Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 495

◈ 495. Returned (2)

As I walked with Yeomra, the cloud-filled space gradually cleared, and the ground transformed into a rose garden.

Redrin stood alone amidst the roses.

Even among the vibrant red flowers, Redrin’s crimson hair stood out brilliantly.

In Rembrary’s eyes, only Redrin shone.

Rembrary paused, overwhelmed. Redrin, seeing him, opened her arms.

Smiling brightly, Rembrary rushed toward her.

“Redrin-nim!”

He stopped in front of her, looking up. Redrin smiled contentedly and stroked his hair.

Rembrary happily accepted her touch, smiling.

A satisfied smile touched Redrin’s lips as well.

“I’m glad you returned safely.”

“I was always thinking of Redrin-nim.”

“I’m relieved the work is done. But please, no more dangerous stunts.”

Yeomra, witnessing the affectionate exchange between the god and the high priest, felt a pang of envy and grew increasingly displeased.

Finally, unable to endure the saccharine conversation, Yeomra interrupted.

“Otherworld Saint, now that the joyful reunion is over, I believe it’s my turn.”

Rembrary reluctantly turned his gaze from Redrin to Yeomra.

“Yeomra-jeonha [Your Majesty Yeomra, a respectful title] also appeared in my thoughts from time to time.”

“…Thank you.”

Yeomra frowned, as that wasn’t the response he was hoping for. Meanwhile, Rembrary was already gazing at Redrin with sparkling eyes.

Reluctant to interrupt and ask about Sagamjae again, Yeomra decided to let them enjoy their reunion to their hearts’ content.

As soon as Yeomra had the thought, Sagamjae appeared.

“Jeonha [Your Majesty].”

Yeomra, startled, looked at Sagamjae.

“How did you get here? It’s difficult to come even through the path of the underworld.”

“I went to Jeonha’s palace, but Jeonha wasn’t there. However, the path Jeonha created while crossing over here was still open, so I came directly.”

Yeomra was delighted by Sagamjae’s unexpected arrival and smiled more broadly than usual.

“How resourceful.”

Then, Redrin and Rembrary began speaking in unusually affectionate tones.

“!”

Sagamjae recoiled, unaccustomed to Yeomra’s uncharacteristic behavior.

Yeomra was about to scold him for his lack of tact, but he caught Rembrary and Redrin’s gazes and clamped his mouth shut.

Redrin smiled kindly and addressed Sagamjae.

“I’m glad you returned safely.”

Without waiting for a response, Redrin resumed examining Rembrary.

Yeomra frowned, but Sagamjae calmly observed the scene before speaking.

“Redrin-nim.”

Redrin turned.

“Yes?”

Sagamjae glanced at Rembrary, who was standing obediently, and said, “In the world we visited, there was someone who looked exactly like Shin Jo-woon. That person somehow fell into a dimensional rift.”

Rembrary seemed to have forgotten the matter upon seeing Redrin, so Sagamjae spoke for him. As expected, Rembrary exclaimed as if he had just remembered.

Redrin muttered, “Oh dear,” feigning regret.

Sagamjae continued, “Lumena-nim [Lady Lumena, a respectful title] said that Redrin-nim could save him through Shin Jo-woon.”

“That’s right. It’s troublesome, though.”

“Then please save him. He is the emperor of that world, and we promised the empress dowager that we would save him and send him back.”

Redrin’s expression was indifferent, but when Rembrary nodded, she immediately agreed. “I will. It’s troublesome, though. Rembrary?”

“Yes, Redrin-nim.”

“Where is that person?”

“Beyond the dimension.”

“Ah, right. That’s what you said.”

‘You’re being too perfunctory,’ Sagamjae thought, but he kept it to himself.

Redrin asked Rembrary again.

“Rembrary.”

“Yes, Redrin-nim.”

“Where is Shin Jo-woon’s location? I mean, this Shin Jo-woon.”

“I don’t know the exact location. I was alone when I crossed over here. But since there’s SNS [Social Networking Service], we can find him quickly. Redrin-nim, do you use SNS?”

“Well, I don’t think I do. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll explain later. I don’t have my phone right now, either.”

Unexpectedly, Sagamjae had a phone.

“Use this.”

When Sagamjae handed over the phone, Rembrary looked surprised.

“This…?”

“It’s Jikjae’s [a colleague of Sagamjae]. I borrowed it when I met him in the underworld earlier.”

“That’s great. Can I borrow it for a moment?”

When Sagamjae nodded, Rembrary quickly took the phone.

He went to his frequently used SNS, entered his ID, and posted a message.

