Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 292

292. Uploading a Proof Shot

“I don’t have a business card.”

“If you join our company, we’ll make one for you, of course. No, that doesn’t mean I’m immediately accepting you into our company. You know less than I thought. There’s a mountain of things to teach you. It’s troubling.”

The Puppet Lord cursed Shin Jo-woon inwardly. He couldn’t tell the difference between grabbing someone by the collar and threatening them to sign, and threatening them with power.

No, Shin Jo-woon was even more irritating and unpleasant. It annoyed him that he was pretending not to be doing the same thing while threatening him.

But soon, he couldn’t even think about further complaints.

“Let’s kill the interest first before we talk about signing or anything.”

It was because of the Lion Lord’s words as he grabbed him by the neck, having approached unnoticed.

‘Damn it.’

The Puppet Lord bit his lip in embarrassment. He had been distracted by Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary for a moment and failed to defend himself immediately.

However, just before the Lion Lord sent the Puppet Lord’s neck bone to another place.

“You shouldn’t do that.”

Shin Jo-woon, who had been having a pointless conversation with Rembrary, immediately intervened and calmly informed him.

“Even though he’s a useless lord, it’s better to have even that kind of lord around.”

Even as he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Rembrary.

“What do you mean?”

Rembrary, receiving the gaze, asked on behalf of the Lion Lord, and Shin Jo-woon signaled to the Lion Lord once more, ‘I’m not just saying this. You really shouldn’t touch him,’ before answering.

“A non-city without a lord becomes a lawless zone as they fight over the lord’s seat. In such places, it’s not just monsters that are dangerous. People become more dangerous. You there. Didn’t you say you were a lord too? If you’re not confident in managing two territories at the same time, it’s better to leave him alone.”

The Lion Lord’s expression was unreadable due to the mask, but he didn’t immediately dispose of the Puppet Lord. He seemed to be quietly making his own judgment based on what Shin Jo-woon had said.

“…….”

After thinking for a long time, the Lion Lord reluctantly lowered his hand, though his attitude was unwilling.

Just as the Puppet Lord was relieved, Rembrary suddenly stepped forward again.

“Why are you doing this?”

‘Could it be that he’s trying to change his mind at the last minute?’ The Puppet Lord hesitated and stepped back.

However, Rembrary didn’t hit him. Instead, he put his thumb in the lord’s mouth and grabbed his chin with his other hand.

Shin Jo-woon, Sagamjae, and the Lion Lord were all surprised by the sudden event, but Rembrary, in that state, pressed his thumb against the lord’s tongue and muttered to himself in an incomprehensible language.

It was such a fast and bizarre language that even the Puppet Lord right in front of him couldn’t understand.

The Puppet Lord felt uneasy for no reason and wanted to push Rembrary away, but since he knew he would be caught again, he just blinked and endured the uncomfortable pressure of his tongue being pressed.

“Ugh.”

As he did so, something sharp pierced his tongue.

‘A fingernail?’

Rembrary, who was pressing the lord’s tongue with his thumb, dug his fingernail into his tongue. He didn’t know how hard he had dug, but a sticky and fishy liquid quickly filled his mouth.

The Puppet Lord reflexively shuddered at the thought that it was all his blood.

But still, the Puppet Lord couldn’t shake off Rembrary. Now, he wasn’t just not shaking his head because he was watching Shin Jo-woon’s reaction. He couldn’t move his head even when he put strength into his neck and head.

“Promise me. From now on, do not ‘intentionally’ torment people.”

As Rembrary urged him in this situation, the Puppet Lord nodded without even having time to think deeply about the promise.

“Will you swear to God?”

When Rembrary asked again, the Puppet Lord nodded unconditionally. The blood filling his mouth was sticky, and his tongue was very painful. He wanted to get rid of this guy quickly.

“I have received the oath.”

Fortunately, Rembrary withdrew his hand after receiving the lord’s answer. The lord cursed inwardly as he saw the blood on his thumb.

‘Huh?’

