Same Cloak, Same Apples

"Why didn't you tell me you'd been here?" Cytherea blamed.

"You too. You've lived the longest in the world and said nothing." Pausing for a moment, Xavier tried to relate to her behaviour before heading to the village. "So, what do your doubts have to do with this village?"

The goddess shrieked, her mouth shut tightly silently with a blank mind. "I just. I'm just not comfortable with the conditions of this village... Yes, that's right. You know, a goddess doesn't deserve to be in a shabby, smelly place like this." Her eyes looked in all directions, trying to avoid eye contact with Xavier.

"You think I'm easy to fool? That's why I told you to tell me why, right? It's for the good of us and the gods, right? At least don't hide a fact that I almost know."

This was not Xavier's habit of insisting on telling stories or revealing myths as a bedtime story. He was just curious and tried not to make a mistake if there were any deeds that could indeed thwart their mission.

The goddess looked distressed and there was no way to escape. Her breath was taken involuntarily and she revealed her reasons.

"The truth is simple. I'm sure you'll regret forcing me to be honest. It's been a very long time since I last came to this village. As usual, I always talk to every individual there. It doesn't matter if they are female, male, young, old, rich, poor. I will definitely accept anyone if one of them has potential and does not want this world to fall to Azazil's power.

"But it seems that I was in a hurry and pushed them too hard to show how cruel the Demon Lord and his army are. I even accidentally hurt a local resident with my ability. He was injured for a moment and then his body was paralysed in a matter of minutes."

"Paralysed? Why would a goddess have a destructive ability? That's so contradictory."

"It's not an 'ability' like the one you saw in the southern village. We can destroy anything if we lose our temper and consciousness. Moreover, we strictly avoid gluttony because that trait is definitely inherent in the Demon soul."

"Does that mean that the god of gluttony is the incarnation of the Devil? Or what?"

"Huh? So, you think humans can become gods when they are suddenly wise? Or become demons when they are extremely greedy?"

"Alright, carry on." Xavier didn't want this conversation to get any more tangential.

"The point is, I injured him and got threats from everyone. Heck, he's a very important figure in moving this village forward."

"Ah, i see. It seems like that reason is very sufficient to punish someone who claims to be a goddess. Then, are you trying to avoid receiving threats from them?"

"Anyone would have done what I was thinking." Cytherea was very vigilant so that none of the former residents would recognise her.

Seeing her reaction, Xavier immediately took out a cloak from the bottom of the bag, which he used when sleeping at night. But the goddess refused and forced him to buy a new, clean, white robe.

While searching, Xavier still couldn't stop noticing the village and the behaviour of the miserable locals. In a weathered wooden house, there was a large hole that gave a glimpse of their condition. All the family members had pale, emaciated faces adorned with bones and skeletons, tattered clothes, black teeth and cavities. They couldn't even afford to shave their dull hair to dispel the prejudice that it was all done to cover their identities when stealing as a group.

Opposite the slum house, there was a restaurant that did not serve food hygienically and was quite messy in terms of decoration. He could even see piles of food scraps in the corner of the room being fed to thousands of flies. Unfriendly waiters and beating customers were a few of the dark activities done to earn money at any cost. In royal or big city circles, this place was like a garbage dump and would step on those who tried to protest the village's downfall. As far as he was concerned, he thought the village should be levelled with a magic explosion or bomb, and then rebuilt entirely from scratch.

Unfortunately, the people in power were increasingly ignoring the low-caste humans and would never be cared for until they were able to reach the point of their own awakening.

'It's like premeditated murder on a grand scale. I deserve to live among the poor but have the spirit of life without any crime.' Xavier really missed how prosperous Cliffside Village was.

He could see the marketplace that was not even remotely different from the condition of the other buildings. Of course, it was hard to find something clean in a pile of rubbish. But the goddess had already made her choice and it would thwart their plans if it went wrong.

Walking into the market, Xavier held his breath, then exhaled little by little through his mouth. He could not breathe the air in that place normally every second. At least he could just find the white robe and leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

"Hey, give me that cloak." Xavier pointed at a white robe

"What do you have, young man? You don't seem to be a native? How about you buy all my stuff in exchange for all your money?" The cloak seller offered an offer that wanted to make Xavier punch his teeth.

"Why not? After the transaction is complete, let me dismantle your body and sell all your filthy organs. How's that? Deal?"

The cloak seller choked, having been threatened and a kitchen knife in his hand. "That's just our joke. You can take it in exchange for three apples?"

"Apples? You don't need money?"

"Everyone has their own needs."

With his quick thinking, Xavier left him for a moment and bought an apple that was almost rotten. Then returned with the three apples she had requested.

"This is what you wanted, right?"

"Curse you! I won't accept rotten apples!" The cloak seller refused.

With his fist, he thrust the three fruits in his face, causing them to fall. "You should take what you ask for, sir. After all, the quality of our goods is the same." Without waiting for the vendor to wake up, Xavier picked up the white cloak attached to the rope and left the market.

"Bastard! Help! there's a thief!"

But his efforts were ignored by all the vendors, many of whom laughed at him. This village is bad in every way. So people who try to be weak will be laughed at and ignored.