When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 116



Only Noblemtl

116. Why are you here?!
2024.02.24.

After hearing my order, the soldiers of the gods soon started to walk out.

Then, they extended their arms to the sacred knights who were blocking my way.

The sacred knights immediately showed their bewilderment.

“Your Majesty?! These guys are rushing at us?”

“Your Majesty! Please help us, Your Majesty!!”

The knights resisted weakly as they said those words, but in the end, they were captured by the soldiers of the gods.

They couldn’t have attacked me recklessly since they didn’t know what I had summoned.

Even so, it was amazing that these soldiers without any sense of self were able to capture B-rank knights.

I stroked my chin and admired their skills.

‘It’s pretty useful… … ? If I raise my proficiency and can summon more soldiers, it’ll be an amazing skill.’

I walked, quite satisfied with the function of my newly acquired skill.

Of course, I didn’t forget to say something to the captured knights.

“Tell Luciana. “Don’t worry, I have nothing to hide.”

The knights who heard my message sighed with faces soaked in frustration.

They must have been imagining how much of a scolding she would get after delivering the message to Luciana.

Regardless, I continued walking toward Elodie’s room.

She was currently staying in a guest room in the main building of the cathedral, so it didn’t take long to get there.

Well, it shouldn’t have taken long.

That was if another troublemaker hadn’t suddenly appeared in front of the stairs on the first floor of the main building.

“Bliss… … You’re going to bother me too?”

I asked the guy with a deep sigh.

“Did Luciana order you?”

“No, Sir Lazar is not involved.”

“Then?”

“I just felt like Mongma was whispering something to His Holiness earlier, so I got curious. Please tell me what you’re going to talk about.”

“… … .”

I couldn’t understand why they couldn’t find out other people’s secrets.

“Listen carefully. Elodie whispered to me because it was something I didn’t want anyone to hear. Is it okay to keep digging into such a story like this?”

“But His Majesty might be preparing to jump into something unnecessarily dangerous alone… … .”

As he spoke, he took a fighting stance without raising his sword.

“I’ll have to listen to you somehow.”

The excuse sounded plausible. I

was just curious .

Anyway, I glared at Bliss, who seemed ready to fight me at any moment.

“… … Are you really going to come out like this? Then I guess I have no choice but to use my skills.”

Bliss smiled with interest at my words about using my skills. He

probably thought I would use a new skill or martial arts to deal with him.

Well, it was true that he was going to use a new skill.

A new skill called ‘Intimidation.’

I approached him and whispered in a small voice.

“If you keep bothering me, I’ll tell His Majesty everything.”

“… … .”

“I’ll tell you that you keep digging up my private secrets out of your pointless curiosity. I’m sure His Majesty would be proud of you, wouldn’t you?”

Bliss asked back, as if she found my words absurd.

“You’re telling? To Ernen…?”

“Yes, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you that you even picked a fight to steal a letter from His Majesty.”

“… … .”

“Now, what do you want to do? Do you want to step aside or be scolded by His Majesty?”

Bliss seemed to be thinking for a while, then blurted out.

“You’re using quite… lethal tactics.”

“Not lethal, but peaceful. I’m a pope, not a fighter. These days, I have no choice but to swing my sword because of the dungeons.”

Yes, when I think about it, I was a pope.

There are only guys who use their fists around me, and dungeons are appearing here and there, so I’m swinging my sword, but… … .

In any case, the pope is nothing more than a symbol of peace.

So I continued my threat peacefully(?).

“Shall I call His Majesty here?”

Only after I said that did Bliss step aside from me.

Peace was victorious.

* * *

After defeating Luciana, Bliss, and other obstacles,

I was standing in front of Elodie’s room.

After clearing my throat once, I knocked.

“Can I come in?”

“… … Yes, come in.”

Why was her voice so weak?

I felt a little puzzled as I entered the room, and soon I realized why Elodie’s voice was so weak.

“Lu… Siana, you’re here?”

“I’ve been waiting.”

Luciana, who was sitting at the table with Elodie, said.

Why is Luciana here?

I was momentarily confused, but I soon figured out the situation and joined them at the table.

It seemed like Luciana had come to Elodie on her own.

As expected, Luciana said,

“When you two were whispering earlier, I thought I heard my name. So I thought I could hear ‘my story’ if I came here.”

“… … You have sharp ears.”

“Even among the A-class Awakeneds, you have particularly sharp ears. So—”

Luciana, her voice drawn out, looked back and forth between me and Elodie.

“Can I hear it too? My story.”

I nodded to Elodie with an embarrassed expression.

She also looked at me with a troubled expression, then opened her mouth.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to tell Nickelus that you’re having nightmares.”

“Hmm… … Is that really all?”

Elodie nodded confidently when Luciana asked.

