Somebody Stop the Pope – 209



Episode 209

5.

I returned to my office after receiving an unexpected ‘request’ from President Seo.

“…That’s how I ended up being the instructor for this exchange event.”

“Congratulations Your Majesty.”

“If you are our master you are more than qualified!”

“Brother you are truly amazing.”

“Why do you all have such strange expressions? Are you secretly delighted?”

To summarize President Seo’s request briefly it is as follows.

– The ‘1st Awakened International Exchange Exhibition’ which will replace the Awakened Forum that was held in LA last time but was not held has been decided to be held in Seoul in two weeks. It will be a large-scale exchange event and will be mainly focused on friendship. In line with this South Korea is recruiting special lecturers and I hope Pope Kim Si-woo will be one of them.

Is it because I had so much fun at the last Northeast Asia Exchange?

President Seo’s appearance clearly showed that he had prepared diligently.

In fact it is said that South Korea’s diplomatic line was put into full operation to host this exchange event.

What I felt was that President Seo’s ability was good was that the justification for holding this exchange was quite plausible.

“1. Hold an international conference on the Korean Peninsula right next to China and urge an end to the civil war.

2. We will once again solidify the status of the Republic of Korea which has been classified as an underdeveloped country and greatly expand the influence of the Republic of Korea.

3. Encourage foreign companies to participate in the bid for the development of lost lands thereby bringing foreign capital that has been leaving Korea back into the country.

And countless other justifications.

They say politics is a game of legitimacy and that saying is absolutely true.

He showed me the aura that he was going to make dozens of excuses in front of me so how could I refuse that to his face?

Of course President Seo did not lure me in just for the sake of it.

“The Limen Order’s troops and equipment will be mobilized for this Awakened International Exchange Event. Isn’t this an event that truly fits the image of the Limen Order as a peace-keeping force?”

I smiled brightly and spoke to the people gathered in my office.

Then Luna who was eating a snack said something.

“Your Majesty how much did you receive?”

“Why Lord Luna Reventon? I am not a person who is tempted by money. I accepted the offer only for the sake of peace in the Republic of Korea and the world.”

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And then it happened.

Knock knock.

Archbishop Laparte opened the door from outside his office came in bowed to me and said:

“Your Majesty your deposit has been confirmed.”

Then the inside of the office suddenly became quiet.

How much time has passed like that?

Luna took another bite of the cookie and then said with a chuckle.

“In a capitalist society money is peace. I understand your philosophy well.”

“…I can’t refuse this time either…”

“Was it too much money to refuse? Yes yes I suppose so. Please use that money to buy sturdy equipment for our children.”

This is really embarrassing.

I nodded bitterly.

“Half of the money paid by the government this time will be used for the welfare projects of the religious order. Various facilities such as daycare centers hospitals and schools will be built under the name of the Rimen religious order.”

The establishment of the <Rimen Foundation> which oversees our church’s welfare projects was completed a long time ago.

In the name of the Limen Church various welfare projects will be launched in earnest.

We must repay the support that many people send to our church.

“We will return the grace you have given us tens and hundreds of times over” is the motto of our Limen Church.

“The first advance party heading to Shanghai will be dispatched as soon as this international exchange event ends so Luna you should know that. Honestly you’ve had a hard time lately right? Rest in Korea for two more weeks and then go.”

“I’m fine.”

“You understand we need to give the Inquisitors a chance to learn various things through Belphegor right? Leo you have to teach the Inquisitors the art of interrogation thoroughly.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

It’s natural to take a breather before taking a big stride.

I gave instructions to Leo and Luna respectively then looked at Grace who was sitting next to Luna.

“Grace.”

“Yes master!”

“This time the Vatican also said that they are sending promising candidates and I spoke with the Pope on the phone earlier. Did you receive a separate message?”

“yes.”

“The Vatican’s promising young men will also receive training in divine powers at our church’s training center. I’ll assign Luna to that later so make sure she performs well. That way I can save face. Understand?”

Although Grace is currently active with members of our church Grace is ultimately a Catholic saint.

He was destined to one day return to the Vatican and lead the Catholic faithful.

Still the training results are very good.

In this northern advance operation he achieved considerable success and became quite skilled in using divine powers.

“It’s good that the Limen sect is doing well but that doesn’t mean we should only think about ourselves everyone. The level of players from other religions and other divine sects should rise to be more advantageous in fighting against Magi users…”

“Your Holiness we have just confirmed additional deposits from the Catholic side.”

“…Yes that’s what they say. I’m crazy about money. It’s really hard for me to refuse something they offer me. You know?”

At this point it seems like Archbishop Laparte is deliberately trying to harass me…

Haven’t I been taking care of anything for you lately?

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In this way the agenda for this exchange was roughly organized and detailed adjustments began after that.

“The trainees must have had a hard time during the advance so for the time being you should plan your schedule around rest. I will also take this opportunity to rest.”

In fact it is the last breath before advancing into China.

If you don’t take a breather you’ll run out of breath when you actually have to run.

I should also take some time to rest and prepare for the exchange.

Oh right.

One more thing.

“This time Seungwoo will be participating as a promising representative of our church.”

Our church also decided to have promising players participate in this exchange.

That’s Seungwoo.

Originally I was going to let Jaemin participate but honestly I thought it would hurt my pride if Jaemin was classified as a promising player.

Archbishop Laparte bowed his head in response to my words.

“I will make preparations.”

“I spoke with Brother Jin Seo-jun and received permission so Archbishop Lapart please pay close attention to it.”

