The Pope's Gentle Spring Sunshine in Solar Scepter – A Sudden Revelation That Shook the Chat
I was sprawled out on the living room sofa.
I'm going to die...
Ten minutes of rest hadn't improved my condition at all. The nausea refused to fade, leaving me miserable.
If I'd known this would happen, I'd have prepared in advance. I never expected it to be so strong.
“Are you okay?”
Seoyun, watching me with concern, offered me a cup of water. It was full of ice.
I took it and drank it right away. The coldness snapped me back to my senses.
Still, my stomach was churning, but I could at least sit up now.
“I feel a little better now. Thank you.”
I slowly raised my upper body and leaned against the sofa.
After I sat still, Liam, who had been watching me while holding Rohan in his arms, finally spoke up.
“It reminds me of the old days. When we were still running around in carriages, you were always vomiting everything inside you.”
“...Thank you for reminding me of a good memory.”
Indeed, during my time as a saint, I used to get motion sickness from any lively vehicle. Back then I had been the weakest of the weak.
But after becoming the Pope, my body had grown stronger through steady exercise and the power of blessings. No longer was I frail like before.
That was what had surprised me.
“I was too careless. The latest game is just different.”
I muttered this quietly, stared blankly for a moment, then stood up from the sofa.
“Then I’ll go back.”
“You really are going? If that Havant guy says you can’t do it, we’ll let him off the hook.”
Liam offered a perfectly reasonable opinion out of the blue. To be honest, I was a bit surprised. It must have been one of those rare “rational” Liam days.
“Today, just go in and sleep. I’ll continue the broadcast.”
“...That’s fine.”
But no matter how rational Liam became, I couldn’t leave the broadcasting to him. If I did, the broadcast would probably get suspended within an hour.
I put all my firm resolve into my voice and shook my head at Liam.
“Liam, don’t you know who I am? I’m the person who didn’t get scared in front of the Demon King.”
If I’d had any intention of giving up over a mere game, I would have been long gone from this world by now. I had already survived dozens of hardships and trials.
“Please just watch from here. I have not the slightest intention of giving up.”
If I never gave up no matter what happened, the sunlight would eventually shine down. It was a life lesson I had learned from the goddess.
It was also a kind of vow and belief. No matter how hard it got, I would never back down.
“......”
Did my resolve come through clearly? Liam’s proud face slowly lost its worry.
In its place, a bright smile bloomed on his lips. His lively expression made me smile too.
“I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
We said our goodbyes and each went our separate ways. I didn’t look back. After all, we would meet again soon enough.
“...Why so gloomy? It’s just a game.”
I ignored Seoyun’s small remark. After all, one must not speak of romance with someone who knows nothing of it.
I entered the bedroom and sat down in front of the computer.
The disorienting dizziness that usually struck right after I quit the game and logged back in did not occur this time.
“Hello everyone, I’m back.”
Standing straight and speaking with solemnity, I expected the viewers to worry. But they surprised me.
-Aunty, just rest already
-You’ll pass out in five minutes again
-You should think about your age
-Games are for kids
No, upon closer look, they were joking while pretending to be concerned. Since it wasn’t a serious situation, everyone was happily teasing me.
In the chat room there was not a shred of respect or reverence for the Pope. I left it alone, and it gradually grew more intense.
Perhaps this was the perfect chance to prove just how great I was.
“You all seem to have way too much mischief in you.”
I said this casually, gathering all the divine power in my body toward my head.
I concentrated on the gathered divine power, closed my eyes, and slowly brought both hands to my chest, praying.
“O glorious sun, please grant me radiant sunlight that will completely dispel the dark clouds and storms in front of me.”
Unlike my usual casual prayers, I recited a proper incantation. It had to look authentic.
Swish...
Soon a warm aura began to flow from behind my head.
I opened my eyes as slowly as possible and smiled. From behind my head, a faint light that I had never felt before spread in all directions.
Gentle Spring Sunshine — a 0-class holy spell that protects the user from status ailments and mental pollution.
Basically just a halo. But it wasn’t ordinary light.
“This 0-class holy spell protects against various status effects and all kinds of mental pollution. I’ll play the game with this on.”
Divine power was consumed in great quantity, so I rarely used it, but now was the time to make use of it.
-0-class? That’s the highest, right?
-No way lol
-Aunty, go fight monsters?
-Blinding!
“If any of you are blinded, please look away. But even if you look directly, your eyesight won’t be damaged, so don’t worry.”
I added a simple warning, grabbed my mouse, and launched Solar Scepter.
The random screen with the company logo flashed by, and the main screen appeared. A mysterious woman stared at the sky while holding a red staff.
When I first started the game, my heart had raced and I had just skimmed past it, but somehow the face felt familiar.
