Somebody Stop the Pope – 88



Episode 88

27. Undercover

1.

Director Kim hurried to the temple.

“Okay Director Kim. Shall we continue the story?”

“As I mentioned before the Seolhwa Guild is a medium-sized guild affiliated with the Jeon Gak-ryun. It was only established about 6 months ago. It has recently been growing in power after recruiting two A-rank hunters. Although it is still comprised primarily of hunters below A-rank… If you have any special information please check it out yourself on your tablet PC. Here.”

As expected Director Kim is definitely prepared.

Later I should ask President Seo to hand Director Kim over to our church.

I’ve heard a lot about this and it’s not easy to find a secretary like this. If I were to act a little too tyrannical as an irregular wouldn’t they reluctantly hand it over?

“…It’s gotten a lot colder these days.”

Director Kim suddenly shivered as if he had chills.

“It really does get cold.”

“I suddenly feel chills…”

He is a very sensitive person.

I really want it.

“Let’s just wait and see.”

As Director Kim said I picked up the tablet PC and tapped the screen a few times.

Then the file that Director Kim had left open in advance caught my eye.

<The most powerful force of the Snow Flower Guild is the guild’s representative ‘Snow White’. Her nickname is Ice Witch. She is an S-class hunter who uses cold magic. Her single-target destructive power is not outstanding but her wide-area destructive power is sufficiently acknowledged. However her personality is somewhat unique…>

Rather than information about the Snow Flower Guild it was information about the guild’s representative a woman named Baek Seol-hwa.

I already knew the general idea about Snow White from Minsu.

Snow White.

A young representative with outstanding beauty and top-notch skills.

Due to this she has gained celebrity-level popularity and her YouTube channel has a whopping 9 million subscribers.

It is said that he is a famous person who appears frequently not only on YouTube but also on TV shows and entertainment programs.

“The Snow Flower Guild is practically a guild for her. Oddly enough most of the guild members are her followers and aside from Snow White there are no notable hunters.”

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“You have a really good image externally. You do a lot of volunteer work and donate. You also have a solid fan base.”

“There are far more people in the world who wear masks than those who don’t. This is especially true for people like Baek Seol-hwa who crave public attention.”

“It’s a bit like that because we also live off of attention.”

“At least Siwoo is consistently causing trouble…”

Director Kim was about to continue speaking when he suddenly shook his head in surprise. Then he hastily returned to the main topic.

“The easiest way would be to pay a certain fee to the bidder and receive the right to bid on the dungeon. However considering the situation with Siwoo and the guilds belonging to the Jeon Gak-ryeon… it seems close to impossible.”

“I guess so.”

They say money is everything but if I were to ask a high price they’d be sure there’d be something in the dungeon.

If that happens they will be even more reluctant to give up their rights and in the worst case scenario Baekmyeonggyo may smell it and come running.

This is because the Jeon Gak-ryeon and Baek Myeong-gyo still had a cooperative relationship.

Thinking back to the case in Busan last time it seemed like the Baekmyeonggyo guys were able to track down the relics in their own way but there was no guarantee that they would know this time either.

In this situation I pay a lot of money and take ownership of the dungeon?

I am sure that the Baekmyeonggyo guys will also rush in with their eyes lit up.

“There is also a way to obtain the right to bid through a proxy.”

“That’s illegal.”

“Of course it’s illegal. I just wanted to tell you that there is a way.”

Even though I am granted immunity it only applies when punishing villains.

This is purely my personal matter so why should I bring up such privileges?

If it gets into the ears of reporters it’s an excuse that’s perfect for biting.

If I hadn’t done anything bad I would have no reason to step forward myself…

“wait for a sec.”

“hmm?”

“If he had many character flaws he would have done bad things right?”

If it’s not that you didn’t do anything bad but that you weren’t caught then the story would be very different.

Director Kim looked at me intently as if he had expected this.

I spoke confidently to Director Kim.

