Please Stop The Pope

The first place I took Grandma was the temple of the Limen Denomination.

Si-yeon was still at school, and Grandma had arranged to meet her friend here.

Seung-woo and his father were out looking for a house to live near the temple, so the only people remaining at the temple were Leo and Luna.

“I heard my grandson has been indebted to you a lot. Thank you all.”

“We are the ones indebted to His Holiness. It’s only natural to repay the favor.”

As always, Leo’s first greeting to our grandmother was flawless and impeccable.

The very model of a priest.

But Luna’s first greeting was different.

“Oh my, I actually thought you were His Holiness’s aunt! You look so young, Grandma.”

“A pretty girl with pretty words too. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Luna Lebenthon. I’m His Holiness’s most cherished subordinate. Please speak comfortably to us too, Grandma. If you’re His Holiness’s grandmother, it’s the same for us.”

“Hmm, is that so? Hoho. I’ve gained a reliable grandson and granddaughter at once.”

With her unique affinity, Luna won Grandma’s favor. Come to think of it, they both have a hearty personality, so they seem like a good match.

It feels like their future chemistry will be good.

After greeting the two like that, Grandma headed straight to the main hall of the temple.

In the main hall, chairs were prepared so that mourners and believers could come and pray, and in front of them was a statue of Limen with her head bowed and hands clasped together.

The faceless statue representing the Limen Denomination.

Rather than saying it has no face, it would be more accurate to say that the face is covered with cloth, but it was also called the faceless statue in Eden.

I had once looked at that statue and asked Limen.

Why she doesn’t put such a beautiful face on the statue.

To that, Limen replied like this.

-Sometimes there are things that are more meaningful because they are not seen. Someone may project their own mother while praying to me, and someone else may project their father. The faces that each person cherishes are all different, right? I just wanted to be considerate of their hearts.

She said that and asked me, ‘Am I that pretty?’

Anyway, for that reason, Limen’s face does not appear on her statue.

Should I say it’s the uniqueness of our denomination?

“Can I pray?”

Grandma stood in front of that statue and casually asked me. I slowly nodded at Grandma’s words.

“Of course. Because Limen loves everyone.”

“Huhu. My grandson has returned as a plausible clergyman. You hated going to church so much when you were young, the world is really unpredictable.”

Grandma, who winked at me with her left eye, knelt in front of the statue and clasped her hands together. And she prayed in a still comfortable and soft voice.

“Thank you so much for sending my grandson back safely. Please guide our grandson well, who still has many shortcomings, so that he can live well in this chaotic world.”

Grandma’s prayer was not very long.

As soon as the prayer, which could be called short if it was short, ended, Leo, who was standing behind me, quietly whispered,

“His Holiness.”

“Ah, right. I’m the priest in charge now.”

A priest must bestow blessings on behalf of Limen to the one who prayed.

I looked at Grandma and said softly,

“May Limen’s blessing be upon you.”

Grandma looked at me and smiled brightly. And she slowly rose from her seat.

“I saw earlier that the gardens in front are really beautiful, can this granny walk around a bit?”

“I’ll guide you, Grandma.”

“I want to take a walk with our Luna and Leo. I have so many things I want to ask them.”

“Why don’t you just ask me?”

“If you want to become an excellent boss, you should guarantee your subordinates time to freely curse at you.”

She doesn’t lose a single word, not a single one.

Grandma took Leo and Luna on either side, and then said to me,

“My newly made friend really wants to meet you. Think of it as keeping an old person company and have a conversation. It won’t be a story that will harm you.”

After concluding her words like that, Grandma headed out of the temple with the two.

How does she know when her friend will arrive to just leave like that?

Around the time I was grumbling and heading to the office.

Something began to be felt from far away. It was mana, but pure mana that felt mysterious.

I felt that mana and grinned.

“I knew you had a divine instrument.”

It seems Grandma’s friend has arrived.

******

Grandma’s friend arrived at the temple under the direct escort of the president’s security guards.

As expected.

President Seo’s words about having business at the airport were not empty words at all.

President Seo had really headed to the airport to personally greet a VIP.

The problem is, why did a ‘dignitary’ who is important enough for even the president to personally greet, take a chartered plane with Grandma?

“It’s nice to meet you, Shi Yu. You resemble your grandmother a lot. There was a reason Eun-young bragged about you so much.”

“Nice to meet you, Madam Emma Miller. Your Korean is very fluent.”

“I learned it through Eun-young. Although I did use a cheat.”

Seeing her call Grandma’s name so comfortably makes me feel strange.

It’s because I’ve never met Grandma’s friends before.

Madam Emma Miller took a sip of the green tea in front of her, smiling benevolently.

Actually, before meeting her alone like this, I had heard about her from the president’s security guard.

-Her nickname is Oracle. She is famous as a seer who sees the near future. At the same time, she is also the most cherished Awakener in the US. The president asked Awakener Kim Shi Yu to please take good care of Madam Emma Miller.

The guard added that the moment even a small wound appears on Madam Emma Miller’s body, the US may start a war.

If only he hadn’t added that, it would have been less nerve-wracking, but superiors always have to add postscripts.

By the way, I heard that US special agents are currently deployed outside Ground Zero.

One question arises here.

Honestly, Madam Emma Miller’s combat power doesn’t seem very high. There must have been even more tremendous security forces deployed in the US, so how did she evade them and board Grandma’s chartered plane?

“You seem curious about a lady’s secret. It’s nothing special if you know.”

“You read my thoughts.”

“Well, rather than reading… an old person’s intuition, that’s enough to explain it.”

