Somebody Stop the Pope – 174



Episode 174

56. The Age of Chaos

1.

Given the circumstances an emergency meeting was held the day after the gate appeared.

The attendees were Minister Yoo Seon-ho of the Ability Management Department Choi Dae-rae of the Goblin Guild Hunter Kang Chae-ah and Raphael.

It was a place specially prepared by Minister Yoo Seon-ho.

“I’m sorry for taking the time to meet you separately while you’re busy.”

“I am sorry Minister that this has happened so soon after your retirement.”

“Retirement… has been effectively postponed indefinitely.”

“Oh my. Our church has made all the preparations to scout you.”

“It’s a shame. But there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho and I exchanged brief greetings.

Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s face which had always been bright since he began to develop the lost land was already showing signs of fatigue.

He was a very energetic old man whose age was hard to guess but in a situation like this it seems there is nothing that can be done.

It’s probably not my imagination that Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s wrinkles are particularly noticeable.

“All the gates that were created yesterday have been destroyed. But this is why I have gathered you here.”

As soon as Minister Yoo Seon-ho pressed the remote control he was holding a map was created on the screen.

To be precise it is a map limited to Northeast Asia.

The huge landmass next to the Korean Peninsula was dyed in a rainbow of colors.

At least 9 colors.

“I have categorized the organizations that are causing terrorism in various parts of China by color. The number of informants in China is relatively small so they are cooperating with the United States.”

Are you saying that all those different colors are different forces?

I scratched the ball with my finger.

Everyone attending the meeting looked at the map and showed various reactions.

Especially CEO Choi.

CEO Choi took a sip of water then looked at me and raised the corners of his mouth.

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“It seems like things went as our Pope wanted?”

“yes?”

“Why you said before that you wished there were more Chinese! It’s creepy because it seems like it’s exactly like that. Did you have something to do with it?”

“No way. We don’t have any infrastructure there yet.”

I heard that one of the brothers who had been converted by Archbishop Laparte in the past went over but that he did not create a foundation that could start a civil war.

And even though we had created that foundation we had no intention of taking the first step.

Destroying a country for the sake of proselytizing?

I’m sure other people will accept it well.

It’s just a model case. I have no intention of allowing our church to become a model case.

I shrugged my shoulders and then turned to Minister Yoo Seon-ho and asked him a question.

“Is there no official position from China?”

“Currently various government agencies located in Beijing have also suffered significant damage and are unable to even make an official statement.”

“hmm.”

“This is confidential information so you must not discuss it outside.”

I think something big is coming.

When Minister Yoo Seon-ho says something is confidential it’s usually a really serious matter.

At Minister Yoo Seon-ho’s words the conference room became as quiet as a mouse and the old man spoke in a low voice.

“China’s No. 1 has been confirmed dead.”

“…This is a real mess. Where did you get the information?”

“This is information leaked from within the Chinese government. Some officials who confirmed that No. 1 was dead applied for asylum in the United States. It’s valuable information.”

With the death of the head of state armed groups are rising up in various places.

Personally I thought it would be nice if there were more Chinese people but I never thought it would develop this way.

The development was so natural.

The movements were quick and coordinated as if they had been scripted in advance.

In this case there is a 100% screenwriter.

And it wasn’t that hard for me to guess who the screenwriter was.

“Purifier.”

Because if there were any other guys in China who would do something like that they would be them.

At my words Minister Yoo Seon-ho nodded with a slight frown on his face.

“We are also predicting that. There is just one question.”

“If you have any questions.”

“If they could cause an incident of this scale they probably had the power to control the Chinese government. But now they have voluntarily given up that power. It’s hard to understand when you think about the nature of power.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho said so and took a sip of water.

Did you say you’ve been a politician your whole life?

To that person the Purifiers’ recent actions would certainly be incomprehensible.

But I fully understand what their intentions are.

What these guys want is not some petty thing like putting a country in their grasp and wielding power.

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“The guys only want one thing sir.”

Greed for power and material wealth etc.

Greed is something that all humans naturally have.

Magi basically thrives on greed. But that’s only the case for the servants.

Those who have reached the level of high-ranking demons or even demon kings have already surpassed the stage of being obsessed with greed.

The only value that the demon kings ultimately pursued in Eden was this.

“All they want is chaos.”

It was chaos.

A world where all kinds of greed are mixed together and they find it satisfying.

The only value that the Demon Lords in Eden wanted was chaos. And the nameless guy who made an equal contract with those Demon Lords was also likely to share their goals.

From that perspective what’s happening now? It’s completely understandable.

No it fits the purpose perfectly.

A situation where a task called <The Age of Struggle> has not yet been properly understood.

In this situation if the country of China were to be divided we would inevitably see chaos.

“Chaos that will take over the world. You shouldn’t try to understand them from a human perspective. They’re crazy.”

Minister Yoo Seon-ho who heard what I said looked out the window in silence for a long time.

How long was the silence in the conference room like that?

Minister Yoo Seon-ho who seemed to have gathered his thoughts smiled bitterly.

“…I see. It was wrong to even try to predict it. I understand. Thank you Pope Kim Si-woo.”

“No problem.”

“We will make full preparations. We must make sure that the fires spreading from the continent do not spread to the Korean Peninsula. The Security Council has been convened. Will Pope Kim Si-woo join us? He is the only irregular from the Republic of Korea so he is more than qualified to attend.”

