I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 17
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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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Chapter 17
It was impossible to predict. In fact, it wasn’t a special day at all.
So what was I supposed to say?
Everyone in the restaurant was watching.
If I were to answer honestly here with a cheerful “Ha, no such thing exists,” the atmosphere would freeze in an instant.
I’d inadvertently ended up tormenting Sirius.
I put my mind into overdrive. I needed to think about what Sirius should say to escape this situation.
But Sirius was faster.
—It’s a secret.
—Oh! Happy Secret Day!
Fortunately, it seemed the moment had passed.
Appetizing dishes filled the table. I wanted to construct some sort of altar on the spot and offer a prayer of thanks.
Vega’s eyes lit up as he put food in his mouth. Sirius watched in silence.
[ ( ᐕ ) ? ]
—…I will eat.
[ ( ᐕ ) ?? ]
—It’s delicious. The meat is tender, not tough, and there’s no gamey taste.
[ (ง ᐕ )ว ]
Vega mumbled enthusiastically while looking at Sirius. To Vega, it must have seemed like he was staring into empty air and murmuring to himself.
—Does the deity ask such things?
Sirius nodded.
—It seems he cares about Sirius.
At that, Sirius’s expression turned uncertain.
—Isn’t it because he wanted Sirius to eat something delicious?
[ ( ᐛ )b ]
Sirius’s gaze lingered on the system window.
But only briefly—as Vega struggled with his knife, Sirius cut up the plate of meat in front of him into smaller pieces and placed it back in front of Vega.
—Thank you!
Vega offered his thanks with a bright smile.
Sirius picked at his rice while lost in thought.
You bastard, you really are a Korean novel protagonist, aren’t you?
In Korean novels, even the lunatics who kidnap and imprison the people they love still feed them on time.
In , I went crazy every time he skipped a meal, and this time around there was no particular reason for him not to eat, so I got a double-crazy event.
No time to eat? Too lazy to cook? The events of that day wouldn’t go down his throat? None of it applied.
Sirius continued picking at his food, oblivious to my frustration.
At least we finished everything that was served.
* * *
Sirius arrived at Aquamarine, the city the deity had indicated.
The world still ignored him, and the deity witnessed that sight.
[Trial]
[Say meaningfully, “You will come to regret this,” and then leave.]
[Reward: Bread ×1]
When he felt the deity’s clear anger in the Trial, doubt crept in.
What was he, that this should be so?
He had learned not to mind the words of those who condemned him. And yet the deity had shown displeasure and made the gatekeeper apologize.
He simply thought that the deity wanted the human he was observing not to be disrespected.
But that was a mistaken assumption.
He did not understand the deity’s will.
Was the deity really the kind of being to concern itself so greatly with just one human?
He could not know.
[Trial]
[Discard the Old Sword given by the Listener who draws the boundary of a wish, and purchase a new one.]
[Reward: Bread ×1]
And the sword—in condition so poor that it was apparent even in the darkness.
He did not know why those words left his mouth.
Sirius regretted it immediately. What he had done was merely the petulance of a child.
He had doubted the one who showed him kindness and put them to the test.
And yet, when he recalled all that had transpired until now, doubt was not strange behavior at all.
Besides, the other party was a deity.
How could a mere human possibly defy the will of a god?
Gods are beings we scarcely understand. There’s no telling when they might change their whims.
A single human can be discarded just as easily.
“I cannot abandon something the god has given me.”
He added the words almost reflexively, even though they were already spoken and could not be taken back.
So when the god accepted even his defiance, he could not understand it.
‘Why on earth?’
Hope bloomed in him—the same feeling he’d known when standing beside those who had once betrayed him.
Self-loathing covered the joy rising in his heart. How could he hope again after all he had endured?
But this time, wouldn’t it be different?
It was a refrain he had told himself countless times before.
He could not hate someone who had shown him kindness.
He prayed the god would not betray him, while refusing to forget that the god could abandon him at any moment.
