Divine Protection of Many Gods

Chapter 89






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Goblin Carriage, Trip to Brett


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It was a smooth journey to Brett, almost scarily smooth . There were no skirmishes at all, we were just shaken from the carriage drawn by Picasso .


By no skirmishes, I meant that they were all finished without my assistance .


It’s the state of “there will be no one to impede my way” .


“It is great if the trip to Brett is always smooth like this . ” (Hibiki)


I saw that Lux laughed after he heard that .


“Of course it is not, it’s just that your goblins are competent . ” (Lux)


Half of the goblins I choose to accompany us this time all had experience guarding the carriage to Brett .


We had marked down all the important spots, such as water sources and places to spend the night, thus we arrived at Brett smoothly .


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Brett


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“The contest starts tomorrow right?” (Hibiki)


“That’s right, so will you join through regular registration? Or through my recommendation?” (Lux)


“Nah, I don’t want to attract attention . Besides, I will be pleased with winning regularly and getting the money . ” (Hibiki)


That was the excuse I gave to Lux . It was not a strange reason for an adventurer .


“Ah, that’s right . Then, let’s go register then regroup with Baara and the others to have some lunch together . ” (Lux)


The public registry was held in a plaza near the Adventurer’s Guild .


“Well then Master, we will finish our business first . ” (Amy)


“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you . We’ll regroup at noon around here . ” (Hibiki)


“Yes . ” (Amy)


Ayla and Amy left . Zir had been walking behind me looking here and there . Everyone would know that she was a country hick .


“Where are Ayla and Amy going by the way?” (Lux)


“Buying supplies that are not available at Welburg . Since the carriage is empty, might as well fill it up with something . ” (Hibiki)


“Aah, I see . ” (Lux)


I didn’t know the contents of their shopping list . I left it all to Amy .


To begin with, going shopping wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the truth either .


The real goal laid somewhere else .


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Royal Contest Registration


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“Alright, registration complete . ” (Clerk)


The information needed to participate was your name and the type of weapon only .


The main reason it costs so much time to register was because of the amount of applicants .


I saw many applicants who looked strong, but of course there were some ordinary people who also wanted to participate in the royal contest .


“The main event where the hero candidates battle each other is the main reason attracting these many applicants . ” (?)


It’s been awhile since somebody was able to read my mind, it was my master, Kuesu .


“It’s been a while, shishou . Glad you’re well . ” (Hibiki)


“Hibiki also changed… let me correct that . It seems you have practiced your magic diligently . ” (Kuesu)


I didn’t know how she came to that conclusion, but for now I will just nod .


For my question about why normal people would want to participate in this contest, “If I’m lucky enough to pass the prelimination, I can look at the battles between the hero candidates from closeby” was the reason .


“Yo Hibiki! Where are your ladies?” (Gary)


Said Gary while smiling with his scary face .


“My ladies are on an errand, we’re currently taking action separately . ” (Hibiki)


“That’s a shame . Now, will you introduce the lady with the black hair to me or not?” (Gary)


“She is Zir . Didn’t you see her when we parted back then?” (Hibiki)


Gary tilted his head and thought about it, then he made that gesture of “I see” with his hands .


“That was rude of me, my apologies . Next time, as a token of apology, why don’t you let me treat you to a drink?” (Gary)


It seemed that he had realized that Zir’s hair color had changed though he didn’t say a word about it .


“Gary, don’t be rude to Hibiki . ” (Baara)


Baara who had different clothing than before, smacked Gary on the head from behind .


“I’m sorry for his attitude Hibiki . Spoiling our reunion like this . ” (Baara)


“Don’t mind it . Zir doesn’t seem to hate it too . ” (Hibiki)


Or rather, she was brimming with excitement on what kind of liquor this town has .


After our reunion and Zir’s introduction, the surroundings became noisy .


“Is there something wrong?” (Hibiki)


“It seems there is a strange applicant at the registration . ” (Lux)


Then I directed my sight to the registry and there was certainly someone that attracted attention .


“Dragon Warrior…” (Lux)


Lux said vacantly .


There was the “Dragon Warrior” who was clad in red scale armor .


It wasn’t me inside that armor . Then, who was it inside?


