The Pope Who Returned After Having Three Children

Even after my warning, havant refused to back down.

I had given a serious caution, and still it hadn't landed. There was nothing more I could do. I had no way to stop this.

Besides, the responsibility was theirs to bear — so I decided not to worry about the aftermath.

"We'll discuss the details separately later."

I ended the stream and immediately opened a private message with havant through Tribe's messaging feature.

And it turned out this whale was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary big spender. havant's generosity went well beyond anything I'd expected.

It was a fan meeting I'd proposed, and yet they insisted on footing the entire bill. I still hadn't cashed out any of my streaming earnings, so I was grateful — but it was also a little embarrassing.

Pride and basic courtesy demanded I decline several times, but havant wouldn't budge, so I finally gave in.

And just like that, a one-person fan meeting between havant and Liam was set. The date was this coming Friday.

havant would handle the venue and restaurant reservations entirely, so Liam really was going with nothing but himself.

Of course, that didn't mean Liam had nothing to do.

"Sister-in-law, no matter how I look at it, this whole thing only happened because I'm too handsome. Right?"

"Yes…"

"I'm exhausted, seriously. I can't go anywhere without people refusing to leave me alone."

Liam had cornered Seoyun and was showing off with his usual shameless swagger. Her face was twisted in pure disgust, but he didn't care in the slightest. He knew exactly what he was doing and ignored it on purpose.

For my poor little sister's sake, I strode over and attempted a player substitution.

"Seoyun, go on inside."

Her expression brightened instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, she vanished into the master bedroom. Her decision-making speed was genuinely impressive.

"Liam, stop tormenting my sister."

"What did I do?"

I gave the back of that feigning bastard a light smack, then briefly filled him in on the fan meeting schedule.

"Are you sure it's okay if I go alone? I feel a little bad…"

Once I'd told him everything about the arrangement, the former Hero grinned that infuriating grin of his. He even looked at me with something like pity, as if he were comforting me.

I wanted to stomp on his foot out of sheer spite, but the girls were watching, so I held back.

"Daddy, where are you going?"

Erina, who'd been playing nearby, latched onto her father's leg and asked. Liam scooped up his eldest with a big grin.

"Daddy's going to meet someone we're grateful to — in Mommy's place."

"Why is Daddy going?"

"Because Mommy isn't popular."

"Ooooh, okay."

I watched the father and daughter from the side, quietly smiling. I didn't care for the content of the conversation, but just looking at the two of them being so affectionate was enough to warm me.

"Mommy."

Then Evaila, who had somehow sidled up without my noticing, stared straight up at me. As usual, her mouth was pressed firmly shut.

Only after I'd gathered her into my arms did she speak.

"Mommy isn't popular?"

"…That is not the case."

Apparently she'd overheard her father and gotten the wrong idea. In moments like these, it was wiser to gently set the record straight rather than scold her.

"Evaila, Mommy is a celebrity. Back in the other world, didn't you see all the people who came from far away just to find me?"

"I saw."

After her quiet reply, Evaila tilted her head slightly.

"Then why is Daddy going instead?"

"…Because the person we're meeting happens to like both me and Daddy at the same time. I specially stepped aside for Daddy's sake. I was absolutely not outdone in popularity. Do you understand?"

"Okay."

"Don't misunderstand again next time."

I quietly stroked my second daughter's back, soothing the bitter twist in my gut.

Why leave me out…

I still couldn't understand havant's choice. It wasn't anger so much as sheer disbelief.

Was there really any reason to pick Liam? I was more rational, more composed, and had a better personality.

And if they weren't my fan to begin with, why donate a million won from the very first stream? Back then, they couldn't even have known Liam was my husband.

I was turning that unresolved question over and over when Evaila suddenly spoke up.

"Then that person must be a woman. Since she likes Daddy more."

"…That would make sense."

It was like a window had been thrown open in a stuffy room. Only then did I realize what I'd been missing. The reason they'd chosen Liam was painfully simple.

They'd fallen for that stupidly handsome face.

In other words, havant was a wealthy woman who'd been smitten with Liam at first sight.

"Mommy, why does your face look like that?"

"I'm just tired."

I forced my stiffened expression back to normal and seethed only on the inside.

What exactly are you planning to do with someone else's husband…

This was not a situation I could simply sit back and watch.

The next day.

havant sent me a private message.

I was seized by the urge to lace my reply with every curse I knew. Especially the middle-finger emoji — I wanted to spam a whole row of them.

But the composure I'd tempered as Pope held my flash of rage in check, and I managed to weather the crisis unscathed.

havant ended the conversation on their own terms. That settled it — they were definitely not my fan.

Once someone started getting on my nerves, everything about them grated. From top to bottom, nothing sat right.

