NOVEL WEB It’s the weekend morning that everyone loves so much.
I was lying on the sofa, cradling Rohan in my arms. Lately, this has been how I spend my free time.
‘So comfortable.’
These days, I’ve become completely addicted to my smartphone.
There are just too many fun things like watching iTube, exploring Green Wiki, and other entertaining stuff. I could watch them all day without getting bored.
I had no idea that spending time aimlessly could be this enjoyable. In my busy days with the papal duties, such fun was unimaginable.
I even understood a bit why Liam has chosen to be unemployed. He probably thinks, “Why stress myself with work when I can just chill and eat?”
‘…That’s annoying.’
Knowing the reason made him look even worse. Who thinks that work is done for fun?
If I had it my way, I’d want to lie down like this forever too. But I couldn’t. There are things I have to do.
Ever since I hired someone to handle external affairs, I was planning to run the Order busily.
So, I decided to fully relax while I could.
“Rohan, please give me strength.”
I gently patted my squirming son’s back. Rohan merely looked at me with wide eyes but didn’t offer any comfort.
Such a cold-hearted kid. I chuckled and squeezed his chubby cheeks.
“I’m just saying this in case, but please don’t turn out like your dad.”
Suddenly feeling anxious, I brought up my usual worry again. No matter how many times I repeat it, it never feels enough.
Please let his personality resemble mine. I softly caressed the back of my youngest, lost in thoughts that I must have had dozens of times before.
“You look comfy.”
At that moment, Seo-yoon came out of the inner room and chimed in.
I sat up and patted the seat beside me. Seo-yoon immediately sat next to me and started to examine me closely.
“What’s up?”
“Can the pope wear something like this?”
That was a rather sudden question. Seeing her serious face, it didn’t seem like she was joking. She looked genuinely curious.
She seemed fascinated. Well, it’s understandable. A serious pope wearing such playful clothes is quite a sight.
“Of course, it’s fine.”
I pulled up the hood attached to the back of my head. It had a Shiba Inu face on it.
“Do I look good?”
This was a one-piece microfleece pajamas that I had bought recently.
With a cute design resembling a Shiba Inu and details like a tail, it was also incredibly comfortable, so I was satisfied.
The kids loved it too, jumping around while saying, “Mom has turned into a puppy!”
“Erina and Ibailla said it suits me well. I agree with them.”
“It’s not bad, but…”
However, Seo-yoon’s response was a bit vague. She wore an awkward smile, like someone holding back a lot to say.
‘…Does it look weird?’
She didn’t seem to be giving any hints that she liked it.
Could it be that she was trying to hold back comments about me acting my age? Her reaction made me feel uneasy.
It seemed like I had made a foolish attempt. Maybe I should have just bought a normal pajama.
“I’ll go change.”
“No!”
Seo-yoon quickly grabbed me as I was getting up, speaking urgently.
“Just wear it. It’s cute.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I think it’d be fine for the family to match.”
At her words, I briefly imagined the whole family dressed in animal pajamas. Just the thought of it made me smile.
Especially for the kids, it would suit them perfectly. Just wearing the pajamas and sitting still would bring a smile to my face.
Liam… well, he wouldn’t care either way. Did he really need to wear one too?
Anyway, coordinating outfits for the family didn’t seem like a bad idea. It felt like adding a little happiness to our everyday life.
“Thanks for the good suggestion. Then, can I ask…?”
“While it’s cute, it doesn’t make you look younger.”
“……”
I sent a fleeting glance of disappointment and then spoke up.
“That’s not what I was going to ask. I was going to ask what animal would suit each of us.”
“…Ah.”
With an embarrassed expression, Seo-yoon looked away, slowly lowering her head. Then, she naturally began to pet Rohan, who was tucked into my arms.
“Rohan, isn’t mommy pretty? Aren’t you proud?”
It was a blatant flattery that was as obvious as daylight.
*
“Oh, right.”
Seo-yoon, who had averted her gaze from me for a while, suddenly sprung up. Rohan jumped around in my arms, startled.
I lightly shook my body to calm him down and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Come here.”
Seo-yoon led me into our main room and sat me down in front of the computer. On the monitor screen, a folder was opened.
The folder was filled with several documents. Upon a closer look, all of them were someone’s resumes.
It seemed she had safely completed the task I had assigned.
“I’ve sorted out only the successful candidates.”
The evaluation of the external affairs applicants had finally come to an end.
It took longer than expected due to the large volume, but considering it was my first time doing this, I thought the pace was not too bad.
“How many are there in total?”
“277 people.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I took Seo-yoon’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while smiling brightly at her.
“Indeed, Seo-yoon, you’re my treasure. I can always count on you to get things done perfectly.”
“It’s really not that great…”
“I’m going to teach Erina and Ibailla to learn from their aunt. Then they’ll grow up to be helpful and respectable adults.”
I showered her with compliments without holding back. That way, she’d be more motivated to work hard in the future.
Naturally, I wasn’t saying anything insincere. Everything I said was genuine.
Praising others based on facts was a skill I had learned as a pope.
Seo-yoon looked bashful but didn’t reject my praise or touch. It seemed she didn’t mind it.
“Thanks so much.”
After her grateful response, she turned her gaze back to the monitor screen.
277 people. The document review was over, but it was still too many for interviews. We needed to narrow it down further.
“What will you do now?”
“I’ll need to filter out some applicants in the second round.”
I was used to doing evaluations like this. It was something I did every time appointing priests and holy knights.
