“Something the matter? Hero-sama” the butler said before grinning in my direction

How did he know I was the hero? Did that useless goddess open up her big mouth? No. What matters right now is whether I can beat someone like him?

< Appraisal >

< Appraisal Blocked >

Holy Smokes… A normal fool would assume that he has some kind of item that prevents appraisal but I know better… Being beaten badly by a butler in one of my past life made sure of that. This guy is probably strong…

For now, I will play ignorance and buy time to think of something.

“What are you talking about? Me a hero? Don’t make me laugh.” I uttered casually.

His expression turned into a serious one. Gone was his smile as he glared at me.

“Defeating an Earth dragon on your first quest as an adventurer…”

“That is something other people have done as well…” I cut in.

“Yes, but not without destroying the materials to a point that the guild would only pay 5 million credits.”

What! I didn’t hear that from Maria… Do your job properly, you useless goddess number three!

“Furthermore…”

There is more!?

“The next time you and the goddess argue… you might want to make sure you are not being spied upon.”

“Eh!?” I uttered only to receive a grin from the butler.

Shit… there is no escaping this…

My earlier hangover was gone and was using my full mental capacity to think of a way out.

Wait… The fact that no one attacked me when I returned or right now for that matter must mean that he wants something from me. At the very least i can assume he is not working for the demon king.

“Alright… Let’s suppose I am the hero you speak of. What do you want from me?” I asked.

“Tell me. Have you heard of the white crusaders?”

No way… Don’t tell me… Now that I think about it, this room a white. Too white in fact…

I swallowed my saliva before nodding yes.

Right now I was hoping that the next words out of his mouth would be the words I was thinking. I would have prayed but after meeting the people in charge of heaven, I am sure prayer would be a waste of time.

***

“Achoo”

In the heavenly realm. The first goddess let out a sneeze.

“Something the matter Helen-sama?” the person who asked her was the high goddess, Miao.

“I think someone is thinking ill about us gods and goddess.”

“Doesn’t that happen all the time?”

“Hmm… I suppose so. Any news on the observation of the demon king?”

“None.”

The first goddess sighed before speaking, “I was hoping I could provide Sojuro with a little more information.”

“Can’t be helped. If we don’t stop our surveillance from time to time, the demon king will get suspicious… Why do you wish to provide information to Sojuro?”

“Athena seems to be causing him trouble. I thought providing him with information, might ease his burdens. Even if it is just a little bit.”

“I think we are way past easing his burdens Helen-sama. No matter how I look at it, Athena is at fault for making that stupid mistake. On top of that, we forced him to complete tasks that past heroes with cheats failed to accomplish. He is bound to have a great resentment towards us, no matter what reward we may offer.”

“What are saying? Miao.”

“We may need to make plans to avoid a repeat of the past.”

“Hmm…Are you suggesting we make plans to kill the hero Sojuro?”

“It pains me to say this but yes. I have no ill feelings towards the hero but if we are unable to convince him of our sincerity then a repeat of the past is very likely to happen,”

First-goddess Helen sighed before speaking, “For now no such plans are to be put in motion. As you said, we have greatly burdened the hero. If we add assassination to that list then I fear we will no longer be fit to be called gods and goddess.”

“As you wish,” Miao replied before leaving the first goddess

A repeat of the past, huh? The first goddess thought to herself before shaking her head in an attempt to prevent her mind from recalling the events of long ago.

***

“We are a branch of the white crusaders.”

JACKPOT!!!

“As you can imagine, we use the winged-snake Inn as a means to raise funds for the rebel army.”

YAHOO… REBEL ARMY! WHAT WONDERFUL WORDS HE HAS SPOKEN

“We would like you to ask for your aid in defeating the demon king.”

“There is no need to ask such a thing. I am here to defeat him after all.”

“I am glad to hear that. Hero-sama.”

Who would have thought that I would run into a member of the white crusaders in the first city I stopped at? This goes beyond just sheer luck.

Hmm…They use this place as a means to raise funds for the rebels. No wonder it is so overpriced.

“If it is alright with you. I would like for us to share information and formulate a strategy going forwards.”

“I understand…but…”

“Something the matter?”

Something was bugging me. I was once a leader of an underground group before. Carelessly reveling yourself was a major no-no.

Why did he reveal himself to me?

“Why did you approach me?”

“Someone high up in the winged-snake Inn recommended you… That is all I am allowed to say.”

Someone high up? Does that mean I have met them before? Hmm…Don’t tell me…John?

John owns a bar. He would most likely be in a position to spy for the organization, furthermore, he was the one who tipped me off to the existence of the white crusaders.

Was he trying to see my reaction? I seem to remember that my expression brightened a bit when I heard there was a resistance force fighting the demon king. A barman like John would have easily noticed that.

I was lucky to have met him. If I hadn’t argued with the goddess and left for the bar this encounter may have never happened?

Wait…It was the goddess who also came to this inn… Had she not done that, It may have been hard for winged-snake Inn to come into contact with me.

I don’t believe this...

THE GODDESS’S SELFISH ACT HELPED ME AND I CAN’T DENY THAT? WTF!