Rebirth of the Disgraced Noble-Chapter 31: A Local God Is Born

The inside of the building was only of one universal nature.

A tavern.

The stale stench of alcohol and sweat assaulted his fragile nostrils and caused them to twitch imperceptibly.

’Urgh...i miss the clean air,’ he whined internally.

He had already turned off [Void Cloak] so the moment he stepped into the bar, all eyes fixated on him, each with a mix of emotions, but one was consistent amongst the males.

Anger.

Aden was confused at the amount of intense emotions directed at him, then a reflection from a glass container resting on a table answered his question.

Long silver hair, shiny blue eyes, extremely clear skin, and a well sculpted face. Not to mention his muscular frame that was further accentuated by the torn outfit he wore.

’I’m hot as hell, ain’t gonna lie,’ he appraised proudly.

A small smirk formed on his face which only served to infuriate the men even further.

A man couldn’t take it anymore and stood up, nearly knocking over his table littered with empty glasses.

"What’s so funny, eh stranger?"

Aden let out a small sound as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the bar.

"What? The pretty boy can’t talk? Or did the explosion knock out your senses too far out?"

Thunderous laughter rose in the bar, the females admonished their partners while casting side glances to Aden.

Aden’s eyes hardened.

’They’re all the same.’

He unwillingly recalled the memories of his past life.

The way his classmates laughed at him for simply existing without parents, the way his teachers scorned him when he barely managed to pay his tuition from the salary he got paid from his part time job and the way everyone avoided him the moment he showed a shred of true emotion.

’But I’m not the same.’

Slowly, Aden opened his mouth:

"Silence"

The air stilled as Aden’s voice resounded. The laughter stopped like it never existed and was replaced by poorly hidden fear from both sides.

His eyes went round the room in a quick sweep, his eyes lingering on the man who made the first comment, causing droplets of sweat to form on his forehead.

He took two steps and stood directly above him, forcing the man to look up to him.

His face went pale as a pair of unfeeling eyes bore upon him like he was looking at a mere insect.

"I’ll forget what you said this time— since you’re obviously drunk, but the next time I hear something remotely offensive to me," he leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I’ll cut your throat."

Everybody present took a hiss of cold air, their brains automatically registering the statement as a warning to all of them.

And the man?

He fainted after Aden finished.

The clattering of glasses caused Aden’s eyebrows to raise a little.

’Did I overdo it?’

"Ah..."

Aden’s raised his head to find the source of the sound, but what he saw next caused anither wave of confusion to pass through him.

"We pray that this benevolent god will forgive is for our foolishness!"

The people kowtowed with pale faces, those who were still standing were pulled down by those closed to them, their heads colliding with the tightly crammed table and causing the glasses containing brown contents to spill over.

A drop sweat ran down the side of Aden’s cheek.

’I guess I did’

With a wry smile, Aden raised his palms in a surrendering gesture. "I’m not a god, I’m just a normal person."

The people nodded obediently at his words but didn’t dare get up from their kneeling positions.

With a sigh, Aden walked to the counter and crouched over it to talk to the bartender.

"Have you guys got anything to eat?"

A bald man with a poorly stitched scar on his head raised his face to look at Aden before hastily facing downwards once more.

"W–we have some meals, but none are befitting of your divine status."

Aden barely suppressed the urge to slap his forehead as he unconsciously peeled a thin strand of wood and placed it between his lips.

"Again, I’m not a god, I just need something to eat."

A low growl sounded in the man’s ear and he immediately got up from his position and scurried towards the kitchen.

The clattering of utensils sounded clearly in the deathly silent tavern and the still kneeling customers made the scene all the more strange.

"You all should get up," Aden tried again.

Their heads turned towards him, before facing the floor almost immediately.

Aden sighed heavily.

’I didn’t expect the people here to be so...religious.’

Then it clicked. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The colossal explosion caused by his Master’s and Baldric’s battle was definitely on a godly scale and the constant state of unrest that the normal folk were thrown into must’ve increased their dependency on some sort of unseen divinity.

’How foolish,’ Aden scoffed. ’You can’t depend on anyone you can’t see.’

’Then again, since they’re so adamant on leeching on someone, I might as well use that to my advantage.’

"One of you, come forward," Aden ordered, his voice infused with a fraction of his energy.

The people shook then struggled amongst themselves before a young man with unkept blonde hair wearing an oily sackcloth came forward.

His expression was of pure fear and apprehension, but he remained rooted in his spot.

Aden scanned him briefly before he spoke.

"Tell me about this place."

"T–this is ’Grey–Rock border,’ My lord," the boy stammered, his voice cracking, "The last stop before the Waste. Most people here are... were... farmers. Now we’re just waitin’ for the end or a miracle."

Aden tapped the wood splinter against his teeth. "The end? Why the end?"

"The Ash, Lord!" The boy finally looked up, his eyes wide with genuine terror. "The Priests say the Goddess Calyra has turned her face away. They say the Grey Waste is spreading. That the spirits of the two Gods who fought in the jungle are still screaming, and their breath is turning the wind to poison. People are gettin’ the ’Grey-Cough.’ They turn to stone from the inside out."

Aden’s eyes narrowed. "The Grey Cough?"

He realized with a jolt that the dust he had been breathing in for four hours—the stuff that made him dizzy, wasn’t just dirt. It was Dissonant Resonance. Because his body was a ’Void,’ he could process it, but these people were literally suffocating on the leftovers of a God-tier battle.

"And the King?" Aden asked, his voice cold. "What is he doing about his people?"

The boy let out a bitter, wet laugh that turned into a cough. "The King? He sent the Shadow Guards to lock the gates. He’s not savin’ us, My Lord. He’s quarantining us. He’s waitin’ for us to turn to ash so the capital stays clean."

A heavy silence fell over the tavern. The bartender returned, sliding a wooden tray across the counter with shaking hands. On it was a bowl of thick, brown stew and a hunk of crusty bread. It was peasant food, but to Aden’s desert-starved nose, it smelled like heaven.

Aden didn’t eat immediately. He looked at the boy, then at the kneeling crowd.

He wordlessly reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small, glowing shard of the obsidian glass he had phased through earlier. To him, it was trash. To these people, it was a relic of the God-Battle.

He tossed it to the blonde boy.

"Sell that," Aden commanded. "I’m sure some Alchemist could get some thing out of that if he’s skilled enough."

The boy caught the shard, his hands nearly burning from the residual energy. He looked at the glowing glass in awe, then back at Aden.

"Eat your food, My Lord," the bartender whispered, his fear replaced by a strange, desperate hope. "I know a skilled alchemist that can help us with the medicine."

The man turned towards the boy and they both nodded.

Aden noted their exchange and hummed in approval before taking a scoop of the soup.

’Ahhh~ it’s so delicious~’

His taste buds rapidly absorbed the soup and drowned in ecstasy, but his expression was neutral.

After the meal, he stood up while trying to tune out the songs of praise directed in his way.

’What an annoying bunch,’ he remarked, but didn’t notice the smile that formed at the corner of his lips.

Ensuring the people got a grip on themselves and made sure they didn’t speak of his existence to others, Aden left the tavern.

Aden took a deep breath and his nose wrinkled as usual.

’I’ll never get used to the air here.’

Shaking his head lightly, Aden activated [Void Cloak] and vanished into the crowd.

The young man that spoke to Aden was watching through the window all this time and his eyes widened to the limit when he Aden suddenly dissapeared.

His face was full of awe as he whispered, "A true god indeed..."