Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 488

◈ 488. First Attempt

Let’s go… but there was no way I could. Rembrary couldn’t travel through the shrine.

“I can’t go there, Lumena. It’s hard for me to move freely.”

Only then did Lumena realize and laugh, trying to bluff.

“Our Lapsus can. I forgot.”

“I heard you bury Lapsus in the dirt. I guess you can carry it around.”

“It is… buried in the dirt.”

Isn’t the nuance a bit different? Lumena frowned.

“Child. Why am I having this conversation with you?”

Rembrary shook his head. Lumena laughed lightly.

“You always say what’s on your mind. Redrin must miss you. The thought of him struggling makes me very happy.”

“Lumena, you really like our Redrin.”

“……”

Lumena smiled awkwardly and stepped back.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s not a pleasant thing to hear.”

“Then—”

“Redrin’s child.”

Lumena quickly cut Rembrary off before he could say more.

Rembrary stared, his mouth still open.

Lumena smiled kindly and stepped back again.

“Come to the cave where the sleeping god is. I will wait there.”

* * *

Lumena easily told him to come to the cave in the Demonic Cult, but it wasn’t easy for Rembrary to get there.

Especially now that he was having all his meals and lodging taken care of in the palace.

Wasn’t the Demon King Fragment trying to do something through Gasora right now?

Even if he hadn’t achieved what he wanted, would the Demon King try to do as Lumena wanted?

Rembrary was skeptical about this.

In other words, there was a high probability that he would return without any gains even if he went to the Demonic Cult cave this time.

But the Emperor wanted to keep Rembrary in the palace.

‘If I say I’m going on a long trip, he’ll be suspicious.’

Unless he let the Demon King Fragment go this time and then fled this world, if he had to come back….

‘He’ll be annoying and clingy.’

He could guess what would happen, but he still had to go. Rembrary went straight to see the Emperor.

* * *

“What happened?”

When Rembrary went to see the Emperor, he asked as soon as he saw Rembrary’s face.

His bedchamber was always quiet, as always, and even though there was no one chattering, it was as if Rembrary had brought a commotion.

When Rembrary shook his head at this, the Emperor laughed as if he had heard Rembrary’s lie.

“There must be. I heard that some of the eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were trembling in fear, calling your name.”

“Is that so?”

“You don’t seem very interested.”

“Isn’t it someone else’s business?”

“Even though they’re calling your name?”

“If they don’t come and call me, it’s someone else’s business. Actually, even if they come and call me, it’s likely to be someone else’s business.”

The Emperor burst out laughing at Rembrary’s firm words.

He didn’t know why the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were scared, but he had already heard about the incident where they had treated Rembrary rudely in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

He had also ordered them to handle it well so that Rembrary wouldn’t be unfairly affected by it.

But it had turned out like this without any handling, and the person involved was so indifferent, it was funny.

“Okay. So you didn’t come because of that. What did you come for?”

Anyway, when he said he didn’t want to care about it, the Emperor didn’t press him further and asked.

The incident with the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was a case where Rembrary was unilaterally insulted, so there was no need to argue if he didn’t want to.

Rembrary was wondering how to start, but he thought it was good that the Emperor had mentioned it first and opened his mouth.

Besides, the atmosphere was really good.

The Emperor now seemed like he would nod and think positively no matter what he heard.

“Actually, Your Majesty, I think I need to go somewhere for a while. It’s a place that will take as little as a day or as long as three or four days.”

But the good atmosphere froze over with surprising speed as soon as Rembrary finished speaking.

This Shin Jo-woon must have faster emotional changes than the Earth Shin Jo-woon.

“Do you dislike it?”

When Rembrary asked, noticing his expression, the Emperor pressed the area around his forehead.

The deep wrinkles that had already deepened from frowning were further emphasized by being pressed by his hand.

“Where are you going?”

“I have some business to take care of.”

“What business?”

“Do I have to tell you that?”

“I want to hear it.”

“What are we?”

“You’re the only one in this world who can call me an anchovy and still have your head attached. Don’t you think I can ask you this much?”

“Well, to me, there are at least two of you.”

“!”

As the Emperor’s expression darkened, Rembrary spoke in a gentler voice.

“Are you worried that I might not come back at all? Don’t worry. I’ll go and come back.”

The Emperor rested his chin on his hand and didn’t hide his disbelief at all.

“How can I believe those words?”

“I’ll leave half of my group behind.”

“What if you abandon half and run away?”

“Then it’s not my problem.”

“!”

“But that won’t happen. All of my group are precious to me.”

The Emperor stared into Rembrary’s eyes as if trying to figure out whether he was joking or serious.

He didn’t even blink, so he must have been deep in thought in an instant.

Rembrary waited patiently for him to finish his judgment.

Just as he was counting to about forty in his head, the Emperor finally opened his mouth.

“If you don’t come back, I’ll end my thoughts.”

It was a completely incomprehensible statement to Rembrary.

“What are you talking about?”

Rembrary asked at the sudden words that didn’t make sense, but the Emperor made an unexpected request instead of explaining.

“You’re going to go and come back soon, so you’ll take Hwasa with you, right?”

“Maybe?”

“Then leave all your companions except for Hwasa.”

