177 – 35. Faith and Money
In the convoy plane to the church.
Aileen secretly boarded the rather narrow luggage compartment and looked out the airplane window.
“It’s fascinating….”
‘It’s my first time too…… ‘You’ve been looking at it for a really long time?’
A view from an airplane flying above the clouds.
Pure white clouds are spread widely like the sea, and you can also catch a glimpse of birds flying in the sky and the blue sea.
But that beautiful sight has already been there for several hours.
The saint, who had some memories of the past as a
Woman, was already fed up with it.
It was all new and exciting to Eileen, who had been confined to her home most of her life because of her job.
‘But didn’t you come by plane when you came to the floating city?’
“At that time… I was lying in bed so I didn’t see this scene, sister.”
‘Ah…….’
Although she was already crammed into a narrow luggage compartment because she was secretly boarding, Eileen was immersed in the scenery beyond the window without a single complaint.
Her saint, who was talking to her and resting inside her, suddenly raised her head.
Although it was questionable whether she existed in a spirit state and had something called ‘her head’.
‘It’s coming.’
“Huh? I understand.”
In an instant, the souls of Eileen and her saint are switched.
Just like Eileen’s personality, her gentle eyes have become a little sharper, her posture has become upright, and her confidence and grace flow in every movement.
While the saint was casually looking out her window, someone’s footsteps approached.
“Uh, saint?”
“Unbeliever.”
“So, I… No, are you feeling okay? You were there for a few hours, so I thought you might have a bone disease…”
“I’m fine.”
Her popular master, Clo El Martina, treated the overbearing and arrogant saint with great difficulty.
I had no choice but to do that. Even though she feels comfortable because Raphael is her half-brother, the saint in front of her is a different story.
Doctrinally, they are superior to the Pope and are his sons and daughters who can directly hear the whispers of God.
All believers in the church believe in and follow saints and saints. As Cloel, who was just a nun, she could not help but feel intimidated.
Still.
“Oh, saint.”
“Why do you keep asking?”
“I want to ask you something…”
“…I’m sure it’s not about your marriage to Namgoong Min, is it?”
“No, no!”
Cloel did not ask why the saint treated Namgoong Min with respect or why she cared about him so much.
The will of saints and saints is the same as the will of God. The saint of the church said she would do that, but she didn’t dare ask why.
If you are not careful, you could be taken to the Inquisition for blasphemy. Chloe L, who had chosen her words as best as she could, nodded her head as if she had made up her mind.
“Do you…Do you know anything about Raphael?”
“…Are you talking about a saint?”
“Yes, yes!”
“……Well.”
‘Sister, don’t even think about talking about that.’
‘Don’t worry, Eileen.’
… I know what Eileen is worried about.
Raphael Martina and the saint, the truth about two souls.
Of course she said she was a saint, but she didn’t mean to tell me that.
Her half-brother Raphael is already dead, and his profession as a saint is taking over his body?
‘That kind of thing…’ … ‘How do you say it?’
The original personality is dead, and the personality of the job itself is living in its place.
Even the saint who succeeded in coexisting with Eileen has not yet been able to say anything to Charles Teddy Bear. He was screaming to get out of her daughter’s body…… Because it was a very scary situation.
But what if the saint has already taken over the body?
The saint had no choice but to remain silent.
“Although we attended the Romance Academy together, there was almost no contact between me and the saint. It’s safe to say we don’t know each other at all.”
“So… Let’s go…”
“…I’ll give you one piece of advice. He’s a saint and you’re just a nun. I know you’re step-siblings, but if you keep trying to get closer to him, it’s only going to be painful.”
Chloel and Raphael becoming closer is something that both the upper echelons of the church and Raphael himself are reluctant to do.
That is why the saint hoped that Cloel would give up her heart.
Her efforts will not be rewarded anyway. She wanted to tell me to give up and find a new life for her.
But Cloel just shook her head quietly.
