episode_0197

I am not your enemy (1) ― One Mind Salvation Church Paradise

Todok- Todok-

Fingers tapping regularly on the conference room table.

In my dazed thoughts, where other sounds seemed somewhat distant, I thought back to that night, which was still vivid.

Ha Chae-kyung knew about the existence of the Faith Recovery Room, but was unable to open the door.

A white light bloomed from her who eventually returned to me and cried.

A dry status message was printed to me accordingly.

And the title the status message mentioned to me was ‘Apostle.’

‘Apostle… … .’

Todok- Todok-

When you first hear the word apostle, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the most famous, the 12 apostles of Jesus.

12 disciples specially selected by Jesus.

But Ha Chae-kyung became my disciple and was granted the status of an apostle?

It’s a context that makes you tilt your head as soon as you hear it.

Naturally, it would be correct to say that apostles are the most special believers in the Salvation Church rather than disciples.

The believers who were allowed to be closest to me.

An ‘agent’ who will be my hands and feet, like a special achievement named by the system.

And the agency given to Ha Chae-kyung is ‘charity.’

Todok- Todok-

[100%: Happiness for all of us]

Ever since she qualified as a prospective apostle, there was only one thing she lacked.

Her own ‘charity’ suddenly became 100%.

but-

[100%: Happiness for all of us] (Read more)

In Identifying Deficiencies, a status message I had never seen before was flashing next to charity.

Tiring—!

[100%: Happiness for all of us] (Close for details)

[100%: Han Gu-won’s happiness]

Another deficiency was hidden within the deficiency.

Todok- Todok-

‘There are two 100% deficiencies?’

coexistence? Or is it dependence?

Or is it the deficiency behind it or something like that?

This is my first time seeing a case, and my thoughts continue to flow.

Todok- Todok-

And the more I think about it, the more slowly it dawns on me.

Systems never give names for no reason.

This is a modifier that that guy always uses whenever he refers to our Salvation Church and me.

Pseudo (似而非).

Although they appear similar on the surface, they are fundamentally not.

[100%: Happiness for all of us]

Ha Chae-kyung’s apparent kindness and-

[100%: Han Gu-won’s happiness]

Ha Chae-kyung’s hidden favoritism.

Pseudo-love, charity, favoritism… … .

And the position given to her is that of the Apostle of Charity of the One Mind Salvation Church.

As I kept recalling the words and rolling them around in my mind, I looked up at the ceiling with a sigh.

‘The system is a bastard…’ … .’

So, your conclusion is that you are a pseudo-apostle who fits into a pseudo-religion?

Todok- Talk-

A hand gently stops the habitual tapping.

I quietly turned my head to the left, and Ha Chae-kyung smiled softly and shook her head.

‘You have bad habits.’

Ha Chae-kyung spoke with her mouth and carefully guided my hand under the table.

Then, he glances at the conference room as if he is giving notice.

─────.

The conference room was naturally filled with silence due to my empty laughter.

Everyone in the meeting was quietly watching me.

“… … Ah.”

It was a side effect of half-forgetting the meeting and continuing my thoughts.

I continued speaking while touching my forehead with a small smile on my face.

“Hmm― I suddenly thought of a funny joke.”

“… … Huh? Are you kidding? No, in this atmosphere, how can you suddenly become geek-!”

Yoon-kang, who continued speaking in an absurd tone, was suddenly cut off.

“Ahh! Why are you hitting me all of a sudden, bro!”

Yoon-kang is holding his side and looking to the side, and Yoon-hyeon is holding something in while looking at Yoon-kang.

I smiled lightly and waved them off.

“No. Please speak comfortably.”

“Look! They say speak comfortably! Brother, you don’t know anything!”

Yoon-kang screams loudly at my permission.

Yoon-kang opened his mouth again, leaving behind Yun-hyeon, who was massaging his forehead with a frown on his face.

“… … What did you tell me to say? ah-! No, no, wait… … .”

Yoon-kang thinks to himself and falls into a serious expression.

Yoon-kang asked me, frowning with an expression that looked just like my older brother.

“… … But why are you suddenly treating me with such respect? It definitely wasn’t like that before… … .”

I answered casually, looking at his wide-open eyes as if he was curious about the world.

“Because there’s no need to do that anymore?”

