Reincarnated as a Phoenix

Chapter 118 – Priests

"Hey Petra... what's the best way to go about this? I may have been joking but making them disappear could actually be the play here"

While we're walking over to the inn the priests are apparently staying at, can't help but think about this a little more. We were always going to make enemies with the monastery at some point but I'm thinking how to delay this even longer, it's not like we've got an extensive guard force and militia set up to defeat them right now. Well, it's a decent size but nothing extraordinary.

As for why it's only us two now, Penelope's finally doing some actual guild work for once and Ariza's probably gone to flaunt her new body off to Zeki. They basically are siblings despite them not being blood related but I'm not really sure why I'm recapping that, I don't care what they get up to nor are we babysitters for Ariza. Ah, let's just focus on Petra, we can always hold hands while going over there.

"Not too sure Ikarus, we can handle them if you want but let's just hear them out first. Heh, just had an idea so go along with me if I take the lead, please?"

"Sure sure"

Hey, we may have slightly differing opinions on how to go about this but I do seem to be the more cautious one out of us two, maybe too much at times so I'll let her decide what to do.

Arriving at the building, this place is probably the worst inn within our settlement. It's not bad or illegal or anything like that, just you get what you pay for so it's more for the cheaper style of travellers or just workers without a place to sleep. Despite all this, it's pretty packed to be fair, I don't think I've seen a place this filled around here yet.

Walking through the bustling place, it seems we're noticed before we notice the priests.

"Ah, it's the two leaders we've heard so much about, happy greetings to you"

"Blessings on you sisters, please take a seat if it doesn't take too much of your time"

Sitting at a table, we're greeted by two happily smiling priests actually being kind. Am I hearing this right or are these two being pretty respectful? Everyone in this place knows about our 'sinful' ways and the town seems to embrace the fact they basically have lesbian leaders so they should've already heard about that by now. Also... I think that's the first time I've actually referred to us as being lesbians, that word feels kinda weird to use but can't exactly deny it's true...

Anyways, we take a seat and Petra kicks off our response.

"What do you want priests? We have no time for such pointless meetings"

She's really having none of it though it seems, maybe she thinks they're putting on a fake façade but then again, I'm pretty sure she's toying with them too. Don't forget, she literally just told me we're going to play this peacefully for now.

"Ah, I can see this is going to be a little difficult, we mean you two and your people no disrespect nor any ill harm"

"We're hoping we can teach you and your people the ways of the one true God, this place is crying for his affection and a holy place of worship"

Ohhh... they're taking a much calmer approach simply because they want to guide us on the path of redemption or something stupid like that. I'm actually not opposed to having churches for regular folk but the issue with their religion is it's factually incorrect, I've literally spoken to three Gods already! Of course, I'm ignoring the fact about the same sex thing as well, any religion we allow would have to keep that in mind otherwise they may end up with the same fate these lot are going to receive someday.

"Heh... could you stand with me one second Ikarus? You won't regret it, promise"

What is she thinking of doing? Are we leaving now or something?

Doing as she asks, I follow Petra getting up off the table, she does something completely unexpected. Right in the front of the inn that's basically packed, she goes in for a kiss. Ah! I think I know what she's doing, even I'm not that dense.

As soon as our lips meet, Petra somehow surprises me even further basically turning our kiss way more passionate than I expected basically causing me to nearly fall backwards into her holding arms! This position reminds me of an old well known black and white photo of a sailor kissing a random stranger after the war ended, my mind is so freaking odd at times but I'm definitely enjoying this regardless except... erm. I get the point she's making but damn, this is embarrassing, this place is actually full and people are definitely looking at us! Urgh, most onlookers are even smiling, just ignore us already!

"Heh, enjoy that Ikarus?"

"Y-Yeah"

Of course, doing such an act in front of priests might get a heated response but these two aren't complete dickheads. Sure, their religion is deluded but these two are boring.

