When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 58



Only Noblemtl

◈58. Sweet Lies

‘Things that were once human but are no longer are targeting me… …?’

Yes, that was definitely what it meant. The words the spirit spoke to me in a strange language.

As expected, it wasn’t difficult to understand.

However, the detailed interpretation of what those ‘non-human things’ were and why they were targeting me was left entirely up to me.

‘If they’re not human, then I guess they’re referring to the erased ones… …? According to what the dreamers said, they seem to be targeting me and Luciana. Is that why you advised me to be careful?’

I had expected that the Erased Ones or something were a group of non-human beings.

But these are things that were ‘once human’.

Could it be a group of fallen wizards… monsters called ‘Liches’?

Amidst the confusion in my mind, a strong light scattered from the seon-gwan.

[Character “Seon-Gwan”‘s summon skill “Gangsinmu (L)” has been unlocked.]

[A being with a rank of 1 retreats from the area.]

Like other great skills, this one seemed to have a fairly short duration.

The stronger the skill, the more restrictions there are on its use, and this is also the case here.

“Sir? Are you okay?”

As soon as the skill was released, the officer’s body fell down, so I quickly ran over to support him and asked him.

She opened her mouth slowly, her body trembling as if she were about to burst.

“Huk, huk… … . Your Majesty… did you arrive safely?”

“Yes, he came and went. And he warned me to be careful.”

The officer who heard my words smiled faintly.

“Warning… … . It seems he likes you. He’s such a quiet person that it’s hard to hear his voice… gasp, gulp… … , it’s not easy.”

“But you’ve been sweating a lot since a while ago, and it seems like you’re having trouble breathing.”

“This is the price we pay for putting a god into a mere human body.”

The captain gasped for breath and barely managed to squeeze out a voice.

“The human body is… infinitely weak to contain such a huge being… … . Gulp! It’s no different from a bowl made of wet paper… … . That’s why when you call upon a spirit, your body becomes burdened like this.”

“I see. I understand. Now that I understand, please stop talking. I’m out of breath too.”

“Even if it’s just for a moment, it can eat away at your life… Cough! Always be careful.”

Even though I tried to dissuade her because I was worried she might suffocate, she warned me again and again until the very end.

Only after seeing me nod did her gaze turn to Baekmae.

“… … .”

It seemed like he was going to say something to Baekmae, but Seon-gwan remained silent.

Her gaze alternated between the bleeding and dying Baekmae and the list of dead people strewn around her.

The last place my gaze lingered was on the list of dead people.

Above the list of believers who died due to Baekmae’s scheme.

The messenger turned away without saying a word to Baek-mae.

“You have to watch over that child’s end. I… can’t do it.”

“……yes.”

Following the order the seon-gwan quietly left for me, I approached Baek-mae.

Baekmae was holding her pierced abdomen with her hand and groaning in pain.

“Hey, Wola… … .”

In the real past, Baekmae would have died without being able to steal the guild’s ship.

But even in this dream, she was dying a painful death.

A life that begins in pain and ends in pain again… … .

This miserable life of being born weak and killed as a villain was the life given to Baekmae.

“… … .”

I quietly opened my inventory and took out a pain relief potion.

There was also a healing potion that could cure Baekmae, but I didn’t take it out.

The god of this world judged Baekmae’s sins and sentenced him to death.

So, the most I could do for Baekmae was to just relieve her pain a little.

“Drink this. It will hurt less.”

After hearing what I said, Baekmae slowly reached out his hand.

Then, I felt the pain relief potion that had just been taken out of my inventory with my fingertips.

A delicately crafted potion bottle using technology that does not yet exist in this world.

After touching it, she asked me.

“Is this really a dream? Are you… really from the future?”

I told you earlier when I was held hostage that this was a dream and that I came from the future.

You treated me like I was talking nonsense earlier, but it seems like you actually remembered what I said.

“… … Yeah. That’s right.”

“Then can I ask you one thing? You might think this is a stupid question, but… it’s very important to me… … .”

Can’t we give one answer to someone who is about to die?

Moreover, he was asking Baekmae something very important.

As I nodded in agreement, Baekmae’s pale lips moved.

“In the future you came from, what happened to the Hoyeon family…? They are the ones who drove my younger brother to death.”

“Hoyeonse… …?”

It seemed likely that they were one of the most powerful families in the country.

Let’s look at the word ‘Sega’ attached after ‘Hoyeon’.

A voice flowed out, thin as if it would break from the white plum blossoms… but clearly filled with resentment.

“My younger brother’s achievements were more prominent than those of their eldest son… They belittled my younger brother’s achievements, framed him, and tormented him in such a way that he eventually committed suicide.”

“… … .”

“They… did they get what they deserve?”

Actually, I didn’t know what happened to them.

Because this is the first time I’ve heard of the family name Hoyeonse.

Perhaps those people could have avoided the hammer of punishment for evil and promoted good with their clever minds and were still living in luxury, preying on the weak.

So I was once again forced to make a choice: tell the painful truth, or tell a sweet lie…

After a moment of hesitation, I opened my mouth.

“They didn’t exist in my time.”

“doesn’t exist……?”

“They were destroyed a long time ago. They were like traitors who flattered the king and whispered lies to him in order to fill their own pockets, but they were eventually exposed.”

