Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 125

5.

After the sudden arrival of the Chinese Foreign Minister to South Korea, the issue of the Northeast Asia Exchange quickly gained momentum at an accelerated pace.

South Korea’s victory.

There’s no national pride like this kind of national pride.

With journalists and experts fervently adding fuel to the fire of this massive issue, how could South Korea possibly remain quiet?

“I’ll briefly explain the negotiation process with China. The Chinese side has stated that they will relinquish their claimed rights over the lost lands.”

“Rights? What rights?”

“There is a mutual defense treaty they signed with North Korea. Although it was practically a nullified treaty, they used it as an excuse to continuously interfere. The core of that movement was the international cooperation team for Northeast Asia, centered around Wang Wei, who you handled this time.”

I was sitting in my office, quietly listening to Director Kim’s story.

The ongoing negotiations between the South Korean government and the Chinese government.

The reason I could hear about the negotiations through Director Kim was also thanks to President Seo’s consideration. He probably felt that he owed me something for bringing the negotiations to fruition.

“It seems like China’s response is calmer than expected. I thought they’d come at us, drooling and raving about how we turned Wang Wei into a cripple.”

It was an incident where an irregular from another country was made into a cripple.

I had assumed that the usual Chinese officials would be furious, but their response felt oddly uncomfortable.

Even though the danger of Ebony had been proven through the information provided by Li Jie, their compliance seemed too quick.

It was different from the image of China that we were familiar with.

Wouldn’t they usually try to latch onto some excuse and drag things out? Isn’t that typical of ‘China’?

“We’re analyzing it based on two major reasons. First, the ongoing power struggle within China. Second, their desire to weaken South Korea’s national strength.”

“Power struggle?”

“Outwardly, China appears stronger than ever, but internally, it’s not the case. Currently, China is in a complicated situation due to factions created by transcendent beings like Wang Wei.”

“…That’s interesting.”

If things go well, my wish might be realized.

More China.

If factions have split around transcendent beings, then a fierce power struggle must be underway.

Wang Wei, being involved in that fight as a transcendent, meant that, from their perspective, I had effectively removed one of their political rivals.

And since they had tried to kill me using Ebony, they’d likely blame Wang Wei for the whole thing.

“Should we expect at least three factions in China?”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, never mind. Please continue. I have an idea about the power struggle, but what about this plan to weaken South Korea’s national strength?”

After taking a sip of water, Director Kim continued his explanation.

“The losses that occurred during the recovery of the lost lands. It seems China is focusing on that. Specifically, the national crisis-level monstrosity that’s settled in Baekdusan. They seem to be pinning their hopes on the Behemoth.”

“The one they led towards Baekdusan?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The former North Korean region had undergone terraforming by monsters for five years.

Even the United States doesn’t have detailed information about how many monsters and hostile races have settled there.

That meant the area was heavily veiled in mystery.

“To overcome the unknown, sacrifices must be made.”

“So, China wants us to destroy ourselves while we recover the northern territories, is that what you’re saying?”

“Not exactly self-destruction, but they likely want the monsters to buy them some time.”

“Time?”

“Now that Wang Wei has fallen, they’ll need a new method to keep South Korea in check.”

In other words, while South Korea focuses its national strength on recovering the lost territories, China plans to reorganize.

That’s why they’re retreating so easily.

There must be other minor reasons, but these two were the most reasonable ones.

I nodded slowly and then looked at Director Kim, saying,

“But the government plans to recover the lost territories, right?”

“Indeed, that is the plan. We must recover those territories, as their mere existence represents South Korea’s greatest risk.”

“That’s true.”

It’s better to settle things definitively, even at the cost of some damage, rather than leave uncertainty hanging in the air.

In the latter case, you can at least predict the scope of damage, but with the former, anything could happen.

I do agree that certainty is better in any situation.

“A strategy meeting for the recovery operation has already begun. The goal is to dispatch an advance team and secure a foothold within a month.”

“If I help, we could move faster.”

At least when it comes to combat, the constraints of causality are significantly loosened.

It seems acceptable to sweep the area in one go.

Director Kim smiled weakly at my suggestion and nodded.

“We might need help with the Behemoth, the national crisis-level monstrosity that’s settled in Baekdusan. Once the operation plan is finalized, I’ll ask for your opinion.”

“Yamata no Orochi was also a national crisis-level monstrosity, right?”

“The Behemoth has already been classified as a national crisis-level monstrosity two years ago and has settled in Baekdusan. Given that there hasn’t been any significant movement since, it would be best to gather enough information and act carefully.”

There’s no harm in proceeding cautiously.

I quickly agreed with Director Kim’s suggestion. The South Korean government is the one leading the recovery of the lost territories.

They’ve left a good impression on me so far, so there’s no need to interfere.

Recovering territories isn’t something that can be done haphazardly; it requires proper planning for smooth execution.

“Well, I suppose that’s the end of the discussion. We can expect no major events for now, right?”

“That’s correct. If anything new comes up, I’ll come see you in person.”

“Feel free to visit anytime. Director Kim, you’re always welcome.”

I said that while looking at Director Kim’s noticeably thicker hair.

He didn’t show it much, but I could sense his faith toward Limen from him. The sacred stone bracelet I had gifted him earlier seemed to be responding to his faith, showing remarkable results.

It’s said that a quiet cat is the first to jump onto the stove, and that’s exactly the case here.

At this point, his faith is likely quite sincere. Perhaps it’s some sort of neutral stance as a civil servant.

