The Pope Who Returned After Having Three Children
“Understood. I'll contact you again later.”
With that, the call with the applicant ended. I leaned back in my chair with a satisfied smile. It had been an incredibly satisfying conversation.
“How was it?”
Seoyun, lying on the bed after the document screening, asked. I lay down beside her and answered.
“He was very proper.”
Honestly, I was surprised. Far more composed than someone who had said he wanted to get a job.
From beginning to end, his speech had been calm, and his vocabulary carried a refined elegance. Could he really be a job seeker? Even without meeting him, I felt that way.
“I suppose the decision to appoint him as a priest was correct after all.”
Honestly, when I had decided to demote him to layman right after appointment, I had seriously considered it. But now, I didn't think so. He seemed like a talent worthy of trust.
Our church had such a wonderful believer join us. I smiled again and sent a message on Chtok. The recipient was my third Chtok friend.
Elluke: Let's chat often on Chtok too.
Elluke: Is that alright?
The reply came only after some time, unlike when I had sent it to In-ha.
Having confirmed the response from Hwang Jun-seok, I furrowed my brows for a moment. His chat message felt slightly unnatural compared to the tone in our direct call.
But I reminded myself that there was no rule requiring the tone in speech and writing to be identical. People who spoke with regional dialects in ordinary conversation often used standard language in messages.
'It must be nothing special.'
Since it didn't seem like a big deal, I decided to let it slide lightly.
I immediately looked for and sent the cutest emoji I could find. It was a rabbit with a bright, cheerful expression.
This way, would it make me seem more friendly? With only two Chtok registered users, I wanted someone to talk to.
While staring at the smartphone screen, waiting for the reply, I heard Seoyun ask from beside me.
“But are you really going to go with that person?”
Seoyun, lying beside me, suddenly drew closer with a frown. Unlike me, she didn't look pleased with our priest candidate.
I lightly patted Seoyun's arm and said, “Right now, there isn't anyone better suited than him. He is a believer of our church and has already been appointed as a priest, so his rank is high. And we've already confirmed he has strong faith.”
When I had revealed the truth that I was more beautiful than the Goddess on the stream last time, the applicant had gotten angry. It had been proof that his faith had deepened.
“If there's anyone else more suitable besides him, please let me know.”
“There isn't... but...”
Even after I explained in detail, he still didn't seem satisfied. Was he that disliked?
Thinking back, when I had announced my decision to appoint him as priest, he had reacted the same way. Many viewers had pressed him hard, forcing him to retract what he had said.
It seemed his reputation wasn't great. I needed to find out the reason now.
“Why do you dislike him so much?”
“It's not that I dislike him, but he's not trustworthy.”
Seoyun immediately explained why the Job Seeker had come off badly to people. It was a reason I could understand to some extent.
“In simple terms, he's someone who wants attention.”
He had been the senior of the internet broadcasting community that wanted a job. It wasn't a good meaning.
His occasional stream-watching travel posts received quite good reactions, she said.
But the problem was the posts he usually posted. He uploaded dozens of posts every day with the title Job Seeker, which was also his nickname.
Even the content wasn't meaningful. He just listed complaints about wanting to join a certain company.
It wasn't a bad thing. But it wasn't a good thing either. If I had to put it, it felt close to wrong behavior.
“Well?”
“Um...”
I gave it careful thought and spoke.
“The heart of a job seeker is always empty. Wrapping him in the Goddess's grace will make it all right.”
“...Really?”
“Yes. I've seen countless similar cases.”
Our church was the only religion in that world, so many wandering youths had come to us.
Some had wanted to repent for past mistakes, others hated themselves for having lived a meaningless life. Each had different reasons for seeking the Goddess, but their desires were the same.
They needed someone to lean on for both body and mind.
“Don't worry too much. I'll change his nickname to Because of the Goddess's Grace this time.”
I paused for a moment and continued.
“Or Because the Pope is Awesome would be fine too.”
Honestly, I found the latter more appealing. Overt Goddess worship might be a bit embarrassing.
“What do you think?”
“...Do whatever you like.”
Seoyun ended up laughing softly. She had decided not to worry and trust me for now.
And so the interviewer for the external affairs department position was confirmed. Me, Seoyun, and the applicant.
'Not bad.'
The day when the absolute best of our church would gather together was not far off.
About thirty minutes after In-ha arrived at my house. A diligent agent was a little late, but there was no choice this time.
“I picked them all.”
In-ha was carrying a bundle of resumes in both arms. The 277 resumes meant there were quite a few, and they looked heavy.
Seeing her panting, she must have worked hard.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
When that was the case, I had to shower praise on Seoyun as I had done before.
“As expected, Agent In-ha is reliable. Without you, the returnee life would have been difficult to adapt to easily.”
