When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 92



Only Noblemtl

◈92. Tooth for tooth, fraud for fraud

A message suddenly came saying that a surprise sub-trust had occurred.

I checked the trust window and it was true.

A new sub-trust was created.

[Surprise Sub Trust – Rescue the people kidnapped by the circus troupe!]

[Trust Completion Reward]

-Karma +100 points

―「White Moon」Store Ticket (1 time)

*When the corresponding sub-trust is 100% completed, one of the user’s locked skills will be unlocked.

*Skill to be unlocked: “God’s Legion (S)”

The story was about a circus troupe staging a kidnapping.

I’m not sure, but I think he was referring to the circus troupe listed on this flyer.

Because it was an oracle that suddenly came to mind as soon as I read this.

‘Kidnapping… Why is the circus suddenly doing a kidnapping? I don’t understand… … No, rather, a new skill is unlocked?’

It was really exciting news that new skills were unlocked.

However, it was difficult to know exactly what kind of skill it was just by looking at the name.

‘I want to ask Doria more details… but maybe he doesn’t know… … .’

I have heard before that these oracles are not given directly by Doria.

The trust has already been created, and Doria just needs to send it out in order.

Of course, even if Doria knew everything, it would be difficult for him to tell her.

As long as there is such a thing as ‘causality collapse’.

‘So, we just have to go here and save the people, right? But is it okay to take Delsey to a place like this?’

I glanced at Delsey before deciding.

Delsey… had a look on her face as if she was looking forward to the moment when she would soon be watching the animal show with me.

That too, enormously.

‘… … I’ve been looking forward to it so much, but it feels a bit odd to say it won’t happen now… … .’

If he had refused from the beginning, it would have been different, but he had been bragging loudly about going together.

You make people so excited and then you destroy their expectations by telling them not to go so late?

It was something I absolutely could not do to a child who had never been to a circus before and was very excited.

‘Should we go out and talk slowly for now? I can’t talk right now.’

I wouldn’t take them to a circus where they might be staging a kidnapping, but even if they weren’t, there were plenty of things to see in the area.

First, it seemed like a good idea to get them in a good mood by looking around at those attractions, and then slowly try to convince them to give up on the circus.

Having decided so, I finally opened my mouth.

“Okay, let’s get ready to go.”

The smile that came across Delsey’s face afterwards was, I can confidently say, the happiest smile I’ve ever seen in my life.

* * *

After that, we briefly informed the church that we were going out, and then we headed to where the circus in question was supposed to be.

The escort knights did not accompany him.

Walking down the street with a group of knights as an escort was like revealing one’s identity by shouting, “I am the Pope!”

In order to enjoy going out, you had to avoid people’s attention, and to do that, you had to hide your identity.

That’s why we had to move through the crowds without any escorts, using disguise items to disguise our faces and appearances.

The Independence Movement Day had already ended, but the afterglow of the event still lingered, and there were still many people near the circus.

‘I told you to rescue the people… … . But first, I need to gather information.’

We couldn’t just storm into the circus barracks.

Because we still didn’t know whether the people had been kidnapped by strange men or what.

So for now―

“Rubin.”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

Rubin, who had excitedly followed along, saying that it was his first time at the circus, answered right away.

It was a shame for Rubin, but there was nothing he could do.

I made a slightly annoying request, almost as if whispering in a small voice.

“Is this the barracks for the circus that does the animal show? Can you sneak in the back and just take a quick look? Pretend to be a cat and go in.”

“Ugh, do I have to run an errand? I want to play… … .”

As expected, Rubin showed signs of displeasure.

I decided to give Rubin a little bribe.

“I see the kids walking around sucking on cloud candies one by one, so I think they sell them around here too. I’ll buy 30 of them. Please.”

“30… … . Hmm, okay. I’ll just take a quick look and come back. But please keep your promise… … ?”

“Don’t worry. If you find any ‘people trapped and scared’ inside, come out and let me know right away.”

“Huh? The person being held captive… …?”

Rubin, who had heard that, whispered to me in a small voice, “Ah!”

“Are you carrying out that trust again?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

As Rubin said, the oracle’s message was to ‘rescue the kidnapped people.’

I spoke to Rubin again.

“Anyway, I have a favor to ask, Rubin.”

“Okay, leave it to me!”

Rubin then left to sneak into the barracks.

If only Rubin, who had infiltrated, could find out the locations of those captured people, the rest would be easy.

All I had to do was go in, cause some trouble, and then bring the people out while everyone was out of their minds.

While I was roughly planning the operation in my head, I heard Delsey’s voice.

[Sex…! No, Luca! Let’s do that, that! It looks fun, yuck!]

He seemed to have remembered that he had to hide his identity as he was about to call her ‘Your Majesty’.

Delsi pointed to a place while calling me by my pseudonym, ‘Luca’.

I looked in the direction her fingertips were pointing.

‘dart?’

Since people gather where the circus is, there are also many street vendors nearby.

Things like street food, street fortune tellers, stores that give out prizes when you throw darts, etc.

I had suggested to Delsey that we check them out first before going to see the circus, and Delsey was also showing interest in one of the street stalls.

To be exact, to a dart shop.

‘We have to make sure Delsey is happy until Rubin finishes his investigation.’

Today’s plan is to complete the trust, entertain Delsey, and do two things at once.

So I did as Delsey told me and stood in front of the dart shop.

The street vendor who was waiting for customers shouted excitedly as soon as he saw us,

“If you throw the ball 3 times and hit the target at least once, you will receive a prize!”

