When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 63
Only Noblemtl
◈63. Skill, Deification (L)
The Duke brought something in a wooden box, saying he wanted to test my abilities, and he said it might be a ‘living thing’.
I thought it was a joke, but after listening to the rest of Luciana’s story, it didn’t seem like it was either.
“Sometimes I would knock on the box from the inside and scratch it.”
“Did you catch some kind of wild beast? You want me to kill it and prove my strength?”
“I wish it were like that, but… … .”
Luciana trailed off, worried, and then sighed.
“It is highly likely that it is a cursed item that moves and lives like a living thing.”
“Cursed item… … .”
“Yes, that would be very dangerous. The exact details would have to be revealed by the Duke himself.”
That’s exactly what he said.
There was no way we could figure out anything by consulting here without knowing anything.
I gestured to Luciana and Argelio, who were waiting for me to open my mouth.
“Let’s go in for now. You said there were no other suspicious traps. Then we’re good to go.”
After saying this to his companions, he led them across the garden.
And then I climbed the splendid marble stairs of the Sapphire Palace.
It was only when I stood before the magnificent gold-adorned door that I finally realized where I was.
The pinnacle of luxury. A paradise of pleasure.
We arrived at the first banquet hall of the Sapphire Palace, where the most banquets are held in the empire.
“Identity and skill verification required. Please cooperate.”
The guards standing next to the entrance approached, saying so.
Then, we used various exploration items to carefully check if we had brought back any dangerous cursed items or anything like that.
Lastly, don’t forget to fill up the bracelet item that seals your inventory.
Everyone who entered had to seal their inventory like this, to prevent people from taking out dangerous weapons from their inventory and harming them.
“It’s finished. Please come in.”
The soldiers, having thoroughly checked the situation, opened the doors to the banquet hall wide on both sides.
At the same time, the scent of perfume from the nobles, the splendid lights, the heat from the room, and―
‘……what’s this.’
An ominous feeling that shouldn’t be felt there.
I stopped walking and stared at the far front of the banquet hall… where the energy felt strongest.
There was a crude wooden box there, not suited to the splendid banquet hall.
A box probably brought by a Timorese child.
The energy was flowing out of the box.
“Your Majesty? Why did you suddenly stop?”
As I stopped at the entrance, Luciana asked me curiously.
Judging by her bewildered expression, it seemed like she couldn’t feel the energy that filled this space.
Argelio was the same. He was looking at me with questioning eyes.
At that moment, the person who had brought that hideous object, the Timorese boy, approached me.
“Oh, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting―”
“This kid… … !”
I immediately grabbed him by the collar and dragged him in front of me.
At the same time, the noble ladies and ladies nearby started to back away, making loud noises.
It seemed like everyone was very surprised, but they couldn’t just let go of the bastard’s collar.
“What did you bring just now?”
“Well, first of all, grab me by the collar… … .”
“Tell me what you brought!!”
The Timorese struggled to free himself from the hold I had on him by the collar, but eventually gave up and answered.
“If you mean that box… Of course, it is an item needed to test His Holiness’ power. It is a cursed item that has been passed down through our family.”
The bastard soon lowered his voice and explained further.
“Most of those gathered here do not know about the imperial curse, and they think that Your Majesty has cured His Majesty’s ‘chronic illness’… But didn’t Your Majesty actually lift the imperial ‘curse’… … ?”
“so.”
“That’s why I brought the ‘cursed item’ as a tool to prove His Majesty’s power.”
“… … .”
“This is an item that has been passed down through generations to our Freeburn Dukes. It is currently sealed, but we will soon release the seal and-.”
“Shut up and get out of here with that right now. Don’t even think about breaking the seal.”
The chain wrapped around that box was probably a sealed item.
The idea was to unwrap it and take out the ominous thing inside to use as a means of testing my power.
I didn’t need to listen to that bullshit any more, so I emphasized to him again.
“It looks like you brought it without knowing what was inside, but it’s not something you should bring into a place full of people like this.”
“Do you know what that is?”
“I know. It’s a dirty, dangerous thing. If your head isn’t hollow, think about why your ancestors wrapped it up in such a sealed item.”
“… … .”
As I tapped the bastard’s head and warned him, his eyes glaring at me became fierce.
I feel bad for creating such a dangerous situation.
Should I give him a beating?
While I was worrying, a new voice intervened.
“Your Majesty, this is not the back-alley bar you often frequent. Please be careful how you act. Aren’t the ladies scared?”
I looked at the person who approached me with such greasy grumbling.
He had dark brown hair styled in a similar way to the Timorese.
“I am Andrei Van Barel, here to prove the efficacy of tea leaves on the orders of His Excellency the Duke of Freeburn. The atmosphere is becoming tense, so please let go for now.”
Not only the hairstyle but even the unpleasant, contemptuous expression on his face seemed similar, and as expected, he was in league with the Timorese.
