Somebody Stop the Pope – 71



Episode 71

4.

At this point we feel like we’re an idol group.

That too a mixed three-member idol group.

Leo and I returned home alone so why are we a mixed trio?

that.

“Seongha-ah. It looks like you came back after having fun by yourself but you definitely brought me a present right?”

Because Luna who was waiting for us at the airport joined us.

Luna was waiting for us wearing sunglasses.

Okay let’s say they came out to see us off.

But you know.

“Welcome! Your Holiness the Pope!”

“You’re here!”

What on earth are these 40 people regardless of age or gender wearing black suits?

Even though his older brother was in the Pope’s seat the atmosphere was not awkward.

I looked at them bowing towards me and sighed softly. Then I looked at Luna and asked her quietly.

“Is it your doing?”

“The moment you enter the church it is natural that you risk your life to protect His Holiness the Pope the representative of Limen and the first apostle! If it were Eden it would be an honor that no one would easily obtain.”

“earthly….”

What happened while I was away?

I looked at our new recruits with a sullen expression. Among them was Jaemin one of the early members I had personally lured into our church. As soon as Jaemin met my eyes he fell face down and shouted.

“Long live the Pope! Long live! Glory to Limen!”

“…Phew.”

“It was mainly focused on ideological education right? We made you learn the doctrine through your body for three days. Do you like it?”

“How on earth could you do something like that… No. It was my fault for trusting you Luna.”

If I had stayed a few more days I might have been in real trouble.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

What I was expecting was fresh newbies but to accept this level of madness in just 3 days.

I almost poisoned South Korea.

Still it seems like a certain level of security is maintained thanks to Luna bringing in a lot of new recruits.

People would take pictures of me from afar but no one would think of running towards me.

I forced a smile and waved at the people.

And then he muttered quietly.

“I feel like I’m already going crazy.”

“No Your Majesty. What about my gift?”

“That’s right. I forgot and left it in Japan. Do you want to go get it?”

“Where is the person who goes to receive this gift? The lovely subordinate gave up all his free time and devoted himself to training the new recruits…”

Just as Luna was about to start sucking my life out at an incredible speed.

The people who had been cheering me on began to murmur again.

I wondered why people were suddenly like that but I soon figured out why.

The crowd parted for a moment and a man walked out holding a flower necklace.

Up to this point you might think it’s just a normal welcoming crowd.

But the man’s true identity was one that could not possibly be called ‘ordinary’.

“I sincerely congratulate you on your return to Korea Kim Si-woo the awakened one. You are truly the hero of the Republic of Korea!”

“But this is an airport with a lot of floating population and there may be elements that threaten safety… Is it okay for the president to suddenly appear like this?”

“Haha! What would I be so worried about? There is an irregular recognized by the United States right in front of me. Where else in Korea could there be a safer place than this?”

President Suh Shin-woo the head of state of the Republic of Korea came out to greet me in person.

He put a flower necklace around my neck and continued talking cheerfully holding out his hand to me.

“As soon as the summit is over we will formally invite you to the Blue House. Since you are familiar with Prime Minister Sasaki would you like to join us at the summit?”

“If that continues wouldn’t it be perfect for people to say things like the president sold the country to religion and the Remen sect is the real power?”

“That means I trust Kim Si-woo the awakened one. Okay here’s the camera. Would you like to look over there and laugh together?”

President Seo was equipped with a skilled showmanship as a politician.

I shook hands with President Seo and smiled again and the camera spotlight began to pour down on us.

Flashing lights.

In it President Seo spoke to me in a leisurely voice.

“Thank you for your favor. Thanks to you South Korea has been able to start a new chapter.”

“I just went there to save people. It was just a shame I couldn’t get there sooner.”

“The wave created by the awakened Kim Si-woo will change many things in the future. I will do my best to make sure you do not disappoint.”

An expression that seems determined about something.

I nodded slightly while looking at President Seo’s face. All my work as an irregular was done.

From here on out it’s just their problem to solve.

“Then shall we go home where our family is waiting?”

I let out a soft sigh in response to President Seo’s question.

“I would like to but I have some things to do as the Pope.”

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“Oh that’s right. Leaders are always busy.”

“I agree.”

Let’s go back to the temple.

There were still mountains of problems that needed to be solved.

5.

“Hello His Holiness the Pope!”

“Hello His Holiness the Pope!”

Although it was a three-day outing the atmosphere of our temple upon our return was incomparably different from three days ago.

First a group of people probably more than 100 people came out to greet us at the entrance to Ground Zero.

The people Luna brought to the airport were just the tip of the iceberg.

I forced a smile as I looked at the new recruits who were bowing at a 90-degree angle toward me. Then I looked at Luna as I waved.

“What on earth do I do with the kids…”

“Love and mercy. I only taught as Limen instructed. Oh and I will give a brief report on the new recruits Your Majesty.”

“Let’s listen as we go. Tell me.”

Luna continued with a faint smile.

“First of all the total number of trainees gathered here is 142. The oldest is 36 the youngest is 15 and the average age is 26.6. I took a quick look at the other side and our average age is definitely much younger. The only ones we can compare ourselves to are the Baekmyeonggyo at best?”

“That’s only natural. This is the Republic of Korea.”

Most of the people in established religions are people who have awakened to their faith in that religion. And in Korea the proportion of atheists is overwhelmingly prominent among the younger generation.

There was no need to overthink it.

Players who awakened with pure potential will go towards a new religion while players who awakened with upright faith will go towards an established religion.

