Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 596

◈ 596. The Day Redrin First Saw Rembrary

Fear began to grip the people of the Western Continent.

It was disheartening when a god was sad, but it was terrifying when their god started destroying their homes because of his sorrow.

Could they truly call Aquari a god when he tried to kill others simply because one high priest had died? Wasn’t that the antithesis of a god?

Doubt about Aquari spread through the hearts of the Western Continent’s inhabitants.

Beyond the issues of Memia and Memira, they began to question Aquari’s very nature.

As the number of victims grew, people began to believe Aquari couldn’t possibly be a god.

Several countries in the Western Continent officially declared they could no longer recognize Aquari as their state religion, and Aquari began to lose his divine authority.

Having lost his divine authority, Aquari also lost influence over the Western lands.

A god who couldn’t exert influence could no longer care for the Western Continent.

If he continued to manifest in the human realm, he wouldn’t be able to properly wield his power as a god and would only cause harm to those around him.

If he manifested weakly enough to avoid harming those around him, his power would diminish, and the number of priests he could command would drastically decrease.

In many ways, the risks outweighed the benefits, so the only place for a god who had lost his way to go was the Demon Realm.

As Aquari, who should have been caring for the Western lands, disappeared, the natural disasters in the West ceased, but the region descended into complete chaos.

With Aquari stirring up the Demon Realm, demons fled to the Western Continent, and the abandoned land became a playground for demons and monsters.

People tried to escape the Western Continent by any means possible.

The kings of the Western Continent, regardless of their capabilities, prayed to other gods to take care of the West as their countries teetered on the brink of collapse.

Discussions arose among the gods.

* * *

The Demon King, who had paused for a moment, frowned.

Rembrary wondered why and tapped his knee, and the Demon King continued with a strange expression.

“From here on, it’s a story I’ve heard secondhand. Take it with a grain of salt.”

* * *

Since expanding territory was beneficial for any god, occupying the Western Continent was appealing to everyone.

Iira, a god of the Central Continent, requested the Western Continent for himself because his land had been ravaged by repeated demon invasions.

Moreover, since Iira was close to Aquari, he reasoned that if Aquari regained his reputation later, he should control the Western Continent so he could return it without complications.

However, the other gods had different ideas.

“I think it would be better for Redrin to have the West.”

Camuel sided with Redrin because he feared Redrin would continue targeting Memira and grinding his teeth in frustration.

If Redrin were to rule the chaotic Western Continent, he would be occupied there for centuries and wouldn’t have time to plot revenge. [Camuel hopes Redrin will be too busy to cause trouble.]

By then, Memira would have died of natural causes.

He was worried about what would happen after her natural death, but for now, protecting the high priest Memira was paramount.

“I also think it would be better for Redrin to have the West.”

Lumena also supported Redrin, though for a different reason.

“I’m sorry, Iira, but you have a high priest. Redrin, however, has been without one for decades, and the one he finally chose recently died.”

“…….”

“If you occupy a larger territory, you will naturally have access to more talent, making it easier to find a new high priest.”

“I’ll cast my vote for myself too.”

Iira was displeased, but he was powerless in a 1-3 situation.

Iira reluctantly conceded, but resentment lingered.

* * *

After hearing the story to that point, a choice suddenly appeared before my eyes.

Q. Choose the worst bastard here.

1. Memira, who killed two high priests to save herself

2. Camuel, who protects such Memira

3. The Western paladins who abandoned Memia to the enemy while being allies

Rembrary raised his eyebrows and looked at the Demon King.

The Illusion Demon King had no way of knowing what Rembrary was looking at, so he was feeling dejected after finishing the story.

He seemed to be waiting for Rembrary to react.

Rembrary was troubled. Did this choice even have a right answer? Of course, most choices didn’t have a single correct answer.

‘The reason Redrin-nim isn’t included in the choices is because I didn’t hate Redrin-nim at this time, or because they thought I wouldn’t choose her anyway.’

It was the latter.

But Rembrary thought it was the former.

Didn’t Redrin-nim also lose a high priest while trying to mediate?

Rembrary crossed his arms and pondered carefully, and the Illusion Demon King was touched that a small child seemed to be taking his story seriously.

‘This isn’t about finding my answer. The demons created this choice. In other words, I have to identify the person they hated the most at the time from the demons’ perspective.’

After much deliberation, Rembrary chose one answer.

And when he blinked, he was outside the dungeon.

* * *

‘With this, I’ve cleared four of the second dungeon. If I clear two more, I can destroy the second pillar too.’

Rembrary, emerging from the dungeon, felt a little strange and stared at the door for a moment.

He was facing a dangerous demon king now, and perhaps because he had heard about the demon’s past suffering, he felt a little uneasy.

But soon Rembrary shook his head and turned around.

However, when he went to the place where he had parked his car, some damn thief had stolen it, so the car was gone.

“This can’t be!”

Rembrary, flustered, took out his cell phone to use his boss’s chance [a special privilege or ability], but the cell phone’s battery was completely dead and wouldn’t even turn on.

