Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 589

◈ 589. Quick Love

Fire Lion thought, ‘Why are you curious about that? I’m not curious at all!’ but didn’t say it out loud.

Because all that would come out was ‘Roar, roar.’

Shin Jo-woon also clenched his mouth and endured with the determination to never make a sound.

Rembrary, unaware of their feelings, said lightly,

“Let’s go in.”

Before, he hadn’t come because he thought the Demon King’s castle seemed dangerous and there was no need to come.

But it seemed like everything inside the dungeon required the demons to say predetermined words, listen to predetermined stories, and live predetermined lives, and he didn’t want to follow that path.

There’s a reason why they tell you not to go to certain places.

There must be a reason why the demons use illusions to try and dissuade him from entering the Demon King’s castle.

Rembrary walked to the front gate and opened the door with his small hand.

The Fire Lion also helped push the door with its head from the side.

However, the door opened surprisingly easily.

It opened so effortlessly that Rembrary and the Fire Lion couldn’t control their strength and were thrown inside.

After regaining their balance, they saw a completely black floor, walls, and ceiling.

It was so dark that it was a wonder how the interior was visible at all. The entire interior was dark. Other than that, there wasn’t a single piece of furniture. It looked like a new building that had just been completed and hadn’t been furnished yet.

“No one’s here.”

Rembrary walked to the door further inside and opened it as well. He saw a black hallway, but there was no one walking around there either.

Moreover, this side also had only a little light circulating without any lamps.

“It’s like an empty castle. Is it actually an empty castle, so it’s implementing an empty castle, or are they just neglecting it because it’s too much trouble to implement even this far?”

Rembrary muttered and then turned around. Rembrary’s expression crumpled on its own when he looked at that side.

“What is it?”

What was behind him wasn’t a lion with a rich mane and a cute baby sloth riding on top.

It was the Fire Lion and Shin Jo-woon.

“What are these uncute things? Where did my anchovy sloth go?”

Rembrary tried to deny reality, but it was no use.

Shin Jo-woon ignored Rembrary’s disappointment, thoroughly examined the surroundings at his own pace, and then said,

“It seems like they didn’t pay attention this far.”

“Did they think we wouldn’t come in?”

The Fire Lion also ignored Rembrary and muttered. Whether Rembrary was disappointed or not, both of them seemed to like their current state much better.

“Then maybe there’s nothing special after all.”

“That’s right. If it were an important place, they would have set up defenses.”

“Maybe the dangerous thing isn’t the castle in this dungeon, but the real castle.”

As the Fire Lion and Shin Jo-woon, who had been close since when, were having a lively conversation, Rembrary left them alone and went inside the hallway.

‘Is there nothing here either?’

But there was nothing special inside the hallway either. Just an empty space.

It was when Rembrary was about to give up exploring and turn back.

From the pitch-black darkness where light didn’t reach, there was a ‘thud’ sound, and a small ball rolled out.

The ball rolled forward when Rembrary tried to pick it up.

“?”

When he took a step forward and tried to pick it up again, the ball rolled forward on its own again. Rembrary straightened his back and looked down at the ball.

The ball slowly started rolling forward again.

“Is it telling me to follow?”

Rembrary checked that Shin Jo-woon and the Fire Lion were still talking and followed the ball.

The ball went into the darkness, but Rembrary continued to follow it, relying only on the sound.

Then, at some point, the sound of the ball rolling stopped. And someone bending down to pick up the ball was visible in the dark.

It was hard to see clearly who it was because it was dark, but it was clear that someone was about ten steps ahead.

‘Ah.’

Rembrary quickly turned on his halo.

“It’s blinding.”

What he saw when he turned on the halo was Emperor Shin Jo-woon standing there holding the ball.

The sight of him covering his eyes with his hand and frowning was definitely Emperor Shin Jo-woon, exactly the same as Shin Jo-woon.

“What are you doing here?”

When Rembrary asked, happy to see him, Emperor Shin Jo-woon looked around and gestured to be quiet.

Why is he telling me to be quiet? Although puzzled, he kept his mouth shut, and Emperor Shin Jo-woon was lost in thought for a moment.

Looking at that, Rembrary remembered what Woo Seong-woo had told him.

He said that if you’re trapped in a dungeon, you’re subject to various strict restrictions.

So, is the fact that Emperor Shin Jo-woon appeared secretly now related to that?

Rembrary grabbed Emperor Shin Jo-woon’s mouth and asked first.

“Are you doing this because you can’t say everything you want to say because of the restrictions?”

Emperor Shin Jo-woon didn’t answer. It seemed like this side was being restricted more strongly than Woo Seong-woo.

But even though Rembrary let go of his hand, instead of speaking, he seemed to be thinking more, so it seemed like he was changing what he was going to say after hearing Rembrary’s words.

What is he going to say… Waiting while thinking for about a minute. Finally, Emperor Shin Jo-woon opened his mouth.

“Water ghost.”

“Water ghost? What does that mean?”

As soon as he asked, he heard a voice saying “Pig?” from the direction Rembrary had come from.

Rembrary glanced back and then looked forward again. In the meantime, Emperor Shin Jo-woon had disappeared.

