“Mom, Mom! You know what I just saw?”
“Mom, I’m sleepy.”
Erina and Ibailla, who were clinging on either side of me, were excitedly chattering away. They didn’t take a break, not even for a second.
I smiled now and then as I listened to my two daughters ramble on like five-year-olds.
This was our evening routine that had continued every day since returning from the Demon World.
I wanted to take a break since I had just wrapped up my work, but I couldn’t do that. They had a valid reason to chatter away.
‘…I guess we were apart for a while.’
The flow of time is not the same across worlds separated by dimensional barriers.
This was a realization I had immediately after returning home.
I had lived for 20 years, but only 7 years had passed here, which surprised me. I felt a bit younger and all.
Anyway.
Time in the Demon World passes faster than in this world.
About five times faster? They say it’s exactly 5.4 times.
And we spent approximately a week in the Demon World.
In other words, nearly 40 days had passed here.
That’s why my daughters clung to me and wouldn’t let go.
“Earlier, Young Dragon showed me a puppy from another world! It’s super, super cute!”
“Uh-huh… I wanna sleep.”
How much must they have missed me to spend all day just gazing at me, chattering non-stop?
According to Young Dragon, they cried, threw tantrums, and fussed every single day in search of me. Hekatrith even complained to me about it.
At least our Guardian Dragon brought fancy chocolates to smooth things over.
But the sadness of my daughters not being able to see their mom for so long couldn’t be soothed with just snacks.
Thanks to that, I had to use every parenting skill I had honed so far to entertain them.
“Erina, what did it look like?”
I looked at my first daughter’s sparkling eyes while gently patting the back of my second daughter, who was nodding off.
Soon, Ibailla hugged my arm and fell asleep, and Erina began chatting animatedly with a bright face.
“I want a pet too! A cat, a dog, a rabbit, a parrot, a ferret, a lizard. And also…”
“Isn’t that too many?”
“I’m confident I can take care of them all!”
“Is that so? Well, if it’s our Erina, I suppose you could handle it.”
“Hehehe…”
Her giggling smile was too adorable to resist, so I ruffled her hair. Erina leaned against me, pressing her face close.
It was a hug that instantly blew away my fatigue from the Demon World.
“I think I should sleep now…”
The endless chatter from my first daughter finally stopped around nine o’clock.
I tucked the blanket over the soundly sleeping Erina and Ibailla before heading to the baby crib where Rohan was.
Our son, who already showed off an appealing face resembling mine, was playing with his toys, eyes wide open.
“Daddy!”
Rohan, upon seeing me, opened his arms and smiled.
As expected.
My son is a genius. Just watching him recognize his mom and smile at such a young age confirms it.
“Come here.”
I scooped Rohan up and gently rocked him.
As I pinched his cheek, the lovely smile on his lips deepened.
His bright expression inevitably reminded me of Liam. It’s nice that he looks good, but it also made me uneasy.
‘…I feel anxious again.’
What if he inherited not just my looks but my personality too?
The ominous premonition that always tangled my thoughts came knocking again.
At least my genes were mixed in, so he wouldn’t grow up as a total brat, but I was scared he’d become a womanizer.
Should I send him for character education with Kelaout when he gets a bit older? I couldn’t just leave it to chance; I had to keep a close eye on him.
“Rohan, I know you might find it boring, but I’ll say it again. Please don’t turn out like Daddy. If you ever make a girl cry, I’ll cry along with you.”
It was during this intense warning to my son when—
“What’s wrong with that?”
The window suddenly burst open, and Liam walked in, holding a large paper bag in one hand.
“Are you really asking that?”
“No, that can’t be it.”
Liam cheekily replied as he strode over and planted a kiss on me.
Then he placed his hand on Rohan’s head and released some Sacred Power.
A method to induce sleep by calming the mind.
Before long, Rohan, who had been wide awake, started dozing off and then closed his eyes. I gently laid him back in the crib and spoke up.
“What are you planning?”
I had already figured out his intention, but I pretended not to know.
A stratagem to avoid being drawn into Liam’s schemes.
My acting skills were quite impressive in this instance, though it was utterly ineffectual.
“What?”
Liam blinked at me, feigning confusion as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
There he goes again.
It’s not the first time this has happened, and it annoys me. He always comes up with these clever schemes, and I can never outsmart him.
I stared at Liam one last time and ultimately surrendered.
“Fine, let’s do it.”
As soon as I revealed the words the hopeless Demigod had been waiting to hear, I received a cheeky response.
“Is that what you wanted? Then I guess there’s no helping it.”
“……”
Maybe I could just walk away?
I seriously thought about it but eventually decided against it. I wanted to too, after all.
