Divine Protection of Many Gods - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

「Ayla, I’ve kept you waiting.」

When I arrived at the promised place earlier than the promised time, I found that Ayla had been already waiting there.

「No problem, I’d also just arrived.」

Earlier I was informed of our promised meeting place. I was trying to get as close as I could to Ayla’s departure time.
Watching Ayla, standing there in a dress and wearing a straw hat, still makes me gasp.
Despite us staying at the same inn, I was told that our meet spot was somewhere outside.
Last night, I purposely had us leave the inn and did not return until the meeting time. Although, we’re slightly overdoing it, Ayla, believed this was something I desired.

「Good morning, Master.」

「Ayla, that’s not right」

For a moment Ayla was startled and she blushed, when saw her.

「Good morning… Hibiki.」

「Yeah, good morning, Ayla.」

To address me as her equal that was also one of the promises for today’s date. I asked her to called by my first name. It seems, I yearned for a meeting differently from how we first met. If Ayla disliked it, then I won’t force her.
However, Ayla accepted it while feeling a bit of shyness.
When I called out to her, as her escort, she reveals a big smile on her face.

「Let’s go to the Monster Tamer’s Guild!」

I held out my right hand, Ayla simply stared at it, before she timidly presents hers. Somehow it was mistaken for a handshake… I grabbed Ayla’s right hand, and we looked at each other.

「Ayla, It’s about time we head out.」

I released Ayla’s hand, after feeling satisfied from gazing at her. But somehow, Ayla looked extremely lonely. So, I immediately held her left hand.
As we’re walking along the main street, the warmth of her hands are transmitted to mine (right hand).
The Monster Tamer’s Guild is located near the east gate. We walked down the main road that lead towards the east gate.
Ayla and I remained silent all due to tension. I can’t let it be this way, and so I resolved myself and started a conversation.

「I’m a bit sleepy. I was so excited yesterday, that I couldn’t get a wink of sleep.」

「I-I was also unable to sleep because I was so excited!!」

Ayla responds to my small-talk. She answers in high vigor, almost shouting.
The conversation that followed went along smoothly, due to the tension between us became a bit loose. We talked about the Monsters tamed by Ayla, or the story about how Duo and Luo were worrying about each other. And even about how Ayla caused Ruby to oversleep today.

「Here, is the Monster Tamer’s Guild.」

The Guild is located alongside the Walls of the East gate.
It’s larger compared to the Adventurer’s Guild and the Magician’s Guild. The reception desks, alongside the main building and the ranches, within the plaza were surrounded by fences. There are also three barns facilities managed by the Monsters, directly.

We are now heading toward the reception desk. The interior of the building, aside from the many Monsters inside, wasn’t much difference compared to the Adventurer’s Guild and the Magician’s Guild.

We’ve brought along Ruby, on our long-awaited date, since we are going to the Monster Tamer’s Guild. It a matter of appearances, although Ruby may be a just a big slime, it is best to take a Monster with us. Yup, this way, they shouldn’t take us lightly.
As we check out the Monsters within the barn, from the reception desk, we saw a familiar face.

「Eh? Hibiki? Fancy meeting you here.」

「Feryu, what are you doing in a place like this?」

「I’ve come here to buy a Monster, for Copper.」

Fenryu points behind me. I turned around, and saw that Copper was filling out something at the reception desk.

「I’m on my way to look at the Monsters that are on sale.」
Taking a hold of this chance, we happily asked her permission if we could accompany them as well.

「No problem. We’re also in your debt, anyways, you cured Nico’s injury.」

「Oh, about that, how is Nico’s condition?」

「There’s no danger because the wound has closed. However, her physical strength is still restrained due to the poison. At the moment, she’s resting at the inn. Come to think of it, do you know the whereabouts of Lux’s Party? We’re also indebted to them, so I want to give them my thanks. I haven’t seen them at the Adventurer’s guild at all.」

「Lux’s Party is imposing on the Church at the moment.」 //Light: Means they’re staying there.//

「The Church? Ahh, Baara is a Shinto Priest after all.」

The reason is because of the K.Y. Sister, but I kept that to myself.

