Please Stop The Pope

Episode 95

3.

“That friend, Representative Baek, still has a knack for quick calculations. She knows exactly what benefits her and when to make bold moves. It’s not easy for someone in her position to be that decisive. Our Pope Kim, you know this very well too, don’t you?”

“That’s true.”

Although I didn’t show it in front of Baek Seolhwa, Choi’s statement was undeniably accurate.

The reason I referred to her joining as a “transfer” was because of this very point.

It was clear that the current Guild Coalition was a fatal disadvantage for influencers like her.

Corruption scandals and collusion with villains surfaced more with each passing day. With the government determined to strike hard, Baek Seolhwa’s choices must have been extremely limited.

“Representative Baek Seolhwa must have had many grievances against the Guild Coalition.”

“You’d think they’d offer some perks for her to handle being their public face.”

“Not a chance. Do you really think those pig-headed people would share their interests with an influencer? Those prideful bastards would never. And in such a situation, Pope Kim appeared just in time. Ha! Thinking about it, this feels like a drama. Don’t you think it’s fate?”

Choi burst out in hearty laughter.

Though his remark came with some unnecessary side notes, I couldn’t help but partially agree with him.

“Sometimes, a relationship built on clear mutual interests is more reliable than one based on half-baked loyalty. We benefit from acquiring a talented and popular individual, and Representative Baek gains an umbrella to shield her from the Guild Coalition. It’s a win-win situation.”

Baek Seolhwa’s perspective likely wasn’t much different from Choi’s.

Considering how quickly she came up with the best possible move in such a short time, her judgment alone was worthy of recognition.

Moreover, factoring in her potent magical potential, it was clear she would be a tremendous asset to us.

Although not as sought after as holy players, mages on Earth were still in short supply.

Magic could cover areas that divine power couldn’t, making it a valuable strength.

Having an allied mage could only be advantageous.

“Then, let’s include Representative Baek Seolhwa in our next meeting.”

“The more young people there are, the more vibrant the group becomes. I’m very satisfied.”

“Listening to you, one would think you’re much older, Representative Choi. Even with a truckload of younger people, you’d probably handle them all effortlessly. Stop pretending.”

Good. With this, the discussion about Baek Seolhwa was roughly settled.

It was time to move on.

I slowly nodded and pulled a small wooden box from my pocket.

Inside the wooden box was a spoil from yesterday’s dungeon—a grotesque organic fragment.

I obtained it by tearing open a door, revealing the .

[Writhing Fragment]

Item Type: Miscellaneous – Unknown

Description: A fragment torn from an unclosed door. Its origin is unknown. A faint sense of ominous divine power lingers. Not much can be understood about it at present.

Growth Rate: 0%

You can cultivate the fragment using holy water. When the growth rate reaches 100%, the scenario quest will be unlocked.

Its disgusting appearance alone was enough to guess its troublesome nature.

I wanted to destroy it completely, but the word scenario in the info window kept bothering me.

Based on my experiences in Eden, the scenario quest tier only appeared when it could affect the entire dimensional system.

In other words, cultivating this fragment was far more important than it seemed.

I could guarantee that anyone would be repulsed by this grotesque thing.

But there was one thing I overlooked.

While I thought everyone would recoil at its horrible appearance, the people gathered here were far from ordinary.

“It looks just like a live octopus. Live octopus reminds me of soju.”

“Oh, Representative Choi. Want to grab a drink after this?”

“Sounds great, Luna. It’s on me.”

“Nice. I’ll cover the second round.”

Watching them casually drift off-topic at any opportunity reminded me of myself. Was this the so-called mirror therapy?

…No, that wasn’t the issue here.

“Focus, please. Look at this.”

I rolled up the sleeve of my priestly robe, revealing my right arm. On it, scars remained from where teeth had pierced me yesterday. Seeing this, Leo’s face twisted in anger.

“How dare some heretic lay their teeth on His Holiness! Just say the word, and I’ll personally ensure they all face righteous judgment.”

