I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 20

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

Episode 20
It seemed to go hand-in-hand with that perpetually blank expression of his. In a situation where even a single misstep would be disastrous, I was grateful he hadn’t faltered.
I relaxed and studied the man across from me. I needed to confirm whether my response had quieted his suspicion.
What I’d just said amounted to: ‘Are you seriously calling me strange right now?’
A madman’s strangeness is the default state. But you can’t point that out.
Whether or not they’re aware of their own oddity, people dislike hearing they’re strange from others. So this was the safest response.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Fortunately, he seemed to let it pass. The man fixed his eyes on me, shifting them from their sideways angle.
“So, what brings you to the banquet?”
It made sense that a man presumed to be a homebody would wonder why a Listener showed up at a place only social butterflies typically frequented.
Fortunately, I’d prepared an answer for any god who might ask such a question.
“Are you saying I shouldn’t be in a place like this?”
No one knows where a madman will turn up. Even if a madman appeared in some mad location, everyone would just nod and think, ‘Yeah, that’s what madmen do.’ In that sense, surfacing at a social gathering was nothing remarkable.
“No, that’s not what I meant…!”
Suddenly the man showed signs of flustered confusion.
What? Why is he acting like that when he looks like the kind of guy who wouldn’t blink even if I suddenly broke into breakdancing?
“I was joking. Please, don’t worry.”
Only then did the man release a small sigh of relief. I couldn’t understand why he was being so nervous when he was the one who’d brought me here.
Still, I had business to attend to.
I decided to ask about the thing I’d been most curious about, without revealing my true identity.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because you don’t like places with many gods around.”
So he was a god who knew something about the Listener.
“And… I wanted to talk with you alone.”
The man added in a small voice.
Now I understood. If this were a game, his affection meter toward me would be at one hundred percent.
The way he treated me went far beyond simple goodwill.
“What have you been up to lately?”
I pondered how to answer his question.
I’d only watched Cosmos broadcasts.
So what had the Listener been doing before I possessed them? Recalling that the Cosmos window had appeared at the moment of possession, perhaps the Listener hadn’t been watching broadcasts either?
But the Involvement Level was 1, wasn’t it. Either they’d just started, or they’d been watching without raising their level.
What should I say?
I was about to deflect with something vague, the way you’d answer if an acquaintance asked what you’d been up to, when a good idea came to me.
“I made a Contractor through Cosmos.”
“You? That’s unexpected. You never showed interest in Cosmos before.”
The man widened his eyes in surprise.
I seemed to keep surprising him.
“I’ve recently taken an interest in it.”
“I see. There’s nothing wrong with taking up a new hobby.”
His response was positive. Now to move to the main point.
“Would it be possible for you to sponsor items to my Contractor? My own Sponsorship seems insufficient.”
This was the real reason I’d brought up Cosmos.
To naturally ask for Sponsorship!
“I’m sorry, but that’s difficult. I’ve never taken interest in other worlds, so my Involvement is also hard to manage.”
“Does that mean your Involvement Level is low?”
“You could say that.”
It was a shame. It would have been nice to get help from this man.
“Instead, there’s a way to seize items by force.”
Pardon?
Seize items by force? From where?
Could it be… from another god?
“If you wish, I’ll take them for you.”
His face certainly suited the look of a tyrant from a romance novel, but would it kill him to avoid acting like one?
This was too much. No matter how badly I needed items, I had to refuse.
When I’d entered the Banquet Hall earlier, the gods’ reactions to the Listener hadn’t been particularly negative.
But if I asked someone to steal for me? My image would plummet instantly.
Word would spread that some madman had asked a tyrant to steal. That’s all anyone would remember.
It was strange, though. If the Listener were a true madman, wouldn’t they have naturally asked for theft without hesitation? I wouldn’t have needed to think twice.
So the Listener did care about their reputation. Either that, or they didn’t want to incur another god’s resentment.
“I’m not fond of that approach.”
“Understood.”
The man’s response suggested he’d already known what I would say.