Looking closely, I saw that getting it right once gave me 10 points, getting it right twice gave me 20 points, and getting it right three times gave me 30 points.

And the higher the score, the more expensive the product was given.

So I looked through all the products―

‘Hmm? All the products look expensive.’

It wasn’t just a doll.

On the shelves were teacups that looked quite expensive, hats, and even a dagger that looked like it was an item.

Hitting a target with a dart isn’t that difficult, so is it okay to offer such expensive items as products?

While I was lost in such thoughts, Delsey called me.

[Luka! I’ll go first! I’m pretty good at throwing balls like this! Knock knock!]

“You are a little guest who uses a unique doll item! Here, please use this dart.”

Before I could answer, the shop owner held out a dart.

Delsey took it with excitement.

And then―

“… … .”

Unlike his bright appearance from before, he took aim at the target with a rather cautious expression.

Sharpened eyes.

The sound of breathing has diminished quietly.

Delsey concentrated so hard that he threw the dart.

widely!

… missed the mark. And missed the mark by quite a bit from the center.

“Oh my! That’s too bad! Don’t be disappointed, Miss! Just throw well from the second time!”

The shop owner tried to comfort Delsey while whining.

Delsey looked very disappointed, but soon came to his senses and picked up a second dart.

And then I threw it―

Phew!

This time I didn’t even hit the target.

The owner laughed and picked up the dart that had hit the doll on the shelf.

“Miss! Even if you hit the doll directly, you won’t get a prize! You have to hit the target, the target!”

… Somehow, the owner’s tone of voice got on my nerves a little.

I didn’t realize that Delsey looked so disappointed that I was even more nervous.

Luckily, Delsey quickly came to her senses and quickly picked up the third dart.

Delsey’s gaze was burning as if she was determined to succeed this time.

And finally, the last dart was thrown from Delsey’s fingertips.

widely!

This time I hit the target.

But the result was no different from before.

The dart barely landed on the edge of the target, not even near the center.

[That’s strange… … . I used to be really confident in throwing darts. I used to throw them as a hobby whenever I was bored… … . But today, I just kept missing. Knock knock… … .]

You think it’s weird today?

Suddenly, something occurred to me and I handed over the challenge fee to the owner.

“I’ll try it too.”

“Oh, you want to wash away my shame for me? Great! Here you go!”

After receiving the dart from the owner, I opened the information window.

But as expected… … .

[A dart that misses no matter how many times you throw it (F)]

―A dart made by a fairly skilled craftsman for fun.

-No matter how well you throw it, it is cursed to miss the target.

Although it was a low-ranking F-class item, it was definitely an item.

It is cursed so that no matter how much you throw it, it will miss.

I always thought the products were overly expensive, but now I think I understand.

Since this cursed dartboard would never allow a darts player to win a prize, they were willing to put up expensive items.

‘This conman… … .’

The store owner, unaware that I was checking the dart information window by opening it, chattered excitedly.

“Hahaha! Hurry up and throw it, sir! Are your hands frozen from nervousness?”

… he was a really strangely annoying and conman author.

In any case, scammers should be punished for the same scam.

I decided to pay him back in kind.

[The Immortal Egg pays attention to your wishes.]

As I held the Egg of Immortality, a familiar message came to mind.

I answered him quietly, only with my mouth, so as not to be noticed by the shop owner.

“I’m going to throw the dart three times, so make sure you hit the target dead center all the time.”

As I made that wish, the egg of immortality soon responded to me.

[The Immortal Egg has accepted your wish!]

– Amount of metal needed to fulfill this wish: 30g

-Currently paid metal amount: 1000g

– Remaining metal amount: 970g

Since I had previously filled it with 1000g of metal, the amount of metal was sufficient.

Moreover, the amount of metal required to throw a dart was only 30 grams.

I grabbed the dart, feeling the power of the immortal egg seep into my hand.

and-

widely!

As expected, the thrown dart hit the target.

And right in the middle of the target, without a single inch of error.

Even though darts are cursed items, they are still F-grade.

Nothing can beat the power of the L-class item, the Immortal Egg.

So I hit the dart with a cool curse and the shop owner immediately shouted.

“Wow, that’s ridiculous!!”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? Since you threw it well, it’s obvious that it should hit the target. Or maybe… did you do something to the dart?”

“… … .”

The store owner, who was hit hard, kept his mouth shut.

It was really annoying to be nagged, but it turned out to be a good thing.

I threw the remaining two darts at once, enjoying the anxious look in the shop owner’s eyes.

Knock!

The result was, of course, a hit.

The owner’s eyes widened as he saw two darts lined up in the center of the target.

“Oh, no, that makes sense―”

[Amazing!! Seriously amazing, Luca! To get it so right the first time… …!!]

Along with the sound effect of ‘Quack, quack!’, exclamations of admiration flowed out one after another from Delsey’s items.

[How did you do it?! How did you get two of them to pop at once so cool!]

“It’s nothing special. Just read the wind flow and throw it well… Hmm, there is a way anyway. Rather than that, should I choose a product?”

I matched it with the Immortal Egg, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was my real skill, so I just covered it up.

Then he continued to speak to Delsey.

“What do you want? I’ll give it to you.”

[Really!? But I didn’t even hit it… … .]

“It’s okay. I don’t really want any of them.”

After hearing what I said, Delsey quickly began to look at the products on the shelf and become lost in thought.

[Hmm… … Which one do you like the best, Kkwak? Since it’s a gift from Luca, Luca, please choose.]

I used my ability to check the information window to look through the items on the shelf, then pointed to one of them.

“I think that would be good?”