Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 448

448. I Don’t Really Want to Take Him

Thanks to the swift mobilization of numerous Demonic Cult members, Rembrary and the guard managed to escape from the cave with minimal delay.

The rescue came sooner than the guard had anticipated, who had been worried they might have to wait several days.

The reason for the quick response was simple: a singer with no martial arts skills had entered the cave used by the Great Lord for secluded training, so everyone was keeping a close watch on the area.

“Why did you take someone who doesn’t even know the basics of light footwork [a martial arts technique for moving quickly and quietly] down into the underground?”

“Be careful. It’s hard to find a singer who doesn’t tremble and can actually sing in front of the Great Lord.”

Listening to his colleagues’ nagging, the guard repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, wanting to protest, ‘I didn’t take him down there! He jumped in first, so I had no choice but to follow.’

However, what bothered the guard most wasn’t this unfair situation, but something else entirely.

‘The Great Lord told me to break that guy’s leg and make it look like an accident.’

While walking through the cave, he had been focused on navigating the terrain; when they fell to the bottom, he was worried about their escape if he broke Rembrary’s leg; and after they got back up, there were too many people around to carry out the Great Lord’s secret instruction.

The guard was deeply troubled by this.

If it was just about breaking the leg, he could do it anytime, even now.

The problem was the ‘as if it were an accident’ part.

And now, with so many people surrounding the blonde singer, it was even more difficult to get close to him.

* * *

Regardless of the guard’s internal conflict, Rembrary left the cave, enjoyed a meal, ate some snacks, took a leisurely nap, and then went to see the Great Lord.

It was already late at night, but Rembrary wasn’t concerned because he was confident that the Great Lord couldn’t sleep without him anyway.

“Did you enjoy your cave exploration?”

As expected, the Great Lord, who was spending time alone drinking tea, greeted Rembrary without any reprimand when he arrived.

“I heard it caused quite a commotion.”

The Great Lord seemed tired, as if he was accustomed to not sleeping for a day or two, but he still appeared to be in good condition.

When the servant poured hot water into the Great Lord’s teacup and stepped back, the Great Lord gestured for Rembrary to sit opposite him.

Rembrary sat down and replied.

“There’s a strange energy in the cave.”

“Strange energy?”

“I think that energy is the reason you’re suffering from insomnia.”

The servant reappeared, poured hot tea for Rembrary, and retreated.

The Great Lord stirred the teacup with a small spoon and chuckled.

“Are you that happy?”

When Rembrary asked with a pleased expression, the Great Lord shook his head and inquired.

“Rembrary, have you ever studied martial arts?”

“No.”

“But you felt a strange energy?”

The corner of the Great Lord’s mouth quirked up in amusement.

“And that strange energy is the cause of my insomnia?”

It seemed funny and absurd that Rembrary, who hadn’t learned martial arts, was talking about energy.

People who haven’t trained in martial arts can’t even sense killing intent properly.

However, Rembrary didn’t understand the mindset of martial artists, so he didn’t know why the Great Lord was acting this way and simply drank his tea.

“I guess you don’t believe me.”

“No. It’s hard to believe.”

“…….”

“Okay. Then let me ask you this: what kind of energy is that strange energy in the cave?”

“It’s the energy of a god.”

The Great Lord stared at Rembrary’s gentle smile and serious eyes, then tapped the table lightly with his fingers as he pondered.

‘Is he deeply involved in some strange religion?’

* * *

After Rembrary left, the Great Lord summoned the guard who had accompanied Rembrary into the cave and asked.

“Rembrary said he felt a strange energy in the cave. He said that energy is the cause of my insomnia. Did you feel that energy too?”

“Not at all.”

“Yes. I thought so.”

The Great Lord chuckled as if he had expected that answer.

“He was saying it so seriously that I wondered if it was true, but it’s not. A singer who’s good at singing feeling an energy that even the Demonic Cult investigators couldn’t detect? That can’t be true.”

The guard, who had been momentarily swayed by Rembrary’s words while in the cave, offered sincere advice.

“It’s better to ignore about half of what that guy says, Great Lord. If you take everything he says to heart, you’ll end up possessed by a demon.”

“Okay.”

The Great Lord nodded and reached for the kettle to pour another cup of tea, but the guard took the kettle instead and handed it to him, cautiously watching his expression.

When he was summoned, he had expected the Great Lord to ask about the task he had been assigned.

Why did you fail? But why is he asking such unrelated questions?

He had failed to break Rembrary’s leg as the Great Lord had ordered.

Rembrary’s leg being intact was obvious just by looking at him.

But the fact that the Great Lord wasn’t saying anything meant… was he going to let it slide?

“Why didn’t you complete the mission?”

I guess not. Just when it seemed like he was going to let it go, he suddenly lashed out, and the guard cautiously watched the Great Lord’s expression before quickly waving his hand.

“I have something important to tell you.”

Then, anticipating the Great Lord’s scolding for failing the mission, he quickly presented the answer he had found in the room earlier, having prepared it in advance.

“I have something to show you, Great Lord!”

Even though he wondered what the guard was suddenly going to show him, the Great Lord nodded in agreement.

“Show me.”

As soon as those words were spoken, the guard hurriedly began to untie his clothes.

When the Great Lord’s expression turned fierce at the sight, another guard rushed in to drag him out.

“Wait, just a moment! I must show you!”

The panicked guard hurriedly pleaded, and the Great Lord, pressing his temple and feeling overwhelmed with fatigue, gestured for them to leave him alone.

“Okay. Let’s see what he’s doing.”

The guard quickly moved his hands faster, lowered the top of his clothes, and revealed the area from his side to his stomach to the Great Lord.

