I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 10
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10
When Sirius entered the room, Vega, who had been sitting on the bed, opened her eyes wide in alarm. No matter how he looked at it, he bore the appearance of someone who had just returned from battle.
“I’ve been to the Dungeon.”
That was all he said to Vega, who seemed to have many questions.
Hearing those words, Vega looked as though she wanted to ask why he’d ventured into such a dangerous place.
But she said nothing. After all, adventurers like Sirius did venture into Dungeons.
I had to agree with Vega’s thinking. The Dungeon was indeed a perilous place.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to send Sirius there either. But sometimes, there are things that cannot be helped.
[Mission]
[‘Receive Healing Magic from Vega.’]
[Reward: Bread×1]
Sirius kept his gaze on the Mission window for a moment. His expression betrayed nothing, leaving me uncertain what he was thinking.
Was he thinking of me as a wicked god who merely exploited him?
Honestly, I couldn’t argue the point. But it seemed wasteful to leave such good abilities unused, and besides, Vega finds satisfaction in helping others—and you’re free of pain, aren’t you? Everyone wins.
“Would it be all right to ask for your Healing Magic?”
Vega nodded.
Magic-casting seemed to exhaust her; sweat beaded her brow. Even so, the wounds had not fully closed. The original injuries had simply been too severe, despite Vega’s considerable skill.
‘Should I tell her to stop?’
I wanted to, but given Vega’s nature, I suspected she would harbor regret if she couldn’t complete what she’d set out to do.
“This should be sufficient now.”
“No. I can do more.”
Sirius gently withdrew her hand.
“Wounds like these appear frequently.”
‘What’s with the clichéd protagonist dialogue? Look at Vega’s eyes widening.’
It wasn’t a lie, though. Sirius did have a strong constitution.
The solution to this problem proved surprisingly simple.
[Your Contract Deity, ‘The Listener of Wishes Who Draws Fate Lines,’ has arbitrarily ended the Mission.]
[Mission]
[‘Once Vega recovers her stamina, tell her you will receive Healing Magic again.’]
[Reward upon success: Bread×1]
“I’ll receive Healing Magic again tomorrow.”
Yet Vega’s worried gaze did not waver.
“Then… won’t you be in pain all day today?”
“No. I’m fine.”
[Mission Success! Reward distributed!]
[Bread×1]
‘This taciturn protagonist archetype, I swear!’
If Sirius had been standing beside me, I would have struck his back without hesitation.
[Mission]
[‘Explain your exact condition in detail so that Vega stops worrying.’]
[Reward upon success: Bread×1]
“Despite appearances, I truly feel no pain.”
“Then I’m relieved……”
[Mission Success! Reward distributed!]
[Bread×1]
Hearing that he was genuinely fine, Vega seemed somewhat reassured at last.
After completing all the Missions, Sirius washed up, lay down on the bed, and opened his Inventory window as he rested.
There, alongside the Old Sword, was one additional item.
As he examined the item, a system window appeared above it.
[Blessed Golden Apple]
[Upon consumption, cures all ailments.]
[Secondary Effect: Beneficial for women’s skin, and beneficial for certain unmentionable areas in men.]
I hadn’t seen a description mentioning secondary effects before, and I thought I understood why it hadn’t appeared then.
This apple was truly a panacea. It had come far too easily to feel quite real, but this was an item whose value lay in its asking price.
The reason I could decide to sell the Blessed Golden Apple was that its worth had been well-documented in .
Thank you, Author. If you tell me where you are, I’ll bow once in your direction. But that ending really wasn’t it.
Of course, there had been no need for a panacea in the novel for Sirius.
Had there been one, I would have carefully preserved it in the Inventory and told him to take it.
By the way, the person who ended up consuming this apple in was an elderly man dying of illness.
It was a moment that revealed what remained of Sirius’s humanity.
A magnificent tale—bestowing an item of worth alongside a grand declaration upon the person of lowest standing.
If not for the warm blood smudged across Sirius’s sleeve as he handed over the apple.
Even now, reviewing it, I could feel the author’s cruelty in that passage.
But if I chose to sell the apple here, would the old man die?
No. The illness afflicting him would mend with a single draught of medicine easily procured in the city.
The problem was that his home lay far from the city, the sickness had left him bedridden, and he possessed not a coin to his name.
This meant that when Sirius traveled to the city, he was to purchase the medicine and keep it in his Inventory, then present it to the old man upon their meeting.
Beyond helping the old man, carrying medicine was simply prudent.
I’d taken to carrying a child as well. Might as well become a walking pharmacy!
Sirius withdrew the Blessed Golden Apple from his Inventory and examined it. The gesture seemed purposeless at first, yet seeing it, Vega asked in surprise.
-Did you obtain that from a Dungeon?
-Yes.
-But how did you know there was a Dungeon in this place?
Vega appeared skeptical that Sirius had had time to investigate the Dungeons here.
-The Deity informed me.
