Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 866

◈ 866. A VIP at the Inquisition

Rembrary was reading a book, oblivious to the commotion.

“Rembrary! Rembrary!”

Only when Kentrian’s voice reached him did Rembrary look up.

“What is it?”

“There’s a huge commotion outside. Did you even notice?”

“I was reading.”

“Come out. It’s really serious.”

“I’m not really interested.”

“You have to be. It concerns you.”

“Concerns me?” Rembrary followed Kentrian outside.

Several carriages were lined up like makeshift walls in front of the main gate, and priests in various robes stood facing each other around them.

“Those people are from Heather and Rishue? And that side is….”

Rembrary pointed to one group of priests, pondering. Soon, he recognized someone.

“Bear.”

“Huh?”

“Bear-nim. An Inquisitor.”

Kentrian stared at Rembrary, mouth agape for a moment. Then, deciding it was best to just accept it, he looked back at the scene.

Rembrary also stared intently at the people confronting each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Now, now, calm down. Is there any need for such a squabble?”

The Highest Priest gestured in the air, trying to pacify everyone.

“Calm down, you say?”

However, the Inquisitor with glasses looked ready to punch Gaiger in the face.

“I can’t calm down until I sew that guy’s mouth shut.”

Gaiger snorted, and instead of being intimidated, he taunted him even more.

“Why? Did I say something wrong? If you really cared about Rembrary, you should stop him from making impulsive decisions about his future. Does it make sense to rush over to stop others from stopping him?”

“I really need to sew that guy up.”

The Inquisitor with glasses actually pulled a sewing kit from somewhere.

“No!”

The secretary priest was flustered and grabbed the bespectacled Inquisitor.

Heather surveyed the scene and suggested, “Director, Highest Priest-nim. How about the three of us talk separately first?”

“Why! Are you relying on numbers!”

However, before the Highest Priest could answer, the bear-voiced Inquisitor shouted like a roar. “There’s some truth in what the Florandia Temple is saying. In peacetime, it would be welcome if Rembrary became an Inquisitor, but now is not the time….”

The scarred Inquisitor subtly tried to side with the Florandia Temple, but when the black-haired Inquisitor shouted, “Whose side are you on!” the scarred Inquisitor shrugged and shut his mouth.

Having observed this much, Rembrary roughly understood the situation.

Kentrian also looked at Rembrary with a worried expression.

“What are we going to do about this?”

Rembrary replied unexpectedly calmly, “What do you mean? There’s only one answer.”

“Is there really an answer to this? It just seems like a difference of opinion.”

“Of course.”

Rembrary answered as if it were obvious and walked towards the crowd.

As the person in question approached, people stopped fighting and turned around.

“Rembrary, you’ve come at a good time. Let’s go inside and talk. Try to persuade these people.”

The flustered secretary priest called out to Rembrary with relief.

“Aren’t those people the strange ones?”

However, the people who had been quiet for a moment started talking all at once again, beginning with someone shouting, and the noise resumed.

The commotion subsided as Rembrary raised his hand.

When everyone was quiet, Rembrary looked around at the gathered people and asked, “This is an issue that no one else can give an opinion on, right? Why are you fighting? Isn’t this an issue where only my opinion matters?”

The faces of the people, especially those who didn’t want Rembrary to become an Inquisitor, darkened.

Rembrary turned to look at the bear Inquisitor.

The bear Inquisitor was flustered because Rembrary, who had suddenly grown so tall, was looking at him at eye level.

“Uh? Why?”

“I’m going to the Inquisition. I was thinking of trying to be an Inquisitor, at least once.”

“But Rembrary!”

“This is something I’m going to do as I please.”

At Rembrary’s firm decision, most of the Inquisitors opened their mouths wide.

Even the Inquisitors who didn’t want Rembrary to become an Inquisitor had the corners of their mouths turned up.

On the other hand, most of the priests had bewildered expressions.

Kentrian, who was standing a step back, was the only one who noticed the subtle nuance in Rembrary’s words.

‘Once? Doing it once means he’ll try other things too……?’

* * *

For several days after that, the atmosphere in the Great Temple was tense.

The believers who heard the news flocked to see Rembrary, who was about to leave the Great Temple soon, and the staff and priests whispered every time they gathered, wondering if Rembrary would abandon his path to becoming a Great Priest because of this decision.

As the tension lingered, the Highest Priest brought a cake and visited Rembrary.

Rembrary was packing his luggage leisurely.

“Rembrary.”

The Highest Priest sat on the bed and handed over the cake he had brought.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Rembrary quickly took the cake, smelled it, and smiled with satisfaction.

“What’s the matter?”

Rembrary cut the cake in half, put it on a plate, and handed it to the Highest Priest.

In fact, he had guessed why the Highest Priest had come. The secretary priest, Heather, and Rishue had already visited before him.

“Rembrary, as you said, this is entirely your decision.”

The Highest Priest started the conversation similarly to the other priests.

He continued to talk on and on, but when he met Rembrary’s eyes, he stopped talking and smiled helplessly.

“It’s no use, no matter what I say.”

“I’ll enjoy the cake.”