「The Church, huh? If possible, I don’t really want to go to the Church. This is getting troublesome.」

Feryu seems to dislike the Church.

「Oh well, now I know their whereabouts. Thanks Hibiki.」

「Don’t sweat it.」

We’re now following Feryu and Copper into the barns.
Inside, we saw various Monsters chained up. Goblins, Orcs, Sharp Wolves, and numerous other Monsters that we didn’t know about.

「Well then, let’s get a Monster that’s both easy to train and cheap.」

Feryu began taking a look at the Monsters while consulting various things with Copper.

「Is there any Monster that piqued your interest?」

I asked Ayla. Currently, Ayla’s possesses four Monsters which are: Ruby, Duo, Ruo, and Queen.
I heard that Monster Tamers are able to employ 5 Monsters as their limit. Buying Ayla a fifth subordinate Monster seems good.

「I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything that’s clicking at the moment.」
「Well, you don’t have to force yourself. It’s not a pressing matter to get another Monster, at the moment.」

I replied to Ayla with a smile while petting Ruby who came up to my feet.

「Gyahahaha! Coming here with only a single Slime as a Monster companion, what do you mean by ‘not having a need for a new Monster’?」

When we turned around, there are three villainess looking guys laughing.
Apparently, they overheard our conversation. But I don’t care, so I just ignored them.

「Oi, you, why are you ignoring us?!」

One of them tries to grab my shoulder. I dodged. The man felt offended, and started shouting.

「The hell, don’t get ahead of yourself!!」

With a ‘oh well’ feeling, I side-stepped to cover Ayla with my back while glaring back at the man that I just dodged.
The man looked surprised to see me glaring back at him, even though he has the number advantageous.

「You shitheads are newcomers, right? You do know that there’s a regulation here that says that newbies, introducing themselves by participating in a Monster battle!」

There’s no such regulation here. Even if there was, the Guild management it not common thugs. These guys obviously don’t have the authority to.

「I’m the Monster Tamer. Hibiki is not related to this!」

Ayla steps away from my back, and stood between the men and myself.

「Hehe, is that so? Then big sister, let’s have fun together!」

Although I tried to stop Ayla, she followed the man without being afraid.

Feryu heard the commotion and then inquired about what’s happening. I answered that Ayla is about to go through a Monster battle.

「Are you going to be fine? That man is a well-known Monster Tamer around here.」

「Well, we’ll somehow manage.」
I’m not worried about this battle at all.

「Ahh, I see. I’ve seen your Armor Mantis, so I’m sure it won’t be easily defeated.」

The Armor Mantis seems to have a high evaluation, since, it’s covered with a light yet strong shell. It also has a sickle with a high offensive power. Furthermore, Armor Mantis are able to fly lowly, so they’re very excellent.

「Well, today we only brought Ruby.」

「Ruby…You mean that slime?! You won’t be able to win with that!!」

「Is that so? I think it will do fairly well though.」

With that being said, we move to the Plaza. Within the plaza was a dueling field, surrounded by a simple, already prepared fense.

「The battle will be Five vs Five. It’ll end when all Monsters are unable to continue the battle.」

5 vs 5, seems to be the standard battle method in Monster battles.
I’m sure that he already overheard from our previous conversation about how many Monsters we had brought with us.
It’s 5 vs 5 because the limit for a Monster’s tamer is 5 Monsters. What a dirty guy.

「Quickly prepare your Monsters.」

「Even without you mentioning it.」

Ruby goes to Ayla’s feet upon her call.

The man brought out five Orcs, with their average levels being 5. The strongest one was level 8. They’re not anything special…

「Oi oi, you’re only going to be sending out one Slime? It seems that the victor has already been decided before the battle even begun.」

The man and his group started to laugh vulgarly.

