When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 91



Only Noblemtl

◈91. The moment when strength was proven

A special effect of the Blasphemy skill that activates with an 80% chance.

The power of that effect affected the minds of all gathered there.

“Oh… … .”

“Lucid Miller… … .”

“Give us grace, guide us on the right path… … .”

As the special effects heightened their faith, people began to kneel on the spot and pray.

Towards Lucid Miller.

And to Nickelus, the apostle of Lucid Miller.

Even those who had been whispering that maybe Nickelus was a fraud as Petros had said, bowed their heads in reverence at that moment.

In the midst of all that silence, Nickelus took a step forward.

It was directed at Petros, who was still unable to control his fallen body.

Nickelus approached, grabbed Petros’ arm, and roughly lifted him up.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“… … .”

“I asked you. Have those damn doubts gone away?”

Nickelus’ voice whispered so quietly that no one could hear it.

But even though it was a small voice, the anger contained within it was clear.

“Originally, I was going to use the special effects of the items here to make a cooler show. That item had a special effect that showed illusions.”

Nickelus nodded at the set of sacred white items that he had taken off earlier.

As he had just said, he had planned to use it to give people an unforgettable and beautiful welcome.

however…….

“Because you were suspicious, I couldn’t use that. A better show went down the drain. It was the same with the Holy Knights’ martial arts performance. Because of you, the show almost ended up a disaster.”

“… … !”

“What are you surprised about? Did you think I didn’t know it was you?”

The culprit in the printout Rubin handed over was clearly Petros.

Moreover, according to the testimonies of the knights, the culprit is someone who uses high-level skills based on divine power.

Putting all the clues together, it was clear that the culprit was Petros.

Who would have thought that even if you dropped a clue like that, you wouldn’t get caught?

Nickelus thought to himself and laughed at Petros, who was surprised once again.

“So I ask again. Have you gotten over that damned suspicion that caused you to sabotage everything like this?”

Petros opened his mouth immediately, following his instincts telling him not to hesitate any longer to answer.

“Yes… you have proven it absolutely, absolutely.”

“Then wait in the garden behind the second banquet hall. We still have a lot to talk about. Or just disappear right in front of our eyes.”

Nickelus then turned back to the people who were still obsessed with skills.

And Petros―

“… … .”

He turned around without saying a word and headed towards the garden behind the second banquet hall.

* * *

The closing ceremony is over.

The event has finally ended safely.

Everyone who had attended left, and Ernen also left after saying goodbye with a tired face.

After that, I also started walking. Because I had someone to meet.

As we arrived at the garden of the second banquet hall, the back of Petros’ head came into view.

The bastard turned when he heard my footsteps.

And at that moment I―

puck!

I just punched the guy in the face.

Of course, I didn’t use any skills.

If you use a skill to hit an unsuspecting opponent’s face, their neck will break and they will die.

So Petros, who was hit with his bare fist, staggered and fell to the side.

I grabbed the bastard by the collar and pulled him up onto his feet.

Even if I couldn’t grab him by the collar earlier because I was worried about what other people thought, there was no need to hesitate now since there was no one there.

“Let’s say… Let’s say that Luciana dropped her sword because of your prank earlier. And let’s say that the sword fell into Luciana’s body.”

The guy’s eyes became blurry because he was hit in the face.

Still, I’m barely holding on to my senses.

I continued talking to the guy in that state.

“Then his arm would have been cut like that. His clothes would have been covered in blood, and people would have been screaming.”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, wait a minute—”

“The hit I just gave you was retribution for almost ruining the show like that―”

I threw my punch again without listening to the guy.

This time, towards Meiji.

“The beating you gave me just now was retribution for the wounds you must have caused Luciana. Because of you, Luciana almost got covered in blood and embarrassed in front of everyone.”

“Ugh, ugh… …!!”

“Oh, come to think of it, I guess I need to hit it one more time to make it work.”

After giving him another punch in the side, I explained the reason for the violence.

“You almost got cut by a knife, so one punch isn’t enough.”

“Ugh, ugh, huff… … .”

