Somebody Stop the Pope – 145



Episode 145

3.

The office after the orientation ceremony.

I sat at my desk in my office and read through the papers Leo had handed me.

“Fortunately there are quite a few students in the first batch who can speak Japanese.”

The document contained a list of the second batch of trainees along with a list of the first batch of trainees who would be in charge of the second batch of trainees.

50 first-term trainees who will assist Leo and Luna in training the second-term trainees.

Among them there was one first-term trainee who stood out the most.

“Jaemin is unexpected?”

“I heard you lived in Japan when you were young. I also found that surprising.”

“How are Jaemin’s skills?”

“As expected from the original five they are exceeding expectations. They are the best among the first batch of trainees and you can’t ignore them just because they are young. Even among the first batch of trainees there is no trainee who ignores the Jaemin brothers.”

My first impression was that he was a very arrogant little kid.

It seems that Leo personally taking charge of teaching them manners and etiquette was the most effective remedy.

I nodded with satisfaction and put the papers down.

“Just because we’re focusing on the second batch of trainees we shouldn’t be lax about training the first batch of trainees. Real-life situations are coming up soon. You know there’s a meeting at the Ability Management Department today right?”

“I always keep that in mind. I will make sure that there are no problems with the plan.”

“If you feel that the budget is insufficient tell Archbishop Lapart immediately. I will not spare money on education so please use whatever you need whenever you need it.”

“Thank you Your Majesty.”

“Okay then go out.”

Leo picked up the papers I had put down and bowed to say hello.

widely.

So Leo carefully left the office and soon Beth who had been lying on one side of my office got up.

I threw a piece of jerky at Beth.

Then Beth jumped up quickly and stuffed the jerky into her mouth.

Well well.

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“You eat well.”

-Because it’s delicious.

“I have to pay for the meal…”

-Well I’m trying. But isn’t the information about the distorted gods quite useful?

“Okay quickly recover your strength and try to contact the other spirits.”

-We’re working on that too.

As if to prove the saying that a dog’s fate is like a good fortune Beth was currently enjoying the ultimate in luxury.

At home Siyeon constantly brings me snacks and takes me for walks when I want to go out.

Thanks to the sacred tree there you can even recover.

At this point I feel like I’m the black cow not the guy.

-If you purify the land in the north I will definitely repay this favor.

“How long are you going to keep issuing empty promises? Honestly aren’t you at a level where you can fight even now?”

– It will be difficult until I fully recover my spirit. If by any chance that evil spirit seeps into my body all the healing I have done so far will be in vain.

If you couldn’t even say anything you’d hate me less.

I looked at Beth with a pitiful expression and then stretched.

“All the good times are gone.”

It was a winter without any major events except for the Northeast Asia Exchange Festival.

Thanks to this our church was able to focus on the inside but it was going to be a very busy time starting this spring.

First of all go north.

We are planning to fully recover the lost land under the leadership of the government and there are many things that our church must take care of in the process.

The government promised to send three members of our church to the Northeast Asia Exchange Program instead.

These were the resources found in the Lost Land.

For example otherworldly metals such as magic stone and mithril.

The production of the highest grade sacred stone mine located behind the temple was rapidly decreasing so it was necessary to secure a new mine.

The same goes for Mithril.

The Mithril that we received in return for teaching the South Korean government the Mithril refining method was also almost depleted.

“There are 200 new recruits this time so it’s going to be tough to provide them with all the equipment.”

-It’s not a good idea to rely on equipment.

“You can’t empathize because you’re not human.”

-hmm.

“If you don’t understand tell me. I’ll hit you with my bare fist. I’ll hit you with my gauntlet on.”

-It’s easier to understand when you say it like that. Thank you for the example.

“I was half-true.”

In any case it would be good for our church to secure resources through this advance north.

The more resources you have the better.

“Oh I don’t want to bother going to meetings.”

As I told Leo earlier there’s a meeting at the Ability Management Department today.

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Of course it was a government-led meeting and it was a meeting to assign areas in charge of this northward advance operation.

Although this operation was government-led it also involved civilian guilds so prior coordination was essential.

Of course it will be different from the meetings we have had so far.

The previous government was like a toothless tiger but now the situation has completely changed.

The government currently has the power to lead.

“There’s a saying that if you want to know a person’s true nature give them a knife. Let’s take a look this time.”

According to Minister Yoo Seon-ho the power of the current South Korean government is stronger than ever.

Even Jinyoung is more powerful than when he was in Korea.

It remains to be seen how that power will be used.

Although we have built up enough trust with the government power tends to become more corrupt when it becomes concentrated.

-But there’s one thing I’m personally curious about Pope.

“what?”

-Even back when I was active human society wasn’t this complicated. If you’re as strong as me you could unite humans so why don’t you do that? Isn’t it easier that way?

Beth asked with wide eyes as if she was genuinely curious.

“What if it’s a union?”

-Is there a need to persuade and talk to them? If you just crush them with force…

“hmm.”

You’re still not very socialized.

They say it’s hard to correct adult dogs so I guess I’ll have to call a pet expert.

Kang Young-wook. Is that person still active?

If you ask Minsu you’ll know right?

4.

After the entrance ceremony this is the conference room located in the main office of the Ability Management Department.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here.

I did most of my work in my office and it had been a while since I had attended a government-sponsored meeting.

The atmosphere inside the conference room was different than before.

Even when the Jeon Gak-ryeon was the mainstream force in South Korea everyone was busy keeping me in check but the atmosphere now is completely different.

