I Became The Pope, Now What?

"Hehe… One more fishy… so fishy fish… ehe…"

Sylvester didn't sleep, but he did rest his body on the bed. As the morning birds started chirping outside, he started getting annoyed by Miraj's strange sleep talking. He genuinely felt interested in what the heck the furball dreamt of. 

On top of that, Miraj had the bad habit of snuggling near his neck, which made all his little snores audible. 

"Wake up, Chonky. It's time to get back to work. We'll go and see how Felix's night went," Sylvester got out of bed. "I'll start finishing the urgent work as well. Let's start the countdown to head into the Demon Realm. Perhaps ten months? That should be enough to gain a few more levels in the Supreme Wizard rank."

What Sylvester just said would have made Julius, or any other Supreme Wizard in the world or in history, vomit blood. The fact that he wanted to level up in ten months at such a high rank was akin to challenging the laws of the world. Even a decade was too small for a Supreme Wizard to level up. 

"Nyoo… Let me sleep more," Miraj meowed like a spoiled cat and slid under the sheets again to sleep. 

Sylvester, meanwhile, walked over to his wardrobe to dress up and get to work. It was all filled with the same set of clothes, from left to right, top to bottom. But then his gaze fell on a package. It looked luxurious. 

"Ah, isn't this the robes gifted by the Warsong royal family?" he mumbled, opened the box, and donned the clothes. They were very loose with various layers. They were also stylish, with a white with a golden vest underneath. They reminded Sylvester of ancient eastern robes from his past world.

"Interesting. I look like those torch-sword swinging space monks from that story," Sylvester mumbled and checked himself out in the mirror. He then tied his hair back and nodded in appreciation. "I think I'm much stronger than that green toad by now."

Knock! Knock!

"Max, breakf—" Xavia opened the door and just stood there with words half stuck in her mouth. Her eyes widely stared at Sylvester, mesmerized. 

Sylvester awkwardly fixed his robes, "How do I look?" 

Xavia rubbed her forehead. "Dear, if you weren't celibate, I'd be blessed with the most beautiful daughter-in-law by now. You look impeccable."

"Haha," Sylvester laughed. 

He walked over to her and put his arm on her shoulder like she was his buddy. "Learn to live with the small happy things, Mum. Why dream of something we both know isn't possible?" 

She just sighed wearily, "At least you got me an amazing granddaughter." 

"Indeed. Ella is amazing." 

Following that, he ate breakfast with his family and soon headed out to work with a fluffy sack on his shoulder. Since the schedule was decided beforehand, he used the carriage this time to arrive at the Holy Land's Port. There, he inaugurated the massive statue of Sir Dolorem at the harbor with a lighthouse at the top. 

Afterward, he went to check on the various developments. The dam was near completion, and the communication devices were going through the last testing phase. Their mass production had already started.

"How is the Pope's Museum coming?" He reached his office and called for Gabriel. "Make sure it has the best security mechanism. Various old belongings of previous Popes will be displayed there. Those things are no less than godly treasures."

Gabriel sat relaxed in his seat, drinking some tea from Warsong. "Baron Loveland is building it. He knows his work well, and a few Guardians are also helping with the magical aspects. But are you sure you want to worry about that? That man named Leyon in the West has already conquered the Marcia Kingdom after taking over Sorland. He calls himself Emperor Leyon now." 

Sylvester shrugged, took out a book from his drawer, and began to write on it. "Let the commoners deal with this issue. This so-called Emperor hasn't challenged the rule of the Holy Land yet, nor has he dared to harm the clergy. We have no plausible reason to meddle. Ah, send a letter to King Keilib of Norland Kingdom, tell him to just surrender if something happens. He used to be a slave alongside me back in the day. I'd hate to see him die." 

Gabriel exhaustedly stared at Sylvester's face, unable to gauge what was actually going on. After all, Sylvester had killed plenty of nobles in the past for much less than causing a multi-kingdom war.

"In that case, I'll leave it all to you. I came to report the completion of the restructuring of the Holy Army. It's now turned into the 'Police Force' as you named it. Each Grand Monastery is now a headquarters, and each ordinary Monastery is an outpost. The Inquisitors are now the main battle force of the Holy Land under the command of the Lord Inquisitor."

"How did the judicial examination go? Did Diana, that little orphan girl pass?" Sylvester remembered the golden-eyed orphan child he had taken in. 

