Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 485

◈ 485. I Heard It Before

The Emperor stared silently at the Shadow.

Feeling accused by the Shadow’s wordless gaze, he flinched almost imperceptibly.

“Move the Holy Ground? Does that even make sense?”

After a long, silent stare, the words that finally emerged were, predictably, negative.

“Would that be so bad?”

As the Shadow asked quietly, the Emperor raised an eyebrow, prompting the Shadow to quickly prostrate itself.

“I am sorry.”

“To move the nation’s treasure just to hinder one measly doctor.”

“Yes. I am sorry.”

As the Emperor frowned, the Shadow shrank back even further.

The Shadow had only suggested it because the Emperor seemed to excessively covet Doctor Rem’s abilities. Receiving this reaction, it felt foolish.

The Shadow simply viewed the Holy Ground as important for its symbolic value, not its physical location.

It didn’t mean to belittle the nation’s treasure.

It was called a Holy Ground, but wasn’t it true that no one even dared to go there out of fear?

At that moment, the Emperor, who had been silent the whole time, quietly spoke.

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

“Doctor Rem. His Majesty invites you to a drinking session this evening.”

Rembrary was bewildered by the words conveyed by the Emperor’s eunuch.

It wasn’t uncommon for the Emperor’s eunuch to visit.

In fact, he came almost every day, or once every two days if nothing was happening, making him one of the most frequent visitors.

But suddenly, drinks?

“Drinks? What kind of drinks are you talking about?”

As Rembrary asked in bewilderment, the eunuch replied with a polite demeanor.

“How would I know such a thing?”

He looked like he knew a lot, but instead of prying into the situation, Rembrary only asked the necessary questions.

“Are we all drinking together?”

“No. He wishes to drink with you alone.”

“Drinks?”

“Yes. Ah. Perhaps you can’t drink?”

“No. I’m fine.”

As the eunuch said he would return later and left, Rembrary tilted his head.

“Why would he suddenly want to drink?”

Although puzzled, Rembrary decided to just let it go and leaned back on the bed.

Drinking with the Emperor wasn’t something to worry about at all.

The important thing was the Demon King fragment, and Redrin.

Rembrary rested his head on the bed and recalled what happened when he returned to Earth.

Leaving the Demon King fragment here wouldn’t make Earth completely safe.

It would only prevent the Demon King from fully manifesting.

So even after crossing back, he would still have to fight against the Demon King and the demons…

* * *

Even the gods were troubled by things not going as planned.

Lumena sighed as she watered the flowers in her secluded garden.

Redrin’s mocking voice echoed in her ears.

—The reason why everything beneath you is a chicken is because your head is a chicken.

Even just hearing the voice made her annoyed, and when even the mocking expression flickered before her eyes, Lumena tightly closed her eyes and cursed under her breath.

Lumena recalled when she first met Gasora.

Gasora was a child whose family was torn apart after her parents were branded as enemies of the martial arts world [a fictional world where martial arts are highly developed and influential].

Those who sought revenge and killed Gasora’s parents and family believed that their revenge would only be complete if they killed Gasora as well.

Some opposed it because she was a young child, but their opinions were overruled by the majority.

The majority were convinced that if Gasora was left alive, blood would call for blood, and Gasora would eventually grow into another villain.

It was Lumena who saved her while passing by.

Drawn to the desperate voice asking for help, Lumena had to fight against the majority who wanted to end the cycle of revenge in order to save the child.

One of the reasons why Lumena was branded as a member of the evil faction was because the majority of those opposing her were righteous people.

At the time, she didn’t even know what evil or righteous factions were, and in fact, she still didn’t quite understand it.

In any case, the child, who had nowhere to return, didn’t want to leave Lumena’s side.

The terrified child thought the world would end if she left Lumena’s side, and Lumena took the child with her, personally teaching and raising her.

She was younger than Lapsus when they first met, but Lapsus was also a handful, so raising Gasora wasn’t that difficult.

The child grew quickly, as all humans do, and soon became strong enough that she didn’t need her protection.

She thought she had given her a lot of affection during that time.

It might not be as much as parents give their children, but she felt like she had cherished her diligently.

So why was Gasora going down the same path as Lapsus again?

It was so nice when they lived together.

When she was young, Gasora was just cute, following her around and smiling brightly.

After she got a little older, she said she would cook, having learned it from somewhere, and went around doing this and that. She offered to sew for her, and in winter, she would warm up her clothes in advance and give them to her to wear.

She learned the zither [a traditional Chinese stringed instrument] and said she would play it for her, strumming and plucking, and she learned songs and said she would sing them for her, humming.

She was such a kind child. She said that being with her teacher was her happiness, so why was she suddenly following the Demon King?

Lumena couldn’t understand it at all.

* * *

Rembrary couldn’t know that Lumena was lost in thought, so he could only wait.

When will Lumena come, but if she comes now, will the Demon King fragment obediently follow? Thinking about this, Rembrary’s day passed quickly.

As he was doing so, evening came, and the eunuch arrived as he had been told in advance.

“I will guide you, Doctor Rem.”

Rembrary put aside his confused thoughts and followed the chief eunuch.

The chief eunuch led him to a quaint pavilion by the lake.

The Emperor was already there, and perhaps because it was outdoors, guards were standing densely around him.

“Hello.”