Then why ask in the first place? My heart was racing.
“Then I suppose we’ll have to guide things toward a Trade-based Sponsorship instead.”
Both Hami and this man had mentioned the word Trade. Were the gods really fond of trading?
“I’ll provide the information myself.”
[You have received a message from Sirin Light.]
[You have 1 attachment.]
The sentence in quotation marks caught my eye. That must be his Divine Name.
I pressed the download button on the system window before me.
[Downloading attachment.]
[……]
[Download complete.]
“There’s no harm in understanding the gods’ information before making a Trade. I’ve written down everything I know.”
Inside the file were numerous sentences that appeared to be Divine Names, and when I touched each one, a brief description of that god’s abilities and information appeared.
The Involvement Level was even listed before each Divine Name, so I could see which gods were capable of providing good item Sponsorships.
This… feels like information you couldn’t buy even with money.
A halo seemed to radiate behind Sirin Light, who had offered such high-quality information so readily. I offered him a silent bow of gratitude from my heart.
“I’m pleased with this.”
But given the Listener’s nature, I couldn’t offer a proper word of thanks.
Still, I expressed joy in my voice as best I could. Somehow the man picked up on it and seemed satisfied.
“Is there anything else you need? I have plenty of other information beyond what concerns Cosmos.”
His tone was arrogant, yet his smile somehow resembled a dog desperate for praise from its master.
Just what was the Listener’s relationship with this man?
There was no denying that he possessed a certain unexpected charm.
“No. The information you’ve given me is more than sufficient.”
At that, his smile deepened slightly.
“Then shall we move on to other matters…….”
Is this really a good idea? The more conversations like this I have, the harder it will be to maintain the act of being the Listener.
But this too is something I’ll have to face someday. I swallowed hard and braced myself for whatever came next.
“……How unfortunate.”
But something was wrong. The man gazed into the empty air, annoyance crossing his face.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to end our meeting here.”
Whatever it was, I was grateful for the reprieve.
I rose from my seat at a measured pace, hiding my relief.
“Will you be able to attend the next Banquet?”
“If I feel so inclined, yes.”
The man—Sirin Light—smiled faintly even knowing I might not return.
* * *
The moment I returned to the Listener’s Space, I turned on the broadcast. Fortunately, Sirius was fine.
I opened the information Sirin Light had given me. Not to make an immediate Trade, but because I was looking for something.
Where was the search function.
[Find: ]
Thankfully, just thinking about it brought up the window. Otherwise I’d have spent the whole day staring at text.
So the god I was searching for was…….
[Find: future]
A god who could see the future. There was something I wanted to know from a god with such power.
It wouldn’t have been strange if one of the gods possessed Precognition.
Many stories featured beings with Precognition, and I recalled that even the being known as the King of Gods in a certain mythology couldn’t escape prophecy.
[2 search results found.]
I examined the text that appeared below.
[Kaleidoscope Toward the Distance]
[Narrative Upon an Open Palm]
After a moment’s thought, I tapped the first Divine Name.
[Kaleidoscope Toward the Distance]
[Can see the future that does not change. Has been sleeping for 1,143 years.]
Why sleep for so long?
Having slept for over a thousand years, there was no way someone weak like me could wake them up.
I sighed inwardly and turned to examine the next god’s information.
[The Narrative Unfolding Upon an Open Palm]
[Able to read futures that remain subject to change.]
Fortunately, this god appeared to be awake.
I opened another window.
[GodTalk]
A messaging application.
The chat list, for what it was worth, contained nothing at all.
I was prepared to assume, quite reasonably, that no god would wish to exchange messages with someone like the Listener—until Hami informed me that messages older than thirty days were set to delete automatically.
So there had been something to delete, then. Curious.
[No active chats. Enter the Divine Name of the person you wish to message to begin a conversation.]
A magnifying glass was drawn beside the empty field. So that was where I’d type the Divine Name, then…….
—GodTalk!
At that moment, a window materialized with a sound I felt I’d heard somewhere before.

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