“……okay?”

I held tightly to Baekmae’s hand, which was starting to cool down.

Whispering sweet lies into her ear that she wanted to hear.

“Yes. From taking bribes from powerless families to viciously exploiting innocent people, everything was exposed one after another, and every single one of them paid the price. That’s why the family no longer exists.”

When the demons suggested that I create a false criminal and present him to the sage, I refused.

It was partly because he didn’t want to fool the eunuch with sweet lies, but there was a more fundamental reason.

I did not create a false criminal because in order to create that lie, I had to ‘put the blame on the innocent.’

It was the same when Baekmae had suggested that they take revenge together earlier.

If I had whispered a sweet lie, “I will stand by your side,” Baek-mae would not have held me hostage and would have let me go, but when she found out that my words were a lie, she would have groaned in betrayal that tore at her heart.

So, at that time too, I didn’t spit out sweet lies.

But now things were different.

The lies pouring out of my mouth right now won’t hurt anyone.

It’s just that the ‘karma of deceiving Baekmae’ is added to my mountain of karma.

So I chose to tell a lie rather than the truth, and that seemed to be a consolation to Baek-mae.

“Yeah… I see… … . Haha… Those are nice… … . Haha, ahaha… … .”

Was it because the resentment that had been weighing heavily on her heart had disappeared? Her laughter was light.

It was so light that it seemed like a feather floating away into the air. Every time the wind blew, it gradually became lighter and lighter.

“… … .”

When all that light laughter had dissipated and nothing remained, I reached out.

And she wiped her eyes.

The last of the pain from the wound that had never healed before was moistly felt on my fingertips.

* * *

“I’m going to leave now.”

As soon as the sun rose, I went to the missionary and told him so.

Now, all the work to be done here is done.

It was revealed that Baekmae had done this, and she paid the price with her life.

Besides, things were going well with the guild.

They were attacked by a group of Baekmae gang, but they did not turn their anger on the entire village.

He was satisfied that Baekmae had already died and that the ringleaders who followed her were to be thoroughly punished.

It was also because Bliss treated them well.

Thus, the remaining believers, except for Baekmaedang, were able to escape the village on the guild’s ship.

The purpose of the mission was achieved.

“Yeah, I’m going.”

“Yes, sir. I’ve finished everything I had to do.”

The seon-gwan was not the type to express his emotions very richly.

So this time too, I thought he would just say, “Okay, go.”

That’s what happened… … .

“You know, outside of my dreams I am a failure.”

I raised my head because the officer said something unexpected.

She continued speaking a little longer than usual.

“The number of believers would have continued to decrease. As the number of believers decreased, the power of the spirit and my power would have gradually weakened… … So I would not have been able to find a successor, the poisonous energy would have eaten away at the village little by little, and even the final plan… the final plan to borrow the power of outsiders to evacuate the believers outside, would have failed.”

“that…….”

“Yes, in reality. Not here in my dream.”

It was true.

The missionary here saved the believers as he had hoped, but it was not in reality.

In the actual past, except for the Black Moon gang that escaped early on, all the other believers would have died.

Since the village was consumed by poison after the seon-gwan cursed the first emperor and died, he must have left this world in misery.

“And that’s not all? Not only was I betrayed by the child I trusted, but the resulting misunderstanding led me to place a curse on the wrong person. And it’s a curse that has been passed down from generation to generation.”

“… … .”

“There is no author in this world who has failed more miserably than I.”

I couldn’t agree that it was right, but I couldn’t say that it wasn’t right either.

While I was silent in embarrassment, the officer continued speaking.

“But, you know, I guess even a person who foolishly fails over and over again is given one last chance. That’s because I met you. So―”

A white envelope is extended towards me with meaningful words.

I picked it up and asked her.

“What is this?”

“This is a gift from me. I have written your final karma on it.”

“My last karma?”

“Yes. Originally, you could erase karma up to three times by dancing the Salpuri dance. However, didn’t you feel intense pain the second time and lose consciousness afterwards, so you couldn’t see the contents of the third karma?”

I don’t know how the emissary found out, but it was true.

The first karma I faced with the Salpuri Dance skill was the ‘karma of hiding the truth’, and it was manifested in the form of a monster holding a club.

And the second karma is ‘karma for turning a blind eye to destruction’… This appeared in the form of a black slime with no set shape.

However, I did not encounter the third karma that was supposed to come next.

Because the officer just lost consciousness as he said.

“Right. Then this is… … .”

“Yes, your third karma that you didn’t see at the time… I was able to figure out the contents of it. Maybe it will help you, so read it.”

Following the officer’s recommendation, I opened the note inside the envelope.

It said this:

┼─ ─┼

[Your third karma is “the karma of betraying trust.”]

―You were a person trusted by many.

They believed that you would save the world… or at least yourself.

In the end, you failed to keep any of them and betrayed their trust, so the sharp sorrow that tore at the hearts of those who were betrayed will now torment you.

┼─ ─┼

It was written in a format very similar to the system message that appeared when I encountered karma 1 and 2.

The shape of the parentheses, and even the format of the sentences written in a row underneath them.

I wondered how the game system message of the Mystery Department could be copied so exactly when the censor had probably never seen it before.

But there was something even more surprising.