Somebody Stop the Pope – 184



Episode 184

3.

The next morning.

The last meeting before the official vacation of the Limen Church.

This vacation is for all members of the church including the management.

Since the garden was managed by fairies and the interior of the sanctuary was under control anyway they gave all the employees a vacation at this time.

If I hadn’t given him a vacation this time rumors about the black company Limen would have spread far and wide.

“Haha Your Majesty are you now a debtor?”

“It’s noisy.”

The topic of today’s meeting was funding.

An astronomical sum of 240 billion spent on calls with Limen.

It may be an understandable amount to the heads of large corporations or the national budget execution agencies but I still cannot escape the mindset of an ordinary citizen.

If you recall the old memory of being kicked out because the deposit was 100 million won short you can easily understand how far away the amount of 240 billion won is from you.

“But Your Majesty how much money do you have that you’re having a meeting? I was preparing to go to Gangneung. If you need money just let me know and I’ll lend it to you.”

“240 billion.”

“yes?”

“Then lend me 240 billion.”

Luna paused for a moment after hearing what I said. Then she looked out the window and said.

“Let’s proceed with the meeting. The weather is nice today.”

“It’s raining outside.”

“Rainy days really have their charm don’t they?”

Luna’s been acting like this for more than a day or two so let’s just let it go.

Today only the core executives of the church have gathered but what is different from usual is that management advisor Park Ji-won is also present.

The reason Advisor Park Ji-won was here was simple.

Because the topic of today’s meeting was ‘money’.

It was the same in Eden and on Earth.

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It’s the same wherever people live. If you want to do something you need money.

If you want to do relief work at the religious level you need money and if you want to provide equipment for combatants you need money.

Isn’t that probably the same in any world?

“Advisor Park Ji-won. Can you raise 240 billion won?”

I asked Advisor Park Ji-won in a slightly trembling voice.

Actually I have not been very interested in the financial status of our church until now.

Until now Archbishop Lapart and Advisor Park Ji-won have been in charge of the household affairs.

All I did was add a sanctuary and buy the sanctuary’s items from the DLC store.

But Advisor Park Ji-won’s answer was truly unexpected.

“Where do you plan to spend the 240 billion?”

“I need to receive a trust from Limen immediately and this is the cost involved.”

“It’s a kind of international calling fee.”

Advisor Park Ji-won who quickly grasps the essence like an elite.

I slowly nodded my head to Advisor Park Ji-won’s words.

“That’s correct. We need to connect through Raphael’s machine and to connect the machine we need to process the highest grade magic stone.”

“It’s a top-grade magic stone worth 240 billion won… Let me tell you the conclusion first.”

Advisor Park Ji-won manipulated the tablet PC and smiled faintly.

“It is possible to secure 240 billion as of now. The finances of the religious order are in much better condition than Your Majesty thinks.”

“240 billion?”

“Yes. Aside from labor costs there were no other expenses. And the income from the Kaesong outpost is enormous. Transactions with the Yuseon Group are also continuing steadily.”

I’ve heard that the sales at what we commonly call the ‘Gaeseong Sales Office’ are no joke.

The highest selling store in Gaeseong.

This is a place that sells expensive mid-level holy water for hunters and the hunters spend a lot of it.

If you use it well it’s like carrying around an extra life.

The wired group is also in charge of distributing holy water on behalf of our church but it is said that the wired group’s inventory is almost at rock bottom.

This means that our church’s holy water is a popular consumable item for hunters.

“The biggest thing is that there is no cost. At best it is distribution cost. In the case of the Gaeseong outpost we even do distribution ourselves so the margin is close to 100 percent.”

“…That’s ridiculous.”

“I think so too. Most of the equipment of the cult fighters is made in-house and there are no particular expenses. Of course money has to be saved.”

Advisor Park Ji-won took a sip of water.

And then he looked at me and continued speaking.

“There is just one problem.”

“What if there’s a problem?”

“The reason why the price of the highest-grade magic stones is high is due to their performance but the biggest reason is that the supply is low. As soon as the highest-grade magic stones are put up for sale global companies including magic players from all over the world rush to buy them.”

I thought I knew what Advisor Park Ji-won was talking about.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

“That means it would be difficult to buy something even if you had money.”

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“Yes. As soon as the meeting is over I will contact the major domestic companies but as far as I know other companies are also having trouble obtaining top-grade magic stones.”

I heard that the supply of high-grade magic stones has increased since the Lost Lands were first developed but it seems that the highest-grade magic stones are still not available.

“Have you tried contacting the government?”

“It is said that all of the remaining top-grade magic stones were used up in this operation to recover the lost land. It is also impossible to replace them with higher-grade magic stones.”

“Raphael said he couldn’t make a psychic crystal unless it was a top-grade magic stone so what should I do?”

After hearing my answer Advisor Park Ji-won manipulated the tablet PC once again.

“The only answer is to get them from overseas. The country with the largest stock of top-grade magic stones in the world is the United States. Next is Russia and China. In China’s case since it is currently in a civil war the only countries that are left are the United States and Russia…”

“I will inquire about purchasing from the United States.”

“Is this Your Majesty speaking personally?”

“If I make the inquiry myself I’m sure it’ll work out somehow. I also have the number for the President of the United States.”

Is this how a phone call I made while I was in LA snowballed into something like this?