“That’s not half.”

“Isn’t Hwasa the only one you need for transportation anyway?”

“That’s true, but….”

“Leave them all behind. Especially Shin Jo-woon. That guy.”

* * *

As soon as Rembrary left, the Emperor’s expression, which had already been stiff, became even stiffer.

The Chief Eunuch, who was bringing in a newly warmed kettle, noticed the sight and quickly came over to comfort him.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor didn’t answer because he wasn’t alright.

The Chief Eunuch understood that it was an affirmation and poured tea into the Emperor’s teacup without making a sound of his clothes rustling.

He didn’t ask any more questions about what was wrong.

He couldn’t dare to fill his curiosity against the Emperor.

It was a wise choice.

The Emperor was really in a bad mood right now, and he didn’t want to tell anyone about it.

This was, in a way, Rembrary’s fault, and in a way, it was due to his upbringing.

The Emperor had never properly experienced a situation where he couldn’t control things as he pleased.

Controlling the situation was always his role.

No matter how upright a person was, they would eventually bow and flatter him in front of him, and the Emperor only had to make a judgment.

But not now.

He was experiencing a situation where something wasn’t flowing as he wanted for the first time in his life.

What he wanted wasn’t even difficult.

Rembrary, who had amazing medical skills, no, actually, a suspicious power that could be called medical skills, was quietly acting as the royal physician by his side.

But Rembrary wanted to leave. Then he had to catch him.

The problem was that he couldn’t think of a way to catch him.

In this case, some powerful people use the method of taking loved ones hostage and threatening them.

But since Rembrary was from another world, there were no people to take as hostages and threaten.

There were a few companions who had come with him, but ‘companions’ were not suitable for use as hostages.

At least that’s what the Emperor had observed.

In order for a hostage to exert its power properly, the relationship had to be family.

Such as a spouse or close blood relative.

He couldn’t just hold him and force him to use his medical skills, because if he pretended he couldn’t treat him, how would he tell?

No, holding him captive was impossible in itself.

Hwasa might appear at any time and take him away.

Even if he ran away, he wouldn’t be unable to find him if he posted wanted posters all over the country, but what if he brought him back and Rembrary flatly refused to treat him?

He had found out Rembrary’s purpose and what they were doing, but there was nothing more he could do.

Thinking about it made his forehead heat up, so the Emperor closed his eyes and just leaned his head on the bed for a moment.

But just as the Emperor was calming his mind in place to relieve his uncomfortable mood.

“Your Majesty.”

The Chief Eunuch, who had poured new tea for the Emperor and went out, came back in and bowed.

“What’s wrong?”

When the Emperor asked, the Chief Eunuch glanced at the direction of the room where Rembrary had been standing and opened his mouth.

He must be trying to report something related to Rembrary.

“About those officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The officials who were trembling in fear because of Rem Physician.”

“Yes. Why are they.”

The Emperor took his hand off his eyebrow and asked.

From the moment he heard the story that the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were suddenly terrified and talking nonsense even before Rembrary came, the Emperor had ordered the Chief Eunuch to find out what those terrified people were talking about.

It was clear that the result had come out since the Chief Eunuch had come without being called.

“What’s wrong? Did you find out?”

“Yes. But when I questioned them, they were talking too much nonsense, Your Majesty.”

“That’s not a report. That’s an impression.”

“They say that Rem Physician met a ghost from the shrine.”

“A ghost?”

“Yes. They didn’t see the ghost’s appearance, but they say that when Rem Physician stood in front of the shrine, light poured out from inside. Rem Physician was still there. They were terrified when they saw that.”

Well, yeah. It must be scary if the person they bullied is doing that in the shrine.

While the Chief Eunuch was muttering quietly, the Emperor frowned.

Did Rembrary come here after that incident?

Then is the light that came out of the shrine related to Rembrary’s attempt to leave?

“It happened before too.”

“Yes.”

“When Rembrary was a ghost.”

When Rembrary entered the body of the eunuch Woo Yeon-woo before.

At that time, a golden soul was sucked into the shrine. Is he trying to do that again this time?

“Your Majesty?”

“Is the road Rembrary is returning on connected to the shrine?”

“?”

Who suggested it before? Then shouldn’t we move the shrine?

The Emperor opposed doing that much for just one physician.

But when it seemed that Rembrary was really coming and going through the shrine, he thought of that person’s suggestion again.

* * *

“Mullu, Ardor, Anchovy, Potato.”

When Rembrary called everyone except Hwasa, Hwasa, who had been dozing off, suddenly raised his head.

“You guys stay here for a few days. I’m going to the Demonic Cult cave with Hwasa.”

But as soon as Rembrary finished speaking, this time those other than Hwasa widened their eyes.

Hwasa asked in surprise.

“Just me? Why? Why are we going there? What about the others?”

“We’re going to put the Demon King Fragment somewhere else. The Emperor said not to take the others.”

“What?”

“I guess he thinks that’s the only way I’ll come back here. Anyway, that’s how it turned out, so Lion, let’s go to the Demonic Cult cave. Lumena will be waiting for us there.”

Rembrary, who had explained briefly, grabbed Hwasa’s arm and urged him on, and Hwasa left the place without knowing why.