“What do you need?”

“Now that we’ve become a real member of the Korean family, we can’t keep showing off in a place like this, right?”

“Oh… … .”

“Yoonkang, don’t you think this is better than me just nodding with an arrogant expression?”

“Oh… … .”

Yoon Kang’s face is so honest compared to his mouth that only spits out simple exclamations.

He showed a cool smile as he looked at his face full of positive light.

Now, among the people in the conference room, they are the only ones who are not my perfect person.

And for those awakened brothers, an easy-going leader will be more likeable than an authoritarian boss.

“Let’s just do it now when we feel at ease.”

“Oh… … That’s something I heard a lot in the military. What kind of army is the leader? ”

“Ganga.”

Yoon-kang, who was jumping around like a fish out of water, suddenly becomes mute.

Yoon-kang purses his lips at Ha Chae-kyung’s quiet name.

She scolded Yoon-kang and gently brushed away my hand that was holding it under the table.

“I’m in a meeting, baby.”

“… … Always saying something to me-”

“Gang-a.”

“… … .”

Yoon-kang, who was looking at Ha Chae-kyung with a dissatisfied expression, mouthed to me, ‘Always only to me-‘

“Ganga.”

I smiled softly at Yun-kang, who was completely mute in the end, and looked at Yun-hyeon.

His older brother, who shows relatively less expression than Yoon Kang.

I looked at Yunhyeon and spoke in a bright tone.

“In that sense, the joke I told you earlier—”

“Master.”

Someone dared to interrupt me and call me out, but I felt a slightly different emotion than anger.

… … Sigh.

I slowly turned my head to follow her voice, which seemed colder than usual.

“Can we continue the meeting unless it is a special matter?”

“… … of course. Please do so, Vice President.”

“Thank you.”

I closed my mouth in gratitude and turned my gaze straight ahead.

A warm hand brushes my hand again.

I quickly turned my head to the left and spoke to Ha Chae-kyung.

‘No, always only to me-‘

“Master.”

… … Shut the puck.

I swallowed a curse in my heart and turned my head again.

There, life-filled eyes were slowly looking me up and down.

“At this point, would I dare to ask the leader’s opinion?”

“… … My opinion?”

“Yes.”

At this point, the words ‘What are your thoughts about?’ tried to come out, but I suppressed them.

As I close my eyes, as if gathering my thoughts for a moment, warm fingers write down words on my hand.

‘Chief of the Korean branch.’

“He is the head of the Korean branch… … .”

“Yes, leader.”

Fortunately, thanks to Seong Ga-eul’s confident answer, I was able to overcome the crisis and slowly gathered my thoughts.

Head of the Korean branch.

Of course, there is no need for a separate manager, a branch manager, in the sanctuary and paradise connected by the Gate of Salvation.

Moreover, it goes without saying that in the beginning, priests were performing their role as managers well, and even if they were not priests, there were chiefs.

Of course, Minguk can’t imagine any other manager other than Ha Chae-kyung.

But Korea is different.

Yeon Yeon-cheol, the original ruler of Daehan, was punished rather than appeased, and the same goes for the awakened people who were ideal as administrators.

A completely new person has to be appointed as the branch leader.

But there wasn’t much to worry about.

In the first place, I had already chosen one person in my mind.

“The head of the Korean branch… … ”

I slowly spoke and pointed my finger at someone.

The eyes of someone I point to become so wide that they cannot get any wider.

“I will go with Yoon Ah-young.”

─────.

Even Yoon Ah-young, the person involved, covered her mouth with both hands and could not make any sound.

A conference room naturally filled with silence for the second time.

“… … Teacher.”

Seong Ga-eul, who recovered from her embarrassment the fastest, called me.

“ Believer Yoon Ah-young is already a saint of the Church of Salvation.”

“Is there a law that says a saint shouldn’t be the head of a branch?”

“That’s not it, carrying out two important positions at the same time―”

I stopped her and held up a finger.

“First of all, Yoon Ah-young is the first believer of the infinitely small One Mind Salvation Church. There must be a reward for that extraordinary faith. The reward may be the sacred position of saint, but as everyone knows, it is a position that does not currently have that much influence.”

It wasn’t just because I felt sorry for not being able to take care of him all this time.

