Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 80

3.

Yaoooong-!

“Do you think Baekseol is getting bigger? Or is it just me?”

“It really is getting bigger.”

“If it gets a bit bigger, Siyeon could ride on it, right?”

“There’s nothing Baekseol can’t do, it’s so cute!”

I nodded in satisfaction while stroking Baekseol’s white fur.

I saw the divine tree growing earlier, and it seems like this cute divine beast has grown as well.

Not too long ago, it was just a cute little creature, but now it’s getting a bit longer horizontally.

Isn’t it going to become huge like a tiger soon?

That would be troublesome.

“But why did Baekseol suddenly grow like this?”

At In-wook’s question, I answered while stroking Baekseol’s back this time.

“It seems like the good deeds I did recently cleaning up the villains got classified as good deeds.”

“Cleaning up bad guys is definitely a good deed. But what’s the connection between good deeds and Baekseol?”

“Baekseol grows by eating good deeds. As the followers of the Limen church accumulate good deeds, the divine tree grows, and Baekseol grows along with it. If you think of it like that, it’s easier to understand.”

In-wook’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Then, doesn’t that mean Baekseol will grow like a tiger later on? Wouldn’t Siyeon be upset?”

It was then.

Swooosh-.

Baekseol, who had been watching us closely, shrank back to its original form, like the small creature it used to be.

Then it alternated its gaze between me and In-wook with bright eyes, as if asking for praise.

In-wook and I silently watched for a moment before looking at each other.

“No need to worry.”

“No need to worry.”

As expected, a divine beast is a divine beast.

The ability to adjust its size as desired is such a convenient power.

If I keep making it grow, it can switch between its small form and turn into a beast capable of hunting down monsters in emergencies.

Kkiii-

Such a cute creature. It deserves a reward.

“In-wook, treat.”

“Here you go.”

Squick- squick.

As I opened a treat and squeezed it out, Baekseol started licking it furiously.

A divine beast that loves treats.

That’s cute too.

I continued to stroke Baekseol’s fur while talking.

“I heard grandma went to Yeoju.”

“That seems dangerous.”

“Why?”

“You’re famous now too. You don’t get along with the Guild Coalition either. What if people with bad intentions try to harm her?”

It was a valid concern, but the place grandma was heading to was probably the second or third safest spot in South Korea.

“Look at this.”

I took out my smartphone from my pocket and showed it to In-wook. It was a KakaoTalk conversation with someone.

Barbarian: Miso soup. Korean food tastes good. Siwoo. Don’t worry about Siwoo’s grandmother. She’ll enjoy her vacation here for a while. If help is needed, just let me know.

Me: Using a translator?

Barbarian: Mamago. Good performance. Anyway, no worries.

Me: Okay

“…Is this Barbarian the actual barbarian?”

“Yeah. He also came to Korea. Do you know that grandma’s friend, Mrs. Emma, came from America? Mrs. Emma is going to live in Korea for a while, and I think she’ll be staying with grandma.”

“They must have gotten really close. But what does that have to do with the barbarian being at grandma’s house?”

“Until Mrs. Emma returns to America, Aiden is directly providing security for her.”

Mrs. Emma Miller, one of the biggest assets that America holds. It wasn’t surprising that Aiden would personally provide security for her.

In any case, with the situation being like that, I didn’t have to worry about grandma for now.

I set my smartphone aside and took a quick look around the house.

“This house will soon be a thing of the past.”

“Yeah.”

We had already decided on the new house and set the moving date.

It was an apartment near the Ground Zero temple. The space was bigger than this place, so it would be good for guests to visit.

For example, Leo and Luna.

The area itself was also close to the temple, making it perfect for protecting In-wook or Siyeon.

“Won’t Siyeon feel sad? Kids usually don’t like moving to a new school.”

“She was actually happy because she thinks she can make new friends. Siyeon is way more mature than you think.”

That was a relief.

I was worried she might cry and throw a fit, but it looks like I was just being overly anxious.