As Rembrary approached the Emperor and greeted him, some of the guards flinched, indicating that even guards who were not usually by the Emperor’s side had gathered here.

The Emperor, noticing the guards’ reaction, gestured to the chief eunuch, who quickly understood and instructed the guards.

“Step back.”

As the guards stood a little further away from the Emperor, Rembrary went to the empty seat opposite the Emperor, examined the table setting, and was pleased.

Rembrary was a high priest who didn’t hold back on praise, so when he liked the table setting, his thumb naturally went up.

“Giant anchovy.”

Then, giving him the title that the Emperor coveted, the Emperor also understood the praise and nodded, saying calmly.

“Giant anchovy.”

On the other hand, the guards, even though they were at a distance, could still hear the conversation, and some of them flinched.

The chief eunuch gestured to those guards to move further away, and then quickly stepped back a little himself.

The chief eunuch had made his own calculations.

The Emperor was accepting whatever Rembrary said right now, but he might get angry if he couldn’t persuade him, and if he got angry, he didn’t know where the sparks would fly.

But no matter what others thought, Rembrary was simply happy with the splendid table setting and asked.

“Your Majesty. Can I eat? All of this?”

“You can eat. All of it.”

As Rembrary smiled brightly, the Emperor gestured to another eunuch.

The eunuch quickly stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves, and said to Rembrary.

“Please tell me what food you would like to eat, Doctor Rem. I will pick it up for you.”

“That one.”

As soon as Rembrary pointed, the eunuch used long chopsticks to pick up the seasoned meat and put it on a white plate.

Rembrary excitedly put the meat in his mouth, chewed it, and muttered in satisfaction.

“Delicious.”

“Give him more.”

As the Emperor ordered, the eunuch put the same food on Rembrary’s plate again.

As Rembrary ate it right away, the Emperor ordered again.

“Give him something else too.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As soon as the eunuch put the food on the plate, Rembrary immediately picked it up and ate it.

The Emperor stared silently at his happy appearance as he ate, but Rembrary didn’t care at all.

The chief eunuch looked back and forth between the two of them and admired them inwardly.

If someone stared at you like that, even if the person staring wasn’t the Emperor, you would feel burdened and choke.

How can he eat so well? Can he even digest it?

“Aren’t you eating, Your Majesty?”

“Will you drink too?”

“I don’t drink anything bitter.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Judging from your usual eating habits. But this is sweet wine, so it should be okay to drink.”

When Rembrary had eaten about half of the food, the Emperor personally poured him wine, and Rembrary suspiciously smelled the wine in the glass.

Then, soon convinced that there was no bitter taste, he nodded and looked at the Emperor.

“You’re right. It smells sweet.”

After that, the Emperor continued to drink, and Rembrary put about half a sip of wine in his mouth for every five dishes.

However, as the drinking party continued, the Shadow became puzzled.

The Shadow thought that the Emperor would get Rembrary drunk and then get him to reveal his inner thoughts.

To find a clue to keep him here.

However, even while drinking with Rembrary, the Emperor only exchanged bland small talk.

He didn’t talk about any important matters at all.

Not to mention Rembrary, the Emperor didn’t even bring up topics like staying in the palace or receiving a government post.

Although puzzled, it wasn’t its place to interfere, so the Shadow simply hid its presence and stared intently at the two people’s drinking party.

As time passed, the Emperor’s posture became slightly disheveled, and his head tilted from side to side.

On the other hand, Rembrary seemed to be surprisingly resistant to alcohol, and he looked fine even as time passed.

The Shadow couldn’t stand it any longer and asked the chief eunuch with its eyes if he was okay, but there was no answer.

The chief eunuch only slightly shook his head, meaning ‘I don’t know either’.

That was inevitable, because the Emperor had not anticipated this situation at all when he ordered the preparation of the drinking party.

The Emperor was strong with alcohol and didn’t enjoy drinking. Of course, he had never gotten drunk before others.

Since he had never gotten drunk before anyone else, the Emperor thought he would be the same this time.

So the chief eunuch and the Shadow just kept exchanging glances, agonizing inwardly about what to do.

Then, suddenly, there was a ‘thud’ sound of chopsticks being put down in the quiet dining area.

Surprised, they saw Rembrary, who had been diligently eating, put down his chopsticks, rest his chin on the table, and stare intently at the Emperor.

“You want something.”

Then he muttered in a different tone than usual.

Not with his usual warm smile, but with a somewhat languid smile.

Only his tone and smile had changed slightly.

Strangely enough, Doctor Rem’s atmosphere changed as if he had become a different person.

So that’s Doctor Rem’s drinking habit.

The chief eunuch clicked his tongue inwardly at the impudent attitude, but still thought it was better than a drinking habit of rolling on the floor and causing a ruckus.

He would be a little embarrassed when he woke up from his drunken state.

Anyway, the atmosphere changed just by changing his tone. It was amazing.

The Emperor also seemed to feel the change even while drunk, and he put down his glass and raised his gaze.

In that state, both the Emperor and Rembrary did not speak for a while and scrutinized each other.

As they were doing this, they didn’t seem like drunk people at all.

At that moment.

Suddenly, the Emperor raised his eyebrows, muttering, “Oh, dear.”

Then, as if he had suddenly sobered up, he straightened his posture, which had been slightly tilted as he got drunk, and muttered.

“You are in that state that he spoke of. Narcolepsy [a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep attacks].”