The Warden of The Witches - Chapter 157:

Friendly Bilateral Relations

“You are quite polite,” Aiden said to Qimora.

“Faced with an opponent like you, Vera continuing to be stubborn won’t yield any results. Instead, she might end up losing. We don’t want to stand by and see further casualties on this side,” Qimora calmly replied.

Aiden gathered some information from Qimora’s choice of words.

Regarding the mercury golem bestowed with life by Abigail, they presented it to Vera as a “precious gift,” even using it as a reason to prevent her from acting against them.

However, when it came to leaving the mercury golem directly with Aiden, they merely referred to it as a “small gift.”

While there were formalities involved, Aiden could sense that perhaps due to not fully understanding the situation on his side, they had overestimated him, treating him as an equal entity with some backgrounds.

This was likely the primary reason the witches took the initiative to reconcile with him—an indication that, for now at least, they did not want to make an enemy of him.

This was a positive development for him.

“This is the sincerity we can show on our side. Could Your Excellency forgive Vera’s previous offense?” Qimora inquired.

Although she appeared composed when Facing Aiden, she was actually a little nervous.

The incident with the mercury golem being taken was within her expectations, and it confirming Aiden Galord possession of the Divine Words.

Upon seeing her, Aiden immediately discerned the authority behind the Divine Words she held, further validating Dailey and Priscilla assessment of him.

As a wielder of the Divine Words herself, Qimora understood the difficulty in obtaining information about divine powers and divinity. The Witch’s gathering, relying on a network shared by a few grand witches, only acquired a small portion of such information.

Yet, the amount of intelligence this man possessed seemed to surpass theirs.

Either he was a discreet “saint” himself, or there was a “saint” or an even higher being behind him…

Moreover, this individual had intricate ties to the autonomous state’s Inquisition organization. For the Witch’s gathering to be at odds with this man now would be exceedingly perilous.

Upon hearing Qimora words, Aiden actually wanted to immediately nod vigorously and say, “Of course, I support this.” Ensuring that Abigail and even the entire Witch’s gathering did not act against him was something he earnestly desired.

However, such a reaction seemed too minor and unassertive. After pretending to ponder for a few seconds, he eventually gave a slight nod and replied nonchalantly, “Well, since you are willing to take the initiative to admit to this matter, it would be petty of me to dwell on it.”

“It’s really good that you agree.” Qimora gracefully nodded in response to his satisfactory answer.

“However, your casual entry into my prison does make me quite uneasy,” Aiden said, pointing towards Priscilla. “I suspect you may have met with them in secret before, am I right?”

It was easy to deduce that since Qimora had the ability to easily infiltrate the prison, she likely first sought out Dailey and Priscilla to gather information.

“Don’t worry, I was just wandering around here casually and happened to explore the prison as well,” Qimora smiled. “You should know, mortals have limited use of the dominator abilities. It would be quite difficult for me alone to use the ‘void’ ability to break into the prison.”

Truth be told, Aiden didn’t know the extent of Qimora use of the Divine Words, nor had he fully grasped the scope of her abilities. But it seemed like Qimora assumed he knew, so he could only play along.

“Just wandering around already poses a significant issue. If you wanted to explore the prison, you could have just gone to the reception area. You are not on the Inquisition wanted list,” Aiden stated calmly.

“Well, I’ll try my best,” Qimora replied vaguely.

Aiden knew that the other party likely wouldn’t comply. After all, he currently had no way to address Qimora infiltration of the prison; the initiative lay in her hands, and this wasn’t something he could resolve solely through words.

Fortunately, he now at least knew that “someone in the Witch’s gathering had the means to infiltrate the prison,” which was valuable intelligence in itself. Knowing was better than being unaware.

The most critical issue was whether she had discovered the underground cell of mephilia.

Aiden speculated that the likelihood of Qimora knowing was not high. The cell was hidden deep underground, accessible only through his office. Normally, without prior knowledge of such a cell’s existence, one wouldn’t suddenly think to explore underground from his office. Unless she had been monitoring him continuously and happened to witness him opening the secret passage to descend underground.

Considering Aiden’s previous practice with the Divine Words, the effects of the Divine Words were also likely time-limited. Qimora use of the Divine Words probably had similar constraints, so she wouldn’t likely spend extended periods monitoring individuals within the prison.

If the existence of the underground prison holding Mephilia were to be leaked, it would undoubtedly be a significant issue for Aiden. Forces seeking the “wisdom” authority would likely converge swiftly.

“Dailey mentioned briefly to me that you seem to treat them quite well. While wandering in the prison, I saw them and other witches conducting research in the library,” Qimora suddenly shifted the conversation to a new topic. “You are quite different from the inquisitor I’ve met before. Why did you choose to deal with us witches?”

“Well, I’m just fulfilling a bit of responsibility, and offering prisoners a chance,” Aiden candidly replied. “Personally, I feel that the ‘Accord’ is a bit too stringent towards you, towards all dark magician. In my view, your research isn’t solely about danger and taboo; a considerable part of it holds value that transcends eras.”

“What an enlightened perspective,” Qimora nodded with a smile, then added meaningfully, “In that case, I believe we might have an opportunity to… forge a more friendly bilateral relationship.”

“What do you mean?” Aiden sensed that Qimora bringing up this topic had a purpose.

“I’ll be straightforward. The Witch’s gathering is about to go to war with the Bountifull Mother Goddess Cult. I wanted to ask if Your Excellency is interested in joining forces with us?” Qimora suddenly fixed her gaze seriously on Aiden’s eyes.

“The Bountifull Mother Goddess cult!?” Aiden was momentarily taken aback.

“Yes, you must be quite interested, right? After all, they are our common enemy,” Qimora raised an eyebrow suggestively.

“Our common enemy?” Aiden was suddenly puzzled—when did he become enemies with the Cult of the Bountifull Mother Goddess?

“No need to hide it, we already know,” Qimora smiled, pointing at Aiden. “Your Excellency… you are with the Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult, aren’t you?”