When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 147



Only Noblemtl

147. You have been invited to the satellite “White Moon”!
2024.03.26.

The information window of the invitation reads as follows.

[Congratulations! You have been invited to the satellite “White Moon”!]

Unlike the past when you were called a loser, you have silently fought for humanity.

You deserve to know the truth.

Enter the satellite “White Moon” and confirm the truth!

―Mission 1: Tear off the provided invitation and be the first to enter the satellite “White Moon”!

―Mission 2: Confirm the truth of this world!

*Number of people allowed to enter: 1

I knew long ago that there were satellites in this world.

I had even used the Divine Judgement Ticket to summon a beam barrage from a satellite before.

However, I didn’t know that I could be invited to this satellite, so I was a bit bewildered.

‘I just have to tear the invitation… …?’

I picked up the invitation with my index finger according to the instructions on the invitation information window. Then.

Jiik –

I tore the invitation in half like I would when using an enchantment scroll.

The torn invitation slowly began to glow brightly, and a beam of light from it enveloped my body.

The light was so bright that I shut my eyes tightly.

Then when I opened them again.

“… … This place?”

I was in a completely unfamiliar place.

I was sure I was in my bedroom just a moment ago.

It seemed that when I tore the invitation, I would be transported to a different space.

I looked around the new place.

There was… a monitor there for some reason. A large monitor at that.

And on the monitor screen, a blue planet that looked like Earth was being reflected.

As I was lost in thought at that unrealistic sight, someone spoke to me.

“Welcome to the White Moon, Apostle.”

It was Doria.

Even though I hadn’t used the Deification skill, he had come to me and was floating next to me.

“Why are you here?”

“I usually stay here. Sometimes, when you use the Deification skill, it only appears next to you as a summon.】

“You’re staying here?”

【Yes, because this is the dwelling place of God, the ‘White Moon’.】

Where God lives? I looked around, feeling even more confused than before.

As expected, it didn’t look like someone’s living space.

Rather, it felt like a control room set up to watch over and control something. For example, a planet that looked like Earth.

【Lucid Miller stayed here and watched over humans through the monitor.】

“… … .”

【Like this.】

When Doria manipulated something in front of the monitor, a planet shaped like Earth was enlarged.

When he manipulated something again, this time it was enlarged even more and the shape of a building began to appear.

It seemed like a familiar building, but upon closer inspection, it was a cathedral.

Doria zoomed in on the screen even more.

This time, he saw Luciana sweating in the cathedral training grounds.

“So… Lucid Miller was looking down on us through the monitor here?”

【It used to be like that. Now that he has disappeared, I, his clone, am looking down on him instead.】

I was shocked.

What on earth is this?

Was this what the ‘truth of this world’ written on the invitation meant?

That God resides in a satellite and looks down on humans through a monitor?

Various questions raced through my head.

While I was so confused, Doria spoke again.

【The apostle came here entirely thanks to his own efforts. You completed the ninth main oracle and obtained the invitation yourself.】

“Uh… right?”

【The reason I didn’t bring you straight to this white moon and used such a complicated method was, of course, to minimize the breakdown of causality.】

Doria continued to explain.

【If I had summoned you here using my own power, it would have been a major intervention by God in human affairs, and causality would have collapsed. However, if I had issued an oracle and had you obtain the invitation yourself―】

“You didn’t intervene, but rather came here on your own power, so the breakdown of causality would have been minimized, right?”

【Yes, that’s right. That’s why I had no choice but to invite you in such a complicated way.】

In other words, the ninth main oracle was an oracle that invited me here to tell me the truth of this world.

“I appreciate that you took such great care of me, but why are you telling me and showing me these things?”

【In order to properly understand the purpose of the erased ones, we must first understand the truth of this world. There is still much you do not know, Apostle.】

As she spoke, Doria manipulated something in front of the monitor again.

Then the screen changed, and this time two moons appeared on the monitor.

A red moon and a blue moon.

Respectively, Nerebloca and Selet… In the Eastern Continent, they were moons that were believed to contain gods called ‘sacred spirits.’

Doria showed me the two moons and asked me.

【What do you think they are?】

“… … ? They are moons. Of the three moons in this world, the red moon and the blue moon… … No, wait a minute.”

In that moment, a thought flashed through my head.

Why is this artificial satellite called the “White Moon”?

And why is Doria showing me the “Red Moon” and the “Blue Moon” right now?

Those many questions eventually led to a single conclusion.

“Could it be… … . Those moons… are artificial satellites? “The White Moon is also a satellite??”

【Yes, that’s right.】

“… … .”

I had never thought much of the fact that satellites were named White Moon. I

had just thought that they had named a small satellite White Moon.

But that wasn’t the case.