“This can’t be!”

Rembrary stared blankly at the ground where only tire tracks remained, and then reluctantly began to trudge towards the side where he thought there would be a village.

As he walked aimlessly, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

If he were driving, he could concentrate on that. Just walking made his thoughts jump in strange directions.

Then Rembrary realized that he was only considering things from the demons’ point of view.

Redrin wouldn’t like it if he only listened to the Demon King’s story, and since he had heard biased opinions, he thought he should also hear Redrin’s side.

Fair Rembrary prayed to Redrin as he walked.

* * *

Redrin-nim. It’s Rembrary.

I just came out of dungeon 2-4. I cleared this dungeon alone safely.

I guess because it’s their dungeon, the Demon King appeared in the dungeon in a very pitiful and sad state.

It seems that the demons want to portray the Demon King in the best possible light.

But that’s not my style.

If I were to create a dungeon, I would never make Redrin-nim appear in a pitiful state.

I will emphasize Redrin-nim’s bright and cheerful appearance.

I’ll make a beatbox come on every time Redrin-nim speaks.

When Redrin-nim calls me ‘Rembrary,’ I’ll have a beatbox sound like ‘Poo Chiki Toosh Poo Chiki Toosh’ playing in the background.

People will be excited and dance.

You like it, right? I can see Redrin-nim’s smiling face. It makes me proud that you’re shaking carrots so urgently, so you must like it. [A humorous way of saying Redrin is excited.]

Oh, that’s not what I was going to say. Redrin-nim, I have a question for you. Would you answer it?

I hope you’ll answer it even if you don’t want to.

Redrin-nim. Redrin-nim. Is it true that when I was born, both an ominous prophecy and a good prophecy were given at the same time?

And why did Redrin-nim choose me? Is it just because I’m the most talented and special of the novice priests?

Of course, that’s probably it, but is there any other reason, even a little bit?

Redrin-nim, did you appoint me as a high priest as soon as I was born, or did you find me among the novice priests?

* * *

That night, Rembrary, who had walked hard and returned home, plugged his cell phone into the charger, took a shower, and fell asleep, and had a dream.

* * *

“Redrin-nim, have you heard the story of a child born with a star?”

When Redrin was troubled, looking down at the unsatisfactory high priest candidates, an angel came in and asked.

When Redrin looked up, the angel excitedly explained.

“He’s a human from the Southern Continent, but he was born in the Western Continent. Either way, he’s Redrin-nim’s human!”

A child with a star was born with a destiny to influence people all over the world.

Having such a destiny didn’t necessarily mean becoming a priest.

He could become a conquering monarch, a scholar who develops things that change the world, or, conversely, a tremendous villain.

But it was definitely an interesting destiny in many ways, so Redrin thought he should go and see him.

However, while Redrin was busy with other matters and couldn’t go to see him right away, Iira, the god of the Central Continent, made the first move.

“Redrin-nim, Iira-nim has made an ominous prophecy for that child!”

The next day, an angel ran in and told the story, bursting with anger.

“That child might grow up well, but he’s not cursing him, he’s interpreting it badly and giving a divine message! Isn’t that too much?”

“Our Iira must have been a little bored lately.”

When Redrin closed the book and got up, the angels waved their fists in the air and cheered.

“Punish him!”

However, before Redrin left, another angel ran in and said.

“Redrin-nim, Lumena-nim has given that child a good prophecy!”

Redrin tilted his head. He was a child born in their land, but other gods were more interested in him first.

Instead of going to find Iira, Redrin decided to go and see the child himself, whom the angels were making a fuss about.

Redrin concealed his power as much as possible in a place where there was little risk of damage even if a natural disaster occurred, manifested, and followed the energy to find the child.

Redrin entered a large castle and went to the window late at night, backlit by the moonlight, and saw a baby lying in a cradle.

The baby, covered with a soft blanket, already had a lot of hair, even though he was only a few days old.

Redrin was startled.

All babies in the world are lovely, but in Redrin’s eyes, this baby seemed the loveliest of all.

The mouth that kept moving as if he was dreaming was cute, the hands with hand warmers were cute, and the feet that were so small that they were amazing were cute.

Redrin slyly reached out and poked the baby’s cheek and smiled, but quickly pulled his hand away when the baby opened his eyes.

He wondered if the baby would cry because his energy was too strong, but the baby didn’t cry.

Rather, the baby kept moving his red eyes and looking around at Redrin.

As if he was analyzing Redrin with that small head.

Then, as if he liked Redrin, he smiled and stretched out his arms. Redrin hesitated and hugged the baby.

The baby didn’t cry and was well-behaved in Redrin’s arms.

Redrin held the baby and coaxed him, but when he heard a noise from outside, he quickly put the baby down and hid himself.

Soon the door opened and someone came in.

“Our prince, are you sleeping well?”

The human came inside and looked at the sleeping baby and left with relief.

When the human left, Redrin went to stand in front of the baby again. But unlike before, Redrin did not pick up the baby.

“You’re a royal. That’s a shame.”