The Pope Who Returned After Having Three Children - The Guardian Dragon Yong-yong-i (1)
I stood beside Seo-yun, watching her make the call.
“She’s actually pretty good at English.”
Seo-yun was currently chatting in English. It wasn’t flawless, but she was fluent enough.
When had she become so capable of English conversation? During the time I spent in that other world, she had clearly been studying hard for a job.
“I’ll talk to you later. Bye!”
Before long, the call ended. I immediately gave Seo-yun’s shoulder a gentle rub and asked, “How did it go?”
“Not bad at all.”
After setting her smartphone aside, Seo-yun picked up the keyboard. On the monitor, a document she had been working on since morning was displayed.
Quick Eagle’s Press Interview Content
— Elaborate on the Evil Dragon’s past in more detail than before to emphasize that it is a being capable of sufficient redemption.
— Especially emphasize that it can wield various helpful magic for society.
I read the drafted article quickly and nodded.
“We can start planning the public release date soon enough.”
It had been a full week since Quick Eagle, the American returnee, had come to Korea for a visit.
On that day, the Evil Dragon had invaded this world.
The final boss of Dread Dragon, Hecatrite.
An Evil Dragon that had dyed the entire continent in endless war and the plague of death.
Just by danger level, it was more ferocious than a Demon King and had tried to ruin Earth. It was the kind of news that would have sent many people, already used to peace, into shock if it got out.
“I bet there was a huge fuss.”
Liam had stopped it right away, but my heart still sank. Without our returnee dragons, the countries around the Pacific would have suffered enormous damage.
That was why we hadn’t announced it to the world yet. We didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic.
Until we could come up with countermeasures that wouldn’t make people anxious, we had decided to keep it a secret. The result of the three of us on the scene agreeing.
“Are we really going to release it?”
At that moment, Seo-yun frowned. She must have been genuinely worried, because she kept staring at the document she had just written.
A kind-hearted soul who worried about the world’s peace. It was her natural disposition.
I patted my dear sister on the back with a gentle smile.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. We’ve been discussing it all week so it would be fine.”
We had been communicating with Quick Eagle and planning countermeasures the entire week.
After Liam’s translation magic stopped working, Seo-yun had been the one passing on my opinions.
And with the call just now, we had finally decided exactly what to do. There was no reason to hesitate anymore. We had found the best approach.
“Seo-yun, then please find me a video editor.”
The fact that the Evil Dragon had appeared on Earth would be first announced through our church’s promotional video.
Our returnee hero, Liam, who had instantly suppressed the giant dragon. The shock would be lessened, and we could gain two effects: spreading word of the church to the world.
That had been our plan since the video was shot. After that was the real challenge.
We had come up with two countermeasures.
The first was for Quick Eagle to step in and explain in his interview that the Evil Dragon wasn’t truly a bad villain deep down. Since it was the truth, there was nothing to fear.
“We need to hurry to match Quick Eagle’s interview schedule.”
“Got it. I’ll look for someone first.”
Seo-yun nodded and immediately picked up her smartphone. Her eyes still looked displeased, but she didn’t refuse the task.
Soon, a KTalk message was drafted.
[Seo-yun: I need a video editor. Could you help find someone?]
The reply came quickly.
[Kim Jeong: I’ll look into it today.]
[Kim Jeong: Tell me your preferred editing style and pay rate, and I can find someone faster.]
It was a reply from Kim Jeong, the final external affairs manager hired after the incident—Lerona.
The way she started the message felt different, as if she were a man who knew how to deal with people well enough to tame Liam. It carried an air of trustworthiness.
That was why I was curious.
“She’s too good at work, isn’t she?”
Not long ago she had been job-hunting, yet she was this capable. The feeling was even stronger compared to wanting a job.
Maybe it was the power of steady reading.
Thinking about it, it made sense. She read a lot, so she spoke fluently and thought deeply.
“Seo-yun, from now on, read books steadily. At least three books a month.”
As Pope, I gave the directive. Seo-yun’s eyes widened.
“All of a sudden?”
“It’s not sudden.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and continued quietly.
“Now that you’re my manager, don’t neglect your education. You’re like the Pope’s secretary.”
“…Just a little longer. I only quit yesterday.”
The “Pope’s manager” who had finally quit the company yesterday seemed to want to rest some more. I understood how she felt, so I let her.
“Then at least enjoy yourself this week.”
I really was a good boss. Where else could you find a president so considerate?
“But you still have to keep planning YouTube operations.”
“……”
“Why are you glaring at me?”
“Because I’m resting.”
“I’m telling you to do all your work and rest. It’s not a difficult request, is it?”
Reasonable and flexible instructions. As someone who paid the salary, I could ask for this much.
But Seo-yun looked at me with an unhappy gaze and muttered, “Bossy.”
“……”
I kept facing her cheeky sister without backing down and frowned.
“That’s why children are….”
No matter how I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything wrong.
***
I made good use of my kind nature and gave Seo-yun some free time, then left the bedroom.
In the living room sofa, Liam was playing with our son.
