Chapter 73: Ch 73: No Kids Allowed

There were four demons, but they barely had any strength. The gunshot blew the two away while the other two got closer, causing Aiden to sigh and step back before shooting again.

He took care of these monsters within a few minutes, leaving Sasha gasping in wonder.

"Y-You...! These monsters! How did you...?"

Sasha looked shocked at Aiden’s display of power before her eyes narrowed and she looked at his gun.

"What is that weapon? I have never seen anything like this before. Hey! Sell that weapon to me! I will find a way to pay you back."

The child seemed determined to grow strong by any means necessary, but the gun was not likely the right weapon for her.

Aiden’s intuition told him that Sasha would be better as a magician due to her enormous potential as a phoenix. But if she took up the gun, then she would waste her potential.

Seeing him sigh, Sasha became even more agitated.

"What are you sighing for? Are you thinking that I won’t be able to pay for it? Then you are mistaken! I can pay for the gun. Just...give me a minute-"

"I am not concerned whether you can pay or not. I am just not interested in selling a gun to a weakling like you."

"But you are a weakling as well. The only reason you are strong is because you have this gun-"

Sasha cut herself off, recalling the display of power Aiden showed when he forcefully made the tournament continue before.

But what she could not understand was why someone who was as strong as him would use a weapon like this?

"Anyway, it doesn’t seem like you are having a safe journey. You will die if you continue like this. If you have nowhere to go, then why not come and travel with us?"

Aiden asked Sasha, extending a hand to her once more. But Sasha gave him a slight glare before biting her lip.

"I...refuse. I am an independent soldier of God Pyraeth, and I will not tarnish his name by travelling with you."

Sasha’s words were sharp, but her face looked worried after she spoke. Aiden had saved her life right now, and this felt like she was disrespecting him. It would be bad if he took offense...

"Alright. If you don’t want to travel with us, then that’s fine. Have a safe trip."

And just like that, Aiden turned around and went back to his camp. There was no trying to lure her, nor did he try to talk her into coming with him.

He was the first adult who allowed Sasha to do what she wanted without trying to control her, and it felt liberating.

"What a weird adult. Why would he save me and not want anything in return?"

Sasha felt a little confused and irritated at the same time.

She knew in her mind that this was what she wanted from Aiden. She did not want him to force her to do anything, and he was respecting her wishes.

But then why did his lack of action cause Sasha to feel like this? There was a hollow feeling in her chest that was making it hurt. It made her feel insignificant, even when she knew that this was her desired outcome.

"Darn it! Don’t tell me that I am feeling disappointed at not being invited by Aiden. I am the one who rejected his offer because I am loyal to God Pyraeth..."

But was Sasha really loyal to him?

It had been ages since she last prayed to God Pyraeth, and unlike other phoenixes, she had never felt that divine touch.

When she had asked others, they had looked at her like she was trash and told her that only those who were ’deserving’ could hear God Pyraeth’s voice. Back then, she had thought it meant that she had to gain power, but she knew better now.

She knew that only a full-blooded phoenix had the honor of hearing their god’s voice, and it was something Sasha could never achieve.

All she could do was raise her power to be noticed...but that was hard as well.

"No! Let’s not get disappointed. Lord Pyraeth will look at me one day! I will make sure of this."

She promised herself and went back to stalking Aiden and his group.

Sasha might have told Aiden no when he asked to travel together, but she had to admit that it was safer to be around his party than to roam around.

And after following him, she finally reached the next village where the Vaelor tournament was supposed to take place.

But she ran into another trouble.

"Sorry, kid, but you are too young to participate. There are rules in place here, and one of them is ’no kids allowed’."

Sasha’s chance to participate became zero.

...

Aiden was well aware of Sasha’s stalking, and he was not the only one.

Caelion as well as his goddess sensed it. Heck, even the carriage driver noticed this, but chose not to say anything.

Luckily for Sasha, they reached the next city before his goddess lost her temper and obliterated Sasha.

Aiden quickly entered his room in the inn he had booked and put his fuming goddess on the bed, where she coiled around herself to show her unhappiness.

"Goddess Apophis, let’s calm down-"

"You want me to calm down? Don’t you realize that you are being stalked here? So what if the stalker is a kid right now? These kids grow up fast. We need to nip it in the bud before she becomes a threat. I will go and take care of her myself-"

Aiden felt a chill go down his spine at his goddess’s words. He had a feeling that she was serious about this.

Not that he cared whether she killed someone or not, but Aiden did not want her to tarnish her reputation by adding child murder to the list.

At least, not yet and not toward an innocent child who had not done anything wrong.

"Please don’t be so angry, my goddess. Sasha is just a kid who is trying her best, and if it bothers you so much, then I won’t talk to her anymore."

Aiden promised, and his goddess finally calmed down.

Sasha had no idea that Aiden had just saved her life.