Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 284

284. Since He Won’t Come, I Have No Choice But to Go Myself

Thanks to Rembrary’s intervention, further damage was prevented, but two training center employees had already died. Moreover, with the lord of this non-city no longer being of a moderate disposition, continuing the test here was also extremely dangerous. In the end, the test was naturally suspended, and Rembrary emerged from the tunnel with the Black Hats.

“Oh! There! They’re coming!”

Hunters dispatched from the training center were gathered in droves. When the trainees pointed at the tunnel and shouted, the hunters hurriedly jumped over the barbed wire fence and rushed over.

“We heard you were kidnapped?”

“Anyone hurt?”

“Is this the trainee who was kidnapped?”

“Did you guys rescue this trainee?”

There were many hunters gathered, but none of them believed that a trainee, especially one so recently admitted, could have escaped on their own, let alone saved the employees.

On the other hand, the Black Hats laughed among themselves at the hunters’ rescue story, finding it absurd.

“Why? What’s wrong? What happened?”

The sudden laughter felt ominous, and one of the hunters asked anxiously.

“What’s going on?”

One of the Black Hats skipped the long explanation and patted Rembrary on the back.

“We didn’t rescue the trainee; this trainee rescued us.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Let’s talk about the details when we get back. This is still a non-city area.”

Another Black Hat urged, looking back into the tunnel, and the hunters nodded, quickly clearing the fence.

Amidst the commotion, Rembrary calmly searched for the source of the kimbap [Korean seaweed rice rolls] smell and walked among the trainees.

“Is that a lunch box? Don’t tell me you guys ate lunch without me.”

* * *

The fact that the nearest non-city lord had become uncooperative was a major problem. As a result, an emergency meeting was urgently convened at the training center to discuss how to respond in the future, whether to hold talks with the lord, and what to do about the deaths of the two employees.

The topic naturally progressed to Baekgi trainee representative Rembrary, who had saved several employees.

“Hmm. If a one-on-one battle with the lord is possible, there’s no need to keep him at the training center for two years.”

The director nodded, reviewing the testimonies of Rembrary himself and the Black Hats.

“The claim that he fought the lord one-on-one is just Rembrary’s assertion. No one saw it, so it’s hard to believe right away.”

One of the hunters, always cautious, immediately raised an objection. It wasn’t that he was underestimating Rembrary’s skills, but rather that no one had actually witnessed the scene, so he wanted to approach it carefully.

It’s dangerous to underestimate the enemy’s strength and dangerous to overestimate one’s own strength, so the director nodded again.

“Hmm. That’s true.”

Then, an instructor who mainly taught the new trainees immediately offered a dissenting opinion.

“Even if it’s exaggerated, I don’t think he’s someone we should keep at the training center for two years. The fact that he rescued so many people on his own is undeniable.”

“Hmm.”

“Besides, he said he didn’t open the door and come out of the building himself, but was thrown out by the Awakened inside. If that Awakened could have easily dealt with Rembrary, he wouldn’t have bothered to let him out.”

“That’s also true.”

The director didn’t particularly like Rembrary, who spoke informally to him and pretended to stroke something in the air. However, he didn’t mix personal feelings when evaluating his skills.

“People need more hunters. Not Awakened who use their power for their own benefit, like the lords, but hunters who protect and defend people. Definitely. Keeping him here any longer is a loss for humanity. But would he want to leave? Hasn’t he learned anything?”

The instructor raised his hand again and said.

“Trainee Rembrary wanted to leave the training center as soon as possible.”

“Oh? Did he?”

“Yes.”

The director snapped his fingers as if pleased.

“Then that’s good. We’ll just tell him how to leave the training center quickly.”

* * *

Rembrary, who went to the instructor after hearing the announcement calling for the Baekgi representative, was surprised by the unexpected story and asked again.

“You’re going to let me leave?”

“Yeah.”

“You said it was absolutely impossible?”

“If you’re skilled enough, then whatever.”

“You’ve managed to scrape together some insight you didn’t have before.”

“……”

The instructor suddenly didn’t want to let Rembrary leave, so he pursed his lips. But he couldn’t overturn a decision that had already been made due to personal feelings. He reluctantly handed Rembrary a piece of paper.

“What is this?”

“Leaving isn’t something that happens right away. There are rules for early dismissal.”

“Is this it?”

The paper had a table drawn on it with no cells filled in. Five rows were red, five rows were yellow, and five rows were blue, for a total of 30 cells.

“Get signatures from five lords, five mayors, and five hunters acknowledging your skills. Fill in the table with their names in one cell and their signatures in the next.”

“Is that all it takes?”

When Rembrary asked if it was too easy, the instructor clicked his tongue.

“Do you know how many trainees have spent more than two years trying to fill that out? It’s not easy.”

“Seems easy to me.”

“You can’t get signatures from hunters within our training center for those five hunter slots. And you can’t get signatures from two hunters belonging to the same company in a row.”

“!”

“Mayors aren’t threatening, but meeting them will be difficult. The higher-ups are always hidden away.”

