As expected, Kelaout made quite a splash in the telepathic chat room.
-(Archbishop): Your Holiness, I noticed you used the Pope’s Rest Area yesterday and didn’t tidy up afterward.
At 9 PM, a message appeared right in front of me while I was busy playing with the kids.
Here we go again.
I steeled myself while messing around with Erina, who was sitting on my lap.
And then, a relentless waterfall of texts began pouring in.
-(Archbishop): A person with a pure heart should leave no mess behind. However, Your Holiness, while your heart may rival that of a demigod, your tidying skills leave much to be desired. Although in the previous world, your followers would handle these things, in this world, we have no priests or followers to take care of such tasks. Therefore, please tidy up your desk and equipment without my prompting. Do you understand?
My head was already spinning. Just reading the messages made me feel lightheaded.
But I couldn’t just sit there and risk a second wave, so I sent my response immediately.
-(Pope): Understood. I will make every effort to keep it tidy and will clean up.
-(Archbishop): Given your wisdom, I trust you will do well from now on.
It seemed like he intended to leave it at that.
At least with me, anyway.
-(Archbishop): And, High Holy Knight, I noticed you’ve made a mess in the restaurant and kitchen.
Now it was Yao’s turn.
Once again, the screen filled with text, prompting me to wave it away from the telepathic chat room.
Erina looked up at me, tilting her head.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
How was I supposed to explain this?
The grandfather who only irritated others with long and exhausting sermons was now fatiguing people through texts?
If I put it that way, she wouldn’t understand my feelings at all. Kelaout never lectured the kids.
I was racking my brain to find an explanation that my daughter could easily grasp and finally spoke.
“Just… it’s a headache.”
“A headache?”
With her eyes wide open, Erina clasped her hands and whispered softly.
“Goddess, please make Mom better soon.”
Then she looked up at me again, her eyes shining.
“How about now? Are you feeling better?”
How could she be this adorable?
She was my daughter, but her looks and kind heart made me want to hug her tightly.
“Thank you. I’m feeling much better now.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you, Erina.”
“Hehe…”
Erina was indeed like me in that she was kind and empathetic.
Moreover, she had a sharp mind, so it wouldn’t matter which path she chose in the future; she would turn out well.
If possible, it would be better for her to take advantage of her pretty looks and become an actress, right?
Alternatively, using her smart brain to become a scientist wouldn’t be a bad choice either.
“What do you want to be when you grow up, Erina?”
But I couldn’t just wish for her to grow up as I wanted, so I asked about her own desires.
I planned to support her no matter what dream she had.
“Me? Umm…”
Not having given her future much thought, Erina pondered for a moment before answering.
“I want to be Pope!”
It was a clear answer that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“Like me?”
“Yep!”
“I see. That suits you well, Erina.”
But honestly, I didn’t take it seriously.
Children usually name the professions they admire as their dreams, right?
I, too, wanted to be a doctor at her age. It was an unrealistic dream for a boy growing up in an orphanage.
Regardless, her longing for her mother made me puff my chest with pride.
“Liam.”
As I called him out to brag, Liam, who was playing with Ibailla and building blocks, turned his head.
“What’s up?”
“Did you just hear? Erina said she wants to be Pope, not a hero.”
“Oh, I see.”
I had expected him to feel a bit jealous, but surprisingly he responded calmly and magically turned one of the blocks pink.
Then he suddenly spoke up.
“Erina doesn’t know how much work, effort, hardship, irritation, and mental strain being Pope involves yet.”
“…”
The former hero chuckled while looking at Erina and continued.
“Our daughter, do you want me to tell you what a more amazing job than Pope is? A rich bum.”
“A bumm?”
“Yeah. Someone who does nothing but lounges around but still has enough wealth to live comfortably—top-tier…”
Liam’s words faltered when he saw my icy glare.
“Is this the kind of thing you’re teaching her?”
“No, I’m just being realistic…”
“Let’s talk about this later when the kids are asleep.”
“…”
The demigod lowered his head, burying himself in his block play with Ibailla.
Honestly, every time I left the kids with Liam, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
‘If only he resembled Hekatrith, even just half as much…’
Young Dragon never acted like an Evil Dragon in front of the kids and simply focused on playing with them.
Plus, he was knowledgeable and capable of magic, so the kids would never have a dull moment.
The perfect babysitter dragon. Essentially, he was our household’s Guardian Dragon.
“Liam, you should learn parenting from Hekatrith.”
“From him? That would be too humiliating.”
“Are you refusing? Then go receive training from the Archbishop.”
“Now, that’s really not happening…”
Just then, I received another message from Kelaout.
-(Archbishop): Your Holiness.
Kelaout, mentioned in conversation, had sent me a telepathic message again.