“I found out that the elementary school Siyeon will be attending is pretty well-known. They said a lot of kids from big guild families or rich people go there.”

I slowly nodded to In-wook’s words.

“They have good security there. They even hire Hunters for guard duty, and it seemed safe.”

“Do you think Siyeon will be intimidated there?”

“Not likely. Who’s her brother?”

Had our voices been too loud?

The door to Siyeon’s room opened, and Siyeon walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes.

“What are you two doing so late?”

“Siyeon, you’re awake? Sorry, we were being too loud.”

“It’s okay. I took a nap earlier, so I can’t sleep now.”

Siyeon said that and crawled between me and In-wook. She then hugged Baekseol and smiled widely.

“Big brother, when we move, will we be able to see Uncle Leo and Luna often?”

“Of course.”

“What about Seungwoo oppa?”

“…Of course.”

“Hehe, that’s great.”

Seeing the cute Siyeon holding the cute Baekseol, it was hard to describe the level of cuteness.

It was like the cuteness was multiplied.

“Before we move, can I say goodbye to other people?”

“Other people?”

“Yeah! The apartment guard, the neighbors upstairs, the grandma and grandpa downstairs, and…”

How thoughtful of her.

I stroked Siyeon’s head and slowly nodded.

“Okay, let’s go say goodbye to everyone.”

“Really? I was worried I wouldn’t have time to say goodbye, but I’m glad.”

“Speaking of which, In-wook, the neighbors have been really kind to us. Do you think it’s okay to give them a gift before we leave? I’ll pay for it, so don’t worry.”

“Is there anything wrong with that? Should I give you a bonus?”

“No, it’s fine. After all, you’ve been away for so long, right? We should be the ones taking care of things.”

My thoughtful younger siblings. How could I not spoil them?

I smiled contentedly. After all, there’s nothing happier than spending time with family.

For the next week, I stayed at the temple while focusing on internal affairs. From finishing up the cleanup operation of Ground Zero to the compilation of the Limen Bible translated by Leo, and so on.

That alone kept me extremely busy.

On top of that, I had to manage the occasional MyTube live broadcasts, so time really seemed to melt away.

After Oh Junwoo’s whistleblowing, the domestic political situation began to spiral into confusion.

“The Guild Coalition unanimously expels the Hive Guild from the alliance.”

“Unprecedented collusion with villains! What has been happening in the black market’s internal areas?”

“The government plans to strengthen the functions of the Department of Ability Management by preparing a large-scale supplementary budget. The ‘Irregular Special Law’ will be discussed in the emergency national assembly.”

The reporters were in a frenzy, and the public started ruthlessly criticizing the Hive Guild and the Guild Coalition.

Just a few months ago, people had called the Guild Coalition the last bastion of South Korea, but now, they were attacking it more fiercely than anyone.

Even though they took the drastic measure of expelling the second-ranked Hive Guild, the situation continued to escalate.

Some guilds affiliated with the Guild Coalition were expressing their intention to leave, which gave an idea of how severe the internal chaos was.

Amidst all the noise in the country, I received a summons from the government.

It was similar to the summons made during the Monster Wave event, but this time, the government was calling not for “Irregular Kim Siwoo,” but for “Pope Kim Siwoo of the Limen Church.”

This place was now the headquarters of the Department of Ability Management, which had become as familiar as my own home.

“Heh heh. It seems like all the famous religious figures from around the country are here, Pope Kim Siwoo.”

I sighed while looking at the young-faced monk who had been chattering beside me.

This monk, who introduced himself as Beopun, had been distracting me with his non-stop talk for the past ten minutes.

The others gathered here were busy sizing each other up, but apparently, this monk had no such reservations.

“Isn’t this truly a great religious unification? It’s not every day we get to sit with others from the same industry. Ha ha! Even the Buddha would be very pleased to see this scene.”

“Same industry…I think that might be an inappropriate word for a monk to use.”

“Isn’t it the same for us to deliver the teachings of the beings we follow to the sentient beings? In that sense, we are in the same industry! Ha ha!”

