Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 431

◈ 431. You Guys Have to Perform

It was the day of the 14th Citadel Lord’s grandson’s first birthday.

It was just the first birthday of a baby, but the Lord had put so much effort into the party, hiring countless troupes, that the atmosphere was more like a festival for the Citadel than a simple birthday celebration.

“Oh, my! The Citadel Lord’s grandson is one year old? What a momentous occasion!”

“Lord, your grandson turning one… it’s truly touching.”

“The young master will surely become a great man!”

People showered the Citadel Lord, who was providing free entertainment, with excessive praise for a baby whose name they didn’t even know.

The Citadel Lord nodded contentedly, accepting the well wishes. That was Lee Gak’s style.

“Chief Manager.”

“Yes, Lord?”

“Why do I feel so uneasy when I hear these compliments?”

“What should we correct?”

“It’s like they’re calling my grandson a blockhead.”

“Of course not! Who would dare?!”

“Is that so?”

However, unlike the others who were simply enjoying themselves, the bandit leader, Duran, and the bandit subordinates had a grim atmosphere.

The birthday celebration had started, but the Hwachinchin troupe was nowhere to be seen.

Especially since they might have to perform themselves if the troupe didn’t show up, the bandit leader was so nervous that his palms and soles were sweating.

Breaking the promise with Rembrary was something he had given up on ever since he vomited blood while filling out the application.

The bandit leader could only hope that Rembrary would return soon.

“Damn it. That guy, he didn’t push me into this because he didn’t want to perform himself, did he?”

“Ah, that can’t be, Gangkyo. Rembrary is really serious about performing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Yes. Probably.”

“What do you mean ‘probably’?! That’s not a definite answer!”

“Well… I’ve only known him for less than half a month…”

“What?! So he’s basically a stranger!”

* * *

The night before the last day of the birthday celebration. Rembrary, who had been making the bandit leader tremble by not showing up, finally arrived at the last possible moment.

When Rembrary asked around and found the place where they were staying, Duran and the bandit leader were on the verge of tears, each for different reasons.

“Rembrary! I was worried something might have happened to you!”

Duran ran to Rembrary and sniffled, and Rembrary patted him on the shoulder in a comforting manner.

The bandit leader was the first to notice the absence of the troupe members.

“Hey, weirdo.”

“Duran, he’s calling you.”

“Yes, Gangkyo.”

“Not you, kid! I’m talking to the blonde!”

“What is it?”

“Why are you alone?”

When Rembrary pointed to the bandit subordinate who had gone to the 15th Citadel with him, the subordinate quickly raised his hand.

“I’m here too!”

The bandit leader slapped the subordinate on the back and yelled.

“Not you! Your troupe members!”

“Ah.”

Duran finally noticed that the others weren’t there and muttered, “Huh.”

However, he didn’t seem too worried, as if he expected them to arrive soon.

“You came first?”

Duran asked brightly, and Rembrary nodded.

“Yes. Due to time constraints, I came first.”

Rembrary’s immediate response reassured the bandit leader, who had been feeling uneasy, and he calmed down.

“Ah, you should have said so earlier! You scared me half to death!”

“Did I have the chance to say anything?”

Rembrary retorted confidently, and the bandit leader closed his mouth, as if thinking, ‘Maybe?’

Duran was now completely relieved and wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he asked.

“So when are the leader and the others coming? Tomorrow morning? Dawn?”

“They’ll be coming a bit later than that.”

“In the afternoon? That’s cutting it close.”

“No. In a month.”

The leader’s anger, which had subsided, doubled and exploded again at Rembrary’s answer.

“What the hell, you bastard?!”

This time, even Duran couldn’t think positively and dropped his jaw.

* * *

“So….”

The bandit leader pressed his throbbing forehead and barely managed to speak.

“The others can’t come because they have to give victim statements. You guys were rescued right away after going to the scene, so you didn’t have much to testify and got out in a day?”

“The process was a bit complicated. They asked how we knew the information.”