“Of course. Why would I fool you? We’re not friends, but we’re not strangers either, we’re pretty close, right?”

What does it mean to be not friends, but not strangers either? I suddenly

became curious about Luciana and Elodie’s relationship.

Anyway, I thought it was a rather ambiguous relationship, but for some reason, Luciana seemed to agree.

“Well, we’re not friends, but we’re not strangers either… … .”

I still couldn’t understand what a relationship of being neither friends nor strangers was.

I just assumed that they had their own world, and let it slide.

That was when

someone

tapped my knee under the table.

Since Luciana had both arms on the table, I thought it was probably Elodie who tapped me with her hand.

Elodie tapped me again so that Luciana wouldn’t notice.

It seemed as if she was going to hand me something, so I carefully lowered my hand under the table.

Soon, Elodie secretly put something in my hand.

‘A note…?’

What Elodie gave me was a note.

I carefully lowered my gaze so that Luciana wouldn’t notice, and checked the contents of the note.

―I’ll visit you in your dreams at midnight today and tell you. Luciana won’t be able to follow you there.

As expected, Elodie hadn’t called me simply to tell me about Luciana’s nightmare. She

had lied in front of Luciana, and it seemed like she had something else to say .

After checking the contents of the note, I immediately stuffed it in my pocket.

Then, looking at Luciana and Elodie, I said naturally,

“A nightmare… … . You must have had a hard time, Luciana. Maybe you’ve been working too hard in the dungeons lately?”

“Hmm? Your Majesty… Suddenly, your speech seems unnaturally stiff. You’re squeaking like an unlubricated wagon wheel.”

“Me, me? No, I’ve never done that. Haha.”

“Are you hiding something?”

At this point, I thought she was not only quick-witted, but almost magical. If

I kept strutting around in my seat any longer, I would be caught exchanging notes with Elodie, so I quickly got up.

“Come to think of it, I forgot that I was supposed to play with Rubin. I should go before Rubin gets upset.”

Luciana still seemed suspicious, “Hmm… … .”

I hurriedly left the door and said my final goodbyes.

“Then, Luciana, get some rest so you don’t have nightmares. As for Elodie… um, just take care of yourself.”

Was it a little awkward? I don’t know.

Anyway, I quickly closed the door and went out into the hallway before the suspicion in Luciana’s eyes deepened.

“Sigh… … .” The sigh I had been holding in finally burst out.

* * *

The time Elodie was supposed to come into my dream was midnight.

I played with Rubin, and watched the eggs absentmindedly, waiting for the appointed time to arrive.

The waiting felt so long that I thought about going to see her right away… but I gave up.

If it was an important story that no one should hear, it would be better to hear

it in my dreams. No one would come into my dreams and eavesdrop.

So I held it in and held it in until around 11 o’clock, and I went to bed.

Fortunately, I was able to fall into a deep sleep before midnight, and as promised, Elodie visited me in that dream.

A pitch-black dream world where nothing could be seen around me.

There, Elodie made a startling first statement as soon as she saw me.

“I think Luciana will soon notice the existence of the erased ones.”

“What?!”

Elodie sighed at my surprised question.

“Let’s get this straight first. Among the erased ones, a certain Romun used a curse skill to control Luciana’s mind, right?”

“… … .”

“You saved Luciana from being controlled at that time. Right?”

I hesitated for a moment and then nodded obediently.

“That’s right.”

“But you probably lied and said that you had a ‘fever’ to keep it a secret from Luciana. Right?”

“That’s right… … . Did Luciana see through the lie?”

When I asked that, Elodie sighed a second time.

“Luciana… She’s quicker on the uptake than you think. It seemed like she had already figured it out. It wasn’t a fever, but a curse skill.”

“This… … .”

“I even knew Romun’s name more or less. That’s why she came to me and asked me to help her regain her memories from back then.”

I swallowed my tension and asked Elodie.

“You asked me… … . So what did you say?”

“I refused. You told me not to tell Luciana about the erased ones.”

“Ah… … .”

Fortunately, it seemed like Elodie had not forgotten my warning and had kept it.

I brushed away my surprised chest and opened my mouth.

“Thank you for keeping my secret. I hope you’ll keep it a secret from now on—”
“What do you want me to keep a secret

from now on, Your Majesty?” Just as I was about to say that I hoped she’d keep it a secret from now on, a familiar voice suddenly interrupted our conversation.

I looked around, feeling creeped out.

‘That was Luciana’s voice just now… … ?’

As I thought about it, cracks began to appear in the dark space of my dream.

The space soon began to crack like glass breaking, making a ‘crack-crack’ sound, and it shattered.

And through the cracks in the shattered space, a familiar face appeared.

“Lu, Luciana?! And Dionich?!”