「Because this child will suffice enough.」

Ayla seemed very confident. Although, Ayla was unable to see their stats, Ruby perhaps is able to roughly understand the Orcs abilities through 【Selection】.

「Hoo, If you’re that confident, then why don’t we bet on something?」

「Sure. I’ll win anyways.」

「Alright, then, if you were to lose, then you’ll follow anything we say today!」

「…Then, if I were to win, all of you will give me your money and equipment.」

「Sure, that’s fine. I’ll make sure to cherish you all night long!!」

The man walked away as soon as their chatter ended.

「Are you alright with that? That girl is going to get broken, you know?」

「It’ll be fine.」

Feryu is looking at Ayla anxiously.
I also looked at Ayla, and our eyes locked.
She happily waved her hands to me, which looked extremely lovely.
A Guild’s official is going to be the referee, and he seemed to be fair. I wondered how were they able to set up the duel arena this quickly.

「Alright then, the two of you. As to not leave any grudges, start!」

All of the Orcs immediately started charging as soon as the start signal was given.
Probably, because they intend on finishing it in a single blow.
However, Ayla and Ruby dealt with it calmly.
First, they had planned to interfere with the Orcs’ movements by located the one with the skill 【Leader】. And with 【Selection】, the leader of the Orcs was quickly discovered. A part of Ruby’s body then transformed into a tentacles whip, and attacks the Orc.
The Orc Leader was blown away into the duel arena’s fence without even getting a chance to react, and passes out.
The Orcs who lost their leader were shaken, and were simply too flustered to attack. Ruby easily restrained them.
After the first Orc fainted by getting whipped, the battle ended within less of five minutes after it began.

「I-Impossible… What the hell is happening?!」

「Ahahaha… As expected of a member from 【Annihilation】. It seems that I was worried over nothing.」

Feryu is the only one laughing within the crowd of spectators.
「Alright then, it’s my win. As we’ve agreed earlier, hand over all of your money and equipment.」

「D-dammit all, Don’t joke around with me!」

「Y-yeah! Like hell we’ll do it!!」 (Pandu: the gang refused to strip off)

It seems like they’re planning on not keeping their promise. I went ahead and talked with the Guild’s official who became the judge.

「Those people, they’re planning to break the promise that they made before the battle began. Can you do anything about it?」

Although the Guild’s official gave me a complex glace, he still went ahead and spoke with the defeated man. After that, the men gave up and handed over all of their money and equipment.

「Good work Ayla. Ruby too, was amazing.」

The tentacle whip that Ruby used earlier, was something he practices after becoming a Gourmet Slime.
Ruby didn’t have any attacking methods when he became a Gourmet Slime, so I taught him to do a tentacle whip.
The most significant change that he experienced after evolving into a Gourmet Slime, was his volume and elasticity.
The tentacle whip is the best method of attack, because it combines both of the new aspects.

「It’s all thanks to the attack method that Hibiki taught him.」 (Light: I’ve been using ‘him’ a lot. Just want to make sure, Ruby’s gender isn’t yet known…)

Feryu is looking at Ruby with great interest.

「Doesn’t this slime seem a bit different?」

「It’s a normal Red Slime.」

「But, when I think about it, it seems to have grown bigger than the last time I’ve seen it.」

「We were also surprised when it suddenly became this size overnight.」

That wasn’t a lie, because we truly were surprised on that night.

「Hmm…I guess stuff like that can happen.」

In the end, we sold the equipment taken from the men to the Guild.
Just thinking about wearing the equipment of such fellows is unpleasant, and giving those equipment to Ayla is even more of an unpleasant thought.

「Well, let’s just think of it as striking a fortune.」

We decided to leave due to our surroundings becoming noisy right after the Monster battle. Feryu group still hasn’t finished shopping, so, we part ways with them.

