Please Stop The Pope

Chapter 99

Led by Luna’s hand, we pushed through the crowd and arrived at our destination.

This place was none other than…

“…So, the place you said you knew well is here?”

“Oh, is it not a place you’re familiar with?”

“Why a dinner party…”

It was the sweet home of our three siblings.

Our new home that we had moved into not long ago.

Normally, I would’ve been irritated, but…

“Big brother! This is the first time so many guests have come to our house! Hehe, I think moving here was a good choice! We visited the beautiful temple and even had your friends come over! Today is really a happy day!”

Since Siyeon was so happy, I couldn’t say anything.

I patted Siyeon’s head and said,

“Siyeon, are you that happy?”

“Yep!”

“Actually, I…”

Szzzzzz-!

“You brat. If you have time to play with Siyeon, shouldn’t you be carrying more food? Huh? As the host, do you think it’s right for the guests to carry the food themselves?”

“Ughhhh.”

Mrs. Eun-young’s cooking was always refreshing to taste.

Could it be that Grandma is the strongest being in the world? I think the fireballs from the demons are less spicy than this.

Anyway,

The place where Luna had mentioned the “dinner party” was none other than our house.

Luckily, we had moved into a spacious place; if we were still in our old house, it would’ve been hard to accommodate all these guests.

The attendees of this housewarming and dinner party were as follows:

A total of 13 people.

Even after forming a soccer team, we still had two extra players, that’s how many people were here.

Even with the large house, the living room was packed to the brim with this enormous number of people.

“Hahaha! Representative Choi! Have a drink!”

“Would I decline, Howard?”

“This is great! I never imagined I’d meet a brother I lost in Korea!”

“Hahaha! Is that so?”

Contrary to my expectation that Aiden and Representative Choi would clash, the two of them, after clinking their glasses together, became like sworn brothers.

A fateful meeting between Eastern and Western barbarians.

There were two people who had the lungs of a train whistle, and as a result, we even had to set up a holy barrier to block the noise for the neighbors.

The holy barrier, after coming to Earth, was being used for so many different purposes.

Jin Seojoon and Seungwoo lived just a 15-minute walk from our house, so it was natural to invite them, and the rest of the group were also reasonable attendees.

But there was one person who, it was amazing that they had attended.

It was Baek Seolhwa.

“What are you staring at?”

Baek Seolhwa, holding a soju glass in her hand, asked me when she noticed my gaze.

“No, it’s just…I’m surprised.”

“What’s surprising?”

“I thought you didn’t really like dinner parties or anything.”

“I don’t like them, but I don’t hate them either. Sometimes I do them with the kids.”

It seemed she wasn’t very good at drinking, as after drinking about three glasses of soju, her cheeks had turned slightly red.

Her skills were showing their best efficiency even at this dinner party.

“Your Holiness, I think we did well bringing in our fresh Baek Seolhwa. You really need to have at least one wizard you know, right?”

Even Luna, who had initially been wary of Baek Seolhwa, was now smiling brightly and hugging her.

The reason was simple.

Szzzz-!

Thanks to her freezing magic, the drinks were being kept at a refreshingly cold temperature.

However, Baek Seolhwa seemed to find Luna’s kindness a bit burdensome.

“Don’t stick to me.”

“Why? Don’t you like soft things?”

“…Anyway, don’t stick to me. It’s too soft.”

“Hehe, is it because I’m not His Holiness? You don’t like it when I do this? You’ll make me feel bad if you keep doing this.”

As the two of them bickered, Siyeon, who had been eating chicken next to me, with sauce smeared all over her face, spoke up.

“You’re both so pretty. I think you’re even prettier than the celebrities on TV. Right, big brother?”

“Well…when it comes to looks, yeah.”

Red-haired Luna, who gave off a cool and hearty vibe.

Silver-haired Baek Seolhwa, who seemed calm and aloof.

They were complete opposites from the start. It was like a perfect contrast.

It wasn’t about who was prettier; as Siyeon said, they were both beautiful.

