Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 75

The incident concluded with the children from the orphanage being transferred to a government-operated facility.

There was no widespread media coverage.

It wasn’t because of the ongoing Korea-Japan summit but to ensure that all corruption related to the orphanage could be uncovered at once.

In relation to that, I received a call from President Seo.

– “We will ensure that all those connected to the orphanage pay the price for their crimes. While you may find it unsatisfactory, we ask that you leave this matter to us for now. It will take some time to grant Awakener Kim Siwoo the authority befitting an Irregular. Until then, we would appreciate your patience.”

When the president himself went to such lengths to say this, I couldn’t press him further.

Even amidst the chaos of the Korea-Japan summit, he personally made a call, which I took as a sign of sincerity on his part.

Anyway,

After a restless night, the next morning arrived.

With much on my mind, I went to the temple early, only to encounter a man and a boy already sweeping the temple grounds.

“Ah, you’re here, Your Holiness? You’re out earlier than usual.”

“Hello, Your Holiness!”

“Good morning, Brother Jin Seojoon. And a good morning to you too, Seungwoo.”

The two were none other than Seungwoo and his father, Jin Seojoon.

Since being discharged from the hospital, Jin Seojoon had been employed as a caretaker for the temple, diligently maintaining it every day.

I smiled as I looked at the two of them.

Their expressions radiated pure happiness.

“Seungwoo, aren’t you supposed to be at school today?”

“I had some time, so I was helping my dad.”

“Our Seungwoo is so diligent. Siyeon was still asleep when I came out.”

“Well, they say beautiful people are naturally heavy sleepers, haha.”

While it’s true that Siyeon is pretty, hearing it from his mouth felt strange.

I thought I saw the two of them chatting on KakaoTalk recently, too.

But with Jin Seojoon standing right next to us, I decided not to say anything.

Though I wasn’t thrilled about it, I let it slide.

“By the way, how are the lessons with Archbishop Leo going?”

“Great!”

“Is he being too strict with you?”

“No, he’s always kind. Sometimes even Lady Luna comes to help!”

Since returning from Japan, Seungwoo’s education had been entrusted entirely to Leo.

Seungwoo was chosen as a prophet.

As a prophet in the Order, he had to master doctrine, techniques for utilizing holy power, and other essential teachings.

The education for prophets was far more intensive than for newly joined holy-type players.

Though the workload might be demanding for a child, it seemed that Leo and Luna were teaching him with utmost dedication.

Both of them were former prophets and had a fondness for children, so I wasn’t too worried.

“That’s a relief.”

Since joining the Order, Seungwoo had been classified as an Awakened.

Thus, he was enrolled in the elementary section of the Awakened Academy and had been attending classes since last week.

Seungwoo’s face had brightened noticeably compared to when I first met him. Back then, he was desperately praying to save his father; now, there wasn’t a hint of shadow on his face.

The change was one that filled me with pride.

And the same was true for his father, Jin Seojoon.

“I’m forever grateful to Lady Limen and Your Holiness. I will spend my entire life repaying this grace.”

Incidentally, Jin Seojoon was one of those baptized during the recent baptism ceremony.

As a result, a faint aura of holy power now emanated from his body.

“Lady Limen already knows your sincerity, Brother. If you’re happy here, that alone will satisfy Her.”

Had Seungwoo’s prayers not reached me, they wouldn’t have made it here.

Jin Seojoon would have lost his life in the emergency room during the attacker’s rampage.

Seungwoo, too, would have faced death or ended up in one of those orphanages I saw yesterday.

The very existence of these two filled me with gratitude.

Seeing this father and son peacefully managing the temple early in the morning made me realize how unnecessary my worries from the previous night had been.

From the start, there was no need to overthink.

As in Eden, our Order only needed to strive to bring happiness to as many as possible.

When we see evil, we silently eradicate it. When we see good people, we help them.

Isn’t that what the Order is all about?

I smiled warmly at the two of them.

“I feel like I’ve received a precious gift this morning. I think it’s going to be a wonderful day. Thank you.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. The weather is lovely, isn’t it?”

Indeed, simplicity suits me best.

Perhaps the reason my heart felt heavy last night was that I’d been overthinking things unnecessarily.

I bowed my head slightly to them with a smile and walked to my office with a light step.

My mind felt refreshed and clear.

I had a reason for going to the temple early in the morning, of course.

“My second child, who always caused trouble, seems to have turned into a filial son for the first time. You wouldn’t believe how much I bragged about him to my wife when I left the house this morning. I barely managed to stop her from insisting on meeting Pope Kim Siwoo.”

“It would have been nice if Madam had come with you.”

“My wife is quite talkative, you see. Haha!”

I looked at Chairman Choi Gil-young of the Yuseong Group, who was smiling warmly in front of me, and smiled gently in return.

They say you can’t find a good man under a rich man’s roof, but Chairman Choi Gil-young was just as open-hearted as his son, Choi Seo-jin.

It was hard to believe he was 67 years old with his solid muscles and physique that easily exceeded 180 cm. He clearly looked like the father of Choi Seo-jin.

He was definitely different from the image I had of a typical conglomerate chairman.

Glasses, intellectual, and calm—those were the traits I imagined most chaebol chairmen would have, but you really need to meet someone in person to know them.

However, there was no doubt that he was quite a unique character among conglomerate chairmen.

Was it just my feeling, or did he seem like someone who would resolve things with his fists if things went wrong?

“I had originally planned to visit you myself.”

“A thirsty person digs a well. Pope Kim Siwoo, it’s only natural for me to come to you.”

The timing was perfect.

The media’s focus was on the Japan-South Korea summit, and the temple, which was located in the Ground Zero area, was still a restricted zone, so there was no place more secure than this.

