Divine Protection of Many Gods

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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 .