Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 473

◈ 473. This Must Be Kept Secret

“Those guys. They seem to be chasing you,” Rembrary muttered, and Shin Jo-woon half-agreed.

“I don’t know if they’re chasing me, but they’re definitely chasing one of us.”

“Let’s go that way.”

Rembrary didn’t specify where ‘that way’ was, but Shin Jo-woon understood immediately and walked into a deserted alley.

As they entered the empty and desolate alley, the lively people disappeared, and soon the black-clad figures from before surrounded them and began to approach.

Rembrary said, as if to say ‘I told you so’.

“Why do you have so many enemies, Anchovy?”

“Why do you keep saying they’re my enemies?”

Shin Jo-woon rebuked Rembrary, but ultimately, they were his enemies.

The reason these enemies appeared was because of Rembrary.

The suspicious black-clad figures approaching them were all shadows sent by the Emperor.

They were chasing Shin Jo-woon, following the Emperor’s order to capture the man who looked and even had the same name as the Emperor.

They never expected that the strange doctor, who sometimes spoke impudently to the Emperor, would be by his side, but they couldn’t let Shin Jo-woon go when they had the Emperor’s command.

However, even as they approached Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary menacingly, they lamented inwardly several times.

‘He looks even more like His Majesty than I thought.’

‘It’s not just similar, is it?’

They had heard from the Emperor that he ‘resembled him a lot,’ but seeing him in person, they were surprised that he looked exactly like the Emperor, except for his hairstyle.

The shadows, who knew that Rembrary and Hwasa initially mistook the Emperor for Shin Jo-woon, felt sorry for having mocked them at the time.

Anyone who didn’t know there were two people with that face would naturally think they were the same person.

“We must capture him.”

However, resemblance was one thing, and capturing him was another. The subordinate shadows silently answered ‘Yes’ to their superior’s command.

Shin Jo-woon looked around at them and created a lump of ice in his hand, which greatly surprised them, but they still didn’t back down.

‘Be careful.’

‘He uses sorcery.’

But when Rembrary suddenly covered Shin Jo-woon’s ears from behind with his hands, the shadows were startled.

‘What is that?’

‘Why is he doing that?’

‘Why his own ally’s ears?’

‘It’s not even winter?’

Before their doubts could subside, Rembrary opened his mouth in that position.

“Get down.”

At the voice mixed with a faint divine威嚴 [divine majesty], the shadows, still bewildered, fell to the ground and let out silent screams.

Rembrary looked around at them, quickly took Shin Jo-woon, and left the place.

“Let’s get a veil first. If you go into the Imperial Palace with your face, everyone will be in an uproar.”

“Now that everyone’s gathered, we need to find a way back. Not stay here.”

“Saja and Ardor are all over there, so we have no choice. Gamjae and Mullu will come here too.”

The shadows remained in place for a while even after the two disappeared, and then, barely, the ones with stronger mental fortitude began to stagger up and move away.

Two of them, who were particularly strong mentally, quickly returned to the palace through a shortcut Rembrary didn’t know and urgently reported this to the Emperor.

* * *

Lumena-nim [term of address, similar to ‘dear Lumena’]. This is Rembrary.

I’m greeting you after receiving the패 [a communication device] from Shin Jo-woon.

Not all of our group has gathered yet, but all but two have, and we know where those two are.

Mullu is with the Blood Cult, and Gamjae went to get Mullu.

Lumena-nim, I’ll go eat and then continue praying.

Ah, Lumena-nim. Can you also talk to me?

If so, please don’t talk to me for about an hour, considering the time I’ll be eating.

*

Lumena-nim. This is Rembrary.

I just finished eating. There were so many 산나물 [wild greens] that I couldn’t tell if I had become a human or a rabbit, but it was delicious.

Lumena-nim. I want to eat pizza. I told Anchovy to make some, but he said there are no ingredients here.

Lumena-nim. Can you get the ingredients?

