Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 631

◈ 631. To Meet Here of All Places

Shin Joong-hyun’s observation of Rembrary continued even during the meal.

First of all, Rembrary was truly a big eater.

He had said he liked many foods, but at the time, Shin Joong-hyun was so shocked that his friend had a fast-food palate that he dismissed it.

But once they started eating, Rembrary really ate everything with gusto.

He devoured not only his favorite pizza and cola but also tomato spaghetti made with ground meat and sauce by the chef, crispy baked and buttered baguette, and garlic-flavored steak without any hesitation.

Considering his slender frame, his appetite was surprisingly large.

However, the most surprising part of dining with Rembrary for Shin Joong-hyun wasn’t his capacity for food.

“Anchovy, aren’t you going to eat that?”

That pseudo-priest devoured his portion in the blink of an eye and was now eyeing Shin Joong-hyun’s meal, which he had barely touched.

When Shin Joong-hyun hesitated and pushed the tiny bit of spaghetti he had eaten towards him, Rembrary said something incomprehensible, “Gorae [whale] is the best,” and quickly devoured it.

Then, he started looking around again, searching for more to eat.

Shin Joong-hyun was seized with anxiety that if he ate slowly while observing, he would have all his food stolen by that gluttonous pig, so he quickly concentrated on his meal.

Then Shin Joong-hyun had an epiphany.

“So that’s why his nickname was Pig.”

“What?”

Shin Joong-hyun shook his head at Rembrary, who asked back as if puzzled, and cut a piece of pizza to eat. Then, a nagging question arose again, and he frowned.

Then why does that guy call me Anchovy?

* * *

After the meal.

Shin Joong-hyun thought he had made a rough judgment about Rembrary, so he decided to tell him that he had lost his memory.

Every time he saw his face, it overlapped with the culprit who killed ‘that kid,’ which was unpleasant, but that was an emotion that would disappear once the curse cast by the demon was lifted.

It seemed that he had gone to great lengths to become close to that strange pseudo-priest because of his healer abilities.

He couldn’t let that effort go to waste by falling for the demon’s scheme.

If he told him that he was under a demon’s curse, even if he treated him coldly in the future, that friend would understand and move on.

Then, he wouldn’t have to stress out while seeing his face, and he could just avoid him until the curse was lifted.

‘Yes, it’s better to tell him.’

As soon as he made up his mind, Shin Joong-hyun called Rembrary to his room and began to explain the situation to him.

“Wasn’t my condition different from usual today? I want to explain that.”

“Weren’t you just sulking? Because Tae-ri and I went into the dungeon without you?”

“…That’s not it.”

“You often do that, so I thought that was the case this time too.”

As Rembrary nodded while eating the pear he had received from the butler, Shin Joong-hyun frowned while explaining.

But soon he understood himself.

He had to stay close to the healer, so he would have tried his best to please that healer usually.

However, he might have distanced himself sometimes when that healer acted strangely. That healer must have been calling that ‘sulking.’

“I see. I’m relieved that you didn’t know I was in a different state than usual. But I was in a different state.

A few nights ago, I met a demon. That demon slightly manipulated my memory.”

“Manipulated your memory?”

“All the memories related to you have disappeared. Instead, your face overlaps with the culprit who killed Jang Tae-ri’s younger sibling.”

Shin Joong-hyun paused for a moment, as it wasn’t a topic he usually liked to bring up.

Shin Joong-hyun thought that Rembrary might not know about Tae-ri’s younger sibling, but unexpectedly, Rembrary seemed to know the story, as he nodded and said, “Ah.”

“That’s absolutely impossible. I wasn’t even in this world at that time.”

“I know you’re not the culprit. Your age doesn’t match at all. But I think so rationally. Emotionally, it’s a bit different. Seeing your face makes me feel unpleasant.”

“Even though I’m this handsome?”

“It’s not a matter of being handsome or not.”

Shin Joong-hyun, who spoke firmly, softened his voice and added.

“So, I’d like to minimize meeting until the curse is lifted.”

He was worried that Rembrary might cling to him, saying he didn’t want to, but Rembrary agreed without hesitation.

“Alright then.”

Rembrary even stood up, said “Goodbye,” and left right away.

Shin Joong-hyun, who didn’t expect him to leave without saying anything worrying or hoping he would find his memory soon, stared blankly at the closed door and followed him out without realizing it.

Rembrary was already going down the stairs and didn’t even look back, even though he must have heard the sound of the door opening.

