The Pope's Eyes
The national academy's lofty spires towered into the sky. A day that had left sweat beading on my palms and a final clash with Hyeondo still burned fresh in my memory. From the sidelines, Lan watched the two of us exchange our last blows with her own eyes. Though her expression stayed perfectly composed on the outside, inside she was quietly stunned.
‘Do not cling to the form of others. Awaken your own form, master your own style, and only then can you complete the secret technique.’
An enigmatic stranger I had met by chance in my clan’s village weeks ago. That encounter had been a tremendous stroke of fortune for Lan. Building on his words, she had begun to envision her own form and, only recently, completed her own style on the strength of that realization.
Her secret technique. The single time she had shown it to Haru was the final strike she had unleashed during the test in Gaya. Only once.
Yet Haru had copied it exactly. In fact, he had refined it into an even more optimized version of his own.
‘That final strike… surely from Gaya… and you went and reinterpreted it as your own? Truly, you are a terrifyingly talented individual.’
Lan’s gaze softened at Haru’s talent that grew sharper by the day and his latent power that bloomed ever more splendidly.
“Oh my, oh my. Your lips are curling all the way up to your ears.”
“Haha. Looks like the same is true for you, Fourth Pillar.”
“Ho ho, too excited over my cute son’s performance. By the way, those people have changed so much I can hardly believe they’re the same brats from the Seo-Wangdo attack.”
Natalie sighed in admiration at the memory of that incident.
“Quite right.”
Lan and Wolhyang nodded slowly in agreement.
“Then I’ll head off to see Junior.”
““Yes, please look after yourself.””
After exchanging greetings with Lan and Wolhyang, Natalie waved her hand gently and left.
“Maru, are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, but Oppa, you’re the one who’s hurt! Waaah…!”
Maru was on the verge of bursting into tears at Haru’s pitiful state. Haru quickly pulled her close.
“I’m okay. It’s nothing serious.”
“Hey, hey, my right arm feels completely numb right now. Let’s head to the infirmary first.”
“Senior, when do we eat anyway?”
“Whoa, looking for food in the middle of a fight? You’re seriously crazy.”
“Everyone, stop fighting. Teraden and I are too injured to stick around, so we need to go to the infirmary. You should go eat first.”
“No way. Then I’ll just come with you guys.”
“We won, so I’m in a good mood! Hehe! Aaaah! Hey, hurry up!”
Watching the kids bask in their victory filled Lan with an inner thought for Feltics.
‘This day will be talked about for a long time. You’d better be a little tense yourself.’
* * *
The accumulated fatigue from the night-long battle was heavy. After the victory banquet, Haru and Teraden, who had received only minimal treatment, collapsed straight into bed without even thinking about dinner.
In the end, Blanser, who had been waiting for us, ended up feeding Maru and himself as well.
“You guys are really something. I waited so long at the table, chewing and swallowing.”
“Hah, you sounded like a horse at the table. Hey! Sorry! Is that better?”
The next day, while finishing breakfast and listening to Blanser’s grumbling, someone knocked on our door.
Guided by Jubern, we entered the room where a woman waited gracefully on a chair, sipping tea while two stern-looking men stood at attention.
The woman was veiled head to toe in white cloth, and even a layman like me could tell the fabric was luxurious and delicate. The presence of the escorting guards made it clear she was of extremely high status.
“Huru rurup.”
Clink.
The room was so quiet that the sound of her setting the teacup down rang out unusually loud.
Haru, Maru, and Teraden had no idea who the woman was, but Jubern, Taint, and the other warriors standing guard looked tense, clearly recognizing her.
“Taint.”
“Yes, Commander. Please.”
Jubern whispered carefully into Taint’s ear.
“Do not make even the slightest mistake. Prepare yourself.”
“Understood, Commander.”
“Hehe. You don’t have to be so stiff.”
The woman gently waved her hand to ease the rigid atmosphere and, after a long moment of thought, Blanser finally clapped his hands as if something had just occurred to him.
“Huh? No way… Pope-nim?”
The man standing behind her narrowed his eyes at the title.
“Wow! It’s been so long since I saw you, Pope-nim!”
“What? Why is the Pope here? Wait, that’s…”
The Pope? Is this woman the one I’ve only heard about in stories?
If she was the Pope, the two men guarding her must be the Gwangrangdo’s national immortals and the head of the Byeolmuban, Gwan-yul-il, the strongest protectors of the continent. I had heard their power was on par with the Seven Pillars, and now seeing them in person, it didn’t sound like an exaggeration.
That explained why Jubern and the others looked so stiff.
“It seems we have finally met. Welcome, everyone.”
“Yes, Your Holiness. It is a great honor for us to meet you.”
“Hehe. First, allow me to congratulate you on the victory of the victory banquet. I prepared a small gift.”
Swish…
Light trails began descending slowly from above, wrapping around our bodies in her graceful hands.
To Teraden, who was still wrapped in bandages, the warm, gentle sensation looked similar to his Hwigwang, but it felt like a different kind of ability.
