Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 111

“Because of me?”

1.

The next morning.

Without any prior notice, our delinquent Holy Knight, Luna Leventon, who had stayed out overnight, returned to the temple.

“Your Holiness, I’m back.”

Where on earth had she slept so soundly? Luna’s complexion looked better than ever.

And that wasn’t all.

The faint fragrance lingering in the office suggested she had worn perfume. And judging by the scent, it was undoubtedly expensive.

“But what’s with those three bottles of wine? I’m not one to nitpick about how you spend your own money, but…”

“Oh, these? My friend ordered them as room service, but there were leftovers. They ordered ten bottles but only drank seven, so I brought the remaining three for you, Your Holiness.”

In Luna’s hands were three bottles of wine elegantly packaged, their labels seemingly bearing the name of some hotel.

“Oh, I see. Room service wine, huh? I had no id—”

Wait a second.

A Holy Knight stayed out?

And at a hotel?

“Archbishop Rapart.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“With Sir Luna Leventon so brazenly returning like this, what sort of punishment should I impose?”

It was problematic enough for a Holy Knight to move without the Pope’s permission, but staying out overnight was a grave issue.

This also violated the internal rules of the Holy Knights.

However, Archbishop Rapart simply smiled while sipping his chrysanthemum tea.

“I sent her on an assignment. As Secretary-General of the Holy See, I am authorized to deploy Holy Knights.”

“So that’s why.”

No wonder he didn’t get angry when Luna didn’t return yesterday.

If it were any other day, he would’ve immediately gone after her to drag her back by the hair, but he seemed unusually calm this time.

“Still, why would Archbishop Rapart send Luna?”

“I think you’d best hear the details from her directly.”

Passing the responsibility to Luna, the elderly man resumed savoring his tea with a benevolent expression.

Fine. I’ll hear the story first, then decide whether to reprimand her.

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

At my words, Luna grinned widely, placing the wine bottles on my desk. She then casually took a seat and smiled mischievously.

“I didn’t expect Your Holiness to be so curious about my private life. Pretending not to care, but secretly obsessing? That side of you is quite adora—”

“Is anyone outside? Bring me a sword from the training grounds. I’ll allow it.”

“I was just out with a friend, Your Holiness. A new friend I made recently. I met them for the first time last night, and they seemed to like me so much. Oh, by the way, my friend is from China. And wow, do they have money. China must really be a wealthy country.”

Luna pointed at the wine bottles she had placed on my desk.

“Those, too, are gifts from that friend. Hehe, impressive, right? My friend is rich, don’t you think?”

“Luna.”

“Yes, Your Holiness?”

“From what I can tell, you didn’t ‘receive’ those; you extorted them.”

“Come on, all I did was ask nicely. You don’t know the details.”

How is this woman the commander of the Holy Knights? She’s practically a bandit.

I sighed deeply, almost as if the ground beneath me would collapse. Then, frowning, I glared at Luna.

There was no way she suddenly made a wealthy Chinese friend.

Which meant there was only one answer.

“You went looking for those people who came to our temple yesterday.”

“Correct!”

“Did you kill them?”

At this, Luna frowned, as if offended.

“You make it sound like I’m some bloodthirsty lunatic. I didn’t kill anyone, okay? I just gave them a little pat. But don’t worry. Nobody saw anything, and no one got hurt.”

She spoke confidently. But to me, her words sounded completely different.

“So, what you’re really saying is that you silenced them thoroughly and healed their injuries flawlessly before leaving?”

“Oh my, has Lady Limen finally bestowed upon Your Holiness the gift of clairvoyance?”

“Sigh.”

Li Jie. She had been dispatched as the vanguard for the Chinese delegation.

In other words, she was effectively the representative of the Chinese awakened for now.

The reason I let her and her subordinates go without issue was simple.

If something went wrong and they decided to nitpick, things could get extremely messy. Such is the nature of pretexts.

While our order doesn’t care much about such formalities, the government, which is busy preparing for the Northeast Asia Exchange, would be hit with a massive headache.

So, I had carefully laid plans to deal with the bigger players. And in the midst of that, Luna had gone out of her way to stir things up?

It made me dizzy.

Maybe all my plans keep failing because of the people around me.

“Why is it that everyone under me is like this?”

“Your Holiness, don’t you know why? I think it’s pretty obvious.”

Luna looked me squarely in the eye as she spoke.

The meaning behind her gaze was unmistakable.

“Because of me?”

“Hehe, no comment.”

That couldn’t be. There was no way.

This was clearly just Luna’s nonsense, meant to slander me.

“Stop saying ridiculous things…”

But at that moment, my first meeting with Luna flashed through my mind.

—“H-Hello, Apostle! I’m Luna Leventon, the Holy Maiden of the order! P-Please take good care of me! I’ll do my very best to assist you!”

This was before I ascended to the Papacy. The red-haired Holy Maiden, face flushed, had nervously introduced herself to me. Back then, she had been shy despite her resilience from raising her younger siblings.

The Luna of today, with her current personality, had developed while working by my side…

“…Could it really be my fault?”

“What do you think, Archbishop Rapart?”

At Luna’s question, Archbishop Rapart set down his teacup. Looking at me, he said:

“I have no comment, Your Holiness.”

To neither affirm nor deny is usually taken as affirmation.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed the verdict was already decided. At times like this, the best move is to make a swift escape.

I quickly changed the subject.

“Report everything that happened in detail. I’ll judge after hearing it.”

Luna responded with a sly grin.

“This time, too, I’ll just let it slide because I can’t win against you.”