Since I entered through a secret entrance (a backdoor used by large guilds), the chance of this meeting being exposed was extremely low.

The reason I scheduled this meeting early in the morning, before any pilgrims could enter, was also because of this.

Anyway,

As I sipped the green tea Leo had brought me, I quietly spoke to Chairman Choi.

“Usually, others refer to me as an Awakened One rather than a pope. If the title ‘Pope’ feels awkward to you, you may call me that instead.”

“You’re the leader of a religious order, and not calling you Pope would be disrespectful.”

Indeed, he was very similar to his son in this regard. Or wait, in this case, should I say the son resembled his father?

“Also, the reason I’ve come here today is not as a personal visit, but as a leader to discuss matters between Yuseong Group and the Limen Church. Therefore, I believe the title ‘Pope’ is quite appropriate.”

From his firm tone, I could already sense something of his personality.

If you add principle to CEO Choi Seo-jin’s character, it would be something like that.

There was no reason to stop someone who wanted to call me Pope.

Chairman Choi took a sip from the green tea in front of him and continued speaking with a gentle smile.

“I heard you’re interested in distribution. I’d like to hear more details.”

“Well, I think it’s quicker if you see it yourself. Leo, could you?”

At my call, Leo entered the office holding a small tray. He carefully placed it on the table between Chairman Choi and me.

On the tray were two bottles of basic holy water, one with mid-grade holy water, and a holy stone bracelet made from low-grade divine stones.

For reference, the bracelet was of much lower quality compared to the one we sold to the Dokkaebi Guild.

Unlike the bracelets that Leo personally consecrated, this one was made by the new members of our church.

‘Consecration is a basic blessing. We educate the rookies and make bracelets. If we see talented ones, we can train them to be consecrators. It’s truly a win-win situation.’

And this bracelet was the result of Luna’s idea, not mine.

I’m not sure who she learned from, but it was an excellent idea for grinding the subordinates.

The low-grade divine stones used for making the bracelet were converted from low-grade magical stones by Luna herself.

It was made with Luna’s dedication.

Although it may fall short compared to bracelets made with top-grade divine stones, it certainly had beneficial effects.

It was even classified as an by the system, and it would undoubtedly help the health of ordinary people, not just players.

“These are the holy water and bracelets we would like to sell.”

“Could you explain them briefly?”

“Of course.”

I briefly explained to Chairman Choi the basic holy water and divine stone bracelet that would be sold to the general public.

After hearing the explanation, Chairman Choi nodded in admiration.

“If the effects are proven, this could make a lot of money.”

“I think so too.”

“Health has always been humanity’s long-standing challenge, regardless of the era. Players with healing abilities are hired by the rich from various countries for astronomical sums. One reason their worth has increased is because of this.”

Many people do not hesitate to spend money for their health. These two products will be sold with their needs in mind.

The same was true in Eden.

The wealthiest nobles and merchants were the ones who brought in the most revenue at the consecration halls. And with the profits from the consecration halls, our church continued a variety of charitable activities, including helping the poor.

It could be called a Limen style redistribution. And I intend to continue that on Earth.

“These two products alone are already very interesting. The world’s first products using divine power…There will definitely be tremendous demand.”

“Don’t be so surprised. The real deal is this one here.”

I said that as I gently shook the bottle containing mid-grade holy water.

“This is called mid-grade holy water. Before I go into the specifics, I want to let you know that the U.S. government has already bought 50% of it.”

And so, the official sales pitch began in front of Chairman Choi Gil-young, the chairman of Yuseong Group, ranked 5th in the business world.

8.

In the chairman’s office of Yuseong Group, Choi Seo-jin, looking out the window, subtly asked his father, Choi Gil-young.

“How was he, father?”

“He’s an interesting young man. He’s the first one who openly tried to take advantage of me from our first meeting. He almost pulled the pillar of the group out, you know.”

“So, did you pull out the pillar’s root as well?”

“If I pulled out the pillar, what would we live on? Instead, I decided to create a new pillar.”

“You seem quite cheerful considering the loss.”

“Loss? Hahaha!”

Choi Gil-young laughed loudly and turned around. He then looked at Choi Seo-jin and said,

“Do you really think it was a loss?”

“Of course not. Thanks to me, you’ve extended your hand to the Limen Church, and I just asked you to give something to your son in return.”

“You brat. Trying to milk an old man even more. I don’t have anything left to eat. Just take a few bottles from the liquor display later.”

“Heh heh. I won’t decline.”

Chairman Choi Gil-young, an avid drinker, had many rare bottles in his liquor display. Choi Seo-jin nodded in satisfaction and slowly approached his father.

Before long, Choi Gil-young, now standing next to his son, continued his conversation.

“A businessman must adapt and make a profit no matter what world comes. There are many ways to adapt. The best option is to change the world. If you change the world, there’s no need to adapt to it.”

Choi Seo-jin quietly listened to his father’s words.

His father was usually talkative when he was in a good mood, which meant he was in a very good mood right now.

“But if you can’t choose the best option, you have to choose the second-best. The second-best is…”

“Stick with the one who’s going to change the world.”

“Right. That’s the second-best.”

At his son’s answer, Choi Gil-young nodded in satisfaction.

“Still, among my children, you, Seo-jin, have the best vision. It was a good idea to meet him in person, just as you said.”

“It seems you really liked him.”

“Liked him? That’s an understatement. That guy, Kim Siwoo, is someone who will change the world and still have more to offer. No, to be more precise…”

Choi Gil-young recalled the young pope, Kim Siwoo, whom he had seen earlier. A deep smile spread across his face as he concluded his words.

“He’s the kind of person who can’t help but change the world.”