「We’ll be staying in this town for while, so if you need anything, Just leave a message at the Adventurer’s Guild.」

We exited the Guild while being wrapped in clamor. A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed, however, the restaurants are still filled with customers.

「We won’t be able to eat peacefully like this. U~n, oh right.」

I held Ayla’s hand as we went off the main street. We came upon a big street after advancing a bit.

「This street is filled with stalls. I found this street the other day, so let’s grab something to eat from here.」

「Yes, Hibiki.」

We bought some food from a street stall to satisfy our hunger. Among them, the most appealing to us was big chicken skewers.

「Is it delicious, Ayla?」

「Yes, it’s very delicious. The taste of the meat and the seasonings’ are completely different than the dinner we had the other day. It’s also my first time eating from a shop like this.」

It seems Ayla doesn’t know about food stalls.

「I see, street food is quite delicious, but their eating manners aren’t that great.」 (Light: You got to eat with yer hands! no chopsticks…)

When walked away from the street’s stall that was near the vicinity of our inn. It seems the day is almost over. We, can see the evening’s setting sun. As we approached the Silver Cup, Ayla became less talkative. (Light: Silver Cup = Inn.)
She might be aware that it’s the end of our date.

「Well then Ayla, the Silver Cup is already in view.」

「…Yes, umm… Master.」

「If Ayla wants, then I can spend a little more time with you. Is that alright?」

「A, yes, Hibiki.」

Ayla answered happily. I also want to spend some more time Ayla.
We passed the Silvercup and entered the sideroad again. After walking for ten minutes we reached, the ramparts, the last destination of our date.
There, we found stairs leading to the top. It’s possible to go up the ramparts if we paid a certain fee.
After paying the fee, we went up the stairs.

「Uwaa, it’s amazing.」

Ayla said as she stepped into the rampart.
In front of our eyes is the forest extended into the horizon, alongside the evening sun.
We can see the full view of the forest that stretched on, since, the rampart is near the West Gate’s side.
The reflection of the sunset dyes the scenery a vivid color, as if the highlight, in the autumn leaves.
I the degenerate is feeling completely guilty. In this situation, I couldn’t help but want to push down the boss (Ayla) who’s wearing her elegant attire.
Oh well, when the night comes, I’ll make my advances on Ayla.

「Always being able to return from the forest safely, is because of you, Ayla. For everything, thank you.」

While saying that, I passed a small box from my pocket to Ayla.
Ayla received the small box, she appeared puzzled as if she did not understanding what to make of it.

「I wonder, what’s inside?」

Without a doubt, my face is bright red. Still, the evening sun probably concealed my complexion.
Ayla timidly opened the small box. When she saw its content, she froze for but an instant. And then looked at me with complete surprise.

「M-master… This is…」

She was so surprised, that she returned to using Master.
「It’s a Magic Gem that has yet to store Maryoku.」

This time around, I used the chance of a date to give this Magic Gem to Ayla. The earring that Kuesu gifted me is fitted onto my ear.
This is the big favor I asked Toto to prepare. I went to Thill’s shop late last night to receive it, though I somehow ended up with a heated discussion about equipment with Thill that lasted until morning.
Although, it may not be a very good choice to express my gratitude and affection to Ayla.

「Let’s make it into an accessory later. Looking around shops today won’t be bad either.」

I waited for a reply, but there is no response from Ayla.
This is bad…did I hope for too much? I watched Ayla in worry.

Ayla started crying with a crumpled face.

「Thaa-aank yuuuu, master~ weee—-n」

It was bad enough to make her start crying, huh!! Is what I thought in panic, but when I took another look at her, it seems she’s shedding tears of joy.
I drew closely to Ayla and held her as I gently stroke her back with a ‘pon pon’ sound, in order to settle her down.

「Now~ now~ It’s alright~」

I kept comforting her until she finished crying. By the time Ayla settled down, the sun had completely dropped down beyond the horizon.