Chapter 97: Ch 96: The Medicine

As soon as the first person was given the medicine, it was like a dam had broken, and everyone rushed toward them to get more.

In the end, Aeloria had no choice but to create a barrier around them and the infected people to keep them away.

But the common people kept banging their hands on the barrier, demanding to be let in and given relief as well.

"This is not fair! You need to treat us all equally."

"You are a disgrace. God’s messenger? I bet both you and your god are frauds. You can’t even save your followers."

"We should have chosen another god when we had a chance to. We were fools to follow the way of our ancestors and continue to trust that half-baked goddess of yours."

People were rude and often liked to pin their blame on the first thing they felt comfortable blaming. In this case, it was Goddess Paphelia, and it wouldn’t take too long for her to disappear if such rebellion continued.

Aiden personally did not mind waiting back and watching this happen. In fact, it would be to his benefit if Goddess Paphelia were to disappear. That way, he could swoop in as a hero and save the people of this village.

He could even use Goddess Paphelia as a villain to paint his goddess as a kind soul who saved these people.

But Aeloria’s expression was the only thing that stopped him.

His fellow priestess was trying her hardest not to show her anger at the believers who were suffering. But even she had a limit to how much slander she could hear about her goddess before snapping.

And she reached her limit. But instead of getting angry and yelling, she bowed her head to the people and decided to take all the blame.

"Please do not blame Goddess Paphelia. The one who is not able to help you all is me, not her. I had no solution to this problem until now. But we have finally seen a ray of hope, and it is all thanks to this person."

Aeloria suddenly threw Aiden under the bus, pointing toward him. Aiden felt surprised at being mentioned, but he quickly noticed that everyone was looking at him.

’Darn it! Aeloria foiled my plan of sitting back and watching from the sidelines before swooping in like a hero in shining armor. But if this is the game she wanted to play, I can play this as well.’

Aeloria did not know that she had messed with the wrong person. Aiden was not a naive, weak-willed priest who did not understand social cues and was coddled. Instead, he had grown up watching soap operas of the future.

If there was one person who was fluent in manipulation, it was him.

"You are right, Lady Aeloria. My Goddess, Apophis, has decided to grace this village with her help. And as an envoy of Goddess Apophis, I have decided to bring you some medicine. See, the person we gave it to is already recovering."

Aiden pointed out, and it was true. The man who looked on the verge of death seconds ago was starting to sit back up and look around in wonder.

This could only be described as a miracle by anyone who saw this.

Aiden flashed a smile at Lady Aeloria, and he noticed her mouth pressed into a thin line, trying to suppress her anger and annoyance.

’Hmm, how does it feel to be used? Not great, right? Then I would prefer it if you didn’t try and use me either.’

That was what Aiden wanted to convey with his smile. And by the tightening jaw in front of him, it was clear that he succeeded.

Aeloria was looking at Aiden like she wanted to kill him. But unfortunately, it was her chance to not get any word in because people began to crowd around Aiden, seeking his help.

"Give your medicine here!"

"Here as well."

"My child is too sick, so I need to be first."

"No! My child is younger—"

People were trying to one-up the others in tragedy, and Aiden decided to sigh and clap his hands to get everyone’s attention.

"Please do not worry. I have more than enough medicine for everyone. However, I can only access it if you all show great devotion to Goddess Apophis. The medicine will also work faster and better if you pray to her."

Aiden lied through his teeth, only to have these desperate people believe him.

"You—"

Aeloria was getting angrier by the second. But the people would protect Aiden now. Goddess Paphelia’s priestess had no chance of catching Aiden now.

"Everyone, please form a line, and I will start handing the medicine out now. You need to give it to the patient with a little bit of water."

Aiden started to hand out medicine, and people started to praise him and Goddess Apophis.

By the end of the day, the whole section had been cured, and they all just needed rest. Aiden also felt exhausted but accomplished because he could see Goddess Apophis’s follower count increasing.

[Current follower count: 2,845]

Finally, the number was high enough to the point where Aiden felt comfortable. But there were still a lot of people left who needed help.

So he took out medicine and handed it to the people.

"You can distribute this among the rest of the villagers, but don’t forget to inform them of Goddess Apophis’s grace—"

Aeloria could not take it anymore. She grabbed Aiden and started to drag him back toward Goddess Paphelia’s temple.

Aiden knew he had angered his fellow priestess, but he could not help but annoy her more.

"What are you doing? We had a deal. I will help your people, and you will let me go—"

"You said you would help my goddess help the people, not spread the name of your own goddess! Do you have any idea what your actions have caused us?"

Aeloria asked in an angry voice, and Aiden did know why she was so upset. He just did not care about her being upset.