-The… the Deity? Then surely you don’t mean…….
-Yes. The Deity commanded me to enter the Dungeon.
-But… why…….
As Sirius nodded, Vega’s face fell into disbelief.
She seemed torn between viewing me as a god of worth or as a wretch who would send her Contractor into danger as dire as a Dungeon.
Just as I was weighing whether to cast aside divine dignity and offer an explanation, Sirius spoke.
-I believe you didn’t expect me to be injured.
So much for subtlety.
After all that commotion, how could she not notice?
Shame crept in belatedly. Heat flooded to my face.
Still, I was grateful she’d understood.
Fortunately, Vega seemed to have grasped that I was not a malevolent deity.
In any case, my objective was achieved; I had to execute the next phase of the plan. Of course, I had no intention of spurring on the injured and the exhausted, so it would be when both were in good condition.
I needed to sell that Blessed Golden Apple.
But I couldn’t sell it in this village. The cliché would inevitably trigger: ‘W-we don’t have the coin for such things.’
Rather than send them on a pointless errand, I needed to go from the start to a place that could actually purchase the Blessed Golden Apple.
So that meant…….
[Mission]
[‘Travel to City of Aquamarine.’]
[Upon Mission success, reward: Bread ×1]
Let’s go—to the city!
* * *
Inside the carriage, Sirius kept his eyes closed and thought.
To be precise, feigning sleep lest someone be watching him, he organized his thoughts in silence.
Though only one person shared the carriage with him.
In the quiet carriage, only the soft sound of snoring could be heard.
How many days had it been since contracting with the Deity?
He had already confirmed that the Deity could not read his thoughts.
When the Deity sent that peculiar image and he reacted, he had deliberately indulged in irreverent thinking.
Beginning with mild reproach, progressing to foul language, then to sentences so profane that he was certain breaking the Contract would follow if spoken aloud.
The Deity had shown no response to any of it. Perhaps the musings of a mere human were beneath its curiosity.
Sirius recalled the two vanished Deities, then erased them from his mind.
Old records documented the appearance of other Deities besides the two chief ones. Yet the number of known Contractors of such Deities fell short of ten.
People loved to prattle on about the Miracles of the Deities they had witnessed.
But Sirius had no leisure for such concerns. He knew the Deity was a great being—and that was all.
Yet sometimes he wondered: in a world where Deities perform Miracles, why do the wretched still exist?
The starving. Abandoned children. The sickly old.
Envy. Jealousy. Betrayal. Despair. Suffering. Murder. Death.
And thus he arrived at a conclusion.
People do not concern themselves with the welfare of insects passing beneath their feet.
The Deity was no different. It did not deeply consider the welfare of insignificant beings such as humans.
Therefore, Sirius had no reason to hold faith.
And yet, that the Deity had chosen him was strange indeed.
[The observing Deity, ‘The Listener of Wishes Who Draws Fate Lines,’ has proposed a Contract. Will you accept?]
[Yes] / [No]
So all that remained was doubt.
What was this rectangle of light that had appeared before him?
Why had a god appeared only now?
But his deliberation did not last long.
[Yes]
It would have made sense if he had chosen a disposable human—one he could burn through without consequence.
The world was full of replacements. Those who wished to be used by gods were legion.
He had accepted the offer because there was no reason to refuse it.
Sirius recalled the darkened warehouse. He had been trapped there the day after being betrayed by those he had trusted.
In truth, this was not his first trial of betrayal.
He pulled the hem of his hood down over his head. A former comrade had once framed him for a crime, and though he had managed to clear his name some time ago, the habit born from that day still clung to him.
As he had always done, Sirius steeled himself to forget the past.
Sitting motionless, he seemed to hear the questions of those people in the Underground Warehouse echoing in his ears.
<Do you know why the god has entered into a Contract with you?>
<I do not.>
<Did you know of the god’s existence before this?>
<I did not.>
He could not give a proper answer to anything.
Though he was such a contractor, Sirius had thought he moved the god not at all, yet the god had not terminated the Contract.
He had also learned that he could dissolve the Contract himself, but chose not to.
This encounter would give purpose to a life that had drifted aimlessly.
That was all.
The Listener of Wishes Who Draws Fate Lines.
A god bearing a strange name that no human could comprehend.
This god could not abide those who had committed sin.
It was not unusual. If there were gods who overlooked wickedness, there were also those who did not.
Yet this god had not dealt a harsh punishment to those who perpetrated evil deeds, but instead commanded that food be shared with them, and even allowed their lives to continue.
And the Miracle the god had shown for his sake.
It was a battle he could win. It was only difficult to endure.
Yet the god had used all his power to aid him.
Stars that shone in broad daylight had fallen. He could not forget that blade’s brilliance in that moment.
His heart stirred with an emotion even he did not understand.
It was not merely from witnessing the Miracle.
‘Ah. I am not alone now.’
A fulfillment he had never felt before enveloped him.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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