Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 528

◈ 528. Who Are You?

As soon as Jang Tae-ri cleared the Racing Dungeon, she leaned against her car and sighed.

“I should focus on work for a while to clear my head.”

“Not rest?”

“Resting is good, but if I rest now, roads will spin around in my head, and I’ll get motion sickness…”

Jang Tae-ri stopped talking and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. I shouldn’t think about anything.”

Shin Jo-woon nodded, understanding how Jang Tae-ri felt.

“Do that.”

Jang Tae-ri hesitated for a long time, as if she didn’t even want to get into the car she had driven.

Shin Jo-woon could understand Jang Tae-ri this time as well.

Anyone would feel that way after being chased by Rembrary’s crazy car.

It was somewhat better on the straight roads. Being chased by Rembrary on those winding roads…

“I feel a bit queasy too.”

As Shin Jo-woon muttered, Jang Tae-ri looked at him with sympathetic eyes and patted him on the back.

Rembrary was the only one standing there blankly, the very person who had caused this situation.

No, he seemed perfectly fine, as if he hadn’t been affected at all, even though he had been driving like a maniac.

“Tae-ri gets motion sickness easily.”

Somewhat annoying.

However, as Rembrary smiled gently and placed his hand on her back, the queasiness instantly subsided.

It felt as refreshing as taking a deep breath in the forest or breathing in the night air. But…

“How do you feel?”

“Thank you, Rembrary.”

The divine power’s help was fleeting.

“But this is a mental issue.”

As soon as Rembrary took his hand away, Jang Tae-ri felt motion sickness again, so she put her hand on her forehead and regulated her breathing.

* * *

The next day.

Shin Jo-woon visited Rembrary’s house in a good school district early in the morning.

He had to organize the events that occurred in District 2-2 and submit a report, but Rembrary was not accustomed to writing reports, so Shin Jo-woon was going to write it.

—Write it at your house.

Rembrary presented a very logical solution, but Shin Jo-woon did not accept it.

“That’s why I’m going to my house.”

Rembrary didn’t understand Shin Jo-woon.

Since they had gone through District 2-2 together anyway, and they had all experienced the events there together, why did they need to write the report together?

However, Shin Jo-woon said he would stop by the supermarket on the way and asked if there was anything Rembrary wanted, so Rembrary generously placed an order.

“Buy green apples, green apples. And meat.”

“Anything else?”

“Juice is good too. Juice, apple juice.”

After hanging up the phone, Rembrary tried calling Woo Yeon-woo while waiting for Mulchi [Shin Jo-woon’s nickname] to come back from grocery shopping.

There was no request to be picked up, but he should still go if Woo Yeon-woo hadn’t come out yet.

‘Huh?’

But the battery couldn’t have run out already. Woo Yeon-woo didn’t answer the phone.

‘Didn’t he take a spare charger?’

Rembrary stared at his phone, and at that moment, he accidentally answered an incoming call.

“Hello?”

Then, after checking, he realized that the caller’s number was not saved.

“Who is it?”

—Hello? Is this Rembrary’s phone?

The caller’s voice was also unfamiliar.

“Yes? Who is it?”

As Rembrary asked again, the other person hurriedly revealed who they were.

—Ah, I’m CEO Jang Tae-ri’s secretary. Excuse me, but I have something to ask.

Unexpectedly, the caller said they were Jang Tae-ri’s secretary.

Rembrary didn’t know if they were really the secretary, but he responded for now.

“Tae-ri? What’s wrong?”

He was reminded that Jang Tae-ri’s condition wasn’t good right before they parted.

Soon, a dark voice returned with a question.

—Was District 2-2 very difficult?

“We overcame it well. Why do you ask?”

—The CEO dozed off while working… and she said in her sleep, ‘Rembrary! Stop! Jo-woon! Run away!’

“…….”

—She said it about three or four times, so I was wondering if she was okay…

Was my driving that bad? Of course, it wasn’t good, but.