I always had to assess the character, abilities, and faith of the applicants thoroughly before making a decision.
But since I’m human, it was always challenging to judge fairly based on an unwavering objective standard. That’s why I created the sacred spell.
With a gentle smile, I leaned back in my chair.
“Now, I’ll commence the personality test.”
Seo-yoon’s eyes widened at my words.
“We’re doing that here?”
“Do you think it’s impossible? Not at all.”
With the goddess by my side, nothing was impossible. Peering into someone’s character was nothing more than a trivial task for me.
Of course, I didn’t need to meet them in person to do this.
Sacred power was merely a fragment of the goddess’s divine abilities. If used well, it could transcend physical distance.
“Gracious sun, if you have the time, please evaluate with me.”
Chanting a simple prayer, I gathered sacred power visually. Slowly and carefully, not in a rush.
Gradually, my eyes began to warm up. The temperature rose as heat gradually built up.
However, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. The warm rays of the goddess were encased in my eyes.
“I’m starting now.”
Sacred spell, the light that scorches darkness.
This spell would allow me to check the qualities of the applicants across space.
The medium was the resumes. They were filled with each person’s passion and effort, making it possible to connect with the writer along the path of the soul.
“Please stay quiet so I can focus.”
Seo-yoon nodded and stepped back. I smiled in appreciation before opening the first resume.
I wondered what kind of disposition this person had. Was there a risk they might be twisted in some way? I focused on establishing multiple criteria for the evaluation.
“…”
I stared intently at the first applicant’s resume for a while before turning around. Then I shook my head.
“Rejected?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then why?”
What to do? The words escaped me, and I contemplated for a long time before finally saying quietly, “This isn’t working.”
“…What?”
“It seems that my sacred spell doesn’t work on digital devices.”
“……”
Seo-yoon’s once-cheery expression began to freeze in real-time. I felt guilty and hastily explained, “In that world, there are no computers. That’s why I couldn’t see through it. If the resumes were printed on paper, it would work perfectly!”
“Then what about your brother-in-law? He could track a location with just one ID.”
“……”
I wanted to say that was because he was a demigod, but I held back. Seo-yoon’s gaze was increasingly turning into one that looked down on me.
“Don’t give me that look; I have a solution.”
Fortunately, I was a modern individual. As a member of an intelligent contemporary society, a solution had popped into my mind.
I immediately pulled out my smartphone and sent a message via Kakaotalk to an old friend at the National Intelligence Service.
[Eluke: Are you free, agent?]
[Hainha: Yes.]
As expected, she was prompt as ever. That’s why I could trust her with my tasks.
[Eluke: I’ll send you a file, so please print all of it and bring it over.]
[Hainha: Understood. Please email it to me.]
I knew she wouldn’t refuse. With a joyful heart, I compressed all the resumes and sent them to the email address Hainha provided.
A moment later, after checking the file, Hainha sent a slightly flustered message.
[Hainha: This is a bit too much.]
[Eluke: I’m counting on you!]
[Eluke: (Cute bear emoji with heart eyes)]
To avoid any chance of refusal, I sent a flurry of emojis filled with charm. Thankfully, the diligent agent didn’t say no.
[Hainha: I’ll be there shortly.]
[Eluke: You’re the best…]
[Hainha: ?]
[Eluke: I’ll be waiting.]
After finishing my conversation with Hainha, I immediately grabbed the mouse.
I was planning to prepare for the interviews as well. I needed to find a location and think up questions in advance.
Moreover, I needed interviewers too.
In that world, I could handle it alone, but here, that wouldn’t work. I still hadn’t fully adapted to modern society.
‘Who should I bring?’
I couldn’t just take anyone. They had to be a high-ranking individual within our Order, someone trustworthy with significant faith.
However, since our Order’s members were still sparse, no suitable candidates came to mind.
Even bringing Seo-yoon wouldn’t be enough. I wanted a trio for the interviews.
Hainha was just a layman; even though he supported me during my first stream, he still didn’t possess genuine faith. He wouldn’t be suitable as an interviewer.
So what should I do?
‘Ah.’
As I pondered, suddenly someone fitting my criteria came to mind.
I immediately hopped onto the Tribe platform and sent a private message.
[The Pope: Congratulations, you’ve won the event :)]
*
“취직하고싶다” Jun-seok logged into the Tribe today as well.
He was planning to explore hacker streamers and announce any ones he liked to the community. This had become a routine for him.
No one paid him wages, but he was doing it out of his own sense of pride and fulfillment.
‘What’s this?’
Upon entering Tribe, he found a private message waiting for him. Without much thought, Jun-seok opened it and flinched.
[The Pope: Congratulations, you’ve won the event :)]
[The Pope: Please give me your phone number so I can give you your gift.]
‘…The Pope?’
It was a message from the Pope, who was currently the only returnee in Korea and the streamer he had been watching diligently.
Jun-seok quickly checked the message and chuckled lightly for a moment.
It wasn’t because it felt like a scam; he instinctively sensed that something interesting was about to unfold.
“This is intriguing.”
No sooner did he think that than a gentle voice echoed above him. It was an angel that had been following him ever since receiving a blessing.
“She says to write, ‘I’ll let you know right away.’”
“Yes.”
Jun-seok didn’t have the freedom to refuse this. More accurately, he didn’t have the courage to turn it down.
“She says you should cover up the blessing well. She’ll be watching to see how you handle it, so please be careful.”
“Yes….”
The goddess was far more pushy than anticipated.