When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 90



Only Noblemtl

◈90. To prove your strength

Nickelus frowned as he looked at the item Petros had taken out.

‘Mirror item…? If you suddenly take it out in this situation, there seems to be something there.’

Nickelus, who had made that judgment, immediately opened the item information window and checked the mirror’s information.

[Mirror of Exploration (L)]

-Find the item that the person reflected in the mirror is wearing.

An item that helps you find the item you are wearing.

After reading that far, I think Nickelus would know.

Why did Petros suddenly take out that item?

As Nickelus had expected, Petros soon thrust it in Nickelus’ direction.

“Your Holiness, as everyone knows, you have not attended the foundation ceremonies so far.”

“… … .”

“Originally, you should have revealed the miraculous power that God had given you in front of the people of the empire at every event, but you did not do so.”

“… … .”

“It is true that there are many doubts about His Majesty in the world―”

“Just keep this simple.”

Nickelus cut off Petros’ rambling.

Petros frowned slightly before revealing his true feelings.

“This mirror is an item that can find and tell you all the items worn by the person reflected in the mirror. Can I use this to find the items Your Majesty is wearing and keep them for a while?”

“Are you telling me to use the skill without wearing the item?”

“Yes.”

Petros nodded and continued speaking.

“As I said before, the people of the Empire want more ‘convincing’ proof from Your Majesty.”

“… … .”

“Show us your unique power, revealed without wearing a single item.”

After that, Nickelus had to struggle not to distort his expression.

‘I’m telling you not to cheat with items.’

Such blatant suspicion.

That was why I was upset, but I couldn’t ignore Petros’ words as nonsense.

Although he had already revealed his power once before with his Deification skill, it was only in front of the nobles.

Among the common people, there were still many who regarded Nickelus as a fraud.

Therefore, if you were to show off and run away from this place where even some commoners were present, you could be forever branded a fraud.

In the end, I had no choice but to accept Petros’ request.

As Nickelus was pondering, Luciana stepped forward.

“How insolent, Saint! Do you even know what you are talking about?”

“I only asked for certain proof for the sake of the people of the Empire. Is that difficult for you, Your Majesty?”

“That’s not the problem! The very act of demanding proof is the problem! How dare you show doubt toward His Majesty—!”

When Luciana got to that point, Nickelus stopped her.

“It’s okay. It’s not like it’s a difficult request. In other words, you just have to prove that you can exert power without the item, right?”

After saying this, Nickelus then called Thomas.

“Thomas. Bring me extra gloves, boots, and a belt. Not items, but objects.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Since I had prepared spare clothes, it didn’t take long to prepare new clothes.

Nickelus immediately took off the ‘Timeless Sacred White Item Set’ he was originally wearing.

Then I replaced them with other normal items, not items.

Of course, the same goes for the Hidden Peace Ring.

I took it out without forgetting.

“I brought a few items with me in the hopes of making the spectacle even more enjoyable… but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Nickelus continued, his voice slightly lower.

“I can’t not show it to someone who wants to check out my skills so badly.”

Even though it was a small voice, Petros could hear it all.

His eyebrows quirked at the blatant sarcastic tone.

But that anger didn’t last long.

Because everything was going according to Petros’ own plan.

‘I got caught.’

Nickelus knew that if he was pressured to remove the item in front of people, he would have no choice but to comply.

And in fact, Nickelus accepted Petros’ request and obediently took out the items.

‘Even though he acts so confident because he’s conscious of the eyes watching, he must actually be sweating profusely. He must have been trying to fool everyone by using the item’s function as a skill, but he couldn’t do it… … .’

Petros had been thinking about it ever since he heard that Nickelus was suddenly attending the foundation ceremony that he had been skipping every year.

Nickelus plans to use the items to perform fake miracles for the public.

That’s because I thought it was unlikely that a con artist would have any special powers.

Petros’ skill, ‘Dictionary of God’, is a skill that only shows information about items and monsters.

It was different from Nickelus’ ability, which could even check a person’s information window.

That was why Petros ended up being wrong in assuming that Nickelus’ skills were mediocre.

Because the divine dictionary skill couldn’t see through Nickelus’ skill.

‘This is the end of fraud.’

Petros opened his mouth, gritting his teeth internally.

“Have you taken all the items, Your Majesty?”

“okay.”

“Then, finally, let’s use this Mirror of Exploration to check if you are ‘really’ wearing any items.”

“Still doubting!” Luciana snapped again, but this time Nickelus stopped her.

“Let’s just leave it alone so we can make sure.” – he said.

“Now, look here.”

Finally Petros lifted the mirror towards Nickelus.

Afterwards, when Nickelus’s image was reflected in the mirror, it started working with a strange mechanical sound.

