When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 200



Only Noblemtl

200. Side story 1-(6) [Complete] Let’s just kiss the three of us
2024.05.18.

It seemed like it was a good idea to ask for new tears.

If the tears he shed a long time ago were just like water, as the Primordial Spirit King said, then it would have been useless to sprinkle them on the sword.

Time was running out, and a disaster could have occurred where he had to come all the way here to get tears.

I felt relieved and urged the Primordial Spirit King.

‘If you agree, then cry quickly. There’s no time right now.’

‘That shouldn’t be difficult.’

The boy’s mood changed in an instant.

A gloomy aura that I hadn’t felt while talking to him began to flow out around him.

The deep sadness he must have felt as he sent off the other spirits he loved as an immortal being.

That pitch-black liquid began to flow out of the boy’s eyes.

“… … .”

I handed the sword over to the Spirit King without saying a word.

The black sadness that flowed down the guy’s cheeks did not disperse or fade even in the water, but just fell down heavily.

Knock. Knock.

Black tears fell on the sword I had handed over, and soon began to seep in.

It was at that moment that a strange change occurred to the old, rusty sword.

* * *

Thud. Three high-level spirits had already fallen.

It was because of the howl of the primordial evil.

The evil that had tried to break the barrier by striking its body seemed to have changed its tactics now.

Instead of causing a ruckus with its body, it let out a long, ugly howl, polluting the spirits’ minds and souls.

Keeeeeeeeek

At the howl that continued, another high-level spirit lost consciousness and fell.

As a result, the barrier he had been maintaining lost its strength and began to flicker dimly.

The high-level spirits that had not yet fallen tried to hold out for the fallen one’s share, but it was not enough.

The barrier continued to weaken.

“Valeria… … The barrier seems to be collapsing soon.”

One of the high-ranking spirits who had been holding on until the end said this to Valeria.

It wasn’t a lie.

Even on the surface, the barrier seemed much weaker than before. If things

continued this way, the primordial evil that had been captured would be released soon.

At that point, Valeria had no choice but to make a decision.

“… … Release all the barriers. Then, you can escape.”

The barriers would break anyway.

There was no point in sacrificing the spirits and holding on any longer.

So Valeria decided to use the final method she had prepared.

Release the barriers, evacuate the high-ranking spirits, and then she, the spirit king, would be left alone to face the primordial evil.

Several high-ranking spirits objected to Valeria’s order to evacuate.

“We can’t escape alone!”

“We’ll hold on a little longer!”

“We’ll do our best until the moment we collapse!”

Valeria shook her head at the high-ranking spirits’ shouts.

“Get out. Hurry.”

They didn’t want to lose all their beloved spirits by holding on in vain.

So when she urged them in a firm voice, the higher spirits could no longer protest.

They began to remove the barriers one by one in order to follow the queen’s final order.

And when the last barrier finally disappeared.

Kiaaaaak!!

The primordial evil that had been trapped in the narrow barrier spread its gigantic body wide.

A snake-like body that towered so large that it could block the sky.

Valeria shouted at the upper spirits who were frozen in fear at the sight.

“There’s no time to sit still! Hurry!”

The upper spirits who finally came to their senses began to surround the other fallen spirits and escape.

Everyone left, and only Valeria and the primordial evil remained there.

The primordial evil finally found Valeria and charged at her, revealing its long, sharp fangs.

And at that moment—

Kroorung!

Valeria quickly moved the energy of the earth to make a rock rise up in front of her.

The primordial evil that had rushed forward was suddenly stopped by a rock that jutted out in front of Valeria.

The evil, consumed by rage, smashed the rock furiously, and Valeria used her power again.

This time, thick tree roots that had sprouted from the ground began to entangle the primordial evil.

Crunch—

A creaking sound was heard from the snake’s body that was bound with a strong force.

It was the noise of bones and muscles being pressed.

The snake soon began to scream in anger.

Keeeeeeek!

A long, continuous howl pierced Valeria’s soul.

A noise that seemed as if her soul would be defiled at any moment.

The noise caused Valeria’s concentration to blur for a moment, and the snake did not miss the opportunity.

Thud! Thud!

Several tree roots snapped as the snake struggled violently, loosening its restraints.

