Chapter 117: Ch 116: Goddess Apophis’s Domain

’I don’t want to wake up. Can I sleep a little more?’

Aiden unconsciously snuggled against the body holding him before he slowly started to recall where he was and what he was doing.

He did not feel ashamed for falling asleep in his goddess’s lap, but he did feel a little guilty for keeping her still for so long.

So he tried to pull his head up from her lap, but he was unable to. The goddess had a grip on his head as she patted his hair, and Aiden looked at her to indicate that he was awake...only to see that his goddess had her eyes closed.

It seemed like she had fallen asleep while petting him and continued to do so in her sleep as well.

Her expression was soft and content, indicating that she was having a good sleep, and Aiden refused to wake her up from her nap. He would rather wait for her to finish.

It did not take long for Goddess Apophis to open her eyes and look down at him. She blinked a few times to get rid of the remaining sleep in her body before she stretched her arms. Aiden took this as his cue to get up as well, but Goddess Apophis kept him where he was.

"Let’s stay like this for a few seconds more. I am enjoying your presence on my lap."

Aiden stilled as per his goddess’s command, and she played with his hair a little. The soft and affectionate touch was making him melt, and he wanted to reach out and hold on to her as well.

He suppressed his want, and his Goddess let out a chuckle, already knowing what he wanted to do.

"Go ahead! I don’t mind what you want to do."

She promised, and Aiden let out a frustrated sigh before he reached toward her midsection and wrapped his arms around her thin waist.

Goddess Apophis was strong, but she fit nicely in his arms. It made him want to bury his face more into her stomach until they were one and the same...

However, Aiden knew he could not keep being like this. He had come here for a reason after all.

He regretfully pulled his body back before he spent an unreasonable amount of time in her lap, and he pulled himself up.

"You don’t want to stay like that a little longer?"

His goddess asked, and Aiden almost told her that he did want to stay like that. But then he sighed and controlled himself.

"I am afraid that I might get addicted to the feeling of lying on your lap and never want to leave if I spend even more time like this."

"So, who cares? You should get addicted-"

"..."

Aiden’s face flushed at his goddess’s open offer, and he truly wanted to take it. However, her territory was not going to run itself. Aiden was responsible for maintaining its prosperity, which directly affected Goddess Apophis and her fame.

There was no way Aiden could give it up, and his goddess knew as well.

"Fine! We can continue this another day. For now, shall we head inside?"

Goddess Apophis asked, and Aiden nodded. He reached his hand toward her, only for a flower petal to fall right before he could clutch his goddess’s extended hand.

Aiden finally looked around him and noticed the kind of place his goddess had taken him to.

It was filled with flowering trees on all sides, and even the ground was filled with a thin layer of flower petals.

Places such as these were not usually pleasant outside of paintings, but the petals left no residue on Aiden even after he had slept on them for so long. He could only conclude that it was because this was a place made by his Goddess’s magic.

It was just far too beautiful that Aiden wanted to stay here forever.

"Do you like this place? I made it when I was still young and full of joy. This place fell into ruins as I lost my influence. It was all but a barren land before you came. So in a way, it is a fruit of your labour."

Goddess Apophis told Aiden, and he felt amazed at her words.

He was sure that this place would have gotten better sooner or later, but hearing his Goddess say that he helped her made Aiden feel accomplished.

"I am forever happy to help you, my dear goddess. Now, shall we head inside?"

Aiden asked, and Goddess Apophis nodded. She led Aiden to the opening of the cave where her artifacts were being kept, and her presence opened the locks.

Once inside, the cave closed behind them, and another beautiful room with a single opening on top came into focus. The light from that hole was focused on a central tree that looked like it had seen better days.

Goddess Apophis reached out toward the central tree, and it suddenly bloomed green, lighting this place up.

The place lit up with a lot of artifacts and scrolls, and Aiden had a feeling it was going to take ages to sort through this place.

"You are free to take whatever you need from here. There is no restriction if it is for your sake."

Aiden nodded at his goddess’s words and started to look around. But he was not going to take any artifact he could get his hands on.

Instead, he needed to select specific artifacts that he could see and that wouldn’t be necessary for the future. Surely he would find some in this huge pile...

’I should also start saving up coins for future emergencies. I don’t want to go into debt again, no matter how much I am tempted by the system.’

It was time for Aiden to start saving for future troubles.

He carefully began sorting through the artifacts, looking for anything that could be sold without affecting Goddess Apophis’s future. If he could find enough valuable relics, he might finally be able to free himself from the system’s debt.