Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 429

◈ 429. Ardor’s Sinister Expectations

While Rembrary was busy searching for the members of the Harmonious Friendship Association, Ardor was once again demonstrating his adaptability on Earth.

Rembrary thought of Ardor as someone who could jump anywhere at any time—well, everyone else thought so too—but Ardor was nothing if not resourceful.

After being teleported to Earth alone, he didn’t just adapt. He earned money, started his own business, and even made it successful.

And with this incredible adaptability, Ardor quickly made a decision this time as well.

He had been throwing a tantrum, shocked by Rembrary’s absence, but when he saw a crowd of bald men in similar attire approaching, he realized something was amiss and calmed down for the first time.

Then, as those bald men defended, attacked, and moved with bizarre speed, he calmed down a second time.

When Rembrary didn’t show up with his hands behind his back despite the commotion, Ardor finally achieved a third level of composure, and with a faint smile on his hollow face, he asked,

“Who are you guys?”

‘Who should be saying that!’

The monks were dumbfounded when the man who had been roaring like a madman suddenly asked politely.

However, the monks were fundamentally wise individuals who valued peace.

They figured that the seemingly crazy guy, who was stronger than they thought, had calmed down a bit and was trying to talk, so they stopped attacking and looked to their respective leaders.

Eventually, Changpyeong, the head of the Changpyeong Hall, couldn’t bear the tension and stepped forward to ask,

“Who are you, good sir, to be causing such a disturbance within the Shaolin Temple?”

Ardor calmly explained, not at all like the man who had been berserk just moments before.

“I was traveling with our High Priest. But when I came to my senses, our High Priest was gone, and I was here. How could I not be upset?”

He naturally omitted the story of the dimensional travel.

He knew how those who came through the frog eggs [a derogatory term for interdimensional travelers] on Earth were treated. It wouldn’t be any different here.

But even without the dimensional travel part, Ardor’s story was hard to believe.

“Haha, were you perhaps crossing the fires of hell?”

Changpyeong openly mocked Ardor, and the mad energy from before began to resurface on Ardor’s smiling face.

Just then.

“Look at the strange attire of that young man.”

Elder Sunwoo, who had been watching the situation, suddenly stepped forward and said.

The monks’ gazes turned to Ardor’s clothes, and Changpyeong frowned, wondering, ‘Why is he doing this?’

Sunwoo ignored Changpyeong’s gaze and continued in a tone of pity.

“Considering his attire and the fact that he suddenly appeared in the Janggyeong Hall [a library or scripture hall], this young man seems to have some circumstances.”

The monks’ gazes now shifted to Elder Sunwoo.

Changpyeong felt a bad premonition from Sunwoo’s words and hurriedly opened his mouth.

But Sunwoo added his next words a step ahead.

“Since we’ve crossed paths, let’s help him.”

‘I knew that eccentric old monk would say something crazy!’ Changpyeong exclaimed inwardly as soon as Sunwoo finished speaking.

He had tried to talk to the young man because he had calmed down, but it was only to appease him and send him away.

He had no intention of helping the thug who had trashed the Janggyeong Hall and given his disciple a black eye as soon as he appeared.

But help him? Even if he appeared out of nowhere, why help such a ruffian who started hitting people as soon as he showed up?

“You jest too much.”

Changpyeong openly showed his displeasure, but Sunwoo shook his head with a gentle voice.

“I’m not joking. Look at his eyes, Unryeon. You can see everything in the eyes. He may act rough, but his eyes are very clear. He may have acted violently, but he’s actually a very kind person.”

“His eyes are the craziest, Elder Sunwoo.”

Changpyeong firmly opposed, but Sunwoo shook his head, saying, “Hmm. No.”

He had already decided in his heart to help that silver-haired young man.

Changpyeong cursed inwardly.

Sunwoo enjoyed immersing himself in the study of all sorts of weapons and martial arts.

‘Eyes, my foot.’ He was clearly fascinated by the strange and sinister martial arts that young man used and wanted to study them.

But Changpyeong couldn’t say these words out loud.

