The Pope Returns with Three Children
The character selection screen, styled like a lively tavern, opened and there sat the priest character I’d created last time—legs elegantly crossed in a sultry pose.
The outfit was fully modest, no skin showing at all, yet the pose looked downright off-putting. Just what kind of creature was the developer imagining when they designed a priest, anyway?
I felt like scolding her severely, but I held back. I’d already spoiled the entire plot twice and couldn’t bear to do it again.
Plus, last time I kept nitpicking historical accuracy and barely got to play the game at all, so I needed to move on quickly now.
Still, as the pope I couldn’t simply ignore her, so I simply expressed my mild disappointment.
“Pose is bad. Penalty.”
That seemed perfectly fair. This was the most I could hope for from a game that had already reached its absolute limit in realism.
Honestly, the words didn’t even scratch the surface of what I was feeling. Yet viewers apparently found them sharper than usual.
-The heat is ON
-Gyojumma is scary today lolol
-Just tell her off already
-Pil-seong is gonna cry again today
-You spoiled it and now you’re criticizing?
“Criticizing? I held back as much as I could.”
I replied to one viewer’s comment and clicked Start Game. The loading screen with the logo shaped like the sun flashed by, and the game world immediately appeared on my monitor.
My incarnation, the young Elluke the Pope, stood before a dazzling white temple.
Before starting, I moved the character around to check for any 3D sickness.
“All good.”
Thankfully, my stomach felt perfectly fine. The goddess’s blessing had truly worked wonders.
[havant donated 100,000 won]
“No 3D sickness?”
A perfectly timed donation arrived asking about my body condition. As expected, it was In-ha.
A chat message asking if everything was fine popped up. I’d forgotten I still hadn’t told viewers that the Sun Blocker prevented motion sickness.
“Ah, havant…”
Before I could slip into casual speech out of habit, I quickly lowered the Sun Blocker.
“Lord havant, the hundred-thousand-won donation is truly appreciated. The holy artifact Sun Blocker is blocking the motion sickness, so you can rest easy.”
I spoke in a soft, gentle tone and even added a kind smile to my lips. The reactions came pouring in instantly.
-This holy relic really changes the personality?
-Why are you like this today lolol
-You’re being formal because you got money
-Capitalist pope lolol
-It was “havant” all along?
The chat exploded, but I didn’t care.
This was the right call. I’d already found a way to correct the speech without constantly using formal speech with viewers.
Back when I was younger, I would’ve ignored everyone and done whatever I wanted, but now it was impossible.
The long life as a pope had probably affected my personality more than I realized. Though I did have a faint awareness of my reputation and the brand I was building.
“That’s enough.”
I left only that one line and lowered the Sun Blocker once more. It was time to begin the main story.
First, I opened the quest window.
“[Quest Title]”
-Objective: Help those in need
-Content: Bishop Christina asks locals living in hardship to receive the blessing of starlight.
-Reward: Skill – Blessing of Vitality
This was the quest I had only received last time. Since it was the tutorial, it looked incredibly easy—walk around, click a few times, and done.
It was so simple that last time I couldn’t even start because of 3D sickness. A life of pure mediocrity, even if called the weakest link.
“Let’s go.”
After checking the NPC location for the quest, I teleported there.
When I arrived, it was exactly as I expected—clicking through would finish it, and the dialogue was nothing but filler.
“This is such a meaningless section, Director Oh Pil-seong.”
I voiced my complaint without using casual speech with Oh Pil-seong. I couldn’t bring myself to scold someone like a father.
[koinko donated 1,000 won]
“Please be quiet.”
I silenced a chat user who was interrupting and continued the quest. Finding residents and completing the assigned tasks—purely tedious repetition.
Naturally, it got boring, so I chatted with viewers about the game itself. My game knowledge, which had been blank, gradually filled back in.
[birabbab donated 1,000 won]
“Oh, is that so?”
Solar Scepter’s main content was partying up to clear large and small dungeons.
Right now I was running a kind of tutorial. Once it was finished, the real story would begin.
That was why it felt so dull.
“But even a tutorial could’ve been made fun…”
I stopped there on purpose, trailing off. Viewers would fill in the rest without me saying anything.
Just as I expected, the chat window filled with tutorial complaints.
-Honestly it’s boring
-The tutorial is especially bad
-Other classes aren’t like this
-Info) Oh Pil-seong hates priests
Looking through them, it seemed other classes weren’t this tedious.
Why was it just the priest that felt so dull? I found out soon enough.
“Young Elluke the Pope, you’re back. Well done.”
