Chapter 167:

Chapter 167:

Your Forehead Darkens

On a small coffee table sat a white porcelain cup filled with freshly brewed black tea, accompanied by a plate of scones.

"I must apologize for earlier. When you first entered, I mistook you for another bored guest, especially since I couldn't sense any desire to purchase from you. Most of my clients who come for divination are regulars," Melissa, the fortune teller, said as she sipped her tea.

"I didn't realize you were the fortune teller at first glance. You...," Aiden examined her once more, "is it a disguise?"

At this moment, Melissa, although still appearing as a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl on the surface, exuded a mature demeanor in her expression, posture, and tone, completely different from the mischievous child earlier.

"Yes, after all. There are many who wish to capture me," Melissa chuckled. "An extra layer of security never hurts."

"What about the owner you mentioned earlier?"

"That would be me. The room next door, supposedly for divination, is actually a confessional. Clients who come for divination cannot see me. No one here has ever seen the so-called owner. I play both roles."

"I thought you would recognize me at first glance, after all..." Aiden hesitated for a moment. "Mephilia told me you're quite capable."

According to Mephilia, this fortune teller could foresee many things, including the most suitable time for Aiden to meet him. Therefore, Aiden had assumed the fortune teller would have a premonition of his visit.

He even thought that perhaps after they met, before he could utter the passphrase, the fortune teller would preemptively reveal his identity, followed by a mysterious "I've been expecting you."

But they had circled around each other for quite some time before recognizing each other, devoid of that sense of mystery and sophistication, which made Aiden doubt whether the fortune teller truly possessed the abilities Mephilia had mentioned.

"I did foresee your visit in the near future, but the exact timing was uncertain. This shop does decent business, with plenty of customers every day. It's too troublesome to confirm each one individually," the fortune teller explained.

"Cooperating with the Witches' Gathering, isn't that risky?" Aidan asked skeptically.

"It is, but it's currently the option with the highest survival rate for you," Melissa continued.

"Survival rate?" Aiden's eyes widened.

The fortune teller's words made it sound as if he were on his deathbed. Aiden felt like he had suddenly been accosted by a fortune teller who solemnly predicted that his forehead darkening would soon be followed by a calamity of bloodshed...

"You must have realized it yourself. The Witches' Gathering has already leaked your situation to the Bountiful Mother cult, and they... have their eyes on you," Melissa said matter-of-factly. "Soon enough, you'll notice their movements. They'll swiftly come after you, and relentlessly hunting you down."

"Why? Isn't their main target the Witches' Gathering?" Aiden was puzzled.

Qimora had told him that the Bountiful Mother cult targeted the Witches' Gathering for their Divine Words and divinity, which he still doubted. After all, waging war against the entire Witches' Gathering to obtain divinity didn't seem wise.

If the Witches' Gathering had leaked information about Aiden possessing divinity to the cult, it wasn't entirely implausible for them to target him. However, they shouldn't have acted immediately. Starting a war against the entire Witches' Gathering was already unbelievable; in such a situation, needlessly adding enemies would raise doubts about their leader's tactical acumen.

"The main target of the Bountiful Mother cult is not actually the entire Witches' Gathering, but rather Abigail herself, because Abigail possesses something they want to reclaim—the sole authority of 'propagation,' the Egg of Incubation," Melissa said softly. "As for you, they want to kill you not because you possess divinity, but because you're associated with the past heresy that once resisted them."

"The Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult?" Aiden blinked. "Seriously?"

The uprising of the Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult had never threatened the position of the Great Mother Church; it had been suppressed, the cult disbanded, the Nameless Witch vanished. Ultimately, it was the Empire and the Kingdom of Gistas that dealt the fatal blow to the old Kingdom of Reiss. If anyone sought revenge, it should have been the defeated Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult. So why would the Bountiful Mother cult be bent on exterminating them?

"Of course, because it was she who assassinated the Pontiff of the Great Mother Church and, the Queen of the old Kingdom of Reiss, who also happened to be the witch who created the Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult. It was her actions at a critical moment that ultimately led to the downfall of the old Kingdom of Reiss and the Great Mother Church," Melissa said calmly as she lifted her cup of black tea and took a sip. "The Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult is their mortal enemy, a threat to their resurgence. They are bound to eradicate it."