Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 119

5.

The morning of the exchange tournament had finally arrived.

I left home early in the morning, accompanied by In-wook and Siyeon.

Thanks to confirming Baekseol’s combat power and intelligence, my steps were quite light.

Additionally, the security forces, aside from Baekseol, had been strengthened, so unless China brought an army, it wouldn’t be easy to break through.

Me, Luna, Leo.

With the three of us participating in the exchange, there was a gap, but just with Toby and Archbishop Rapart, it was enough to feel secure.

Anyway,

The location of today’s exchange tournament was the training facility of the Department of Ability Management in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.

Since this was a place where the Department of Ability Management trained hunters, it had passed the test for both facilities and security, and was ultimately decided as the location for the exchange tournament.

Right now, I was traveling with Leo and Luna in a car.

The driver, of course, was Leo.

There was a time when I let Luna drive…I don’t even want to imagine it.

“Where is Lin Tao right now?”

The Chinese person who had attached himself to our Siyeon yesterday.

I was curious about the current situation of Lin Tao, who had been dragged to the temple by Leo and Luna.

Today, I didn’t visit the temple and instead got directly into Leo’s car.

Luna shrugged her shoulders and replied to my question.

“Nothing much.”

“Nothing much?”

“If he had resisted, I would’ve thought about at least doing something to him, but as soon as we arrived at the temple, he was crying and repenting.”

“Lady Leventon. That was before Lady Leventon entered the sanctuary…”

“Hey, quiet. Why even report that much? So, am I the one who’s wrong?”

“No, that’s not it. Those who approach Lady Siyeon with impure intentions must be held accountable, even if it means chasing them to hell.”

A sudden, chilling conversation followed.

I slowly nodded my head as I listened to their exchange.

Siyeon is fine.

If Siyeon even gets a tiny scratch on her body, that day will undoubtedly be the day someone will hold a funeral.

This also meant that the leaders of our organization treat my family like their own siblings.

“Just the fact that he stole a glance at our cute Siyeon is reason enough to tear him apart.”

“That’s true. So, what’s Lin Tao doing right now?”

“He’s having a one-on-one interview with Archbishop Rapart. He’s been talking since 2 AM, so…it’s been eight hours by now?”

“So, to summarize, he was beaten up until he entered the temple, and now he’s been having his mind ‘reformed’ for eight hours?”

“Hey, not ‘reformed.’ How many people get a chance to have a one-on-one interview with the Archbishop? He should feel honored.”

I didn’t know what Archbishop Rapart was thinking, but based on the unsettling feeling, it seemed like he was scheming something strange.

“I heard he wants to start a new movement in the religious wasteland… something like that?”

“…Using Lin Tao to spread the Limen Church in China?”

“Probably? I even heard him admiring how suitable Lin Tao’s abilities are for spreading the faith in a wasteland.”

The ability to easily evade most surveillance.

Skills honed through extensive espionage work.

It seemed like Archbishop Rapart saw those two potential traits in Lin Tao.

Indeed, thinking about it that way, those abilities were more than enough for religious use.

Especially in a country like China, where religion is suppressed, these abilities were perfectly suited.

“Do you really think it’s possible?”

“You know well too, Your Majesty. The story of even demon worshipers being made to repent and turned into fervent zealots. The protagonist of that story is Archbishop Rapart, so isn’t it possible?”

The spreading of the Limen Church in China by Lin Tao.

It was an idea that was only possible because of religion. After all, religion knows no borders.

It was different from the methods suggested by the Chinese government from the start.

Considering China’s characteristics,

“They’ll openly suppress it.”

They would definitely try to prevent the spread of the Limen Church within their borders.

“According to the information Lin Tao provided, there are already Limen Church followers emerging within China. This is definitely a problem worth considering.”

“Really, an unstoppable old man, huh?”

“You think only Your Holiness can be like that?”

I let out a long sigh as I looked out the window.

I had a rough idea of what Archbishop Rapart was thinking, and I knew that the number of our followers in China was increasing.

In this situation, the choices available to me were few.

“The answer is already decided.”

If it was a problem that could be solved through conversation, that would be ideal, but the possibility of those people understanding through conversation was near zero.

Therefore, there was only one answer.

I slowly nodded.

“We have to show them what happens when they mess with us. That way, they won’t dare to touch our followers.”

We just had to show them what level of power we had.

If they mess with us, they’ll realize they’re done for.

At my words, Luna smiled, as if she was satisfied.

“That’s exactly right. I knew you’d say that, so I’ve prepared a trump card.”

“Every time you say something like that, Luna, I get a chill down my spine.”

“You must take some medicinal tonic, then.”

As Luna and I continued chatting, the car soon arrived at our destination.

“Your Holiness, we’ve arrived.”

“Good job.”

I got out of the car and stretched lightly, looking at the massive training facility in front of me.

The flags of the three countries hung side by side.

Looking at the five-starred red flag next to the Taegeukgi (flag of South Korea) made it feel like a refreshing soda was waiting for me.

It felt good.

“Let’s go in, guys.”

I was sure that today was going to be a lot of fun.

I slowly walked into the building with Luna and Leo.

Since the format of the Northeast Asia Exchange changed from public duels to private duels, there was no one present at the venue for the duels except for those involved.

There was only one camera.

It was a camera used exclusively for recording the duels, and it was only placed with strict conditions to not be exposed to the outside.

The sole observer was Aiden.