But he had clearly stabbed his fingernail into his tongue earlier. But when his hand came out of his mouth, there was no pain like before.

As the lord was touching his mouth, wondering what it was, Rembrary wiped the blood on Shin Jo-woon’s clothes and smiled gently.

“You have sworn to God. I don’t know what will happen if you break that oath now.”

“What does that…….”

“Try it if you want to know what that means.”

‘Did he use some strange ability? Or is it just a simple threat?’

“Ah, Lord. Can we upload a photo of us on social media?”

* * *

Date: Must be checked.

Time: It’s three in the afternoon.

To Redrin.

If you get in touch with Daeju, please hit him on the head and tell him it’s from me.

Because Daeju is hiding, I’ve had to leave on a journey to become a hunter.

I don’t know why Redrin made Daeju one of Redrin’s people.

To be honest, Daeju doesn’t have much besides his face.

……Did you make Daeju a Daeju because of his face? If so, wave a carrot through the clouds [offer an incentive].

Ah, what else do I have to say…… Ah, right. To become a hunter, I need to get signatures from fifteen people, and I’ve only filled three so far.

The Puppet Lord, the Lion Lord, and Shin Jo-woon are the three people.

I was going to go to the next city and get the fourth signature from the mayor there. Originally.

But because of the Puppet Lord, my car was destroyed, making it difficult to go to the next city. Actually, it’s not my car.

Anyway, Shin Jo-woon, after seeing this, offered to not only give me a ride but also get me signatures from the remaining four hunters, two mayors he’s close to, and one lord, so I’m now following Shin Jo-woon to the hunter company where he is.

Ah, Redrin, do you know Shin Jo-woon? Shin Jo-woon is… well… he used to be a whale, then an anchovy, and now he’s a dried shrimp…

“Rembrary trainee? What are you doing standing there with your hands together? Praying?”

Yes, I am praying.

The one who just interrupted my prayer is Shin Jo-woon, Redrin.

I have no intention of joining his company, but he’s already acting like I’m one of his subordinates. He’s too presumptuous.

I’m planning to take an opportunity later to let him know that I can’t be under anyone other than Redrin.

* * *

Time: 3:30 PM.

There are many arrogant guys in the hunter trainee community, Redrin.

Those guys came to the post I uploaded a few days ago and are making fun of me, laughing like ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’ [Korean laughter, similar to ‘hahaha’].

They’re saying things like, ‘If you got the lord’s signature, write a post here again,’ ‘Say something if you’re alive,’ ‘It’s okay to run away, just say something,’ and so on. They’re impudent. (I posted there before! Saying I would get the Puppet Lord’s signature!)

Everyone seems to think I went to get the Puppet Lord’s signature and died, so I uploaded a photo taken with the Puppet Lord as proof that I’m alive.

After uploading the photo, I checked and saw that there was a little blood on the lord’s mouth… but it’s okay. I look good, so that’s all that matters.

Redrin, do you know that there are things called cameras here? If you take a picture with it, my beauty easily appears like a painting. It’s very useful.

I’d like to send you a photo of myself too. Of course, you’d prefer me by your side rather than a photo, Redrin.

But if you still want one, just say the word.

* * *

“Wow, Han Jeong-seo, did you see this?”

It was a meeting day where the staff and cast members gathered in one place.

After talking for a couple of hours about which hunter prospects to look for next and whether there were any hunter prospects who had appeared like a new star.

Jeong-seo, who had taken a 30-minute break to go out for coffee, came back in, and as soon as he entered the conference room, one of the staff members called him while staring at the laptop screen.

“What is it?”

As Jeong-seo approached, the staff member pointed at the screen with his finger.

“Look at this. Crazy. An amazing trainee has appeared.”

The screen showed a man with ambiguously dark hair grown to his neck, whose features were neat, but whose atmosphere screamed ‘bad personality,’ smiling awkwardly with blood on his mouth.

But what the staff member was pointing at wasn’t the man. It must have been the very handsome man with his arm around the man’s shoulder, smiling brightly.