*

Lumena-nim. This is Rembrary.

I’m sorry for constantly interrupting the prayer.

The Emperor opened the door, saw Shin Jo-woon, and was so surprised that he closed the door and went back out.

Later, he came in pretending not to be surprised, but it was a lie. I saw his eyes were as big as chestnuts.

Anchovy was laughing arrogantly and nonchalantly while watching the Emperor’s surprise, but that guy is also lying.

When the Emperor closed the door and went out, Anchovy also had chestnut eyes.

Oh, the reason why these two were like that is because they look exactly alike. They both have the name Shin Jo-woon.

But Lumena-nim. Anchovy said that you bury 꼬꼬 [baby chickens] in the ground and raise them. Is that true?

*

Lumena-nim. This is Rembrary.

I was washing up this morning and realized I didn’t say something important yesterday.

Yesterday evening, I told Anchovy that there are people in this world who look like people on Earth.

I wanted him to be surprised, but he wasn’t and only asked where Tae-ri was.

I told him if I knew that, I would have gone to meet Tae-ri and wouldn’t be with his look-alike, and he got upset.

*

Lumena-nim. This is Rembrary.

The Emperor told Shin Jo-woon to earn his keep, so Anchovy filled the warehouse with ice.

The Emperor grumbled as if he didn’t like it, but he didn’t tell him to remove it. I think he likes it.

Oh, that’s not important.

Sagamjae arrived with Mullu. Now everyone here is gathered.

You can reply to the messages I send you at any time.

Or come in person.

*

Lumena-nim. This is Rembrary.

I feel so suffocated right now that I need you.

Around lunchtime. The Emperor called me and told me to find even one difference between Shin Jo-woon and his appearance.

I asked him why he needed that, and he said he didn’t like the fact that there was a human who looked exactly like him.

I told Anchovy that he had said that two hours ago, and he got even more upset, saying that if I found even one difference, the Emperor would give me an incredibly precious food that he could only eat three times a year.

Wow. Then I have to eat it. But as far as I know, there are no differences between them.

So, I thought about where I could lie that the Emperor couldn’t verify, and I said Shin Jo-woon was a eunuch.

The Emperor didn’t want to believe me at first, but eventually, he did. I persuaded him logically.

“There’s a reason why I called Your Majesty a eunuch when I first saw you.”

I said it like this.

The Emperor was very happy and gave me a strangely shaped green onion root.

“Isn’t this a green onion root?”

I asked hesitantly, and he said it wasn’t a green onion root but some 초 something 초 [herbal medicine].

So, it’s a 풀뿌리 [root of a wild plant].

Just a 풀뿌리. I sold Anchovy for a 풀뿌리.

He insisted it was precious, so I took it for now. But then I felt sorry for Shin Jo-woon, so I feel a bit suffocated.

That’s why I’m telling you, Lumena-nim.

But I feel relieved after confessing! I can sleep well now.

* * *

“The prayer?”

As soon as Rembrary, who had been holding the패 tightly, released the strength in his hand and opened his eyes, Shin Jo-woon asked while drinking tea.

Rembrary sighed, shook his head, and put the패 on the table.

“He keeps talking, but there’s no answer.”

“Could the situation be bad?” Sagamjae asked worriedly from the side.

“I don’t know.”

Rembrary also frowned.

Since the connection was cut off whenever Redrin’s situation was bad, he naturally worried that it might be the same this time.

“Anchovy. What was Lumena-nim’s condition like? Is there a god here who rejects Lumena-nim?”

“It didn’t seem like it.”

“Really?”

“He said he would come if you called, so he’ll come if we wait.”

Rembrary nodded with a serious face.

Seeing his expression, Sagamjae deliberately changed the subject to cheer him up.

“Shin Jo-woon-ssi. The human Emperor here smiles unpleasantly whenever he sees Shin Jo-woon-ssi. Do you know why?”

