When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 67



Only Noblemtl

◈67. New owner of the relic

I suddenly sat up with my upper body half-lying.

To be exact, at the very moment when the words “Bulgasari?” came out of Thomas’ mouth.

‘The Immortal Egg! I forgot!’

Ernen had promised that if the curse of the imperial family was lifted, he would give them the ‘Egg of the Immortal’, a treasure that the imperial family had been keeping.

I had decided to receive something so important, but I was so busy that I completely forgot about it.

Without further hesitation, I shouted to Thomas outside the door.

“Bring him here right now!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

When I started to look like I was getting busy, Delsey, who was next to me, asked quietly.

[Should I go now, okay?]

“Yeah, let’s talk about Argelio’s letter later.”

After that, Delsey left the room and I immediately changed into my hospital gown.

As I was getting dressed properly, I heard Ernen’s voice.

“Can I come in?”

“Yes, please come in.”

Soon, the legendary item that the Seon-gwan had preserved for generations, the sacred relic, would finally be seen in person.

As we waited with a slightly excited heart, Ernen came in.

In her hand she held a gorgeously wrapped gift box.

“How is your body?”

“I was completely healed thanks to the elixir.”

“Thank goodness. I was relieved to hear that everyone was safe, but then I heard the news that you had lost consciousness, and I was so surprised… … So, as a token of my consolation and gratitude, I brought you a gift. I had originally planned to give it to you at the banquet hall, but circumstances have turned out this way… … .”

He then gestured to his servant who was standing quietly behind him like a shadow.

Then the attendant brought a flat box made of mahogany wood and a transparent crystal trophy.

Ernen, who had received the ship, immediately took out a splendid medal that appeared to be made of platinum.

At first glance, it seemed like an item bestowed upon someone who had made a contribution to the nation.

He nodded as he handed it to me.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for lifting the imperial curse and for your efforts to prevent the deaths of all the important figures of the empire.”

I didn’t feel bad about being praised like this.

A situation where you receive not only a medal but also a gorgeously sparkling crystal trophy.

I could say that it was worth the effort.

I decided to keep them neatly stored in the display case in my office, and this time I turned my attention to the gift box that Ernen had brought himself.

“That’s… the immortal egg, right?”

“Yes. If you want, you can open it and look at it now. This is yours too.”

Of course I had no intention of giving up.

I opened the gift box slowly so as not to look too greedy.

When I opened the packaging, a luxuriously glossy mahogany box came out.

He opened the lid of the box by hand, unlocking the luxurious clasp decorated with gold leaf.

It was the moment when the ancient relic that had been sleeping inside finally revealed itself.

[Egg of the Immortal (L)]

―A mysterious egg that grants a wish in return for a lump of iron.

Although it has not hatched for a long time, life is still budding inside.

*Special Note: Cannot be destroyed unless fire is used.

As its name suggests, the Immortal Egg was a round egg.

However, it was smaller than I thought.

It was slightly larger than a quail egg.

‘In such a small egg… … .’

Such a strange and amazing power is contained in such a small egg.

I looked at the mysterious egg under the sunlight from the window.

A faint light was flickering inside the sapphire-blue, transparent shell.

‘Are you really still alive?’

If life really was budding inside as the item information window said, it seemed possible to hatch it someday.

I don’t know exactly what will be born after hatching, nor how to hatch it, so I don’t plan on trying anything recklessly…

Then Ernen opened his mouth again.

“There will also be a necklace chain and pendant made of platinum in that box. If you put an egg in the pendant, you can easily wear it around your neck.”

“Thank you. You are so kind to give me such a precious item… … .”

“No, I should be the one thanking you.”

Ernen continued in a firm tone.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have lived long. And so would everyone else at the banquet hall. You saved our lives. Everyone knows this and is grateful.”

As expected, the empire’s future was bright.

What a humble emperor, even though he sits in such a high position.

Although I was not born or raised here, I felt a renewed sense of loyalty and affection for the empire.

And it was at that moment that Ernen brought up a slightly different story.

“But actually… those gifts aren’t just about expressing gratitude.”

“… … ?”

“I thought I might need your help in dealing with the recent incidents. It’s a bribe, I guess. Ahem.”

I asked cautiously, wondering what he meant.

“What you mean by an incident that occurred… …”

“You know that weird plant you dealt with in the banquet hall? I’ve received reports of it appearing all over the empire. There are ten confirmed locations.”

“… … !”

“That’s not all. It seems that a dungeon is being formed around the place where the plant appears. The plant itself is a powerful source of magical power and is creating the dungeon.”

That monstrous tree… ‘Elcapist’ was saying that while I was unconscious, 10 more of them suddenly appeared.

And it’s a dungeon, huh?

‘Isn’t this an emergency?’

In the game of Extinction, dungeons were nothing more than a place to level up and obtain items.

