Somebody Stop the Pope – 22



Episode 22

3.

Ten minutes have passed since we talked about the temple.

We moved to a conference room on the lower floor of the CEO’s office.

Surprisingly the conference room was already prepared for the presentation.

Minsu held the microphone while displaying his PPT presentation on the screen.

“Then let us begin a brief briefing on the temple construction plan.”

I looked back and forth between Minsu’s face and the screen then asked a question while smiling helplessly without realizing it.

“Brother Minsu. Did you prepare this in just 10 minutes?”

Minsu answered my question with a slight bow of his head as if he was embarrassed.

“Actually these are ideas that I had already prepared separately.”

“Since when?”

“From the day the Pope saved me and Lord Limen saved me I thought that building Lord Limen’s temple on Earth was the mission given to me.”

The fanatic’s mindset is incomprehensible.

She only treated me once and yet she thought of building a temple for me.

Who in the world would think that way?

But unlike me who couldn’t understand at all Leo who was sitting next to me nodded and started clapping.

Clap clap clap.

“What a wonderful worker he is. I cannot help but admire Brother Minsu’s faith. Limen will surely be pleased.”

There seems to be a common denominator among fanatics.

Leo’s expression which had been blunt until now was now filled with emotion.

And Minsu bowed his head politely in response to Leo’s sincere words.

“I just did what I had to do!”

“I will always pray for you brother.”

I sighed as I watched their continued interaction.

“Let’s do the grooming later. Let’s get on with the presentation.”

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Only after I said that did the presentation continue.

Minsu nodded once and then displayed a captured photo of his own YouTube on the screen.

“This is a method I’ve tried a few times on my YouTube channel before. It’s a method that allows viewers to participate more actively and it’s also a method that most users are familiar with.”

I nodded looking at the picture floating on the screen.

“Community Voting.”

“That’s right. That’s the way we’ve been primarily using it to finalize new content and it’s gotten a pretty good response.”

The YouTube community voting system was something I had seen often before I was kidnapped to Eden.

I remember it being highly accessible as you could participate with just one click.

Although the mainstream content on YouTube has changed the systems I remember seem to be the same.

Minsu continued his presentation calmly.

“Handling the choice of the temple site to the public is like starting from a completely different starting point from existing religions. I think it will be easier to build the image of a religion that communicates and works together as the Pope wants.”

That’s a plausible story.

The frame of “a religion we create together” is an image I had envisioned from the beginning.

Besides this is a matter that has already been discussed with Limen.

However there is a problem that arises here.

I asked Minsu lightly placing both hands on the desk.

“I want to build the first temple of the sect in a place that has special meaning.”

This is the first temple of the Limen sect to be presented on Earth.

Unlike other religious facilities we did not want to build it in a place where there was a lot of floating population or where people could visit quite often.

But Minsu smiled as if he had been waiting for my question and moved on to the next page of the PPT.

A familiar yet unfamiliar picture appeared on the screen.

Gyeongbokgung Palace the representative palace of South Korea located in Jongno.

Up to this point I was already familiar with the scene but the blue wall erected in a foolish manner next to Gyeongbokgung Palace was definitely an unfamiliar element.

“The Pope will feel unfamiliar with that huge wall as it has been five years since he returned to Earth.”

As he spoke he pressed the remote control and a picture of a devastated area appeared on the screen along with the words “Ground Zero.”

A place where no traces of humans can be found anymore.

The huge blue wall surrounding the area made the atmosphere there even more eerie.

“This is the place called Ground Zero. It is also the area where Chaos Gate first appeared after <Dimension Opening> started five years ago. In terms of location it is easy to think of it as the area around Gahee-dong Jongno-gu or Bukchon Hanok Village.”

“I understand.”

“The currently displayed photo is an old photo and was taken outside the wall. Please note that we cannot show you the inside because photography is not allowed.”

I remember going there with my family.

I nodded slightly and Minsu continued talking.

“After making numerous sacrifices we were able to destroy the core of the gate but the process took too long so the magical contamination of the central area of ​​the gate was unavoidable. As magical purification technology developed the contamination of the outer areas was relatively eliminated but….”

“They couldn’t solve the magic contamination in the center. So instead they blocked off that area with a wall like that.”

“That’s correct. It consists of five layers of walls including an inner wall made of mithril a mineral that can absorb magical power.”

Magic is a power that allows its owner to overcome limits but anything in excess can be problematic.

Extreme magic causes pollution and pollution destroys the existing order.

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The result of destruction is of course catastrophic. The land contaminated by magic can no longer support life.

Like that dead city on the screen.

“Ground Zero is not only in Seoul. There are also ground zeros in Daejeon and Busan. However what makes this place more special to the people of South Korea is that it is the first ground zero in South Korea.”

At first I was wondering what on earth Minsu was talking about when he suddenly started talking about Ground Zero.

But when I looked into Minsu’s eyes burning with passion I could easily understand why.

I took a sip of water and then spoke slowly.

“So Brother Minsu are you saying that you would like our church to build a temple there?”

“If we can just build our temple at Ground Zero the Limen Cult will gain a lot. Hope for salvation for example. These icons.”

It was something I had never imagined but when I heard his presentation I couldn’t help but laugh.

Indeed it seems that the position of a YouTuber with 5.4 million subscribers is not a position that was reached through luck.

But there were a few problems here.

I asked Minsu with a slight frown.

“Is it possible to build a temple on polluted land?”

“Of course it needs to be purified.”

