Somebody Stop the Pope – 96



Episode 96

5.

“The tea smells very good. It seems that Archbishop Leo is very knowledgeable about tea.”

“Our Archbishop Leo is a man who can do anything. He is deeply religious and knowledgeable. He is also good at connecting with people.”

“I also know that Archbishop Leo’s nickname is Folder. In fact I am one of Archbishop Leo’s biggest fans.”

“If you want wouldn’t it be okay to invite you to the Blue House later and watch the folding show live?”

“Haha! Thanks for the offer but I’ll have to decline! I don’t think I can handle the news headlines tomorrow.”

President Seo burst into laughter.

The place we are now is the temple’s office.

Since there was still plenty of time left until the live broadcast I gave President Seo a brief introduction to the temple.

“Then I’ll be out for a bit.”

Leo bowed politely and left the office.

Why does it seem like Leo just gives me a ride and leaves these days?

Leo was once a man who lived in battle to the point of being called a mad dog.

But it is true that the expression on his face now is much more pleasant to look at than the expression on his face back then.

For Leo who has fought as tirelessly as I have a peaceful life on Earth will be a respite.

I’m not sure how long this peace will last though.

“Pope Kim Si-woo seems to take good care of the people below him. There is a lot of warmth in his eyes.”

“Because he’s a friend who came to a world without connections because of me.”

“Well it’s not like there’s no connection. Archbishop Leo and Lord Luna. I think they all think so.”

President Seo said so and smiled gently.

I quietly looked at President Seo like that.

I felt a lot more harmless than when we first met on the way to the airport.

At that time he was a man who stood out somewhere but now President Seo has a very relaxed atmosphere.

“Thanks to Pope Kim Si-woo’s efforts for peace many things have changed. First of all my worries have decreased. My doctor is also very surprised at how much my health has improved. It seems that stress is the root of all illnesses. These days I feel very refreshed in the mornings.”

“You may call me Awakened as you normally would.”

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“I don’t know about other places but here you can’t call Pope Kim Si-woo by his title so carelessly. To do so would be to show disrespect to Limen who appointed the Pope and to the many believers who follow him.”

President Seo took a sip of the black tea placed in front of him. Then he continued speaking in a soft voice.

“I’m just checking on the lost land. I heard the news on my way back to Shinchonwadae and stopped by for a moment.”

“It must have something to do with the advance north right?”

“Would you believe me if I told you it wasn’t related?”

“No way.”

“It’s still in the planning stage. I’ll tell you more later when the plan is more established.”

From the way you say it it seems like it has nothing to do with that.

I honestly don’t think President Seo would have come here without any reason.

I don’t doubt his character but the president is a being whose every move cannot but be political. And this man was not so incompetent as to not know that obvious truth.

In this case there are two cases.

He came to give me a helping hand after hearing that the purification work was completed or he and I had something to say in person.

Given President Seo’s personality the former is definitely not the case. If he had intended to do so he would have made it known by sending Minister Yoo Seon-ho.

Then there is only one case left.

“I have something to tell you Pope Kim Si-woo.”

The president said he had something to talk to me about.

I nodded my head slightly.

“If you came here in person to talk about it it must not be an easy matter.”

“It’s a story that has a lot to do with Pope Kim Si-woo.”

“People of higher rank always talk about the main topic late. Okay. I’d like to hear that story.”

President Seo lightly put down the teacup he was holding. Then with a more serious expression he got to the main point.

“Yesterday morning we received a proposal from the Chinese government.”

“I told you you guys are really annoying.”

As he said the current Sino-Korean relationship is at its worst. I heard that the last Oak Wave was a major factor especially the terrorist incident.

Because the government even made an official statement saying it would hold the Chinese government accountable.

In that situation a proposal came.

I don’t know what kind of offer it is but one thing is certain: it will not be beneficial to us.

If it was a beneficial suggestion President Seo would not have made that remark in the first place.

“The Chinese government has officially proposed a friendly war between the Awakened. They plan to officially announce that they will improve the strained Sino-Korean relationship through exchanges between Awakened people.”

“What method?”

“This is a format in which Chinese awakened individuals visit South Korea in person. Their position is that they want to use this opportunity to conduct regular exchanges and restore relations between the two countries.”

“There are so many different ways to cause trouble.”

“I agree.”

Relationship repair sounds pretty on the surface.

Besides the cause is good.

If this side refused the friendly match it was obvious what the other side would do.

“If we refuse they will try to pass the blame for the worsening of bilateral relations onto us. What a classic tactic.”

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“The fact that we still use classical methods means that they are still effective.”

I nodded slowly at those words. These are the superficial reasons for now.

“Among the Chinese Awakened members who will be included in the friendly group is Wang Wei. He is one of the four Irregulars that China possesses. His nickname is Sword Ghost. It is said that he has actually blocked the giant gate by himself seven times.”

“Sending the irregulars to our side?”

“They are also demanding that Pope Kim Si-woo be included in the list for this friendly match.”

This must be their true purpose.

In fact the moment the word ‘friendly match’ came out I already had an idea.

But why is that?

“Phew.”

I couldn’t hide the corners of my mouth going up.

“So those guys are testing me right now? And they’re saying that after seeing me beat up that guy Aiden?”

