Chapter 124: Ch 123: Assassins Disposal - Part 1

A human body was really easy to dispose of in these times. Aiden had buried it without much hesitation and even erased all traces of what happened.

Since the system had helped, he was sure that it would ensure total safety for him and his goddess. And once the evidence was buried, who would come and check up on it anyway?

Aiden headed back to his room once it was all taken care of and allowed his goddess to relax in his arms.

The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, and soon, someone would come to escort him back outside. It was finally time for Aiden to show the gods that he was not to be underestimated.

...

The next morning started chaotically. When Aiden opened his door, all he saw were people running around, trying to get their work done. There was a lot that needed to be finished.

The priests were in a hurry, and a few almost collided with Aiden before they collected themselves and realized what had been about to happen.

"W-We are sorry...we will be more careful where we are running..."

They bowed before making a dash for it, and Aiden decided to overlook their behaviour. He knew how busy it could get in the temple, especially when it was such an important time.

He quickly washed up and got ready, but the next time someone knocked at the door, it was another priest with a worried expression.

"Excuse me, Priest Aiden, but have you seen a black-haired, blue-eyed priest anywhere? He has gone missing in the past few days, and we are not able to reach him..."

The peach-colored robed priest asked this question with slight hesitation in his words. He tried to look inside the room to find traces of his ’fellow priest’, causing Aiden to smile.

"Hmm, ah-! Are you looking for someone? I am afraid I have not seen anything like that since yesterday. Maybe he is simply lost? After all, it is busy enough outside."

Aiden pointed out, and the peach-robed priest looked startled. He looked behind him and made a sour expression.

"Hmm, maybe you are right. It is busy enough that he could have lost track of time. Still, if you do see someone like that, then don’t hesitate to inform me about it. I will also do my best to repay you if you find our fellow priest."

The peach-robed priest did not stay around for much longer. Perhaps the pressure of the situation got to him, but he left as if he was running away from Aiden’s room.

It was quite clear that he knew something but was unwilling to speak up about it.

Goddess Apophis watched the priest disappear down the hallway before she turned her attention toward Aiden, who was still staring in the direction the man had gone.

"It is human nature to run away from things they do not understand. When people are afraid, they will often choose the easiest path available to them, even if that path leads them somewhere they should not go."

Aiden nodded at her words and let out a small sigh.

"I understand that better than most, my goddess. I have seen plenty of people run away from things simply because they were afraid of what they could become. But I am not going to run away just because someone is trying to make me uncomfortable."

"Where would you even go if you tried to run away? In the end, the only choice you have left is to come back to my arms."

Aiden smiled at the faint possessiveness in her voice before finishing his preparations.

Once he was ready, he placed Goddess Apophis around his neck in her snake form and carefully adjusted her position so that she could rest comfortably against him.

The goddess seemed quite pleased with the arrangement, especially since she could remain close to him without attracting too much attention.

They then left the room and started heading toward the meeting hall. However, it did not take long for Aiden to realize that something was wrong.

The first priest they encountered gave them directions toward the eastern wing, claiming that the meeting hall had been moved there because of some last-minute preparations.

Aiden thanked him and followed the directions, only to find an empty corridor with several locked rooms at the end.

When he returned and asked another priest, he was directed toward the western wing instead.

This time, the priest insisted that the eastern wing had been closed for repairs and that all important meetings were being held on the other side of the temple.

Aiden followed those directions as well, only to discover that the western wing was being used to store festival supplies and had absolutely no meeting hall.

He calmly turned around and asked a third person but the answer was different again.

By the third time, Aiden had stopped believing that any of these people were simply confused.

’They are trying to keep me away from the meeting hall.’

’Then shall I deal with them?’

’Not yet. Let’s see what they do when I stop playing along.’

Aiden took out his system device and opened the map of the temple and started walking without any input from the priests.

The moment the priests nearby noticed what he was doing, their expressions changed.

"Priest Aiden, what are you doing?"

"Please, there is no need to use that. We can guide you ourselves."

Aiden ignored them and marked the meeting hall on the map before setting a direct route.

[Optimal route calculated.]

[Estimated arrival time: 4 minutes and 12 seconds.]

Aiden smiled.

"Thank you. I know the way now."

The priests immediately began to panic.

"That place is not open to public or the other guests.!"

"You cannot go that way!"

"Priest Aiden, please wait!"

But Aiden simply continued walking.

Every attempt to block him failed as the system automatically identified the safest path, and the priests could do nothing but watch helplessly as he moved closer and closer to the meeting hall.

’It seems they really did not want us to reach this place.’

Aiden chuckled.

"They should have tried harder, my goddess. Now I am curious about what they were so desperate to hide."