The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1239

During the evening, Ves watched the news broadcasts in order to get an idea on the overall sentiment of the Protectorate.

The excitement hadn’t died down at all. Billions of Ylvainans were convinced that Ves was the Bright Martyr!

This was a frightening amount of people, and this estimate only encompassed the most ardent believers!

"The Ylvainans have always revered the Martyred Followers." Gavin commented from the side. "Each Martyr was a personal companion of Prophet Ylvaine. Accepting you as the Bright Martyr implies that you possess a personal connection to the most revered figure in their faith. It’s a way of convincing themselves that their dead prophet is still watching over them through your eyes."

"I know. It’s human psychology at work. Even if they aren’t comfortable about foreigners, they’re willing to pretend that I’m the Bright Martyr if that means they can feel great about coming into touch with the prophet himself during the tribunal."

Even now, many scientists, priests and theologians puzzled over what exactly happened when Ves spoke out at that moment.

They could scratch their heads all day. The longer the mystery remained unsettled, the longer the belief in the Bright Martyr settled into the minds of the Ylvainans.

By now, Ves was pretty much resigned to his awful nickname. Even Calabast who came up with it couldn’t do anything to rein it in anymore.

"What does the Bright Republic think about what happened in the Protectorate, Benny?"

Gavin adopted a weird expression. "Well.. not a lot of Brighters paid attention to the events that took place here. It’s only when you managed to upend the entire Protectorate that a lot more foreign news portals started to report on the matter. While they aren’t as gullible as the Ylvainans, they’re very amazed at your ability to cause such a huge change. I don’t know what the other states think about you, but the reaction from the Bright Republic is rather mixed."

Ves sighed. "Getting involved in this religious mumbo jumbo hasn’t done my reputation any good, right?"

"You already built up a considerably controversial track record. Adding this crazy incident on top of your previous famous moments has pretty much solidified your image as a celebrity mech designer."

What?!

"That makes it sound like I’m famous because I’m an attention grabber rather than a good mech designer!"

"I’m sorry, boss, but no other mech designer can come close to the amount of controversies you’ve incited in recent times. I think what has happened here in the Protectorate put the final nail in the coffin."

"Goddammit!" Ves let out a frustrated grunt.

"It’s not all that bad, boss. You’re more famous than several Senior Mech Designers. You don’t have to exert too much effort to attract a lot of publicity. This can be very useful whenever you want to promote a new mech model!"

"That’s true, I guess. I still prefer to be known for my excellent mech designs. Can’t I at least enjoy some respect?"

"Celebrity mech designers sell a lot more mechs than regular mech designers, boss. A lot of mech designers want to be in your shoes. There’s only one problem."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "What’s the matter?"

"Famous mech designers are often referred to by a nickname. While some of the Brighter media outlets started calling you the Bright Martyr, in general that has fallen flat. Our people aren’t superstitious like the Ylvainans. Therefore, the gossipers reporting on our stories tried a variety of nicknames before they all came to a consensus."

From Gavin’s reluctance, Ves had a feeling that his new nickname wasn’t very flattering.

"Get out with it, Benny."

"They decided to call you the Devil Tongue."

"..."

Ves froze for a couple of seconds. If the Brighter publications wanted to come up with a nickname for him, they could at least emphasize his strengths as a mech designer!

Calling him the Mech Artist or the Pilot Whisperer or something at least gave his customers a good impression of his products!

A name like the Devil Tongue did nothing to help him promote his mechs! Ves thought that being known as the Bright Martyr was bad enough, but being known as the Devil Tongue was worse!

Who wanted to buy a mech designed by a mech designer called the Devil Tongue!?

"At least the Skull Architect sounds classy!" Ves loudly lamented. "Why the hell did the publications settle on this stupid nickname? It doesn’t represent who I am at all!"

Gavin shrugged. "From what I’ve learned, the journalists focused on the times when you verbally scorched your opposition. The times when you defended yourself against Professor Pendleton and berated the Ylvainans were so remarkable that you’ve gained a reputation as the worst person to get into an argument! No one is able to win a debate against you! It seems that everyone who tried got burned!"

"And that’s the reason for calling me the Devil Tongue? That makes it sound as if I’m evil!"

"To some Brighters, you are. Not only did you verbally humiliate a Senior in his face, but you also managed to manipulate the beliefs of the Ylvainans and swindled them into believing that you’re their Bright Martyr! Calling you the Devil Tongue is quite generous compared to the other nicknames they’ve bandied about. Be glad they didn’t call you the Great Deceiver!"

Okay. From a marketing perspective, being known as the Great Deceiver was a lot worse, Ves had to admit that at least!

"So what does this mean for the LMC’s business prospects? Are people still as eager to buy my mechs when it’s led by someone who is known as the Devil Tongue?"