After finishing all the quests and returning to the temple, I spoke with Bishop Christina.
Her words hit deep.
“How was it? Helping people wasn’t too boring, was it? Everyone feels that way. Serving the gods is like taking on the most tedious journey in life.”
Surprisingly, the in-game data fragment of a bishop was talking exactly like a real one.
“Starlight may be weaker than sunlight, but it can bring comfort to those tired of life. Young Elluke the Pope, become a priest like starlight from now on.”
Her dialogue ended, and I could use the reward “Blessing of Vitality.”
Another quest appeared, but I had no time for it.
I mulled over the lines I had just read. The deeper I thought, the more the story pulled me in.
Finally I couldn’t hold back anymore. I removed the Sun Blocker, savored the lingering emotion, and said,
“I should give you extra points. That was excellent.”
The quest was carefully crafted to be tedious and then teach the heart of being a priest. More thoughtful than I expected.
“Honestly, it wasn’t fun as a game, but the historical accuracy was perfect. I would’ve taught a young priest exactly like that.”
The bishop’s age was still a bit unfortunate, and worshipping the stars instead of the sun felt a little off, but the rest was good.
“I like it already. I’m looking forward to the future.”
Still lost in the emotion, I poured out praise without holding back.
Then I put the Sun Blocker back on, and the feeling faded, leaving only quiet calm. The impact from earlier vanished, and I could think objectively again.
“Why did they dress her in that outfit?”
I pointed at the revealing priest outfit in my inventory. When I tried it on again, it was even more revealing.
“Overly seductive outfit. Penalty.”
I spoke coldly and changed into modest clothes. The bizarre holy vestments were an item I couldn’t delete, no matter what I tried.
They had written the dialogue and quests perfectly, yet the outfit design was so bizarre. There must have been no agreement among the developers.
[Some viewer comment]
“Classic ajumma is here again.”
-I guess today he’s trying to fight with Pil-seong lol
-Even so, he praised me today
I felt both irritation and satisfaction as I spoke with Bishop Christina again. It was time for the next quest.
“Young Elluke the Pope, I have another request. Can you hear me out?”
Since refusing would block the story, I accepted without hesitation.
“Thank you. Please deliver this to the bishop of the capital city.”
Christina immediately handed me an item. Its name felt familiar.
[Solar Scepter Fragment]
A broken piece of the game’s name itself—Solar Scepter. An important item tied to the main quest.
Collecting them all was the story of this game. As I collected, I would inevitably connect with major NPCs and discover their roles.
“This sounds exciting.”
I felt my heart race as I sent my character out of the village.
That was exactly when In-ha’s donation arrived.
[havant donated 1,000 won]
“From now on, you must always party up to progress. Like the hero party, five people.”
“……”
Party play being mandatory instead of optional? That was an unexpected ambush.
I stayed silent for a moment, then removed the Sun Blocker and smiled awkwardly.
“Games that require coordinating with other players aren’t my style…”
I had liked Apolis Tales because it was fun, but the fact that it was solo also played a part.
When there are many people, there’s always too much to handle. Having actually fought in parties before, I had no desire to do it twice.
“As someone who has actually fought as the saint of a hero party, I can tell you this: in a group of five, there’s always at least one person who ruins the mood. I’ve experienced it myself, so I know.”
The chat window suddenly surged with reaction.
-Experience lolol
-You look like you’re getting brain freeze
-So who was the trash?
My head hurt all of a sudden. I pressed my temples and forced a smile.
“First, it wasn’t the ‘Wise One.’ He always listened to what I said. The ‘Great Warrior’ wasn’t it either. He was blunt but never uncooperative.”
As I continued, flashes of every past incident ran through my head. Every single one of them had been a hardship unique to me.
“And the ‘Guardian’ was also not him. He actually led the party. So two people remain. Which of the two is it?”
Once I said that, the viewers immediately guessed. In fact, the name of the culprit had been mentioned even before I spoke.
“I won’t reveal who this person is here. I have to protect their privacy.”
It was right after almost spilling the secret and pretending it was still hidden.
Bam. The door flew open and Liam strode into the inner room. His expression was unusually fidgety.
“What is it?”
The “person who ruins the mood” approached me and looked down. Then, through an extreme method, he showed that he was repenting.
He pressed his head to the floor and clasped his hands behind his back—known as the mountain attack.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
This wasn’t the kind of conversation I had planned to have. Still, I lowered the Sun Blocker and said quietly,
“Lift your hips a little higher. Do you want to die?”
Given how much hardship I had endured back then, this was nothing.