"What do you wish to achieve by that sinful action? Anyone can be saved by God's intervening light and you two can be saved by accepting him into your heart"

"Is your intention just to be sinful in front of us or to show you're in need of help? We can help you either way"

That actually sucks, I was hoping the two priests would start screaming blasphemy or saying we've been corrupted by the devil, is that really too much to ask for? At least Petra's going to explain to the priests what the point of that was now but I already got the rough idea... damn, that kiss was really, really good though.

"Heh, my point was, this inn is pretty packed out and you've just seen not a single person inside this place look at us with eyes of disgust. This settlement accepts and embraces homosexuality, any 'teachings' you may have heard would end up with you being chased of these islands. Don't even bother"

The second Petra went in for a kiss right in public, I thought this is what she was going for but I'm still not sure on the endgame here. It's obvious she's trying to show them we're unsavable but after that, I feel like she's playing with fire here.

"So... you're basically saying this entire settlement is filled with heathens and you leaders have no intention to change or invite a chance at redemption?"

"*Sigh*... it's always the most stubborn ones who need help the most"

I'll step in here to see if I can be of any help, Petra did say she wants a peaceful solution but we're only ever delaying the inevitable. I can still see this ending in war regardless of how these two are.

"Don't get me and Petra wrong, we're happy to accept anybody here but not people who belittle those who are different. Your religion also views other races as imperfect too and this place is pretty diverse"

"Ikarus is correct. Keep in mind, we also no intention to harm or go against your church but at the same time, we also have no intent to follow or allow your religion. It's up to you what you do with that information but a word of warning, this won't go down how you think it will"

...

Both the priests seem at a loss for words from me and Petra, they must've expected some resistance but obviously not to this extent.

"It's... probably best if we just make our leave then, we can see we're not wanted here"

"Yeah, it's a good idea to give up for now. It was a pleasure to meet you two and for the sake of his holy spirt, we both hope your souls can be saved or purged anew. His holiness however won't be best pleased hearing this news"

Both the priests get up and head to the bar presumably to pay their bill before leaving. In all honesty, I feel like we were a little rude to them seeing that they came to us being pretty polite but don't feel that way Ikarus, that's how they get to you! Quite the few religions have always been mentally manipulative purposely trying to guilt you into joining or just simply trying to prey on the people who are broken, those types of tactics will never work on us so it's better to just take the strong approach and send them packing now.

As we're now leaving since there's no point sticking around at a commoner's inn, I'm not trying to be like a snobby noble but there really isn't any point in us staying, I can't help but ask a little about Petra's intentions here.

"Petra, was that really the best way of doing things? Now they can just return to their monastery and prepare an army or something like that"

That's why I suggested killing them. Sure, those two wouldn't have deserved it but how many people realistically deserve death? I'd have happily killed them in a heartbeat if it means we can put this thing aside for now since I'm just going to end up worrying about the monastery soon.

"The problem with killing them Ikarus is they'd just send more to investigate when they're gone so they'll just keep slowly turning up while more and more disappear, it would also give them an excuse to act. Doing it this way, we won't have to deal with the constant visitors. We're going to end up in conflict with them at some point, that's inevitable but we're good for the immediate future since sending an army of paladins across seas when the monastery doesn't actually have a navy will prove troublesome"

Ah, so Petra thinks such a force will prove extremely problematic for them? I'll trust her and all but I still can't help worrying about this.

"Couldn't they just rent or buy mercenary ships instead?"

"No, they're too stubborn and prideful to do something like that. Priests like we just saw are different since they aren't supposed to be aggressive and pay for travel but a holy army? They'd go for a more over the top strategy since they'd be acting in the will of their God so it would have to look good to the public eye. I could be completely wrong but just going off past experience really"

By the sounds of it, Petra's knows how this religion works. I guess she and her ex would've been targeted by them at some point but I'm a little surprised why she hasn't destroyed them by herself yet. Maybe there's a little more to it than just that.

