Chapter 8: Jonas / The Bishops Cruel New Fate

“Livvy, how long does it usually take to become public?” Evan asked

“Hm... Up to a day.” Livvy said

“Soooo. What do I do?” Evan asked

“Well….you can’t go outside without being recognized instantly anymore.” Livvy said, sighing

“Did I perhaps… mess up?” Holly asked nervously

“Maybe a little bit.” Evan said

“He’s being nice. You did. A lot. He might not even be able to go through the castle without people worshipping him, stopping everything they’re doing in the process. As we said, the church only allows the lady Saint to be wed to god. That was your decree. Which means they formally recognize him as god across the entire world. Wait… Holly. How did you convince them he was god?” Livvy asked

“I have videos of everything he’s done. His face is clear in frame most of the time. I showed them those.” Holly said, smiling innocently

“Videos? What’s that?” Asked Livvy

“These.” Holly said, bringing up a holographic panel with a gesture

On it was a moving image.

“See?” Holly asked

“Ah. Yup. That would do it.” Livvy said, covering her face with her hand, and groaning with annoyance

“Well, getting back on track, when did you do this?” Evan asked

“While you were asleep.” Holly said cheerfully

“So…. are people going to crowd the castle if god appears...... Oh…... Are there any groups that hate god?” Evan asked

“Yes. Very few, but there’s some. I’m not sure why. I would understand if we didn’t allow other religions, but we do. They just don’t last here. Why do you ask?” Livvy asked

“Because of the people over there who have been polite enough to wait for us to finish talking. It’s nice to meet you gentlemen, may I ask why you came?” Evan asked a bunch of people that were near the sofas and tea sets.

“Ah. Right. Yes. We don’t hate you specifically. Just the religion.” The man said

“Is it because of how annoyingly fanatical they are about me? I bet it is. Because I don’t particularly care for it myself. Just earlier I had to stop the queen when she tried to kill herself just for being a bit rude, when it was completely justified action towards me as well. Well, kind of. It was a misunderstanding, but if what she thought happened was how it actually did happen, that would have been an appropriate reaction… I don’t even know.” Evan said

“Wow...that’s...rough. We, uh… we came to ask you to not abuse other people’s loyalty. I’ve actually lost a couple of people to that fanatical behavior. We were going to try and threaten you, but… honestly... I’m not sure if it’s right. Ah. Right, I’m Jonas. It’s… strange to meet you.” Jonas said

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“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jonas. I’m glad you didn’t hurt anyone when you tried to enter. I’m also quite impressed you got here so easily. If you don’t mind, this might seem odd of me to ask you, but would you help me turn down their religious insanity a bit? Without ruining my public image, if you don't mind.” Evan said

“That sounds like a hard thing to accomplish. And why us? And why so randomly?” Jonas asked

“Well, other than you guys being decently reasonable? You guys aren’t fanatics. Even Livvy here is.” Evan said, sighing

“Guilty as charged. Though it isn’t because of the religious stuff. We’re just good friends. I’d rather not let any of my friends get hurt.” Livvy said

“Livvy, you don’t have any friends besides me and Evan.” Holly said

“Shuddup, I’m trying to look cool. I mean, look at him! He’s hot!” Livvy whispered, drooling slightly, with a large smile

“Who, jonas?” Holly asked

“Shh. Yes. He’s exactly my type to watch.” Livvy whispered

Both Evan and Jonas were staring at her.

“Hm. I’m glad to hear I still have at least a little bit of charm left.” Jonas said, smiling

“See! Wait. You guys heard me. Ah. Thats ….. …..embarrassing.” Livvy said

“Well, if we work together you two could get to know each other better.” Evan said

“Ah. Apologies. I’m into men.” Jonas said

“I can tell. That’s not why me or Livvy were saying that. Livvy didn’t mean romantically. Well, mostly.” Evan said, shifting his eyes to the side

“Then… what did you mean?” Jonas asked, confused

“She likes… boy on boy….. stuff……” Evan said

“Oh. That makes a lot more sense. But also not. What do I have to do with it?” Jonas asked

“I’m assuming you aren’t in a relationship, and you’re having trouble, right?” Evan asked

“Ah. Yes, unfortunately. How did you know?” Jonas asked

“No ring, normal slouched posture, a bit more messy, yet not sloppy, and the way you carry yourself seems to be trying to attract attention. It would work quite well, if you did this often enough.” Evan said

“Ring?” Jonas asked

“Yeah. Wedding rings? You do know what marriage is, right?” Evan asked, squinting at jonas

“Um. We aren’t able to marry other men, are we?” Jonas asked

Everyone in the room stared at him, including his teammates

“Jonas..... why exactly did you think that? Of course you can mar-ohhh you were raised on the older stories, weren't you? I can see it in your eyes. That makes sense. No. Jonas, those issues have been done away with for ages. I would know, I personally decreed it after getting annoyed by the bickering. Back then, wars nearly broke out, yes. Nowadays, it’s quite common to find men with preferences like yours, however. It’s one of the times fanatical influence came in handy. Actually, without it, I guess there’s a lot of stuff I can’t change easily.... Hm. I’m not sure about it though, still..... It’s dangerous.” Evan said

“Well….even if it is dangerous, you seem to use it right... I think… being able to influence larger amounts of people to solve larger problems probably far outweighs a few people who act kind of stupid.” Jonas said

“Hey! They may be stupid, but they are following what they believe in. It’s just that they believed in me. Not exactly the best choice. Believe what you want, but don't force it on others, or mock their beliefs, okay?” Evan said

“At this point, I think most of us are agreeing that you are probably a pretty damn good choice, at least.” One of the people behind Jonas said

“I think I’m pretty much the only one here that still has a problem with it. I’d say burning an entire village in your name is a pretty serious problem. Oh, I’m Flag, by the way.” Said Flag

“Hey, Flag. Do you know anything else about that? If so. Please. Tell me. Don’t miss even a single detail.” Evan said, smiling, with the grin of a demon behind an innocent looking face.

“Gah! Um. Okay, it was by the bishop in charge of the area surrounding our town, and a nearby city. It’s called Stripped town, it’s near a city called Faar. Apparently the bishop found out we were heretics. Coincidentally, it was after we had just found a gold vein, and made a mine. It wasn’t a coincidence, by the way. That's all, sir!” Flag said, flinching at the murderous aura that now surrounded the room.

“So, one. He punished others for heresy. Two, he did it for self gain. Three. He is DEAD.” Evan said, teleporting out of the room and to the gate of Faar city