“……”

“Even that’s difficult, right? But the real problem is the lords. Lords… as you’ve seen, you never know what they’ll do. Mayors and hunters won’t try to kill you. At least. But lords might try to kill you.”

Still not dangerous? The instructor lowered his voice menacingly, checking Rembrary’s expression.

However, Rembrary wore the same gentle smile he had when he first arrived here. There was no sign of fear anywhere.

“A strange guy.”

The instructor clicked his tongue and handed over another piece of paper.

“This is a consent form. It explains that you could die during the early dismissal process, but you’re still attempting it. Sign it if you agree.”

Rembrary received the paper from the instructor and habitually scribbled an autograph for an idol fan meeting, then exclaimed, “Ah,” with a short sigh when the instructor’s jaw dropped.

“I made a mistake.”

Then he quickly corrected the name behind it.

However, Rembrary’s signature was still shocking to the instructor.

Under the scary statement ‘I understand that I could die’ was the refreshing phrase ‘I love you, please support me a lot. >ㅅ< Always with you, Woo Rembrary.’ ‘Should I… tell him to rewrite it?’ The instructor stared blankly at the phrase in confusion, but when Rembrary spoke informally to him as usual, saying, “Instructor,” he flared up and shouted. “You! Why are you so nice with your writing when you’re speaking informally?! It’s even weirder!” “This emoticon is my pride mark.” “It doesn’t suit you!” “My believers love the dissonance that comes from that incongruity.” The instructor couldn’t understand what nonsense Rembrary was talking about and opened his mouth. The more he talked to this guy, the more he wondered, what is he…? Regardless, Rembrary drew a heart next to his signature, handed it to the instructor, and earnestly asked. “Please take good care of Joo Kyung while I’m gone.” Is he crazy, is he kind, or is he both? The instructor nodded blankly. Then, Rembrary neatly folded the paper and put it in his pocket, about to ask, ‘When can I leave? Will you support my travel expenses?’ when suddenly the machine on the instructor’s desk began to flash. It was a machine similar to the ones issued to the trainees. “Oh, dear.” Seeing that, the instructor clicked his tongue, stood up, and patted Rembrary on the back. “I’ll tell you the rest later. Just rest in your dorm for now.” Was there more explanation to hear? Before Rembrary could ask, the instructor hurriedly went down the emergency stairs. Rembrary thought for a moment, then quickly followed him. “What? Why are you following me?” The instructor, noticing the footsteps behind him, asked in bewilderment, but Rembrary silently followed him down, and eventually, the two arrived together in the lobby on the first floor. “Trainee, why are you coming?” The instructor scolded Rembrary in a small voice, but upon discovering someone blocking the entrance gate of the lobby, he managed his expression and approached them. Rembrary trailed closely behind. “What’s going on?” At the entrance gate, unfamiliar visitors in neat suits stood in groups, carrying long rifles on their shoulders that didn’t match their attire. Security guards were blocking them, and everyone looked tense, probably because of the guns. “What business do you have here?” When the instructor asked again, one of the guards replied. “They’re from the neighboring non-city. They say their lord sent an invitation to trainee Rembrary.” “What? The neighboring non-city?” The instructor asked back in bewilderment, then reflexively looked behind him. “!” He was startled and shrugged his shoulders. Rembrary was much closer behind him than he had thought. Thanks to that, the lord's subordinates from the non-city immediately recognized Rembrary and greeted him. “Blonde hair, red eyes, you must be Rembrary-nim.” The instructor and the guard widened their eyes at the honorific used by the lord's subordinates. -nim? The lord of the neighboring city had a history of kidnapping and releasing Rembrary. It wasn't even a long time ago. It happened just yesterday. So, if these were the lord's subordinates, they must have come with complaints, but '-nim'? Moreover, the subordinates were looking at Rembrary with shining eyes, as if looking at a savior. In the midst of all this, Rembrary asked, as if it were perfectly natural to receive such respect. “Yes, Rembrary-nim is me. What brings you to this body [What brings you here]?” The lord's subordinate bowed deeply and explained with a bright smile. “The lord was moved by Rembrary-nim’s power and wanted to invite you once more. He ordered us to escort you with the utmost courtesy and respect.” Another of the lord's subordinates, who was next to him, pointed to the outside of the bank with one hand and added. “We will escort you in a limousine.” The instructor shouting “No!” and Rembrary answering “Okay” were almost simultaneous. “What? You’re going?” The instructor turned to Rembrary in bewilderment. “You’re going now? There? To the guys who kidnapped you? Those guys killed two of our employees!” Rembrary calmly took out the paper the instructor had given him earlier and pointed at it with his finger. “You told me to get signatures from five lords, didn’t you? If I get it now, that’ll be four?” “!” The instructor gaped at the nonchalant answer. But soon, he gritted his teeth and snapped at the lord's subordinate. “No way.” “Rembrary-nim said he would come…” “You killed our colleagues. And now what?” “……” “If you really want to see his face, tell your lord to come here himself.” The lord's subordinates obediently turned back as if they couldn't help it, and the instructor snorted. Of course, he didn't say that thinking the lord would actually come. He didn't know. That the lord would really come that night.