Wooooowoong―

The mirror that had been emitting light with sound eventually stopped working quietly.

If Nickelus was wearing an item, a beam of light would have shot out from the mirror and illuminated the item he was wearing.

That didn’t mean we didn’t find any items from Nickelus.

Petros smiled as he finally confirmed that Nickelus was completely naked.

“There are no items. Now, please show me the miraculous power that Lucid Miller has given you, Your Majesty.”

Even at the moment of retreat, Petros could not hide his smile.

Because it was the moment when Nickelus’s long-running fraud was finally exposed.

Nickelus spoke softly to him.

“Watch carefully. Is my power really a lie?”

At that moment, Nickelus’ skill was activated.

A skill I’ve never seen before.

That’s why Petros had to feel it only with his body and soul, without knowing what kind of skill it was.

‘No… this is, no, this can’t be happening… … .’

Even if he only felt it with his body and soul, he could know it vividly.

A reverent yet heavy power enveloped my whole body.

A divine power of such a heavy density that I have never experienced before.

It filled this vast space and weighed down my body, making it suffocating.

For Petros, whose sense of divine power was more sensitive than others, the density was painful.

“Gasp! Cough! Gasp… … !”

Petros sank to his knees, but no one was there to help him up as everyone was focused on their skills.

He barely managed to get up with one hand on the floor, breathing heavily.

I felt as if I was drowning in a vast ocean, crushed by divine power.

Nickelus’s voice could be heard as he collapsed, exhaling the air from his lungs.

“That skill just now is a skill that summons a copy of a god. It is a skill that allows you to directly borrow the power of a god. And this one you are using now is… … .”

Nickelus continued speaking and used his skill again.

This skill, like the one just now, was one that was overflowing with divine energy.

However, even though it was the same divine skill, the way it was expressed and the feeling was completely different.

If the skill from before felt like kneeling before a god, the skill from now on is―

‘… … is protected.’

It was a feeling of being warmly protected in God’s grace.

I was no longer afraid, no longer in pain, and no longer sad.

All I could feel was a sense of happiness, wrapped in warmth.

While Petros was catching his breath, Nickelus explained to him again.

“This is a purification and protection skill. It purifies and protects anything that enters the circle that spreads out beneath my feet.”

As he said this, Nickelus pointed to the floor.

In fact, a circle of light spread out centered around his feet, and it was so large that it filled the space.

The people who entered the circle also seemed to feel the same way as Petros and muttered.

“… … It’s cozy and warm.”

“This is the power of the apostles… … .”

“With such skills, why has Your Majesty… … .”

As people say, Petros also felt like asking Nickelus.

Why didn’t you say a word even though you had these skills?

Why didn’t he ever refute me when I doubted him?

Despite his power, Nickelus never once showed it off.

Even though he was treated as a fraud by everyone, including Petros, he kept it a secret and did not reveal it.

Was there another reason?

Petros didn’t know that much either. But one thing was certain.

‘This is the real thing. This is… this is the true power of the chosen apostle.’

This was a qualitatively different power from the power that Petros himself possessed.

Even though they were both skills based on divine power, they were clearly different levels.

There was such a huge difference.

That’s why he realized.

How pathetic and foolish it was for him to be jealous of Nickelus, who became Pope in his place.

Nickelus spoke again in a quiet voice to Petros, who was floundering in shame and despair.

“It’s not over yet. I plan on using three stacks of skills.”

“Triple overlap… … .”

“Yeah. The last skill has a rather interesting special effect. I don’t know if it’ll work, but… I’ll give it a try.”

After that, Nickelus opened his inventory.

And then he took out the sword of conscience.

Petros had told them not to use the item, but he had already witnessed Nickelus’ abilities with his own eyes.

That’s why I didn’t say anything about using the item this time.

Nickelus took out his sword and held it in his hand, then activated his last skill, ‘Blasphemy’.

A situation where all abilities have comprehensively increased due to the first skill activated, Deification.

A message that didn’t usually appear appeared before Nickelus’ eyes.

[The special effect activation probability of the skill “Blasphemy!” increases due to the influence of the skill “Deification”!]

[80% chance to increase the Faith and Loyalty of those who witnessed the battle!]

The activation probability of the special effect ‘Increased Faith and Loyalty’ originally attached to ‘Blasphemy’ was only 10%.

However, now that all abilities have increased with the Deification skill, the probability of that special effect has also increased to 80%.

In that state, I swung my sword and cut down a nearby statue, and with a high probability of 80%, the special effect was eventually activated.

[The special effect of the skill “Blasphemy! (S)” is activated! The faith and loyalty of those who witness your battle increase by 30%!]