The Pope Who Returned After Having Three Children — Part 2
Seoyun no longer had a headache.
She only felt a little dizzy.
It was because she had suddenly learned an enormous fact.
'Three kids? ...'
It wasn't just anyone. It was my own older brother Siwoo who had become the parent of three children and had appeared before me.
He had even given birth to them himself. He was the mother, not the father.
Actually, it was enough to be astonished just by the fact that he had a husband, without having to go through childbirth.
His appearance was one thing, but his heart had become that of an older brother.
'Well, he said he had lived for twenty years.'
Twenty years.
That was an incredibly long time for one's identity and mindset to completely flip.
Even though I knew it, my heart of surprise didn't settle.
It was probably because the sight in front of me was so unfamiliar.
“Then, let me introduce them.”
Liam Erams, my older brother who was sitting in the center of the sofa, spoke in a polite tone.
The whole family was sitting close together on the sofa.
In the middle was the mother holding a baby, on either side were the twin daughters, and at the end of the sofa sat the father.
“First, over there is my husband, Liam Erams. Please call him Liam, as it is.”
Elluke pointed at her husband who was sitting slanted on the sofa.
Then, her husband Liam casually waved his hand. He also rattled off words with strange pronunciation.
“□□□ □□□□□ □□□□? □□□.”
What was that supposed to mean?
It seemed to be the language used in that other world.
Naturally, I didn't understand it at all, but it was clear that it wasn't a suitable word to throw at a complete stranger.
“……”
Elluke's face, which had been gentle until now, slightly twisted. And she began to look at her husband coldly.
Meanwhile, the relaxed Liam avoided the gaze and turned his head to the side, shrinking his body like a cat meeting a tiger.
Seoyun, watching the silent conversation between the couple, roughly understood how they usually got along.
'They must have gone through a lot of heart pain.'
Liam, the husband, had an undeniably handsome appearance both subjectively and objectively.
Bright blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.
A straight nose and lips with an easygoing smile.
A man who looked like a Hollywood actor who made a living with his face rather than acting skills.
He was really handsome. At first, Seoyun had also lost her mind staring at him.
But somewhere, there was a sense of unease.
It wasn't based on clear evidence. It was just a feeling.
If forced to give a reason, one would have to resort to unscientific logic.
'The facial features that would make a woman go crazy.'
A man with that appearance would usually, as a habit, throw himself at women. There were cases where even with a wife, he didn't change that lifestyle pattern.
Of course, facial features aren't science.
But isn't it unnecessary to blindly trust science that can't even properly explain the phenomenon of 'possession'?
As Seoyun was suspecting the brother-in-law she had just met, Elluke continued her words.
“Liam isn't a very diligent person. Don't expect him to live up to his face. He's just a man who likes to play.”
“So, he was unemployed?”
“Yes.”
The very word 'unemployed' had been corrected? The standards were stricter than I thought.
“Was he unemployed in that other world too?”
“I can say that. Even while I was working hard as the Pope, he was always playing and eating.”
I see.
Seoyun nodded absentmindedly, then suddenly paused.
Just now, some important word had passed through her mind.
“...Pope?”
“Ah, I haven't said that yet.”
Elluke briefly furrowed her brows, then added her words. It was so trivial that she had just remembered it, and she said it calmly.
“I am the Pope. Before becoming Pope, I was the Saint.”
“……”
Suddenly, a sense of distance arose.
Not just an ordinary priest, but the Pope?
Then, Elluke glanced at her husband.
“And Liam was a Hero. We were in the same Hero Party.”
“...Hero? That guy?”
Even Seoyun, who lived in modern society, knew the symbolism and prestige of a Hero.
A professional job that required both noble sacrificial spirit and strong combat power to defeat the Demon King with her colleagues.
To Seoyun, the Hero was a serious and kind person. Not a man who looked like that, with his sly expression.
Maybe it was an actor playing the Hero role? Just as she was thinking of such nonsense, Elluke let out a light laugh.
“I understand that feeling. Actually, I also couldn't believe it at first and complained to the Goddess separately. Just looking at his appearance, he seemed like a rogue from some neighborhood.”
For some reason, even in the polite tone, there was a strange attack hidden.
The word 'rogue' had been corrected to a different expression. In reality, it was probably 'playboy.'
It was somewhat crude language for a Pope. I roughly understood why automatic speech correction had been applied to Elluke.
'Even if it looks refined on the surface, the inside is the same.'
Seoyun looked at the calm eyes of my former older brother and the current older sister and chuckled.
Honestly, it had been awkward since earlier, but now it wasn't. The Seoyun I knew hadn't disappeared.
It was just that her appearance had changed quite a bit...
***
Seoyun's stiff expression softened a little.
She didn't show it, but she seemed to feel a sense of distance inside. In fact, that was normal.
I hadn't thought I could be as close as before from the beginning.
There was no need to rush.
Step by step, slowly. I could recover the old closeness gradually.
Of course, it wouldn't be exactly the same as before. From close siblings to close sisters.
“Then, let's continue with the introduction.”
Before moving on to the next, I cast a glance at that damned guy.
“……”
He must have felt my gaze. Liam was staring out the window. It seemed my warning that he should stay quietly had worked.
But I still couldn't be at ease.