In any case, Sunwoo was a respected elder, and his reputation was good, except for his excessive immersion in martial arts research.

He was kind to all disciples and friendly to people. Changpyeong had also followed Sunwoo well when he was young.

It was difficult to oppose the respected Sunwoo in front of so many disciples.

* * *

Changpyeong had hoped that the Abbot would step in and chase away the young man named Ardor, but the Abbot displayed the broad-mindedness of Shaolin and did not expel Ardor.

However, he didn’t just say, ‘His eyes are clear!’ like Sunwoo and offer to help.

The Abbot, who had gone down to the lower village and belatedly heard about the situation, pondered for a moment and then called Ardor and set conditions.

“Elder Sunwoo says you were too surprised to turn the Janggyeong Hall upside down. But no one turns someone else’s library upside down just because they’re surprised.”

“……”

“However, people sometimes do things they wouldn’t normally do when they’re too surprised. So, considering various circumstances, I will set conditions for you.”

“Conditions?”

“Restore the Janggyeong Hall that you messed up to its original state.”

“……”

“Then Elder Sunwoo will help you find this ‘High Priest’ you speak of.”

Ardor finished calculating that this was reasonable and gladly accepted.

Changpyeong was disgruntled and sulky, but the Abbot smiled generously.

“Alright. Then you will help with the library cleanup from tomorrow… and yes. Tell us about this ‘High Priest’ you need to find first. The Elder needs to know who he is to look for him.”

“The High Priest has shiny golden hair. His eyes are a very flamboyant red. The High Priest is perfect in every way. Anyone who sees the High Priest can’t help but be captivated. Even if they aren’t captivated, they’re just pretending not to be. That’s how perfect he is. He’s about… this tall? Quite tall. And his shoe size is, um, about this big. And-”

“What kind of size is that?”

“Size. Size. The High Priest also has a great voice. Anyone who hears that voice will melt. Really. If the High Priest calls your name, you should immediately kneel and bow your head in gratitude. It’s a real honor. And the High Priest is……”

Nearly a quarter of an hour of praise followed, and even the Abbot, who had been calmly listening at first, began to look a bit stiff and cut him off.

“So. We just need to find this sparkly High Priest?”

“Ah, no, there are a few more.”

“Then tell us about your other companions. We know enough that the High Priest is a tall, handsome man with blond hair and red eyes.”

“Ah, the other companions are……”

Ardor opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, then closed it again.

Soon, his eyes, which Changpyeong had lamented were completely insane, began to spin in all directions.

As if pondering something deeply.

After a while. A sinister smile appeared on Ardor’s smooth and clear face.

“There aren’t any.”

* * *

At that moment.

Rembrary, who had sent the thieves and Duran to the 14th Star, was riding to the 15th Star with only one thief who knew where the theater troupe had been sold off.

“Die!”

In the middle, the thief shot an arrow at Rembrary’s back, but Rembrary continued to run busily even after being hit by the arrow.

“What is that? Why is he just going?”

Just as the bewildered thief hesitated. Rembrary turned his horse around, ran to the thief, and knocked him off with his hooves.

Animals loved Rembrary, so the thief’s horse ran panting to Rembrary’s side, wagging its tail instead of saving its owner.

The thief, filled with betrayal, glared at the horse, but soon felt Rembrary’s gaze looking down at him and raised his head in fear.

Looking at what he had done and the current situation side by side, he felt his vision darken at the impending blow.

But Rembrary did not press the thief.

“Get up quickly and follow me.”

He spoke gently as before, and when the thief climbed onto the horse, trembling, he simply went ahead again.

The thief realized why people said, ‘The seemingly sane crazy guy is the scariest.’

His smile was certainly warm and his actions were not threatening, but there was something… inhuman and unsettling about him.

‘Damn it. The boss is going to be okay, right?’

* * *

He wasn’t okay.

“Damn bastard! Smiling like a crazy bastard!”

The thief boss shouted all the way to the 14th Star, and eventually, he became hoarse and even choked on his own anger.

