Chapter 131: Ch 130: Small Disagreements

The captured merchants knew exactly what Aiden thought when he saw the mark on their thighs. But they were smart and pretended not to notice Aiden’s looks of certainty.

"Sir, we are foolish merchants who got a little ahead of ourselves. Please forgive us this time. We promise we will not try anything like this ever again."

The leader of these captured merchants begged for his and his companions’ lives, but Aiden had no intention of showing any mercy. His cold smile graced his face, and it caused the merchants to flinch.

"Oh! You want me to believe this mark has nothing to do with your actions?"

Noah patted the thigh in front of him with his foot, and the merchants immediately tried to make excuses.

"Sir, that is not it! We promise you that this is just a coincidence—"

"But I don’t believe in coincidences. In my world, there are only certainties. And because of this, I believe you all should be punished. I will leave it up to my officers."

These merchants might have been carrying the mark of the Church of Prey, but they were small fries that held no information whatsoever. Aiden had no interest in questioning them any further.

Instead, he wanted to check out the areas where the Church of Prey operated and take it down from the inside. He could not allow such a prominent establishment to stand in the way of his goddess’s fame.

Aiden started to make plans in his mind, but before he could make any of them come true, he heard loud noises heading toward him. It made him rush outside to check where these noises were coming from, and his senses pointed to the school he had established.

"Darn it! Is someone causing trouble with that school? I better head there and check it out."

Aiden sighed and decided to take a look at what kind of fool was causing him so much trouble.

...

The school had expanded a lot in the past few days.

His school had exploded in demand from the nearby areas, and people had started sending their kids here in hopes of them learning more.

This was what Aiden had been aiming for, so he was happy. But as a result, the school needed to be expanded regularly to accommodate this growing population.

It had all been peaceful until now. But today, the delicate balance Noah had set up around here had broken, and the culprit was a young child who looked annoyed and was yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Why do I have to study about Goddess Apophis here? My god is God Steller, and he’s awesome. Why can’t we study about him?"

"It’s because this is a school being run in Goddess Apophis’s territory and by her temple. Honestly, it’s not a big deal. We are not even forced to take religious studies."

The other child who lived in Aiden’s territory reasoned with a calm look on his face.

But the situation only got worse with that defense.

"Tsk, this is the problem with you all. You are so submissive and tamed that you don’t even see that you are being misled. First, you won’t question anything, and then you will slowly start to see Goddess Apophis as your god as well—"

"And what is the problem with that? Goddess Apophis has done a lot for us. Look at all this advancement. We are living such amazing lives because of her. What is the problem if she asks for some faith in return?"

The other, more mature students asked, causing the first one to look down with an annoyed glance. But Aiden could tell that this topic was not over.

And from the conversation he heard, this was not the first time this had happened either.

The fact that he had not heard any reports of this must mean that nothing major had happened up until now. But that would not be the case forever.

’I better keep an eye on these outsiders if I want to keep this situation under control.’

Aiden sighed and headed to the management office. For now, he was here to check out what that explosive sound had been. The other things could be fixed over time.

The management office was located in the center, from where they could see all the space around the school, and the overseer welcomed Aiden with a relieved smile on his face.

"Priest Aiden, what brings you here? Are you here to check out the school?"

The man dressed in white asked, and Aiden shook his hand before looking around and replying.

"I am here to take a look at the situation of the academy and to check the progress of the students. I also heard a really loud noise coming from this academy and decided to check it out. Is everything alright here?"

A hint of shock and surprise passed through the manager’s face before he masked it with a delighted smile.

"Of course! Everything is amazing here, Priest Aiden. We are taking really good care of all the students here. Would you like to check?"

The managing officer asked, and Aiden reflexively said no before he changed his answer.

After all, there was no harm in looking around and making sure everything was alright.

"I will take a look around as well. I might as well check things while I am at it."

He told the manager, who looked slightly scared. But he looked glad to show Aiden around as well.

Aiden followed the manager through the school, and at first, everything seemed perfectly normal. The students were sitting in their classrooms, the teachers were moving between lessons, and the halls were filled with the usual noise of children talking among themselves.

There was nothing obviously wrong, but Aiden had learned not to trust appearances.

Most problems emerged under the surface where one usually did not check and this time it would be no different. He just needed to look a little closer and the root of the problem would be visible to him.