Chapter 578 (1/2)

“I don’t blame the people, it is just unfortunate that your property was affected by it,” Maude said after she had made tea and they drank it across from each other.

Randidly took a sip. “This is because… you are a believer in the Unity Church.”

“That is correct. Well, they dislike me because of that. But recently, the Unity Church released a series of rules for its followers… One of those rules was to refuse the touch of the System whenever possible unless you are all called to ministry.” Maude said, her face completely serious.

Randidly twitched. He was aware that the sentiment in town was shifting towards the Unity Church. After all, the church attempted to undermine the drone initiative, which was the big industry of the town. It was no wonder that discontentment was brewing. But why was that enough for all this…?

These weren’t political statements, they mostly boiled down to personal attacks. But what left Randidly floored was that the Church was pushing its members… away from using the System?

“When you say refuse the touch of the System…” Randidly said slowly.

“Skills. Classes. Taking Paths. Everything. It is a cursed power, which I have come to see as true. The people of this country have been warped by it. The way the obsess over Citizenship Tiers is sickening. It is an illusion constructed by a machine. Sure, we always loved the successful in the past, but that was a recognizable thing. These Tiers…” Maude paused. “They come out of nothing. How are we to know what they mean? No, a human is not meant to wield the power of a god. Some must embrace this to protect the congregation. But I believe that is not my path.”

Maude looked to the window. “It started when the some of the people of the town… you know Ricky Stain and his gang, yes? They want to move towards being recognized as a higher tiered city. To do that, you need a certain number of higher tiered citizens, and also a certain amount of people with Classes.”

Again, Maude paused. “They were seeking signatures on this very street. They seemed to believe I would be in support of their childish endeavors. Perhaps it wasn’t very neighborly, but I dumped a batch of wet tea leaves on the leaders and shoo’ed them away. They were nice about it at first, but then I told them how abhorrent their reliance on this devilish System is, and how God-”

Maude stopped, looking at Randidly. Randidly sat very still, staring at her intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Maude snapped. “Sit up and say something. This is a conversation; I’m not giving a lecture.”

“You were telling a story,” Randidly said evenly, looking at Maude coolly. “Is it so wrong to listen?”

“I knew it. You are just like those godless people out there. Well, I suppose that’s no matter. I’m not so juvenile to judge someone on their mistakes.” Maude sniffed. Then she sipped her tea.

“It was wrong what they did,” Randidly said to put the thought into the air. “But the Unity Church has done some… sinister-seeming things recently. And they will do some in the future.”

“It’s just fear,” Maude said dismissively. She daintily wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin and then said. “They are afraid of the Unity Church because of how many people have been touched and changed by the Lord’s Grace. Jealousy breeds in darkness. Which is why I will wear these smears proudly. This location will be a place that all who believe in the Unity Faith will be free to come, without fear-”

“No, it won’t.” Randidly cut her off.

Maude blinked at him. “What?”

Shaking his head, Randidly ignored her question. “When I was a child… I had a friend. She was something of an idiot, and she often didn’t want to spend time with me, but when we did spend time together… we used to play a lot of imaginary games-”

“I hardly see how-” Maude tried to cut in, but Randidly released a bit of Deific Mien of Yggdrasil, and she stuttered to a stop.

“-one of them was Queen and Knight. We would play under the tree in her backyard almost every day. I was the knight, and I would do my best to accomplish whatever my queen ordered. Except for one day. And on that day, I was fed up with being the knight, so I went to her and said ‘Why do you always get to be queen.”

As he spoke of his childhood, another figure appeared in Randidy's mind. one he had not wanted to think about for a long time. Randidly held up three fingers. “She told me the three weapons of the monarch. The first is the Weight of Tradition. Because she was always Queen, it was very difficult to change. This is my house, for all I have let you stay here. If you choose this, you will not remain here any longer.”

“I-”