Chapter 81: Ch 81: I’m saving their lives

Sasha could feel the suspicious looks of her fellow half-phoenixes, but she understood the reason behind their suspicion and disbelief.

After all, she was one of the most vocal advocates of proving herself to God Pyraeth, to the point where she was even willing to leave their safe village in order to gain power. Even she would have found it suspicious if she had been on the other side.

But her current self understood and trusted Goddess Apophis to the point of following her plan.

Unfortunately, it was a plan that Aiden did not know because the goddess had told him while Aiden had been rushed to clear his stomach.

...

Sasha blinked as she watched Aiden rush toward the bushes in order to clear his stomach. She had never seen anyone have this strange of a reaction to a half-phoenix’s portal.

It was easy to think that it could be because Sasha made a mistake, but that seemed unlikely. After all, everyone else was still fine.

"How weird. That seems like a magic-rejection reaction. Maybe Aiden is super sensitive to magic and God Pyraeth’s magic does not agree with him..."

Which was quite possible, but that would not explain why Caelion was not affected.

"Aiden is quite devoted to me. It is to the point where even his body and his instincts are rejecting the foreign magic. The magic here is also extra sensitive to outside influence, so it must be attacked by Aiden’s outside influence since he has the strongest resistance. Leave him be. He will be fine."

Goddess Apophis spoke up in her snake form, startling the pair left with her.

Sasha quickly looked at Caelion to see whether he was shocked by a talking snake or not, but it seemed he already had a guess about Goddess Apophis’s true identity.

Not that it was any of Sasha’s business whether he knew about the goddess’s true self or not.

For now, Aiden’s wellbeing came first.

"Is there...anything we can do for Aiden?"

Sasha asked, and she felt the goddess’s temper flaring at her question. It was a warning for Sasha not to overstep her line by worrying about Aiden unnecessarily.

"My Apostle will be just fine. Aiden is resilient, so I am sure he will be back. For you...I have a task for you. Don’t look so worried. It is not difficult. I just need you to tell your people that I am proposing to help them, but I have no intention of forcing them to serve me."

That sounded like a trap even to a kid like Sasha.

Had anyone else said this, Sasha would have immediately called them out for bullshit. But the speaker was Goddess Apophis, so she hesitated.

"I am not sure if others will believe your words-"

"It matters not to me whether they believe me or not, nor do I care about them. The only reason I am here is because Aiden wanted to come here, and he wants to extend a helping hand. I have no personal feelings about any of this."

Goddess Apophis was the perfect example of an aloof goddess who could not care about human matters, and honestly, this image suited her perfectly well.

But for such a goddess to fall for someone like Aiden...

’No, actually, they suit each other. He is just as head-over-heels for his goddess. But her request...how the hell am I supposed to fulfill it?’

Sasha was not a starry-eyed kid, but she was still seen as young and inexperienced by most of the people around her.

She still recalled how hard it had been to convince others to let her out of the village for the first time, and the second time, she had snuck out.

If she spoke like a truly inexperienced person, then she might be locked up for real...

’But if I don’t, I have a feeling this goddess will make me regret that as well...’

In the end, Sasha had only one option—to do as the goddess asked...or, she could try to get help from Aiden...

But then again, as lenient as he was, he had made it clear that he had no intention of going against his goddess.

Sasha tried to think of a way out, but she did not get a chance in the end because the villagers sensed her presence and quickly came to check out who had entered their village.

Luckily for her, the person leading the charge was the elder leader, someone who had a soft spot for her.

Unluckily for her, Aiden had been attacked by the other guards, which was making the snake goddess angry.

Looking at her current state, no one would be willing to believe that the Snake Goddess was powerful enough to take on a village filled with over 100 half-phoenixes. Phoenixes had large magic and divine reserves, making it hard for even minor gods to handle their villages.

But abandoned half-phoenixes were different.

Sasha knew her village well, so she could confidently say that their chance of beating Goddess Apophis was zero.

Heck, she doubted they could even beat Aiden if he got serious...although...

’Sometimes, Aiden is even scarier than Goddess Apophis. I have no idea what goes on in his mind, and then he brings out all those amazing products...’

Sasha had only seen the pillows and blankets, but it was more than enough to tell that Aiden cannot be a normal man. That stuff was far too premium.

She made up her mind to follow Goddess Apophis’s direction, only for the villagers to pick a fight with Aiden anyway.

In the end, she had no choice but to act like a dumb kid who did not know what she was doing and say what she had been asked to say by the Goddess.

Her face burned in shame at the fact that she was being this corny and acting like a kid. But now was no time for her to think things through before she could speak.

’These ’older and wiser’ people better be aware that I am literally saving their lives.’