This grandmother is also an inscrutable person. President Seo is like that, and this grandmother named Emma Miller is also like that. Why are all the people I meet today like this?

I scratched my cheek with my finger.

“I heard you really wanted to see me. Did you approach Grandma because of me?”

I don’t doubt that she has foresight.

There were people with foresight in Eden too, and among the successive prophets of our denomination, there were people who were bestowed the ability of foresight by Limen.

The fact that the US values her so much shows that her foresight is real.

So what I was suspicious of was a different part.

Whether she approached our grandmother for a purpose.

But the answer that came back was a somewhat absurd one.

“Just as Shi Yu is Limen’s proxy, I am the proxy of the system currently governing the present Earth. My foresight ability is an ability that comes with being the system’s proxy.”

Emma Miller’s eyes shone strangely.

Her eyes, tinged with blue light, stared at me.

Then, a message window with a red border indicating a warning appeared before my eyes.

[Your system blocks unauthorized power.]

“Also, my foresight ability is only limited to those who belong to the system, a half-baked one. I can’t use it on beings outside the boundary. For example, ordinary people, or beings of a different standard like Shi Yu.”

“By beings outside the standard, do you mean Irregulars?”

“That’s what people call them.”

“Then meeting Grandma was just a coincidence.”

“I just met Eun-young, became interested, and came here, that’s all.”

Madam Emma Miller nodded with an enigmatic smile.

“And actually, I’m not a grand being like a seer, but closer to an observer. Seeing you in person here puts me at ease. At least you love this world.”

“You seem to be the most unique Awakener I’ve met since returning to Earth, ma’am.”

A person who doesn’t feel likable, but also not hostile.

She was not a being that approached me as a threat. One thing was certain, she knew a lot of things that I didn’t know.

I silently looked at her for a moment. Then I said in a low voice,

“You really just came to see me.”

She didn’t ask me anything.

As she said, she had come with the intention of just looking at my face.

At my words, Madam Emma Miller slightly nodded.

“It’s an old person’s small hobby.”

“Then are you going back to the US right away?”

“Well, since I came to Korea, I should do some sightseeing before leaving. I promised Eun-young.”

“The people from the Awakening Management Department or the Blue House might have a fit if they hear that.”

“Huhu, if Korean food suits my taste, I’m even considering just settling down here.”

No, Grandma.

We might really go to war with the US then.

“Thank you for keeping me company, Shi Yu. The tea tasted very good.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“Eun-young might get angry at me for holding onto her busy grandson. Eun-young is quite scary when she’s angry.”

Madam Emma Miller said that and stood up from her seat.

And she said softly while looking at me,

“Beings outside the standard will bring deep darkness in the future. Shi Yu. I hope that your light and the light of the one you serve can brighten that deep darkness.”

With those words, she slowly headed out of the temple.

I looked at the back of the madam and muttered bitterly,

“I have one more thing to ask Limen.”

The things I want to ask keep piling up day by day like this, but what the hell is our goddess doing?

^^^^

Grandma stopped by the house, briefly greeted In Wook and Si-yeon, and went out again.

Saying that she had to properly show Korea to a friend who came a long way.

Well, actually, it wasn’t such a surprising development.

“She’s originally a cool person, you know.”

“Right.”

“Moreover, a friend she was indebted to in the US came all the way to Korea, so we have to treat her to the full course. That’s why I gave her my card too.”

In Wook said while folding the dried laundry.

Si-yeon went into the room saying she would play with Baekseol, and only the two of us were in the living room.

“In Wook. But do you know who Grandma’s friend is?”

“How would I know that?”

“Then do you know who the Oracle of the US is?”

“Who doesn’t know that? The sage of the US, the great seer, Madam Emma Miller, right?”

“That person is the friend of Grandma who came all the way to Korea.”

At my words, In Wook stopped folding the laundry for a moment. And he looked at me with a pathetic gaze.

“Hyung. A person who is the Pope shouldn’t lie like that. How can our grandmother be friends with someone like that? Say something that makes sense.”

“Right? You think so too, right?”

“Do you know how difficult it is to meet the Oracle? Even world-renowned rich people bring money to see her, but she doesn’t easily meet them.”

Our grandmother is someone who accomplished that difficult task, In Wook.

I took a bite of the apple next to me and lay down on the sofa.

And while looking at the ceiling, I said to In Wook,

“In Wook. I carpooled with the president today.”

“Stop it, hyung. Why do you keep making unfunny jokes?”

“Hey, listen till the end. Anyway, the president asked me a favor, so I’m thinking of going to Japan, what do you think?”

As soon as the word Japan came out, In Wook looked at me.

“Yamata no Orochi. To catch that?”

“You know about it?”

“Of course. The news and internet are full of stories about terrorism and Yamata no Orochi all day, so how could I not know?”

“Since you know, it’s convenient. What do you want me to do?”

At my question, In Wook stared at me.

Then he slightly frowned and said,

“Hyung always asks after already deciding on an answer. I just feel sorry for Japan.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

In Wook rose from his seat, holding the folded laundry in his arms. And shaking his head, he said,

“They’re bringing in a nuclear bomb like you just to catch a magic beast.”

It’s not entirely wrong, since Irregulars are actually evaluated as strategic weapons like nuclear bombs.

“To be exact, the US made the request to us first.”

“Then the US is dropping a third nuclear bomb on Japan. Such cruel bastards.”

I couldn’t speak for a long time at In Wook’s unexpected words.

TN: I’m screaming!!!!!!!! Why would he say that TT_TT