“Leo, don’t go overboard… Everyone, as you can see, even my body was breached for a moment. In other words, it was an extremely dangerous entity. The reason I’m showing you this is simple.”

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I continued, looking at each of my companions’ faces gathered in the office.

“As you can see, this is no longer a vague threat. It’s a danger we are already facing. The Purifiers will soon move openly, and the Guild Coalition will struggle to avoid decline. The Baegmyeong Church will also act more vigorously than ever before.”

The ripple effects of our actions were spreading uncontrollably.

In this situation, one thing was of utmost importance: never letting our guard down.

Though they weren’t here now, we’d maintain close communication with the Department of Ability Management and cooperate wherever possible.

From the start, our order alone couldn’t solve everything.

This realization hit me even harder after my arm was pierced.

My capacity to handle things alone was inherently limited.

Waiting for our new recruits to grow wasn’t an option either, given the pressing challenges ahead.

But there was no need to overthink it.

If we lacked hands, we’d borrow them from others.

With the Irregular Special Act in place and public opinion on our side, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

“The day after tomorrow, the purification of Ground Zero will be fully completed. After that, the government will begin dismantling the barrier, the Ark, surrounding Ground Zero. So, here’s what I propose.”

I grinned.

“Let’s deliver this great news live to the public together, all of us. Including Representative Baek Seolhwa, who will have just joined us.”

The game was already set. It was time to make it even bigger.

Recently, I’ve been going to Japan and then coming back to the country to catch villains.

I’ve definitely been neglecting the media. I occasionally showed my face on live streams, but the impact was somewhat lacking.

After returning to the country, I didn’t exactly settle down… well, I feel a bit guilty about that.

Anyway, preparing for the live stream made the two days pass by in an instant.

The news about the completion of the purification work at Ground Zero was huge, so we had a lot to prepare for.

Without the quick help of the Seolhwa Guild filming team, it would have been tight to keep up with the schedule.

Since Seol Se-myeong, the ace of Minsoo’s filming team, joined our order as a new player, we’ve still been short on staff.

Once they joined, the Seolhwa Guild has been contributing quite a lot.

There were about 2 hours left until the live broadcast.

We had a little time to spare, and since it was the weekend, I brought both Siyeon and In-wook along, feeling like we were going on a picnic.

Siyeon was running around the garden with Baekseol, Seungwoo, and others.

Thanks to In-wook, who made gimbap early in the morning, the picnic vibe was quite nice.

Even though winter had just started, the temperature here was like spring. This was because the holy power flowing out from the temple surrounded the area.

I took some gimbap from the picnic basket and put it in my mouth, while In-wook smiled, watching Siyeon run around.

“She’s so excited, huh? Baekseol looks really happy, doesn’t she? She’s more like a puppy than a cat.”

“Well, even a mutt can get a good start if it’s on its home turf. Baekseol’s home is here. See that tree? Her job is to protect that tree.”

I gestured toward the divine tree.

The growth rate of the divine tree was beyond imagination. Just a little while ago, it was barely up to my waist, but now it had grown taller than me.

Indeed, it was a divine tree.

“By the way, In-wook, you’re technically our channel manager, so don’t you think you should help with the live broadcast preparations?”

“Editors don’t know about those things.”

“…So irresponsible.”

“There are a bunch of famous experts in player broadcasting in Korea. Are you asking me to make wrinkles in front of a cocoon? If I get involved, they’ll be uncomfortable.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because I’m your little brother. I don’t want you to get bad-mouthed because of me. I’m just helping by being here.”

In-wook, this kid was admirable.

He could easily take advantage of my name, but he acted cautiously.

It was natural for In-wook to act this way, but he was still young. Even though he should be at the age where he likes to show off, he knew how to restrain himself. That made me really proud.

In-wook kept talking while staring at the divine tree, regardless of whether I smiled or not.

“9 million channel, 6 million channel, 4 million channel. A total of 19 million subscribers…When the scale gets this big, it doesn’t even feel real. This kind of collaboration is the first I’ve seen since I started editing for MyTube.”