It was Ayla .


I knew it had become quite the rumour back in Welburg . Still, I was surprised that Lux knew about it .


The true goal of the errand back then was this .


I asked Sai and Lux about the public registration to get as much details as possible, and as I expected it was not a problem to hide your face and use an alias .


Well, everyone must have thought that it was not necessary to hide one’s identity if one wanted to gain fame from this contest .


Because of that, there was no one who would be able to retort about who was inside the armor .


After Dragon Warrior Ayla quickly finished the registration, she slipped into the crowd .


Some people went to the registry asking for the Dragon Warrior’s personal information but…


Registrant’s Name: Echo


Weapon Used: Sword


Only this much information was written there .


That Echo alias, of course came from me .


“Echo, I’ve never heard of that name before . How about you Lux?” (Baara)


“There was a rumour about the Dragon Warrior in Welburg . But I had never heard anything about Echo . Right, Hibiki?” (Lux)


“Hm? Yeah . I only ever heard the rumour too . ” (Hibiki)


I was a bit surprised, but I managed to put on a poker face .


Why did he ask only me? Was what I thought, but it was only me, Lux and Zir who had any information about the Dragon Warrior, so it was obvious .


“He is no ordinary person I bet . ” (Gary)


Gary muttered while looking at the direction where the Dragon Warrior went .


“I felt a great magic power from him . Lux, he is a formidable foe . ” (Kuesu)


Said Kuesu while nodding .


“Hey!! I said Heyy!!” (?)


I heard someone’s screaming voice . I had been ignoring her for a while… it seemed her patience just ran out .


“…Yes?” (Hibiki)


I said as I met my gaze with Seira while sighing .


“D-don’t stare at me so suddenly!? Y-you, have been ignoring m-me since the beginning huh!?” (Seira)


“I’m not ignoring you . It’s just that everyone was speaking to me from different sides . Besides, I never thought you had need of me . ” (Hibiki)


“Grrr . ” (Seira)


Seira was with Kuesu and the others, but I ignored her the whole time .


She took a glance at me from time to time but I ignored her since I didn’t have anything to say .


The others were smiling wryly, but in the end they became my accomplice in ignoring her .


“You, don’t get cocky just because you are famous in Welburg . The winner of this royal contest is definitely my hero candidate Hylux-sama . ” (Seira)


“Uhm, though I don’t know if he is yours or not, but I believe so too . ” (Hibiki)


“That’s right, no matter how much you struggle, you will never win this contest . ” (Seira)


“I’m okay as long as I get the money, it’s not like I’m aiming for 1st place” (Hibiki)


“Wha-!?” (Seira)


After she heard that, Seira’s face became red in embarrassment .


“What an outrageous thing!? Are you saying you will hold back in front of the nobles and royals!?” (Seira)


I wonder what her true intention was . I will test her a bit .


“…Are you serious about what you said just now?” (Hibiki)


“Ehh!?” (Seira)


Her body twitched . I bet she remembered something after I said that .


“If you were to go all out without thinking of the consequences just because it was a royal contest, your response will be delayed when something does happen, you know?” (Hibiki)


My statement seemed legit, but it was just a quibble . It’s not like I am the one who had to move if something were to happen there, the royal’s guard and this town’s security will take care of it .


“Ah, auh . ” (Seira)


But this worked to Seira . Thus it must have worked to Lux as well .


“That’s right Hibiki . It seems I still have a long way to go…” (Lux)


I didn’t know why he had valued me so highly .


I managed to convince Lux with “Going all out in the contest is a given . But for me, saving the strength to run if anything bad happens is more important . ” nonsense that I didn’t even understand .


Shishou had told me to not mess with Lux, but my target was Seira from the beginning .


These two thought that a hero and a good guy had the same image .


For short, the image of a hero for both of them was someone who would save everyone without exception .


“Sorry for the wait, Master . ” (Ayla)


It was Amy and Ayla, who had come back from their errand .


The luggage was already loaded unto the carriage, or inside Ruby .


“Well then, it’s a bit late now, but let’s go have lunch together” (Lux)


Said Lux while leading everyone there . As expected, he has the charisma of a leader .


We, the party of heroes, left while being stared at by our surroundings .



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