I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 41

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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 41
Antares emerged carrying his mother on his back.
[The Listener Who Draws Diagonal Lines instructs you to check carefully whether any gems are attached to Antares’s mother.]
Sirius examined Antares’s mother. Seeing him nod shortly after, it appeared there were no gems.
-Let us depart from this place now.
-Very well.
* * *
-What, you’ve actually come back? Both of you, no less?
The soldier standing guard at the Main Gate swept his gaze over them in astonishment.
-The mansion will gradually return to its original state from this point forward.
-Don’t tell me you cleared the dungeon?
-That is correct.
-Remarkable fellows, truly. I nearly blocked your path, not knowing who you were.
-I did very little. Sirius accomplished most of it.
-Is that so?
The soldier regarded Sirius with eyes of admiration.
-Sirius, might I ask you to accompany me to the Public Cemetery nearby?
-Of course.
Antares’s mother was laid to rest in the cemetery, and he offered his prayers.
-May my mother have found her way to a good place.
Sirius, watching over him, also prayed.
-I too hope for that.
-I truly cannot thank you enough.
Antares smiled. The traces of tears at the corners of his eyes had not yet fully dried.
-My mother was a good woman.
-Yes.
-And yet she never got to enjoy even a moment of comfort…….
[ (；△；) ]
Where can I find a tissue? My eyes won’t stop welling up…….
The two completed the brief funeral and went together to the Inn where Vega was staying.
-Sirius, who is this person?
Vega whispered from behind Sirius.
-He is Antares, whom I met during this journey.
-I see.
Vega merely nodded, her wariness toward the unfamiliar Antares not yet fully eased.
-Ah, hello. Antares.
-Yes. Hello.
Vega gathered her courage and offered a greeting!
Well done, our Vega!
-Are you perhaps a Priest……? Your vestments…….
-Ah, I intend to leave the priesthood behind.
-You…… what?
-I will become an adventurer like Sirius, rescuing those in dire straits.
-But why? Being a Priest is splendid too…….
-I have come to understand deeply that God is no longer present.
The absent God had not helped Antares. Neither in saving his mother, nor in preventing his own infection.
-There is still a deity worthy of faith.
-Yes? What do you mean by that…….
-The Listener Who Draws Diagonal Lines. That is the deity I serve.
Antares’s eyes widened in surprise.
I was equally taken aback.
I had told him to keep me secret. Though I did say he could reveal it if circumstances demanded.
-Going forward, you need only place your faith in that deity. They will bring us salvation.
You speak like some charlatan missionary.
Can I truly bring about salvation? First, I must defeat the Evil Deity, at least.
-Vega, would you be able to treat Antares’s wounds?
-Yes, of course.
A warm light began to emanate from Vega’s hands.
She brought it to bear against the wounds where the Indigo Vine had burrowed into Antares’s flesh, and they began to mend.
Antares seemed to be a quiet sort of person, so Sirius entrusted the treatment to Vega.
That’s impossible. Healing Ability?
Antares had no deep wounds; they all healed quickly.
Thank you so much. May I ask your name?
I’m Vega. Just Vega.
Well, Vega, you’re clearly a remarkable person. Of course, Sirius is too.
He said it with a laugh.
Shall we part ways here then? I should return to my homeland.
I thought for a moment, then sent a message.
[‘The Listener Who Draws Diagonal Lines’ proposes traveling with ‘Antares’ for a time.]
There was somewhere he needed to go.
* * *
“I’ve got good news!”
Tong Dal-ja’s large eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“My game has more users now! Ta-da!”
He made sound effects with his mouth, delighted with himself.
“It’s all thanks to you! You’re wonderful! Wonderful!”
Like patting the bottom of a pleased child, he clung to my leg and patted it eagerly. Being treated this way by a deity in the form of a small child felt strange.
“Some gods even broadcast my game. Want to see?”
Before I could answer, Tong Dal-ja sent a message containing several links. I tapped one of them.
Ready, begin!
Several deities started running a winding high-difficulty track.
The map features were distinctly different from the course I’d run before, so it seemed the feedback had been well integrated.
