Last night, during midnight, a pair of priests quietly made their way to the local well while making sure they were not being followed.
They kept looking around, checking once in a while to ensure they were alone. And so far, no one had noticed what they were doing or who they were.
The combination of the night and the disease made it easier for them to go unnoticed. But their hearts felt heavy with regret as they carried out this plan.
"Hey, are you sure we should be doing this? I know we need to win people over, but these people are our future worshippers. Maybe we should try not to kill them?"
One of the priests asked in a worried voice and the other sighed but agreed.
"I know what you are saying. And I agree with you as well. But are you going to tell this to our leader?"
The second person asked, making the first one shudder. Their forceful leader was scary and quick to lose his temper.
He had not been like this when they first started. In fact, he had been the most compassionate out of them all and often resolved conflicts between them by talking. That was why he had been the one they funneled all their faith into.
But he had slowly changed into a power-hungry tyrant who only wanted things for himself, and he was even beginning to oppress the other priests in order to get what he wanted.
But as much as they wanted to get rid of him, they could not do that without sinking the ship they were sailing on.
So they had no choice but to do this or die.
"Let’s not think about it too much! This is just a small amount that we are releasing into the water to clean it. If someone gets sick, it is not our fault but the spices. Repeat that to yourself and let’s get going."
The first priest rehearsed his excuse before he emptied the pouch he had taken out into the well. He was only supposed to pour in a little, but because he was nervous, he forgot how much he was meant to use and ended up dumping the entire pouch in.
"Hey, what are you doing? We were not supposed to empty the whole pouch!"
By the time either of them realized what he had done, it was already too late. The whole pouch was empty and the village’s water source had become even more contaminated.
The pair watched in horror before their expressions changed.
"M-Maybe the villagers will be fine? And if they get even sicker, surely they will come to the temple and ask us for help, right?"
The first priest tried to justify what he had done while the second one just looked on in horror. After a few seconds, he sighed and grabbed his partner’s hand before pulling him away.
"There is no point thinking about what has already happened. Let’s head back for now and tell the leader that we fulfilled our mission. This is his problem and the village’s problem from here on."
Unfortunately, their carelessness ended up costing people their lives without them even knowing it.
...
Aiden walked toward the village with his goddess wrapped around his wrist once more. He immediately noticed how tense the village’s atmosphere was this time.
Even the beggars that often roamed around the village were nowhere to be seen, and Aiden found out the reason soon enough.
It was because they were dead. And those who were not were on the verge of collapsing.
[Believer’s current condition has caused a resonance]
[One abnormality has been found. Cause: Poisoning. Cure is available in the Shop.]
[Warning: The cure does not grant immunity to poison. Once treated, it can reoccur if the source is not purified.]
"These poor people are in a bad condition. Is this... some kind of poisoning? Usually, I could treat something like this easily. However, I am currently too weak—"
"Please don’t worry, Goddess Apophis. I will cure these people in your name. All you have to do is believe in me. The knowledge from my previous world will help me with this."
Aiden promised and, without hesitation, bought the medical cure. He knew he did not need to make excuses for his powers or explain how he was always able to help people. But he still did it anyway.
It was not like he was lying... technically. Poison antidotes did exist in his world as well, even if they were not always completely effective. And he did have some knowledge about dealing with poisons because his family had been paranoid.
That, combined with the system, made his words almost true.
For now, he grabbed the expensive cure and quickly gave some of it to the believer.
Due to the shop’s effect, it started showing results immediately. The beggar looked at Aiden with hazy eyes, but they soon started to clear.
"S-Sir Priest... are you here to save us?"
The beggar asked as his strength started to return. Aiden helped him sit up before asking what had happened.
"What happened? I am not sure. I just woke up and drank some water before starting my day, but then I started to feel sick. By the time I lost consciousness, most people were already like this."
The beggar told Aiden and he nodded.
"I see. I think I understand what the situation is. The water in the well must have become contaminated somehow. I will take care of it. Meanwhile, why don’t you go and give this medicine to some people, then bring them to me near the well?"
Aiden handed the beggar a small amount of medicine and the beggar nodded.
Despite not having anything, this man had a good heart and was willing to help others. So he hurried off, and Aiden sighed before turning toward the well.
"It seems like we have our work cut out for us. Shall we have a look at the well, Goddess Apophis?"
Aiden asked for formality’s sake as he started walking. But truthfully, if his goddess told him to abandon this village, he would do that as well.
Not that his goddess was that cruel to her believers.
"Tsk, I have a feeling this is the work of those temple gods. This is not the first time I have seen someone use something like this to gain followers. And while I have no interest in what the other gods do with their believers, I won’t stand by and watch my believers get hurt."
Aiden’s decision was made.