But since he wants to keep it hidden, it’s polite to play along.

I watched Director Kim leave the office and couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“I’ll make sure to bring him along.”

Since it’s hard to expect additional personnel from Eden for now, won’t self-procurement be the answer?

Ah, I should probably wipe my mouth.

After Director Kim left, I found some time to relax and immediately checked the that was sitting in a corner of my desk.

[]

Growth Rate: 97%

It was nearing the final stages of growth.

What started as something that resembled tentacles had now grown into a round shape.

It was somewhat disgusting in appearance, but it looked like something I was familiar with.

“A compass?”

Although it hadn’t fully grown yet, it resembled a compass.

A compass without a needle.

Given the growth rate, it seemed like it would finish growing by the end of this week, and it probably meant that a quest related to finding something would be generated soon.

It definitely seemed like something was progressing steadily.

By the way, since the prophecy last time, there’s been no word from Limen.

After sending Archbishop Rapart and Toby, there’s been no contact, which probably means that the dimensional connection is unstable.

In situations like this, as I’ve done before, I just need to focus on doing my part diligently.

As I was fiddling with the bottle containing the , I heard a knock on the door.

-Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on my office door, and soon a youthful voice came through.

“Your Holiness, it’s Seungwoo. I have business to discuss.”

“Seungwoo? Come in.”

A small boy walked into the office shortly after.

He was a cute boy wearing a white robe sewn by Archbishop Rapart himself.

He was our first prophet and dearly loved by the leaders of the church, Seungwoo.

I smiled as I looked at Seungwoo, who had entered my office.

“Did you go to school, Seungwoo? Even though it’s winter break, you’re going to school. You must be working hard.”

Unlike Siyeon, who attends a regular school, Seungwoo is in the elementary division of the Awakened Academy.

South Korea has quite a strict curriculum for minor awakeners, so even during breaks, there are supplementary classes.

It’s a bit sad to see Seungwoo, who should be enjoying his childhood, attending additional lessons even during vacation.

“No, Your Holiness. As a prophet of the Limen church, it’s only natural…”

“When we’re alone, you can speak casually. I’ll allow it.”

“Still…”

“You can keep it a secret from Archbishop Rapart, right? I’m the one who feels uncomfortable.”

Originally, Leo was in charge of Seungwoo’s education, but recently, Archbishop Rapart took over. I’ve heard that Seungwoo is being taught about the manners and etiquettes of the church, but honestly, I didn’t want to hear Seungwoo using formal language with me.

Seungwoo is just a kid, after all.

I’ve always said that children should be allowed to express their natural cuteness.

Quickly catching my intention, Seungwoo smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes! Your Holiness.”

“Good, did you greet your father before coming?”

“Yes, I saw him before coming!”

Seungwoo’s father, Jin Seojoon, is very enthusiastic about managing the temple.

He’s even started participating in the training of new recruits recently, which I’ve heard.

It seems like a father who wants to protect his son will do anything.

According to Oh Junwoo, he’s been doing quite well, proving that fathers are indeed great.

“Seungwoo already knows about tea? Do you want a drink? I’ve got cola.”

“…Dad says drinking cola will rot my teeth…”

“It’s fine. We don’t need to worry. Seungwoo, do you like cola?”

Cavities don’t exist in our church’s dictionary.

Just look at Archbishop Rapart; all the priests in our church have healthy teeth.

Seungwoo looked at me with wide eyes as if he didn’t believe it.

“Really?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?”

“Ah… no?”

His voice didn’t sound too sure.

But children are children.

Seungwoo happily drank the cola I took from the mini-fridge and let out a small burp while covering his mouth.

No matter what they do, cute kids are always cute. When I was his age, I got scolded by my grandmother for drinking cola without brushing my teeth.

“Phew.”

Seungwoo let out a light sigh and nodded in satisfaction.

I patted his head.

“So, what brings you to my office today, little saint?”

“I came to ask for your permission, Your Holiness.”

“Hm, permission?”

“Yes.”

“Let me hear what it is.”

This was the first time Seungwoo had come to ask for permission directly.

I hadn’t really imposed any restrictions on him, so I was curious about what this was all about.

I quietly looked at Seungwoo, and he slowly began to speak.

“I want to visit a friend’s father, Your Holiness.”

“How admirable. If you want to visit, then go. Is this a close friend’s father?”

“No. It’s a friend I had an argument with a few days ago. We’re not that close.”

“You’re going to visit someone you’re not close to? Hmm, I wonder why.”

In response to my question, Seungwoo gave a faint smile and answered.

“Even though we fought, he’s still my friend. I’ve noticed his expression has been really down since the day before yesterday. His father got seriously hurt, and I overheard him talking to the teacher. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, really.”

When I heard this, I finally understood why Seungwoo wanted permission to visit.

Not long ago, Archbishop Rapart had said something to me about Seungwoo.

Although he hasn’t manifested yet, it seems likely that Seungwoo has received a grace related to healing.

With Archbishop Rapart’s insight, there was no doubt about it.

So now, Seungwoo was,

“You want to help your friend’s father?”

He had come to ask me to use his abilities for his friend.

Seungwoo nodded his head bashfully in response to my words.

“…Yes.”

I smiled brightly as I looked at Seungwoo and patted his head again.

“If Limen has given you this power, and you want to use it where it’s needed, why would I stop you?”

It seems like this is Seungwoo’s time to shine.