Sengguk – Welfare Means

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“It’s time to wake up from your dream.”

“Ah…”

-Thud.

As the Artifact activated, Lena immediately lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

Not long after, Lena regained consciousness and slowly sat up.

“Ugh… Why does my head hurt so much?”

Lena naturally reached for her head, feeling the throbbing pain, but—

-Clang!

“Handcuffs?”

She discovered Handcuffs on both of her wrists.

“Why am I naked… Where is this—”

“Are you awake?”

“!!”

Only then did Lena notice the Pope standing with his hands behind his back in front of her, and she was startled.

“Hehe, welcome.”

“Haa… It’s you again?”

Lena calmed her surprised heart and immediately sighed, frowning.

But the Pope only found her reaction amusing.

‘She now has a look that says she’s sick of this situation.’

Of course, this will be the last meeting with Lena.

“You’re persistent, still not giving up. No matter what you do, I will never yield! There must be a limit to that Artifact.”

“No. You’ve already lost to me, Lena.”

“What?”

The Pope grabbed Lena’s chin, forcing her to lift her head, bewildered.

“Lena, you were quite charming when you flattered me. And you carried out my orders well. You’ve done so much for me so far, don’t you remember?”

“W-Wait a minute. I was brainwashed? That can’t be…”

“I see, the memories don’t immediately follow after breaking the brainwashing. I’ll wait for you to remember. We have plenty of time.”

“Ha, that’s a lie.”

Lena scoffed at the Pope, then paused, searching her memories.

“Ah.”

Her mouth fell open, and she froze.

“Oh. Do you remember now?”

“No. Wh-What did I do to Jade…”

Lena looked at her hands and began to tremble.

“Hehe, what could you have done? You confessed your sins and even stabbed The Hero. Betraying even the person who tried to believe in you until the end. It’s the worst ending.”

“No. No, it wasn’t my will. It’s all because you brainwashed me!”

“Hehe, perhaps. Maybe your true feelings came out.”

“I love Jade. That can’t be. Oh, what do I do? Jade will think I’m a traitor. What should I do…”

Lena seemed terrified, clutching her head with both hands.

“Th-That’s right. I have to tell Jade the truth. Jade will believe and understand my explanation. If I do it as quickly as possible…”

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible.”

The Pope sneered at Lena’s desperate muttering. Yet, inwardly, he was slightly impressed.

‘Even in this situation, she doesn’t give up and still has hope.’

She’s always been a person with a strong will.

At that moment, Lena, hearing the Pope’s words, jumped up and lunged at him.

“Shut up and release these Handcuffs right now! Or I’ll kill you!”

-Clang!

“Oops. You mustn’t cause trouble so dangerously.”

“Ugh!”

But as the Pope lightly stepped back, Lena was stopped by the Handcuffs, unable to move forward and only flailing.

“Release these Handcuffs! It’s not too late, hurry!”

“Your attitude is very disrespectful. If you act like that, there’s no way I’ll release you.”

“Wh-What?”

“I’m famous for having a generous heart, you know. But I find it difficult to give a good answer to someone who acts aggressively.”

“Haa, haa…”

Lena stopped struggling for a moment and took deep, ragged breaths, as if trying to calm her anger.

“…So, you’re saying you’ll release me if I ask nicely?”

“If you show even a little bit of courtesy, my mind might change.”

“You know. If this continues, Jade will misunderstand me, hate me, and leave. So please, release me.”

“Hmm…”

But the Pope simply stared at Lena without a word.

“You bastard…”

Understanding that gaze, Lena bit her lower lip hard.

-Thud.

Eventually, Lena knelt down and clasped her hands together, begging the Pope.

“P-Please. I won’t defy you again, Pope.”

It was a pathetic sight, begging for mercy completely naked.

Only then did the Pope smile brightly.

“Hahaha! Now you’re finally begging me.”

The fire that had always burned in Lena’s eyes as she looked at the Pope had died down.

Finally, Lena’s will had been broken.

Of course, the Pope had no intention of granting Lena’s request.

‘Lena probably knows it too.’

That the chances of me granting her request are close to zero.

Yet, Lena had no choice but to beg the Pope.

All the hope she had was gone, and all that remained was to beg the Pope for mercy.

“I’ll do whatever you say, Pope. But give me a chance to explain to Jade…”

“I’m sorry.”

The Pope’s answer to Lena’s desperate plea was, of course, a refusal.

“You know very well that I can’t grant that request.”

“Pl-Please! I’m begging you. You don’t have to release me, but at least tell Jade and Annie the truth. That’s all I need…”

“Then The Hero and Annie will try to kill me. My heart aches to see you like this, Lena. But your life ends here.”

“You said you’d change your mind if I asked! You said you were a generous Pope!”

The Pope grinned and leaned in close to her face.

“Surely… you didn’t expect that?”

“Ah, ah…”

Lena’s body slumped as she continued to beg.