“Look here, Great Lord.”

Since all that was visible was bare skin, the Great Lord’s expression became even more fierce than before.

The guard hurriedly continued.

“Do you remember, Great Lord? There used to be a very large scar from here to here.”

“I don’t know.”

The Great Lord didn’t remember.

But fortunately, another guard remembered the scar and chimed in.

“Ah! I remember, Great Lord. It’s the scar from when we fought with the Righteous Sect [a common term for orthodox martial arts sects] during a previous mission. He was in recovery for almost three months because of that.”

“Is that so.”

The Great Lord frowned, about to ask why he was suddenly showing him the scarred area.

Then he noticed that there wasn’t even a scar on the area the guard was showing.

“Was it a small scar?”

“No, Great Lord. The scar was so big that it couldn’t even heal properly and kept festering. But after visiting that cave, the medical staff examined it and found it like this.”

The Great Lord frowned.

“Does that mean—”

“That Rembrary guy is strange, but it seems to be true that there is a mysterious power there.”

The guard’s wound was healed because Rembrary had healed him, but the guard, who had fainted and woken up, didn’t know this.

The guard, who only knew Rembrary as a singer, had no choice but to believe that he had been healed by a mysterious power flowing in the cave.

When the guard finished speaking, the Great Lord sat with his legs crossed and pondered for a moment.

* * *

Because the Great Lord said he had something to think about and wouldn’t be sleeping for now, Rembrary didn’t sing and returned to his room, constantly talking to the Demon King Fragment.

However, the Demon King Fragment, which had been so talkative in the cave, now diligently ignored all of Rembrary’s words.

It was as if he was asleep and couldn’t hear anything.

But since the Demon King Fragment had admitted to ‘watching’ with his own mouth, Rembrary could never truly relax.

Moreover, now that he knew the Demon King was watching, he had to be mindful of this fact.

Right now, it didn’t matter because he was focused on finding his companions, but when he started looking for a way to separate and seal the Demon King Fragment, he couldn’t discuss it where the Demon King Fragment could overhear.

As the night passed and morning arrived, the Demon King Fragment remained silent, and instead, Duran spoke.

“Hey… Rembrary. How long do we have to stay here?”

“I was just about to leave.”

“Really? Can we go?”

“If you want to go, you can go.”

“Did the Great Lord say it’s okay…?”

“If I want to go, I can go. What does he have to do with it?”

Rembrary reassured Duran, who kept whining as if he was anxious.

Then, he left the temporary residence to find Lord Yeon Seung-kyung.

He planned to ask Lord Yeon Seung-kyung to help him find his companions as promised, and then leave this place.

He felt sorry for the Great Lord, but he couldn’t stay here just to help him sleep.

‘If what he needs to fall asleep isn’t divine power but singing, he’ll be able to find another singer if he looks hard enough.’

But when he asked around and went to find Lord Yeon Seung-kyung, the Great Lord was already there.

Lord Yeon Seung-kyung had a flustered expression next to the Great Lord.

“It’s Rembrary.”

The Great Lord, upon seeing Rembrary, pretended to recognize him and called his name.

Lord Yeon Seung-kyung also belatedly composed himself and nodded, asking.

“What’s going on?”

They both seemed to be in the middle of a private conversation. It didn’t seem like something they wanted to discuss in front of Rembrary.

Since he wasn’t particularly curious about their discussion, Rembrary immediately stated his purpose.

“I’m about to leave. Even after I leave, keep your promise and continue to look for my companions.”

Lord Yeon Seung-kyung already knew that Rembrary wasn’t planning to stay, but he raised his eyebrows, surprised that Rembrary would so openly talk about leaving in front of the Great Lord, who was trying to keep him here.

However, that expression soon shifted into a subtle, difficult-to-describe look.

Moreover, with that subtle expression, Lord Yeon Seung-kyung glanced at the Great Lord.

Wondering why he was looking at the Great Lord, Rembrary followed his gaze, and saw the Great Lord, with a tired face, giving a meaningful smile as he approached Rembrary and patted him on the shoulder a few times.

Puzzled by this sudden display of friendliness, Rembrary was even more confused when the Great Lord simply left, and Lord Yeon Seung-kyung sighed heavily and explained.

“Hey, blonde singer.”

“My name is Rembrary.”

“…I’ve been wondering since before. Wasn’t the name you introduced to me longer?”

When Rembrary shrugged, Lord Yeon Seung-kyung’s face showed discomfort, but he quickly waved his hand as if he didn’t care about the name and continued.

“You said you were going somewhere, right?”

“I never told you that.”

“…Could you tell me where you’re going?”

“I’m going to the Five Stars [likely referring to a specific location or organization]. I’m supposed to meet the other troupe members there.”

Lord Yeon Seung-kyung muttered to himself, “Of all places, it has to be the Five Stars again. Martial Arts Alliance [a major faction in the martial arts world]. I’m going crazy.”

Wondering why he was muttering to himself like that, Rembrary stared at him, and Yeon Seung-kyung sighed and said.

“The Great Lord said he’s going to follow you.”

“What?”

“Since he can’t sleep without you anyway, and his martial arts progress is blocked, he needs more than just training, so he’s going to accompany you on your journey.”

“…….”

When Rembrary didn’t seem very pleased and his voice tightened, Yeon Seung-kyung added in a defensive tone.

“He said that if he travels with the troupe, he might be able to find a useful singer who can replace you.”

Still, when Rembrary didn’t ease his expression, Yeon Seung-kyung became annoyed and forced the issue in a scolding tone.

“You should welcome the Great Lord with open arms when he goes with you, what’s with that expression? Take him, no, escort him! And I’ll find your companions with the weird hair colors for you.”