"How long do you think we have before they become a real issue though? It's going to become a problem at some point, right?"

"Honestly... not sure Ikarus but we should be fine for the immediate future, we're not the only sinners they're targeting as well keep in mind, they normally prefer going for the weaker targets first. Heh, don't forget, it's not like we can't just fly over there and destroy the monastery in a heartbeat in they try anything too bold"

Yeah... I guess I'm overthinking about something again, is that really a surprise though? Leaving those priests is of no concern and it's not like we don't have  a happy island backing us up. They could do with more combat training behind the scenes though but Marcus does have an eye for decent soldiers which is pretty odd though.

"Still, we should probably start helping out with the training of new guards just in case something happens when or if we're travelling"

"Heh, of course Ikarus, we haven't trained in a while as well thinking about it"

Oh yeah, I guess we've got some time to train later on today, I'd rather have some cuddly time since we've still really only just gotten back but oh well. It's not I'll be forgetting that sailors kiss anytime soon...

__________

After having a quick training session inside my head, I'm always the master at making something sound weirder than it is since it's just that realm ability, we continued doing our duties for the day and wouldn't you know it, the new district that's been under construction is complete! We've just arrived over there since Marcus got someone to send for us.

"I've already done the speech and the ceremony; it's would just be a nice idea if you two were to do the honours"

"Want to do it together Ikarus?"

Marcus thought it would be a good idea to open up the new district like that thing mayor's do with the scissors and cutting the long red ribbon, it's really pointless but Petra seemed to like the suggestion he made. Also, a small crowd has gathered around here as well, these should be the new workers about to inhabit these building so it's not really that official, I guess. It's strange that such a tradition carries is shared in this world too though.

Like I slightly mentioned a while ago, the main buildings are the hospital, town hall, guard barracks, treasury and a general leaders place that can be used for living in, it's not a palace or royal building though! I have to specify that because I'm pretty sure I heard someone make a joke about the two queens again walking by when we came over here. It seemed to be made in a nice way but I can already tell where this is leading...

As for the architecture behind the new buildings, it's really a mix up and hybrid between medieval stone, Viking log cabins and mixed with a bit of dwarven structural integrity. If you're struggling to imagine that, just imagine logs with sturdy solid stone and leave it at that since it's difficult to describe but looks pretty cool. I could go more into detail on like how the hospital is more like a clinic and none of the buildings are comparable in size to modern Earth buildings but that should be expected, it's not exactly like we can build a freaking hospital that holds thousands of people. Maybe someday though but Ariza is going to love that place.

"Nah, I'm good thanks Petra"

"Heh, don't be boring and cut it with me Ikarus"

"Fineee"

And just like that, we both do the stupid cutting the ribbon thing that literally is meaningless especially when some of the buildings are already in use. Oh well, it'll be nice to have an actual town hall where we can have proper meetings now, won't need to keep renting out inn rooms as well now. Might need to hire a chef or two to cook for us when working a lot but it's not like there's restaurants of cafes all around the place, pretty sure another one of the new buildings is going to be used for something like that as well. I only listed off the ones I know about after all.

A round of applause follows and just as we're about to leave from the district unveiling, both Petra and Marcus look a little concerned about something.

"Erm... Ikarus, is this a surprise or did you know about this visit?"

"*Sigh*... can't believe I didn't feel that till just now, he couldn't have picked a better time?"

"What are you two... oh for the love of God! What the actual fuck is he doing here!?"

Literally flapping his wings above us is a black grumpy dragon who for some reason seems to think it's a good idea to show himself right in front of everyone! I know a brilliant idea, let's just reveal that I have dragon parents to everyone here! Why the fuck has he just shown up revelling himself like this? Something serious better be going on since there's no reason father should be doing this.

'Sighhh... let's stop moaning and get on with it now, it was never going to remain a secret forever...'