Chapter 48: Ch 48: Festival’s Troublemakers

The Duke and Duchess Bazar decided to send their aides back home after what happened.

Since the female aide had survived the night, she was in much less danger of dying. Moreover, because of the herbs, she had actually recovered enough to no longer be in immediate danger of dying.

The Duke had decided to send her back for treatment, and that excuse helped him send the other aides back as well.

However, the Duke and his family were staying, which was good news for his Goddess’s influence, but at the same time...

"Sir Priest, would you show me around today? I want to spend time with you—"

Aiden quickly stepped back before the young child could tug his clothes and grab his attention.

He did not have anything against such a young child, but his Goddess was starting to get jealous.

The little girl pouted as she watched Aiden step back and out of her range, but little did she know that his action had just saved her life.

Luckily, her mother quickly ran over and grabbed her little girl’s hand to tug her back.

"I apologize for my daughter’s rudeness. We shall take our leave now. We have a lot we want to see."

The Duchess quickly left with her family, and Aiden finally had time to soothe his goddess.

Luckily, her mood improved the second the Duke’s family left. But she held on tightly to Aiden when he decided he wanted to head out to check the festival.

...

The festival was happening in full swing, but the brighter a place was, the darker the shadows it cast.

Aiden did not expect the festival to attract all kinds of people who wanted to take advantage of this, and he was not wrong. But that’s why he had the cameras.

He headed toward the temple’s holding facility where the troublemakers were being kept as per his instructions, and he immediately noticed the loud noises professing their innocence.

"We have not done anything! We bought that medicine with our own money! You cannot hold us in like this."

"I have the proof of purchase! Here, check it out."

People were putting forward their reasons, but the evidence was present, causing them to become quiet or accuse the locals of using magic.

Aiden knocked at the door to announce his presence, and people quickly turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"Sir Priest, you are finally here! We don’t know what is happening here. We were buying regular stuff when we were brought here against our will. Please help us!"

There were many such people who wanted to take advantage of such chaos in order to line their own pockets.

But Aiden had no intention of letting such people ruin his goddess’s reputation.

"Hmm, if you say you are innocent, then I am willing to believe you."

"Sir Priest—"

"But only after you show me sincerely that you are not lying. If you make a vow in a god’s name, I will let you go. You can choose any god you like. I will allow you that mercy."

That froze everyone. Making a false vow was basically asking these people to give up their lives.

"S-Sir Priest, don’t you think that’s too much? A vow requires too much power. You might not be aware, but—"

"Oh, I know how much power a vow requires. I recently made two vows in a single day to prove my innocence. I believe that if you are innocent, then there is nothing to fear."

The culprits sweated bullets as they tried to come up with more excuses. How could liars like them take a sacred vow?

"I am afraid that those who are not ready to show sincerity cannot be allowed in here. Guards, please accompany them outside Goddess Apophis’s territory. They won’t be allowed in until they repent their actions."

Aiden was firm, and he refused to hear any more talk from these scammers.

He was about to return with a disappointed look on his face when he noticed that not everyone was escorted out.

A young man was standing in the middle of the room with a firm look on his face, and he was resisting when the guards tried to drag him away.

"Hey, stop fighting us or it won’t be good for you."

The guards warned, but the man refused to listen.

"I have not done anything, so I won’t be banished. I can even take a vow in any god’s name to prove my innocence. I was being framed by that shopkeeper. He told me that I could take the stuff for free."

The man...more like the beggar was adamant that he had been tricked, and his willingness to take the vow spoke of his conviction.

His eyes met Aiden’s, but that did not look like a coincidence.

’Hmm, now that I think about it...this man had been looking toward me all this time. Does he want anything from me?’

It made Aiden curious, and he gestured for the guards to let the beggar go.

"You can leave him alone. I will take it over from here. Please continue to look over the peace and prosperity of the village."

Aiden told the guards, who nodded, but they did not look happy with the outcome. Once he came outside, he finally turned to look at the beggar.

"So, would you care to tell me what happened? I am sure you have a story to tell. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have risked your life to stay here, nor would you have kept looking at me."

Aiden pointed out, and the man quickly dropped all pretense.

He immediately went to his knees and looked at Aiden as if he had all the answers to his problems.

"I have heard what you did in your Goddess’s name in the nearby villages. I am here to ask for your help. I am a slave from Kinsek Village without a name, and I am here to beg Goddess Apophis for her help. Please, save the other slaves of our village. Otherwise, we will all die. Our master has bound us using magic, and he is extracting it to become a god. Moreover, he has set his eyes on your village next."