“I can’t give up. I just want to tell you that I’m thinking of forcibly breaking through in the worst case scenario.”

Regardless of the Holy Points quests related to the Holy Relics had to be completed.

There are so many things you can do with relics.

If you’re lucky you may be able to summon enough relics to set up a branch of the temple and the Japanese government is currently continuously requesting that you build a temple.

In fact recently many Japanese people are applying to become formal members.

It is said that many of the awakened divine players in Japan are choosing the Rimen cult.

A holy relic in this situation?

I can’t give up even one.

Besides it was clear that if we gave up we would all end up in the mouths of Baekmyeonggyo.

“I knew you would come out like that.”

Director Kim nodded his head with a deep sigh.

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“If you forcefully suppress a dungeon that someone else has bid on without any justification there will inevitably be a lot of talk. If the Irregulars are abusing their power now that the Irregular Special Act has been passed it won’t be a pretty picture for Siu or the Limen Church.”

“Director Kim may not know but it’s very important to us…”

“So I’ve prepared a second option. Please listen to it first and then think about it.”

I nodded to his words and soon Director Kim began telling me the ‘second best plan’ he had prepared.

The explanation of the ‘alternative plan’ continued for about 10 minutes after that.

Director Kim briefly explained his plan and finished his explanation with a few coughs.

“This is just a draft. It’s a hastily made idea so there are many parts that need to be developed but if Siwoo-nim wants I’d like to go in this direction…”

“Director Kim.”

“yes?”

“Why don’t you come to our church while we’re at it? I can give you the same salary I’m receiving now. Wow I never imagined that. You’re even more ambitious than me.”

“…Ahem then how can we proceed like this?”

“Did you give this an operation name or something?”

Director Kim answered my question in a small voice.

“I’ll leave it at that level of undercover.”

“This is why it’s like a spy story. Okay let’s go with this.”

A project that has both fun and practicality.

It was the beginning of undercover.

2.

[The system restrictions placed on you will be lifted shortly.]

[5…4…3…2…1]

[The system restrictions are lifted.]

“It’s finally over.”

The 168-hour time limit that had been placed on me has ended.

In short the one-week vacation is over and I can get back out there.

I checked the body’s condition roughly through various commands and found that everything was functioning normally.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

Nothing much happened but my body has been really achy for the past week.

As expected those who are used to being out and about must continue to be out and about. Now it’s starting to feel like I’m just sitting still.

by the way.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you Director Kim.”

This is Geumosan Mountain located in Gumi-si Gyeongsangbuk-do.

I was talking to Director Kim in his car.

“You don’t have to worry as the Awakened Kang Chae-ah has verified its performance several times and has actually conducted experiments.”

“Surely magic is convenient in times like this. We religious people are somewhat lacking in this ability.”

I nodded in satisfaction as I held the necklace he handed me in my hand.

Operation Undercover.

As the name suggests the operation is summarized as follows:

“1. Participate in the Sulwha Guild’s dungeon raid as a porter while wearing a necklace with Kang Chae-ah’s illusion magic.

2. Wait until the target is found.

3. When you find your target quickly grab it and quietly escape.

It’s a great summary even in my opinion.

Of course Director Kim has placed detailed elements between those summaries but the core of the operation is those three lines.

Anyway the purpose of this operation is to retrieve the relics from the other world without any controversy.

But the chances of that happening were extremely slim.

Because there were countless variables.

“First of all we believe that this place is likely a double dungeon. If it were an Abyss dungeon connected to another world our detection team should have already detected it.”

“Double dungeon?”

“It refers to a structure where another dungeon is hidden within a dungeon. Usually it is activated through a specific trigger but it is a rare dungeon that has only been discovered four times since the opening of Dimension.”

It was the Ability Management Department that detected the Abyss Dungeon that occurred in Busan last time.

According to Aiden the South Korean Ability Management Agency may not have combat power but its detection capabilities are recognized even in the United States.

