Free Web NovelChapter 284: Chapter 284 I’m Here to Hitch a Ride_1
"Equivalent terms..." Aiden murmured.
Divinity was certainly more important than money to him now.
Mr. Bloodrobe, a saint-level figure, had already identified him as a sacrifice for the "Hatred" authority’s advancement ritual. According to Melifilia, the power of "Hatred" could, like a revenant born for vengeance, sense the location of one’s nemesis.
Once Mr. Bloodrobe found a way to kill him, no matter where he fled, he would be hunted down.
Only by becoming a saint would he have the chance to fight back.
To trade divinity for money... unless he felt there was no need to resist and wanted to enjoy his second life before death.
Moreover, to Aiden, for the development level of this world, even if he had enough money for a lifetime... there didn’t seem to be much worth spending it on.
However, such a trade didn’t necessarily have to be for money.
"As long as it’s something I can offer, it’s possible," Qiqimora pointed to herself.
"Do you have any divine words you could teach me?" Aiden asked.
"I’m sorry, I only possess the divine words of the ’Void’ authority," Qiqimora shook her head regretfully, "Given that Your Excellency can use the powers of the ’Order’ authority, it seems unlikely for you to access the ’Void’ authority."
"That’s true," Aiden had anticipated as much.
Mortals could only come into contact with three authorities at the same time. His initial authority was "Order." The other authorities he could come into contact with were the adjacent "Balance" authority and the superior authorities under other thrones.
From Qiqimora’s perspective, no matter what Aiden’s initial authority was, a mortal who mastered the divine words of "Order" theoretically couldn’t possess the divine words of "Void" at the same time.
Aiden was now only a step away from sainthood in terms of divinity, but he mastered only one power. If he could trade his excess divinity for the power of divine words—even if from another authority—it would be a profitable deal for him, as having one more ability meant having one more lifeline.
He could not directly learn Qiqimora’s "Void" or Lamia’s "Chaos," nor could he trade alone with Vila and Habanis.
Within the Witches’ Meeting, the only ones currently confirmed to be able to teach him divine words were likely only Abigail—who was close to mastering the "Life" authority—and Presia—who was attempting to contact the "Wisdom" authority.
Abigail didn’t seem to be lacking in divinity and probably wouldn’t agree to such a trade. As for Presia... he would have to confer divinity to her so she could master the power before she could teach him, but based on Aiden’s position, he naturally wouldn’t willingly let a prisoner in the jail obtain a power the jail couldn’t control.
"In any case, as long as Your Excellency is willing to provide the opportunity, I am always open to trade. You just need to remember my offer," Qiqimora said as she stood up, "I must take my leave now; Abigail is waiting for me to deliver this money."
"I’ll see you out," Aiden rose to his feet as well.
After standing up, Qiqimora inadvertently noticed the newspaper Aiden had carelessly placed on another chair. The headline of today’s Silvertown newspaper was about a popular female singer who was set to perform at an opera house in the uptown area of Silvertown. The headline featured the singer’s face prominently.
Qiqimora stared unblinkingly at the newspaper until, confused, Aiden finally asked, "What about this newspaper?"
"Nothing, it’s just that sometimes I feel quite envious of these people. They have such a presence and are noticed by so many," Qiqimora sighed, "The side effect of the ’Void’ authority is that it makes one unusually inconspicuous and easy to overlook. Sometimes when I speak, nobody listens... It can be quite bothersome."
"Is that so?" Aiden glanced at the newspaper as well.
The female singer seemed to be frequently appearing in newspapers and magazines recently...
It turned out Qiqimora did care about such matters; Aiden had always thought she rather enjoyed this convenient power.
After personally escorting Qiqimora out of the prison and watching her leave, Aiden turned around and immediately noted down the time and process of the meeting with Qiqimora.
With regards to Qiqimora who could infiltrate the prison at will and erase traces, Aiden had always been on full alert.
Before returning to his office, he first made a round near the inmates’ toy assembly workshop in the core area, and outside the workshop windows, he searched for Annie Drake’s position with his gaze.
Annie was impatiently putting together toy parts at her spot, and although she could barely be said to be working, her efficiency was clearly much lower than the others.’
At that moment, one of the on-duty prison guards happened to meet his gaze, and Aiden motioned to him.
The guard came out from the workshop and saluted his superior: "Warden."
"How are things in the workshop this morning?" asked Aiden.
"Well... there was a new inmate this morning who wasn’t quite cooperative with the work, so we gave her a talking-to. Now she has started working, but her movements are sluggish, and her efficiency is low, and every time we push her, she keeps making excuses about a shoulder injury..." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"Inmate 3677?"
"Yes, that’s her!" the guard nodded hastily.
"Alright, I understand. It’s the first day, let’s just observe for now," waved Aiden, signaling the guard to return to his post, "Thank you for your hard work."
It seemed the scare from last night had some effect after all; Annie Drake had learned a bit of wisdom, cooperating at least minimally with the prison’s rules before the rescue arrived, in order to avoid a head-on clash that could leave her battered.
Still, this cooperation was minimal at best, and it was apparent that her patience was low, far from those who could endure or even bear the weight of humiliation for long-term goals—even the former Ophelia had the sense to cower when necessary.
It was likely only a matter of time before she caused some kind of trouble, either with the prison guards or with the other inmates.
Aiden looked through the window into the workshop again before leaving the factory floor and heading directly to his office.
After the guard returned to the workshop, another on-duty female guard looked at the clock and called out, "First three groups, line up."
The inmates of the first three groups in the workshop stopped their work as ordered and lined up to go to the restroom.
Upon entering the restroom, Annie was about to pick a spot when she heard a whisper from behind her: "I’ve long admired your name, Miss Drake."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Annie turned around warily. After yesterday’s events, she was constantly on guard for who might be lurking in some cloistered corner of the prison to ambush her.
"Don’t be nervous, I bear no hostility. My name is Anna, and like you, I’m also a pirate of the Empire," the inmate speaking to her revealed an eager smile, "I’m here to... catch a ride on ’Your Highness’s’ coattails."