Only after seeing Duran’s fearful eyes did he regain his confidence as a thief, and he asked, grinding his teeth.

“That guy who talks strangely. Who the hell is he? He can’t be an ordinary person.”

“He’s, he’s a performer in our troupe……”

“A performer?”

“A singer……”

“What?!”

Duran clutched the reins like a lifeline, terrified as the thief boss bared his teeth.

The thief boss roared, even more enraged that the sinister guy who had made him kneel and threatened him was a singer, and even made him do errands.

“No way! If that’s what a singer is, why would martial artists learn martial arts instead of singing!”

“I don’t know……”

Duran muttered, intimidated.

But inwardly, he thought it was absurd.

In Duran’s view, all Rembrary had done was grab the thief boss’s chin, put his hand in his mouth, and take it out.

Then the thief boss suddenly started listening to Rembrary very well.

In other words, he had fallen for Rembrary’s face of his own accord.

But why was he still getting angry after being captivated by that face?

“Damn it!”

‘Is he embarrassed?’

* * *

Thanks to the thief boss’s desire to get the job done quickly, the group that departed for the 14th Star managed to arrive just in time.

“We made it! We can go write the application right away!”

Duran shouted, overjoyed, and the thief boss hurriedly walked to the place where the applications were being written.

“Where do I write my name?”

But the thief boss was too hasty.

The large man, dressed in black from head to toe, asked the servant who was receiving applications for the first birthday banquet troupe in a menacing manner, and the servant became terrified.

“Wh, what are you trying to do……”

The servant asked, trembling, and the boss was about to shout, “What else? It’s a performance!” but he felt the gazes of the people around him and flinched.

Before he knew it, other troupe members and servants of the lord who had come to apply for performances nearby were standing and watching him.

“Hurry up and write……”

Duran urged from the side, but the boss’s pride crumbled as people stared at him, and he put down the brush the servant had handed him and roared.

“This is not something Ganggyo-nim [a respectful title for a leader or boss] should be doing!”

The sudden but beastly voice made the servant hiccup, and Duran closed his eyes tightly in fear.

The official who was watching this took the chief manager who was nearby and showed him the situation, whispering.

“I don’t know which troupe it is, but the atmosphere is too bad. We should stop receiving applications here. This is enough troupes for the first birthday banquet.”

The chief manager nodded at those words.

And just as he was about to say, ‘Okay.’

The large man in black suddenly vomited blood.

The amount of blood he vomited was so great that it covered the man’s shoes and even soaked the desk in front of him.

“Ugh!”

The servant who was receiving the performance applications stood up in surprise, and Duran also fell over in panic.

“Boss!”

“Leader!”

“Chief!”

The thieves who had come with him also approached the thief boss in surprise.

But then an amazing thing happened.

The thief boss who had vomited blood muttered, “Th, this… bastard……” and suddenly picked up the brush he had thrown down and began to write his name on the first birthday banquet performance application, his hands trembling.

The sight was so determined and solemn that it silenced the other troupe members who had been whispering, ‘Are those guys a troupe or a gang of thieves?’

Signing for the first birthday banquet performance while spilling blood. This is… such a great artistic spirit.

None of them would spill blood to attend the first birthday banquet.

But that unknown troupe of thieves was doing it.

“Amazing.”

“Is this what artistic spirit is?”

“We were too complacent. There are people who are desperate for even one performance like that, but we took the first birthday banquet performance lightly.”

But the official could not be moved.

He was in charge of this first birthday banquet, so he was trying to hold the lord’s grandson’s first birthday banquet as smoothly as possible.

So, the official mustered his courage and approached the boss, saying firmly.

“I’m sorry, but the application is already closed. You can only perform up to this point……”

Just as he was about to say that.

The thief boss grabbed him by the collar and shouted, tears and blood streaming from his eyes.

“I have to perform here!”

“Yes?”

“Or I’ll die! I’ll die!”

“!”

At that desperate cry, the lord, who had been watching the situation from afar, was moved and covered his mouth with a sob.

‘For my first birthday banquet…….’