“You should brace yourself today.”
Liam smiled and handed me the paper bag he was holding. I peered inside, feeling startled, and took a step back.
Inside the bag were all sorts of hideously shaped adult toys.
“Are you planning to use this on me?”
“Who else would I use it on?”
“I refuse. Please maintain my dignity as the Pope.”
It looked too unsightly for me to just accept, so I firmly refused.
But he used to be a wild person, and once he gets going, no words would work.
“Your dignity makes it better. It’s so naughty.”
“…….”
“Shall I activate the silent magic?”
It seemed he had no intention of seeking my approval at this point.
Of course, if I were to seriously refuse, he would likely give up. I never do anything I genuinely dislike.
But I don’t know why.
Amidst my reluctance, a subtle expectation welled up, and I found myself nodding my head.
“…Let’s give it a try.”
For some reason, I felt like tonight would be harder than any other night.
*
The next morning.
After getting up early and putting myself together, I walked into the Pope’s Chamber, sipping on the iced Americano that Yao had brought me.
“Ugh…”
As I leaned back in my chair, Kelaout frowned slightly with one eye squinted.
Signs that a lecture was about to begin.
As a seasoned Pope, I quickly straightened my back and assumed an elegant posture. To minimize the length of the coming sermon.
“Your Holiness.”
Sure enough, the stern Archbishop’s scolding began.
“Your back must hurt. You didn’t spend a secret time with Liam last night, did you? According to the Goddess’s principles, I don’t intend to interfere with your love, but I have to say this: You’re at an age where you need to take care of your health. Please refrain from vigorous activities that might leave you sore the next day.”
I listened intently, pretending to take in his pouring complaints.
Papal skill: the art of pretending to listen.
After over a decade of being tormented and trained, I could manage this with stray thoughts crossing my mind.
Now I could even nod absentmindedly or give short replies while zoning out.
“Once again, I must stress that health is the most important value in life. Sacred Power is not omnipotent. It can postpone aging to some extent, but it cannot stop aging forever. Thus, you must maintain your health every day. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
I answered seriously, as if I was someone who was genuinely attentive, causing Kelaout to nod in satisfaction.
“Let’s leave it at that for today and start on our work.”
Just then, my secretary, Kim Ji-yeon, hurried over with a tumbler of warm green tea to hand to me. It was a thoughtful gesture from this humanoid.
“Thank you.”
Yao swiftly took the remaining Americano, and I leisurely sipped the fragrant green tea.
While I was doing that, Kelaout placed a stack of documents in front of me.
After glancing over the titles, I lightly nodded.
[Results of the First Sun Ability Evaluation]
This was a report related to “Sun Power,” which was about selecting members with genuine faith that I had thought of at the Sun Meeting earlier.
However, I didn’t instruct them to proceed while I was in the Demon World. It seemed they took the initiative since my absence was prolonged.
“Thank you for your hard work, Archbishop.”
Thanks to him diligently performing the tasks in my stead as my deputy, one less cumbersome task was off my plate.
With a satisfied heart, I quickly skimmed through the report and sipped the green tea before speaking.
“Are there any other peculiarities?”
“There is one. Icle has gone missing.”
Kelaout narrowed his eyes slightly while stroking his beard.
“One day she suddenly just disappeared. I asked Liam and the Guardian Dragon to look for her, but even after several days, they couldn’t pinpoint her location.”
“If those two don’t know, then effectively, there’s no way to find her.”
It appeared she had intentionally hidden away.
But why did she choose to hide?
I pondered the reason, but I couldn’t even guess. It wasn’t surprising since we weren’t that close to begin with.
“Understood. Don’t worry too much. After all, she’s not even affiliated with our Order, so there’s no reason to go through the trouble of locating her.”
“I think so too.”
If she wanted something from us, she would make her presence known, just as she had when she first appeared.
So I slowly sipped my green tea, letting go of my thoughts about Icle.
Then I looked at Kim Ji-yeon.
“How is the matter I asked about last time coming along?”
“That’s the thing I’ve been waiting for.”
An emoticon resembling a cheerful face appeared on Kim Ji-yeon as she lightly tapped her head.
“Report. Regarding Witness.”
Right after, a translucent SD humanoid, Witness, appeared before my eyes, dressed in elegant attire unlike in the Demon World.
“You look beautiful.”
-Thank you. I referenced the Pope’s attire to modify my appearance.
Witness spun around gracefully before looking at me with a serious expression.
-Pope, I have narrowed down the candidates for the impersonator of the Evil God Black Sun.
“…….”
It looks like it’s finally time to eliminate the danger lurking in the future.
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