When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 198



Only Noblemtl

198. Side Story 1-(4) How to Introduce Yourself to the Primordial Spirit King
2024.05.16.

It was Rubin who woke up Dionik, who was standing there in shock.

“Hey, are you okay? You’re not dead, right…?”

Dionik finally came to his senses after hearing Rubin’s voice and looked straight at Elodie.

As if asking if it was really okay to kiss Nickelus.

Elodie responded with a stern face.

“This is a matter of Nickelus’ life. If everyone starts avoiding me for one reason or another, who would kiss me?”

“That’s true, but… ….”

“That’s why I have no intention of backing down now that I’ve been chosen as a candidate. I intend to set an example as the first candidate.”

It was a story that Dionik could not help but agree with.

If Elodie, the first candidate, backed out because she didn’t want to do it, the other candidates who would be chosen later could also back out.

Dionik, who had thought that far, hesitated for a moment, then sighed and opened his mouth.

“Ugh… … . If that’s your decision, then there’s nothing I can do. I wouldn’t know if it was someone else, but since he’s my brother… it’s okay.”

If the kissing partner had been another man, he would have opposed it until the end.

However, Dionik suddenly thought that it might be okay if it was Nickelus.

When the two had sorted out their opinions, Luciana, who had been waiting, stepped forward again.

“Then, has the first candidate been decided as Elodie? Next, we’ll choose the second candidate. This time, I’ll choose it myself.”

Luciana had worked hard to make the lottery with Dionik.

No one objected to her saying that she would choose the second.

After confirming that everyone agreed, Luciana drew the lottery and soon checked the name written on the lottery.

However, even after confirming the name, she did not reveal it for a while.

“… … .”

“Lucy, what’s wrong? You have to tell me who you chose quickly.”

Only after hearing Rubin’s urging did Luciana hesitate and open her mouth.

“The second candidate is… His Majesty Bliss.”

Luciana thought to herself as she said the name of the second candidate.

‘Why has His Majesty Bliss been chosen every time I’ve chosen since earlier…?’

This was already the second time she had chosen Bliss’s name.

She had suggested choosing again because she thought Nickelus might feel a little uncomfortable if the kiss partner was a man, but who would have thought she would choose Bliss again

? ‘Have I been cursed…?’

Luciana thought seriously as she looked down at her hands that kept choosing Bliss’s name as if she had been cursed.

Unlike Luciana, Bliss didn’t seem particularly offended when her name was chosen.

Instead, she smiled with a face that looked more excited than usual.

“Is the second candidate me? I should brush my teeth.”

“… ….”

Luciana couldn’t answer Bliss’s words and just swallowed her silence.

Should I have kissed her instead? She regretted it later.

However, even if she regretted it, she couldn’t change it since Bliss had already been chosen.

Since Elodie had been so adamant from the beginning that once you’re chosen as a candidate, you should never back down,

Luciana said, hoping that the third candidate would be a woman.

“Then I’ll choose the third candidate. If there’s anyone you want to vote for, raise your hand—”

“Me!”

Before the words to raise their hands could even finish, someone quickly raised their hand.

It was Dionique.

“I’ll choose the third.”

“Why?”

Dionique shrugged his shoulders in response to Luciana’s question.

“I’ll choose my name and become the third candidate. Then, if I get more votes than Elodie in the vote, I’ll kiss you instead.”

Rubin looked a bit surprised and waggled his tail.

“Huh?? Dionique, you… you want to kiss Nike so badly??”

“It’s not that I want to do it, it’s that I want to stop Elodie from doing it! It’s okay if it’s my brother, but I still don’t want my sister to kiss anyone!”

“Really? But there’s no guarantee that you’ll choose your name.”

Dionik smiled confidently at Rubin’s words.

“I’m lucky at drawing. I always get lucky when there’s a drawing event at a store or something. So if I try to draw my name, my name will definitely be drawn.”

It was an unfounded confidence, but no one wanted to point it out.

Luciana nodded at Dionik and spoke to the people gathered there.

“That’s why Dionik said he would draw the third one… If there’s anyone who has any objections, please raise your hand.”

No one seemed to care, and no one raised their hand.

After all, the important thing wasn’t who would draw the lottery.

Anyone could draw, and what really mattered was who would be drawn.

That’s why no one tried to stop Dionik from drawing himself, and soon Dionik drew a name from the draw box.

Then, he checked the name written on the draw box with his still confident face.

However, his confident expression immediately crumpled as he checked the name written on the draw box. “

… … .”

“Dionik? You have to tell me who you drew.”

Dionik looked uncomfortable at Luciana’s urging, but eventually told her the name he had drawn.