“Do I have to participate?”

“No.”

“I believe the President and the experts will take care of things. Many of our church members have been injured so it’s a bit difficult for me to leave.”

Of course it’s an excuse.

I feel like if I were there I would be a nuisance in one way or another.

I smiled faintly and Minister Yoo Seon-ho who understood what I meant smiled along with me.

When the meeting was somewhat settled

“Ah I slept well.”

Raphael who had been sleeping next to me opened his eyes.

“Are you done? I’m a little tired because I stayed up all night researching. By the way Pope what happened in China?”

What a really tiring character.

It was CEO Choi who answered that question instead.

“China has exploded.”

Then Raphael said digging his ears.

“They blew it up first because America was trying to blow it up? You really have a bad temper. The continent’s climate is amazing.”

A truly irrelevant statement.

Minister Yoo Seon-ho looked at me and said as Raphael’s personality was clearly revealed in his remarks.

“Everyone around the Pope seems to be special.”

“…You can just call them crazy guys.”

“Haha how could you commit such a rude act?”

If there was any rudeness it seems like it was first committed by that guy who was dozing off during the meeting.

“We are currently activating all information lines so as soon as additional information comes in we will relay it to you through Director Kim.”

“Yes please feel free to contact me anytime if you need any assistance.”

“In these turbulent times Pope Kim Si-woo is a great source of strength. I am always sorry and grateful. The President also asked me to convey his regards.”

“Please tell him that I will come and see him sometime soon.”

“Does the President owe the Pope a debt…?”

“No that’s not it. I just wanted to say hello. I got some tteokbokki from you last time. If anyone heard they’d think I was a loan shark.”

“It’s a joke a joke.”

That’s how the emergency meeting with Minister Yoo Seon-ho ended.

2.

After the meeting I returned to the temple office.

“Seungwoo oppa from now on I will go out and help people with you!”

“Your Majesty gave permission?”

“Yeah! I made a presentation too.”

“Our demonstration was amazing.”

“Hehehe. Right? I’m pretty awesome!”

In the office two young children were playing with Beth and Snow White.

Of course one was Seungwoo and the other was Siyeon.

When Seungwoo says “Our Siyeon” something feels strange. No matter how much Seungwoo is loved in our school when I see Siyeon’s eyes sparkling as she looks at Seungwoo… something makes me feel sick.

The reason Siyeon was in the temple was simple.

This is because I decided to stay in the temple for the time being until I can clearly understand the current situation in South Korea.

“Seungwoo.”

I called Seungwoo’s name quietly while sitting on the chair and Seungwoo who was playing with Siyeon quickly ran towards me.

“Did you call?”

“Are you done with class today?”

“I went to the hospital where my other brothers and sisters were admitted this morning. They said there would be no separate classes.”

“Oh I see. Did you eat dinner?”

“I ate lunch two hours ago. I haven’t had dinner yet…”

“At that age you have to eat a lot. Go eat dinner and come back.”

Watching Siyeon and her having fun together makes me feel a little sad for no reason.

But here a variable I had not anticipated intervened.

“Ah! Seungwoo oppa let’s go eat tteokbokki together!”

“I wonder?”

“I guess I can take Luna too. I was just thinking about eating tteokbokki.”

“good.”

…This isn’t the picture I wanted.

I spoke to Shiyeon while keeping a smile on my face as much as possible.

“Siyeon why don’t you ask Oppa?”

“You’re busy oppa. It’s not even time to get off work yet so I’ll take Seungwoo oppa and Luna unnie and come back later.”

“Luna too… Ah I gave you a day off today.”

Leo and Luna were given separate vacations. Even though they didn’t show it the aftereffects of their recent injuries were not nonexistent.

I didn’t know it would come back like this.

“Then I’ll be off!”

“You like tteokbokki too.”

“Then I’ll pack it for you when I get back! Seungwoo let’s go!”

“Your Majesty I will go out for a moment.”

“…okay.”

The answer I wanted was ‘Let’s go together oppa.’

There’s still time to eat tteokbokki…

As I watch Siyeon leaving with a bright expression holding Seungwoo’s hand I feel a bit sad.

So Siyeon and Seungwoo went out and not long after Inwook came into the office.

Inwook asked as soon as he saw my face.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to raise a daughter.”

“It’s true that Siyeon feels like a daughter to me. Are you upset that Siyeon is with Seungwoo? When I see that I can tell that you’re secretly conservative. How kind is Seungwoo? He comes to my house every now and then to say hello and leave. He’s so kind. Last time he even used his divine power on me because I looked tired.”

“This Pax.”

“what?”

“There is something like that. What’s going on?”

Inwook naturally took the cola in front of him and took a sip. Then he answered while wiping his mouth.

“I was playing with the fairies when they asked me to bring my brother. They said they had a present for me.”

“Inwook.”

“uh?”

“Cheer up.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Our poor Inwook.

Since I had no one to play with I ended up playing with the fairies and even running errands for them.

Suddenly Inwook looked pitiful.

“But what kind of gift is this all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. My brother go and check.”

“The gift is nice.”

It was a good thing the mood was already gloomy. I should at least change my mood by talking to the fairies.

By the way it’s a sudden gift.

…What makes me so anxious?

Is it because of my mood?

Our Pope please stop this