“I, Aiden Howard, solemnly promise on behalf of myself and the United States to fairly judge the victories and defeats of both sides as the observer of this Northeast Asia Exchange.”

The long-awaited Northeast Asia Exchange began with a solemn oath from Aiden, a tone that didn’t quite fit him.

The first match of the exchange tournament was between South Korea and Japan.

Japan participated only to fulfill a formality, so they were set to continue with the previous 10 matches.

South Korea VS Japan.
Japan VS China.

To be honest, I didn’t feel like explaining the previous 10 matches in detail.

As expected, those duels were disappointing, much more than anticipated.

To summarize the results briefly:

The one win was, of course, thanks to Jin-young.

Jin-young defeated China’s magician, whatever his name was, with pride.

And that was it.

In the first place, aside from Jin-young, all the other participants were just promising newcomers that Japan sent.

On the other hand, China and South Korea fielded individuals who were close to the line between promising talents and top-ranked fighters, making them ready for real battles.

It was a predictable result, I suppose?

As for Aiden’s opinion on the previous 10 matches:

“Japan has no competitive spirit, and one neighbor has such a strong competitive spirit it feels dangerous. It was such a horrible display. It’s not even worth using as an appetizer. It’s a piece of junk.”

That’s what he said.

I shrugged my shoulders in response.

“Japan never planned to win in the first place.”

“Even so, it’s a matter of national honor. They should have sent their disaster-level returnees or top-ranked fighters.”

“Sometimes it’s important to recognize that simply participating is significant. Have you ever heard of the legendary first string?”

“Legendary first string? What’s that, Siwoo?”

“It exists.”

I don’t actually think Japan is as weak as accumulating 9 losses suggests.

Before I showed up, Japan had the advantage in awakened powers, and even now, without me, Japan would still hold the upper hand.

But Japan intentionally made itself a laughingstock to the point of accusations of abusing the system.

There must be various complicated political calculations behind it, but in my view, this is what happened.

“Since the legendary first string didn’t show up, they can make excuses, yet demand their awakened ones step up. I think that’s the reason.”

“Considering that all nine participants, except Jin-young, belong to the Rising Sun Society…The Japanese government probably wanted to take care of some troublesome matters at the same time.”

“Wow, a bear-sized guy with nothing but politics in his head?”

“You shouldn’t be the one saying that, Siwoo. I know too, but I’m disgusted that a sacred duel got tainted by politics. Duels should always be honorable.”

It seems like they put the proverb “turn a crisis into an opportunity” into practice. I think Japan’s Prime Minister Sasaki and President Seo had already reached an agreement beforehand.

Anyway,

With the first 10 matches done, only the main event of the Northeast Asia Exchange, the Korea-China match, was left.

By this time, I approached Minister Yoo Sun-ho, who was overseeing the exchange tournament.

“Minister Yoo Sun-ho. The main event will start soon. May I make a suggestion?”

“Feel free to speak.”

“After thinking it over, about the order of the duels, I think it would be better to save the most exciting one for last. After all, the leader usually comes out last, right?”

I had decided overnight that starting with Wang Wei would be a bit underwhelming.

After all, when you experience a strong flavor first, you lose sensitivity to the other flavors.

And I wanted my Chinese friends to enjoy both Leo and Luna’s unique qualities too.

Initially, I planned to finish things neatly with Wang Wei, but once they made their move on Siyeon, my thoughts completely changed.

I would break them down thoroughly from the ground up.

So they’d never lift their heads again.

Minister Yoo Sun-ho, being the seasoned politician that he is, seemed to have understood the deeper meaning of my words. But instead of replying to me, he spoke to his secretary beside him.

“You go and deliver the message.”

“Yes, understood.”

His secretary quickly went toward the Chinese delegation.

Then, 3 minutes later, a Chinese interpreter arrived at our side.

“Mr. Wang Wei has agreed to accept South Korea’s proposal. He also requested that you convey that it’s not difficult for a great nation to make concessions for a small nation.”

I stared silently at the interpreter delivering Wang Wei’s words with an audacious face.

Such impoliteness was completely disrespectful.

From the way the interpreter acted, I could guess what kind of state the Chinese delegation was in.

I could pretend it was a mistake and slap this guy’s face, but there was no way I’d waste my chance to pop the bubble too early because of a lowly person like him.

“On your way back, tell him this: It’s time to wake up from his dream. Let him know why China is China.”

“…Understood…”

“Also, after this, you and I need to talk separately. You better repeat exactly what you just said. If you can’t, prepare yourself.”

Since Minister Yoo Sun-ho was an important figure, it might be a good idea to instill some manners in them, as we were in the East, the land of propriety.

Under my subtle threat, the interpreter turned pale and returned to the delegation, while Minister Yoo Sun-ho looked at the back of his head and said:

“It seems like Awakened Kim Siwoo is sharpening his blade. Heh.”

“I’m the type who does things properly when I do them.”

“Be careful, killing them might cause trouble.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

I was thinking of smashing them so thoroughly that dying would seem like a better option.

I purposely kept that last part to myself.

I turned to Minister Yoo Sun-ho and said:

“Well then, I’ll prepare myself.”

“I wish our delegation success.”

“You can look forward to it.”

The stage was set perfectly.

Now, all that was left was to put on an extraordinary performance on that stage.

And so, the grand performance that would later be known as “Ilsan National Humiliation” in China began.