The snake, freed from the tree roots, soon glared at the small being that had attacked it.

It had covered its ears after hearing the howl it had let out.

Now was the time to move a natural object and attack it again.

The snake quickly rushed toward the small being in order not to miss that opportunity.

It was then that the sound of wind cutting through the air was heard from somewhere.

Ssaeak—

It was the sound of something flying fast.

The snake quickly turned its head in the direction of the sound, but it was already too late.

The being that had flown in from somewhere cut one of the snake’s eyes with a sharp sword.

Crunch—

A terrible sound and intense pain were felt in the eyes.

The snake forgot that it was rushing at Valeria and writhed in pain.

Kiiik!

It was a terrible pain that I had never felt before.

There had never been a weapon that could cut the primordial evil.

The snake, which had never been cut by a sharp object, looked at the one who had cut it with a look of bewilderment. The one who had

cut my eye was a blond-haired spirit who had flown in riding a low-level wind spirit.

* * *

After cutting the snake’s eyeball, I immediately landed near Valeria and asked.

“Are you okay? Where are the other spirits and why are you here alone?”

It seemed that Valeria had been hit by a mental skill, and she was holding her head and gasping for breath. When

I supported her, Valeria finally raised her head and looked at me.

“The contractor… … . You came… … . Did you find the… sword…?”

I nodded and showed her the sword I had in my hand.

The sword that was forged over a thousand years, soaked in the tears of the spirit king of the beginning.

[Sword forged over a thousand years (??)]

―A sword forged over a long period of time.

―It absorbed the tears of the spirit king of the beginning, and gained mysterious power.

―It seems to be able to cut even things that are not real.

The sword I originally had was an old and rusty sword.

However, after soaking it in the tears of the spirit king of the beginning, the sword changed.

Forged over a thousand years, it became a sword with mysterious power.

The old and rusty sword body now shined transparently like glass, and the handle that had been worn out had also become like new.

I showed the sword to Valeria and said,

“This is a sword that was prepared according to the prophecy. If I have this, I will be able to destroy that guy in no time. It looks hard, so you should rest.”

“Are you okay on your own…?”

​​“Of course you will. This isn’t the first time I’ve faced someone that big.”

While we were talking, the snake seemed to have come to its senses.

The guy who had lost one eye and was panicking was now staring straight at us.

It seemed like I couldn’t waste any more time, so I left Valeria with my last words.

“Just sleep for a bit. It’ll all be over when you wake up.”

Valeria seemed relieved and lost consciousness after hearing those words.

I leaned Valeria’s limp body against a nearby tree and raised my sword at the snake.

* * *

Boom!

Valeria opened her eyes after hearing the sound of something huge collapsing.

Realizing that she had fainted for a moment, she quickly got up.

‘Instead of helping the contractor, I fainted… …!’

She looked around with regret.

And soon, she saw.

A huge snake lying on the ground, and Nickelus wiping his sword next to the snake.

“Contractor… …?”

Nickelus turned around after hearing Valeria’s cautious voice.

He smiled at Valeria as he roughly wiped the blood off her cheek with his hand.

“Are you awake?”

“The primordial evil… …”

“You see.”

Nickelus replied, pointing the tip of his sword at the snake’s corpse lying nearby.

“I’ve taken care of it cleanly. You can rest assured now.”

It seemed as if Nickelus had already killed the snake while Valeria herself had passed out.

Valeria was struck by shock once again.

Even though he had a sword forged over a thousand years, how could he finish it so cleanly and quickly?

‘The power of the contractor was this much…? …?’

She was bewildered because the matter was already over in the moment she had fainted.

She barely came to her senses and asked Nickelus.

“Are you hurt anywhere? What’s the blood on your cheek?”

“This isn’t my blood. You’re not hurt anywhere.”

Just as Nickelus said, he looked fine.

There weren’t even any signs of tears or scratches on his clothes.

After examining him, Valeria, who had been blankly staring, suddenly spoke.

“I think I really made a good contract.”

“Huh?”

“I really made a good contract with you.”

If she had made a contract with anyone other than Nickelus, she wouldn’t have been able to resolve the matter so quickly and easily.

