Somebody Stop the Pope – 73



Episode 73

22. Limen is watching

1.

The time since I returned home has passed in the blink of an eye.

Whether it’s training new recruits conducting baptisms or even planning new YouTube content.

It’s been a crazy week. But it’s also been a rewarding week.

The number of regular believers who applied to join our church has surpassed 320000 and the number of sacred players who chose our church has also surpassed 300.

Thanks to this I was able to accumulate enough divine points to upgrade existing characteristics and facilities.

The first place I invested my divine points was of course <Sanctuary>.

[Sanctuary Lv. 1 → Lv. 3]

[Intermediate holy water production has become possible allowing for the production of a wider variety of holy relics.]

[Intermediate Holy Water: Holy water with a moderate amount of divine power. It greatly increases the body’s recovery ability and can reattach partially severed body parts. It is excellent for emergency measures. It also has strong resistance to magic.]

Compared to the holy relics that had minor effects such as the popular holy water and holy stone bracelets the intermediate holy water and above were at a level where it was safe to use them in actual combat.

I personally checked and found that the ‘recovery potion’ currently being traded on Earth is not comparable to mid-level holy water.

The ‘recovery potions’ produced by production players on Earth are said to not be very effective and at best serve a supporting role to modern medicine.

If it were so effective players with recovery abilities wouldn’t have been so rare.

Of course if it was a restorative drug like ‘Elixir’ that only some of the alchemists of Eden could produce it would have restorative powers comparable to top-grade holy water not intermediate-grade holy water… But there’s no way that players on Earth who have only been around for 5 years at most could make something like that right?

Unless you are a returnee who is well versed in alchemy.

In addition compared to ‘Recovery Potion’ which requires various ingredients ‘Intermediate Holy Water’ does not require any special ingredients so it is a great winner in terms of cost-effectiveness.

The only downside is that there is a limit to how much you can produce per hour?

Anyway I started with <Sanctuary> and raised the level of the <Enlightenment> and <Baptism> traits that I already had.

Thanks to this I can now complete the main quest <Expansion of the Church – Preparation> that I received a long time ago by recruiting more Divine series players.

A fulfilling week has passed and in the meantime huge changes have come not only to the church but also to the Republic of Korea.

It was precisely because of me that the <Korea-Japan Summit> was realized.

“Japanese Prime Minister Hiroto Sasaki: ‘In order to end the long-standing conflict between South Korea and Japan we must first stand up to history. I sincerely apologize for the tragic history between our two countries.’”

“President Seo Shin-woo: ‘The time has come to collapse the wall of hatred that has blocked the two countries.’”

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

“Historic Korea-Japan Summit! Another Miracle Created by Irregular <Kim Si-woo>!”

“Let’s learn about <Kim Si-woo> and <Rimen Church> who connected Korea and Japan.”

“After all strength is the best. Isn’t that right Your Majesty?”

“International politics is inherently wild.”

“Everywhere people live is the same.”

I nodded slightly at Luna’s words.

As a priest I don’t think I’ve ever really thought that they acted like that because they wanted peace.

Perhaps there is a hidden political deal between President Seo and Prime Minister Sasaki.

In other words my existence was the biggest driving force behind the success of this meeting. And I had no intention of denying that.

“We have to work harder in the future.”

“Human emotions don’t disappear overnight. That’s true.”

“Because we’ve just taken one step.”

Whatever the circumstances it is true that both countries have taken steps forward. That is why we must continue to strive for peace in the future.

According to Minsu who is currently managing our church’s online applications the number of Japanese applicants for admission is increasing day by day.

If we continue to interact with each other as believers of the same religious denomination regardless of political calculations it will ultimately be helpful to Korea-Japan relations.

And it was certainly a change that would satisfy Limen.

“For the time being we need to focus on training the new recruits but let’s move on to the next step. First up the Purifier.”

The organization that last terrorized the Ability Management Department building.

They went to the extent of working to retrieve the Demon King’s incarnation and through Lee Se-hee they confirmed that their subordinate organization the <Altar> had already spread throughout the country.

I had already had many discussions with the government about that part. And I even received help from an unexpected source.

“I was planning on going around the country and looking for them one by one but I was luckier than I thought. I got help.”

“aid?”

“I don’t feel like it but… come in savage.”

The door to the office opened and a large man wearing a wolf skin came in.

It’s too painful to explain. Of course it was Aiden.

Aiden said with a hearty laugh as soon as he entered the office.

“When is the celebration party?”

“I will be with you when you die.”

“Our Pope is still a bit picky.”

Aiden quickly searched the office. Then his gaze soon turned to Luna and he said with a wicked smile.

“Oh I didn’t know there was such a beautiful lady! If I had known I would have dressed up and come. Haha!”

Luna frowned at Aiden who had been flirting with her since their first meeting. Then she spoke in a voice that seemed to suppress her irritation.

“Your Majesty. Are you close with this fool?”

A completely different reaction from when I first met CEO Choi.

Luca Cola say what you want to say.

I shook my head at Luna’s question.

“No way. I just think he became friendly with me unilaterally.”

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

Given Aiden’s personality it would have been natural for him to get angry at Luna’s straightforward remarks but surprisingly Aiden burst into hearty laughter.

“What is the lady saying?”

Oh you just didn’t understand.

The language Luna spoke just now was the Edenic Common Language. I want to see this guy grimace so let me translate it for you.

“They say you smell like sweat.”