Rembrary put a piece of cake in his mouth and smiled.

“Okay…….”

The Highest Priest groaned and got up.

“If you’re so sure, it’s no use me saying anything. I just hope your decision…… doesn’t turn out like Rydal. I feel uncomfortable using that child as an example.”

As soon as the Highest Priest mentioned Rydal, he looked like someone who had aged at least 10 years.

“I’m sorry for constantly trying to persuade you to change your mind, Rembrary. But what happened after I respected the child’s choice at the time of Rydal and just sent him away…… I sometimes regretted it. I wanted to stop you this time.”

* * *

A few days later, Rembrary left for the Inquisition in the Great Temple’s carriage.

He had been to the Inquisition several times before, but each time he was being investigated.

But now Rembrary was going there to become an Inquisitor.

“Rembrary-nim, you must do well to show those who oppose you.”

During the carriage ride, the head of the Inquisition repeated these words to Rembrary several times.

When the carriage stopped, Rembrary opened the carriage door himself and stepped out. Cheers erupted before his feet even touched the ground.

When he looked up, the Inquisitors were crowded around the main gate with excited expressions, shouting.

“Those people!”

The director tried to stop them, worried that Rembrary would be embarrassed, but when he saw Rembrary smiling and waving, he closed his mouth. ‘Well, a welcome is better than a cold reception.’

When all the executives who had visited the Great Temple got out of the carriage, the director suggested to Rembrary, “Rembrary-nim, there is no specific task assigned to you right now, so please feel free to look around and get used to things first.”

“I will.”

Since there was always an adjustment period wherever he went, Rembrary readily agreed and moved along with the guiding priest.

That adjustment period lasted for more than a month.

* * *

‘It seems like I’ve adjusted more than enough.’

One day, Rembrary realized this when the same food was served for the third time.

Even though time had passed, neither the head of the Inquisition nor the secretary had called Rembrary to inform him of any work he had to do.

‘Do I have to find something myself?’

Rembrary seriously pondered this and went inside the red-lined area he had visited before.

When he went underground, the guard who was walking around widened his eyes and approached.

“Rembrary-nim? Why are you here? No one other than those involved is allowed to come here.”

The guards here were supposed to stay out of the basement for fifteen days [due to the intensity of the interrogations], but since there had already been an incident, all the guards currently on duty and off duty knew about Rembrary’s existence.

“Aren’t I involved now?”

When Rembrary asked brightly, the guard rolled his eyes and reluctantly agreed.

“That’s right. But this is not a place for Rembrary-nim to come.”

Rembrary pointed to the dark passage with a gesture.

“I’m an Inquisitor too, so it’s okay.”

The guard fidgeted and looked around for his colleagues who might be hiding somewhere. No one showed up.

“Did you come to sightsee?”

Eventually, the guard asked again.

Just as Rembrary was about to answer, a scream erupted from inside.

Rembrary pointed inside with his eyes and asked, “Are they interrogating? Can I watch?”

“Yes? Rembrary-nim? Directly?”

“Can I watch?”

The guard looked around for his colleagues again, but coldly, no one came forward.

“Of course, it is theoretically possible, but Rembrary-nim, Rembrary-nim is―”

“Then I’ll watch.”

The guard, who was about to say no, hurriedly stood in front of Rembrary.

Rembrary strode forward and looked at the guard.

“Why?”

“Rembrary-nim, the interrogation scene is not a scene for someone like Rembrary-nim to see.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not good to see.”

Rembrary raised his eyebrows.

“But I’m an Inquisitor.”

“That’s right. But Rembrary-nim is a precious and special Inquisitor, isn’t he? It’s better not to witness such things.”

“……”

Rembrary also knew that he was precious and special, but he wanted to see the interrogation scene.

It wasn’t necessarily because he was curious about the sight of tormenting others. But now that he had become an Inquisitor, shouldn’t he know how the Inquisitors operate?

“Rembrary-nim…….”

As Rembrary’s expression gradually darkened, the guard fidgeted even more and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.

At that moment, a commotion arose from inside, and a person wearing rags appeared.

The person ran, touching the walls erratically, not knowing the way, and when he found Rembrary, he unexpectedly spat out a curse like a scream.

“You! You damn Rembrary! No matter how hard you try to stop it―”

However, just before the curse was completed, the guards who had been hiding rushed out, gagged him, and dragged him away.

“I’m sorry, Rembrary-nim. We have to put him back in and check who let him out. It’s hard to guide you right now, so please just go back.”

The guard took this opportunity to ask Rembrary to return with the most earnest expression possible.

Rembrary reluctantly came out of the basement.

A few days later, a similar incident occurred in another prison.

When Rembrary said he was going to see the prison, the guards made the inside of the prison look like an ordinary room.

When Rembrary went, the inside of the prison was colorful.

A few days later, when new missions were assigned, Rembrary finally received a mission, but it was to treat someone. This was no different from his work at the Great Temple.

Rembrary, who had been patient for about half a month, was thinking, ‘Should I find work on my own after all?’

Then, an invitation that the Inquisitors did not expect reached Rembrary first.