I expressed my sincere gratitude again. In-ha listened silently with her stiff face, then spoke.
“I just did what I had to do.”
Even though the words were like that, her mouth corners were slightly upturned. National Intelligence Service agents probably liked praise that carried heart.
Soon In-ha carried the bundle of resumes to the table and set it down. I didn't hesitate and sat on the chair.
“Mom's working again?”
“Again...”
At that moment, the daughters playing with Liam came running over and made sad faces. They looked like they wanted to run away with me right away.
It was because I had shown them my tired appearance too many times from heavy work. They were in such a mood that they seemed ready to say they'd take me and escape.
It was cute. I smiled gently and reassured them.
“Erina, Evaila. Don't worry. It's not that hard.”
Next, I asked Seoyun to give each daughter a can of cola. The daughters liked it but kept glancing at me.
“Go drink it quickly.”
Normally, they would have opened the can right away. For some reason, they hesitated.
Then Erina cautiously approached and offered me the cola. Evaila followed her sister.
“Mom must be tired, so drink mine!”
“Mine too.”
I stared blankly at the offered cola, then smiled softly.
“Thank you.”
I never expected the children who would just cry and look for Mom without me would do such admirable things. As parents, I couldn't be more moved.
And I felt a little guilty. If I picked the external affairs person, I'd be busy from now on.
'...I should work moderately.'
These children still needed their parents' attention, so focusing too much on work wasn't good. I would have to think about it more later.
I returned the colas to the daughters and gave them to Liam.
And I asked Seoyun to play with the children. With only the first document screening, they had worked hard enough, so I wanted them to rest this time.
“Shall we start?”
Finally, it was time for the personality check.
“Here it is.”
In-ha, sitting next to me, placed a resume in front of me.
Because I had explained what I was going to do in advance, she had found her task herself. Having such a sharp person beside me was good.
“O Sun, this time for real.”
After a short prayer, I used the holy spell Insight Dispelling Darkness again.
Looking at the resume in that state, the paper was dyed darkly. A slightly dull, distasteful color.
“Failure.”
This person has a rotten nature. Not right now, but later he would definitely reveal his true colors.
“Is this how we judge personality?”
In-ha, who had been watching, widened her eyes slightly. It was a surprising thing.
“Yes, more accurately, it's close to perfect. With this, we can filter out most people who could cause problems.”
“...Amazing.”
“If it's needed for National Intelligence Service recruitment, please call. I'll do it for free specially because of Agent In-ha.”
I promised special service and pushed the failed resume to the corner. In-ha immediately offered the next resume.
“Let's speed up from now on.”
So the serious personality check began.
The holy spell that couldn't use power in front of electronic devices showed its full strength against paper. Thanks to that, I could filter out many failures.
“This person has too much greed for money.”
The owner of the resume marked with bright gold was a person with extreme greed. Such people were not needed in the church.
“This time it's someone who gets angry easily.”
The color was too red, meaning a person who loses temper too easily. He couldn't be hired until he learned patience.
'Insight Dispelling Darkness' made people with such disqualifications look gloomy.
On the other hand, if there were no problems, it showed a clear and bright color. As expected, pink.
“This person is accepted.”
After a long time, an accepted one came. I handed the resume dyed with pretty pink to In-ha.
In-ha looked at the resume and said, “There aren't many acceptances, are there?”
“I've set the standards strictly. Because important roles must be taken.”
The external affairs person would take on the role of a supreme holy knight. So anyone couldn't be picked.
“Here it is.”
In-ha nodded for a moment and handed over the next resume. When I looked at it, the color was off.
'This one...'
For now, it was pink.
But a little black was mixed in. Objectively, it could be accepted, but subjectively, it meant there was a disqualifying reason.
“I need to check it again.”
Who was this? I scanned the three resumes in detail.
And soon I knew what the holy spell had pierced through.
“...This person must be called for sure.”
It wasn't acceptance; I just wanted to meet him.
It was already someone I wanted to face and talk to.
“Who is it?”
I placed the resume down and hardened my face. Thinking of the past, it naturally happened.
“This person... is the viewer who first called me Gyojumma.”
A viewer who had spread the unjust nickname Gyojumma through sponsored voice and got big responses in the chat. The originator who started serious pranks and mockery.
“How do you know that?”
“I remember the nickname.”
“......”
“But for some reason, he wrote the Tribe nickname and ID on the resume.”
This was practically a challenge letter to me. I decided to accept it without refusing.
“You must be under me. And I will educate you no matter what!”
“Ah, yes.”
In-ha showed a lukewarm reaction, but I didn't care and burned with enthusiasm.
'I need to wear nice clothes.'
A good chance had come to prove that the nickname Gyojumma was wrong.