Please Stop The Pope

5. Showcase

   1.

After the destruction of the Lich, the Chaos Gate was closed.

For me, it was now a time that might be even more important than the destruction of the Gate.

   “Then, on October 17th, at 11:00 p.m., we will begin the emergency press conference. First up, Team Leader Kim Dong Shik of the Ministry of Ability Management’s Special Investigation Bureau 2 will give a brief briefing on the current situation.”

   Chirp-!

   With the sound of camera shutters clicking, the press conference began in earnest.

   Sitting next to me, a tired-looking Team Leader Kim began his presentation.

   “Good afternoon, members of the public. I’m Kim Dong Shik, Team Leader of Team 2 of the Ministry of Ability Management’s Special Investigation Bureau. I’d like to begin my presentation.”

   Kim’s voice was slightly stiff as he continued.

   “The process of defeating the gate is as follows. The emergence of the gate was confirmed at around 9:32 p.m. At 9:37 p.m., the Ministry of Ability Management’s emergency response team arrived at the scene and conducted operations to control the area and evacuate citizens. And…… at 9:55 p.m. The situation was resolved by the Awakened Kim Shi Yu, who arrived at the scene, as the Lich, which was the core of the Chaos Gate, was destroyed.”

   Tada tada tada tada-.

   Reporters quickly tap on their laptops as Team Leader Kim speaks.

   It was a late press conference at 11 p.m., but the makeshift press center was packed with reporters nonetheless.

   And it wasn’t just domestic reporters.

   Foreign reporters from the United States, China, and other countries were scattered throughout the room.

   Most of them were tapping away at their keyboards, but their eyes were fixed on me.

Mr. Kim stopped talking for a moment and looked at me cautiously.

   I met his gaze and nodded slightly.

   Then Kim began his presentation.

   “This concludes our briefing on the process of eradicating Chaos Gate, and we will issue a press release on the status of the damage at a later date. Now, let me tell you what you’ve been waiting for.”

   The makeshift press conference room fell eerily silent.

The press conference was well attended despite the late hour.

An hour earlier, unbelievable videos had started circulating on YouTube and other social media.

   The press conference was about me, the main character of those videos.

Team Lead Kim glanced around the quietened room and spoke, his voice more serious than ever.

“I would like to state in advance that what I am about to announce is the official position of the South Korean government, including the Ministry of Ability Management.”

Chirp-!

   The shutter clicked once again.

   All the cameras in the press conference center focus on me.

   “On October 12, at around 11:42 a.m., Awakened One Kim Shi Yu returned to Earth through the Yeouido Hangang Park gate, named the C-42 gate, which was the subject of the Yeouido Hangang Park video that went viral on various social media the other day.”

   The quiet press conference room quickly becomes noisy.

Reporters raised their hands and demanded to be heard, but Team Leader Kim ignored them for a moment and continued.

“It is also believed that the Awakened Kim Shi Yu possesses a power of at least Disaster Class, and we have yet to accurately measure the magnitude of that power.”

   Some of the reporters who had been listening to Kim’s seemingly vague statement exclaimed in frustration.

   “What do you mean, you can’t measure it?”

   “Surely, didn’t the South Korean Ministry of Ability Management announce just a month ago that its ability to detect awakeners was the best in the world!”

   “Please don’t stop us from asking questions!”

   But they were soon restrained by other reporters and Ministry of Ability Management staff around them, and as soon as the commotion died down somewhat, Team Leader Kim looked straight into the camera and said.

   “We have been able to come to the conclusion that the abilities that Awakened Kim Shi Yu has displayed so far have nothing to do with magic power, so we have secretly convened a meeting of the National Security Council, and have unanimously decided to declare him an irregular grade.”

   The announcement was met with shocked looks from the reporters.

   Team Leader Kim smiled wryly at their expressions and concluded his presentation with a bright smile.

   “As of this time, I declare the Republic of Korea to be the irregular holder.”

   “I have a question!”

   “Are you sure that he’s an irregular?”

   The crowd of reporters shouted, but Team Leader Kim ended the announcement without answering any questions.

   He turned off the microphone in front of him, then looked at me and said.

   “Our side’s presentation is over, and now you can say whatever you want to say, Mr. Shi Yu.”

   “Do you have any guidelines or anything? Can I say things like we’re going to establish the Limen Church as the national religion of Korea, and if you don’t believe in us, you’ll definitely go to hell?”

   “Maybe …….”

“Just kidding, I wouldn’t do that even if you asked me to.”

   So far, it’s been a perfect showcase.

   I like Team Leader Kim’s showmanship, and I like the attention I’m getting from people.

   And things are going so well.

   [Quest occurs!]

[Proclamation].

Type: Sub – DLC

   Description: You’ve got a lot of attention focused on you. Perhaps this is the perfect moment to announce your organization.

Conditions: End the press conference by mentioning the at least 3 times.

Reward: Free DLC Talent Voucher

   The system message proved it.

   I smiled softly, then turned to face the multitude of reporters and cameras pointed at me.

I don’t feel too nervous.

After all, I’ve spoken in front of tens of thousands of people on Eden before.

   And I’ve already thought about how to speak on Earth many times.

