Chapter 28: Ch 28: Seed of Resentment

"Priestess, my child-"

"I have located your child. But unfortunately, a disaster struck him and he is no longer with us. Please brace yourself for the worst while I retrieve his body."

Selene told the mother, who broke down crying. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done for the child.

Only a god with the authority of death could save that child, and currently, no god had that authority in this world.

’Still, I should concentrate on finding and bringing that body back first. Since it is in Goddess Apophis’s temple, I am sure their priest found it. I will need to pay a tribute to show my gratitude.’

Selene was certain that the child had not died in Goddess Apophis’s territory. She was also certain that it was her fellow priests who had ended up killing the child.

But she did not have proof of it, so she chose not to say anything.

Little did she know that this caused rumors to start circulating in the village.

...

"Aiden, you look worried. Are you concerned about that dead child? Want me to make it disappear?"

Goddess Apophis asked in a concerned voice as she woke up from her slumber, which made Aiden feel bad.

He knew that some of his concern regarding the situation was bleeding over to her. But his goddess was kind enough not to question him.

Instead, she chose to ask him if he needed her help.

"There is no need for you to worry about anything, my dear goddess! I am sure someone will come to retrieve the dead body soon, and we can clear up the air then. So please don’t worry and go back to sleep."

Aiden told the snake goddess, but she did not go back to sleep. She refused to leave him alone and coiled her body around Aiden’s shoulder.

For now, he decided to return to the dwarfs, who were still working, when he heard a loud noise coming from the other side of the temple where the construction was still ongoing.

He made his way there, only to see that the support the dwarfs had put up before they left for lunch had collapsed.

No, saying that it had collapsed was not right. The wood seemed to have been deliberately cut by something.

"This is..."

Aiden tried to think of what could have happened, but another loud noise followed before he could do anything. And this time, he immediately rushed toward it.

The one who was cutting the supports was an angry human who looked to be in his late 30s. He had an axe in his hand, and with a single strike, the fragile support came tumbling down.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Aiden asked as soon as he overcame his shock. He was debating whether he should buy a weapon from the store or not when the bulky man turned to look at him.

The axe in his hand was suddenly raised in Aiden’s direction, and the man asked in a clear voice.

"Are you Goddess Apophis’s priest named Aiden?"

The man knew his name, which meant that this was not an accident. Aiden did think about lying, but his name was associated with his goddess now. He would rather not lie about it or tarnish it.

"I am. What can I help you with-"

As soon as Aiden confirmed his identity, the man lunged toward him with everything he had.

The only reason Aiden was able to dodge that attack was because his goddess tugged him out of the way in time.

"You bastard! You are the reason my child is dead! How dare you act like this when my dear child will never return to my embrace again?"

The man was barely giving Aiden enough time to make sense of what he was saying, but once Aiden did understand what the man was saying, he felt a curse escaping his mouth.

"Fuc-"

He stopped as soon as he felt his goddess’s presence, and she helped him keep dodging.

But Aiden could tell that she was getting annoyed as well.

"How dare this human attack my apostle? Does he think I am a joke?"

Goddess Apophis asked, and she used her powers. Because of this, the bulky man attacking Aiden froze and was no longer able to move.

He struggled to get out of these invisible binds, but they were too strong for him.

"Tsk, I should get rid of him for you."

Goddess Apophis tightened her powers, and Aiden had no intention of stopping her. He liked it when his goddess got possessive over him.

But the system had other plans.

[New mission created: Find the culprit behind the ’murder’ found in the well]

[Reward: Clearing the goddess’s name]

[Failure: Losing all current followers. The divinity of the goddess will fall to zero, and she will lose her status.]

[Additional Quest: Help the parents of the dead child find closure.]

[Additional Reward: You might be able to take over the authority of a fallen god and have a chance to increase your followers. However, divinity will not increase with an increase in authority this time.]

The fact that the system had such a strong failure condition this time meant that the situation was this serious.

There was a lot of information from the system as well. But the fact that it happened now, when his goddess threatened this man, could only mean a few things.

Aiden quickly turned around to speak to his goddess while making sure he was not being heard by the man stuck in his goddess’s power.

"Please wait a minute before making a decision, my goddess. I have a feeling this man is related to that dead body we found in the well. If so, then this is a chance to clear up any misunderstanding that has happened."

Aiden pointed it out, and his goddess did not seem to be happy with his words. She smacked his wrist with her tail to show her displeasure.

But she must have agreed with his conclusion because she decided to let him deal with this situation.

"I will trust your word this time and step back. But don’t expect me to remain calm if this man tries anything funny. You belong to me, and I won’t have anyone harming what I own."