That is to say, this satellite wasn’t named after the moon, it was the moon itself.

“The moon that I saw whenever I looked up at the sky… … .”

【It wasn’t a naturally created satellite. It was a satellite artificially created by some being… an artificial satellite. Well, since it wasn’t created by ‘humans,’ the word ‘artificial’ might not be appropriate.】

“… … Are you kidding?”

【Apostle, I don’t joke around like that.】

Doria stated in a serious tone before continuing.

【The red moon, blue moon, and white moon are indeed artificial satellites. They are satellites created by the being known as the ‘Fountain of All Things,’ the origin of the universe, in order to govern this world.】

“… … If the moon is an artificial satellite, then what is God? The gods that inhabited the moon. Could it be that they were polydroids like you?”

【Similar. Not polydroids, though.】

When I asked, “Then what?” after hearing that, Doria briefly explained.

【The gods called Nebuloka, Selet, and Lucidmiller among humans… Simply put, they are artificial intelligences that manage the satellite system.】

“… … .”

【The ancient gods Nebuloka and Selet lost the red and blue moons due to aging. And Lucidmiller―】

Doria paused for a moment as if suppressing her emotions, then continued with a sigh.

【They exhausted their power in order to give you another chance and disappeared.】

“… … .”

【To give you the power to turn back time, and with that, to change the ending of this world.】

I was silent.

Now that I knew how much of a price Lucidmiller had paid to protect this world,

Doria spoke in a slightly feeble voice in front of my silence.

【That’s the truth of this world.】

I was confused, but I tried to organize my thoughts even in the midst of all that.

The story I was hearing was one I might never hear again.

“Let’s get this straight. So Romun wants to access this satellite… the White Moon system and take away Lucid Miller’s authority?”

【That’s right. Your most important role is to prevent Romun from accessing this system.】

“In order to do that, I, the key to accessing this place, must never fall into his hands.”

【That’s right. I think you understand the situation now.】

I quickly opened my mouth as I felt my mind becoming clearer.

“Let me ask you one last thing.”

【I would like to answer that question, but―】

Doria’s voice crackled once.

It was a familiar phenomenon.

Whenever causality was about to collapse, the voice would crackle like that.

As expected, Doria’s body shook as the causality began to collapse.

【It seems to be the limit.】

The guy continued to speak in a whisper.

【This is God’s space. In other words, if I tell you the truth here, I can minimize the collapse of causality. That’s why I told you various truths as much as I could… but even so, I can’t completely free you from the collapse of causality.】

“… … Is it difficult to say more?”

【Yes, now that I’ve told you everything I could tell you, you have no choice but to slowly uncover the other truths.】

“… … .”

[Good luck, Apostle.]

As soon as the guy finished saying that, a message flashed before my eyes.

[The White Moon invitation has expired.]

After that, my body was enveloped in light just like before.

This time, the light was so bright that I couldn’t stand it, so I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in the bedroom.

“… … .”

I just sat on the bed blankly for a while. I

didn’t know what to do with the huge truths that had been shoved into my head.

* * * I

had a strange dream one night.

In the dream, I was a mouse.

I was sitting at a table in a house, stealing cheese, but I ended up getting eaten by the house’s cat.

When I opened my eyes again, I had become the cat that had eaten me.

As a cat, I took a nap in the yard again as if nothing had happened.

Then, this time, I was eaten by a wolf that had been wandering around a house.

When I opened my eyes again, thinking I was dying again, I was the wolf that had eaten me.

At that point, I thought,

am I a mouse? A cat? Or a wolf?

Then suddenly I realized.

All three of them.

* * *

“Nike!! Wake up!! How long are you going to sleep!!”

I was in a deep sleep, but I suddenly heard Rubin’s voice next to my ear and opened my eyes.

I thought I had a strange dream, but I couldn’t remember it.

I rubbed my eyes and got up, and Rubin shouted again.

“Arom, you have to feed him! He’s hungry!”

“Oh, that’s right… …!!”

I should have fed him one grain of baby food a day, but I forgot because I was so busy yesterday.

I quickly took out the baby food, ground it up, and handed it to Arom.

As expected, Arom ate the baby food in a hurry, as if he was hungry.

I slowly stroked Arom’s head and asked Rubin,

“Shall I tell you a strange story?”

“What?”

“The moon wasn’t just any moon. It was an artificial satellite created by someone.”

Rubin looked at me quietly after hearing what I said.

Then he said something surprising.

“Is that surprising? The moon is obviously an artificial satellite.”

“… … Did you know?”

“Yeah. That’s something the ancients all knew. Do modern people not know much about the moon yet?”

I asked Rubin, still in shock.

“The ancients… knew the truth about the moon long ago?”