“It seems that the US is judging that they intentionally gave South Korea a break in order to give it strength. And the fact that they have a very high level of trust in their own country’s irregulars is also a reason.”

“It’s very Chinese in many ways. It’s obvious what they want to gain from this friendly match.”

President Seo smiled bitterly and then spoke in a weary voice.

“It means they want to show off their power to us.”

“You want to send strategic weapons to a neighboring country for a friendly war?”

“It’s China.”

“Because it’s China.”

The word ‘China’ is truly a devilish word.

It is a devilish word that turns any bizarre event into something that could happen if you add the word ‘China’ to it.

But if you think about it it’s not such a bad suggestion for me.

If we create a precedent for strategic weapons from the other side to come over to this side the opposite case can also be established more easily.

For example I’m going to China to burn those Purifiers.

‘When you think about it that way it’s okay?’

It was something that was bound to involve many variables but there didn’t seem to be any particular reason for me to refuse.

I tapped my fingers on the desk and nodded slowly.

“I think it would be good to use this opportunity to set some good precedents… Yes Mr. President. There are probably cases where unfortunate accidents occur during friendly matches and people become disabled right?”

“…Um that is…..”

President Seo was speechless for a while.

6.

After all the talk was over I left the office with President Seo.

As we talked it was almost time to start the live broadcast.

“I think we’ve discussed the more urgent matters. I’ll tell you more details as things progress.”

“You don’t have to worry too much as I’m thinking positively.”

President Seo nodded with a big smile.

“It would have been nice if all the Awakened were like our Pope. Anyway I am truly sorry for coming here so suddenly. I know you must be uncomfortable so I will take my leave now…”

President Seo quickly finds a way to escape.

But it was impossible.

I said as I stood in front of him straight away.

“Haha Mr. President. Shall we go this way together?”

“yes?”

“You came to visit on a special day so you should at least have a spoonful. I heard that the broadcast preparations are almost finished. Please come and say a few words.”

The president laughed as if he was embarrassed by my suggestion.

“I heard that the Pope wants nothing to do with politics so I was thinking of just going back.”

“Good things should be shared. Isn’t that the coexistence that the President spoke of?”

The story to be announced during today’s live broadcast was also related to the government so it wasn’t particularly strange for him to attend.

Completing the purge of Ground Zero and dismantling the Ark.

This was enough to be called a great event for the Republic of Korea. And considering the relationship with the government that has continued up to now it was completely acceptable to raise the stakes by just a spoonful.

It’s not like we’re carrying anything separately so it wouldn’t be a big problem to give strength to those who are kind to us.

And above all

“You may have done whatever you wanted when you came but you won’t be able to leave. Do you not like it?”

How can you just send away a guest with this much influence?

At my words the President burst into laughter again. Then he shook his head and replied.

“No way. It would be an honor for me.”

“Okay then let’s move.”

7.

So I led President Seo and arrived in front of the sacred tree where the live broadcast was scheduled to take place.

When I first showed up with the President the atmosphere on the scene quickly calmed down.

Rumors had already spread that the President was visiting but I guess I didn’t really know that I would have the President appear on my live broadcast.

And that wasn’t all.

Aside from the president there were two other amazing guests who had arrived at the scene.

It was Mrs. Emma Miller and Aiden.

“It’s nice to meet you in a place like this ma’am.”

“Haha Siwoo invited me.”

“Oh is that so?”

President Seo immediately exchanged greetings with Mrs. Emma Miller.

“I couldn’t possibly refuse the invitation on such a historic day. I guess the same goes for the President.”

“Haha! I may be an uninvited guest but Pope Kim Si-woo has shown mercy.”

“Mr. President. See you again.”

“Oh! Mr. Howard. How are you?”

President Seo wondering if there was some kind of telepathy between the big shots began to talk actively with Madam Emma and Aiden.

As expected the three of them were conversing in English and before I knew it CEO Choi came up to me nodded and spoke to me.

“I just came back from checking the defensive posture one last time.”

“Was there any problem?”

“There’s no way there could be a problem. I’ve never seen this level of power in my life.”

If we were to summarize the defense forces that would make even CEO Choi Seo-jin stick out his tongue they would be as follows:

<East side. Players belonging to the Limen Sect centered around Leo and Luna.

West. Elite hunters belonging to the Goblin Guild.

South. Hunters from the Department of Ability Management and the Ministry of National Defense including Kang Chae-ah.

North. American Hunters guarding Mrs. Emma Miller and Aiden.>

It was a defensive posture that even from my perspective made it strange that there was definitely a problem.

“President Seo Shin-woo and Oracle Emma Miller… If a bomb goes off here it’ll start World War III right away.”

Snow White muttered in a small voice.

I answered that in a sly voice.

“Is the guest lineup okay?”

“Kim Si-woo you are probably the only person in the world who can invite the President and Oracle as guests on a live broadcast. I have to admit that.”

“I agree with what Ms. Baek Seol-hwa said.”

“This is what good fortune means.”

I feel proud because 9 million YouTubers and 6 million YouTubers are gilding my face.

I nodded in satisfaction and then looked back at my colleagues and said

“Now that all our guests have gathered… shall we begin the broadcast?”

Our Pope please stop this