Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 727

727. The Singing Rembrary

Rembrary immediately responded to the suggestion.

“I don’t need to know.”

The tall blonde frowned at the immediate response and asked,

“Someone stole your stuff, and you don’t care?”

“No.”

The tall blonde, again faced with an immediate answer, wondered if he was dealing with an idiot.

“Don’t you suspect me?”

“No.”

This time, the immediate answer made the tall blonde flinch. The child stared at Rembrary in disbelief before asking,

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why don’t you suspect me?”

“Can’t I eat now?”

“Answer me first.”

“……”

“You made eye contact with me, and then your stuff disappeared. And you don’t suspect me? What kind of idiot are you?”

Rembrary sighed deeply and said,

“I don’t suspect you because I’m not an idiot. All I saw was a baby making eye contact with me, not a crime scene.”

The tall blonde stared blankly at Rembrary, unsure whether to be more surprised that a child four years younger than him had called him a baby, or that he wasn’t being suspected.

The tall blonde had been certain that Rembrary would suspect him, because he would have done so himself.

But when this apostle of evil, this con artist, trusted him, the child felt strangely sentimental and abruptly stood up with his tray.

“Fine, do as you please!”

The tall blonde shouted, feeling like he had lost, and stormed off.

“Kentri, sit down.”

He was dragged back by Licheur, though.

The tall blonde didn’t speak to Rembrary anymore, just propped his chin up and glared in another direction.

* * *

After the divine power test, Rembrary’s daily life returned to what it had been when he first arrived. He studied the holy scriptures, prayed, sang hymns, and followed the group en masse. The food was still bland.

About a week later, Rembrary, having washed up for the evening, came out for some fresh air and sensed a commotion.

‘Redrin, the priests here love gossip. Whenever something happens, they whisper among themselves. I actually like it too.

So, I’ll find out what’s going on and let you know.’

Curious, Rembrary tiptoed along the bottom of the staircase railing and eavesdropped on the older novice priests whispering to each other.

“Will the novice priests be singing again this year?”

“Probably. It’s the most popular thing.”

“Why do they always call us to these festivals? Why can’t they just have fun on their own?”

“What can you do? Our temple is based in the Florentia territory. The lord [local ruler] provides a lot of conveniences.”

The words were mostly complaints, and the information was fragmented, making it hard to understand what was going on.

It seemed like the novice priests were being called to sing at a festival, but he didn’t know what that meant.

Rembrary tilted his head, then suddenly remembered and boasted to Redrin,

‘Redrin, I’m a very good singer! I’ll sing for you for real later, not just in my head.’

* * *

Every year on June 1st, the summer festival was held in the Florentia territory. And as Rembrary had heard,

The priests of Florentia Temple would go to the festival and help out with various things. But what people loved most was the hymn choir sung by the novice priests on this day.

When this time of year came, the Florentia Temple priests had to select novice priests to sing hymns and train them.

Because of this, after bedtime when the children were asleep and there was some free time, the lay priests and disciplinary priests all gathered to discuss this topic.

“Should we just do it as usual? Have them sing and then pick the best singers to perform. That’s the cleanest way.”

“Yes, it’s the safest and gets the best response.”

“But we’ve always changed the lineup when there’s something special, right? Heather, the story of what happened during the divine power test has already spread throughout the village.

People who have heard the rumors all want to see Licheur’s novice priests. So, how about having Licheur’s children perform this year?”

Initially, the opinions were mild, but when someone suggested putting Licheur’s top prospects on stage, the discussion gradually shifted in that direction.

“That would be good.”

“I’ve heard that the lord is also very excited to hear that a child with high priest-level divine power has arrived.”

Only Licheur’s face turned pale.

But as time passed, the opinions converged, and eventually, Heather, the person in charge of this temple, said to Licheur,

“Licheur, did you hear? It seems the children under Licheur will have to take the stage this year.”

Licheur’s face darkened at the thought of preparing a song with the small children. But the atmosphere was such that he couldn’t refuse, so he reluctantly replied,

“I understand.”

“Good luck.”

“Yes… but who should we have as the soloist for the choir?”

The song that the novice priests of Florentia Temple sang at the summer festival was always the same. And the highlight of that song was the solo part in the middle.

Before, when they gathered those who were good at singing, they could just have the best person do it.

But this time, they were choosing children to sing for their symbolism, not their singing ability. So, Licheur asked, feeling it was difficult to choose himself.

“We should naturally have Rydal do it. He’s said to be the most likely protagonist of the miracle from the divine power test.”

“The villagers have also heard the name Rydal. I think that would be better.

If the children under Licheur are singing, that’s what everyone will be expecting.”

Most opinions leaned towards Rydal, the protagonist of the divine power rumors. There were hardly any dissenting opinions, so Rydal was eventually chosen as the soloist.

But the next day, after informing the children of this fact and having Rydal sing a solo, Licheur faced a major problem.

‘This kid… is tone-deaf!’

He tried hard, but Rydal sang every note off-key. It was hard to sing so badly.

Licheur, who had been listening seriously, went to Heather and told her this fact. Eventually, Rydal was summoned to Heather’s room and, with a flushed face, played his tone-deaf song next to Heather.

At first, Heather had laughed, saying, ‘It’s okay. Except for a few outstanding ones, the children’s singing abilities are all about the same.’ But after listening to Rydal’s song, she called another emergency meeting.