He is a fraudulent author hired by the Timorese to manipulate the efficacy of tea leaves.
In that case, there was no need to be polite. I answered vaguely without letting go of his collar.
“What if you’re not going to let go until I tell you I’m going to get out of here with that box?”
“Hmm… … I guess it’s hard for you to prove your strength?”
“……what?”
“You said you could prove it, but aren’t you at a loss when it comes to proving it in front of so many people?”
“… … .”
“That’s why you didn’t attend the founding ceremony… I mean, you’re making a fuss like this now in an attempt to avoid the situation.”
I was like, what the hell is this?
But it seems like other people didn’t hear this nonsense as nonsense.
“Is what Barrel said true?”
“Are you really making a fuss because His Majesty finds it difficult to demonstrate his abilities?”
“Shh, Delilah. Be quiet.”
My stomach felt queasy and something was boiling up inside me.
I wanted to shout out to you, do you know how dangerous a situation you are in right now?
But I was the only one here who could feel the energy of what was inside that box.
So, even if I were to explain the dangers of it to them, they would only see it as the ugly tantrum of an incompetent person.
‘… … First, the priority is to put the box away. We can resolve the misunderstanding later.’
The honor of one and the safety of the many here.
I was about to tell him to put the box away again, since if I had to choose between the two, I would have to choose the latter.
But before that, Timor’s oily tongue moved first.
“Well, I understand. It must be burdensome. You have nothing to show, but you have to show it.”
As he said that, he tapped my hand that was grabbing my collar.
“Even so, it’s difficult if you show such an uncivilized attitude. How much effort did I put in to attract this number of audiences—”
Boom! A loud noise that was hard to ignore cut off Timor’s nonsense.
It was a sound coming from the box.
Not only Timor, but also those who had been talking about me all kept silent.
Timor then expressed his bewilderment, as if it was the first time he had heard such a loud noise.
“Who just knocked on the box―”
Boom! Something crashed inside the box again.
This time, more viciously.
Even the box that looked so thick and heavy shook violently.
“Have you ever heard a sound like that before?”
Judging from the surprised look on Timor’s face, it probably wasn’t that, but I asked anyway just to make sure.
The man shook his head with a pale face.
“Oh, no. This is my first time.”
“Luciana, Argelio. Get everyone out of here immediately. If it’s acting up more than usual, that means something here is stimulating it.”
By then, they seemed to have realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly shouted at the people.
“Everyone, please evacuate calmly! Do not rush or push―”
“Everyone get out of the way!”
Before Luciana could finish speaking, a nearby noble pushed past the people and ran outside.
That action became the trigger that detonated the tension that had been building up there.
“Whoa!”
“Damn it, don’t push me!”
“Hey, help me!”
“Ahhh!! My foot!!”
“Who is pulling from behind just now!”
Abigyuhuan. The situation soon became a complete mess, as if it were a direct reproduction of that one sentence.
The frightened people ran to the entrance, but their elaborately dressed banquet gowns and dresses greatly hindered their escape.
When someone stepped on the hem of a dress and fell, those running behind them also fell.
Those who came after him also fell and fell again, and the tower built by humans was eventually completed.
Most of the people were trapped inside the banquet hall due to the tower that was piled up like a spectacle at the exit.
Some of them seemed to be trying to break through the wall in a hurry, but this was the palace.
The wall was so strong that it wouldn’t collapse no matter how much skill was used.
So even though everyone was locked up―
Boom! Boom bang!! Boom bang bang bang!!
The knocking sound became louder and louder.
What is stimulating it?
The voices of people? Fear? Or a bright light?
I don’t know, but one thing was certain.
‘I’ll be released soon.’
Not only my intuition, but also the ※warning※ message that appeared before my eyes was telling me so.
※warning※
*Time left until germination: 17 seconds
The world of the devil. Also known as the Demon World.
I don’t know what it was, but it seemed like a seed from that world was about to germinate.
What happens when it germinates?
I didn’t even know that, but I started walking anyway.
“Your Majesty! Where are you going? That’s not the exit! It’s dangerous!”
I tried hard not to hear Luciana’s screams and kept walking.
Towards the box containing seeds or something.
*Time left until germination: 12 seconds
A few people who were so busy running away passed by and tapped me on the shoulder.
I didn’t have time to check his face or ask him any questions, so I ignored him and moved on.
*Time left until germination: 8 seconds
After helping up the crying child who had fallen, he started walking again.
*Time left until germination: 3 seconds
And finally when I got to the box.
All remaining time was used up.
It was the moment when the countdown number in the message window changed from 3 to 2, from 2 to 1, and then to 0.
※warning※
I activated the skill as soon as I received the warning message.
This was the skill that I was finally able to use after completing the 7th main trust today and increasing my karma points.
The skill name is “Deification (L)”
It was a summoning skill that used my body as a medium to directly call down a god to this land, similar to the skill of the seon-gwan, “Gangsinmu (L).”
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