"She did, and she became the youngest traveling judge of the lot. As of now, she's deployed in Riveria, mainly the Northern Duchy," Gabriel proudly revealed, but then noticed Sylvester's dissatisfaction. "I know, I know. We're still working on dividing each kingdom into smaller districts. It will take some time, Max. We have to cooperate with the local lords, monarchs, and clergy." 

"I didn't say anything," Sylvester shrugged and kept writing Gauss's law, its formulas, derivations, and uses. He knew physics could help his two Oppenheimers a lot, so he tried to write as much as he knew. It wasn't easy, since he studied it so many years ago. However, a little bit of pondering was usually enough to refresh his memory. 

"Why are you rushing everything these days?" Gabriel asked him what was on everyone's mind. 

Sylvester didn't even bother lying anymore, "I'm going to enter the Demon Realm in ten months. So I simply want to finish most of the major projects before I leave." 

"You already told me you'd go there. But so soon?" Gabriel sighed, and his head fell back on the seat. "I guess there's nobody left in this world to pose a challenge to you anymore. But after the Demon World, what then?" 

"Haha, you seem confident I can win over them." 

"I never doubted you. Never after seeing you deal with Romel that night," Gabriel reminisced about the old days. "I still remember your words, 'Would you kill that man for your sister?' Yes, I'd destroy the world for my sister if I must, even if I physically can't. I thought about you all these years and came to the realization that you never really fought to become the Pope specifically. You fought to survive, as every ambitious man considered you an enemy."

Amused, Sylvester looked up at his friend. "Gods." 

"What?"

"Gods—That's who I'll fight after dealing with the Demons. Two Gods, specifically. They're behind all the mysteries in our world, behind the actions of Saint Scepter, the hidden history, and the death of the First Pope. To this day, they want to stop me as I bring order to the chaos they desire," Sylvester revealed everything and keenly watched to see his reaction. From the facial to the scent, he noted it all down. 

'Fear, but trust. I've been lucky enough to have trustable friends in this life.' 

Gabriel tiredly rubbed his face and hunched forward on the table. "I'll probably die fighting them then."

"Only I'll be doing the fighting, Gab. All I need from you is help in keeping this world at peace, to watch my back. Felix, as well; All of you—I just need you to maintain what we've created," Sylvester clarified and stood up to walk over to a small locker. He took out a hand-drawn portrait with four boys in it and placed it on the table. "For Markus, for Shane, for Sir Dolorem, for all those we lost in this long journey. Let's not disappoint them." 

Gabriel stood up. "I'm celibate, so I can't have a family of my own. But, I wish to see my nephews and nieces born in a world where no war exists—justice and kindness are common virtues. Where evil is quashed before it takes root. I will stand behind you to achieve that goal until my last breath!" 

Bam!

Suddenly, the door to his office was kicked open, and a black-haired man haughtily walked in with a massive smile that revealed all his teeth.

"Max! I did it!" 

Sylvester sighed and sat down again, "That's great to hear, Felix. I hope she gives birth to a healthy baby soon." 

"No happening," Felix exclaimed excitedly. The happiness on his face was worth noting. "Isabella wants to get married first, then spend a year as a married couple, and then think about children. She said she wants to enjoy this life first." 

"Hmph!" Gabriel snorted. "You just want to act like rabbits in heat." 

"Exactly!" Felix shamelessly accepted. "It was fucking glorious, or should I say it was glorious fucking! Holy Solis, I feel like kissing you, Max—my brother from the most amazing mother. Oh, I still hear Isabella's voice. I had to plead to her to even come here. She's still waiting for me in the room." 

'Ah, youth…' Sylvester sighed. 

"When are you getting married?" 

"In a week," Felix blurted out. "I know, it's too quick. But I don't even care since we're already doing the married couple things. Oh, it's time. I should head back. See you later, my brothers." 

Bam!

As fast as the storm had entered, it vanished. 

Gabriel grumpily picked up his papers to leave, "I think he came here to make us jealous." 

Scratch! Scratch!

To Gabriel's shock, Sylvester was already back to writing the book. And like that, he was once again reminded of who he worked for. 

'Supreme god of virgins—You're rightfully titled, my brother,' he thought and sighed even more when he noticed Sylvester's looks. 'Lord works in strange ways. What a waste of peak beauty.'

"Hm? Did you say something?" Sylvester suddenly felt strange and looked up. 

"Ah, nothing. May the Holy Light enlighten us." 

"..."

With his furrowed brows, Sylvester watched him leave, feeling suspicious towards his good friend. 

'Why did I smell worship and lust at the same time?'

_________________

[A/N: See Sylvester in Warsong robes here]

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