“The goddess has a secret agreement with the dragon god!?”
The useless rat bowed low. Gardekie was annoyed by the gesture alone.
“Nothing is for certain yet, but the gods in the plaza say they heard… I suppose they all know something.”
“What!?”
“Well, whatever it is, I suppose it will be revealed during the battle.”
A moment later, the plague god’s body went flying through the air, and then slammed down onto the stone floor.
“You worthless wretch! Why do you think I had you approach her in the first place? You idiot!”
With annoyance, Gardekie walked over to his throne. And then stroked his beard and pondered on what he had heard. Well, he knew that the goddess meant to face him as enemies.
In that case, he should take the bait, and surround her before pressing in all at once. She could set all of the traps she wanted. Use the terrain to her advantage. In the end, it was just one person.
“Tell Sydia. We will have our Heroes pair up and lead the extermination team.”
“…Will Lord Sydia agree to that?”
“It is your job to make him agree. Also…”
As the rat smiled weakly, Gardekie bared his teeth savagely.
“I don’t know what you told him, but I hope you are not thinking of betraying me?”
“Ne-never… Gah.”
“As if that fish-smelling bastard could do anything! I know it all!”
He stomped down over the rat. Normally, any assault against another god was forbidden. But when they were this low, no one cared.
“That arrogant fool said I should follow him! The barnacled bastard! And now you are selling my information to him, and think you are being subtle!”
“I-I never did… Gah!”
“Eventually, you will disclose the source of the information, and try to create a rift between me and the others!? Really, I cannot wait to get rid of you, plague god!”
“Gaaaahhh!”
He kicked Evacus so that he rolled on the floor. And then he sat back down on his throne and glared at the pathetic rat.
“You will continue to serve me, as you used to. Tell Sydia that my Hero and I will help. So he should use all of his power. And also…tell him that my rat will not be taken from me.”
“Ye-yes…”
“Be sure of it. The next time I meet Sydia, I will ask if he heard it from you.”
He didn’t actually care, but added those final words anyway.
At this point, the other god was completely an enemy now. It would be one thing if he was just moving around craftily and whispering in people’s ears, but to try and steal a pawn. It was outrageous.
As for the rat, it was also useless now. He already knew the ability of the sorcerer Hero. It would be easy to defeat him.
After ridding the throne room of the rat, Gardekie summoned a mirror in the air.
‘How are your preparations, my Hero?’
Fuminori Toyama hated that gutteral voice.
It was the god who had summoned him to this world. A fantasy world that he could only have dreamed about. Where he could fight and live the life of a Hero. And so he was thankful.
However, why did he have to be summoned by this god who was like an old man? That was the only thing he was not satisfied with.
“Ah…yeah. Preparations. Everyone is gathered here.”
He said while looking around. An inn in a small town. The first floor was like a tavern, with a lot of people playing dress up.
The armor of the locals were generally dull iron or leather, but now, the place was filled with Heroes with divine equipment. And so their armor came in red, blue, green and even pink, and were polished until they shone.
Fuminori had large plate mail, as well as a broad two-handed sword. And since everything was black, he stood out in the room. He sometimes felt a little embarrassed about being called the ‘Black Swordsman.’
‘Soon, there will be an official declaration. But in the upcoming battle, you are to team up with Sydia’s Hero and take the lead.”
“The lead… Me? Are you serious!?”
‘Yes. So do your best.’
This was all so sudden. And yet, Fuminori felt excited. He would be the leader in a group of legendary Heroes. It was not something you could experience often. He would look so cool.
“Woah, this is going to be so awesome. Hell, yeah!”
‘Do not be reckless. Zephalis’s Hero let the kobold get the better of him, and died in a horrible manner. Stay on your guard.’
“…Uh, is this really an ordinary kobold? It sounds pretty dangerous.”
Up until now, Gardekie had whined about this god named Zephalis quite a lot. Also, this one called Salia and her kobold.
However, after gathering with the other Heroes and listening to more stories, he had become calm.
This method of learning to fight in the forest, and thoroughly attacking the enemy’s resources.
Now that he thought about it, it was not emphasized much in Japanese RPGs, but with foreign games, there were many that depicted fantasy worlds with a sense of realism. They tended to focus on food, breathing and gravity. Perhaps it was best to think of the kobold in such terms.
That Koji guy. He probably lacked intelligence. The poor bastard.
‘Well, he is at a higher level. But he is still just one kobold. If you all go together, you will not be defeated.’
“Any information on his divine vessel or blessings?”
‘I will tell you when I find out. However, the evil goddess has allied herself with the dragon god, and I hear she has some secret trump card. Things might not be so simple.’
Changes before the quest even begins. He wanted to curse the god, but held it in.
It really did seem like these gods had many blind spots. It was like they didn’t care to learn the rules of the game, as they were not the ones playing on the board. Everything was brute force.
“Well, I suppose it’s not bad. Since I just get sent home if I die.”
‘What did you say?’
“No, nothing. I will do my best as a Hero.”
‘Good. Later then.’
He felt the god’s presence dissipating. He would likely be busy with meetings, and not return for some time.
Now that he thought about it, being a pawn in the games of gods was rather infuriating. He had read books with this setting before. Characters in his position were at the mercy of fate. They often died in horrible circumstances.
“Besides, couldn’t I have at least had a god who was a beautiful girl! Why is it some crusty old man!”
“Uh, um…”
Fuminori couldn’t help but shout. And then he noticed a girl was standing in front of him. She had short hair, and was wearing a white robe with gauntlets and boots.
“…Uh, who are you?”
“Lord Sydia’s Hero. My name is Ayano Shinohara. Uh, you are Lord Gardekie’s Hero, aren’t you?”
She had delicate features and was thin, but also shapely where it mattered. But more than anything, she seemed kind. And the way that held the staff in both arms made his heart skip a beat.
“Uh, yeah. I’m Fuminori Toyama. Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. While it may not be a long battle, let’s do our best.”
She said with a smile. Fuminori had to force himself to remain calm.
Woah, damn it. Why is she so cute?
He was suddenly thankful to his own old god, as he had chosen a partner god with such a cute Hero.
“Thank you, god! I now feel enthusiastic about this!”
“Huh? Uh, good for you?”
He realized that he was pumping his fist in the air, and so he calmed down and turned back to Ayano.
“By-by the way, uh…Shinohara-san.”
“Just call me Ayano. Toyama-san.”
“Then you call me by my first name too! Uh, well, Ayano-san. You don’t seem like the typical Hero…”
“Yes. I specialize in support. Defense, enchantments and healing are my specialties.”
Upon hearing this, Fuminori switched gears. By having her, this clearly meant they were supposed to cover for each other’s weaknesses and defeat the enemy.
“I see. There aren’t many like you, so I think you’ll be very important for this operation. Most Heroes only care about attacking.”
“It seems to be the case… You are that type too, aren’t you, Fuminori-san?”
“Ah, ahaha! Well, uh, you know. Guys like to be bold like that! And uh, having someone like you supporting me will boost my strength a hundred times! Uh, what the hell am I even talking about? Ahaha…”
Now that he thought about it, the knight and sorcerer that Gardekie had sent to him were both old men. There had been times when he was truly disappointed by his god’s tastes.
But now, things are different!
“This god called Zepahlis. His Hero was killed, and now monsters everywhere think that they run the place. And so I had to go around and show them who’s boss!”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah! And on my way here, I encountered a monster on the road! It was so troublesome! Ah, do you want to drink something!?”
He realized that he was getting a little carried away. But still, Fuminori started to tell Ayano all about his adventures.
Thank you for the chapters!