Ch.149Eeeeh, me as the Pope? No way, no way!! …It wasn’t impossible?!

# Chapter 149: Eeeeh, Me as Pope? No Way, No Way!!… Or Is It Possible?!

I was taken to the hospital after fainting on the spot.

Perhaps thanks to the rapid advancement of various nanomachine technologies with Ash’s help.

[Event: First Nanomachine Surgery of Your Life]

[Minister Arto Virtorius Sevelli has become the first high-ranking imperial official to undergo nanomachine surgery.]

[Random probability will change some physical abilities of this character.]

[Random Reward: Regeneration (Immunity to minor illnesses and increased recovery from light injuries)]

‘What is this?’

Along with this random event message that appeared as soon as I opened my eyes, I could see numerous doctors gathered in a circle around me.

“Yes, it’s all done now~”

“Oh.”

Moreover, the treatment was much faster and of much better quality than before.

I instantly restored my body and mind to their original state and began preparing countermeasures for the current situation.

“Riel, you did say I was late, but… to be precise, it’s not too late yet.”

“Minister, trying to mentally avoid it will only make you feel ashamed of yourself later.”

“GAAAH!!!”

In response to this attitude typical of a hateful AI humanoid who doesn’t understand human feelings, I immediately struck her head with my etiquette injection stick.

“Kyaap!”

“The word ‘impossible’ related to avoidance doesn’t exist in my dictionary!”

Hearing my words, Riel rubbed the swelling bump with both hands and spoke to me tearfully.

“What exactly do you think is possible? You thought and acted like this before, and that’s how you ended up in charge of the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency!”

To Riel’s words, I calmly replied while waving one finger from side to side.

“You know that the circumstances then and now are different, don’t you, Riel?”

“…”

If there was one thing I could state with certainty, it was about the position of Pope.

“And originally, the case of me holding the position of Pope now, either concurrently or by appointment, is very different from when the Diplomatic Enforcement Agency was formed.”

“Ugh… that’s true, but still.”

The position of Pope carried a weight far different from my current title of “Minister.”

A Minister was merely the head of a department within the imperial government commanded by the Emperor.

Even though I was widely known abroad and simultaneously held enormous power and significance within the imperial government…

Strictly speaking, there was an incomparable difference in status compared to the ‘Pope.’

To be honest, the position of Pope could be considered as another Emperor of the Empire.

The previous Pope, that idiot Alexander, barely acted as Pope because of his desire to ascend to the imperial throne.

If one wanted, they could enjoy a much more prosperous and comfortable life than the Emperor of this Empire, while also being able to overthrow the Empire at any time.

In other words, the Pope of the Holy Sevelli Empire possessed overwhelming authority, power, and status that surpassed even my enhanced Diplomatic Enforcement Agency.

Anyway, the reason I’m saying all this…

“Riel, what do you think about dividing the position of Pope into three parts?”

“Are you insane?”

The Three-Way Division of the World.

No, I was proposing a Three-Way Division of the Papacy to distribute the aggro from fanatics and share the workload.

Of course, the moment Riel heard this…

I couldn’t stop her from hurling abuse at me without mercy.

But no matter how much Riel protested, it didn’t mean she was against my Three-Way Division of the Papacy.

“Haah… fine, let me hear how you plan to divide it before I make up my mind.”

“That’s right, dialogue always begins with respectfully listening to what the other person has to say.”

“…”

I began to explain my ambitious Three-Way Division of the Papacy to Riel, whose expression was twisting strangely.

——————————-

A little while later.

After listening to my story while simultaneously handling her work, Riel put down her work terminal and summarized the situation.

“So what you’re saying, Minister, is that the current position of Pope concentrates too much power in one person… so you want to divide it into three to distribute that power?”

“That’s right, you understand perfectly.”

I patted Riel’s head enthusiastically and continued with additional explanation.

“The name value and status of the Pope, that is, the honor and power, and responsibility, should go to Artraia, the Emperor.”

“Well… in the end, you want to concentrate the Pope’s power on the Emperor to pursue an absolute monarchy beyond an autocratic one.”

I nodded in response to Riel’s words.

“That would make it easier to develop and operate in this damn game world.”

Although there was the very minor issue of Artraia occasionally trying to squeeze me dry…

Thanks to that, she was arguably my most reliable ally, comparable to Riel.

After concentrating power on Artraia,

I planned to create a massive federation as originally planned, make it the leader nation,

And then work toward clearing the game by reaching first place in the damn national rankings through the massive victory points this would bring.

Seeing me like this, Riel nodded her head a couple of times before bringing up something new.

“So I understand that part, but what are you planning to do with the other two parts?”

I thought I might involuntarily let out a bitter smile at Riel’s seemingly casual question as I replied.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d be saying this myself.”

“What is it?”

“As you know, my image within the Empire has… become quite firmly established by now, hasn’t it?”

“…Ah.”

Although it was almost tarnished by the media manipulation of those Zeltech Corporate Alliance bastards.

The media control by Master Administrator System, including my deadly fluid clone… I mean Alina.

And then part of the truth about the incident that was revealed afterward.

Add to that the existing fanatics and the new fanatics I saw on the screen yesterday.

In fact, my image in the Empire was…

Literally treated as something that embodied the words ‘Holy Son,’ no, ‘Saint.’

Of course, Riel would know this, which is why she let out a short sigh, understanding what I was about to say.

“…I plan to assign the ‘image’ of God’s representative, that is, the Holy Son and Saint, along with some of the Pope’s power and responsibilities to myself.”

“I understand the image part, but I didn’t expect you to assign power or responsibility to yourself…”

“I feel the same way.”

The thought that life is truly unpredictable made me want to laugh hollowly.

“But didn’t you say you were going to dump all the power on the Emperor?”

“I realized that if I dump everything on Artraia, next time it won’t end with just being squeezed dry.”

What would normally end with just being squeezed dry might turn into being forcibly treated, inflated, and then squeezed again.

When I thought about all the unimaginable things Artraia might try to do to me,

I turned away from Riel and gazed into the distance, falling silent.

“…Then the remaining one would also involve dividing the Pope’s power and responsibilities?”

“Plus the role of handling practical affairs and approval authority.”

After saying that, I roughly drew a circle on a piece of paper on the table.

I divided it with three lines and continued talking.

“So the original symbols and image of the Pope, the name and status, as well as power, responsibility, and authority, will all be shared among the three of us.”

“By doing so, you prevent the concentration of papal power while also minimizing the burden on each person, right?”

I nodded at Riel’s words, and she tilted her head again, speaking with puzzlement.

“Then who are you planning to make the third person?”

“Who else? Who do you think is the biggest expert in these matters right now?”

“Um… of course, Emilia who’s currently at the Papal Office… Wait, you don’t mean?”

-Nod nod

As I nodded matter-of-factly, Riel shook her head in disbelief and continued.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really think Emilia has the qualifications or sense of responsibility for something like this?”

Seeing her sharp gaze, I decided to explain to Riel why Emilia was the most suitable candidate.

“There’s a reason for everything.”

“What is it?”