My heart is at peace.
With the sacred power bestowed by the goddess in the form of sunglasses, my chest feels incredibly calm.
This is the effect of the blessing.
An ability that puts the wearer in an extremely tranquil state. A level 0 blessing to stabilize the mind and body to the maximum.
It’s so effective that even the usual annoying sponsor voices and chat messages don’t bother me at all.
[The user “Laihaiya” donated 1,000 won.]
– “Professor, you seem really excited today!”
“Laihaiya, thank you for the donation. That’s right, I’m the professor!”
A mere nickname that adds “mom” to “Pope” couldn’t bother my unbothered mood at all.
– “Seriously, why are you acting like this?”
– “It’s no fun if you’re not annoyed.”
– “Are you saying I can call you ‘aunty’ now without causing a fuss?”
– “Professor! Professor! Professor! Professor! Professor! Professor!”
“Please don’t spam. I’ll let it slide this time.”
Normally, I’d hand it over to Liam, the chat admin, for a temporary ban on the viewer, but today I decided to let it go. For some reason, I felt like doing that.
A bolder personality and a more generous heart. Honestly, I tend to be this way normally, but it felt multiplied times better!
‘Better than I expected.’
The goddess is indeed a fiery person. She didn’t become the sun for nothing. I had asked with a light heart, but I never expected her to do something this incredible.
Even I, the pope, couldn’t grant such a blessing. It was a privilege reserved for those who receive the love of the goddess.
Of course, there was a lethal drawback: my divine power had dropped to zero.
It would take at least a month to return to normal. Restoring divine power requires mana, and this world is low in mana.
But there’s no helping it. You have to be prepared to lose something in exchange for gaining something.
“Everyone, today, whatever you say to me, I will forgive you all.”
I declared today as “joke freedom day,” and donations started pouring in.
[The user “WalkingParrot” donated 1,000 won.]
– “You look pretty with that on, even if you’re older.”
[The user “I’mBasah” donated 1,000 won.]
– “How old did you say you are?”
[The user “EvilGinger” donated 1,000 won.]
– “Professor mom.”
“You truly are mischievous. No matter what, I’m going to stay unaffected….”
Suddenly, I felt something strange and paused.
‘…Why don’t I feel bad?’
Even though the highest level 0 blessing is calming my heart, I felt unpleasant. It was strange.
Wondering if something was wrong, I took off the sunglasses. Immediately, a surge of anger rushed up from my chest.
Once I put them back on, the same calmness returned. It seems the blessings are working fine.
As I was confirming the performance of these holy sunglasses, Liam suddenly typed in the chat.
[(☆)riamclytia: Should I remember all of them?]
It seems that after a moment of silence, he thought I was angry. Even the chat window was misunderstanding me like Liam.
– “I support that.”
– “Honestly, they crossed the line, haha.”
– “Hero, I’ve memorized all the usernames.”
– “These kids don’t know moderation.”
If I remained silent, it seemed like the misunderstanding would grow further.
I was about to say that I wasn’t angry but hesitated.
Thanks to the blessing, I had a calm head and thought it was an opportunity. A chance to prove that the pope’s humor can be funny.
If I told Liam to remember the users who were spamming, everyone would pretend to be scared. This was the “Tiki-Taka” with the viewers I had only heard about.
‘Nice.’
I felt like I could finally make people laugh. I held back the rising satisfaction and spoke.
“Liam, you don’t have to do that. Not yet.”
With that statement, I gave a meaningful smile. It was a hint that what I just said was a joke.
This way, there would be no misunderstandings like before.
Just then, the chat started moving rapidly, and there were many question marks.
– ??
– “Why are you being informal?”
– “Aren’t you breaking character?”
– “It’s fine because I am of age.”
I quickly scanned the bewildered chats and then realized belatedly.
‘…Informal speech?’
Just now, I had spoken informally. It had felt so natural that I almost let it slip by.
How long has it been? Roughly estimating, it’s been almost ten years.
However, feeling relieved at finally being free from forced formal speech felt a bit unsettling.
I couldn’t just be glad without knowing the reason. The “speech correction spell” would fry my brain if I tried to force it off.
‘It shouldn’t naturally have been released.’
The one who led the development of the speech-modifying divine spell applied to me was the Archbishop.
The Archbishop was higher than the Archbishop that always stayed by my side, but below the pope in rank. However, his skills surpassed mine.
He was a man who could be called an expert in divine power manipulation. There was no way the speech correction he applied would just naturally dissipate.
So the cause would have to be an unexpected external factor influencing my mind.
Coincidentally, there was exactly one item that met all the conditions.
‘Goddess….’
Perhaps the goddess’s grace applied to the sunglasses brought about this change.
It’s likely that the blessing making me calm perceived the “forced speech correction” as an uncomfortable thing and suppressed it.
In other words, if I took off the glasses, the correction would return. A bit regrettable, but I could settle for that.
‘Not bad.’
I decided to exploit this sudden yet pleasant change on the broadcast.
Leaning back with my arms crossed, I eventually spoke with a slightly slouched posture.
“Shut your mouths. It’s spicy Pope time.”
