“What do you want from me? Why did you come after me?”
The scent of danger was high in the surroundings. Aurora’s body could not handle the tense atmosphere as it shivered in the cold.
Lady Mei had gone silent at the question, her eyes starting Aurora right in the eye. If not for her appearance not having changed even a bit since she had gained these powers, Aurora would have been sure that she was looking at a different person from the past.
“I was hesitant to make a connection before but the more I look at you, the more certain I become. You are someone I’ve known in the past, right?”
Aurora tried not to get tense at the question. The answer to this question would determine whether Lady Mei was a friend or a foe to her.
‘Why couldn’t she have asked this question the last time we met? It would have been easier to lie back then.’
It would not have been a lie to say that Aurora had never met Lady Mei when they had their last meeting with each other.
Memories were what made a person their present self. And Aurora who did not have any memories of meeting Mei back then would not have been caught telling a lie.
It was different from her present situation.
“The answer you seek is not one I can give you. Besides, it is not about me but you. I hope the reason you sought me out today is more than just a casual meeting.”
Aurora instantly diverted the question toward another topic. Mei had a considerably shorter attention span.
Even if she noticed that Aurora was trying to change the topic right now, if she followed along then she would not remember to come back to this conversation.
‘Ah, she noticed that I am trying to change the subject. Now, will she follow along with me or not?’
“You are right. There is indeed another reason I wanted to seek you out,” Mei coughed to clear her throat before her next words took Aurora by surprise, “I want you to invite me to your academy.”
“Pardon?”
‘I must have heard wrong. Surely Mei made an error when she spoke?’ That was all Aurora could think of when Mei’s words reached her ear.
Why would Mei want to visit a newly established academy that was not even under the tower’s jurisdiction? And even if she did, why did she need permission to do so?
“Minerva will put up a fuss if I decide to do what I want to, but I need to settle the score with Seraphina. So please let me visit your academy. Invite me as a guest lecturer. Consider it a favor from me for not exposing your location to Minerva right now.”
“You do me this small favor and I will assist you when the time comes. After all, I have no loyalty to the tower and you already have Karan on your side. Surely having me on your side will tilt the scale of balance in your favor? Don’t you want that.”
Now that Mei had spoken it out loud, Aurora could feel the appeal of doing what she had asked.
The tower had four gods on its side along with numerous smaller gods. This was a huge monopoly of power in their hands.
‘But do I still want to trample the tower over? The more I live my new life, the less motivation I can find in destroying the tower for what it did to me.’
Revenge had been the sole reason Aurora had managed to survive this long. But things were changing recently.
“Alright. I will think about your offer.”
Mei gave a happy whoop. It was very similar to the behavior she showed in the past which reassured Aurora that Mei had not changed much ever since the time she became a goddess.
‘Change is a human emotion. What use is a change to a god who reflects the desire that made them?’
The thought was not Aurora’s. It belonged to the goddess inside her. It had been a long time since Aurora had heard her speak like a different entity.
“Ah, now that we have that tentative peace, I feel like I should also tell you something about this temple you might not have known about.”
Mei’s attention snapped toward Aurora in an instant. Since Aurora had decided to reel Mei to her side, there was no harm in giving her this new information.
“The priest of the temple might be up to something strange and it’s related to the dragons. And since I know a dragon personally, I thought I should check it out. So Mei, can I ask you a favor? Can you let us handle this case?”
Lady Mei’s raised eyebrow let Aurora realize that she might have called the other goddess too casually. She had gotten used to calling Mei without horrific in the past so it was difficult to keep the habit consistent.
But still, Mei didn’t seem to particularly mind this new change.
“Fine, do what you want to. I will overlook it all as long as you send me a formal invite. Oh, and might also want to finally settle the score with Seraphine so be prepared for that.”
Aurora instantly had a feeling of incoming doom. But she knew she had no choice but to agree with Mei now.
All in all, Rex would have to be the one to handle the political mess. It eased Aurora’s mind to have such a reliable helper on her side.
(Somewhere far away, Rex shivered as if feeling his future peace disappearing under a cloud of despair.
“What is wrong with you now? Can’t you even do paperwork adequately?” He shivered as Lady Violet’s voice reached his ears.
His step-mom was sipping the tea in front of him, her eyes staring right at Rex and daring him to make a mistake.
“Of course now. Let me finish my work in peace.” Rex’s voice sounded confident but he was tired as well.
Why did the woman in his life have to be so hellish? Maybe that was why no one after Lucy had ever turned him on.)
As for Aurora, she was now faced with a tough choice. Lady Mei had granted her the wish of beg left alone but the prayer time was already over. Should Aurora even bother with going to the praying hall?
“Ahhhh, so much wasted time and effort. I hope Rita managed to get something solid in there. I don’t want to leave this case unfinished.”
Aurora didn’t generally like to stick her head in such weird cases. They were not for her so she tended to keep away from them.
However, this time was special. Aurora felt like she had to help or something bad would happen. The whole temple was starting to seem a little fishy to her now.
Aurora had not noticed it before but there was a subtle smell of the abyss beneath this temple. But that was not all.
Along with the abyss, there was another smell mixed in the air. It excluded power and influence like none other.
If Aurora had to compare it to anyone, she would compare it to Ava. It meant that an overlooker was involved in this temple’s case.
“But why did I only feel this influence now and not before? Is it because I am alone? Or because the prayer formally ended now? I should not take this case lightly.”
Aurora’s senses gave off a stinging feeling. She instantly went on alert as they clashed with her power.
‘Someone just tried to scout me out. Fuck, where did that person go? They hid their presence so easily from me.’
The more Aurora tried to spread her senses around, the more she felt like she was grasping at thin air.
Despite being a goddess, Aurora lacked the power and influence that was a part of her post. It was clear that Aurora still had a long way from being a proper goddess.
The familiar feeling reached Aurora again and she grasped it tightly this time.
‘I need to soothe the magic before following it. I should calm myself down.’
That was Aurora’s plan. But as soon as she reached back she felt the anger in the magic cut across her aura. It was sharp, almost like a blade and it retreats as soon as Aurora felt it connect with her.
It was like a small but dangerous animal. Coming close to addressing the curiosity but striking at the first sign of danger.
Aurora wanted to follow the magic but the thread was gone. There was no longer any trace of that magic in the air.
‘Did I hallucinate it all? Maybe I am more tired than I am willing to admit.’
Aurora’s head spun at the effort she had put in but there was no result no matter how many times she tried. Magic often left residue so the lack of trace was a concern.
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