“No even the government couldn’t do it.”

“I believe that just as the curse of Lich was purified in Guro-gu Limen will once again show a miracle through the Pope’s hands.”

Leo who had been silent until then nodded in response.

“You are right brother.”

“hey.”

“Yes Your Holiness.”

“Then you just become the Pope. Huh?”

“…sorry.”

Magic pollution is a pollution that is fundamentally different from the magic of the previous Lich. Purifying it through divine power has clear limitations.

But it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Because I now had the <Mark of Limen>.

If you declare a sanctuary in a polluted area through the <Mark of Limen> you can expect a sufficient purification effect.

However the entire area cannot be declared a sanctuary yet.

First of all let’s move on since it’s not impossible.

I raised another question that had been on my mind for a while.

“Let’s say you’re going to build a temple at Ground Zero. You said earlier that you’re going to decide the location through a vote. If people don’t vote for Ground Zero isn’t this a useless plan?”

Public participation and symbolism.

Is it really possible to kill two birds with one stone?

But Minsu said this time as well changing the screen as if he had been waiting for it.

“There are two options we will put up for a community vote.”

As Minsu had said there were two options displayed on the screen.

“Tentative title: Vote for your temple!”

1. Wouldn’t a place with a lot of floating population and good accessibility be better? – Gangnam Station or Hongik University Station

2. Absolutely not here – Ground Zero

I looked at the options for a long time and then said to Minsu in disbelief.

“You said it was a vote.”

At those words Minsu nodded confidently.

“Voting is right. But now it’s accompanied by unfairness…”

“Will people really vote for number 2?”

Minsu answered my question in a firm tone.

“Of course.”

“What is the basis?”

“Do you remember the Parma Chocolate Cereal incident in the early 2000s?”

I pondered his answer for a moment and then nodded.

“That will work.”

4.

Building a temple near Gangnam Station or Hongik University Station and building a temple near Ground Zero.

It is common sense to build religious facilities in relatively easily accessible places. Therefore it would be <common> sense to build a temple in the area mentioned above rather than at Ground Zero where no one can access it.

Therefore if you really care about the Limen Church and want it to develop then it is only natural that you vote for Gangnam Station which is the first choice.

However given the nature of Internet community voting it was nearly impossible to expect it to proceed ‘reasonably’.

Immediately after the meeting with Minsu a voting session was held on Minsu’s channel along with a short promotional video featuring me.

The content of the video was nothing special.

Just me putting on my priestly garb and going out there and saying ‘Vote for your temple!’?

And the voting took place from 6pm yesterday evening to 4pm today and the results are as follows.

“Vote for your temple!”

1. Wouldn’t a place with a lot of floating population and good accessibility be good? – Gangnam Station or Hongik University Station / 3.6%

2. Never Never – Ground Zero / 96.4%

Although it was bitter it went as planned.

Originally if you were told not to do something you would want to do it more but if you look at the comments on the votes and videos you can roughly guess what kind of image our church has so far.

“How long will this concept last?”

“ㅋㅋㅋㅋYou said you came back from another world but you still haven’t gotten the hang of it. Gangnam Station? No way. Just Ground Zero.”

“Guys. I have a prediction. They’ll change their vote within a week lol.”

“Even in the US they couldn’t solve the Ground Zero magic contamination problem so what can we do? If they can really build a temple at Ground Zero I’ll donate all my wealth. By the way I own the 29th floor of Dodge.”

“Your next delisted coin”

“Minsu hyung… have you really become a cult now? I’m disappointed. I’ll cancel my subscription.”

“Why don’t I believe that this kid is an irregular? Honestly isn’t catching Lich something that even the top rankers can do?”

“Yeah there were already rumors going around that the Ability Management Department intentionally manipulated it.”

It seems that it will not be easy to change public opinion with the performance shown in Guro-gu and Yeouido.

Still it really caught a lot of attention.

Quite a few reporters are also diligently spreading the story with titles such as “Irregulars’ New Move” and “Irregular Kim Si-woo Declares Purification of Seoul Ground Zero?”

And above all.

[The completion conditions for the main quest <Cult Expansion – Temple> have been updated.]

[Completion Conditions: Use the Holy Relic <Limen’s Token> to create a sanctuary at <Ground Zero> located in Seoul.]

[Caution! If you create a sanctuary in a place other than the designated area you will gain the penalty trait <Distrust>. If you have the <Distrust> trait the amount of sacred points you gain will be halved.]

The conditions for completing the main quest have also been specified.

At the same time it was annoying that there was a failure penalty but it didn’t really matter.

Anyway I’ve already made up my mind.

I liked the presentation Minsu gave yesterday.

Icon of salvation and hope.

It may be a bit of a leap but isn’t it a really pleasing title to hear?

So we got right into it.

Since Ground Zero was officially a government-controlled area the first thing I did was contact Team Leader Kim.

Team Leader Kim who was already monitoring me responded to my call immediately and as usual we met at a cafe in front of my house.

“Let me get straight to the point. Ground zero access approval is currently not possible.”

I was resolutely rejected from the very beginning.

It was such a firm rejection that I could only laugh helplessly and ask why.

“Could you please tell me why?”

“It’s not that there’s a problem with the plan that Siwoo-nim told me. I’ll make sure to do that. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

“Then why…..”

In response to my question Team Leader Kim sighed deeply and answered with his head bowed.

“There is currently a serious problem inside Ground Zero in Seoul and we are investigating.”

…Causality is you again?

Our Pope please stop this