I'm a Goddess to Be Devoured by the Protagonist - Chapter 69
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 69
I pulled out the prettiest pink Picnic Mat from my adorable Picnic Basket first, spread it out, and arranged the food on top. Bread, jam, and orange juice emerged from the basket.
Thanks to the beautiful flowers around us and the delicious bread, I could enjoy a pleasant meal.
After I finished eating and was lying back contentedly, gazing at the sky at my leisure, it happened.
Whoosh!
An ominous sound echoed down—directly above my head.
Before I could look up, Sirius spoke.
“A Dungeon has appeared.”
A Dungeon?
I never expected one to open up right above my head like this.
There was no way I could ignore it. Picnic or no picnic, I had to abandon everything and venture inside.
“I’ll go in alone.”
“No. Let me come with you.”
I couldn’t send Sirius alone. Despite his protests, I stubbornly followed him into the Dungeon.
The interior of the Dungeon resembled an ancient, crumbling Shrine. For some reason, the atmosphere felt dreamlike and ethereal.
“This place doesn’t seem to have much in it.”
That was all. No Monsters in sight, nothing dangerous either.
But complacency was dangerous…….
Click!
……or so I thought.
A trap had been set into the floor. The moment the clicking sound rang out, a section of the ground depressed inward, and a hole opened up beneath me.
And I fell through it.
Alone.
How could this happen?
Thud.
Fortunately, soft bedding lay at the bottom of the hole, so I escaped injury.
I lifted my head and slowly surveyed my surroundings. So there were no Monsters, I’d said—but they were here all along.
Handsome men stared down at me.
But they weren’t human. They had horns tinged pink, wings, and tails—and most striking of all, tails with heart-shaped tips. They were Monsters.
Judging by their handsome faces and those distinctive tail tips, I suspected they were Incubi.
The same creatures that had appeared as pillow-shaped forms in Sirius’s world.
“Oh, what a pretty girl.”
Right. Since you were just born when this Dungeon opened, I’d be your older sister.
An Incubus with mint-colored hair and an adorable appearance approached me.
“Want to play with us?”
Just because your face is handsome doesn’t mean I’d agree.
“Yes, I’d love to.”
Of course I agreed.
Though naturally, it wasn’t because I genuinely wanted to.
I couldn’t gauge their strength. One wrong move and I’d be ganged up on.
I needed to learn from Sirius how strong they really were.
Sirius needed to find me soon.
The mint-haired Incubus escorted me to a tea table.
While we walked, the other Incubi winked at me one by one.
“Hey there?”
“Good to see you.”
The Incubi greeted me. Their eyes were delightful.
But they were Monsters—creatures I was supposed to hunt down.
“Here, have some Magical Fruit. Try it.”
Without thinking, I was about to eat the fruit he offered when I remembered Persephone eating pomegranate seeds and asked him a question instead.
“If I eat this, nothing bad happens, right?”
“Nothing like that.”
My suspicion made the Incubus pout pitifully.
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to ask someone I could trust.
“Ham.”
I whispered softly, and Ham poked her face out from the system window. After examining the Magical Fruit carefully, she spoke.
“You can eat it without any problems.”
Good. Then I should eat it.
The Magical Fruit looked appetizing, and I wanted to taste it. I don’t turn down delicious food.
Crunch.
The sweet fruit crumbled in my mouth, melting slowly on my tongue.
I thought I could eat fruit like this forever and never tire of it.
It was while I was absorbed in the fruit that energy rippled out from the Incubus. I couldn’t say why, but something in that aura felt like it meant me harm.
I straightened my expression and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Doing what needs to be done.”
I rose from my seat and drew out the Greatsword.
At the same moment, I released my Divine Power forcefully.
I’d hoped to avoid fighting alone without anyone knowing, but since they’d attacked first, there was no help for it.
Yet the Incubi trembled with fear the instant my Divine Power reached them.
What’s this? They weren’t much after all. I shouldn’t have bothered matching their rhythm.
“Surrender all the fruit you have right now, or you won’t live to see another day.”
Sirius and I will share it.
Of course, once they’d handed over every fruit, I’d be rid of them.
Handsome ones are supposed to be a rare species worth preserving, though in the divine realm things weren’t quite so simple.