* * *
When I woke, the two of them were having breakfast.
Sirius looked as though he could skip a meal or two, yet he continued to eat—apparently out of consideration for Vega. He knew the boy would feel uncomfortable eating alone.
Before that, I worried whether Vega could even place an order. His introverted nature made it doubtful.
I wasn’t sure if he could bring himself to speak to a stranger to order food, or whether a ten-year-old dining alone at a restaurant would be permitted in this world.
I didn’t even know from my own childhood memories when I’d first been allowed to shop for things by myself, so there was no way I could know such things.
In any case, I was grateful as a Korean that neither of them was going hungry.
With nothing else to do in this city, it was time to move on to the next region.
I gave them plenty of time to digest their meal before issuing a Sponsorship Mission.
[Mission]
[Proceed to Amethyst Village.]
[Reward upon success: Bread ×1]
The moment the system window appeared, Sirius rose from his seat.
“The god commands us to head toward Amethyst Village.”
“Ah. Yes, yes!”
Vega responded and tucked the Chick Doll he’d been fidgeting with into his pocket.
The two of them then prepared to leave—though their preparations consisted of nothing more than changing clothes.
I’d be watching them in a carriage for the next few hours, it seemed.
Without incident, Sirius remained as motionless as a plaster statue. The only difference when I activated the Broadcast was a slight tremor—otherwise it felt like leaving a screensaver on.
Watching the Broadcast alone while idle was inefficient. I had to find a way to make Sirius stronger before the coming danger.
Sirius’s opponent was the Evil God. Not a Demon King like in other novels, but an actual god. Even if he obtained every item in Quartz, it might not be enough.
Perhaps that was why the Listener hadn’t let Sirius simply coast through in that world.
The Listener was mad, but I suspected he didn’t derive pleasure from killing. He’d turned Sirius into a crazed murderer because he needed the corpses—because of Sirius’s ability.
If Sirius’s power had grown stronger through Stone Skipping alone, the Listener wouldn’t have cared about murder at all. He’d have made Sirius skip stones all day.
Whatever the reason, it was clear the Listener’s goal was to kill the Evil God, and he’d determined that he needed Sirius’s ability to do it.
But was there truly no other way?
I thought of the various worlds I’d glimpsed on Cosmos’s channel entrance screen.
If the items in Quartz weren’t enough, couldn’t I simply bring items from other worlds?
But I lacked the resources to create another Contractor and have them offer items. Watching even Sirius’s Broadcast was taxing.
Then it occurred to me—what if there were items in this world, the one I inhabited?
Wasn’t this place, where I watched humans comfortably through Cosmos, also a world? A world where other gods existed besides the Listener?
If my Intervention Level was too low to issue Sponsorship, what if I had another god with a higher level sponsor Sirius instead?
But I didn’t know whether Sponsorship could work without a contract.
It was uncertain. If Sponsorship only worked between Contractors, wouldn’t it be less fun for other viewers watching the Broadcasts?
Some Broadcast platforms even had rankings by Sponsorship amount, where viewers competed through donations.
“Ham, can you sponsor a Broadcaster who isn’t a Contractor?”
“Yes. Though it’s not common. Non-Contractors have a limited number of sponsorships per week, so it’s difficult to make a Broadcaster consistently behave the way you want.”
Contractors could sponsor Broadcasters unlimited times, while other gods faced a weekly sponsorship limit.
My contract hadn’t been useless after all. I could send sponsorship messages whenever I wanted.
Then perhaps I should consider having another god sponsor Sirius.
But would another god actually sponsor Sirius? I was the only one watching his Broadcast right now.
Even if I knelt and begged some distant, unstable god to sponsor my Contractor, who would actually do it?
I asked Ham hesitantly.
“If I asked another god to sponsor my Contractor, would they consider it?”
“There’s a high probability they would. Many gods enjoy trading. If you give them something they want, they’ll help you.”
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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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