As I watched Luna and Baek Seolhwa bickering, Grandma placed a kimchi pancake in front of me and said,

“So, who is the one you’re going to marry?”

“Grandma, the Pope can’t marry until they step down from the papacy. It’s written in the doctrine.”

“I guess I’ll have to go to your temple and ask that person, Limen or whatever, about it. I can’t stand seeing my grandson grow old and die as a widower.”

If you observe carefully, my grandma really likes teasing me. Does she enjoy the feeling of hitting me?

Grandma, after playfully teasing me, hit me on the back again before going over to Emma Miller and sitting down next to her with a bottle of makgeolli.

The lively atmosphere of the dinner party.

In-wook, Minsoo, and Jin Seojoon were being dragged by Representative Choi to drink until they were fully plastered, while Seungwoo was sipping orange juice next to Siyeon.

Even though it was noisy, just watching it made me feel at peace.

I quietly savored the atmosphere as I drank my beer.

It had been such a long time since I had a break.

This was probably the first time I was able to properly rest while gathering with everyone.

“It’s nice.”

Since returning to Earth, it felt like I had been running around endlessly. Raising the Order, talking to the government, gathering new allies.

I hadn’t had time to truly rest like this.

“Hehe, I hope we can do this more often in the future.”

Although Siyeon didn’t usually show it, she must’ve had a lot she wanted to do with me.

That’s why I was always grateful and sorry to Siyeon.

I patted Siyeon’s head, who was smiling brightly, and said,

“Let’s do that, Siyeon. It’s a promise.”

“Promise! Hehehe. I’m happy!”

…Wait a minute.

Why does Siyeon smell like alcohol, which is strangely familiar to me? And the sweet smell on her fingers…

“Hey! Who the hell gave Siyeon makgeolli?!”

It was definitely makgeolli.

There was no way Siyeon drank it by herself, so the culprit had to be someone very close by.

For example, Luna Leventon, who had been pouring drinks down her throat right in front of us.

“Oh, Siyeon just asked for one sip. I really wasn’t going to give it to her…Aah! The Pope’s going to kill me!”

“Leo, keep your sister under control.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Giving alcohol to an elementary school student, this knight is good at that.

Thus, amidst the chaotic atmosphere, our Order’s first dinner party night was in full swing.

As time passed, the victims of the gathering started appearing all around.

The first ones to be knocked out were In-wook and Minsoo, who had been facing the worst generation, Aiden and CEO Choi.

Even I couldn’t recognize them properly by the time they were utterly unconscious.

Surprisingly, Jin Seojoon held on until the end and returned home with Seungwoo. Personally, I believe this proved the greatness of a father.

Grandmother and Emma Miller drank moderately before heading to the master bedroom, while Baek Seolhwa, who was completely drunk after two hours, was laid down in Siyeon’s room with her.

Since it was the first time Siyeon met Baek Seolhwa, she was worried about how she might react if she were shy.

But once again, her worries were unnecessary.

The two of them fell asleep holding each other, just like real sisters.

I found an unexpected side of Baek Seolhwa, who looked like she might freeze the air around her with just her appearance.

In the end, the last survivors were me, Leo, Luna, Aiden, and CEO Choi—five people in total.

To be honest, it was a bit unclear if they could be called survivors.

“Well, this is a bit disappointing.”

“If you give me the card, I’ll go to the convenience store and buy everything. It doesn’t feel like it’s enough, does it?”

“Of course, it’s Luna! But Leo, I think you’re quite impressive, too…”

“Mr. Choi, would you believe me if I told you I lost to Leo in Japan last time?”

“Too much praise. With this level of intoxication, you can’t test my faith.”

Despite having consumed so much that there were bottles piled up in the living room, their condition was still remarkably fine.

If they were regular people, they would’ve likely passed out from acute alcohol poisoning by now, but their monstrous bodies seemed unaffected.

“It’s too disappointing to end like this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I silently watched the monsters who were savoring the moment, and then, in a subtle voice, I spoke.