A man so handsome that even Jeong-seo, who had seen a few handsome people while working as a celebrity, had to rub his eyes.

But because the person next to him was smiling awkwardly with blood on his mouth, the blond man smiling brightly next to him didn’t seem to have a very good personality either.

“Who is it?”

The staff member scrolled down a bit and showed him the comments under the photo.

―The person with blood on his mouth is the Puppet Lord????? Seriously?

―I don’t think so. Isn’t he blond?

―ㄴㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no no’] I was in the same training center as Rembrary, and the blond one is Rembrary.

―Then isn’t the lord someone else? Does anyone know the lord’s face?

ㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no’] The lord is that person.

ㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no’] I’ve seen him too. Someone who went there as a group uploaded a photo.

―앜ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang for laughing out loud] Rembraryㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m going crazy. The lord is smiling forcibly, but he’s smiling so brightly next to him, it looks like he’s threatening him to take the pictureㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no’] It’s not just like he’s threatening him, it just looks like a real threat to anyone who sees it;;?

ㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no’] Rembrary came out looking like the worse guyㅋㅋㅋㅋ

―Wow, but if a trainee who isn’t even a formal hunter yet gets a signature from that psycho and even takes a proof shot, isn’t that really ㅎㄷㄷ [Korean abbreviation for ‘ㄷㄷㄷ’, representing trembling in fear or awe] legendary?

―Whatㅋ [Korean abbreviation for ‘what’] I heard he went with the lord of the next city?ㅋ [Korean abbreviation for ‘ke ke’, used to indicate laughter or sarcasm] He must have just hitched a ride.

ㄴ [Korean abbreviation for ‘no’] Even if the lord of the next city did everything for him, it’s still amazing. It’s not easy to make a lord do things and then hitch a ride.

Jeong-seo raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t a hunter, but he wasn’t completely ignorant about hunters. In today’s world, hunters were what people were more interested in than celebrities.

Among them, lords were the subject of considerable interest, both in good and bad ways.

Thanks to the monsters being driven out, the cities had become safer, but the non-urban areas had become much more dangerous than before. The lords were the only defense that could protect people in those dangerous non-urban areas, and at the same time, they were the ones who illegally occupied and dominated those areas, ignoring the law and the government.

People living safely in the cities always looked at those heterogeneous beings with interest. And among those lords, a trainee who wasn’t even a formal hunter seemed to have gotten something from a lord known for being ferocious.

“That’s amazing.”

As Jeong-seo admired, the staff member tapped the keyboard meaninglessly while his eyes sparkled.

“How about him? Isn’t he the perfect fit for our program? A hunter prospect! Look at his visuals. If we put him in the trailer with a sparkling halo effect and then write ‘A hunter who caused a stir in the training center!’ I think the viewership ratings will be good, right?”

Jeong-seo raised his eyebrows. People are always thirsty for new heroes, so it seemed likely.

“If he’s still a trainee, isn’t he not even a hunter prospect yet?”

When Jeong-seo asked, the staff member laughed and waved his hand.

“That kind of thing, well, it’s all good if we just gloss over it!”

“Is that so.”

“Ah, I have a friend who works at ‘Mirage.’ When I told that friend about him earlier, he said that he was already a noteworthy rookie and sent me the training center entrance video. Do you want to watch it?”

The staff member took out his phone and moved his fingers quickly. He seemed to be looking for the video he had received from his friend.

“This one.”

Finally finding the video he wanted, the staff member held out his phone to Jeong-seo. In the phone, the blond trainee from earlier was looking at someone and saying.

―That I am a very talented and great person?

―I also want to find out what my weaknesses are. Since I am so talented.

―People call beings that are too talented monsters. In that sense, I might be a monster too.

As the blond trainee in the video smiled gently and acted haughtily, the staff member laughed, saying it was funny even after seeing it again.

However, Jeong-seo couldn’t laugh along and only frowned. This trainee in the video. The way he talks is just like someone else.