However, even though Sagamjae tried to change the subject, Rembrary’s expression became even more serious, and he even crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

A face lost in heavy thought. Sagamjae wondered why he was like that, and Shin Jo-woon glanced at him and answered.

“I was thinking about that too. He usually has a blank expression or frowns, but he doesn’t smile like that. He’s been smiling unpleasantly lately.”

Rembrary suddenly started coughing, so Shin Jo-woon stopped talking and poured him a new cup of tea.

“Drink.”

Rembrary looked back and forth between the teacup and Shin Jo-woon and muttered softly.

“Thank you, Whale.”

“?”

Shin Jo-woon frowned at the nickname that suddenly promoted him from Anchovy to Whale.

Rembrary only calls him Whale when there’s a reason…

However, the moment Shin Jo-woon, frowning, was about to ask why he suddenly called him Whale.

A voice calling “Councilor Rem” was heard from outside.

Rembrary quickly got up and opened the door.

The Emperor’s eunuch was standing in the yard.

“What’s wrong?”

“His Majesty wants you to examine the 태후마마 [Empress Dowager] because she’s coughing.”

“Alright.”

Rembrary, feeling uneasy about selling Shin Jo-woon and getting a 풀뿌리, followed the eunuch without delay.

As Rembrary disappeared, the room where only Sagamjae and Shin Jo-woon were left was instantly filled with silence.

Since they had clashed during Rembrary’s underworld abduction incident in the past, they didn’t have much to say to each other.

Sagamjae awkwardly fiddled with the teacup and glanced at the back door, wondering if he should go out too.

But before he could say he would leave, Shin Jo-woon unexpectedly called him first.

“Let’s talk about something.”

“About what…?”

“About Lumena-nim. And the 조각 [fragment].”

However, being left alone with Sagamjae or Hwasa was the moment Shin Jo-woon had been waiting for.

He had been mindful of the time when he would be left alone with Sagamjae and Hwasa, without making the situation unnatural so that Rembrary wouldn’t notice.

Sagamjae, unaware of the situation, asked in bewilderment.

“Didn’t we talk about it before?”

He had heard about Lumena’s ‘Sleeping God and Demon King 조각’ plan on the day he brought Mullu.

But as soon as Rembrary left, he was going to talk about it again?

“If you’re going to do it again because you have nothing to say, it’s okay. I remember it.”

“It’s fake information.”

Sagamjae stared blankly at Shin Jo-woon and was surprised a beat later.

“Fake information?”

“In case the Demon King 조각 inside Rembrary hears our conversation. Lumena-nim told me to deceive Rembrary, so I made it up. Some of the stories I heard at that time are false.”

Sagamjae was really surprised.

Shin Jo-woon pointed out one by one which parts were false and which parts were true.

“It’s not a god who wakes up periodically, but a sleeping god. The god intentionally put his body to sleep by mobilizing all his abilities. Lumena-nim said that even if the Demon King 조각 tries to wake him up, he won’t be able to. Because he deliberately fell asleep. But the reason why I said he could wake him up is to induce the Demon King 조각 to enter voluntarily.”

“Ah.”

Sagamjae understood, but he was still so surprised that he nodded blankly.

“Then…”

“I don’t know if we just need to go find the sleeping god, or if we need to do something more. We’ll only know when Lumena-nim finds out the location of the sleeping god.”

Sagamjae gulped down the tea and nodded quickly.

When he first heard it, he was briefly surprised that Shin Jo-woon and Lumena had deceived Rembrary, but when he thought about it, it didn’t seem to make a big difference whether it was a lie or the truth.

“If you have a chance to be alone with Hwasa, tell him too.”

“Rembrary, Mullu, Ardor. So, we need to keep it a secret from these three?”

Shin Jo-woon nodded, and Sagamjae understood.

They didn’t know that Rembrary, who had quickly healed the 태후 and returned, had heard the last words.

Rembrary frowned and tilted his head.

‘What are they keeping secret from me, Mullu, and Ardor?’