassment ever since the gatekeeper apologized to him.

He possessed a rare, normal way of thinking in a world of fantasy novels where corrupt nobles are a dime a dozen. Therefore, it was the same for him; he didn’t understand the gatekeeper’s actions either.

Upon the Count’s apology, the gatekeeper’s face, realizing he had made another mistake, turned not just pale, but blue.

The gatekeeper crawled toward Sirius.

-I’m sorry! I, I was ignorant!

He knelt before Sirius and apologized.

In front of the person he had so ignored, groveling.

Sirius had no particular reaction even after receiving the apology. He just looked down at the gatekeeper indifferently.

The longer his silence lasted, the more the gatekeeper’s anxiety grew.

If the goal was to torment the gatekeeper, it was a success.

He didn’t show it earlier, but was he offended?

-Do you feel that an apology is insufficient?

The Count asked in as calm a tone as possible.

I also wondered. I had only told him to receive an apology.

-…….

Sirius did not answer the Count’s question.

Although Sirius was born into a noble family, his current status was that of a commoner. It was not common for a commoner not to answer a noble’s words.

Even though the gods here encouraged noblesse oblige and had established various systems for commoners to prevent the population from being pointlessly reduced by having their heads chopped off for a single wrong word, like in novels with terrifying tyrants.

[ ( °࿁° )? ]

I sent an emoticon out of curiosity. It contained the meaning, ‘I know you have your own thoughts, but I’m curious why you aren’t answering.’

Sirius lifted his gaze from the gatekeeper, checked the system window, and returned his eyes to their original position.

-That is enough. Thank you for granting my request.

Clap.

Bluebird clapped her hands to change the atmosphere.

-Then, you are selling the Golden Apple, right?

-That is correct.

The gatekeeper who had been thrown into the room was dragged back out.

Honestly, as someone who wanted to try throwing a punch at his face, it was a bit disappointing, but I didn’t want to order Sirius to do anything.

The Count’s estate will handle it well on their own.

-In my view, this amount is appropriate for the price of this item…

-No, let’s make it this much.

The Count drew a few more ‘0’s behind the price Bluebird had suggested.

Judging by Bluebird’s frozen reaction, I knew it was a staggering amount, but since I didn’t know the currency value here, it didn’t really hit home.

Anyway, there shouldn’t be any financial problems in the future.

Thus, the Golden Apple passed into the Count’s hands.

-Thank you for selling me such a precious item.

[Mission Success! Reward has been distributed!]

[Bread ×1]

I thought a good deal was finally being wrapped up, but the Count seemed to have more to say.

-I would like to invite you to the Count’s estate; would you come? I’d like to treat you to a meal while also handing over the payment.

That sounds like an excuse.

He could just hand over the payment through a servant, and he could repay his gratitude with something other than a meal.

Is he trying to make sure Sirius doesn’t run away and then have his appraiser check it again?

The high credit rating of the ‘Blue Feather’ guild was also partly because Bluebird had item appraisal abilities.

Even so, the Count is anxious. Because he had tried everything with all that money so far, but it was useless.

It’s hard to trust an adventurer you’ve met for the first time today. I also thought that the number of adventurers who commit fraud wouldn’t be small.

No matter how good a person the Count is, he wouldn’t extend generosity to someone who mocked him while he was in a desperate state.

-I will do so.

Sirius accepted without hesitation. It wasn’t because he didn’t know the Count’s inner thoughts.

-I have companions at the inn. I will bring them along.