“Yeah, it’s really huge. By the way, did our church’s MyTube subscribers hit 4 million already?”

“Luna put in a lot of effort. Leo also appeared whenever he could. You know everyone else is working hard, right?”

I had heard that Luna and Leo’s influence had grown significantly.

There were lots of comments saying that their banter in the everyday videos from the temple was the highlight?

I hadn’t had the chance to shoot any videos myself lately since I hadn’t been in the temple much.

“I’ll appear more often starting today. Don’t feel bad.”

“I’m more comfortable now. I don’t have to see your face while editing.”

“You’ll regret saying that.”

“I accidentally said what was on my mind.”

This is why having a younger brother can be both endearing and frustrating.

Just a moment ago, I was proud of him, but now I’d like to smack his back after a few blinks of his eyes.

In a way, that’s a talent too.

But today was a good day. In-wook had worked hard today, so I decided to let it slide.

Just as I was talking with In-wook,

“Is this your little brother?”

A silver-haired beauty, Baek Seolhwa, wearing an expensive coat, appeared in front of us.

Her appearance was definitely different from when we saw her in the dungeon.

Maybe it was because of the makeup, but she had a much more glamorous and elegant aura than before.

In-wook’s face stiffened as soon as Baek Seolhwa appeared. It was a typical reaction when he was surprised.

I glanced at In-wook’s face and let out a sigh, nodding my head.

“This is my little brother. The girl playing over there is my little sister.”

“And the guy next to her?”

“He’s the first saint of our order. He’s like family to me.”

“…I’m jealous.”

Baek Seolhwa muttered bitterly. Then, with magic, she created an ice chair next to me and carefully sat down.

“Thank you for accepting us.”

“If even one person had opposed it, I might have hesitated a bit. But, well, it was unanimous, so there was nothing to worry about.”

“I’ll try my best to contribute in the future.”

“Contribute? Just relax. You’ve already done enough by helping with today’s live broadcast. I’m grateful for that.”

I meant that from the heart.

Right now, I didn’t want anything from them. I just hoped that they would become stronger for the future ahead.

Baek Seolhwa nodded slightly. She looked at the filming team that was busily moving around in the distance and spoke.

“I saw there were more chairs than I expected earlier. Did you invite any guests?”

“It’s a historic day, after all. This is the perfect timing to show that these people are publicly on our side, so I invited some acquaintances. But whether they’ll actually come or not is still uncertain. They’re all people who are hard to get to move.”

Purifying the magical corruption and dismantling the ‘Ark’ around Ground Zero would be very symbolic for our sect and for Korea.

That’s why we were planning to broadcast this live, and I invited my friends to celebrate this event.

I had only announced that there would be a ‘live broadcast’ on the MyTube channel, but I hadn’t given any details.

It was a sort of surprise.

“Your Holiness.”

While I was talking to Baek Seolhwa, Leo came up to me.

“We have a guest.”

“A guest? Who?”

“Over there, they’re coming.”

I slowly turned my head.

A middle-aged man in a black suit was walking toward us confidently.

When he finally reached me, he extended his hand and said,

“I heard you were preparing a surprise, so I thought I’d try to surprise you as well. How have you been?”

“…I thought Minister Yoo would be coming.”

“Haha! It’s the weekend, so Minister Yoo needs to rest. Instead, a younger version of him has come.”

“Thank you for coming. You should have at least let me know beforehand.”

“Isn’t it true that a real surprise isn’t something you announce in advance?”

President Seo, after making a playful remark, whispered quietly in my ear,

“I have something urgent to discuss.”

What could it possibly be that the president of the country wanted to discuss in private?

“We’ll talk more in detail once we go inside. Since you’re here, let me briefly introduce you to the temple.”

“Sounds good.”

I tried to hide my uneasy expression and entered the temple with President Seo.

Somehow, I had a feeling that today wouldn’t pass by easily.