“The third candidate is… Luciana.” The draw box Luciana was holding fell onto the conference room carpet. She was so surprised by her name that her grip had lost its strength. Even though all the names in the can were scattered on the floor, Luciana froze for a while, not even thinking about picking them up. * * * In front of the wide-open lake. I stopped walking there. ‘I’ve come this far… … .’ When I saw the lake before my eyes, I swallowed dry saliva. Valeria said that I would be less affected by the lake than them, but I could still feel it. The gloomy atmosphere that filled the lake. ‘It certainly seems like something will happen if I go in. Valeria also told me not to go into the lake.’ But even so, I really couldn’t not go in. The sword that the spirits had forged over 1000 years to annihilate the primordial evil would be sunk at the bottom of the lake. ‘It’ll be okay if I go in with the Sacred Pact skill activated.’ The Sacred Pact is a skill that protects the user from evil energy. If I go into the lake with it activated, the lake’s sadness would be blocked to some extent. Judging that, I immediately activated the skill. After that, I took off my outerwear and shoes and slowly walked into the lake. ‘It seems okay for now.’ Contrary to my worries that something big would happen as soon as I entered, nothing happened. I opened my eyes while completely submerged in the lake. The lake water was so clear that I could clearly see the bottom when I opened my eyes. I then started swimming around the lake, looking for the sword that must have sunk somewhere. That’s when a slightly strange message came to mind. [The 1st-grade “Sorrow Sunken in the Lake” has detected your presence.] I stopped swimming in surprise. The message told me that a 1st-grade being had noticed me. ‘Sorrow Sunken in the Lake… … ? Could this be… … .’ As far as I knew, there was only one 1st-grade being sunk in this lake. ‘… The Primordial Spirit King? I thought it was sealed… … .’ I heard that you sealed yourself in a lake, and it seems that my visit awakened the consciousness of the sleeping spirit king. The problem was that this spirit king author didn’t seem to particularly like me. [The 1st rank “Sorrow Sinking in the Lake” is wary of you.] [The 1st rank “Sorrow Sinking in the Lake” is attempting to infiltrate your mind.] [The skill “Sacred Pact of Non-Aggression” nullifies the infiltration.] The thing was wary of me, attempted to infiltrate my mind, and was eventually blocked by the power of my skill. If it weren’t for the Sacred Pact of Non-Aggression skill, I would have probably gone mad from the sorrow like any other spirit. I was relieved that it didn’t happen, and was wiping my chest. “Who are you?” The voice of the being presumed to be the original spirit king came into my head. As I was thinking about what to say, the spirit king, unable to hold back, attempted to infiltrate again. [The 1st-grade 「Sorrow that Sinks into the Lake」 attempts to infiltrate your mind.] [The skill 「Non-aggression Pact」 nullifies the infiltration.] The infiltration attempt was blocked by the power of my skill this time as well. At that point, the Spirit King’s voice transmitted into my head also became more perplexed. 『You… are not an ordinary spirit.』 ‘You’re only just finding out now.’ 『… … .』 The lake’s energy became ominous, as if it thought my words were a little presumptuous.

The Spirit King’s voice also had a faint hint of anger.

“Tell me your identity and purpose. I will decide on your disposition after hearing your answer.”

“Disposition… … ?”

“You woke me up from my sleep and made me sad again. So if your justification for coming here is not plausible, I will punish you.”

As soon as the Spirit King finished speaking, the lake began to sway violently.

Although it was not the sea, the current was creating enough rapids to shake my body.

“I really need to choose my answer carefully.”

The original Spirit King was said to have been more powerful than the current Spirit King, Valeria.

If he truly wanted to kill me, even the Sacred Pact skill would not be able to protect me.

So I decided to honestly tell him my identity as he demanded.

“I… I am the last apostle of a god who has already perished.”

“A perished god?”

The lake began to sway again.

However, this time, it did not seem to be to threaten me.

The bastard was mentally shaken.

“Who are you talking about when you say the extinct god?”

“Lucid Miller.”

“… …!!”

This time, the lake began to shake even more violently than before.

The Primordial Spirit King muttered to himself, revealing his surprise.

“She disappeared while I was sleeping… …?”

It seemed that he had no idea about what had happened while he was sealed.

That’s why I thought he might not believe me, and my prediction was correct.

“You’re telling ridiculous lies. Those with the highest rank don’t disappear so easily. Especially a powerful god like Lucid Miller—”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you myself.”

I had in mind that I might arouse suspicion, so I didn’t panic and immediately activated my Deification skill.

And then I used Lucid Miller’s power, the power of blessing.

As I unleashed my power, the power of blessing soon began to permeate the lake.

The first spirit king seemed to immediately realize whose power was the power that began to dwell in my lake.

『This is the power of Lucid Miller… … . You can use this—』

‘Yes, that means I am Lucid Miller’s disciple.’

『… … .』

‘I am definitely her disciple, and I have come here to find the fallen sword at the request of Valeria, the current spirit king.’

After hearing my words up to that point, the spirit king was silent for a moment.

The water of the lake swayed here and there as if his mind was complicated, and I waited for the spirit king’s answer while letting myself go with the flow.

After waiting, the spirit king spoke to me again.

『The apostle of God came here at the spirit king’s request… … . It seems something has happened.』

Then, the swaying lake calmed down.

Then suddenly, a small whirlpool appeared before my eyes.

The whirlpool continued to swirl, and at one moment, someone’s shadow began to appear faintly within it.

‘Is it materializing?’

As if my prediction was right, a stranger appeared in the place where the whirlpool stopped.

He was a handsome man with long hair as blue-green as the lake.

The Primordial Spirit King who appeared like that then demanded of me,

“Tell me what happened.”