In the end, after the meeting, it was decided to have the child who sang the best among Licheur’s novice priests be the soloist.

So, Licheur, along with two lay priests who were well-versed in music, called the children in one by one and had them sing.

As a result, Licheur got another awkward result.

‘Rembrary is the best?’

Rembrary was a prince who had come here to suppress his presence and blend in with the other children. But could Rembrary be put forward as a soloist?

However, there was no other child who had outstanding skills to put forward instead.

Eventually, Licheur ran to Heather again, and another meeting was held.

“Putting that prince forward is a bit… isn’t it?”

“The rumors will die down over time. But not yet. It’s not time yet.”

“Thanks to Rydal’s talent, he was able to fade into the background, but now we’re putting that prince as a soloist.”

The priests initially said the same things that Licheur had thought and opposed it.

Then, just as the conclusion was being reached that Rembrary’s face was too noticeable, so it would be better to put him in the back row and not give him the soloist role, one priest raised his hand and argued.

“Instead, let’s put the prince forward. The prince should have the same opportunity. No matter how much the goal is to suppress the rumors, we shouldn’t suffer because of it.”

Then, another priest, who had been silent all along, cautiously agreed.

“I also think that since we have accepted the prince into our temple, we should treat him the same as the other children.

It’s not good to send the prince to the back and hide him, even though he has talent.”

Another priest immediately took the words.

“We don’t know what other talents the prince might have. We can’t hide him and treat him like he doesn’t exist every time. If that’s the case, we shouldn’t have accepted him in the first place!”

They spoke as if not putting Rembrary as a soloist was discrimination against Rembrary.

Licheur looked at Heather in embarrassment. Heather was listening to all the opinions seriously, as if she hadn’t made a decision yet.

This time, it was not easy to come to a conclusion, and the meeting was extended several times.

And around dawn, Heather finally made a decision.

“Okay, let’s put Rembrary forward. As Priest Niran said, it might not look more dignified to keep hiding and excluding him.”

As the meeting was ending, Licheur was a little worried, but he felt calmer than when he had first taken on this festival performance.

‘Rembrary is the best singer, at least. The soloist part should be easy to teach.’

Then, Licheur stopped as he saw the priests who had suggested putting Rembrary as a soloist gathering together and heading somewhere.

‘Why are they all gathering together like that?’

* * *

The reason those priests were gathering together was that they were people who had received money and favors from several great nobles of Liblen.

Niran, the priest who had led the Rembrary soloist case, sighed in relief and smiled when they were alone.

“Now we’re finally getting our money’s worth. The prince has been living too quietly, so there was no chance to step forward. This is great.”

* * *

After such complicated circumstances, Rembrary went to class as usual the next day and heard unexpected news.

“Rembrary?”

“Yes, Licheur.”

“Rembrary will be in charge of the solo part at this year’s festival performance.”

Rembrary’s eyes widened. He had never thought that he would step forward and sing.

“Me?”

At Rembrary’s question, Licheur smiled brightly as if this was a very good thing and said to the children,

“Yes. You were chosen because you sing the best. Now, everyone, applaud Rembrary.”

A cold silence flowed. No one applauded, and Licheur felt embarrassed.

But Rembrary didn’t seem to care much, just looking at Licheur. He didn’t deliberately overdo the ‘it’s okay’ sign or feel embarrassed, and he really had no reaction.

Then, Rydal, who had been chosen as the first soloist, unexpectedly stood up alone and applauded, then said to Licheur,

“Rembrary has a beautiful voice and a glamorous atmosphere, so he’ll do well.”

At those words, Licheur was moved, thinking that the child was an angel.

Licheur thought that Rembrary must have been moved as well, so he glanced at him. Wouldn’t it be okay for Rembrary to become friends with Rydal as an opportunity…?”

“!”

However, Rembrary had no change in expression, either when the children ignored him earlier or now.

And in reality, Rembrary wasn’t that moved. There was no need to be moved by stating the facts.

But Rembrary thought that Rydal had good taste.

* * *

After all the twists and turns, Rembrary was given personal practice by the disciplinary priest in charge of music, and a few days before the festival, he had his first group practice on stage.

The children who heard this story wanted to go and watch, but they had to be in the classroom to carry out their usual routine.

On the other hand, the lay priests left the children to study on their own and came to watch Rembrary.

Among them were the priests who had received money from several great nobles of Liblen.

Priest Niran, who had led the Rembrary soloist case, was especially filled with anticipation as he watched the prince on stage.

He had heard from Licheur that he was good at singing, but not outstanding. The priest who had been teaching him to sing also said that he was good at singing, but not at a level that would move and impress people.

Moreover, Prince Rembrary was a very pampered child. If he stood on stage in front of so many people, he would be so nervous that he wouldn’t even be able to open his mouth properly.

He could be made a complete laughingstock.

“Let’s begin.”

Finally, as the children’s choir began, Priest Niran tried hard to manage his expression.

Then, when it was Rembrary’s turn for the solo part, Priest Niran looked at Rembrary, unable to hide his expectant expression.

While only the sound of the piano flowed, the ominous prince was among the children and then popped out.

Because he was short, the prince, who had been hidden by the tall children in the front row, came forward, and the priests who had gathered to watch exclaimed in admiration without realizing it.

Then, the moment the child opened his mouth with the piano accompaniment, people opened their mouths in unison.

‘That is……!’