Rembrary hung up the phone feeling dejected.

As he stood there blankly, Shin Jo-woon appeared with the promised apples and meat.

He had bought so much that even a secretary was carrying a shopping basket behind him.

Rembrary thought it was a good opportunity, so he helped put the groceries in the refrigerator and asked Shin Jo-woon.

“Mulchi, am I really that bad at driving?”

Shin Jo-woon took three apples, washed them in the sink, and asked back.

“Should I put it gently or bluntly?”

“Tell me gently.”

“You’re bad. Very bad. I’m glad you grabbed the wheel after the Cataclysm [a major disaster]. I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if you had grabbed it when you were an idol.”

Rembrary stared blankly at Shin Jo-woon.

Should I have put it more gently? While Shin Jo-woon was briefly regretting his words, Rembrary smiled gently and said.

“I see. Then that’s a fortunate thing.”

Then, as he turned back to organizing the refrigerator, Shin Jo-woon unknowingly asked the secretary.

“Did I just offer comfort?”

“No.”

“Was there anything difficult to understand in my words?”

“No.”

As the secretary gave him confidence in succession, Shin Jo-woon asked Rembrary.

“Did my words sound comforting?”

“Anyway, I didn’t grab the wheel when I was an idol, did I?”

“!”

Rembrary was about to say something more to Shin Jo-woon, but when he saw that petty appearance, Woo Yeon-woo came to mind, so he took out his phone again.

“…He’s not answering.”

However, Woo Yeon-woo still didn’t answer the phone.

* * *

“Dae-ju, it seems like there are at least three layers unfolding at one entrance. Three have already appeared.”

While delivering the report Shin Jo-woon had created to Dae-ju, Rembrary told him about the call with Woo Yeon-woo.

From the fact that Woo Yeon-woo went to save Woo Sung-woo but an unexpected district appeared, to the fact that he was quite overwhelmed now.

Dae-ju frowned.

“I’ve thought this before, but really, we should be able to destroy the pillars even if we only pass through one entrance at a time.”

Shin Jo-woon also nodded.

“Even if there are only three dungeons per entrance, the work triples.”

“That’s right. But there might be more than three dungeons per entrance.”

The faces of the people in the conference room darkened.

The events in District 1 drastically reduced people’s confidence.

Even if District 3 was manageable, if they had to go through District 1 at least 18 times, the amount of damage that would occur in the process was overwhelming just to imagine.

Sa Gam-jae said calmly.

“Let’s hope we only need to pass through each district six times.”

Dae-ju nodded and looked at Rembrary.

“Then, High Priest, where will you go after a few days of rest? Will you go to District 1, or the easier District 3?”

To that, Rembrary said something Dae-ju didn’t expect.

“Since I can’t reach Yeon-woo, I’m thinking of entering Entrance 1 of District 1 one more time.”

The people in the conference room all became quiet.

“Are you going?”

Sa Gam-jae also asked, as if surprised,

“It’s dangerous, High Priest.”

Mul-lu also worried.

Jang Tae-ri also pressed her throbbing head and said.

“I’m also against Rembrary going himself. That dungeon. It doesn’t seem like a dungeon that suits Rembrary’s abilities.”

“That’s why I’m going to take the Lion [Hwasa-ja’s nickname].”

* * *

“Why me?!”

The captured Hwasa-ja trembled in horror at Rembrary’s words.

“I don’t want to go in there.”

Rembrary looked at Hwasa-ja’s skin, which had improved in color since he last saw him, and asked.

“It’s probably a dungeon without traps, probably nothing dangerous. You just have to wander around the room looking for the missing people.”

“Hey, Rembrary. You’re saying ‘probably’ because you don’t know if it’s dangerous or not…”

“You don’t want to?”

“Would I want to?!”

Hwasa-ja said firmly and left, but eventually returned five minutes later, cursing, and said.