“I told you all to relax. I really won’t eat you guys. If someone saw me they’d think I was the boss and not the Pope. Right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry…..”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho who is hosting the meeting has not yet entered the conference room.

The representatives of the large guilds affiliated with the Jeon Kak-ryeon that I had seen before were nowhere to be found.

Rather than the guilds attending the meeting changing it seemed like the representatives had been quietly replaced.

“You guys look like cute lambs in front of a ferocious beast. Hahaha! Isn’t that right Pope Kim?”

“I think it’s because of CEO Choi.”

“Don’t worry. Didn’t you promise me when you saved me from the Abyss Dungeon? I’ll be the strong one who protects the Pope…”

“Please.”

“Hehehe. The technique I learned from Luna is quite effective. It’s fun to watch her reactions.”

President Choi burst into joking laughter.

It is said that CEO Choi’s Goblin Guild will also play a big part in this northern advance operation.

The Goblin Guild benefited from the large-scale scandal that broke out in Jeon Gak-ryeon last time.

Because the only top-tier guild that wasn’t affiliated with the Jeon Gak-ryun was CEO Choi’s Goblin Guild.

Thanks to this CEO Choi’s right to speak at this event also increased significantly.

In the past some representatives would have shouted a few words at CEO Choi but no one stopped him.

To be exact the correct expression would be ‘couldn’t do it’.

“My body is already aching.”

Who would dare to stop CEO Choi who has grown so much through training with Aiden?

I don’t know for sure but I would say that Chairman Choi’s current military power can be counted on one hand.

Because the nobleman who originally had amazing specs was taught directly by an irregular named Aiden.

The reason why CEO Choi is acting so coy is simple.

To completely dominate the atmosphere of the conference room.

In fact the other guild leaders were so overwhelmed by CEO Choi’s energy that they couldn’t open their mouths.

It was a scene that could not even be compared to the past when he had been waging a war of nerves with several representatives alone.

If we’re being fun I think that was a lot more fun back then.

Watching CEO Choi fight so coolly I felt like I was drinking cider.

“Ah Pope Kim. This time our Goblin Guild has decided to enter the Lost Lands together with the Sulwha Guild.”

“I heard the story. You requested to send the first batch of trainees right?”

“yes.”

“I approved it earlier. 20 people will be assigned to the Goblin Guild.”

“Oh thank you.”

“There should be loyalty between people. Isn’t that right even though we are not strangers?”

“Haha! Aren’t we practically blood brothers?”

In fact it seems like CEO Choi and I have rented the conference room.

There were seven other representatives besides the two of us but they didn’t even make a sound.

On the contrary they are just keeping each other in check by glaring at each other.

It seemed true that the Jeon Gak-ryeon was torn apart by the Jungbu-ryeon and the Nambu-ryeon.

At that time when I and CEO Choi were having a one-man show

“You all came out early.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho entered the conference room.

Then the representatives who were seated stood up at the same time.

“Minister.”

“Haha everyone please do as you usually do. I feel burdened because I am someone who has always heard bad things about someone who was used to being welcomed. Okay everyone please sit down.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s words were thorny.

The balance of power has changed drastically.

Moreover Minister Yoo Seon-ho was a businessman who knew how to make good use of the situation.

Following Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s words the representatives sat down with awkward expressions and the full-scale meeting began.

“The reason I have called you representatives who are busy with various matters is because I would like to have a long discussion about this lost land.”

As soon as Minister Yoo Seon-ho made a slight gesture a map of the lost land began to be displayed on the screen hanging at the front of the conference room.

A sort of operational map created based on the map handed down by Baekmyeonggyo and information extracted from the elders.

There was a red dot on the map and that was Gaeseong.

“The first objective of the operation is to establish an outpost in Gaeseong. We want to establish a base where players can stay eat and receive equipment.”

The monsters that inhabited the Lost Lands were already countless.

It is impossible to sweep away the whole country in one morning.

Moreover even at this moment gates were appearing and pouring out monsters so proceeding step by step was the right answer.

The ultimate goal of this operation is not simply to wipe out the monsters but to reclaim the territory.

So it seemed like the government was planning to move forward by establishing strongholds in various places.

“So we plan to push forward through the old Western Front. Since our goal is to stabilize the region we won’t break through to Gaeseong all at once. The black dots on the screen represent monster colonies and we plan to destroy these colonies one by one as we continue to advance north.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho who briefly briefed the outline of the operation got straight to the point.

“Through this operation each guild will be granted tax exemption for the byproducts they obtain. Additionally ownership of all resources discovered in the colony area will be given to the guild that discovered them.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho threw a carrot to the nervous representatives.

Then the representatives’ eyes became filled with greed.

The byproducts of monsters and otherworldly resources are of immense value.

In order to extract sufficient profits it was necessary to occupy as many colonies as possible.

“I hope that everyone as mature democratic citizens will reach an agreement through sufficient discussion. The government will subjugate the remaining colonies so you can choose first without any burden.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s words sparked a fierce war of nerves between the representatives.

The words are spoken in a rapid loud voice.

“We come first. Your guild has also decreased in numbers a lot right?”

“What? There aren’t any S-class hunters either…”

I always feel this but there is no hierarchy when it comes to greed. People who were just watching me now are constantly yelling at me.

This is indeed a lively exchange of opinions befitting democratic citizens.

I can’t lose to those people who are practicing democracy so diligently.

“Hey guys?”

The conference room suddenly became quiet after I uttered a single word.

I said smiling at the representatives who were looking at me.

“We’ll choose first. Is that okay? Oh is there anyone who has any complaints?”

Our Pope please stop this