"This whole place becoming a trouble spot, isn't it all because of you?" Aiden stared at Melissa.
His contact with the Witch Coven was due to Priscilla tracking the Blood Moon Coven. The Bountiful Mother Goddess Coven incident was half due to the Witch Coven, half due to seeking the "Diviner" Melissa. And the old Blood Moon Coven came chasing the remnants of the destroyed Mother Goddess Coven, while Melissa secretly negotiated with the Vampire Progenitor, likely fanning the flames behind the scenes all along.
These forces related to Authorities popping up one after another in the Autonomous Prefecture—tracing back to the source, it was the Blood Moon Coven worshipping Mephilia, and Melissa, Mephilia's avatar.
"A whale will make waves no matter which pond it's thrown into. How can a place presided over by a Dominator remain peaceful forever?" Melissa replied calmly.
"If you just sold jewelry here, how could there be so many incidents?" Aiden retorted. "Can I interpret that as... you'll die if you don't stir up trouble?"
"Reasonably speaking, I've done very little. Most incidents were caused by other mortals pursuing Authorities, weren't they?" Melissa looked innocent.
"I seem to recall hearing the same thing from the one guarding the house in the dungeon... But didn't you people fan the flames behind most incidents too?" Aiden said.
"Are you accusing me?"
"I never accuse criminals whose values are completely twisted, because it's pointless," Aiden replied. "I'm just venting a bit. Surely you wouldn't deny me even that?"
"When venting, one should drink," Melissa pushed the other glass over. "Surely you wouldn't deny even that? Hmm? Did I just read the 'purpose' flashing through your mind? Though it seems you're still hesitating, I couldn't read it clearly... Let me guess, you're considering getting me drunk?"
"At this rate, I feel like I don't even need to open my mouth to speak," Aiden remarked somewhat helplessly.
As Aiden expected, the Codex Anomos did restrict Melissa from clearly reading his every thought. But when a certain "purpose" emerged in his mind, Melissa could still perceive it. The stronger the purpose, the clearer she could read it.
"Actually, we don't really need to open our mouths. The power of the Mental Throne allows mutual reading of intended words, the so-called... heart-to-heart connection," Melissa "spoke."
This time, she didn't open her mouth when "speaking"; the voice simply resonated directly in Aiden's mind.
"Isn't this just 'telepathy'?" Aiden thought, knowing Melissa could hear him.
High-level mental-type black magic could achieve this effect. Though difficult, it wasn't rare. Someone who Adepts in mental magic like Priscilla could basically do it effortlessly.
"Also, I advise you against entertaining such foolish ideas. The power of 'Wisdom' can allow the mind to sever the influence of physical conditions," Melissa showed a somewhat wicked smile. "If you try to outdrink me, you'll be the only one ending up under the table. And I can't guarantee what might happen the next day."
"You currently resemble a hooligan who's spotted a lone girl," Aiden replied calmly. "Rest assured, it was just a passing thought. I'm not foolish enough to think a mere bottle of wine could actually take down a god..."
"But you are already contemplating resisting a god. If judged by the disparity in strength, that idea is extremely foolish," Melissa suddenly remarked.
"Not wanting to be controlled by a capricious god like you should be a normal person's thought," Aiden replied calmly.
Aiden wasn't overly surprised by this sudden exposure of his thoughts. After all, Melissa had sensed his wariness and emanating hostility from the beginning.
After learning about the "Goddess of Conspiracy's" schemes, what thoughts would Aiden Galord develop—such a thing didn't even require mind-reading, simple deduction was sufficient.
All along, Aiden felt pulled by the invisible strings Mephilia had arranged, getting tighter and tighter. He just couldn't think of a way to counter it, because Mephilia was already in his prison. One cannot defeat someone already lying on the ground. Until he confirmed the Diviner Melissa's true identity through several incidents.
Melissa was Mephilia's trump card for arranging everything outside. To break free from Mephilia's game, he just needed to deal with Melissa.
But it was obvious without thinking that the power gap between a Dominator and a mortal was desperate. Mephilia revealing her trump card at this time meant she didn't care.
Yet Aiden felt this might be an opportunity. The "Goddess of Conspiracy" was the Dominator of two Authorities, unimaginably powerful. But precisely because of this, she completely lacked any sense of crisis, evident from her locking half of herself in prison just to forcibly make the game unpredictable.
Before the game concluded, his situation was still relatively safe—at least now wasn't the time for a showdown with this goddess.
"Never mind. Watching a pet try to jump out of its cage might also be a form of amusement. Just be careful... not to crash and die against the bars," Melissa raised her glass. "After talking so much, won't you take a sip? Surely you don't think I'd poison the wine?"
"I still have work this afternoon," Aiden said.
"One glass," Melissa replied.
Aiden thought for a moment, then picked up his glass and clinked it against Melissa's.
"To Authority," Melissa said.
"Honestly, I don't feel like toasting anything right now," Aiden answered.
The two drained their glasses.
The cool liquid slid from the tip of his tongue down his throat. Melissa had chilled the wine to the perfect temperature beforehand.
Aiden carefully savored the taste of the expensive liquid. Smooth on entry, sweet but not cloying, refreshingly pleasant, with a perfect balance of floral, fruity, and aged oak barrel notes—though he wanted to describe it thus, Aiden wasn't a wine connoisseur. He actually just thought it tasted pretty good, but spending several months' salary on this stuff... definitely not worth it.
"Next, what arrangements are you planning?" Aiden asked, putting down his glass.
"Still arranging. Be patient. That man's progress is almost there, but not yet at the final step. You still have time."
"'Progress is almost there?' Meaning he'll soon find a way to kill me?" Aiden's heart sank.
Hearing this, it seemed Mr. Blood Robe would be making a comeback before long.
"Just killing you isn't difficult. The key is completing the revenge requires some effort," Melissa replied. "After all, it's a task set by 'us'."
"So what insurance measures did you leave? And what method does he plan to use to kill me?" Aiden took the opportunity to ask his most pressing questions.
Just then, the bell above the shop door chimed—a customer pushed the door open and walked in.
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