Chapter 94: Ch 93: Goddess Paphelia’s Place

Aiden woke up extremely slowly.

His eyes fluttered open as he tried to sit back up, but a searing pain in the back of his head warned him that it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Still, Aiden decided to try and open his eyes in order to look around...

"Shhh, it’s alright. You don’t have to force yourself to get up. Just go back to sleep now. I will wake you up once we are back in my territory. I bet you will like it better than your goddess’s village."

Aiden felt a soft hand petting his hair. Those delicate hands felt nice against his heated skin. But Aiden still felt disgusted by the presence of the goddess petting his head.

No matter how gentle Goddess Paphelia was, she was not his goddess. And thus, Aiden had no intention of playing nice with her.

He tried to speak his mind, but his body felt far too tired. In the end, his eyes fluttered shut and he went back to sleep. But the hand petting his face continued all the time, not stopping for even a second.

...

The next time Aiden woke up, he felt a different kind of pressure that made him feel sick.

[You have entered Goddess Paphelia’s territory. Since you are in the territory of a foreign power, pressure will be exerted on you.]

[You won’t be able to use all of your power or weapons. The shop will function as normal.]

[Please check the list of restrictions placed on you here.]

Aiden shook his head at the sudden onslaught of messages. They were making his headache a little worse, but he took a deep breath to try and get it away. But when that did not work, he resorted to taking a pill outright and then rubbing his forehead.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in a beautifully decorated room with a lot of wall flowers and traditional butterfly paintings. And even the walls of the room were painted with various butterflies...

But those butterflies felt a little creepy.

Aiden was certain that those butterfly paintings were looking at him and judging him.

He approached the wall and one of the paintings to check it out, only for the butterfly to flutter away from him.

"Huh? What is happening—"

Aiden questioned as he watched the butterflies fluttering around before the wall opened. Aeloria stood in front of him with a sorry look on her face, and she looked even more guilty once she noticed that Aiden was awake.

However, instead of reassuring him or telling him that she would help him out, she simply sat in front of Aiden and let out a sigh.

"How are you feeling now? I hope your stay here is comfortable. Goddess Paphelia tried her best to match her preferences."

Aeloria told Aiden, but even she looked unsure of what to do from here on. Her goddess had kidnapped someone despite her advice, and Paphelia was just as lost as Aiden was.

However, just because Aiden realized this did not mean he understood and accepted Aeloria’s decisions either.

"You should let me go now. You do realize that you will make an enemy out of Goddess Apophis if you keep me here, right?"

Aiden questioned, and Aeloria sighed and nodded.

"Of course I know that! I even told Goddess Paphelia about this. But my goddess is set on having you here. What can I even do at this point but help her out—"

"Why not stop her?"

"Can you stop your goddess if she makes up her mind about something and vows to see it through?"

Aiden wanted to say that he would definitely stop his goddess if she went down the wrong path. But if he truly thought about it, he knew that he would just agree with his goddess in the end.

He could not truly blame Aeloria in this regard. But only in this regard.

"So, what do you want to do with me? I doubt you will be able to change my affiliation or affection toward Goddess Apophis. You are just wasting time here."

Aiden told Aeloria, which made her sigh.

"There is nothing like an ’eternal bond’ in this world, my dear future priest. You might think you are loyal to Goddess Apophis, but it is only because you never had another choice. I can show you that I am the better choice."

Goddess Paphelia decided to enter the room as well with her head held high. She tilted her head sideways in order to try and act cute, but Aiden could not take her seriously at all.

Instead, he chose to talk to Aeloria instead.

"So, when are you going to let me go? If you do it quickly, then I won’t press charges and even talk to my goddess once she comes here—"

"Tsk, you are not going anywhere until you swear your loyalty to me. I am not going to give you any food or drinks either. Enjoy your time here."

Aiden stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a tired sigh.

"You are seriously going to starve me just because I refuse to worship you?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Paphelia nodded without hesitation, and Aeloria immediately looked uncomfortable.

"Of course. I am offering you something great and you are declining me without a reason!"

"Except for the fact that I already have a goddess."

Aiden replied without hesitation, making Paphelia’s expression darken.

"You will change your mind eventually."

"I doubt it."

Aiden crossed his arms and looked around the room again. He had to admit that the place was comfortable, but that did not change the fact that he was being held against his will.

"I am not going to betray Goddess Apophis just because you locked me in a pretty room."

"Then remain locked in here for eternity. *Hump* See if I care."

With that, the goddess left the room, intending not to come back for some time. But Aiden had a feeling she would be back sooner than he expected.