As if he was listening, the guy just sat down and covered the area where he had been hit.

I waited for the guy’s coughing to subside a bit before grabbing him by the collar again and lifting him up.

“If I was the only one you were hacking, you would have just hit me once and left.”

“Gasp, gasp… … .”

“But you tried to cause trouble to innocent people. Innocent people who were enjoying the performance. And innocent Luciana who practiced the performance for days.”

“Ugh, gulp… … !”

“I’m still angry, but I’m curious about that. Even though you were angry because of me, did you really have to go that far?”

I continued speaking, throwing the guy I was holding onto by the collar.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Make an excuse.”

The shock left the guy gasping for breath for a while.

Then, when things calmed down a bit.

“… … I was… so angry… so fucking angry.”

“What? What the hell? And you’re speaking informally?”

“… … I was angry….”

Perhaps because he had been hit several times, the guy immediately changed his tone of speech.

“The life that was originally mine… Cool, it feels like it was taken away by Your Majesty… Yo.”

The guy continued talking without stopping, forcibly adding ‘yo’ to the end of every word.

“I was so angry and resentful… yea. Gasp, gasp… … . I couldn’t stand the resentment and left… but then I came back because of the resentment… yea… … .”

“… … .”

“Ever since I was little, I just naturally… naturally assumed that I would become the Pope… I never thought about any other future. But―”

A single, bitter word escaped from the lips that the guy had bitten and bitten to endure the pain.

“In a single moment… In a single moment, God… chose you… … .”

“… … .”

“You gave me… you gave me birth… as if I was destined to ascend to the throne of the Pope… you gave me this power… … .”

The guy’s hand lit up as if he had activated a skill.

When I brought that shining hand to the face that had been hit by me earlier, the reddened face quickly recovered.

The guy used his healing skills to heal the wounds and let out a hollow laugh.

“In the end… my power meant nothing. It was just used to make you, the one with the real power, stand out… … .”

“… … .”

“I’m planning on leaving again… I guess. There was a time when I had hopes that you might be fake… but now I know that’s not the case.”

“… … .”

“Even if I stay here… I’ll be of no use.”

As he said that, the guy got up.

If we let him leave like this, he would probably never return to the cathedral.

And he will live his whole life tormented by the fact that he was not chosen.

“Wait a minute. Why are you deciding to leave on your own?”

Petros, who was walking as if he was about to leave, stopped when he heard me.

I stood there with my arms crossed and glared at the guy.

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to. It’s Luciana. Are you just going to apologize to me and then leave?”

It seemed like he had completely forgotten that he had to apologize to Luciana.

The guy’s eyes opened wide for a moment.

I sighed deeply and nodded.

“If you really reflect on your actions, you will pay the price properly. And there is a job that is just right for paying the price.”

I was just about to continue explaining that perfect job.

It was then that Luciana’s voice was heard.

“Your Majesty! What are you doing here?”

“Ah, you’re here at just the right time. Luciana.”

How does he appear at such perfect timing?

The person who should be apologizing appeared at the very moment I was about to speak.

I gave a brief greeting to Luciana, who seemed to have come looking for me, and then pointed straight to Petros.

“Look carefully. This is the kid who reflected the light in your face with a mirror earlier.”

“… … !”

Luciana’s face hardened in shock.

But that was only for a moment, and soon her eyes were filled with deep anger.

“… …was it you?”

“… … I’m sorry. I’m embarrassed… … .”

Petros bowed his head and apologized, wondering if he had a conscience.

But it can’t end here.

I spoke on behalf of Luciana, who was burning with anger.

“It’s not something that can be ended with just an apology. By the way, Luciana, I think there’s a dungeon built in the Marquisate of Lazar too, right?”

When I asked Luciana, she nodded immediately.

“Yes, fortunately my father is safe… but I heard that the damage to the farmland is severe.”

Originally, we planned to prioritize clearing the dungeons in the heavily damaged areas, but Lazar’s Marquisate, Luciana’s hometown, happened to be one of those areas that had suffered severe damage.

Then there was no need to worry any further.