“I appreciate the saint’s advice, but I can’t do that.”
“Why…Why?”
“Raphael is my younger brother. Do you need any more reasons?”
Chloel’s answer is…… It was truly touching and pure sincerity.
At the same time, it was infinitely insufficient to overcome reality.
“…But think about it carefully.”
That was the end of the saint’s consideration. Because she didn’t have a very positive view of Cloel in the first place due to her sudden marriage proposal.
A somewhat uncomfortable silence continued between the two, and the saintess, who felt like a burden to him, was about to motion for him to stop and go back.
“……Ah.”
“Huh?”
“We’re almost there!”
Likewise, Cloel, who was staring at the window in silence, pointed somewhere with her finger.
At the tip of her finger ── land can be seen.
At the end of the endless sea of clouds, a city made up of beautiful buildings and bright lights came into view.
And in the middle of that huge city.
There was a building that boasted a scale and beauty that could not even be compared to other buildings around it.
“That’s the Vatican Cathedral!”
“…What about that tower?”
“Oh, do you mean that?”
But, rather than the grandeur of the Vatican Cathedral, what caught the saint’s attention was the spire built on top of the cathedral.
A tower covered with bricks and shaped like a chimney.
Compared to the cathedral, the tower, which looks like chopsticks, was built from the ceiling of the cathedral to the sky.
Breaking through the clouds, higher than an airplane.
Rather, at the end of the spire, which you can only see if you look up, there was a round space that looked like a small room.
The saint stuck out her tongue at the strange shape.
“That’s the Tower of Proof.”
“Proof…Name? No way.”
“You know that’s right. Matters that cannot be judged by a general inquisition go through ‘proof’ in the proof room at the top of that tower.”
“……………….”
“It’s a place you can’t go to for blasphemy, war crimes, or serial murders. It’s not a place for trial or judgment, but a place for proof.”
“Proof…”
“There are only four people who can go there.”
Saint.
Saint.
Cardinal, and Pope.
Only those four can receive ‘certification’ and move up.
“……….”
That room and that tower were somehow unsettling and eerie.
The saint and Eileen trembled quietly.
As if from above the Tower of Proof…… Because it felt like someone was looking down.
*
Squeak.
“Please eat.”
The old man poured tea into the precious guest’s cup and offered him a cup with a benevolent smile.
The guest did not even move a word despite the words of the Pope, an old man dressed in simple yet luxurious robes decorated with white and gold.
Nevertheless, the Pope did not let his smile fade, and instead smiled even deeper and placed the cup directly in front of the guest.
In front of the saint, the guest gritting his teeth.
“What is this…?”
“hehehehe, what are you doing? This old man just wants to have a cup of tea with the saint. As you know, when you get older, you tend to be attracted to sentimental things like this…”
“This letter.”
“……Hmm.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Are you trying to deceive me?”
What was written in the letter that the saint roughly threw on the table was a single sentence written in elegant cursive.
However, even in front of the letter, the Pope’s smile did not disappear.
“What do you think? Isn’t this old man’s handwriting still good enough? I also practiced cursive and there was no problem.”
“Pope.”
“hehehehe, Son of God. Command this lowly human being.”
“What is the true intention?”
“Hmm, sincerely…You are speaking about my sincerity.”
Tuk.
The Pope stood up with his robes flying and grabbed his cane.
Leaning on his cane, he walks to the back of the sofa where the saint is sitting.
“What does it mean to be sincere?”
“……Another sophistry.”
“Anything is possible for the omnipotent and omnipotent Creator of heaven, and His Son, the Holy Son, also has the power to achieve anything. But humans like me do not have anything like that.”
“……………….”
“My sincerity? I can tell you. But will the saint believe that? Will that solve everything?”
“Say something.”
“hehehehe…Saint, from the day I first saw you until now. What this insignificant old man wanted was always the same.”
With a more benevolent and kind voice than anyone else.