That’s why Valeria was truly satisfied with the contract with Nickelus. To the point that she

would have made a contract with Nickelus a hundred times even if given a hundred chances.

Nickelus scratched his cheek, which had turned red with embarrassment after hearing Valeria’s words.

“Embarrassingly… … Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. My mind is a little polluted by the sound of the primordial evil, but it’ll get better if I rest. It’ll be purified on its own with time. It’d be better to worry about you before me.”

“Me?”

Nickelus asked in confusion, and Valeria reminded him of the fact that he had forgotten.

“You just left your body in the finite world.”

“Ah… …! That’s right. I have to go quickly before the others worry.”

“I’ll unsummon you right now. Then you’ll be able to return to your original body.”

There was no need to waste any more time.

Valeria immediately unsummoned Nickelus, and soon Nickelus’s form began to blur transparently.

His soul was beginning to return to his original body.

Watching Nickelus blurring, Valeria said goodbye.

“I want to keep you by my side… but that won’t do. You have a place to return to. Instead, don’t forget me and call me often. I’ll always be waiting.”

The moment he was about to respond to those words, Nickelus’s consciousness became clouded.

That was his last memory in the Infinite Realm.

* * *

Inside the treatment room where Nickelus was lying.

Despite the crowd of people gathered, it was quiet.

It was because the time to kiss Nickelus was approaching.

A kiss was needed to summon his soul, and three candidates had been selected to do so.

The three candidates, Elodie, Bliss, and Luciana, swallowed their silence and looked at each other.

Luciana was the first to speak.

“I hope you all finished brushing your teeth?”

Luciana asked, speaking politely, conscious of Bliss.

Elodie and Bliss nodded at the same time.

Luciana heard their answers and continued.

“Then let’s each take a sip of the elixir.”

Using that as a signal, the three of them each took a sip of the elixir.

The original plan was to pick one of the three and have Nickelus kiss them.

However, the candidates were not chosen easily, and eventually Bliss suggested a new idea.

– “Do we really need to choose one? Let’s just do it all together.”

The idea was to simply kiss all three of them together rather than waste time picking one while Nickelus was unconscious.

Luciana initially opposed the idea, but eventually had no choice but to agree for Nickelus’ sake.

It would not be good for Nickelus if he remained unconscious for too long.

And now, they were approaching Nickelus, each taking a sip of the elixir.

Bliss, who approached first, quietly looked down at Nickelus.

And the moment they were about to kiss,

“Euaaaaaaaaaah!! Aah!!”

Nickelus opened his eyes and screamed until his throat burst when he saw Bliss’ face.

He was released from Valeria’s summons and returned to his original body, and immediately got up from the bed.

Then he asked Bliss.

“Your Majesty? I was surprised to see your face so close to me as soon as I opened my eyes!

Bliss swallowed the elixir in her mouth and replied,

“You’ve been asleep for so long, the three of us tried to wake you up with a kiss.”

“… A kiss? Three?”

Only then did Nickelus look around.

Aside from Bliss, Luciana and Elodie were also looking at him, holding elixirs in their mouths.

Among them, Nickelus asked Luciana.

“What do you mean? A kiss…?”

“It’s not like that, gulp, gulp, it’s just, gulp gulp…!”

Luciana, who was so flustered that she accidentally swallowed the elixir and choked, gulping repeatedly.

Elodie spoke in her place.

“… … It’s nothing. It’s better to just not know.”

“That’s better. I’d be scared to know what you were trying to do while I was sleeping.”

Nickelus glared at Bliss and pulled the blanket closer to her.

When he opened his eyes, Bliss was quite close, so it was clear that she was trying to do something strange.

Nickelus tried not to find out what that strange thing was, if only for the sake of his sanity.

Unlike Nickelus, who was so scared, Bliss didn’t look particularly flustered.

He said with his usual bright and relaxed face.

“So, is it time for the party now?”

“… … ?”

Bliss smiled and replied to the bewildered Nickelus.

“The fallen Pope has finally opened his eyes, so we can’t just ignore that. We should throw a grand party at the palace to celebrate.”

Rubin and Arom, who heard the story from the side, shouted excitedly.

“Wow! It’s a party!! We’re eating delicious food!!”

“Arom likes parties too!!”

It was a peaceful day like any other.

―(End)―