The people were angry enough to curse Aiden out, and the situation was not making much sense to him. No one would blame him for being confused.
But Aiden had grown up in a generation famous for its cheesy dramas, and he had picked up a few skills along the way. It allowed him to put two and two together and come to a conclusion.
’Ah, it seems like the spices are the culprit here. I should try to find out what happened.’
Everyone was too angry, and thus, they would be more willing to talk to him. For now, Aiden decided to remove the hand grabbing his collar before dusting off his clothes.
"I am afraid that there has been a misunderstanding between us, young master. I never offered anyone poison, only spices. I can even show you which ones I used, and you can test them for poison yourself."
Aiden pointed this out as he took out some spices from inside his clothes. The way he handed them over to the man who had grabbed him showed his confidence.
It made the angry man loosen his grip in confusion, and he looked down at the spices Aiden had given him. His eyes narrowed, and he hesitated before speaking once more.
"You better not be lying. If you are, then I will make sure you lose your head. Here, we test poison with this medicine made by the temple."
The man brought out a small needle and wetted it before dipping it into the spices. The needle did not react, making him frown.
Aiden already knew his spices contained no poison, but this was the second confirmation he needed.
"Hey, wait! I am sure this will react! I will show you right now. Someone, bring me some cooked food. I will prove that it is poisonous."
The man yelled, and someone ran back to their house to grab some food. They were all eager to get to the bottom of the situation, especially since Aiden was here himself to clear their doubts.
The food quickly arrived, and the man sprinkled the spices over it.
But once again, there was no reaction.
Aiden tried not to show any emotion on his face, but he could feel his goddess growing impatient.
It was finally time to clear up this misunderstanding once and for all.
"Sir, I would like to clarify a few things. I have never given anyone poison, so there is no need to accuse me. As you all saw, I even had proof. Also, has anyone who ate my spices gotten hurt or sick? Please answer truthfully."
Aiden was giving the villagers time to think.
They all looked uncomfortable, but a few decided to be brave and spoke up.
"Actually, no one who ate the spices got sick. But a few people in the village died recently for no apparent reason. Nothing else has changed in this village except for the spices, so naturally, they have to be the culprit."
Most people looked somewhere between shocked and embarrassed after hearing those words spoken aloud.
But even they were no longer confident that the deaths had anything to do with the spices.
"So, you have no proof of what happened, but since it was easiest to blame the spices, you decided to go with that?"
Aiden asked in a calm voice, but his anger was boiling inside.
He did not care that he was being cursed at or falsely accused.
But doing the same to his goddess’s reputation was unacceptable.
The villagers looked guilty and flustered, but they still seemed unsure whether they should believe him.
Finally, the man who had grabbed him decided to explain the reason why.
"The temple has already declared that any foreign object brought into this village could be poisonous. They came to that conclusion after investigating the recent deaths. It clearly points to your spices."
Now the reason behind the accusations became clear, and Aiden felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.
’Has the temple already started seeing us as a threat? Or is it just a coincidence that they reached this conclusion? Whatever the reason is, I should be careful not to attract their attention for now. My goddess is still too weak.’
One day, Aiden would face the local temple and destroy it.
But until he had the power to do so, he needed to keep working harder.
"I think it is all a coincidence. Since no one who actually ate my spices got sick, I am afraid it is pointless to accuse me. Or are you still going to insist that I am the culprit?"
Aiden asked, and the villager finally backed down and released him.
Aiden sighed and straightened his clothes before deciding to look into the matter further.
But he had not even taken another step when he heard someone calling out to him.
"Sir Priest, are you here? Ah, I was about to visit you today. I would like to ask you for more spices...and a favor. My daughter-in-law is sick. Would you mind checking to see if you can help her?"
The man was someone who had visited Lady Apophis’s temple before.
Aiden remembered him because the tribute he had brought helped him buy his bed.
His words became the spark that made the villagers start whispering among themselves, and the muscular man who wanted to accuse Aiden immediately found an excuse.
"Ha! You see! A victim of your spices has finally come forward. Now we are—"
"That is not true! In fact, my daughter-in-law was the only one who insisted on not eating those spices because her mother had warned her against them. We all shared the same food except for her, but she was the only one who got sick. I am sure those spices saved the rest of us from getting sick."
The believer quickly cleared up the misunderstanding, making everyone else go quiet.
Once again, Aiden’s innocence was proven, and the people standing before him had no choice but to admit that his spices were not at fault.
Something else was going on.