The Pope, smiling with his wrinkled skin, continued speaking.
“The greatest number, the greatest happiness.”
This is the so-called utilitarianism.
Making as many people as happy as possible.
For the Pope, that was his belief, his duty, and his sincerity.
Because he was a person who rose to the peak of hundreds of millions of believers just for that one thing.
“Saint, don’t you know well? This is what this old man always muttered.”
“…Of course I know.”
“Then you know very well that, to me, the saint is just another person.”
“……………….”
The Pope does not discriminate against people.
Be it a vagabond living on the streets, the world’s richest man, a vicious criminal, or a saint of a religious order.
I see everyone as the same individual, and I just want to make the most individuals happy.
The saint’s expression crumpled as he understood the meaning of those words.
“That’s why I’m thinking. Whether or not to reveal that the saint is pretending to have lost his strength…”
“……How many people know?”
“I am the only one. As I got older, my eyes became a little brighter and I was able to see the saint’s sincerity.”
…… .
There is no way the Pope could use the job skills of saints and saints. Moreover, even saints have this skill, but their proficiency is low and they do not use it often.
Still, the Pope responds like that.
‘.’
It must be the power of , The special skill the Pope has.
Instead of being able to use all the skills of every job in the world, it is a skill that requires much more effort and time than it should in order to use it.
This is no exception, even for adult job skills.
‘But…….’
How much effort did it take for an old man over 80 to become familiar with the
Mind-reading eye, which the saint himself was unfamiliar with?
I don’t like the Pope, but I can’t disparage his persistence and vehemence.
The saint stared at the Pope with a knowing smile for a moment, then lowered his head.
“I said I was worried.”
“It’s exactly what the saint said. If you reveal your lies, the opponents will be happy, and if you keep the secret, your faction will be happy. It doesn’t matter who becomes happy, but factions are inherently about interests. “It is difficult to determine the exact number of people because they are intertwined.”
“Then…?”
“But this old man tried so hard that he almost figured it out. He said he would stay in the Vatican for about a week, so maybe it will come to a conclusion in that time.”
Which side should we take to make more people happy?
“So, the saint doesn’t have much time left.”
“……….”
“Remember, to climb the Tower of Proof… You need the consent of both the Pope and the Cardinals.”
Shoot, swoop.
The Pope held the letter on the table, signed his signature in fancy cursive, and handed it over to the saint.
The Pope’s consent.
The Pope was still smiling.
“The three cardinals are the only ones left. I don’t think this old body can help you any more, so cheer up.”
“…I understand.”
The saint knew well.
The Pope is certainly annoying and an unknown person with an unknown occupation, but his beliefs are genuine.
He does not lie and is kind to everyone.
Therefore, he avoided being discovered by the Pope as much as possible.
It was natural for the Pope to notice the saint’s acting, even if it was because of , Which allowed him to use all of his skills.
‘Then…….’
Concurrence of the three cardinals.
There is no problem as there is only one member of the saint’s faction, but the remaining two are the problem.
‘Cardinal McLaren, who pursues neutrality, is supported by a wealthy man.’
So, if you visit Namgoong Min who has already arrived and join him, you will definitely…
Quaaa
“Hmm?”
“…Huh?”
──In a moment, heavy drinking shook my ears.
Right after hearing the tinnitus for a moment, the Pope’s office shakes once, and smoke rises outside the window.
After a sudden incident stopped my thoughts for a moment.
“Oh, this is it.”
“What on earth is this…!?”
“Saint, please wait a moment. The old man will come back and see.”
Rock!
The Pope opened the window of his office and jumped out of the window without delay.
The top of the Vatican Cathedral. I threw myself from a place higher than most buildings.
“Where…….”
Holding a cane with one hand and holding your back with the other hand.
The Pope, floating in the air with his pure white robe flapping, looked at the place where the smoke was rising with a deepening smile.
And even the people inside the smoke.
“It’s been a while since I saw a fortune teller.”