Chapter 119: Ch 118: Local God Council

A week passed in peace after Aiden cleared his debt, and things returned to normal.

The festival he had held in Goddess Apophis’s honor bore fruit, and more people started to get involved with his temple as well as the academy. Even students from outside began to come to attend, which made the fame of the academy skyrocket.

Aiden had been busy making new preparations for the territory as well as managing the land God Vital left behind.

Choosing someone to look after that land was harder than he thought, so he ended up forming a committee that would keep each other in check. He also planted spies to sow seeds of doubt and discord so that no one would form an alliance.

With this, things began to settle down and return to normal.

And exactly one week later, that is today, he got a letter...or rather, an invitation addressed to him and his goddess.

[This is addressed to Goddess Apophis and her chief worshipper.

This is a letter from the local god council of your area to inform you that your presence has been acknowledged, and you are formally invited to the meeting as a chosen goddess.

Please come to Hesing Village one week from now to be formally acknowledged. Otherwise, you will be taken as a combined energy by all the local gods. Please keep this a secret, or you will be immediately neutralized as a threat.

From - the local god council]

"What is this? Some kind of formal invitation to crush the competition?"

Aiden did not have to be a genius to see what this "council" meeting was about - it was a way for the bigger gods to keep the smaller ones in place and to constantly remind them not to cross the line.

He opened the system window to check for more information on it.

[Local God Council - These are formal parties formed by various gods and their factions in secret to facilitate alliances and separate areas of worship. Participating and being acknowledged means you will get support from other gods in case of emergencies and also have a less likely chance to perish if you begin to lose followers.]

Since it was possible for a god to survive by surrendering to another god if they lost all their followers, having alliances with other gods was considered beneficial. Especially for these smaller local gods who had no other choice.

He could see why this was an honor for so many gods.

However...

"This feels like they are insulting us. Do they truly think we are so incapable that we will stop here?"

Aiden looked at the piece of paper as if it had personally offended him.

Did these lowly gods truly think his goddess was just like them? There was no way Aiden was going to let his goddess remain as a no-name person. Her territory had to expand until everyone in the world knew her name.

So his first instinct was to ignore this letter and continue what he was doing.

But the more he tried to ignore it, the more he felt like he should address this letter.

Or, at least, show up to the meeting and personally show them why they were wrong about his goddess.

"Are you planning to attend this meeting?"

Goddess Apophis asked with an amused expression as she looked at Aiden. His eyes were shining brightly, and he even let out a chuckle.

"Well, we cannot let these gods think we are afraid of them, right? Let’s show them the difference between their pitiful power and our own."

Goddess Apophis let out a chuckle at his words.

...

There was much Aiden needed to prepare before he could attend the upcoming meeting.

First, he needed to sort out the issues with the academy and get more teachers. People were applying to be teachers in the hundreds, and interviewing them all was taking a long time. So Aiden needed to assign people to filter the process.

And then, he could make the decision once the number was narrowed down further.

Next, he needed to check the territory to see what needed to be repaired or what could be imported. The system’s input was particularly helpful.

But the most important step was to arrange festive time and to help the villagers secure a tribute.

He did not want to sound obsessed with offerings, but he did want to get more coins before he had to go.

Luckily, because of the festival, the offerings were plentiful, and the local people were happy to help, even if they did not know they were being taken advantage of.

Aiden was satisfied with the progress and decided to spend the remaining time making sure everything was properly organized before leaving.

He had no intention of going to this meeting and leaving his territory vulnerable. If these gods were truly as arrogant as he believed, then there was a possibility that some of them might try something while he was away.

’I should probably prepare some emergency measures as well. I don’t want my goddess to have to worry while we are gone.’

Goddess Apophis did not show it on her face, but Aiden was sure she was worried about their territory as well (it was his delusion). He wanted her to have a care-free time while they were at the council.

He was busy working when he felt her sitting beside him. AIden allowed her to lead the conversation, but that only made her pout.

"Are ignoring me, my dear Aiden. It feels like you hardly come to see me anymore."

Seeing how Aiden carried her snake form all the time except when he was asleep, he knew that this was not true.

But since his goddess was demanding his attention, he felt like he had to give it to her.

"I apologize for my lack of attention, Goddess Apophis. How can I make it up to you?"

Aiden left the decision up to his goddess and she looked delighted.

"Well, you can make it up to me by leaving tomorrow open for me. There is a lot I want to do with you. We can make it a date."