Chapter 31: Ch 31: Declaring Innocence

For the second time in 24 hours, Aldaric felt that unique presence touching his mind, and his first instinct was to look down.

This time, he refused to let go of that threat. He needed to see who that person was.

But right before he could do it, he felt a slight power interfering with him.

It was barely enough for him to notice, but it was irritating enough to the point that he lost track of the being making that vow.

"Darn it. But since that person made two vows in my name, I have a feeling he will make more in the future. I will catch him then."

Once more, Aldaric felt a shiver go down his spine, but he was well aware that it held no threat behind it...yet.

But still, his curiosity had been piqued, so he would keep an eye on this unique human in the future.

And maybe...just maybe, he would recruit that being into his army if he got a chance.

...

It was finally time, and Aiden watched everyone gathered look at him with greedy and suspicious eyes. He needed to clear his and his goddess’s name right here and now.

"Everyone, I have heard the accusations you have made against me, and that is why I will clear my name now. I am going to make a vow in the name of God Aldaric and proclaim my innocence."

His words made everyone gasp in horror, and they looked at him in wonder and awe. They looked ready to see what he had to show them, and Aiden took a deep breath before he started his chant.

Power began to surround him immediately as he spoke. Now, it was finally time.

"I swear in the name of God Aldaric that I have never harmed the child I am being accused of, nor has anyone else among my goddess’s followers."

There were several people in the crowd who wanted to call out his bluff, but the second they opened their mouths, they noticed the flow around Aiden.

God Aldaric’s power was surrounding him, and no one could question its existence. That was how intense it was.

Everyone in the square gathered and watched as Aiden raised his hands toward heaven and made a vow to declare himself innocent. And the verdict came with him not being guilty.

With this, his innocence had been proven, and so was everyone else’s in the other village.

But that begged a new question.

"If it was not Sir Priest, then who could it have been? To take the life of an innocent child..."

People began to raise their voices.

They had already been agitated by those priests a lot in order to drive Aiden out, but now that their target had been proven innocent, their anger needed another outlet.

They all began to suspect each other and even animals that were nowhere close to the village. And Aiden decided now was the right time to speak up about his doubts.

"I...may have an idea about who is responsible based on the evidence I have found. We found this body in our village’s well, so only someone who could have traveled to our village could have done it."

Aiden did not say whom he suspected outright, but his words were enough to make people consider what he meant.

They all reached the same conclusion he had as they gritted their teeth.

"Those priests! Don’t tell me...was it them?"

"But why would they do it?"

"Isn’t that obvious? They must have tried to embezzle the money, and the kid must have seen. So he became a sacrifice to their greed."

A lot of people had reached the right conclusion, but that did not make them feel better. In fact, it fueled their anger even more as they began to get angrier and angrier by the second.

The priests, who were enjoying their meal minutes ago, suddenly decided to make a dash for it, but they were surrounded by the people from all sides.

And soon, these priests were brought forward for trial and handed over to the local temple. A few people talked about justice and how the dead kid’s parents should have a say. But in the end, the law prevailed.

The priestess who looked at these people let out a sigh and nodded to the villagers.

"Thank you for returning these felons to me. Don’t worry about a single thing now. Justice will be served, and all your prayers will be answered."

She reassured them before she grabbed these people and threw them inside.

Aiden watched this happen with a light heart. He did not care how much these priests begged and cried now. They needed to be punished for the crime of trying to frame his goddess.

Finally, it was time for him to head back, but that was when the priestess stopped him.

"Sir Priest, may I invite you and your goddess for a brief meeting with our god? He would like to have a talk with you."

The lady bowed low to show her respect, and Aiden narrowed his eyes at her.

The fact that she knew that he had Goddess Apophis with him made him tense up. He initially wanted to tell her no, but then his goddess patted his wrist.

It was her way of telling him to accept this gesture of reconciliation.

Aiden did not want to, but since his goddess was asking him to, he had no choice but to agree.

"Very well. We will accept your offer for an audience."

The priestess smiled in relief and told them to follow her. She took them to an inner chamber which was cozy and comfortable (but not as much as the one in their temple).

"My god will be here soon. I promise you on his name that we mean you no harm. All we want is to extend an olive branch to your side."

She told Aiden, and he nodded to show that he understood. But his suspicions did not lessen a single bit until he felt the other god’s presence.