“I will prove to you what kind of being the prophet of the Limen Church is.”

I should eat with Seungwoo later.

So that concludes our brief meeting.

As soon as all the agenda items were finished I immediately stood up from my seat.

“We’re done with work for today. Let’s all go home.”

“Your Majesty would you like a drink? Today is the day that Uncle Toby’s Seongsu beer is released and I bought two cases.”

“Seongsu beer?”

I heard that it’s popular on SNS these days… If it’s Seongsu beer it’s not bad.

“Okay. Let’s go home.”

“Home? Should I wash up and go or should I go and wash up?”

“Inwook also wants to drink Seongsu beer. Let’s stop talking nonsense and go to Gwangjang Market to buy some raw meat and snacks. Leo and Grace should come too.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

“Yes master.”

It’d be nice to get together and have a company dinner sometimes.

By the way Inwook said he had something to brag about earlier… What could it be?

6.

I returned home with my colleagues drinking Seongsu beer and eating snacks.

Siyeon who had returned home first welcomed us and soon Inwook came out of the bedroom with a lively expression.

“Hey you’re here?”

“Okay.”

“I thought you might run out of side dishes so I also made kimchi stew and boiled pork. What did you buy for the side dishes?”

“Yukhoe fried food etc. You worked hard Inwook.”

Inwook’s cooking skills are pretty good.

He’s also quite dexterous.

“In-wook all you have to do now is get married right? You like men who are good at cooking. Don’t you Grace?”

“That’s right. I think Inwook would be popular wherever he goes.”

“I’m not that popular…”

“Grace would you like to take Inwook with you? I think it would be okay if His Majesty would give permission. Don’t you think so His Majesty?”

A blind date arranged unexpectedly.

I said with a deep sigh.

“Catholic priests can’t get married anyway.”

Then Grace shrugged.

“I’m neither a nun nor a priest. Even our Pope said that we can marry as we please.”

“…Is that okay?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Ask him what he wants first… In-wook you’re ugly so keep your mouth shut.”

“Oh sorry bro. I didn’t realize it.”

We spread out a table in the living room and chatted about this and that.

A drinking party that sets up quickly.

Various snacks were placed around Tobipyo Seongsu beer.

The setup is complete including orange juice for the demonstration.

“Let’s take it easy today.”

From then on the drinking party continued.

The atmosphere at our drinking party was as always quite pleasant.

Luna lightens the mood and Leo and Siyeon support it.

It was a truly peaceful time.

I slowly relaxed while drinking Tobi’s Seongsu beer.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a chance to set up a place like this. That means I’ve been running around like crazy.

This is how important work-life balance is.

Aside from the physical aspect mental fatigue cannot be helped much even with divine power.

While the drinking party was going on in such a noisy atmosphere I asked Inwook while drinking Seongsu beer.

“Why don’t you take a sip?”

Then Inwook answered with a sly smile.

“There’s something I want to brag about to you hyung.”

“What is it?”

In response to my question Inwook took out his smartphone as if he had been waiting for it and showed it to me.

On the screen of my smartphone there was a car parked in the parking lot of our apartment.

“I just got a new car. I’ve been wanting to buy one but I found one for sale really cheap this time.”

I’m anxious from the very first words.

It was sold used and for a very cheap price….

“I should have just bought a new car.”

“I don’t drive around that often anyways… If I drive an expensive car it might not be good for my image right? That’s why I did it.”

If you think about the supercar Luna drives it’s not like that at all.

Still I find it really admirable that you are thinking of my image.

“So I just bought it cheap from someone my older brother introduced me to.”

“Knowing Brother?”

“Oh he used to be an editor but now he sells insurance too. He lives a very hard life.”

I see

I nodded with a smile.

“But what does that have to do with not drinking alcohol?”

“I got a new car so I wanted to go for a drive with my brother. I was able to buy it thanks to my brother’s generous salary but I still have to repay the favor right?”

“oh.”

Is there another side to Inwook that is so special?

A warm smile naturally forms on my face.

“Inwook did you get the car? Should I take a look at it for you?”

Luna who had been listening to our conversation from the side quickly chimed in.

When it comes to vehicles Luna is practically an expert.

This is because Luna’s greatest interest since returning to Earth has been vehicles.

It’s sturdy.

“Should we go and look at some cars while we’re at it?”

“Okay.”

“Leo take Siyeon and Baekseol with you. I’ll go down for a bit.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

We headed straight to the apartment parking lot as if we were pulling out a bull’s horn in one go.

Inwook’s car looked pretty clean on the outside.

Judging from the exterior it’s in almost new condition.

“I originally went to look at something else but this one was a reasonable price. So I bought it. How is it?”

“Let me ask you one thing Inwook.”

“uh?”

“Is that guy you know a lot of close friends with?”

Then Inwook shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“No I don’t even know that you’re my older brother. I just know you a little bit?”

“I see. Luna please check it out.”

“yes.”

After a while.

Luna said looking around the car.

“His Holiness.”

“uh.”

“I got hit.”

“…What?”

Luna smiled as she tapped the car’s hood.

“This is a flooded car. 100%. Inwook who did you buy this from? I think I need to go out for a bit.”

“A flooded car? That can’t be. I carefully checked all the documents…”

Inwook denies reality.

I looked at Inwook like that and sighed deeply. Then I looked at Luna and said.

“Come with me when you go.”

Inwook is still a kid.

Sigh.

Our Pope please stop this