“O! What is this?!”
Teraden suddenly cheered as he unwrapped the bandage on his broken arm, the splint making it hard to scratch the wound.
“Hehe, hehe.”
“Why are you doing that, Oppa?”
Teraden completely removed the bandages wrapped around half his body, his eyes rolled back and mouth wide open.
“Hehehe. I finally feel a little better.”
Teraden tossed aside the useful hand he had been holding and scratched the itchy areas furiously.
I, too, felt amazed at the disappearance of the pain and unwrapped the bandages to find that the wounds, which should have required at least two weeks of treatment, had already vanished.
“An overly generous gift. Thank you very much.”
“I’m glad you like it. Then I’ll introduce myself properly. I am the great Seven Star, descendant of Arirang Milyang, Pope of the current Arirang Church. My name is Milyang Mirpia.”
The Seven Stars. The names I had heard dozens or hundreds of times while studying Continental History I last semester.
The Seven Stars. Seven brilliant stars.
During the Great War, there had been many heroes who followed Arirang, but among them were seven unparalleled great heroes, some even on par with Arirang himself, my own clan ancestor.
The Pope before us was a descendant of the Seven Stars like the Grand Dukes and the Seven Pillars?
No, thinking about her position, it was actually only natural.
After her introduction, I began to introduce myself.
“My name is Haru. This child is my sister Maru, and this one is my friend Teraden.”
I decided not to introduce Blanser since he already knew us.
Her gaze swept over us one by one with a smile that was only half visible beyond the sash covering her face.
“The reason I wanted to meet you today is not particularly grand. I simply wondered what kind of people the current generation of Arirang clan members are. Ah, and if you’ll permit me, I’d like to read your futures.”
A gentle smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she spoke softly, and a dignified, noble presence befitting a Pope was unmistakably present.
Just as I was about to ask how one confirmed that, Maru shot her hand up.
“Pope-nim! May Maru ask a question?”
As expected from the friendly Maru.
“Of course, our cute Maru.”
Maru’s nose twitched happily at the praise, her cheeks flushing.
“How do you confirm that?”
Instead of answering, the Pope carefully lifted the white sash covering her face.
Silver-blonde hair mixed with golden highlights cascaded to her shoulders, and a small face with delicate, three-dimensional features had been perfectly captured.
The moment the sash was lifted, the unreal beauty that no amount of words could describe—enough to steal the soul of anyone who looked—stood revealed.
“It is a little embarrassing to be stared at so intently.”
We were momentarily stunned, but reality snapped back.
“Ineung, Fate Eye. This eye can read your destiny, your inner self, and even certain moments of the future. How would you like it if I looked into your futures?”
The Pope pointed to her own eyes as she explained, and our gazes naturally followed her fingertip to her pupils.
A blue light flickered in her irises, and anyone could feel that she was no ordinary person.
“Wow! It’s so amazing! Maru, can I try it?”
Maru naturally accepted.
I, too, was curious, and there was no reason it would be dangerous, so I gladly agreed.
“If it pleases Your Holiness, we would be happy to.”
We had received an overly generous gift, so we should give something in return.
Though, it wasn’t necessarily because of the gift. I would have accepted even if no gift had been offered.
Teraden, however, showed a slightly suspicious expression at the mention of reading the inner self and refused.
“Inner self…? No thanks.”
“Very well. Then shall we begin with Maru? It’s simple. Simply make eye contact while in physical contact with me.”
Maru sat in front of her as instructed and placed her hand on the Pope’s offered palm, locking eyes.
The Pope simply gazed deeply into Maru’s pupils as if reading her inner self in this manner.
“Uh…?”
But soon her gentle expression turned subtly displeased.
As if she had seen something she couldn’t unsee.
More like shock than worry.
“Maru, what kind of person will you become in the future? I’m so curious!”
Maru, completely unaware of the issue, lit up with anticipation.
The Pope turned her gaze away and stammered.
“M-Mar u. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that. It’s a complicated story. Do you understand?”
“Ah… hehe… yes…”
Teraden poked her side and whispered.
“It’s clearly a lie from start to finish. First move—feint…”
“Shh. Be quiet. Maru is listening.”
Maru, being so pure, fell for it completely.
…Thank goodness.
Slightly disappointed, but a complicated story was complicated. Nothing could be done.
Maru drooped her shoulders and offered her seat to me.
The Pope took my hand, the one Maru had just left, and gently brushed her forehead with the back of it.
“Shall we begin?”
“Before that, could you tell me what you saw from Maru?”
“I’d like to see too.”
Teraden leaned in slightly from the side.
“Maru will become an incredibly loud and rough lady in the future?”
“Eh…? Maru? That can’t be…”
The confused reaction made her laugh lightly.
“It seems there’s nothing to worry about. Shall we begin?”
“Yes, understood.”
“Haa.”
The Pope quickly regained her composure and began gazing calmly into my pupils.
And the next instant.
Something no one could have predicted happened.