“Remember this. The first reason I’m helping you is because you’re my benefactor. The second is because you have to help my mom someday.”

“Is the third reason our friendship?”

Rembrary hurriedly grabbed Hwasa-ja, who was about to turn around.

“I understand. I won’t say it.”

“Don’t even think it. There’s no third reason.”

* * *

Taking the grumbling Hwasa-ja, Rembrary arrived in front of District 1-1.

But when they arrived in front of the 1-1 entrance, the door opened and Woo Yeon-woo was coming out from inside.

“Rembrary?”

Woo Yeon-woo, who came out, looked around blankly and muttered with wide eyes when he found Rembrary.

“An illusion…?”

“Did you miss me so much that you see me as an illusion?”

As Rembrary spoke gently at that attitude, Woo Yeon-woo grabbed Rembrary’s hair.

As his head was pulled back, Woo Yeon-woo let go of his hand and sobbed.

“It’s really Rembrary. You succeeded.”

“You should have known as soon as you came out.”

Another person who followed Woo Yeon-woo out gave the answer to that.

“There was a time when I opened the door and thought it was outside, but it was a room that looked like the outside.”

Woo Yeon-woo wiped his tears, thinking it was scary.

Rembrary clicked his tongue as he watched the scene, and patted him on the shoulder with divine power.

“Good job anyway. You came out alive. I believed you would come out alive.”

“You believed in me?”

“Of course.”

“Are you serious?”

“Does that matter?”

“…You didn’t believe me, did you?”

* * *

Rembrary, who healed the other Nakru members who came out with divine power, returned to the Redrine headquarters with Hwasa-ja for now.

Hwasa-ja was relieved that he didn’t have to go to District 1-1, but when Rembrary suggested going to District 4 together since he was here, his face turned pale.

Still, he didn’t run away, so Rembrary decided to enter District 4 after resting for about two more days.

But unexpectedly, the next day.

Sa Gam-jae came and told him that Nakru had come to the Redrine and WorldBoom meeting to apologize for what happened last time.

“Really?”

“Yes. They said that they reacted a bit sharply before because only Woo Sung-woo couldn’t get out of the dungeon, and they apologized directly.”

“What’s going on?”

“I heard you helped Woo Yeon-woo?”

“No, I went to help, but he had already come out himself.”

“Is that so? Woo Yeon-woo said he received a lot of help from you.”

Rembrary tilted his head.

“I healed him after he came out of the dungeon. Is it because of that?”

“They thanked you separately for healing Woo Yeon-woo and the other Nakru members. It seemed like a different story.”

Sa Gam-jae decided to move on, seeing Rembrary tilting his head.

In fact, that wasn’t a very important part.

“Anyway, fortunately, Nakru has rejoined.”

This is the important part.

Rembrary still didn’t quite understand what he had helped Woo Yeon-woo with, but he nodded contentedly, as if things had worked out well.

“That’s a relief.”

* * *

However, Rembrary became annoyed again as the Nakru team rejoined.

When Rembrary said he would go to check the difficulty of District 4 with only Hwasa-ja, Nakru opposed it.

“Sung-woo, who first made this claim, has disappeared, so it’s a bit ambiguous. But I also think it’s right to rotate the members who go into the maze with Rembrary. In the long run.”

It seemed that Nakru wanted Rembrary to explore the maze with as many different people as possible, as Woo Sung-woo had claimed.

That way, the demons wouldn’t be able to figure out the limits of the group.

“Hwasa-ja didn’t go with us during District 2?”

“It’s dangerous for just the two of you to go.”

“Then Mulchi—”

“It’s better for CEO Shin not to go since he went with you right before.”

“Then the Lion and I—”

“I’m also against just Hwasa-ja and the High Priest going.”

As even Dae-ju sided with Nakru, Rembrary frowned.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Goo Se-ji and Dae-ju glanced at each other.

They both knew that ‘someone who can control the situation has to go with you,’ but they couldn’t say this in front of Rembrary himself.