Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Can’t Relax for a Moment_1
The next day, Aiden stood in the visitation room. On the other side of the glass, Qiqimora, dressed as lavishly as ever, sat in the seat reserved for visitors, smiling at him gracefully.
"So, what do you intend to do with this piece of news you’ve brought me?" Aiden eyed her warily.
In recent days, Qiqimora had twice requested to meet with him through the prison’s visitation process, seeking his response to an alliance with the witch coven against the Harvest Mother Cult. Aiden had mostly put it off.
This visit from Qiqimora, Aiden assumed it would be the same old story, but instead, right at the start of the meeting, she revealed the location of an outpost the Harvest Mother Cult had established on the outskirts of Silvertown.
"Of course, I’m hoping you can report to the Heresy Tribunal and have them take out their outpost. It’s not quite proper for a witch like me, who isn’t even on the census, to deal directly with the Heresy Tribunal, isn’t it?" Qiqimora said frankly, smiling. "Surely the Tribunal here in Silvertown isn’t so out of the loop that they don’t know about the Cult’s doings, right?"
Aiden understood her meaning.
After seeing the file Rebecca had brought him, he finally knew why Rebecca had been so reticent about the Cult’s intelligence.
According to the file, the Harvest Mother Cult worshipped the Earth Mother Goddess, deity of fertility and creation, revered procreation and the act of giving birth to an extreme, and, under such a rallying cry, often had their nuns and followers participate in large-scale "reproduction rituals" after regular religious services—and naturally, this wasn’t free for the followers.
In other words, on the surface, the Cult was a group that used such methods to madly accumulate funds and grow their illegal enterprise.
Even in a world filled with cults, a religious organization that could go this far was exceedingly rare, with the most common ones being those so-called prophets who exploited fabricated teachings to trick and deceive respectable women.
Indeed, such "aboveboard" dealings were enough to breach public security regulations. Even if the Heresy Tribunal hadn’t gathered more substantial criminal evidence, this reason alone was enough to raid their outposts.
"If you think you can use the Heresy Tribunal as your pawn to eliminate the Cult, save your breath," Aiden warned Qiqimora as he stared at her. "The Harvest Mother Cult is only prohibited from conducting religious activities in the autonomous state, not listed for extermination."
"The truth is all you need to do is conduct a little in-depth investigation, and that would suffice to add them to the extermination list. The Cult has committed far dirtier deeds than you can imagine. Moreover, their activities in Silvertown are targeted at you; don’t you feel the slightest danger?" Qiqimora pointed at Aiden as she spoke.
Even if Aiden Galahad himself wasn’t ready to confront the Harvest Mother Cult, just using his own connections within the Heresy Tribunal of Silvertown to mobilize the autonomous state’s Tribunal against the Cult would also be a significant boon for the witch coven. This was one of the primary reasons Abigail considered Aiden valuable for cooperation.
"You seem so sure they are here for me; you must have unearthed some concrete information to speak so confidently, right? Or are you implying..." Aiden met Qiqimora’s gaze as he spoke. "That you’ve been quietly leaking information to them?"
The witch coven, eager to align him with their cause, was certainly capable of discreetly informing the Harvest Mother Cult that the manager of Rose Iron Prison belonged to the Flying Spaghetti Cult.
"Well, that’s left to your imagination," Qiqimora said, evidently with no intention of disguising the matter further. "However, there have been signs that the Harvest Mother Cult has been active in the autonomous state for quite some time. You must have noticed that too, right?"
Aiden was well aware of this; Rebecca had also mentioned that the appearance of the Harvest Mother Cult’s files in the Tribunal was because they had begun infiltrating the autonomous state.
This made Aiden somewhat suspect that the other party might also be targeting the Blood Moon Cult... or even Melifilia.
If that were the case, as Melifilia’s guardian, it seemed inevitable that he would eventually come into conflict with the Harvest Mother Cult.
"So, make up your mind and cooperate with us," Qiqimora persuaded him, just as she had done the previous two times.
"Don’t rush me, I haven’t finished considering it yet," Aiden replied without hesitation.
But for him, at this moment, more than the Harvest Mother Cult who he had yet to come into contact with, it was the Witch Convocation that he had frequent interactions with that needed more caution.
Just Qiqimora, who possessed the Godspeech of "nothingness" and could easily infiltrate Rose Iron Prison, was enough to make Aiden extremely cautious.
Although these days Qiqimora had been visiting him through regular and proper means, Aiden didn’t believe she hadn’t used her Godspeech to sneak into the prison for reconnaissance again.
However, Aiden believed that she probably hadn’t noticed Melifilia’s presence—if she had, they would likely have used it as leverage to demand his assistance in eliminating the cult.
Moreover, no one could guarantee that the Witch Convocation wouldn’t become hostile upon learning of this matter, for Melifilia was a rather good source of information on the path to divinity, much like Presia, who had come in pursuit of the Blood Moon Cult.
Therefore, collaborating with the Witch Convocation was something to be considered over and over again, with great care.
"Being so indecisive every time is quite rude to a lady, Mr. Gentleman," Qiqimora teased.
"Dealing with dangerous women, how can I not be careful? Prudent decision making isn’t exclusively a woman’s prerogative," Aiden responded with composure.
"It seems I have to return empty-handed again today," Qiqimora sighed, standing up from her seat, "Then take care, Mr. Galahad. I hope by the next time you will have made up your mind."
At that moment, Aiden suddenly called out to her, "Don’t be in a rush to leave; these past few days, you’ve only met with me. Haven’t you had an extra word or two with your two companions? I can use my authority to let them meet with you here."
"How considerate of you," Qiqimora commented, somewhat surprised, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll take the opportunity to run off with them?"
"Having visitors is a prisoner’s right; as long as it complies with the rules, I won’t arbitrarily deprive them of it. Besides, it’s better for you all to meet under our supervision than to let you sneak into the prison to see them. Please, wait here for a moment," Aiden answered.
Aiden then turned and left the visiting room, and in a lowered voice, he instructed Veronica, who was waiting nearby, "Go bring Daili and Presia here for a visit with her. Give them as much time as possible, but remember to keep a close watch on them, especially the visiting witch; we can’t let our guard down for even a moment."
