I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 11

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 11
[Mission Success! Reward is being distributed!]
[Bread ×1]
Vega descended from the carriage, following Sirius as he stepped down.
Most of the buildings featured blue as an accent color, making it a city that lived up to the name “Aquamarine.”
Vega remained vigilant of her surroundings while continuously scanning the unfamiliar sights around her—she seemed fascinated by everything she saw.
Sirius made no obvious show of it, but he was concentrating on the small footsteps trailing behind him, afraid of losing the child. It would have been easier if they’d held hands, but their relationship hadn’t grown close enough for him to suggest it.
Vega froze whenever Sirius merely looked at her, without any particular reason. And now they’d be holding hands? She’d look like a child being dragged away.
If that happened, Sirius would be reported as a child abductor and taken in. Vega, robbed of her guardian by well-meaning citizens, would be too startled to even explain herself properly.
Regardless of how hard I promised to make the two of them close, physical contact was off the table for now.
I gazed quietly at the screen and recalled the gleam of the Golden Apple. I had no intention of selling that precious fruit at a place like the Adventurers’ Guild, where items were normally traded.
[Mission]
[Count Peony is troubled, as his wife has fallen ill with a disease of unknown cause. Sell him the “Golden Apple.”]
[Reward upon Mission Success: Bread ×1]
In this city, Aquamarine, there lived a wealthy count.
It was sometime in the early-to-middle part of the novel. He had appeared when a banquet was held at the Count’s Estate to honor Sirius’s achievements.
That night, the count had summoned Sirius to his study past midnight. Before his invited guest, the count said nothing at first, only drinking wine repeatedly, before finally speaking.
“My wife passed away a few days ago. From an illness no one could even name.”
The count took another sip of wine.
“Had she met someone as fine as you, I’m certain she would have been delighted.”
This episode had given readers much to contemplate. It revealed that the count, who had seemed merely an exemplary nobleman, was actually harboring a deep wound and merely pretending to be fine. It had also filled them with a sense of helplessness—the thought that had Sirius visited Aquamarine sooner, he might have changed the couple’s fate.
But we were standing at a point very early in the novel.
Which meant the probability of the Countess still being alive was high, and selling the Golden Apple to the count would make sense.
But wait—didn’t that seem like profiting from someone else’s illness, the very picture of a morally bankrupt scoundrel?
Well, hear me out.
You need to understand how Sirius obtained his travel funds in The Journey.
Under pressure from the Listener, he had either secretly taken others’ valuables or eliminated their owners and claimed what remained.
So I was choosing “legitimate sale of goods and honest payment” over “extortion.”
In the original work, there had been reasons for the Listener’s pressure. As a reader encountering this fictional creation, I had accepted it.
First: sustenance.
Sirius did not prioritize eating. Later in the story, he even called it a luxury.
Korean readers who witnessed this pointed out in the comments that Sirius was clearly mad, and many implored the author to please feed the bastard properly.
Second: sleep.
Sirius rarely stayed at inns. So where did he sleep? Outside.
Yes. Rough sleeping.
Climbing into trees to sleep, or pitching a tent.
For reference, sleeping rough in a world where monsters ran wild just beyond the walls was tantamount to announcing “Please make me your food.” Yet Sirius repeated this regularly.
Readers of the novel were already exasperated, but the Listener was not someone who would idly watch as Sirius created his own problems.
In any case, there were many more reasons, but since those weren’t trials we’d face ahead, I decided not to dwell on them.
Thinking about them only caused distress.
“I’ll step out for a moment.”
Sirius had secured lodging at an inn, left Vega to rest, and went out alone.
I watched to see what he would do.
I didn’t know how a commoner was supposed to meet a noble. In The Journey, nobles had sought out Sirius of their own accord, and the protagonist of another fantasy novel was themselves a noble, sending letters to other nobles asking if they could visit. That was the extent of my knowledge.
Despite knowing nothing and being unsure of how to meet a noble, I wasn’t particularly worried. I thought Sirius, being a person of this world, would know the way.
It wasn’t blind faith. Sirius knew a great deal. Even if he didn’t know the method, he likely knew how to find out.
My prediction seemed accurate—his pace showed no hesitation.
His stride carried him quite far.
As I watched quietly, something massive filled the entire screen.
What… what is that?
Beyond a tall wall, an enormous estate came into view.
By any measure, it was the Count’s Estate.
Apparently, he could just head straight for the estate. I’d been overthinking it.
But there’s no doorbell here, so how is he supposed to ask for the gate to be opened?
Should he shout? The distance between the front gate and the mansion was considerable—it would be difficult.
While I was spinning out scenarios, Sirius arrived at the ornate iron gate. Fortunately, there was a gatekeeper, so he wouldn’t have to become a human doorbell.
Now he just needed to prove he wasn’t a peddler.
The fact that the Countess was bedridden had not been made public. Mentioning it would certainly surprise them.
Knowing information that only those within the household knew would certainly raise suspicion, but if he explained carefully that his purpose was merely to sell a remedy, and that no one else besides the household knew this information, it should work out.
Things are going smoothly. With a capable protagonist and a Possessor working together, there’s no difficult task in the world…
Wait…. Something feels off.
The Gatekeeper’s eyes narrowed as he gave Sirius a deliberate, contemptuous once-over.
-What business does a no-name adventurer like you have in a place like this?
The words that tumbled out were insulting enough on their own.
What was this situation, exactly? My thoughts ground to a halt at the unexpected rudeness.
Was he really dismissing someone so openly, right to their face? Sirius hadn’t even said a word yet.
Had I been taking this wretched, depleted world too lightly?
Looking at Sirius’s appearance alone, he seemed like an ordinary adventurer with nothing remarkable about him.
In this place, adventurers without ability tended to face contempt. I knew this because Sirius himself had been dismissed early on in this story.
The current situation could be compared to a salaried employee of a wealthy count’s household looking down on a freelancer on the verge of starvation.
Incidentally, the reason I knew such a starving freelancer existed was because of my own past.
My mood plummeted. It felt as though my own past was being insulted.
You shouldn’t treat people with such contempt!
Besides, Sirius is a hero destined to save the world. You wouldn’t know this since you never even appeared in the novel, but surely you can sense something extraordinary just by looking at that radiant face, can’t you?
And this is a spoiler, but Sirius was born into a noble family of standing.
You might wonder why I’m suddenly slapping him with spoilers, but even calling this a spoiler felt embarrassing.
The novel showed no will to conceal it. When it was revealed that noble blood flowed through Sirius’s veins, there wasn’t a single reader who was surprised.
The point being, if Sirius were to return home, a mere gesture from him could summon assassins who would dispose of a man like this without breaking a sweat.
I watched for Sirius’s reaction. He maintained his usual expressionless demeanor.
The person who should have been most offended showed no response at all. It was the bearing of someone already so accustomed to contempt that nothing could faze him anymore.
Just as the novel had described. Though he carried noble blood, his life had been one of familiar indifference.
My chest tightened. I wished he would at least show some sign of displeasure.
-Might you inform the Count of my presence?
Sirius pressed forward with his purpose, undeterred.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————