Waving a string in front of her eyes as if there was hope, then showing her that everything was an impossible illusion.

This process completely plunges a human into the abyss of despair.

‘This isn’t bad either.’

The Pope wasn’t a pervert who excessively enjoyed this kind of pleasure, but he didn’t dislike it either.

“You… son of a bitch…”

Lena trembled, humiliated that the Pope had played with her.

“Oh dear. Have you already given up asking? If you try a little harder, my mind might change.”

“…You’re going to play with me until the end. You find it fun to watch me struggle, don’t you? I have no intention of indulging in this foolishness any longer.”

“That’s a shame. It was quite entertaining to watch.”

“Just get out of here.”

Having realized that there was no hope, Lena had a detached expression.

Lena gave up on everything and leaned her back against the wall, turning away from the Pope.

“Are you going to put me on the guillotine now?”

“Execution, huh…”

The Pope had considered execution as a means to cleanly eliminate any future problems. But he quickly changed his mind.

Jade’s feelings for Lena were greater than expected.

‘If I really have Lena killed… no matter the reason, The Hero will show intense animosity towards me.’

The powerful card that is The Hero might turn his blade against the Pope himself.

For this reason, while thinking of another way to deal with Lena, he came up with the place where the Pope and Lena were now.

The Pope lightly brushed the tip of Lena’s breast.

“Hngh?!”

“I was thinking about it… but your beautiful body has many uses.”

“You don’t mean…?”

“You should blame your intelligent mind. If you were just a little bit more foolish, I would have used you like The Saintess all along. But after learning about your strong will and mental fortitude, I was worried that problems might arise. But it would be troublesome to just kill you… In the end, I decided to use you as a welfare measure for the Holy Knights and priests.”

“Welfare measure…? That’s amazing…”

“Amazing? Do you mean you like how this turned out?”

The Pope didn’t understand what Lena said for a moment.

“A-Amazing. Your level is amazing. Is that all you see women as, sexual objects? The Goddess will never forgive you for doing this. You’ll eventually be punished by heaven!”

But the Pope forgot about the slightly strange words as Lena poured out her intense anger.

“Hehe, I believe the Goddess will overlook this much deviation. I have made more people believe in the Goddess than ever before and revived the Holy Kingdom that had fallen. I am merely fulfilling some desires as a reward for my hard work.”

“That’s just your rationalization. Do you think it’s acceptable to frame and ruin an innocent person and exploit war?”

-Thud. Thud.

The Pope didn’t answer the question and paced in front of Lena for a moment.

The Pope didn’t think Lena’s words were wrong either.

‘The Goddess wouldn’t like this.’

But I can’t stop here. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have become Pope in the first place.

Having come this far, the Pope had no intention of giving up his goal.

The grand dream of placing the world at his feet.

“Actually, these things don’t matter. You should be worried about what’s to come.”

“Does anything change if I worry?”

“There will probably be many people looking for you. Holy Knights and priests don’t have many ways to relieve their sexual desires due to the nature of their jobs. That’s why they make good use of heinous criminals like you. And if you’re as beautiful as you are, you’ll be very popular.”

“Don’t call me a criminal. That’s just you, you son of a bitch, framing me—”

-Bang!

“Cough… Keuk…”

-Thud.

Lena couldn’t breathe properly from the shock rising from her abdomen, and her body trembled.

“Hmm. Now it’s a bit quieter. It’s about time to end the conversation with you.”

-Tap, tap.

The Pope lightly dusted off his hands. Then, he whispered softly in Lena’s ear.

“Now the truth doesn’t matter. Everyone in the Holy Kingdom. No, the whole world believes that you are a Demon spy, and now even The Hero, who was your only hope, hates you.”

“I didn’t… collude with the Demon…”

“Guests will be arriving soon. Thank you for entertaining me so far.”

The Pope gave Lena his final farewell and walked out of the room.

-Clang!

At that moment, Lena grabbed the hem of the Pope’s robe as he tried to leave. And the Pope was slightly taken aback by what Lena said.

“…Just brainwash me again. You can do that much, right?”

“Brainwash you?”

Why suddenly brainwash…

Ah.

‘That’s quite an interesting thought.’

The Pope quickly realized Lena’s intention in saying this.

Rather than experiencing hellish things with a clear mind, she would rather be brainwashed and enjoy it happily.

“After desperately resisting brainwashing until now? Of course not.”

“I won’t resist brainwashing anymore. Then it should be easy, right? So why not?”

“Of course, it’s much more fun to see you collapse with a clear mind, Lena. And you have to pay the price for rebelling against me.”

“Y-You’re going to completely ruin me just for that reason? How could you…”

-Thwack!

“Ugh?!”

The Pope roughly knocked away Lena’s hand that was grabbing him.

“A life as a Fleshlight won’t be bad either. Now, I really must be going.”

“No! Please don’t go!”

-Thud.

The door closed in front of Lena’s screaming eyes.