No matter how I looked at it, something was off. Just what kind of scheme was havant cooking up?

The only thing I could think of right now was that she planned to seduce Liam and make him hers. Which would never, ever work.

He has three kids. There's no way he'd stray.

Liam was a pain in the neck more often than not, but he was not the kind of man who would abandon his family for an affair.

Granted, back in his full-blown delinquent days, he'd lived a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thoroughly debauched life. That chapter was something I couldn't even joke about in front of the children — it would only hurt their little hearts.

But he was different now. He'd reformed enough to go from a hopeless wreck to merely a headache. I wouldn't go so far as to say he was a completely different person, but he'd improved considerably.

…So why am I still anxious?

I'd been trying to calm myself down, and instead the worry only kept growing.

After fretting for a while, I finally went looking for someone who could advise me on how to handle this.

"Seoyun, is this unnecessary worry?"

"Hmm…"

After hearing the whole story about havant, Seoyun furrowed her brow. Then she asked, puzzled,

"Why are you asking me? You know more about Oppa than I do."

"…That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true."

"Think about it. Does Oppa seem like the type to mess around with other women?"

"……"

I sank into thought for a moment before answering.

"No. I trust Liam."

"Then what's the problem?"

Seoyun's casual dismissal melted a little of the tension. She was right — this wasn't something worth wracking my brains over.

"Thank you. You've put my mind at ease on that front."

"On that front?"

"From now on, I intend to focus on a different front."

Liam would not mess around with havant. That meant I could turn my full attention to the real issue.

"I need to teach Liam the things you must never do in modern society. That man is a nuclear weapon. Except he can walk around on his own two feet, and his temper is so foul he can't control his anger."

That wasn't a metaphor. He genuinely was that dangerous.

"I get that his personality is fiery, but is Oppa really that strong?"

"He's a Demigod. That's the highest realm a Hero can reach."

"But then why is he so…"

The blunt, precise answer left Seoyun trailing off in shock. I didn't need to hear the rest to know what she'd been about to say.

Suddenly I remembered something a fellow party member — the Great Warrior — had once told me.

-At least he listens to you. That's a relief. From now on, he's your responsibility. Make sure he only uses that power on the enemy.

Looking back, holding Liam's leash had always been my job, even in the old days.

Even without the negotiation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the NIS agent, I would have taken responsibility for managing him on my own. He'd crossed over to this world because of me, after all.

"Seoyun, will you help me? Let's make sure our handsome nuclear weapon can at least follow the basic rules of modern society."

"…Alright."

And so Seoyun and I spent the next several days drawing up a plan to reinvent Liam as a modern man.

Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as hard as I'd feared. Liam did tend to listen to me, at least.

"Have you memorized everything?"

The day of the fan meeting with havant.

I sat Liam down on the sofa and spoke with complete seriousness.

"I've got it all."

In his hand was a sheet of paper listing fifty-six items under the heading Rules and Common Sense You Absolutely Must Know.

"Really? What's number twenty-three?"

"In this world, a bald head and a beard are not the mark of a bandit."

"Number forty-five."

"An excessively ugly person is not a demon in disguise. They just look like that."

"Number nine."

"Someone staggering around at night is not an undead. They're just drunk."

He really had learned them all. With a Demigod's memory, it would have been stranger if he couldn't memorize them.

Knowing them didn't guarantee he'd follow them — but it put my mind a little more at ease.

"Good. Off you go."

"I'll be back."

With my permission secured, Liam headed out — through the door, not the balcony. That was item number two.

"Think it'll go okay?"

Seoyun, who'd been watching from the side, asked carefully. I smiled lightly and eased her concern.

"Of course it won't."

"…After all that?"

"This is nothing more than a basic precaution."

Nuclear weapons are designed with elaborate launch protocols specifically so they can't be fired on a whim. Drilling common sense into him was the bare minimum safety lock.

"Now let's move to the next stage."

I gathered holy power into my hand and scattered it forward. The pink radiance that streamed from my palm immediately drew together into a single shape.

A mirror.

A mirror reflecting Liam as he flew through the sky.

This was the core instrument for controlling a nuclear weapon — and the final failsafe.

"Now let's thoroughly observe whether he cheats or not."

With that, I sat straight down on the sofa. Seoyun stood there blankly for a second, then settled in beside me and jabbed me in the side.

"Hey. Weren't you surveilling him so you could clean up if he caused an accident? I thought you said you trusted Oppa."

"……"

I avoided Seoyun's teasing gaze and quietly opened my mouth.

"If she leaves even the slightest opening, or compliments his looks, or asks for his number, or suggests meeting again, or casually makes physical contact… I will not let it slide."

This was not jealousy. It was perfectly rational suspicion.