It was finally time to unleash the rough nature that had been dormant inside me for a long time.
*
“Now that I’m annoyed, stop laughing.”
Having temporarily escaped from the constraints of automatic correction, I spoke liberally.
Even though I dropped the formalities, I didn’t act recklessly. The etiquette I learned as a pope hadn’t vanished.
There was still no difference aside from changing from formal to informal speech.
Yet, just that change delighted everyone. They laughed at every little thing I said.
– Hahahaha.
– How did you even hold it in until now?
– Keep it like this!
– Way better, haha!
Watching the chat carefully, it seemed that everyone thought my speech was too stiff. It was only natural since that’s how I made it.
I chuckled along with the laughing viewers. Then I spoke again with seriousness.
“From now on, I won’t let it slide, so type correctly. If you cross the line, Liam will come for you, so keep that in mind.”
It was a warning meant to instill some fear, but no fearful chats appeared. Perhaps everyone still thought it was someone else’s problem.
I intended to actually send Liam out soon. Once I show them an example, everyone would be cautious from then on.
“I’m serious! Don’t regret it later.”
After my warning, I lifted the sunglasses up to my forehead. Instantly, the peace of mind faded, and I felt a bit annoyed.
Of course, no matter what emotions I felt inside, I wouldn’t show them.
“I was momentarily unable to control my anger. I apologize.”
Then I switched back to formal speech and smiled gently. Honestly, I was more used to this by now.
– “You sound like someone else.”
– “Double personality aunty, wow.”
– “What’s going on today?”
– “Aunty seems to be in a good mood today.”
Viewers who didn’t know the underlying circumstances just thought I was particularly high-spirited today.
There was no need to explain what was going on, so I let it be. And besides, it wasn’t entirely a false statement.
“I do feel good. It’s because of this.”
I pointed to the sunglasses with my index finger and continued.
“As I mentioned earlier, these sunglasses are our order’s new relic, ‘Haemaki.’ It’s a holy and sacred item imbued with the goddess’s radiance.”
While I provided this belated explanation, a donation sound interrupted me. The donor identified as “Hainha” spoke.
[havant 님이 1,000원을 후원하셨습니다.]
– “Is the name derived from an actual relic?”
Hainha precisely pointed out the part I was about to mention.
I had noticed since last time that Hainha was particularly interested in game lore. That might be why they’ve become a major benefactor among streamers.
“That’s correct, Chairman. You’re quite sharp.”
Since it was a broadcast, I answered more formally than if we were to meet in person.
“Those who have played Apollis Tales will surely remember. It’s the outfit that simply painted a nun’s outfit red and claims it’s a relic.”
The clothing-type relic that appeared in the game, ‘Haebaji.’ You could say it was the saint’s exclusive attire, and I wore only that during my saint era.
The name I gave to the sunglasses relic, ‘Haemaki,’ was derived from that Haebaji.
[havant 님이 1,000원을 후원하셨습니다.]
– “Haebaji also appears in Solar Scepter.”
Now that I look at it, it seems it also appears in the sequel. I wasn’t particularly happy about it. There was a reason for that.
“To honestly speak, I don’t have good memories of Haebaji. The reason is….”
I abruptly clamped my mouth shut mid-sentence. It reminded me of the huge spoiler incident from last time.
And my quick decision was the right choice.
– “Phew.”
– “That was close.”
– “That’s part of the main story too!”
– “Philseong’s heart would have dropped again.”
– “Spoilers are always on your lips, haha!”
The relic Haebaji was also significant in the Solar Scepter story. I almost lost the face to meet Director O Philseong.
‘Thank goodness….’
I let out a short sigh of relief and sealed my lips, switching on ‘Solar Scepter.’ With no more blunders to make, I intended to start the game.
Before the company logo flashed by and the main screen appeared, it was different this time.
Instead of the woman I had seen last time, someone else was depicted holding a sword firmly.
At a glance, it was evident a lot of money had gone into it. It was stunning, but there was one problem.
“…Another familiar face, huh?”
Once again, someone I knew was gracing the main screen.
[havant 님이 10,000원을 후원하셨습니다.]
– “Please, please don’t say anything.”
Before I could continue, Hainha beat me to the punch. Not wanting to be spoiled twice, a sense of desperation bled through their message.
“I won’t say anything, of course. I’m not a fool.”
After having spoiled things once, there was no way I’d make that mistake again. This time, I felt confident in managing my mouth.
I reassured the anxious viewers and entered the server where I had created my character last time.
Just as I was about to start the game, another donation came through.
[ksy11 님이 1,000원을 후원하셨습니다.]
– “But the fact that the professor knows someone is a spoiler itself, isn’t it?”
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it, Solar Scepter deals with the future timeline of Apollis Tales.
In other words, just the fact that I know someone means they aren’t an ordinary person.
“….”
It’s said that people always repeat the same mistakes. Who would have thought I’d end up being the main character of that old proverb?
After a moment of rapid deliberation on what to do, I made a decision.
I quietly put on ‘Haemaki.’
“Let the game begin.”
In such a situation, it was best to stick to ignorance.
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