It looked fun and I wanted to say I’d like to try it too, but the Listener wouldn’t do such things, so I couldn’t.
“How is it? How is it? Awesome, right? I did great, didn’t I?”
“Sure.”
“Yay! I got praised! I should make today ‘The Day I Got Praised by the Listener!'”
Despite my lukewarm response, Tong Dal-ja bounced around with joy.
* * *
Returning to my space, I turned on the Broadcast.
Sirius and Antares were visible on the screen. Vega had apparently been left at the Inn beforehand.
A Teleportation Stone. It’s quite a curious object.
Antares marveled at the Teleportation Stone Sirius held. He had changed out of his priest robes into ordinary adventurer’s clothing.
This was Zircon Village. Since the original story mentioned Sirius had visited here before, we were able to use the Teleportation Stone.
But the scenery was unfamiliar. Most of the village visible below the mountain was submerged in water. The Dungeon had erupted with water, causing a Flood.
Setting aside the Flood itself, there was other business to attend to.
In the original story, there was a sick old man in this village who received a Golden Apple. I decided to visit him before handling other matters in the town.
[Mission]
[Find the ailing elder in the village and cure him by giving him medicine.]
[Mission Success Reward: Bread ×1]
Sirius and Antares asked the villagers as they made their way to where the old man lived.
If you’re looking for him, he lives over in that corner.
The villager who pointed the way looked worried about the old man. But in such a remote place, there wasn’t so much as a hospital, let alone any medicine to be found.
Are you there?
Then a faint cough came from inside, along with a voice telling them to come in.
Have you come to help me? Take out what medicines you have. Let me see if there’s anything worth using.
At the old man’s words, Sirius began pulling medicines one by one from his Inventory. His eyes as he examined them were not ordinary.
That one looks usable, so set it aside… Ah, that should do the trick.
The old man sat up from the bed where he’d been lying and received Sirius’s assistance with the medicine.
Much obliged. Without you two, I’d have been stuck here and perished for certain.
I had finally resolved what had been on my mind.
[Mission Success! Reward is being distributed!]
[Bread ×1]
Though I have nothing to give myself, if you help the villagers, they will surely repay you.
Understood.
The two of them left the old man’s house after finishing their business.
Good. One burden lifted.
Now for another. I sent another Mission.
The god asks that you climb the mountain.
The two followed my orders without question. Their trust in me seemed so high it was almost burdensome.
At the top of the mountain stood a single low tower, and people were gathered around it.
—Please, help us! I beg you!
People hammered at the door with such force their knuckles must ache, crying out their desperation.
—Ah, quiet! I can’t sleep with all this noise!
A middle-aged man burst open the window and bellowed down at them.
It was broad daylight. The man’s laziness was unmistakable.
—The Mage! Please, listen to us!
—We’re begging you to help us!
The villagers pleaded with the middle-aged man—the Mage.
—Stop your noise! Solve your own problems!
Despite their desperation, the window slammed shut with a bang, hard enough to shake the frame.
He was a spiteful mage who ignored the villagers’ plight, secure in the knowledge that his own house remained dry.
Originally, Sirius had moved him to action by giving him an item, but he no longer possessed it.
Sirius had nearly died in the Dungeon where that item appeared, and what he’d obtained there was merely a luxury—not worth the risk of returning.
—So the Divine One meant for us to witness this.
—It would seem so.
Antares offered a bitter smile.
—I’ll do everything I can to help them.
Antares turned to the empty air and addressed me with courtesy.
[ ( ᐛ) (　 ᐕ)₎₎ ]
—…….
Sirius watched him intently for reasons he couldn’t quite name—perhaps it was simply unusual to see someone else address me, besides Vega and himself.
Though that curious expression faded quickly enough.
—I’ve had a good idea for solving the Flood.
I was about to assign a Mission, but Sirius seemed to have a plan, so I left it in his hands.
* * *
Sirius held a shovel borrowed from the village, while Antares gripped his Staff.
—According to the map, there’s a river beside the village. If we carve a channel leading there, we can drain the water away.

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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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