“Well, we’ve had enough fun, so let’s talk about work now.”

“Oh, work on such a great day? Pope Kim, let’s not do that and go out for one more drink.”

“I think that’s right, Siwoo. Our night is far from over…”

“Before you two’s night ends forever, please sit down.”

I lightly clenched my fist, and the effect was immediate.

Since they had already experienced my fierceness once, the barbarians coughed awkwardly a few times and sat down.

“Ahem.”

“If Siwoo says so, then it must be so. Let’s sit down, Mr. Choi. Our leader has something important to discuss.”

It’s true that English is the universal language.

Especially for CEO Choi.

This man, who only has a high school diploma, speaks English as if he were a native speaker.

According to his explanation, he had dropped out of a prestigious foreign university, so perhaps it’s natural for him to be good at English.

Nevertheless, communication was smooth.

Luna, Leo, and I were currently in a state of benefiting from the blessing of language.

As long as Aiden and CEO Choi could communicate smoothly, there was no issue.

“By the way, Aiden.”

“Say it, Siwoo.”

“You already have a rough idea of what’s going on, right?”

Aiden scratched his head and smiled awkwardly at my question.

“Are you talking about the inconvenient neighboring country?”

“You’ve got good information.”

“I got the information through diplomatic channels from my home country…it’s within the expected range. It’s not that difficult.”

Though I didn’t know if our government had given a hint to the U.S., Aiden seemed to be roughly aware of the situation.

I slowly nodded at him. Then, I continued to explain to the others.

“As Aiden said, there’s a high possibility that a guest from China will come soon. The excuse is ‘exchange of awakened individuals.’ But honestly, it seems like they just want to show off their power.”

“America is far away, and they’re close by. It’s a very old excuse. They’re trying to show they want to ease the strained Korea-China relations. The inside must be as dark as it gets. They’ve always been like that.”

CEO Choi shrugged as if he was used to it. Then, he poured the remaining soju from his beer glass down his throat, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and continued speaking.

“The main objective is to show off their power and then seize a favorable position in the lost lands of North Korea. Am I right?”

“President Seo also said the same.”

“China probably thought that Korea wouldn’t be able to touch the lost land for the next few decades. But now, the situation has become urgent for them. Siwoo, I understand perfectly.”

The more this involved international politics, the more troublesome things would pile up, but it was unavoidable.

Whether it’s domestic or international politics.

Even if I had no interest in politics, politics had no choice but to be interested in me.

That’s just how politics works.

I told President Seo I’d think about the friendly competition, but the answer had already been decided in my mind.

“China plans to send a guy called ‘Sword Demon.’ They’ve asked me to participate in the friendly competition as a condition. I’d like to hear your opinions.”

The first to respond to my words was Aiden.

“Siwoo. For an Irregular to step onto another country’s territory is a very serious provocation and threat. Do you understand that?”

“You also understand that this isn’t your place to speak, right?”

“Korea and the U.S. are allies, and we’re friends, right? This is a different case. If it were before the Dimension Opening, it would’ve been different, but after the Dimension Opening, there have been several clashes between Korea and China, haven’t there?”

I’d even heard rumors that just a few months ago, talks of breaking the Korea-U.S. alliance had come up.

Anyway, Aiden’s main weapon is his tongue rather than his body.

Despite his appearance that suggests he would destroy everything without thinking, he can quickly think on his feet.

“Keep going.”

“There’s very little information about China’s Irregulars. There’s a high possibility of variables. The fact that they’re moving now means they’re in a hurry.”

“Let’s think about it simply.”

There was no reason to complicate things. Politics was something politicians needed to solve, and as for our organization, we just needed to calculate our own part.

“If China’s Irregulars step on our land, isn’t it possible for us to step on theirs too?”

“There’s no solid reason to stop that.”

“Someday, we’ll have to step on their land. We know their base is there. They’re even exporting terrorists right now. And most importantly…”

“Most importantly?”

I took a sip of cold beer, then raised the corner of my mouth with a sly grin.

“I just don’t like China.”