I brought my face closer to the monitor to take a better look. Wavy blonde hair and eyes that sparkled like gold.
“...Eh?”
I watched for a moment and quickly remembered who it was.
Smiling happily at the thought, a donation suddenly flew in. It was the chairman again.
[Havant has donated 10,000 won]
“One of the major NPCs.”
“Oh, that’s an important character.”
I nodded and moved the mouse again.
“So everyone knows that this person is a dragon.”
I clicked on the server I had created and spoke casually, but the chat suddenly sped up.
Something felt off, so I scanned the chat. In that instant, an enormous wave of shock hit me as if a second had become an hour.
-????
-A dragon?
-Oh spoiler
-Revealing the real identity is part of the story
-Update) Pil-seong is done for
-?? It really was a dragon?
-Main story gone lol
“...It was a secret?”
I had spilled the secret identity of a major NPC. It must have been a huge accident.
My hand that had been moving the mouse froze. Cold sweat slowly trickled down my back. For the first time since becoming Pope, I wanted to hide somewhere.
I instinctively opened the special management chat I had left aside.
[Want to get a job: haha lmao fighting]
Unfortunately, it was completely useless encouragement.
This situation had to be resolved by my own power.
Thankfully, I had kept my calm enough to quickly come up with a plan.
I stood up calmly and bowed respectfully.
“I apologize to the total director and to all viewers who love Solar Scepter.”
When it came to situations like this, the only option was to grovel as much as possible.
“I will give you a smile of mercy, so please bear with me just this once.”
I lifted the corners of my mouth as much as I could. I couldn’t spit on my own smiling face.
After smiling for a moment, another donation came in. This time it was only 1,000 won, unlike before.
[Havant has donated 1,000 won]
“Gyojumma”
Only three letters, but I could tell.
“I’m pissed.”
The chairman was furious right now.
***
Unfortunately, I had never played a high-spec game like Solar Scepter before.
It wasn’t a matter of taste. The old laptop I had bought secondhand could only run low-spec games because I didn’t have enough money.
So this was the first time I was playing a game with good graphics... and my mood was already ruined.
“I’ll speak to the director for you.”
I recalled Oh Pil-seong’s kind face and belatedly began damage control.
“Everyone, as you may know from YouTube or news, I met him a while ago and became friends. So please understand.”
I honestly didn’t know if they would truly understand, but that was what I said. The Pope must never look helpless at any time.
Now was the time for the expression management I had practiced over and over.
“Then, let’s continue playing.”
I casually changed the topic and entered the server where I had created my character.
In the character selection screen decorated like a tavern, a woman was sitting. It was the character I had just made.
Young Eruke Pope — Lv.1 / Star Priest
My “Young Eruke Pope” as a second self was, of course, a beautiful woman with distinctive pink hair and eyes.
I hadn’t put much effort into customization, yet it came out quite nicely. When Erina and Evaila grew up, they would probably look just like this.
[Gargabe has donated 1,000 won]
“Irresponsible nickname...”
I ignored the donation voice with its incomprehensible words and clicked Start Game.
I also added a simple evaluation.
“Actually, the job ‘Star Priest’ itself is heretical. How can you follow the light of the stars instead of the sun?”
The Star Priest class I had chosen was a priest who served the goddess of stars and night skies.
It was an extremely displeasing job for me. But there was only one priest job, so I had no choice.
-Heresy lol
-Why serve stars when you’re supposed to serve the sun?
-Send a heresy inquisitor to Pil-seong hyung
Why couldn’t the priest of a sun-worshipping sect be chosen yet? I wanted to demand a patch, but I couldn’t do that on conscience.
In the meantime, a temple of a bright yet mysterious atmosphere appeared on the screen.
Temple of Starlight
“This is a historical inaccuracy. When I lived in the other world, temples weren’t used much and I mainly used cathedrals. But this is the future, so things might be different.”
I tried to proceed with the game after a quick note, but this time the character’s outfit caught my attention.
A dress that left the thighs completely exposed, like a Chinese dress. It had no piety whatsoever, so my eyebrows naturally furrowed.
“This is ridiculous.... Isn’t this too revealing!”
I immediately opened my inventory. Luckily, there was plain clothing, so I equipped it.
Only then did I finally manage to make it decent. A completely healthy outfit with zero exposure. It was very satisfying.
“Everyone, look. This is what a priest should look like — modest and proper.”
I smiled smugly and suddenly recalled a story.
“Actually, in the other world, young priestesses used to try to dress more revealingly. They were scolded every time they were spotted, but they would sneakily wear those clothes elsewhere. These days young people really...”
As I was speaking, a donation voice interrupted. It was Havant again.
[Havant has donated 1,000 won]
“Old-fashioned auntie”
“......”
I would have to find a way to appease the chairman’s anger.