He walked ten steps forward and waved his hand, but it was true that he had disappeared.

“What are you doing? Why are you turning on the halo?”

Thanks to the halo, Shin Jo-woon and the Fire Lion quickly approached Rembrary.

Rembrary glanced at the side where Emperor Shin Jo-woon had been standing and shook his head.

“It’s nothing. I thought I saw a giant anchovy here.”

“Here?”

“It was here. It disappeared right away. Saying only the word ‘water ghost.’”

“Water ghost?”

Rembrary shook his head.

“I don’t know. But what’s certain is that he seemed to have severe restrictions when conveying information. More than Woo Seong-woo.”

* * *

The inside of the Demon King’s castle was so large that it was impossible to see everything in a few hours.

Moreover, since there was no furniture and everything was monochrome, it was difficult to remember the way because this place seemed like that place and that place seemed like this place.

The group, relying on Rembrary’s halo, wandered around here and there without finding any particular gain, and as a lot of time passed, they eventually decided to see this much and go out of the Demon King’s castle today.

Before leaving. As if he was sad to return to his lion form, the Fire Lion hesitated and suggested.

“Hey, like in some fairy tale, let’s pick up pebbles and come in. If we sprinkle them on the floor as we walk, it might be easier to find our way, right?”

Since it was a good idea, they promised to do so tomorrow night, and Rembrary opened the door and went outside.

As soon as they came outside, Shin Jo-woon and the Fire Lion returned to their sloth and lion forms as if the magic had been lifted.

Rembrary was satisfied and took the two animals into the mansion.

* * *

The next day.

Cloth prepared breakfast, and the Demon King continued the story he had been telling.

“Where did I leave off?”

“The wedding.”

“Right. The two high priests got married.”

* * *

Aquari had never imagined that he would see his own high priest’s wedding in his life.

Aquari felt depressed as he looked down at his high priest, who was marrying the arrogant and hateful northern high priest who resembled Kamuel.

Not only that. Because of this, there were only two high priests left out of the five that should have been there.

Redrin was in the process of selecting candidates, so a high priest could be appointed at any time, but that wasn’t the case for Aquari and Kamuel.

The two gods didn’t even have a candidate pool yet.

Since the demons could invade in this gap, Aquari urged the high-ranking priests to quickly find suitable candidates for high priest.

Even so, he would check on how the former high priest was doing from time to time, but as he became busy finding a new high priest, the frequency gradually decreased.

Then one day. The former high priest called Aquari.

[Aquari-nim. Aquari-nim.]

Aquari was about to answer happily, but he noticed that the former high priest’s voice was filled with sadness and was surprised and asked.

“Salirus. Why does your voice sound like that? What’s wrong?”

The voice of the former high priest, who should have been full of marital bliss, was like this.

Aquari immediately guessed that something was wrong.

And Aquari’s premonition was correct.

[I’m sorry, Aquari-nim. I left Aquari-nim and got married… but I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to live together anymore. I’m going to get a divorce.]

Aquari grabbed the back of his neck and fell backward.

The world had already been in an uproar once because of the two high priests’ unconventional wedding. Getting a divorce? No, how long has it been since they got married?

Aquari checked the calendar.

Surprisingly, it had been a little over a year since the two got married. Aquari grabbed the back of his neck again.

“Salirus. I don’t like that arrogant former northern high priest either. But don’t you think you’ve decided too quickly? Why don’t you think about it a little more?”

[Aquari-nim. Margaata’s only advantage is his face. Other than that, his actions, values, thoughts, and even sense of humor don’t match mine.]

Then why did you get married? Aquari thought to himself, but he couldn’t say that to the wounded former high priest.

Anyway, wasn’t he the high priest he had cherished until now?

Moreover, since he hadn’t appointed a new high priest yet, Aquari’s affection remained with the former high priest.

Aquari pressed his throbbing forehead and asked.

“Then are you really going to get a divorce, Salirus?”

[Yes, Aquari-nim. I’ve already decided.]

“I know you two have a child.”

[We’ve decided to take one each and raise them, Aquari-nim.]

“Okay. Then that would be… one each?”

Aquari tried to listen calmly, but he frowned when he felt something strange.

Aquari recalled the former high priest’s joy at the birth of his child. And at that time, it was definitely…

“It seems like one child has increased?”

The child born at that time was definitely one. Not twins.

But to take one each and raise them. Doesn’t it seem like there are two children?

[There are circumstances.]

“Ah. Did you adopt one?”

[No, Aquari-nim. It’s a more complicated situation than that.]

What kind of complicated situation would cause a child to become two in a few months? Aquari grabbed the back of his neck again.

[After we started living together, things started to creak and small fights accumulated, and then ‘that thing’ happened.]

“That thing?”

[As I and Margaata, who were high priests, lost our strength and became weak, the demons began to target us. Holy knights were sent to protect us, but eventually, the demons kidnapped our child.]

“The child was kidnapped?”

[And when he returned a few months later, there were two children, Aquari-nim. Along with a prophecy that one of them is fake and the fake child will kill our real child.]

“!”