They have a lot of highly skilled detection players.

Anyway it is true that it is an uneasy place in many ways.

[You are approaching the objective point of the quest <???>.]

If it weren’t for this system message window I might have been suspicious too.

But the system doesn’t lie.

Because that’s a proposition that’s been maintained ever since I came into contact with the system.

“As long as you’re careful with Snow White there won’t be any major problems. That necklace is a method our Black Agents often use to infiltrate. Snow White could detect the tiny amount of magical power contained in the necklace…”

Woohoooooo-.

I put divine power on the necklace.

“You don’t have to worry I’ve hidden my magical power with divine power.”

“…Is that possible?”

“It’s easy. You just create a thin layer of divine power on top of your magical power.”

Instead if the curtain touches the necklace even a little bit the magic power may disappear but this level of detailed control is not difficult for me.

After hearing my answer Director Kim nodded with an expression that seemed to show that he had given up on understanding.

“Okay. As long as you wear that necklace other people will see you as an ordinary man in his mid-30s. That’s what Kang Chae-ah Awakened One set it up for.”

“Please tell Chae-ah I said thank you too.”

“Lastly I would like to say that the treatment of day laborers is worse than you can imagine.”

“Ah I’ve heard of that. Our temple caretaker explained it to me in great detail.”

We have already heard enough stories about day laborers from Mr. Jin Seo-jun.

People who serve as porters in dungeons or gates.

Although the treatment of porters affiliated with the company is relatively good most daily porters work in a legal gray area.

I heard that players with weak combat skills or ordinary people in need of money mainly work as day laborers and that verbal abuse and cruel acts are commonplace as they are outside the scope of the law.

But that was the only way to participate in the raid without being part of a guild so I had no choice.

“The Snow Flower Guild has had its share of problems with the day laborer issue. However those problems were buried without anyone noticing.”

“They were friends with criminal records.”

somehow.

When I applied to be a day laborer they accepted me without even checking properly.

Of course if you listen to Jin Seo-jun the situation in other places is very similar.

I guess I’ll have to experience it myself to find out more.

I put the necklace around my neck and got out of the car.

Director Kim spoke quietly through the half-open window.

“Then I hope you achieve your goal without any problems. I will be waiting nearby.”

“I also hid a secret weapon just in case but don’t worry you can go home from work.”

“Secret…weapon? Who is it…?”

“Hey if I tell you that it won’t be a secret. Anyway I’ll be back.”

After greeting Director Kim who had an uneasy expression on his face I walked straight ahead.

It feels like I’m the main character in a spy movie it’s a refreshing feeling for the first time in a while.

The mountain air is good and it feels like taking a forest bath.

Did we walk leisurely like that for about 20 minutes?

“They all came.”

I heard a loud noise from afar and went over to find a group of players gathered there busy checking their weapons and supplies.

The snowflake pattern on their clothing indicates that they belong to the Snow Flower Guild.

“What are you?”

Several players from the Tale Guild who discovered me quickly approached me.

I smiled brightly at them who were showing their wariness and spoke in the most cowardly voice possible.

“I am Kim In-wook who applied for a day laborer position. I was asked to come here…”

By the way Kim In-wook is the pseudonym I will be using this time.

I wrote this while thinking of Inwook.

“Wait I’ll check.”

After a while the man who had confirmed my pseudonym through his smartphone nodded. Then he pointed to the right with his finger and said

“Porters stay there. I’ll send someone to take care of you soon so just stay still.”

“Yes yes.”

There were already six people sitting and waiting where his finger was pointing and their expressions were all tired.

A face that looks like it has a lot of stories.

I walked in between them and took a seat.

Then the other porters gathered there glared at me warily.

How hot their gazes were. Still let’s give them a word of encouragement even though we can’t spit on a smiling face.

“The weather is really nice. Did you all eat?”

Today seemed like it would be another fun day.

Our Pope please stop this