But in this world full of unawakened beings, a dungeon would be a kind of natural disaster.

That’s understandable, because if you leave the dungeon unattended without clearing it, monsters will start to overflow from the dungeon.

What if monsters overflow from the dungeon that was created near the house?

It could be said that nearby unawakened civilians would suffer serious harm.

Ernen’s face, who delivered the news, was also dark because of that.

“I sent down S-class knights belonging to the royal family, but it seems they are having a hard time clearing the dungeon created by that plant.”

“this…….”

“There are ten of them. Compared to the monsters that used to appear in the forest west of Blonka, these powerful monsters are still emerging one or two at a time from each of the ten places.”

It was as Ernen said.

The magic circle that opened from the Elcapist in the banquet hall… It was different in size from the magic circles that were dealt with in the Blonka Forest.

If I had dealt with it quickly, it would have been a dungeon filled with powerful monsters that would have been difficult to deal with if I had left the Banquet Hall Elcapist alone.

It may have led to a major incident that required the entire palace to be relocated.

In other words, this is an event that will determine the fate of the empire.

That is why Ernen asked me solemnly, not as a close friend with whom he could consult about his worries, but as an emperor and pope.

“So, how far can you go in this matter?”

“hmm…….”

I let out a long sigh at Ernen’s question.

It wasn’t to find words to reply.

I was reading down the contents of a new oracle that had just appeared before my eyes.

[Eighth Main Trust – Defending Against the Returners’ Invasion (In Progress)]

Sub-Trust (1) – Eliminate the “Elcapists” who have begun to take root throughout the Empire! (0/10)

Sub-Trust (2) – Defeat or kill the ‘Cultivator’ who planted the Elcapist seeds! (0/1)

[List of Trust Completion Rewards]

-Karma +1000 points

– Lost fragments of memory

―The bones of the one who stole eternal life

As soon as Ernen spoke of the Elcapist, a new main oracle came to mind.

It felt like someone was watching me and giving me instructions.

Ask Ernen right now where the Elkephist occurred and go down there.

Lucid Miller? Or Doria?

No matter who was giving me the orders, my answer to Ernen was set.

“I will go down there myself. I cannot just sit back and watch the empire in crisis.”

… he said, shaking off some pretense and smiling brightly.

Ernen, unaware that I was coming forward because of a trust, looked at him with sparkling eyes and shouted, “You are a hero of the empire!”

Of course, I gladly accepted the compliment.

* * *

You must have received a request from Ernen, you must have received an oracle, the task at hand has been clearly decided.

It would have been nice if I had just gone to find the dungeon and left, but I couldn’t do that.

It was because of Luciana’s suggestion.

-‘I think it would be better to first visit areas that have suffered the most damage from dungeons.’

I agreed with her and said I would do so.

Because I thought it was natural to provide help first to areas that had suffered significant damage and were in dire need of immediate assistance.

For that reason, the departure time was delayed a little because we had to first find out how much damage each region had suffered and then determine the order.

Of course, I can’t just sit around and play with all that free time.

I was sitting in the conference room with the rest of the high priests, except for Argelio, who had gone down to his hometown for a while.

“Okay, if you have any good ideas, tell me.”

Despite my words, the high priests just stared at the table with a troubled expression.

To be exact, the ‘Elcapist Tree Egg Fragment’ lying on the table.

At the banquet hall, I was examining a fragment of the magic source egg that had opened from the Elcapist tree that I had destroyed under the pretext of investigation.

“Even though it’s just a fragment, I still feel a strong magical power.”

It was Bliss who said that.

The guy continued talking, tapping the fragments with his fingertips.

“I get the general idea. The Elcapist tree first absorbs nutrients from its surroundings, and then produces fruit in the shape of an egg that contains strong magical powers.”

I nodded and accepted what he said.

“That’s right. And the dungeon is formed around the egg that has condensed energy in it. In other words, this egg is the ‘core of the dungeon.’”

Luciana, who had been listening, asked.

“Then, if we find the egg hidden inside the dungeon… that is, the core, and destroy it, will the dungeon collapse as well?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

After answering, I recalled the things I learned while playing the game.

“As far as I know, this dungeon core can only be found by defeating the last boss monster in the dungeon. Usually, the boss monster hides it.”

[So, to clear a dungeon, you have to defeat the boss monster and then destroy the dungeon core that the monster was hiding? Kkwack-]

“Yes, that’s correct, Delsey.”

Even in the actual game of Extinction, in order for users to clear the dungeon, they had to kill the monsters and completely destroy their cores.

It seemed that to clear the dungeon here too, we had to use the same method as in the game.

The high priests simply looked at the egg fragments with a look of concern. It seemed as if they knew that there was nothing they could do right now.

It was then that Bliss opened her mouth.

“Let’s bake the contents of this egg and make a fried egg.”