“Where’s Dad? Here he is!”
He covered his face and peeked out, doing that game. But Liam was smiling more brightly than Rohan. Why was he so excited?
Meanwhile, the girls were chattering noisily near the TV. Their conversation partner was a newly acquired winged reptile.
“Yong-yong-i, come here!”
Erina wrapped her arms around the small dragon as tall as her and giggled.
“It’s slippery.”
Evaila was also stroking the dragon’s body. She kept touching the smooth black scales with fascination.
“They look so cute.”
Children happily playing with a pet. Just watching them was a heartwarming sight.
I could shoot it and upload it to Itube. Cute kids and animals were basically a cheat code for views.
But the dragon’s speech was a bit inappropriate for just uploading.
“Hey, you little pests! Get away from me!”
The black dragon, Hecatrite, surrounded by the twins, flailed around and shouted in a loud voice.
“I am the great and evil dragon that leads the Tronjer continent to destruction! Kneel down at once!”
Hecatrite kept demanding submission with malice. Her speech didn’t match the title “Evil Dragon” at all.
Even so, it wasn’t very threatening.
A tiny body and a charming face. The Evil Dragon no longer had the old majesty.
In short, it was adorable.
After draining its power crossing dimensions, I had suppressed its strength with a holy spell.
“Yong-yong-i is scary!”
“Yeah.”
With its power weakened, Hecatrite wasn’t scary at all anymore. It had become the twins’ precious pet. In other words, “Pet Dragon Yong-yong-i.”
“That pun is pretty good.”
I suddenly remembered a joke and wrote it down in my phone’s notes, then approached the dragon.
The “Yong-yong-i” jumped in surprise.
“Eek! Get away! Holy power monster!”
“A rude dragon, aren’t you.”
I probably needed to establish the hierarchy properly.
I held holy power in both hands and sprinkled it like snow in the air. Elegantly, like the Ice Queen from the movie I had seen long ago.
“Pretty!”
“Pretty.”
The girls squealed with delight. Of course, the evil dragon didn’t react that way.
“Kyaaah!”
The malicious dragon, writhing in pain, finally collapsed on the floor. Even that sight was cute.
Seeing that it had calmed down enough to talk, I picked it up in my arms.
First, I stroked its head gently while feeling the cool touch of its black scales. Then, in a voice too quiet for the twins to hear, I whispered, “If you don’t want to be scolded, follow my words obediently.”
Even with auto-correction on, that kind of “negotiation” was easy.
“I… I won’t kneel to a woman like you, no matter how great this body is!”
Her voice and eyes were shaking badly for someone so proud. Calling this the final boss? It was lacking in many ways compared to a Demon King.
I kept smiling and stroking the dragon’s head, slowly gathering holy power in my hand.
“You’d better watch your mouth. I know about thirty-seven ways to make you suffer without killing you. Would you like to try one right now?”
“……”
Finally, Hecatrite, who had been acting so haughty, went quiet. Peaceful conversation really was the key that opened a tightly shut heart.
“Then let’s talk.”
“…Sure.”
“Hecatrite, do you remember what I said when I suppressed your power?”
I asked subtly. A blunt reply came back.
“You said you’d spare me if I followed well. That’s why I’m following!”
“Lower your voice. It’s too loud.”
“I don’t want to!”
Perhaps because its power was weak. It still didn’t understand its situation.
Education seemed necessary. When that happened, it was best to leave it to a professional animal trainer.
“Liam.”
I placed Yong-yong-i next to Liam, who was playing with the baby.
“I… I was wrong!”
As soon as I sat it on the sofa, the dragon flapped its wings and tried to cling to me, but it was too late. For education, I firmly pushed it away and turned.
“Hey.”
Liam immediately grabbed Hecatrite by the nape and said quietly.
Of course, he wouldn’t use violence. He wasn’t the kind of man who would tame a pet with brute force.
There was no need to show off power. All that was needed for behavior correction was gentle talk.
“Want to get hit again? Want a taste of your own medicine?”
“……”
“I’m watching, so behave wisely.”
Hecatrite, trembling, finally closed its mouth and went meek. It looked at me with pitiful eyes.
I didn’t like it, but maybe it was better than Liam.
Our returnee hero really was a wonderful negotiation tool. We could push the opponent into a corner in one move. This was too easy.
“Come here.”
I picked up the dragon again and smiled softly, asking.
“You must become the guardian dragon of our church.”
Hecatrite opened its mouth wide in surprise. After staring at me for a long time, it spoke.
“What’s the reward? If it’s good, I’ll work hard, Your Highness!”
It was sad that it still didn’t understand its situation properly.
Maybe it was just a bit slow on the uptake. That was possible. It was common for villains to become stupid while corrupting.
“Of course, I’ll pay a generous salary.”
I smiled kindly and offered an enormous reward.
“You will receive the Goddess’s blessing and attention.”
“……”
The dragon’s expression immediately darkened.
“Is that all?”
“There’s more.”
Of course there was more. I winked with all my heart.
“I’ll give you plenty of love.”
It was a reward I thought was valuable even by my standards.