Chapter 1231: The Members of the Temple
The twins wondered who it was that even Aldrian personally wanted to save on their first day after arriving here.
"Who is it that you want to save personally, Your Majesty? Let us do it for you. We will bring them to you in one piece without anyone noticing." Zervan said.
"No, it’s okay. I will do it myself, while the two of you look for a place for four people to stay. The one I want to save is a kid said to be a follower of the gods of our universe. In fact, I could save that kid right now, but it is better to wait until after midnight once the patrol near his cell has already passed." Aldrian replied, leaving the twins astonished.
"A follower of the gods of our universe? No wonder that kid was imprisoned. Tch, just thinking about how those bastards smeared our name with those evil god stories makes me want to slaughter them all." Zarven said with glistening eyes.
"You will have that chance," Aldrian said with certainty.
They continued discussing the second heaven and what they would do for the next two hours before Zervan and Zarven left to look for a good inn for them to stay in. An inn that suitable for hiding an escaped prisoner.
Meanwhile, Aldrian walked through the streets to observe the nightlife of the second heaven.
Basically, there was not much difference between the nightlife of the second heaven and the first heaven.
If there was any difference, it was the food and drinks, along with the groups of people wearing white robes bearing the symbol of the temple.
The symbol showed two hands grasping light.
A symbol representing how Avergis brought light to all beings.
The moment the temple group passed through the crowded streets, many people immediately made way for them. Some looked at them with hidden hostility, while others looked at them with piety, as if they were sacred figures descending before them.
However, those sacred figures seemed to enjoy the crowd’s attention quite a bit. Although they tried to maintain serious and holy expressions, the look in their eyes betrayed them.
Their gazes, as if everyone around them was beneath them, felt quite irritating, yet no one dared to meet those gazes directly. Anyone who met their eyes would instantly lower their heads.
Aldrian, who observed their movements, then saw the leader of the group crash into an old woman, causing her to fall to the ground.
The old woman appeared to be selling fruits from a basket, and the fruits scattered around her.
She looked terrified as she stared at the man leading the temple group.
"My apologies, Your Excellency, for crashing into you. I was simply not fast enough to make way."
The one leading the temple group was a young man with short black hair. He looked at the old woman with hidden killing intent, but it seemed he forcibly restrained himself.
A smile appeared on his face as he lowered himself to one knee. With an expression that looked amicable, he helped the old woman to her feet.
"It’s okay, Grandma. You don’t need to think too much about it. It was just an accident, and I understand. Instead, I should be the one apologizing." he said.
The old woman’s expression immediately relaxed, but some of the spectators looked at the scene with disgust. They knew the man did not truly mean his words and only acted that way to preserve the temple’s image in front of the crowd.
As for others, they looked at the young man as though he were a role model. In their eyes, the man was truly magnanimous for forgiving the old woman even though they believed she was the one at fault.
Aldrian, who watched the man helping the old woman, did not show any change in expression. Instead, he focused on what the man was doing while helping the old woman up.
The man was actually placing a kind of curse on the old woman, a delayed curse that would activate after a period of time. Aldrian continued observing as the man even helped pick up the fruits from the ground and place them back into the basket before he and his group continued walking through the street.
Aldrian then looked at the old woman, who already carried a curse within her body, and decided to approach her. After arriving near her, he called out with a warm smile.
"Excuse me, Grandma, do you sell these fruits?"
The old woman’s eyes immediately turned ecstatic upon seeing a buyer.
"Yes, Young Master. All of these fruits are fresh from my garden. With only one low-level energy stone, you can get three kinds of fruits, one of each. Here are apples, bananas, and grapes."
Aldrian nodded.
"I see, then I will buy all of them, Grandma."
The old woman froze for a moment before an astonished expression appeared on her face.
"Are you sure, Young Master?" It seemed she could not believe someone would buy all of her fruits. She had never experienced anyone purchasing all of her goods in one go.
Aldrian nodded with a smile.
"Of course, Grandma. Why would I not be? Even I already prepared the energy stones."
The old woman turned joyous and nearly cried. Because of how touched she felt, she unconsciously grabbed Aldrian’s hand with her trembling hands.
"Thank you, Young Master. I pray to the heavens that your life will always be filled with fortune."
Aldrian nodded while gently holding her hand with his other hand. At that moment, he quietly destroyed the curse inside her body without her even realizing it.
"Thank you for the prayer, Grandma. Now, this is for all the fruits."
Aldrian took out a pouch full of energy stones and handed it to the old woman. The moment she saw the pouch, her old eyes widened.
She did not even need to count the stones inside. Just from the shape of the pouch alone, she knew it was far too much merely to buy her fruits.
"No, that is too much, Young Master, I—"
"Just take it, Grandma." Aldrian said with a smile as he gently pushed the pouch into her hands, making her accept it.
The moment the old woman accepted the pouch, she could feel the rich heaven and earth energy contained within it. This instantly left her astonished as she realized the quality of the energy stones inside the pouch.
"Wait, please Young Master, this is too much." she said hurriedly with a trembling voice.
"Just take it, Grandma. Consider it the price for your fresh fruits. I believe they will taste delicious. Use it to take care of yourself. I hope you will live a long and healthy life." Aldrian replied.
Suddenly, the old woman felt her basket become lighter. The moment she looked at it, she was stunned to see that all of the fruits inside had already disappeared.
She quickly turned to look at Aldrian again, wanting to thank him once more, but she froze when she realized he had already disappeared.
Tears fell from her eyes as she quickly placed the pouch full of peak-level energy stones into her basket before covering it. She wiped her eyes and bowed toward the empty space.
Her actions left the nearby people wondering what she was doing.
’Thank you for your kindness.’ the old woman thought.
While the old woman decided to return home, the temple group continued walking amidst the busy streets. They enjoyed the way people moved aside for them along with the attention they received.
But then—
Thud!
Someone actually crashed into the leader of the group again, and this time, he was the one who fell.
The person who crashed into him was a man eating an apple while looking at the leader with an apologetic gaze.
"I’m sorry for crashing into you. I did not notice your body." the person said, but his posture itself made him look completely insincere. Still holding the apple while keeping one hand inside his pocket, the man looked far too relaxed for someone apologizing.
The people watching nearby were truly astonished seeing someone dare show such an attitude toward members of the temple. Even his words of apology sounded more like mockery toward the group leader rather than actual remorse.
Who was this guy to dare attract trouble for himself?
Aldrian, who came specifically to mess with the temple members, did not care about anyone’s thoughts and instead took another bite of his apple.
"You, do you really call that an apology with such a posture? Are you underestimating us from the temple?" one of the leader’s followers angrily shouted at Aldrian.
The leader himself stared at Aldrian with a vicious gaze as humiliation filled his heart.
Why did he keep crashing into people tonight?
However, he restrained his anger before revealing a smile.
"It’s okay. Accidents happen, and I understand. You do not need to apologize." he said.
Aldrian smiled and nodded.
"Thank you for your magnanimity." he replied before stretching out his hand as though he wanted to help the leader stand up.
Still smiling, the leader grabbed Aldrian’s hand.
At that moment, Aldrian felt something entering through his hand.
Comments