Chapter 30: Ch 30: Seeking Justice

Aiden had made a promise in his goddess’s name to help the dead child’s father seek justice, but he had no idea how he could track the culprit behind this murder.

Thankfully, the father of the dead child decided to put forward a solution.

"Sir Priest, I think it would be for the best if we clear your name first. It does not feel right for someone of your standing to be accused of something you did not do. Moreover, you even preserved my son’s body..."

The father looked sorry about what happened, but his words were full of wisdom. His goddess agreed as well, and she tapped his wrist to show her support.

But Aiden had a feeling she was not going to like the way he was going to clear his name.

Still, her reputation was his priority, and if he had to use other gods to do that, he was willing to take that risk.

"Understood. I will take another vow in front of the villagers in order to prove my innocence. This should drive the actual culprit into a panic. Make sure you keep an eye out. We will do this in the next few hours."

Aiden told the father, and he nodded with determination. But soon, his eyes were filled with concern once more.

"Sir Priest, are you sure you will be able to handle it? I’ve heard that invoking a vow causes a huge strain on one’s body. Maybe we should wait a bit-"

"It will be fine. The sooner we clear my name, the sooner we can seek justice. As for my body...please don’t worry about it. My goddess’s grace has given me enough power to endure all this."

Aiden spoke in a clear and strong voice. The person listening to him had no choice but to believe that he was telling the truth.

In the end, the father agreed. He did feel sorry for Aiden, but the thought of getting revenge for his son’s death must have been much more precious to him.

For now, Aiden told him to wait at the village while he took care of some stuff here. That included instructing the dwarfs and assuring them that their work getting destroyed was an accident.

Thankfully, they were an understanding bunch, and after hearing what happened to the son, they agreed to forgive the father.

Aiden was ready to head out when he felt his goddess impatiently slithering around his wrist. She was showing agitation, which surprised Aiden since he had never seen his goddess like this before.

"Goddess Apophis, is something wrong-"

"My dear apostle, you will always remain mine, no matter how much you use other bastards’ powers. Never forget who owns you. Do you understand?"

Aiden looked down at the agitated snake coiling even tighter around his wrist, and he could not help but let out a chuckle.

’Ah, it seems like my dear goddess is in a sour mood today. She must be feeling irritated because I used another god’s power.’

His amused chuckle made his goddess even madder, and she slapped his arm with a little force this time.

"What are you laughing about? I am completely serious here. Maybe I should bite you and knock you out. That would make you take me seriously."

Aiden’s chuckle finally got under control, and he coughed to control his emotions. Still, a hint of amusement was left on his face when he spoke again.

"I apologize, my dear goddess. Please think of me as using foreign assets to assist our reputation. I have no lingering feelings about these powers or the ones providing them to me. I simply think of them as tools."

He assured his goddess, who finally looked pacified. But her jealous look was something that Aiden did not think he would enjoy as much as he did.

’Ah, I must invoke her jealousy in the future as well. For now, I better focus on clearing our name.’

"Tsk, don’t do too much. You heard that man, right? He’s right. A human body cannot handle too much foreign divine energy. The only reason I am not stopping you is because you still feel fine to me...but how is that even possible..."

His goddess asked, but Aiden had no answer to give her.

After all, he had not even felt faint after invoking the vow, much less felt tired or hurt. So for now, he could only conclude it had something to do with the system or him being from another world.

’Well, whatever the reason is, it doesn’t matter. If it helps my goddess, then I will invoke as many vows as I need to.’

...

"Hey, did you hear? That priest who killed that kid is coming here. The kid’s father said that the priest is going to make a vow in God Aldaric’s name."

"A vow in the name of the God of Justice? That kid is either suicidal or confident that he did not do it. Whatever the reason, be sure to get guts of steel."

"I am going to head out and see it. Are you coming?"

The gossip spread quickly, and it reached the ears of the priests who had caused this mess. But instead of worrying, they instantly scoffed at these words.

"Yeah, right? A vow? A sane human won’t do that. This must be a ruse...he’s likely going to falsify his vow."

The first priest let out an amused chuckle as he said this and slammed his glass on the table. He looked at the others around him, who echoed similar sentiments.

"That’s right. He must be trying to clear his name by spreading this rumor. Should we go and ruin this for him? After all, we cannot allow him to clear his name."

The second priest chuckled as he joined in. He seemed just as carefree as the first one and simply basked in his grace.

It was only the third one who looked confused and scared.

"W-What if that vow is real? What are we going to do if our lies get exposed?"

He looked scared and for a good reason, but the other two looked at him as if he was a fool.

"There is no way a sane person would invoke a vow, so don’t worry."

That was what he said, but little did he know that Aiden was not sane when it came to his goddess. And soon, another vow was made.