Please Stop The Pope

After the long, long night was over, the next morning.

A lot had happened overnight.

“Breaking news. Japan’s Prime Minister Sasaki Hiroto! Announces Korea-Japan summit in one week. Main agenda includes apology for past history and joint response to disasters!”

“Kim Shi Yu, the Black Pope who saved Japan, sets right the worst Korea-Japan relations.”

“Japan declares war on far-right group Rising Sun Association. What is the hidden meaning behind it?”

“White House official spokesperson, ‘Actively welcomes the Korea-Japan summit and expects positive outcomes.'”

“China, ‘There is nothing to say for now.'”

It may have been a very long night for Prime Minister Sasaki and Japan.

The important thing is that I am at the center of that change.

Anyway, if the relations between the two countries improve because of me, Limen will also be pleased.

It’s because Limen always loves peace. I should brag about it later when I get in touch with Limen. She used to pop up frequently before, but these days she’s hard to reach, which makes me a bit sad.

Anyhow. As you can see from the articles above, the international situation was flowing like that overnight, and I was invited to the Prime Minister’s official residence in Japan early in the morning.

Of course.

“Thank you, Aiden Howard. Japan will not forget the help of Mr. Aiden Howard.”

“Haha! The U.S.-Japan alliance is still strong. Thank you for the welcome, Prime Minister.”

This Aiden guy who drank 236 bottles of whiskey for 12 hours was also with me.

It’s not a joke, he really drank 240 bottles. He was emptying a bottle every 5 minutes.

But perhaps because it’s a meeting with the head of a country? The guy who was wearing only a wolf skin somehow came in a suit.

His custom-made suit for his nearly 2m tall physique gave him an impression closer to a ‘gangster’ rather than a ‘gentleman’.

Zzzzp-!

The reporters are busily capturing the moment Aiden shook hands with Prime Minister Sasaki.

And next, Prime Minister Sasaki reached out his hand to me.

“Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Sasaki Hiroto.”

A greeting that I heard once yesterday.

Since it was the first time meeting at an ‘official’ event, I smiled and shook his hand.

“I’m Kim Shi Yu.”

“Thank you once again for saving Japan. Japan will never forget the help of the friendly neighbor Republic of Korea and the Limen Church.”

Prime Minister Sasaki intentionally showed goodwill in front of the reporters.

At the Prime Minister’s remarks, a flashlight more intense than before went off.

After a brief photo session with the reporters was over, the officials moved the reporters back.

A moment later, only three of us were left in the room: me, Aiden, and Prime Minister Sasaki.

The first to speak was Prime Minister Sasaki.

“Did you have a comfortable night?”

“It was very comfortable thanks to the excellent accommodation. It would have been better if the savage guy next to me hadn’t interfered.”

“That’s a sad thing to say. The more we share drinks, the closer we become. I heard there’s a nice hot spring, how about going together?”

“Shut up and stay still. If you don’t want to die.”

“You two heroes seem to get along well. It’s nice to see as an old man.”

Indeed, experience is not something to be ignored.

Prime Minister Sasaki subdued us with that one remark, and we looked at the Prime Minister with blank eyes.

What’s really interesting is that Prime Minister Sasaki didn’t have a separate interpreter.

In other words, Prime Minister Sasaki is speaking in English now. It’s clear since Aiden understands what he’s saying.

A prime minister who speaks some Korean and is good at English. He gives off a strong impression of an intellectual.

“The reason I invited you two heroes like this is not grandiose. Political talk is for politicians, and I brought you here to express my gratitude to the two heroes who saved this country from crisis.”

“Are you talking about expressing gratitude?”

“I have to give something to those who readily came to the crisis of another country, or else I’ll be criticized. Do you two have anything you particularly want?”

In other words, he’s saying that since we completed the quest, he wants to give us a reward.

Aiden was the first to answer that question.

“A warrior does not care about rewards when helping a friend. Of course, I do quite like Japanese sake.”

“I will have my secretary prepare plenty of famous sake from each region. Is that really enough?”

“Nothing is as good as alcohol.”

Aiden jokingly mentions sake, at least having some conscience.

For an irregular of the United States, obtaining the finest sake wouldn’t be too difficult.

From his perspective, he was just accepting the sincerity.

Prime Minister Sasaki nodded and then looked at me.

“Then, Mr. Kim Shi Yu, is there anything you want?”

At those words, I pondered for a moment.

I don’t particularly want anything, but there was one thing Siyeon asked me to do before coming to Japan.

“I have a younger sister. Before coming here, I remember my sister saying she wanted an island where many flowers bloom.”

“An island where many flowers bloom… Hmm.”

“I’m just joking. What I really want is…”

“I will give you an answer within a week. It seems it will take some time to choose an island where flowers bloom beautifully.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious.”

I didn’t expect this to work out.

Aiden, who was quietly listening to Prime Minister Sasaki’s answer, smiled and nodded.

“Japan will also be very noisy for a while.”

“An irregular has appeared in a neighboring country. Then, of course, the dynamics must change.”

“It’s an excellent choice. This is only for the Prime Minister, but among the other three irregulars that the U.S. has, no one will be able to gain an advantage over Shi Yu. I guarantee it.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t mention it.”

A conversation that seems to have various intentions.

What could be the motive behind this guy suddenly praising me?

As I felt last time, there might be tens of thousands of snakes living inside this Aiden guy.

I looked at the two of them with a dubious expression, and the meeting with the Prime Minister was wrapping up like that.

After the meeting with the Prime Minister, it was free time.

Aiden tried to stick with me persistently, but fortunately, the U.S. side took Aiden away, saying there was still work to be done in Japan or something?

Thanks to that, I got away from the savage, and I enjoyed some free time with Leo and Team Leader Kim.