By the way there are 142 people.

“What about the Baekmyeonggyo kids?”

“Surprisingly 190 people. That’s 48 more than us.”

“It’s not particularly surprising.”

It seemed that the Baekmyeonggyo guys had prepared a lot in one way or another. While everyone was confused they quickly recruited talented people and guaranteed a sure path to success through their connection with the Jeon Gak-ryeon.

It would have been a satisfactory result to have brought this much manpower to bear against those guys.

I think we’ve done some prevention to this extent.

Moreover since we have raised our profile in Japan this time we will be able to recruit a large number of workers not only from Korea but also from Japan so the weight will tilt more in our favor as time goes by.

“I think it would be much more effective if we also took care of the Jeon Gak-ryeon side… Okay how was the training?”

“Professors from the National Awakening Academy have been teaching about the duties and rights of Awakened people for the past two days and they are starting by teaching the core doctrines through the Bible that Leo translated.”

“What do you all think?”

“I don’t know yet. As Your Majesty said most of them are atheists right?”

It is difficult for an atheist to accept God overnight.

It’s a problem that will be solved over time. If Limen himself appeared and performed a miracle it might be resolved simply but given Limen’s personality it’s unlikely that he would appear for that reason.

As I was thinking about this and that a system message popped up before my eyes for the first time in a long time.

[A new category is unlocked.]

[You can now use the <Education> category. You can use this category to adjust how players in your sect grow.]

[The educational focus you can currently choose is <Doctrine Focus> <Combat Focus>.]

[<Doctrine Focus>: Additional experience points are awarded when studying doctrines. The functions of <Building: Monastery> are greatly enhanced and the efficiency of <Consecration> increases.]

[<Battle Focus>: The additional experience gained from battles increases. The functions of <Building: Paladin Headquarters> are greatly enhanced and divine power can be acquired through battles.]

A category that has a strong strategy game feel.

Each focus seemed to have its pros and cons but for me now it felt like there was actually only one answer.

I didn’t think about it for long.

“Combat focus.”

[The training focus is selected as <Battle Focus>. The training focus can be changed by paying a certain amount of Divinity Points.]

If Eden had defeated the Demon King and restored peace it would have been better to focus on <Doctrine>. After all there was comparatively less fighting compared to Earth.

But the Earth is very hot.

It means that it wouldn’t be strange if I were to be deployed to battle tomorrow. That’s why there was no room for hesitation.

A method of tempering their faith through battle after teaching them the Bible and core doctrines that will become the backbone of their faith.

As they cross the line of death and face countless deaths their faith will be tested but at the same time it will be strengthened through that test.

but.

“If this continues won’t the church be filled with only knights?”

The thing is most priests who grow through that method are paladins.

It would be ideal if the priests and paladins were balanced but I was a little worried.

But I couldn’t help but relax my expression at Leo’s subsequent words.

“Your Majesty there is nothing to worry about. Priests can also mature through ascetic practices such as combat. Wasn’t that the case for me as well?”

“That’s true.”

“Haha even so they are just people who read the Bible. Right Your Holiness?”

right.

Even in Eden there was a sense of rivalry between the archbishops and the commanders of the knights?

I forgot that Leo and Luna were both from the same prophet family.

Leo shook his head in response to Luna’s words.

“It is better than a shield-bearer who cannot even recite the Bible.”

“My little brother. Do you want to get some rank training from that shieldman for once?”

“You must remember that Your Majesty is also a priest Lord Reventon.”

“At the same time you also hold the position of Grand Commander of the Paladins commanding all Paladins. Isn’t that right Your Majesty?”

They both look at me at the same time.

A look in his eyes as if he was asking for someone to take his side.

At those words I quickly changed the subject.

“Did anything happen at the temple while I was away? An oracle or something.”

“There wasn’t any.”

“okay?”

It’s been a while since I’ve heard from Limen. It seems like something is going on in the other world but I can’t find out more so it’s frustrating.

I think it’s about time we contacted each other.

“Oh right.”

Instead Luna gave me different news.

“They said that Choi Seo-jin the representative of the Goblin Guild would be coming today so he should be here by now.”

“… Since Aiden is gone it’s CEO Choi this time? Is it the law of conservation of machismo or something?”

“Oh you’re over there.”

At Luna’s words I turned my head and looked forward. There CEO Choi was walking toward me with a smile on his face.

CEO Choi walks in without a single subordinate.

The Hawaiian shirt which doesn’t care about the season as it approaches winter emphasizes his manliness… what the heck.

This is really stupid.

“The world’s most recognized irregular! Isn’t that our Pope Kim? I almost fell asleep waiting for you.”

“I am CEO Choi.”

“yes!”

“If possible avoid American Barbarians.”

“A Barbarian? He’s someone I’ve always wanted to see.”

“I think one of us is going to die.”

Isn’t there a saying that when two identical people meet one of them dies?

In these cases the weaker one usually dies.

Even if CEO Choi is the best awakened person in South Korea he is not at the level to beat the Barbarian.

At my half-serious joke CEO Choi scratched his head and spoke in a voice that seemed to ignore me.

“Would you like to take a walk? I have something to tell you.”

“You can do it over the phone.”

“The rule of thumb is that business must be done face to face.”

What kind of business do you think you’re running that brought me here right after I returned to Korea?

I nodded and answered.

“I have a trail I’d like to show you. Let’s go together.”

Judging by the good feeling it seemed like CEO Choi had landed a good deal.

Are you already looking forward to it?

Our Pope please stop this