What now?
I braced myself for another bewitching stream of texts, preparing for something akin to what had happened before.
But this time, it wasn’t nagging.
-(Archbishop): How about gathering the problematic members of the order soon and conducting a class to help cultivate character and education? To be honest, most who have gathered in the order currently have one or more issues. If we don’t address it now, it may lead to significant fractures later that could endanger the order. Please consider it carefully before making a decision.
A class aimed at troubled kids.
There wasn’t much to ponder on this issue.
-(Pope): Let’s do it.
I accepted without concern. As long as it didn’t involve me, I was fine with anything.
Kelaout seemed quite pleased.
-(Archbishop): As expected of Your Holiness.
-(Pope): I will personally decide who the subjects of the training are. I’ll also take care of the various details like the date and location.
-(Archbishop): Is that really okay?
-(Pope): Yes, I’ve already got something in mind.
-(Archbishop): Understood. I will grant you full authority, Your Holiness.
Kelaout’s permission had been granted. This meant there was no one left who could stop me.
“Mom, is something good happening?”
While I was chuckling to myself, planning the training schedule in my mind, Erina looked puzzled.
I cupped my adorable daughter’s face with my hands and made eye contact.
“Erina, if you want to become like me, you must remember this.”
There was a virtue that a Pope should absolutely possess, even for a 5-year-old.
“A Pope must do their best to help their subordinates correct their flaws.”
Of course, how boring and tiring that process might be wasn’t the Pope’s concern.
*
The next day.
I sat down at the Pope’s Chamber’s work desk with a light heart.
A smile that reflected involuntary joy graced my lips.
“…Your Holiness, you seem to be in a good mood.”
Yao, who was serving as a guard nearby, spoke hesitantly. I nodded lightly and resumed typing.
The screen filled with the ideas I’d been crafting in my mind.
[Participation List for Cultivation of Character and Virtue Education]
This was basically like a death note; once you wrote the name, it was game over.
Once a name and the issues to address were written down, that person would undoubtedly have to attend Kelaout’s class. There was no way out.
Was that why Yao seemed uneasy for some time now?
“Yao, you look troubled?”
“…”
The rookie Holy Knight kept his mouth shut for a while before speaking seriously.
“Your Holiness, I have something to say.”
“Speak.”
“I don’t think I can participate in the training since I need to walk, exercise, and feed our White Tiger.”
“Is that so?”
It was indeed essential to manage the Void Monster properly. It was a fair excuse.
However.
There was a flaw in Yao’s logic.
“White Tiger.”
At my call, the White Tiger, who had been sprawled on a cushion in the chamber’s corner, perked its ears up.
Then it trotted over to me enthusiastically, wagging its tail like a dog.
I handed it a stick-shaped treat, clearly now accustomed to its pet lifestyle.
“Here you go.”
– Growl!
The White Tiger bounced joyfully before flopping down to chew its treat with no regard for the rookie Holy Knight.
“Did you see that?”
I leaned back in my chair with a triumphant smile.
“The White Tiger is now my loyal pet. Therefore, you don’t need to take care of it.”
“Ugh, White Tiger…”
Despite the sad tune calling out to it, the White Tiger remained focused solely on its treat.
That was a confirmation shot.
“Then I’ll put your name at the very top of the list.”
“…”
It seemed he had run out of feasible excuses, as no other response came.
So I wrote down the document as planned.
[1. Zhang Yao/High Holy Knight]
– Overly excessive appetite.
– Lack of etiquette and faith.
Then I added a few more people who must attend the class.
[2. Hekatrith/Guardian Dragon]
– Lacking dignity and grace as a Guardian Dragon.
– Becoming too juvenile.
[3. Liam Erams/Former Hero]
– Too many issues to list.
I paused briefly after that.
Should I include those who have yet to join the order?
‘There’s no reason not to.’
Even if they weren’t members, those closely related to our order would be invited to the class.
As it was character-building training, one couldn’t just ignore people who didn’t yet follow the Sun.
With a spirit of altruism and thoughtfulness, I selected other candidates for the training.
[4. Han Hee-jun/High School Student]
– Lacking refinement.
– Regularly curses.
└ I heard you secretly insulted the Archbishop yesterday. You need supplementary classes.
[5. Jo Ha-jin/Unemployed]
– Safety obsession.
[6. Cubica Psycheless/Pope]
– Lewdness.
[7. Icle/Servant of the Evil God]
– Character and virtue education is urgent.
That should be enough.
Just when I was about to finish, I remembered one last person I needed to add.
No, it was ‘people.’
[8. Tribe Viewers/Mostly Unemployed]
– Lack of decorum and respect towards the Pope.
It was a decision sprinkled with a hint of personal satisfaction.
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