This was more like a walking time bomb than a Hero.
A headache that could cause an accident anytime, anywhere. Rather, the five-year-old daughters listened to him better than this guy. Not an insult, but the truth.
It was surprising that he had already matured once. Why did I fall in love with this kind of guy?
[“Please stay still. Don't make me embarrassed.”]
I warned Liam again in the language of that other world.
Then, I introduced the two daughters who were clinging to me to Seoyun.
“As I mentioned earlier, these are my twin daughters. The eldest is Erina, and the second is Evaila.”
Did they realize I was talking about them? Both daughters lifted their heads and looked up at me at the same time.
One had bright eyes, the other had blank ones. Although their expressions were different, their appearance was almost identical.
So, it was irresistibly heartwarming.
'They're too... cute.'
They were my daughters, but honestly, both were incredibly lovable. Especially the pink hair and eyes that resembled me the most.
I wanted to pat them and rub their cheeks, but I held back. No matter what, I was the Pope. I needed to maintain dignity.
I had to be cute where no one was watching.
“T-um... Um... Who is Erina, and who is Evaila?”
At that moment, Seoyun, who had just met the twins for the first time, asked the question that everyone always asked.
It was the question I expected, so it was easy to answer.
“It's simple. The one who buries her face in me is Erina, and the one who has a dazed look is Evaila.”
“……”
Since she didn't look like she understood at all, I decided to show her.
[“Erina, Evaila. Pay attention.”]
Having to use polite language even with my daughters was a bit bitter. I continued, chewing on the bitterness.
[“Both of you, greet your aunt. Politely, as I taught you.”]
The twins followed my words well. Fortunately, they hadn't inherited Liam's personality at all.
Erina and Evaila immediately bowed deeply to Seoyun.
The greeting I had taught them before coming to this world. They didn't forget and did it well. They even used the sense of bringing both hands forward.
Maybe my daughters weren't geniuses.
Their clever look when teaching one to know two made the corners of my mouth curl up slightly.
After finishing the greeting, the twins showed different reactions.
[“Mom...”]
Shy Erina buried her face in mine shyly.
“……”
Evaila, cynical about everything, just stared blankly.
I stroked Evaila's head and smiled.
“Seoyun-ssi, how is it? Now, you can clearly distinguish them, right?”
“Yeah...”
She was following well. If it had been the opposite, I would still be frozen.
“Then, that's the last one.”
I lifted my sleeping youngest son Rohan so that he could be seen clearly.
“This is my youngest son, Rohan.”
“Rohan... He's cute. He looks just like his dad?”
“Yes.”
Rohan was still young, but he already had his father's sharp features.
He would grow up to be a handsome young man who would make many women cry in the future. I just hoped he wouldn't have the same personality as his dad.
“Can I hold him?”
Seoyun seemed mesmerized by the soft cuteness of our son. It was a common occurrence.
“Of course.”
I carefully handed Rohan to Seoyun.
Seoyun held him in her arms with a warm aunt smile. Thanks to that, I also ended up smiling.
Every time like this, I feel anew that I have become a mother.
Honestly, I'm still in a daze. Who would have thought I would feel maternal love instead of paternal?
If I had told my old self, she would have chased me away saying it's nonsense. It felt so unrealistic.
“There are five of us now.”
“Our Siwoo oppa... you've been doing well.”
Seoyun's face, which had been giggling, suddenly became sour.
“Thinking about oppa all this time, my heart ached. I regretted not doing well for you while you were alive.”
“……”
“But I'm glad you're doing well. Having three kids is still surprising, though.”
Actually, I still hadn't adapted either. How did I end up having three kids?
Because I was busy with my duties as Pope, I didn't have time to raise children. The fact that I got pregnant twice was all because of that damned guy.
“I'm surprised too. I was thorough with contraception, but the number kept increasing, so it eventually broke through.”
“...The number kept increasing?”
Seoyun seemed to have already guessed the answer while asking. She was looking back and forth between me and Liam.
“What you're thinking now is correct. I won't go into details. To say it bluntly, it would be corrected, so.”
“……”
I avoided a dumbfounded gaze and casually placed my hand on the heads of the two daughters.
Then, in a low voice, I said.
It was time to switch topics.
“Seoyun-ssi. Honestly, suddenly jumping to this world has made the future unclear. There's nowhere to go except here.”
In other words, we were a family with nothing except good looks.
“The words I wanted to say since earlier, but I'm sorry, so now I'm telling you. Can you let us stay here for a while? I'll earn the living expenses myself. I'm the Pope, after all, so it should be fine.”
“……”
Seoyun didn't agree or refuse, but she started squinting at me.
There were so many things I wanted to say, but my gaze was sinking, as if I couldn't say them. It was a look similar to when I looked at that damned husband of mine.
Was I not trustworthy?
It was enough reason. Seoyun knew my old appearance.
She was probably worried that I wouldn't adapt to society like before and wander around.
It was a needless worry.
“Seoyun-ssi, there's a certain person close to me who has a saying like this.”
I pulled up the corner of my mouth nicely.
“Just rushing blindly, the answer will come out.”
If I collide with it with my body and push through, a bright future will come eventually.
It was a lesson I learned while living as Clityia Elluke.