I spoke straight to Luciana.

“Okay. I’ve decided. Let’s clear that dungeon this time. Together with that Petros guy.”

Luciana looked surprised at the suggestion to clear the dungeon that had appeared in her hometown.

But what was even more surprising was Petros, who was dragged into the dungeon against his will.

“Me, me too… right?”

“Of course. You are the one who should apologize to Luciana. That’s why I’m asking you to clear the dungeon. Luciana and I will just follow along as guards.”

Of course, I was planning to swallow the items while watching.

Although the items that came out of the Dragon Palace Dungeon were nothing special, it’s not like that in other dungeons.

I advised Petros, who was showing a slightly shaky expression, in the softest tone possible.

“Of course you can refuse. But then you’ll have to get hit by me again.”

“… … !”

“I was originally going to hit you more, but I thought you helped me clear the dungeon, so I deducted the damage. If you don’t add damage, then of course I’ll have to hit you more than the damage I deducted.”

Petros looked dumbfounded at my threatening words.

however-

“… … I’ll go with you… okay… … .”

In the end, I gave a positive answer.

* * *

The founding of the nation is over, Petros has been successfully persuaded, and now all the urgent matters have been finished.

So I slept soundly until the next afternoon.

No, to be exact, I was ‘planning’ to sleep soundly until the afternoon.

Unfortunately, my nap plans were ruined when Delsey came to visit in the morning.

[Your Majesty, do you know? During this event… I think… the circus troupe came to the island, squeak squeak―]

Delsi, who came to me saying she had something to tell me, made her first move.

It’s a circus… … .

I thought I knew what he was trying to say, and I was right.

[I’ve never been to a circus in my life, right? Haha… So… Um, before that circus troupe leaves―]

“You want to go?”

[Huh?! Oh, that, that… … .]

When asked directly if she wanted to go, Delsey flinched and looked embarrassed.

Let’s wait a little while for him to calm down, and he eventually nodded.

[Yes… … . I would rather go with Seongha or Sir Luciana than go alone. However, Sir Luciana said she was busy… … . Quite a lot… … .]

“That’s good.”

I spoke with a smile, barely able to move my swollen face from forcing a smile yesterday.

“Actually, I’ve never been to a circus before. I really wanted to go, but I didn’t have anyone to go with, so I was wondering who to go with.”

“Huh? Nike, what are you talking about? You told me that you just wanted to collapse and sleep today… Kekeke!”

I quickly hugged Rubin tightly as he barged in without notice.

You don’t understand the concept of a white lie.

Whoever designed the Polydroid, I think it was a really stupid choice not to include a lying feature.

As I hugged myself hard and tightly, Rubin started pounding my arm, complaining of suffocation.

I whispered to Rubin quietly, so quietly that Delsey couldn’t hear.

“Rubin, don’t say that. Delsey would be sorry.”

“But you’re tired, right? Even if Delsey feels sorry, shouldn’t you be honest with her? Delsey wouldn’t want you to go out with her when you’re tired because of her.”

“hmm…….”

After thinking about it for a while, I answered Rubin.

“Don’t tell me though. I really want to go to the circus with Delsey.”

I also didn’t go out with my parents often when I was young.

My parents were too busy to take their young son out… and it was hard.

That may be why I wanted to show Delsey the circus even though I was tired.

I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to talk about the details.

Fortunately, Rubin didn’t dig any deeper.

“Uhm… Okay. Then I won’t say anything.”

Only after hearing that answer did I let Rubin go.

Then I saw Delsey.

“Okay, do you know where?”

[Yes! It’s detailed on this flyer!]

Delsey held the flyer she had been holding tightly in her arms and handed it to me.

The flyer featured a picture of a man wearing a fancy hat with his arms wide open in a welcoming manner.

And underneath were these words written:

-A show of rare animals that you can’t see anywhere else in the world!

A show of rare animals that you won’t see anywhere else in the world…

I thought it might be a show featuring animals imported from foreign countries.

Is something like an elephant coming out?

It was the moment I had been waiting for.

[A surprise sub-trust has occurred!]