   I had no reason to be afraid of the media and no intention of being afraid.

   So I said.

   “Good to see you. I’m Kim Shi Yu, leader of the Order of Limen.”

   In a very low voice, I said the most important words for me and my future.

   2.

   After I took the microphone, I was bombarded with questions.

   The questions at the beginning of the interview were not much different from what the Ministry of Ability Management had asked me when they first interviewed me.

   So I just told them what I had prepared in advance.

   I told them I came from a world called Eden, I was the Pope there, and I told them what had happened.

   But the questions didn’t last long.

   “In the interest of time, I will take the last question.”

   I must have looked a little tired, because the moderator quickly limited the number of questions. If he hadn’t done that, I would have been bombarded with questions all night.

   And when the moderator did, the reporters were on edge.

   Because what they were interested in was not what I had done in the past, but what I was going to do in the future.

So they all raised their hands competitively, and I gave the floor to the one who looked at me with the most provocative glare.

   The reporter jumped to his feet and grabbed the microphone from the agent.

   “I’m Cho Sung-ha from the Korea Daily. From what you’ve told me so far, you’ve been running the Church on a world called Eden, so do you think you’ll be running it on Earth?”

   I nodded at his words and replied.

“That’s what I plan to do.”

At my answer, the reporter pounced, as if he had seen his prey.

   “Can I interpret that to mean that an Irregular, which is officially recognized by the South Korean government, will impose its religious beliefs on the people?”

   It was an obviously rude question.

Team Leader Kim, who was sitting next to me, was white in the face.

But I was actually glad for the question.

   I had assumed that journalists would be the same after five years, and I was right.

   I had already anticipated the question and prepared a model answer.

   “Why do you think I would impose my religious beliefs?”

   “Your appearance at the Chaos Gate in the city of Kuroku seems to be nothing more than a show of force for evangelism. Furthermore, speaking of the Otherworldly Church in such an official capacity will only antagonize the people…….”

   “Let me make one thing clear.”

I said, interrupting the reporter.

“I’m not going to force my beliefs on you.”

   I may have lived in Eden for 10 years, but I am, after all, a Korean who grew up in South Korea.

   As such, I am well aware of the negative image of religion in Korea.

   Faith shouldn’t be forced.

Besides, the god Limen is an unknown god that has never existed in this world, and it’s obvious that forcing people to believe in such a god will only lead to bad things.

   So my choice was.

“I’m just going to connect with you. I’m just going to show you, and then it’s up to you to believe or not believe what I show you.”

   It was about giving others the power to choose.

   There was no point in having faith forced upon me.

   I concluded my answer by smiling even more deeply at the journalist who had asked me the question.

   “Because when you trade something for someone’s faith, you’re just doing business.”

   My answer finally caused the reporter to put the microphone down in frustration.

   It wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

   As soon as the moderator realized that the reporter had put down his microphone, he picked it up to conclude the press conference.

   “This concludes today’s emergency press conference. The press release about Awakened Kim Shi Yu will be distributed at 9 a.m. the next day at…….”

   With the moderator’s words, the press conference was coming to a close.

   As I was casually looking at the reporters, I noticed that there was one reporter who was looking at me more eagerly than anyone else.

   It was a different kind of eagerness from the other reporters. It was similar to what Mr. Minsoo had shown me.

   So I decided to indulge my whim just once.

   “Mr. Moderator, do you mind if I ask that reporter over there one more question?”

   “Sure.”

   “Excuse me, the reporter on the far left in the second row.”

At my whim, the Ministry of Ability Management staff promptly handed the microphone to the journalist I pointed out.

The reporter immediately jumped to his feet and started asking questions with an excited expression on his face.

   “Thank you very, very much for giving me this opportunity to ask you a question. My name is Seo Tae-ho from the Seoul Daily.”

“It’s a pleasure.”

“I’ve personally become very interested in the Order of Limen, and I’d like to ask you about your future activities.”

   It was a look of fascination.

   Besides, it was a very good question, so I smiled with satisfaction.

   “We’re thinking of starting with MyTube, so we can reach out to people naturally through a medium that many of you are familiar with.”

“Do you have a MyTube channel already? If so, what’s the channel name?”

   This question made me pause for a moment.

   I looked at the cameras in front of me and said softly,

   “We don’t have a channel yet, but I think it would be great if you guys could help us name a MyTube channel for the Order of Limen. I’m sure Limen would be very happy if you did.”

“Thank you for your response, I will definitely, definitely try to participate!”

   At this point, it sounds more like a statement of faith than a press conference.

Anyway.

   With the help of the wannabe fanatic reporter who appeared at the press conference, I was able to finish my prepared remarks.

   “This concludes the emergency press conference.”

   The historic first showcase for me and the Order of Limen had come to a successful conclusion.

   After the press conference, countless messages began to pop up in front of my eyes.

   [You have completed the sub-quest ! You will be rewarded with ].

   [The number of believers in the Cult of Limen has exceeded 10,000!]

   [You have completed the main quest ].

   [The number of items available for purchase in the DLC shop has increased].

   -Notable Talent: .

   -Notable Special Class: ]

   [A new main quest will be created, check the quest message window for more information].

   Something was happening, something was definitely happening.