“A beautiful rose has thorns. A hero doesn’t just pass by a beautiful woman. I think I’ve finally found out why I came to Korea.”

That was by far the worst comment I’ve heard since I returned to Earth.

And Luna wasn’t the type of person to just ignore comments like that.

Wooooow-!

I looked at Luna who had already summoned her hammer and gave her some advice.

“He won’t die anyway so feel free to hit him.”

2.

The irregulars were after all irregulars.

Aiden performed a feat that was almost like a show of brute force surviving five direct hits from Luna’s hammer and Luna who was enraged by this was barely able to get out of the temple bringing the situation to a close.

-I have prepared a gift.

The ‘gift’ Aiden had prepared was exactly what I needed just as he had said.

That’s information.

The information the US government provided through Aiden was of incomparably high quality to that held by the Department of Abilities.

Starting with the guilds that are likely to be related to the <Purifier> and even the political and business figures who have been recruited by them.

They had spread their reach far beyond what I had expected.

It was not only connected to some of the large guilds belonging to the Jeon Gak-ryeon but it also had influence in politics regardless of the ruling or opposition party.

However it was still not possible to believe information from the US at face value.

In this situation the method I chose was very simple.

“Siu. You are the hottest pope I know. I guarantee it.”

“There is nothing more accurate than seeing for yourself.”

“It breaks my heart that you seem to doubt our friendship but there’s nothing I can do about it. Love and friendship become stronger when tested.”

“You’re being a jerk you’re being a jerk.”

The method was to randomly select one of the pieces of information that had been passed on and check it directly.

I raised my middle finger at Aiden’s barking and slowly looked straight ahead.

This is a residential area located in Cheonan.

There were buildings here and there under construction perhaps in areas where gates and dungeons had once been overrun.

Actually it wasn’t such an awkward scene.

This is because there were many places in the metropolitan area where restoration work was in progress.

“Is that it?”

I discovered a nursery in that landscape.

There where a small playground was visible was a sign that read “Hope Orphanage.”

It was currently 4pm. As expected there were a few children running around the playground as if they were playing outside.

Compared to the surrounding residential areas that looked like they were built quite a while ago the building was very clean. You could tell with the naked eye that it had been built not too long ago.

At first glance it seemed like a very ordinary and clean daycare center.

but.

“According to the information you gave me this place is connected to those guys called the Altar?”

According to information from the American side this place has a subtle connection to the altar that is the branch of the Purifier.

It was written that it was a place regularly visited by people believed to belong to the altar.

Aiden answered my question vaguely.

“Yes. But even if I’m wrong don’t blame me. After all I wasn’t the one who investigated that information. I was just relaying the information.”

“Why are you afraid that the information might be wrong?”

“…No way. I don’t remember ever being afraid since I was born. I was always confident even in the face of tens of thousands of enemies. What could I possibly be afraid of?”

Judging from the way he looked at me as he said that it seems like the sacrum he got hit with back then must have been quite sore.

But since we haven’t properly verified its authenticity yet let’s just move on.

It’s not too late to give it a thorough check after checking the information.

“But what are you planning to do? Are you going to go undercover or something?”

“What about infiltration? If I were alone I wouldn’t know but how can I infiltrate with someone as big as you?”

“Then how do you get the information….”

“You can just walk in confidently. There’s no reason to be afraid.”

I walked confidently inside through the main gate of the daycare center.

Then all the children playing in the playground started looking at me.

It was a different look from the curious look that children usually show.

Rather it was a look full of caution.

What on earth are you so wary of?

So Aiden and I quietly entered the building receiving the children’s gazes. Soon a middle-aged man appeared from inside.

Hair with a hint of gray hair.

He was an impressive man with a gentle expression sitting behind black horn-rimmed glasses.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a guest come by unexpectedly. Usually they call in advance. My name is Shin Hyeong-seop the director of this place.”

He spoke to me in a soft voice and I smiled back at him.

“This is Kim Si-woo. By the way is it okay for me to come here without an appointment?”

“That’s impossible. I don’t know what brings you here but why don’t we sit down and talk?”

As he said that he guided us to a room with a sign that said “Director’s Office.”

There was nothing unusual about the inside of the director’s office except for the faint scent of coffee wafting through the air.

The bookshelves against the wall were filled with books on education and storybooks that seemed to be written for children. Although the space was not very large it had a very cozy feel.

“What would you like for tea?”

“An uninvited guest can’t even get tea. That’s okay.”

I sat down on the chair with a smile and Aiden followed me and sat down in front of me.

“I’m really embarrassed that someone I’ve only seen on TV suddenly showed up like this.”

“Oh do you know me?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know. He’s someone who appears on every news show so how could I not know Mr. Kim Si-woo?”

As he said that Shin Hyeong-seop took a sip of the cold coffee that was left in his cup.

“It’s easier to talk now that you know me. We at the Limen Church are looking for a place to directly sponsor.”

“We always welcome sponsors. As you may know it costs a lot of money to run a daycare center. The amount of government support has also decreased significantly since before Dimension Opening… By the way may I ask how you came to our daycare center? Although many people support our facility our daycare center is not that famous.”

At his words I looked at him quietly. Or rather at something floating above his head.

[Passive skill <Will to Destroy Evil> defines the opponent as a villain!]

[Lists the evil deeds of player <Shin Hyeong-seop>.]

[<Human Trafficking> <Assault> etc. 42 cases]

I looked at the message window and then said with the corners of my lips slightly raised.

“Isn’t it more important what I came to do than how I came?”

Our Pope please stop this