Somebody Stop the Pope – 109



Episode 109

5.

Li Jie Team Leader Northeast Asia Team 4 International Cooperation Bureau People’s Republic of China.

She was a Ja-class hunter equivalent to an S-class by international standards. That meant that she was recognized as a strong enough person in China where hunters were classified by the twelve zodiac signs.

Lee Ji-eun was confident in her own abilities.

Although he was inferior to the four transcendent beings who could be called the pride of China he was confident that he would be at an honorable level wherever he went excluding them.

In fact during the four years she worked in the Superhuman Department there weren’t many people who could stand up to her.

This is because her skills were exceptionally outstanding even among self-sufficient hunters.

‘Where did it go wrong?’

This is the temple of a religious group called the Limen Cult.

This is where I arrived to meet Kim Si-woo an irregular from South Korea following orders from my superiors.

At first I thought it was a place I had arrived at with great momentum and that it wouldn’t be a very difficult mission.

Since the opening of Dimension Korea has been rapidly declining in power and is now being treated as a toothless tiger.

Even though they had been trying to turn things around recently I never thought that a small country like that would openly interfere with a major country’s event. That was the case just a few months ago.

However a strange old man who appeared like a ghost blocked their path and they were in a standoff situation.

She felt no magical power from the old man but her developed sense of smell sent her signals that the old man was in danger.

So she couldn’t easily enter the temple. She just contacted the higher-ups and waited in front of the stairs.

She had been trying to decide her next course of action based on instructions from her superiors but unfortunately things did not go as she had hoped.

“We have the privilege of forcing you to disarm within this sacred ground. It is a power officially granted to us by the government of the Republic of Korea.”

It was around this time that the suffocating standoff continued.

A young man appeared from behind and was walking forward.

It was surprising that Li Ji herself did not notice the man’s approach but what was even more surprising was the emotions that rose in her head as soon as she saw the man.

‘…horror?’

Just like the old man above there was no aura from the man. He was a colorless and odorless figure like an ordinary person not a superhuman.

Shiver.

But the moment she laid eyes on the man her legs began to tremble like aspen trees. Her survival instincts were screaming at her to get away from this place immediately.

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Lee Ji-eun soon realized that the man in the black priest’s robe was Kim Si-woo.

‘That guy… can’t be the Pope.’

An irregular nicknamed the Black Pope. However Kim Si-woo lacked the gentleness or kindness that religious leaders usually possess.

Creepy horror fear.

A man who could evoke such emotions with just a glance would not be worthy of the title of Pope.

rather

‘Yaksha. That guy is a yaksha.’

It was close to a murderous demon that devoured countless lives.

Have you ever seen a being that causes fear just by looking at it?

She searched her mind but no matter how hard she tried it wasn’t there.

Even her immediate superior the transcendent <Geomgwi> could not instill this level of fear.

“Put down your weapons. I won’t wait as long as our Archbishop Lapart. I’ll give you one minute. Just one minute. If you don’t disarm by then there will be no more conversation. My patience is not particularly deep.”

Could Kim Si Woo speak Chinese?

No that’s not true. When I looked at Kim Si-woo’s mouth I couldn’t tell he was speaking Chinese.

Perhaps it is one of the abilities that Kim Si-woo possesses.

Lee Ji-eun swallowed hard and looked around.

Countless people were already watching this scene. Some were taking pictures with their smartphones. If this continued the pride of this great nation would surely be crushed.

‘So you want me to run towards that horrible monster?’

There is no chance of winning.

I don’t know about the dull subordinates but the moment Lee Ji showed his teeth to Kim Si Woo he thought that not only his teeth but also his neck could be pulled out.

If he was that dangerous a man he would have done that too.

“Team Leader. What should I do?”

The team member standing behind her asked quietly.

“My magic sensor isn’t working what should I do?”

“The author is an irregular like you the swordsman. It’s only natural that the magic detector doesn’t work you idiot.”

Lee Ji-eun glared at her subordinate and then swallowed.

“But Team Leader! Will that Korean guy really do something? No matter how irregular he is we are the People’s Republic of China….”

“Do you really think so? Do you really think that monster will leave us alone?”

“30 seconds left. It seems like the teamwork between team members isn’t that great.”

Kim Si-woo said mockingly.

Li Zhi had to make a choice: either disarm for the sake of his country’s pride or put aside his pride and follow along.

The worry didn’t last long.

“Everyone put down your weapons.”

“Team Leader.”

“Shut up and leave! You’ll get punished but it’s better than being lost in a foreign land like this.”

All of her team members looked disgruntled but no one disobeyed her orders.

Chaechaechaeng-!

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visor-!

After Lee Ji-eun confirmed that his subordinates had placed their weapons on the ground he placed his two daggers on the ground last. Then he spoke quietly to Kim Si-woo.

“Disarmed.”

“If you had listened to me when I spoke so nicely wouldn’t it have been better for both of us? It’s a bit disappointing. It would have been more fun if you guys hadn’t listened to me.”

That was when.

Kim Si-woo came towards her in the blink of an eye at a speed that could never be followed with the eyes.

“What now….”

“I have a bit of a bad personality so if I hear something wrong I always correct it and move on. Look carefully.”

Kim Si-woo put his hand on the shoulder of her subordinate who had just said “Would a Korean really do something?” with a smirk on his lips.

Then the subordinate fell to his knees and began to scream.

“Kkaaaaaaaaaah!”

She couldn’t say anything even in the face of Kim Si-woo’s sudden use of force.

And then Kim Si-woo whispered to her in a quiet voice.

“Everyone is equal in front of Limen. Whether you are Korean or Chinese. This is what happens if you are rude in front of the sacred temple. Remember.”

