Chapter 130: Ch 129: Foolish Incompetence - Part 2

The moment Aiden stepped out from his hiding place, the entire atmosphere around the stall changed. The merchants who had been pretending to remain calm immediately looked toward him, while the outsiders turned around with irritated expressions, clearly annoyed that someone had interrupted their conversation.

"Priest Aiden..."

The shopkeeper whispered his name, but Aiden raised his hand to stop him from saying anything else.

"You all have done well."

His words made the merchants stare at him in confusion, but Aiden was not looking at them anymore. His eyes were fixed on the outsiders who had been threatening them moments ago.

"So you are the ones who have been causing trouble in my territory? What should I do with you now?"

The outsiders exchanged glances before the one who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.

"Priest Aiden, this is simply a misunderstanding. We are merchants who have been supporting your village by bringing goods from outside. Surely you would not want to cause problems with people who are helping your territory prosper?"

Aiden smiled at their clarification. It did sound plausible, but he was not in the mood to indulge these outsiders.

"Helping? How weird. Did the definition of helping change in the time I was gone for the meeting?"

He glanced at the shopkeeper before looking back at the man, causing the man’s expression to stiffen, but he quickly recovered.

"We were merely negotiating. Business can sometimes become heated, and there is no reason for you to interfere."

Aiden’s smile widened.

"You seem to have misunderstood something. I am not interfering, but protecting my investments. I am a partner in all of these businesses as well."

The pressure around him suddenly increased, forcing several people nearby to lower their heads.

The outsiders immediately felt the difference between dealing with ordinary merchants and dealing with their god’s priest.

"Besides, I heard what you said about my goddess and her abilities, and I have to say that I am impressed by your words."

His goddess remained silent on his shoulder, but Aiden could feel her body tightening around his neck.

She was angry.

Very angry.

Aiden reached up and gently touched her head before continuing.

"I gave you an opportunity to explain yourselves, but instead of apologizing, you tried to lie to me."

The leader’s face became pale.

"Priest Aiden, wait. We can explain everything. If you punish us here, you might lose access to the merchants who supply your village. We are working hard to keep the roads safe—"

Aiden tilted his head.

"Oh my! What a brave man you are. But I wonder what you can actually do against a threat. Shall I test you out myself?"

The man opened his mouth, but no words came out, causing Aiden to sigh.

"You are not strong enough to even protect yourself, and yet you make such huge claims. I think I have heard enough."

He snapped his fingers, and the guards nearby immediately surrounded the outsiders.

"Take them somewhere quiet. I want to know who sent them here and how long they have been taking advantage of my people."

The merchants finally relaxed, but Aiden was not finished. He looked toward the shopkeeper and spoke in a gentler voice.

"You should have told me sooner."

The shopkeeper lowered his head.

"We did not want to cause you trouble. You are busy enough as it is..."

Aiden shook his head.

"You are my goddess’s people. If someone is threatening you, then the blame belongs to the person making the threat."

His goddess finally moved, wrapping herself more tightly around his neck.

Aiden smiled.

"Besides, now that I am back, no one should be foolish enough to think they can bully my people anymore."

...

The foreign merchants were taken to Goddess Apophis’s temple, where they were bound to chairs and the interrogation began.

Aiden looked at the pair in front of him that had caused so much grief to his merchants, and he wanted to bash their heads in.

But that would not resolve anything. So he forced himself to calm down and look at the trembling merchants in front of him.

"Well, let’s start early, shall we? State your name and affiliation."

Aiden asked, causing the bound people to start struggling. There was no way they were going to remain calm after being threatened in such a way.

"W-We are not affiliated with anyone or anything. We are independent merchants looking to make a profit. Why would you even think we have a backer?"

Aiden’s smile became even wider, but it was not pleasant to see. Anyone who saw this smile would think the same thing...that it was scary.

"Hmm, are you trying to fool me with that act? I have to admit that it’s cute. But I don’t have much patience for cute things. So, shall we try again? Tell me who sent you here and for what purpose?"

Aiden asked with a little more force, but the answer remained the same.

It was a pity that things turned out to be this way, but Aiden had no choice but to act as the bad cop.

Not that he felt any pity for this situation.

"W-We already told you—"

"Hmm, this is getting nowhere. I guess it’s time to strip you all and check your bodies."

Since Aiden was conducting his investigation alone, he did not need to worry about outsiders. He had even left Goddess Apophis behind, assuring her that he would be fine.

The merchants he had captured panicked as they looked at him with shocked expressions.

"Sir, don’t do this to us. We are just normal human beings who do not know what is happening. Please, do not do this..."

Unfortunately, Aiden had no intention of listening to them anymore. He was going to show them exactly what he meant.

By the time he was done, he had confirmation of who was behind it all. And as expected, it was the Church of Prey who sent these fools. They all had its mark on their thighs.