[I’m back >ㅅ<] "Everyone will see it if I do this." Rembrary smiled contentedly and was about to hand the phone back to Sagamjae, but he changed his mind and went to Redrin, showing her the sentence he had written and boasting. "Redrin-nim, the expression I wrote here is an emoticon I use often." "Why do you use this often?" "I was an idol. It's an emoticon that idols use." Watching Redrin look at it with curiosity, Rembrary posted another sentence on SNS. [This is a borrowed phone >ㅅ<] Redrin looked down at the small screen with interest. Yeomra also came over to look at the screen, wondering what they were doing, but when he realized it wasn't a big deal, he walked away and said. "It's just going to hurt your legs standing here, so let's talk while sitting down." Following Yeomra, they arrived back at Yeomra's underworld palace. "This way." As they walked, Rembrary noticed that the grim reapers weren't glaring at Redrin as much as before. Some still stopped and glared as they passed, but most seemed used to it and simply walked by. 'Has the atmosphere changed that much?' While he was wondering, Yeomra finally arrived at a uniquely structured room with several long chairs surrounding a large table. As they took seats on the long chairs, a grim reaper brought in carved peaches and placed them in the middle. Sagamjae nodded to the grim reaper and asked a question he had been curious about since arriving. "Jeonha, what has happened in the world since we left?" Yeomra's expression darkened, making Sagamjae anxious. "What happened?" "The Nakru [a group of demon hunters] have become quiet. They realized that hunting the Saint in this situation would lead to their demise. They've succumbed to reality." "It seems they were like that even after the upheaval." "It's become clearer. They are diligently fighting the demons. In fact, the reason they started hunting the Saint wasn't because they enjoyed killing the Saint, but because they ended up doing so while killing both the Saint and the demons—a sort of 1+1 situation... If you consider their starting point, it's not a completely opposite path." A sarcastic smile appeared on Yeomra's lips. "The problem is that they are likely to stab us in the back after catching all the demons." Rembrary slyly reached out and picked up a peach that no one else had touched. Yeomra paused, then looked at Redrin and said with a faint smile, "My camp and that guy's have joined forces for now. Once we deal with the Demon King and his main forces, that guy can return to his original world." "Return?" Sagamjae was surprised and looked at Rembrary, but Rembrary didn't seem to hear or care, focusing only on the peach. "Then what about the demons and devils? How many have you caught?" "The demons from the other world have joined forces with the devils here. To be exact, they've joined forces with the humans who have made contracts with the devils." Rembrary handed the peach to Redrin, recalling one of the devil contractors he had seen when he was living as Woo Yeon-woo. 'That person also had a devil on a leash. Does that count?' "Among them, the name of the group of devil contractors active in this area is... Cheonripung, was it?" 'I guess it counts, seeing that the name of the group he belonged to is mentioned as an example.' Rembrary clicked his tongue. 'Even though I warned them...' They continued to talk for a while, and the grim reaper refilled the peaches five times. Rembrary thought the grim reaper could have brought a lot of peaches from the beginning, but the grim reaper deliberately went back and forth, bringing only a few each time. Just as Rembrary was about to eat his seventh bowl, Sagamjae intervened. "First, please retrieve Shin Jo-woon from the dimensional rift, Redrin-nim. The people there helped us a lot to save him." Redrin nodded and said to Rembrary, "Tell me when you find Shin Jo-woon here." Afterward, Rembrary was guided by Sagamjae out of the underworld. As soon as they emerged, Sagamjae took back the coat he had lent Rembrary and asked, "Where should I take you?" "Do you remember the house where they came to kidnap me before?" "..." "Take me there." At Rembrary's request, Sagamjae took him to the house where he had been staying. It had been several months, so there was no guarantee that the people who had been living there would still be there, but it was the only place he could think of for now. "This area hasn't changed much, though." "Has the other side changed a lot?" "The place I first arrived at was a city, but it was completely ruined. There was no one alive. They must have all evacuated." "You're thinking positively. They might all be dead, you know." "...Let's just say they evacuated." After talking for a moment, Sagamjae urged him to go inside. "What about you?" "I need to find out more specifically about what happened while you were away. There's a difference between seeing it from the underworld and seeing it among humans." As soon as Sagamjae finished speaking, he disappeared. Rembrary walked to the front door, grabbed the doorknob, and turned it. 'Will there be other people inside?' As the door opened, surprisingly, he saw Moolu. Moolu was about to come outside and ran into him at the door. "High Priest-nim!" When Moolu saw Rembrary, he shouted in surprise, and Rembrary smiled brightly. "You came here first." "I was right here when I arrived." "Really?" "Yes. I arrived in the living room. What about you, High Priest-nim?" "I was in the underworld when I arrived." After saying that, Rembrary suddenly suspected that Lumena might have done it on purpose, but he decided to let it go even if it was intentional. Isn't it fortunate that they weren't scattered as much as in the previous world? As Rembrary entered the house, Moolu quickly closed the front door again, and Rembrary felt happy and looked around the familiar house. He hadn't spent much time here, but he felt content thinking about returning. "But why is no one else here?"