“Hurry up and report.”

“Of course, Your Holiness. As you command.”

…Maybe I should just hit her once.

2.

Summarizing Luna’s story, it went as follows:

“I gave them a little treatment, squeezed out some information, and brought back gifts.”

She added the phrase, “I handled it thoroughly.”

When Luna said she handled something thoroughly, her credibility in such situations was exceptionally high. It meant she instilled terror so deeply that they would never dare show their teeth again.

Moreover, Luna wasn’t careless enough to leave behind evidence like CCTV footage. She likely removed all traces perfectly.

“Do you think someone as ambitious as Li Jie, who’s aiming for success, would dare report to her superiors that she spilled everything to me? She doesn’t seem to have the guts.”

“What about her subordinates?”

“Obviously, they don’t know anything. I put them to sleep until I left the hotel.”

It was a flawless crime.

At this point, she didn’t seem like a knight but more like someone cut out for a professional hitman job.

I looked at Archbishop Rapart with an expression that screamed, “Please scold her for me.” However, he merely smiled in satisfaction.

“Isn’t she remarkable? Anyone who dares insult the temple deserves an appropriate punishment. And to demand submission from us? That’s something we simply can’t let slide.”

“…Yes.”

“You don’t need to worry, Your Holiness. If you still find Li Jie untrustworthy, we can just send Luna one more time.”

Indeed, a response befitting the “White Terror.”

A stellar mediator, my foot.

I decided to give up. Letting it go was easier.

After a long sigh, I shifted my gaze to Baek Seolhwa, who had quietly taken a seat next to me at some point.

She had entered the office while Luna was in the middle of her lengthy tale. We had an appointment at the temple today because she wanted to introduce someone to me.

While the three of us—Luna, Archbishop Rapart, and I—engaged in our comedic exchange, Baek Seolhwa remained silent, conjuring delicate ice flowers with her fingertips. It seemed like she was practicing her control over magic.

“Isn’t it noisy?”

“Not really.”

“Did you hear what Luna was saying earlier?”

Apparently, the reason why China’s advance team, including Li Jie, entered South Korea a month early was to recruit S-rank Hunters.

Baek Seolhwa was also on that list, but she didn’t seem particularly bothered.

“I would’ve rejected them outright anyway.”

“Why? Because of your broadcasting career?”

“More than that…”

She trailed off and created a small ice bird this time. Then, with a neutral expression, she looked me straight in the eye.

“I have no intention of committing suicide.”

“What does that mean?”

“Standing on the opposite side of you is a death wish. Are you telling me to abandon my team and walk into hellfire?”

As expected, Baek Seolhwa was astute.

3.

The person Baek Seolhwa wanted to introduce turned out to be a journalist.

“I thought having someone who could specialize in reporting on the temple’s news would be helpful. He’s eccentric, but his ability is solid. Have a chat with him.”

After her concise explanation, Baek Seolhwa left. Luna followed her out, calling after her cheerfully, “Seolhwa~!”

Archbishop Rapart also excused himself, saying he wanted to inspect the temple.

Before I knew it, the once-crowded office had emptied out, leaving just the two of us.

I cleared my throat a few times and slowly looked at the man in front of me.

“Hmm.”

He was dressed sharply in a well-fitted suit, and his hair was neatly styled. If anyone saw him, they might think he was out to meet a potential spouse, given how over-prepared he seemed.

Although it made sense to dress formally for a first meeting, his intense gaze, visible through his horn-rimmed glasses, was peculiar.

And upon closer inspection, there were tears in his eyes.

It was also notable that I could sense a strong emanating from him.

I decided to start with a casual greeting.

“Hello, nice to mee—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he erupted into an emotional outburst.

“Aaaah! I can’t believe this day has come. I thank Limen for allowing me to meet Your Holiness like this. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day!”

The man abruptly stood up.

Then, bowing deeply at a perfect 90-degree angle, he continued.

“Your Holiness! I don’t know if you remember, but I once heard you speak at the press conference for the Guro District Gate incident. I’m Seo Tae-ho, a reporter for Sejong Daily. Meeting you again is the greatest honor of my life.”

“Ah, the enthusiastic reporter from back then?”

“Do… do you remember me?”

“Of course. It was my first press conference; how could I forget?”

I remembered him because, despite it being early after my return, he had shown passionate support for me with fiery eyes.

Hearing my response, he momentarily fell silent.

“…Reporter Seo Tae-ho?”

Because—

“Sniff… I’m so grateful. Thank you for remembering me. It’s such an honor. Truly…”

—he started shedding tears.

These weren’t tears of sadness. They were the hot, overflowing tears of someone moved to their core.

Even as he cried, Seo Tae-ho pulled a tablet PC out of his briefcase and handed it to me.

And in a voice choked with emotion, he said:

“Since that day, I’ve worked so hard. I just wanted more people to know how great the Limen Order is… sniff…”

On the tablet, I saw a neat list of articles he had written.

Why the Limen Temple Is the World’s Only Hope

Why China, Once Ruling the World, Now Cries Thanks to Limen

Japan Shocked, China Shocked, the U.S. Shocked!

The Great Miracle of Pope Kim Siwoo of the Limen Temple: Turning the World Upside Down (International Reactions)

The Untapped Potential of the Limen Temple: Experts Worldwide Are Stunned

And so on, an endless stream of nationalist—no, order-praising—articles.

Looking at the headlines, I instinctively knew:

“This guy is absolutely insane!”

Thus began my second encounter with Seo Tae-ho, who would soon become the temple’s top promoter.