It was a greeting that I also thought about with my head.

“The saint is also the face of our Salvation Church. However, it is also true that there have been few opportunities to act as the face of Salvation Church. That’s why I chose Yoon Ah-young as the head of the Korean branch.”

“The wounded believers in Korea need the warm comfort of the Salvation Church, and our benevolent saints need the experience and stage of being saints, right?”

“You are right, sir.”

Compared to Seong Ga-eul’s mouth, which affirmed my words, her eyes were literally burning brightly.

“I may be presumptuous, but how did you arrange for the safety of the saint?”

“… … Is it safe?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, the Korean branch is an area beyond the reach of Heaven’s protective shield.”

“That’s—”

Tiring—!

A message was printed in front of me while I was in the middle of a conversation with Seong Ga-eul.

“… … Leader?”

I quietly raised my hand to Seong Ga-eul, who was urging me to answer.

Seong Ga-eul sensed the atmosphere from my gesture and fell silent.

“… … What is this really?”

The more I read the message, the more I started laughing.

I thought maybe I had seen something wrong, so I checked again and laughed.

“… … This is ridiculous.”

***

Paradise.

Kang San smiled for some reason because the scenery he was seeing now truly seemed like paradise.

The young children in the square I saw on the way.

The children’s flawless laughter and lively chatter that never left like background music.

A smile appeared on my face without realizing it when I saw that.

Only after becoming aware of that smile was Kang San able to understand his mother’s smile.

As he passes through the square full of laughter and climbs the not-so-long stairs, the White Temple looks down at him as if watching him.

A statue of a familiar face quietly looks down on visitors in the center of the temple.

Kang San stopped for a moment and made eye contact with the statue looking down at him.

Looking back at the temple, the large white door befitting the magnificent structure was slowly opening.

And the lobby seen through the wide open door and the believers wearing white clothes bustling back and forth.

“… … How have you been, Nari?”

Only then did Kang San touch the back of the Holy Knight who was guiding him and ask how he was doing.

Inari paused for a moment and then continued to lead the way and answered.

“… … Where the hell have you been all this time? Haven’t you thought about the sea?”

“… … Sea.”

Kang San smiled bitterly as he repeated the name of his younger sister, who was more precious than anything else in the world.

He unconsciously looked down at his hands and whispered briefly.

“… … I did it.”

everyday.

That was the end of the conversation between the man and woman who had a short relationship.

Inari continued to guide while remaining silent, and Kang San did not bother to open his mouth first.

The guide passes through the crowded lobby and heads toward the upper floors, which are increasingly deserted.

Before we knew it, Kang San, who had been silently walking along Inari’s back, stopped.

“… … This is it.”

Inari pointed to the door as if the guidance had ended.

Kang San passed her by with a grateful smile.

Tap- tap- tap-

Kang San quickly reached the door with his long legs and slowly pulled the door handle.

Wow!

Sunlight shining brightly through the open door.

Familiar faces appear in the field of view of Kang San, who slightly squints his eyes.

Mother, Yunhyeon, Yoonkang brothers, Seong Ga-eul, our sea.

and-

“Someone would think that my son, who was on vacation, came into the corner of the room.”

Han Gu-won.

The leader of the One Mind Salvation Church sits in the center of a spacious table in what appears to be a conference room.

Kang San slowly walked to the center of the conference room without showing any expression.

Then he slowly got down on one knee while looking at Han Gu-won.

A brown dot landing on the white floor.

“I offer my condolences to the Lord of the One Mind Salvation Church on behalf of the Lord of the World.”

A lone leather-clad adventurer, standing among those wearing Shinto clothes, raised his head.

“Our world is.”

I made eye contact with the gaze that was scanning me, as if I was looking down.

The cult leader twitches his eyebrows as if he is not happy with his gaze.

Kang San looked at him and recalled his conversation with Seongju.

‘… … I know why you look at me like that. But this allows me to trust you completely. And don’t you think you know what I’m going to say too?’

I remember the purple pupils looking down at me for not being able to resolve the confusion.

‘It’s because you came to World, and you had the same thoughts as me, that we have this opportunity.’

What a strange fate, isn’t it?

or-

‘It’s someone’s arrangement.’

“I will surrender to the Church of Salvation.”