Lee Ji-eun just nodded desperately to Kim Si-woo’s words.

Kim Si-woo patted Lee Jie on the shoulder as if he was satisfied with her appearance. Then he slowly turned his back and finished speaking.

“I think I’m ready to talk now. Follow me.”

She bit her lip as she looked at Kim Si-woo’s back.

‘We have entered the tiger’s den on our own two feet.’

When I realized it it was already too late.

6.

There are some people who have to dip something in it and taste it to know whether it’s poop or soybean paste.

Just look at this Chinese woman cowering in front of me.

No this woman would have noticed it before she took the bait. She just takes responsibility for her subordinate’s reckless remarks.

“Aren’t you smiling?”

“Yes yes.”

She introduced herself as Lee Jie and nodded startled by my words.

‘At this level it’s probably pretty good even among S-class hunters.’

He was on a level that was inferior to CEO Choi but he was definitely stronger than Oh Jun-woo.

Well they were an advance party from China that came to conduct a preliminary investigation so there’s no way they would send a bunch of idiots.

Besides he might have hostility towards her because of what happened earlier but seeing him act so humble means that he has also learned to be considerate.

A strong will to avoid slips of the tongue as much as possible.

If this guy had made a few more slips of the tongue I would have used that as an excuse to help him out but it was a shame.

“Here’s some tea. It’s chrysanthemum tea.”

“thank you.”

I treated her to the chrysanthemum tea that President Seo had given her as a gift.

Li Jie drank her tea with trembling hands. I thought she would like tea because she was Chinese but wasn’t she?

“Do you hate tea?”

“Okay I like it.”

“Then drink it and enjoy it.”

“yes.”

At those words Lee Jie drank her tea with difficulty raising the corners of her lips. Her face was sad but the corners of her lips were raised which was quite comical.

Li Jie gave off the vibe of a typical Han Chinese beauty but as expected people’s expressions are half-eaten. She made a face that was neither here nor there so it was just funny.

“I’ll tell you in advance that you don’t have much time right now. Our Archbishop Lapart has ordered Luna to return. She’ll be coming at full speed… 30 minutes? You’ll have to finish the business you came here for in 30 minutes.”

If Luna had remained in the temple instead of Archbishop Laparte the outcome might have been different.

If it were Luna she would have swung the hammer first.

Lee Jie’s subordinates are currently waiting in front of the temple.

What if they encountered Luna when she returned? It was clear that she would be crushed to the point where it would be more painful to be alive.

“You didn’t come to our temple to pray did you? Why did you come?”

“I just came here to make a suggestion… a suggestion.”

“For those who came to make a proposal they are so impure. Is this how China usually handles things?”

To my criticism Lee Ji-eun simply nodded her head.

“…I’m really sorry.”

“Of course I should apologize.”

I don’t know what you were trying to suggest but I’m sure it wasn’t everything.

At first glance this woman was clearly an Awakened who was skilled at exploring her opponents. And it was safe to assume that sending this person to me was an intention to understand my power.

The thief said that his own feet were numb so that’s why this woman is so intimidated.

I placed the teacup gently on the desk.

“Let me hear your suggestion. I wonder what you’ll talk about.”

“This is an unofficial proposal from our side. We would like to keep it from being talked about outside as much as possible.”

“Okay let’s get to the point. There are 27 minutes left until Luna returns.”

Lee Ji-eun took a deep breath and began to speak in a more composed voice.

“I think what new religions like the Limen sect need most is a large number of believers.”

“That’s the same for all religions. But why?”

The number of believers is directly related to the strength of a religion.

Up to this point it’s a given.

But why are these guys suddenly bringing up this obvious story?

“As you may already know China has been the most populous country in the world since the Dimension Opening. This means that the population that could become a member of the Limen Church is the largest in the world.”

“That’s interesting. Keep going.”

“Although the party is currently blocking the Limen sect from entering China… the policy can change at any time depending on the attitude of the Limen sect. Perhaps the party can provide full support. I don’t know about the Republic of Korea where the government is weak but our party’s power is intact. In fact it has become even stronger than before the Dimension Opening.”

I will enable you to evangelize to 1.4 billion people.

To summarize the proposal it was like this.

It was quite a tempting carrot. The number 1.4 billion is not a dog’s name. It was also surprising that the population was maintained at that level even after the disaster of Dimension Opening.

But there was no way those guys would give it away without any purpose.

“I know what the selling point is. What are the conditions?”

“The Limen Church will not participate in this Northeast Asia Exchange. The Limen Church is a religious organization after all. It has no obligation to participate in national events right? That is the only condition. If you do so we will allow you to build a temple on our mainland and we will actively support the Limen Church’s missionary activities at the party level.”

It was a proposal that might sound sweet on the surface.

1.4 billion people active missionary work permitted.

An opportunity to expand the church’s influence to an absurd degree.

I thought it was a very Chinese suggestion.

But instead of answering I just looked into Li Jie’s eyes. Her eyes which met mine were shaking incessantly.

“Even you think it’s a stupid suggestion right?”

“…I’m just a messenger.”

“Okay let’s summarize.”

I slowly stood up from my seat and approached Lee Jie from behind.

“Hit the back of the head of South Korea and accept the Chinese believers. If they just wear the leash we give them we’ll feed them until their stomachs burst right?”

Lee Ji didn’t even respond to what I said. No it would be more accurate to say ‘she couldn’t’.

Since you have eyes there’s no way you don’t know how I feel right now.

I looked down at Lee Ji who was as hard as ice. And I spoke in a low voice.

“What on earth am I supposed to say to those who treat us like fools? Lee Ji you answer.”

The answer was already decided.