Even the dust motes here were passably good-looking.
“H-yes!”
The Incubi brought forth a full basket of fruit. I watched them carefully while chewing the fruit slowly.
Time passed—I’m not sure how much.
“Oh, Sirius. You’ve arrived?”
Sirius had finally come.
When he’d first appeared, he’d worn a dark expression, as though worried about me. But seeing me managing the Incubi with perfect ease, his expression softened.
Or seemed to.
Actually, it looked like his expression merely loosened.
It was time at last for these Incubi to meet their end.
“N-no, elder. You said you’d spare us, right?”
“Did I? When?”
“Kyaaaah!!”
The Incubi scattered in all directions. But if I wrapped Divine Power around my legs, I could catch them easily.
“It’s unusual to meet a Monster with a humanoid form that can actually speak.”
“In my eyes, they are merely dust motes with wings and tails. I cannot even discern where such a creature could produce sound.”
So I’d been deceived the whole time?
These handsome Incubi had all been fake?
I immediately raised the Greatsword and slashed at one of the fleeing Incubi. Just as Sirius had said, I felt the sensation of cutting through dust—not through flesh.
“I feel a bit disappointed, actually.”
“What is it that disappoints you?”
I couldn’t honestly admit I was disappointed that the handsome ones were fake.
“No, it’s fine. I have Sirius, after all.”
“I see.”
Genuine handsome is best. Fake handsome doesn’t even come close.
I swung my blade alongside Sirius, driving the Incubi back.
Once we left the Dungeon, we continued our outing.
“Sirius, please try this fruit.”
I pulled out the Picnic Basket of fruit I’d stored in my inventory. It was sweet but flavorful, so I thought Sirius might enjoy it as well.
“It has a subtle taste.”
But an unexpected assessment came back.
Did the fruit take on whatever flavor the eater preferred? The fruit that had tasted sweet to me was subtle to Sirius’s palate.
He continued eating, apparently quite taken with it.
Watching him eat so heartily filled me with satisfaction.
* * *
A few days later, Antares arrived at the Capital.
—Your Holiness, are you certain this is the right choice?
[‘The Listener Who Draws a Diagonal Line of Wishes’ nods vigorously.]
—Aah, yes… I understand.
Antares answered with a sorrowful expression.
[The deity says Antares will need money, so she sent this for you.]
With the money Vega had sent, he purchased land. The only land available in the Capital was land that already had an owner.
Antares stood in the empty field with a cute Boink Hammer in hand, tapping at a cubic Marble Box, which gradually took on the shape of a small Shrine.
—I’ll finish this before anyone sees.
I decided to trust him and watch over his work.
—Stop right there!
—Blast!
But it wasn’t long before they were discovered. Antares, caught red-handed by two soldiers constructing the Shrine, clutched his head in dismay.
—No matter how small, building a Shrine in the Capital is forbidden!
One soldier cried out upon seeing the toy-sized Shrine, barely worthy of being called a building.
Well, come on—cut me some slack here.
It was absurd. They were actually treating something that minuscule as a Shrine.
—We cannot stop! This is the will of the great Listener!
Antares refused to yield. He swung the Boink Hammer in his hand, pounding the Marble Box relentlessly. With each strike of his hammer, the tiny Shrine grew steadily larger.
—The Listener, you say? A newly emerged god, then!
The soldiers seemed to know of me as well.
One kept his drawn sword at the ready, while the other appeared lost in thought.
—There are growing numbers who show goodwill toward the arrival of a new deity.
—Why are you saying that now, of all times!
—Let us keep this matter sealed.
—What?! Do you understand what you’re saying right now!
—Did you not hear? The blessing bestowed by the new god.
Ah. That business of making the Shrine glow, you mean.
To me it was trivial, but perhaps it held meaning for these people.
—A new age begins now. An era blessed with a new deity.
The soldier with the sword could not deny it.
—Tch, it will reach the ears of the Sovereign soon enough anyway. Let us pretend we saw nothing.
—Thank you!
Antares bowed ninety degrees in gratitude. The soldiers took their leave.
Boing! Boing!
Each time the Boink Hammer in Antares’s hand struck the Shrine, it made an endearing sound.
How much time had passed? The Shrine had grown larger than Antares himself.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————