Chapter 92: Ch 91: Taking for Myself - Part 2

"Then why are you even here? You were banished, so I doubt you have good intentions toward this place or my goddess. Don’t you have any sense of pride?"

Aiden asked while keeping his weapon pointed at her, but Goddess Paphelia tilted her head before smiling mysteriously.

"Do I really need a reason to visit someone I like?"

"You do when you are trespassing on my goddess’s territory."

Aiden’s answer immediately wiped the smile off her face.

"Your goddess this, your goddess that... You really are obsessed with her, aren’t you?"

Paphelia’s voice carried a hint of irritation for the first time.

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

"And you are starting to sound jealous."

"Well, I am jealous. I am jealous to the point of becoming green with envy. And for that reason, I will be taking you with me. The one you will serve is me and no one else."

Goddess Paphelia declared, and her playfulness from earlier was finally gone. Instead, she looked determined to take Aiden by force if necessary.

Her talking had given Aiden both the time and information he needed in order to get her under control.

Since Goddess Paphelia was using a puppet body, shooting an anti-god gun at her was not going to work well. But he had other weapons at his disposal.

But for some reason, breathing was becoming more and more difficult by the second. Aiden was also starting to become a little light-headed, which had not happened before.

"Just what is..."

He tried shooting, but his arms were shaking so badly.

’Huh? Since when has my arm been like this? And my body also feels heavier compared to a few minutes before.’

Aiden was sure this was not a fluke. He was feeling heavier and a little more tired.

[Answer: The concentration of pollen content in the air has risen beyond healthy amounts. It has started affecting the host’s human body.]

’Tsk, say that earlier next time. Does this not have a solution?’

[Affirmative. The store will open with a solution—]

"Are you getting distracted while fighting me? How romantic. But also irritating."

Goddess Paphelia covered the distance between herself and Aiden in the blink of an eye before she reached out toward his face.

Aiden tried to dodge her, but the swarm of butterflies that appeared out of nowhere blocked his way.

In the end, his face was grabbed, and a huge amount of concentrated pollen was thrown down his throat.

"Time to go to sleep. The next time we wake up, we will be in my territory. So you better make up your mind about serving me."

The goddess was smiling, but that smile did not reach her eyes. Instead, it looked like she was blaming Aiden for all her misfortunes.

Aiden tried to speak, but his body felt heavy. Even his throat felt clogged, and he wanted to cough.

But he fell asleep before he could do anything, and the goddess caught his body. She kept her hold on Aiden’s body for a full minute before sighing and whistling. It caused the air to shift, and a familiar figure appeared by her side.

"Goddess Paphelia, what can I help you with?"

Aeloria asked while bowing to her goddess, and Goddess Paphelia simply placed Aiden in her arms.

"We are heading back now. We got what we came here for. As for this place... I have a feeling we will be able to get it sooner or later. But I am not in a hurry..."

Goddess Paphelia looked at the village that was not far away from where she was standing. It truly looked like a different world, and the lights attracted her enough to want to win that place.

But she was currently inside another goddess’s barrier, which made it impossible to use her powers to the fullest.

"If we are going to fight for this place, then we might as well do it on even grounds. Ah, but I guess it is not even grounds since I took her cherished priest with me."

Goddess Paphelia lamented while looking at Aiden and playing with his hair. ℯ

Aeloria looked at her goddess with suspicious eyes as she watched her with Aiden.

"Goddess Paphelia, did you purposely go after this priest? I thought you were joking around about liking him enough and wanting him, but to think there was an actual reason—"

"What do you mean? It is truly because I like him. I fell for him the second I saw him, so how could I have anyone else have him? Don’t worry about it too much."

Aeloria looked like she did not believe Goddess Paphelia’s words, so the goddess did not bother correcting her.

Her dear priestess did not understand that there could be more than one reason for Goddess Paphelia to want to own Aiden.

Or perhaps she knew, but she did not want to accept this fact because it made her feel worse about the situation.

Well, whatever the reason was, Goddess Paphelia had no intention of wanting to discover it. Her current goal was to get out of this city and head back to her own.

As for Goddess Apophis... she was sure the other goddess would find out what happened sooner or later.

’Not that it is any of my problem anymore. I got what I came here for, so I should start heading back.’

Goddess Paphelia walked through the forest with a satisfied smile on her face.

Aiden was finally with her.

For some reason, she could not stop herself from looking at him. Even while walking, her eyes kept drifting toward his sleeping face.

"He really is adorable."

She reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.

Aeloria, who was walking beside her, noticed the gesture but wisely decided not to comment.

Goddess Paphelia could already imagine the future.

Aiden would wake up in her territory, realize that he had no choice but to stay, and eventually accept her as his goddess. After all, that was human nature.