The bandit who had gone to the 15th Citadel with Rembrary shuddered at the memory, as if it was still horrifying.

The bandit leader waved his hand dismissively, as if that wasn’t important at all.

“Anyway, so you came alone. But the troupe needs at least five people. And the number of troupe members available to perform right now is….”

“Two.”

“I know! I know!”

The bandit leader jumped up and screamed as if sobbing, then barely managed to sit back down to avoid losing face with his subordinates.

However, he was still a leader who led a group of bandits, so he had some level of control.

Even though he was angry, since the situation was already like this, the bandit leader tried not to get agitated and racked his brain as much as possible.

Think. That guy needs five people, but only two are prepared. He needs three more. If we can’t perform, that guy’s evil magic will cause another hemorrhage, and I’ll be on the verge of death.

So we have to perform no matter what. Then we just need to fill three more spots….

“Him. Him. Him.”

After finishing his calculations, the bandit leader decided to sacrifice two subordinates he didn’t like, including the bandit subordinate who had gone to the 15th Citadel with Rembrary.

“I’ll lend you those three, so perform.”

One of them was happy and boasted that he was actually good at dancing, but the other two looked like they had eaten dirt and protested.

“How can you do this, Leader!”

“No way! Me, perform?!”

“Shh!”

The bandit leader threateningly silenced them and looked at Rembrary, as if asking, ‘Is this okay?’

However, Rembrary shook his head and asked Duran.

“Duran, what are you good at?”

“We practiced together….”

“Was it dancing?”

“Instruments!”

“Right. You played the flute.”

“The geomungo!”

“Right, the geomungo [Korean zither]. Perfect.”

The distance between Rembrary and Duran could be felt in every word of their conversation, and the bandit leader no longer wanted to yell at Duran. He saw his own situation as being no different from Duran’s.

Meanwhile, Rembrary pondered something and then asked the bandit leader.

“Bandit, then you guys can dance.”

No, it wasn’t a question. It was a suggestion. Close to an order.

“What are you talking about! You guys! Dancing!”

The bandit leader trembled and stood up again.

The bandits who were watching the situation were also bewildered and looked at each other. One of the bravest among them cautiously asked Rembrary.

“When you say ‘you guys’… how far does that range….”

“Everyone.”

“!”

* * *

Because the bandits fell into a state of panic, Rembrary had to give them time to sort out their thoughts.

During that time, Rembrary also gradually sorted out the words that Jongwoo and the dance teacher had told him.

-You can’t do complicated dances when you’re in the center. Because you can’t dance.

-If you can’t dance well, a simple group dance is much better. Everyone matches the beat and does simple movements together.

Rembrary was planning to use that advice.

And when the bandits sorted out their thoughts and gathered, Rembrary told them his plan.

“Duran will play the geomungo. I will sing. You guys will dance.”

“We’ll be the most noticeable?!”

“The performance is tomorrow, what are we supposed to do!”

“I’ve never danced even once in my life!”

“I’d rather play an instrument.”

Rembrary waved his hand to calm the confused bandits and then told them his plan.

* * *

The grand five-day birthday celebration was nearing its end.

It would be understandable to be tired of watching performances for five days, but the Citadel Lord’s eyes were sparkling as he diligently watched the last day’s performance as well.

The onlookers whispered that the Citadel Lord really loved performances.

However, the reason the Citadel Lord’s eyes were sparkling today wasn’t because he enjoyed the performances themselves.

The Citadel Lord wanted to see the performance of the troupe that had vomited blood while saying they wanted to attend his birthday celebration.

Just how much did they practice, and how amazing were they, that they wanted to perform so badly that they vomited blood? He wanted to see the soul of that great artist.

Because of this, no matter how splendid the previous performances were, they couldn’t properly satisfy the Citadel Lord.

“Hwachinchin, Hwachinchin.”

The Citadel Lord smiled contentedly and ate the grapes that the servants brought.

And finally, the moment he had been waiting for and anticipating, Hwachinchin’s turn arrived.

It wasn’t a very good order [performing slot].