Thanks to the Japanese government providing a helicopter, we were able to visit the Kusatsu Hot Springs, which was quite a distance away, and in the evening, we went to a famous sushi restaurant in Tokyo that I had heard about since I was young.

Originally, it was a sushi restaurant where same-day reservations were impossible, but someone who heard that I wanted to go there gave up their reservation (they even prepaid 5 million won in advance, telling us to eat whatever we wanted).

Anyway, a quite fulfilling day passed, and the day of return arrived.

I started the day by escaping from the hotel manager, who kept trying to give me gifts.

As expected, receiving cheers from Tokyo citizens, I arrived at Narita International Airport, where I first entered Japan.

I wanted to stay a few more days for sightseeing if I could, but I was worried about Luna who was training the chicks alone.

“I want to rest more before going back. Don’t you think so, Leo?”

“Miss Lebenthon must be having a hard time alone.”

“I like it best when I’m enjoying while others are having a hard time.”

It’s clear that hardship awaits when I return.

I have to manage the holy-type players who joined our church, and I have to wrap up the purification work at Ground Zero.

It’s full of headache-inducing things.

So I rested a lot yesterday without thinking much.

Still, this dispatch to Japan had a lot of achievements. We dealt with Yamata no Orochi, and the fame of the Limen Church spread widely in Japan as well.

Moreover, I also had a discussion with the Japanese government about the holy stones to be used in the Sendai City purification work. Nothing was better than holy stones to neutralize Yamata no Orochi’s magic and poison, and naturally, the Prime Minister showed great interest.

As soon as I return, I’ll check the amount of holy stones mined, and if there is a surplus, I will decide to sell them to the Japanese side.

And at a very satisfactory price at that. Can’t we secure at least tens of billions? If it goes well, even hundreds of billions…

“Seongha? Why do you have that expression all of a sudden…”

“No, it’s just funny how my situation has changed. In the past, my heart used to sink even at a million won, but the units have changed quite a bit.”

Although it was hard to feel it even when I sold the health bracelet to CEO Choi last time.

In Eden, I wasn’t the one managing the finances, so I wasn’t very aware.

Anyway.

It was undoubtedly an unbelievable achievement for what was accomplished in 3 days.

When I go back, I should quickly find someone to manage the finances.

I nodded with a smile and then looked at Team Leader Kim, who was sitting next to me with a grin.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course. I can rest a bit more before going back this time. Indeed, you are my lifelong benefactor, Mr. Shi Yu.”

The reason Team Leader Kim was so happy was simple.

It’s because I called Minister Yoo Seon-ho and asked him to arrange for Team Leader Kim to return later, as I had separately entrusted him with a task.

Of course, Minister Yoo Seon-ho granted my request, and Team Leader Kim was set to return home 3 days later.

Naturally, there was no actual task I entrusted to Team Leader Kim. Should I say it’s a 3-day paid vacation?

It was also a gift I could give to him, who had been working hard regardless of weekends because of me.

“Enjoy your time and come back. When you return, you’ll lose hair because of me again.”

“It feels like the first time I’m resting in 10 months. I’ll stay and go back without regrets.”

Is 3 days of free time that good?

He’s grinning from ear to ear. He seems happier than when he told me about his promotion last time.

Around the time I was talking with Team Leader Kim, Kang Chae-ah approached us.

“Awakener Kim Shi Yu. It’s time to board the plane.”

“Miss Chae-ah, you’re also staying here, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Starting tomorrow, I have orders to prepare for preliminary negotiations on exchanges with the Japanese Ability Bureau before the Korea-Japan summit.”

A rigid and businesslike tone.

I looked at Kang Chae-ah and quietly smiled.

The night before last, while drinking late into the night, I casually asked Jin-young. What kind of relationship he had with Kang Chae-ah.

Jin-young, who was quite drunk, readily answered my question.

-We loved each other a lot. Both me and Chae-ah.

The drunken man’s rambling.

After he crossed over to Japan, Korea-Japan relations further deteriorated, and naturally, he could only grow distant from Kang Chae-ah, who became the government’s mascot following his path as a traitor to the nation.

An ending that both of them didn’t want, but at the same time, both of them had no choice but to understand.

Remembering his rambling, I unknowingly wanted to meddle.

“The day before yesterday, I was drinking with Jin-young, and he kept looking at his phone. He seemed to be waiting for a call from someone. He said he couldn’t even get a girlfriend after coming to Japan… Ah, I’m talking too much these days for no reason. I’m sorry.”

“…It was the same for me.”

“Pardon?”

“Thank you, Awakener Kim Shi Yu.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t meddling for nothing?

I nodded to Kang Chae-ah, who quietly bowed her head to me.

“Don’t mention it.”

After a brief greeting, I was about to turn around and go down the stairs.

“Salute to Awakener Kim Shi Yu!”

“Loyalty.”

As if to prove they were from the Ministry of Defense.

I lightly waved my hand to those who saluted me.

“See you again in Korea.”

It was an overseas trip that was short but full of new connections and many things to take away.

“Leo. Let’s go.”

“Yes, Seongha.”

I lightly stepped forward with Leo.

Now, it was time to return to the temple.

3 hours later.

Republic of Korea, Incheon International Airport.

I could only smile awkwardly as I looked at what was unfolding in front of me.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Kim Shi Yu! Kim Shi Yu! Kim Shi Yu!”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Here! Look over here please!”

“The Folder is here too!”

“Oppaaaaaaaa! Kyaaaaaaaah!”

“Smile for us!”

This place was chaotic with all sorts of unknown madness.

I quietly muttered as I heard the spotlight and shrieks pouring towards me.

“…Is this a different world?”

It was definitely not the Republic of Korea that I knew.

Certainly.