Chapter 41: Ch 41: Enticing the Merchants

Aiden showed the foreign merchants to the best room available in the temple. It was the guest area with an attached bathroom and even a small pantry that was connected to the power lines.

Moreover, he had stocked a small refrigerator he had purchased from the system store with all kinds of frozen desserts inside.

"So, you are telling me that we don’t need to go outside to freshen up and we can store cold food and it remains cold? And...how much does it cost you?"

The merchants were immediately interested in knowing more about this technology, but Aiden was not going to hand it over so easily.

He needed these merchants to get interested in his stuff so that they could raise its price. That way, his goddess would be even more revered when the news of her people enjoying this technology got out.

"I am sorry, but it is confidential. These devices are specially produced to only work in Goddess Apophis’s domain, so there is no point in taking them out for now. But if you wish to know more about it, you are more than welcome to attend the festival. Of course, if more people attend, then it would be better for marketing, and based on the interest, I could even outsource the sales to more people."

There was a risk Aiden was taking by advertising in this way. The merchants could hide this information from the outside world so that they could mark up the prices later.

But Aiden believed in human greed and resourcefulness. The merchants who would want to gain selling rights for such technology would try to outdo each other.

The current interest he saw in these merchants’ eyes indicated that his gamble was going to pay off.

That night, Aiden decided to stay in the village temple, and that night, he realized that he had made the right decision.

Four out of the five merchants decided to pay him a visit to discuss business with him and ’offer’ him incentives.

Aiden did not make a decision for now, but he did ask the merchants to be hopeful and look forward to good news.

The morning came quickly, and Aiden took the merchants through the well-maintained path toward the main temple.

It was a grand sight that could be noticed as soon as one left the village.

Aiden had gotten the main road to the temple paved for the followers and visitors so that they had an easier time. And the cart took them to the outside of the temple in no time.

The front gate had been renovated into a large arch, and entering it meant that you were officially on temple grounds. And a beautiful garden with exotic plants greeted the newcomers.

"Please make sure to read the signs. We won’t be responsible if you choose to ignore them."

Aiden warned the merchants, and they nodded, only to ignore the warning a minute later when they tried to touch a flower.

The exotic flower tried to snap the merchant’s finger, and if not for Aiden’s quick reflexes, that finger would have been no more.

"As I warned you, please be a little more careful while moving around. I am sure I won’t need to warn you again."

The protective plants had been his goddess’s request, and Aiden had initially opposed this. He had not wanted the new worshipers to get hurt if they decided to ignore the warning, but his goddess insisted on this security.

Aiden was a weak man when it came to his goddess, so he had relented to her. Especially once she told him that she wanted to plant these flowers in order to preserve them.

The merchants, thankfully, learned their lesson and did not try to touch the flowers or anything else inside the temple. But that did not stop them from being any less impressed.

By the end of the day, Aiden knew that these merchants had made up their minds.

"Sir Priest, we would like to officially be affiliated with your temple’s order. Please do not hesitate to tell us if you need anything."

Aiden nodded to show that he understood and then parted ways with the merchants.

The basic groundwork for the festival was done, and now Aiden just needed to make sure he had enough preparation done for the festival. That included security as well as merchandise.

It was finally time to introduce the modern security system to the village.

Aiden was confident that his goddess could keep an eye on her territory, but he did not want to disturb her during her sleep. Nor did he want to burden her with unnecessary decisions that a simple camera could resolve.

Explaining what the cameras were and how they worked took some time, but as soon as the dwarfs knew what they were, they immediately took a liking to them and for a good reason.

"These...cameras...can show others what we are doing at any time, right? Then we can use them to record our progress and techniques and share it among ourselves. This will resolve a lot of issues for us."

Somehow, Aiden had not seen this outcome coming from the dwarfs, but he was not opposed to their idea.

However, they quickly ran into some trouble with the setup. Somehow, the dwarfs had understood how basic electric circuits worked, but not how security cameras worked. It was almost as if some divine power was interfering...

[Workers for hire are available. Would you like to hire fairies for electrical work?]

The system popped up all of a sudden, which Aiden could only assume was not a coincidence.

But why would the system do this?

Could it be...that this was the system’s way of telling him that he needed to hire the fairies?

The last time the system gave him helpers, it was the dwarfs that made the temple better. So the fairies would likely be a big help as well.

So Aiden decided to take the system’s recommendation and invite the fairies.

It was going to siphon the last of his savings, but he had no regrets.