Except for the Citadel Lord, the general audience was exhausted from watching performances for five days, and now, except for a few very talented troupes, they all seemed the same.

Moreover, it wasn’t good that the other troupes who had finished their performances were watching with fire in their eyes.

At first, they were greatly impressed when they saw the bandit leader vomiting blood, saying he wanted to perform.

However, as time passed, some people began to dislike it.

This was because the Citadel Lord had sent someone to tell the chief manager to ‘accept the application of that man who is vomiting blood.’

The majority of the troupes gathered here were also aiming for the Citadel Lord’s recommendation, so Hwachinchin, who had caught the Citadel Lord’s eye from the time they submitted their application, couldn’t help but be an unfavorable competitor.

“Let’s see how good they are that they put on such an act.”

“After begging while vomiting blood, what if it turns out to be nothing special?”

“It probably won’t be anything special. I looked up how great the troupe was after seeing him beg like that, but it’s a completely unknown troupe. No one knows them.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

While some were bored, some were wary, and some were expectant. Finally, the Hwachinchin troupe members began to come onto the stage.

People reflexively closed their mouths when people came onto the stage, then instinctively whispered.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Their builds… they’re all huge?”

“The build isn’t the problem. Look at their faces. Their faces are all scary.”

Hwachinchin certainly attracted the attention of the bored people from the very beginning.

As the bandits in all-black attire appeared in a row according to Rembrary’s instructions, people’s attention was immediately focused on their fierce expressions and threatening builds.

Among them, Duran, carrying a geomungo that was as big as he was, looked unnecessarily small even though he was of average build.

‘Is this okay?’

Perhaps Duran looked even more dejected because he was worried about the stage that Rembrary had put together.

However, no matter how much Duran worried, it was useless. All the preparations had already been completed under Rembrary’s leadership.

In that case, all that was left was to do his best. Duran sat down on the chair prepared at the back of the stage with a gloomy expression.

And then, the geomungo….

“Look at that person. He’s standing the geomungo up!”

“Why is he standing the geomungo up?”

“Is the geomungo originally played standing up?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Isn’t that a different instrument than the geomungo?”

When Duran leaned the geomungo against his knees and only brought one hand to the strings, people were confused and buzzed.

The dancers were presumed to be burly and had fierce expressions, and the only musician held the instrument in a strange direction. It was impossible not to be confused.

Duran’s nerve fibers were also confused and whispered. Is this okay? Shouldn’t I play it like this? This is weird.

But before Duran could sort out his thoughts, the bandits shouted the slogan to announce the start of the performance.

“Oi!”

At the voice of the bandit leader, who was given the special privilege of shouting “Oi” first by Rembrary, the other bandits simultaneously shouted, “Oi!” in unison.

The Citadel Lord’s grandson, who had been fussing, as well as the Citadel Lord, widened their eyes.

Duran closed his eyes tightly and brought his four fingers together to strike the strings simultaneously with a ‘Ding!’

Something also rang ‘Ding!’ in people’s heads.

The spectators widened their eyes and blinked their eyelashes quickly. Especially the other musicians who played the geomungo.

It was an act that Rembrary, who didn’t know what a geomungo was, had ordered, saying, “Please drop the beat with this,” but they had no way of knowing that.

In fact, Duran didn’t know what a beat was or what a drop was, but he was just doing it.

“Oi! Oi! Oi!”

In the meantime, the bandits swayed their bodies from side to side as they had practiced, shouting slogans in time with the beat.

Thanks to the bandit leader’s tyranny and training, everyone was perfectly in sync with the beat, and as Rembrary had expected, the sight gave a sense of intimidation and a strong impression.

Whether this should be called a troupe dance or not.

In that moment when people were confused and thought, ‘What is this!’, the bandits suddenly stopped their slogans and movements, and almost simultaneously, Rembrary went up the stage stairs and began to sing.

At that sweet and elegant voice, the mouths of the people who were confused, saying, ‘It’s cool, but is that a dance? Isn’t it just a movement?’ slowly opened this time.