If that doesn’t work you can contact me through Raphael.

Advisor Park Ji-won smiled and said after hearing my answer.

“Even if China is in the midst of a civil war there will be a way. I will look into it separately.”

“thank you.”

“It’s something I must do as a member of the Limen Church.”

Today’s meeting ends with inquiries to the United States.

Still it’s fortunate that I have money.

“I hereby order all members of the Limen Order to take a leave of absence. Get some rest and I’ll see you in a week. Please pray to Limen so that no emergency occurs.”

The meeting ended with my order to take leave.

By the way how do I contact the US?

4.

As advised by Advisor Park Ji-won I made inquiries to the United States.

Surprisingly the President of the United States himself called.

-I have some top-grade magic stones in reserve. I think I can give you the amount you want. I would like to receive the price of the magic stones in goods instead. Is that possible?

The items requested by the US side were none other than the Holy Water and various items from the sanctuary.

Rumors spread all the way to the United States with the first offer coming from the American President.

What’s the answer?

Of course I agreed.

Besides I really liked the way the transaction was done.

First I will send you the highest grade magic stone and supply you with holy water over the course of a year.

Although I ended up investing all the divine points I had worked hard to accumulate into the sanctuary it was okay because I was planning on building more sanctuaries anyway.

So the deal was done and the US started sending out fighters and transport planes right away.

I may be the only Pope in the world who has had his body delivered directly by plane.

Save money and invest in a temple while you’re at it.

This is why people need to have good connections.

And so a whopping 240 billion worth of magic stones arrived at our church’s holy site.

As soon as the magic stones arrived they headed to Raphael’s laboratory.

By the way Raphael and I did not go on vacation separately.

The same goes for Archbishop Laparte.

Instead Leo and Luna left for Gangneung with our family.

I also wanted to go on a trip with Siyeon but there’s nothing I can do about the quest coming first.

So three days passed since the magic stone arrived and finally.

“It is finished Your Holiness.”

The psychic crystal production has been completed.

It could be said that the speed was phenomenal.

As usual I was playing with the Beth Fairies in front of the sacred tree and happily greeted Raphael.

“That’s so fast.”

“Because the home country sent me a generous amount of magic stones.”

“You sent me so many magic stones without leaving a single one behind?”

“I wonder if there is any difference. I used every single one of them for fear that the Pope would be disappointed. Haha!”

I guess I’ll have to raid Raphael’s lab later.

There might be a magic stone hidden away right?

How much does that cost?

“Pope! Have you caught a fool?”

“The Pope is a fool!”

“Pope Fool is the best!”

“best!”

The fairies all raised their thumbs and shouted.

…I feel terrible.

I headed to the office with Raphael leaving Fairy and Beth behind.

Perhaps because there were no people the Holy Land was more peaceful than ever.

It was a period when even ordinary people could not enter and even the people working at the holy site were on vacation so the holy site was truly empty.

There was no one in the sanctuary except Toby and his disciples who were working on the dragon’s corpse.

It’s always bustling with people so seeing this sight gives me a new feeling.

“But I have good news Your Holiness.”

“What is it?”

“I think I can connect for at least 10 minutes. The psychic crystals came out pretty well. Haha! I’m a scientist a genius scientist.”

“…Oh yes.”

240 billion for 10 minutes.

Dirty and romantic.

I smiled bitterly and entered the office with Raphael.

The amplifier I saw last time was installed in the office.

“All settings are complete. You can connect right away.”

“Please prepare yourself mentally.”

“Are you mentally prepared?”

“But I can’t be upset about spending 240 billion won when I’m meeting the god I serve right?”

“Ah I see. Make yourself at home.”

Let’s think positively.

I contacted Limen and cleared the quest.

First of all I needed information about this <격> thing that was happening in my body so it definitely wasn’t a waste of money.

I took a few deep breaths and smiled as best I could.

“Let’s connect.”

“yes!”

Surely Limen wasn’t away for a moment? If so it would really be a disaster.

The amplifier was put into operation amidst various anxieties.

Woof woof woof.

The regular resonance I felt last time.

The energy spreading out from the amplifier began to fill the temple at a rapid pace.

[Your Lord gives you an <oracle>!]

“I’ve been waiting for you my poem.”

Limen’s oracle echoed in my head as if putting an end to my worries.

A completely different oracle from the unpleasant oracle I heard in <The Fortress of the Dead>.

Just hearing her voice made me feel like my mind was being cleansed.

『But why is your expression so dead? It’s like the expression of a bear whose hidden honey pot has been stolen.』

“The expression is too detailed. Is it that obvious?”

『Siwoo when you try to force a smile the corners of your mouth get cramps. That’s exactly the expression you have right now.』

They say you can fool everyone else but you can’t fool Limen.

But I can’t talk about money in front of Limen….

“Oh it was because of the money? Then you should be a little sensitive. You must have spent a lot of money.”

“I can’t even think of anything else in front of the goddess.”

“You want to think about other women without me? I think that would be a little disappointing. Is this why long-distance couples are hard?”

“Let’s joke around later. I’m a little impatient.”

“Okay. Then let’s get straight to the point.”

Limen let out a light laugh and immediately began telling the story I wanted to hear.

“You’ve earned your spot Siwoo. I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

After a while stories I had never heard from her before began to flow out.

Our Pope please stop this