Chapter 79: Ch 79: Way to Phoenix Village

"Tsk, those pathetic fools better not start sizing up my Aiden. I won’t sit still if they try. I am going to burn their cities to the ground and-"

"No one is trying to take me away from you, Goddess Apophis. So there is no need to get angry like this. Besides, you will always be the only one for me."

Aiden assured his goddess once more, and Sasha shook her head in disbelief at Aiden’s assured voice.

There was a lot she wanted to say, but the current atmosphere made her close her mouth without letting a word out. Her instincts were warning her that it would be for the best to stay quiet for her own survival.

’This human is a fool, but I doubt Goddess Apophis is this ignorant. I am sure she has already accounted for that possibility in the future and planned accordingly. I should talk to her in person later.’

Honestly, Sasha did not even know why she cared this much for Aiden and his potential mess. But she felt responsible for him since she had accepted the goddess’s deal.

She wanted to do a good job of following Goddess Apophis’s orders to protect Aiden...

...

It took Aiden a few hours to gather the ingredients...or at least fake gaining the ingredients.

He had just about enough coins left to buy what he needed, but Aiden wanted his goddess to rest for a while, so he delayed the preparations.

Aiden only brought all the stuff out once he started to notice his Goddess’s impatience and her desire to hurry things along.

"Are you sure I can have it all? This stuff is expensive, right?"

Sasha asked for the third time, and Aiden plastered a smile on his face to show his lack of patience.

"I am sure this is alright for you to use. It’s not like I can return it to where I bought it from anyway, so if you don’t use it now, then it will go to waste."

Sasha’s eyes widened, and the hesitation went away from her eyes after that declaration. She was very much a kid in every sense of this world, even if she pretended to be a grown-up, so Aiden needed to have patience with her.

After mixing the ingredients into a paste, Sasha quickly drew the runes that would allow her to channel her power and open the door to the Phoenix village.

Aiden quickly memorized the runes, but the most important step during this process was the half-phoenix’s power essence. Without it, the entrance would not open.

It was a good way to ensure the safety of the half-phoenix village by making it such that only a halfling would be able to open the door.

Not that it was a problem for Aiden, who had the support of the store.

Passing through the barrier felt a little weird. Aiden felt the world rippling around him as he stepped past the threshold, but this journey also made him feel a little sick.

He tried his best not to show it, but the food in his stomach refused to stay down, causing Aiden to quickly put his goddess on the ground (after placing a pillow for her comfort) and then hurry toward the side bush.

"Darn it! Why is my body acting like this? Ugh, this might feel worse than the time I caught the flu and could not keep anything down."

At that time, Aiden had medicine that made him unaware of his own actions. But he felt far too aware of his own movements. And his stomach did not seem to be settling down anytime soon.

In the end, he ended up buying medicine to make himself feel better, and he breathed a sigh of relief only after his stomach settled a little bit.

"This feels so much better. But I wonder why I had such a bad reaction to crossing that door. It did not seem like anyone else had the same reaction as me."

Which was good. As long as Goddess Apophis was fine, Aiden could get through these shitty times. At least, for her sake.

Once he felt a little more settled, he decided to head back.

The wind rustled the tree leaves around him, creating a pleasant noise...no, that was not the wind.

Aiden was sure he also heard someone else’s footsteps along with the wind.

[You will be attacked in 5 seconds. Please do your best to defend yourself.]

5 seconds was hardly enough time for Aiden to turn toward the direction where he heard that rustling sound. One second, he turned around, and the next, he had someone clawing at him.

Luckily, his Goddess’s protection created a barrier around him.

"What the hell is this-"

His attacker questioned, only for Aiden to take his gun out and shoot at his half-phoenix attacker.

The man clutched his shoulder in pain at being attacked and jumped back to get out of the range of Aiden’s weapon...

Or that was what he thought. But the gun’s range was much higher than the people of this world thought, and Aiden ended up shooting the half-phoenix in the leg next.

The pain made the half-phoenix collapse, but Aiden did not lower his gun.

"Do not try and make any sudden movement, or I will fill you up with my bullets. This is a warning to your friends as well. They better not try anything funny."

Aiden could feel the other hidden half-phoenixes around him flinch and ease their presence. But it was too late.

"Bastard! H-How did you get here? This village should not be accessible from the outside. Are you here for our feathers?"

The phoenix Aiden had shot before questioned him with a pain-filled voice.

"Your feathers? I don’t need them since I have a steady supply of them already. I only came here because someone under my goddess’s protection wanted to come here. That child also opened the way for us to come here."

Aiden cleared up the misunderstanding, but the half-phoenixes did not back down. They were doing the right thing by not trusting Aiden because he was not their friend.