“…Monk.”

“Heh heh, what did you just say?”

“I’ll refrain from commenting since you seem to have understood.”

His hearing was remarkable. I muttered so quietly that it would be hard to hear, yet he still caught it.

I lightly waved my hand and then casually looked around the meeting room.

Apart from this monk representing the Jogye Order, three more people were seated.

A middle-aged nun with a gentle smile.

A man who had been provocatively staring at me since earlier, wearing a cross necklace.

Finally, a familiar man dressed in a white coat.

As soon as I made eye contact with the man in the white coat, he smiled and bowed his head.

“Long time no see, Pope Kim Siwoo. Have you been well?”

“Of course. I’ve been doing well.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

It was Shin Jin-gyu from Baegmyeong Church, whom I had faced off with at Ground Zero in Busan.

As could be seen from the attendees in the meeting room, everyone gathered here was a religious figure.

To be more precise, they were all religious figures who had awakened ‘Divine Power.’

The nun was obviously from the Catholic Church, and the hostile gentleman next to her was likely from Protestantism.

To sum it up, the five groups represented here were Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Baegmyeong Church, and us.

The common trait among these five groups was that they each had more than 100 Divine Power users within their ranks.

It wasn’t likely that the government had called them here just to share friendly bonds between religious figures.

I was honestly curious about the real reason.

According to what Director Kim had told me earlier, this was an agenda that could potentially declare a state of emergency. What could it be about?

“Everyone has arrived.”

While I was trying to ignore the monk’s incessant talking and wondering about everything, Minister Yoo Seon-ho entered the meeting room.

Following him, five individuals entered the room, and there was no sign of Divine Power emanating from them.

Instead, the ID cards hanging around their necks read “Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency”, which led me to assume they were public officials from the KDCA.

Divine Power users and the KDCA.

And an agenda that could potentially declare a state of emergency…

‘Is it an epidemic?’

The first thing that came to mind was an epidemic.

As soon as Minister Yoo Seon-ho sat down, he got straight to the point.

“I apologize for having to gather you all so quickly. The situation isn’t good, so let me begin the briefing right away. Director, please proceed.”

“Yes, Minister.”

At the Minister’s words, the man sitting next to him stood up and began displaying the prepared materials on the screen while speaking.

“First, please take a look at the presentation.”

-Beep.

When he pressed the remote, the screen changed, and the room was filled with sighs.

It was no surprise since the screen was showing pictures of patients in a devastating condition.

From purple and blackened bodies to bandages soaked in black blood.

That wasn’t all.

The government not only showed pictures but also played videos for us.

Aahhh!

Aahhh!

The videos showed some patients thrashing wildly in a quarantine facility.

“This video was taken in a temporary quarantine facility located in northern Daejeon. An unidentified epidemic has been identified in the refugee facility there. It is believed to have started spreading four days ago, and the area is currently under control.”

It was as I had expected but the others seemed unable to grasp the situation.

“Hmm, if it’s an epidemic, wouldn’t medical professionals be the right people to handle it?”

Monk Beopun said, and the religious figures in the room nodded.

Then the director of the KDCA immediately continued his explanation.

“Normally, that would be the case, but this time, it’s different. No pathogens have been found in the patients’ bodies.”

“What does that mean…?”

“Instead, we suspect that unusual energy waves emanating from the patients’ bodies are the medium of transmission. Since this phenomenon cannot be explained by medicine alone, we are seeking your help.”

I couldn’t help but mutter in amazement as I listened to him.

It seemed like they had never encountered this kind of situation before, but just figuring out that the energy waves were the medium of transmission was worthy of applause.

Of course, there was no way they’d find any pathogens in the patients’ bodies.

This wasn’t an epidemic like the usual ones people were familiar with.

The disease was spreading through demonic energy contamination or curses.

I sighed deeply and then spoke in a low voice.

“It’s a demon disease. We called it that in the world I was in.”

It seemed like a troublesome entity had crossed over.