Even though he didn’t see his face this time, the unpleasant feeling soared.

Holding onto the railing, Shin Joong-hyun watched the small back of his head disappear into the distance and then went down the stairs.

“Hey.”

Only then did Rembrary glance back.

“What is it?”

Shin Joong-hyun tried to protest about him leaving without saying goodbye, but he suppressed the question, considering it childish, and said.

“The demon I met. He was wearing a dog collar around his neck. If you happen to find him, contact me.”

“Ah. That demon. By any chance, doesn’t he have any distinguishing facial features?”

But unexpectedly, Rembrary seemed to know the demon and muttered.

“You know him?”

At the unexpected information, Shin Joong-hyun asked urgently, and Rembrary nodded.

“His name is Lavrum. The person he contracted with is Hwan Shin.”

Lavrum. If he knew his name, it would be easier to track him down.

Shin Joong-hyun nodded, then suddenly became suspicious. How does that friend know so much about that demon?

* * *

Walking to the parking lot to see him off, the butler gave Rembrary all sorts of positive consolations.

Next to him, the driver who would take Rembrary home nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Rembrary responded appropriately to the consolation and asked the butler worriedly before leaving.

“Butler. Anchovy is weak, so he’s easily affected by various curses and seems to be very frail, so please take good care of him so he can eat well and rest well.”

He didn’t care that Anchovy was being prickly, but he was worried because he was already weak.

What if he gets sick while trying to lift the curse?

Seeing him swat away his hand as soon as it touched his arm, he seemed like he would refuse even if he offered to heal him with divine power now.

The butler smiled bitterly and nodded.

“When your memory returns, the president will know that Rembrary was very worried about you. Don’t worry.”

Rembrary nodded and got into the back seat, and the driver also got into the driver’s seat and started the car.

As the car slowly moved onto the road, Rembrary stared out the window seriously.

Rembrary was suspicious whether Shin Joong-hyun’s memory problem was aimed at him or at himself.

Earthlings were rejecting Otherworlders based only on rumors, but the demons of Earth were already in cooperation with the demons of the Otherworld.

Then Lavrum would also be in cahoots with the demons. Could this be a scheme by the demons to isolate Rembrary?

Rembrary had many other close aides, but it was clear that Shin Joong-hyun and Jang Tae-ri were the biggest help in settling down on Earth.

When he was Woo Yeon-woo, he adapted by using Woo Yeon-woo’s friendship and position, but it was Shin Joong-hyun and Jang Tae-ri who were helping ‘Rembrary’ gain a foothold here.

But Jang Tae-ri was held captive by the demons in a strange bet in the dungeon, and Shin Joong-hyun had completely forgotten about Rembrary and even felt unpleasant when he saw his face.

Since the timing was so perfect, he couldn’t help but suspect the demons’ intentions.

Rembrary first notified Daeju and Sajamjae of this matter via text and asked them to look for Lavrum.

‘Anchovy’s memory will somehow be resolved as long as we find that demon. The problem is Tae-ri. I’ll go to the dungeon again tomorrow, but…’

Would the dungeon door open this time? Rembrary frowned and watched out the window.

It was equally suspicious that the demons who had turned Rembrary’s world upside down at once were instead taking their time and dragging things out here.

They were short on numbers, but they seemed to be holding back even considering that….

‘Do they really want to adapt here? Or are they crouching down for a leap?’

As he was blankly staring, the driver, who had been quiet all along, asked worriedly.

“Will Tae-ri be okay?”

When Rembrary looked at him, the driver quickly added.

“I don’t believe the words that are being spread in the news. I think Rembrary is so reliable…? Trustworthy…? Divine…? Pure…? Enthusiastic…? Um.”

“Why are you fumbling for words?”

“Um. I’m sorry. The light changed.”

Rembrary wanted to protest about what the changing of the light had to do with him hesitating between words to express himself.

But the driver was already continuing.

“I believe in Rembrary. But since you went in together, I thought you might know something.”

“Tae-ri is…”

* * *

Of course, she didn’t win first place in the figure skating competition.

‘It’s such an obvious result that I’m not even angry.’

Jang Tae-ri sighed as she looked at her ranking, which was second to last.

The only reason she was second to last was because another hunter had participated in this ridiculous bet with Jang Tae-ri.

At least she could do speed skating, so she could balance and move around, but that hunter spent more time falling than standing on two feet.

When the competition was over, Jang Tae-ri took off her heavy skates with a dazed feeling and put her hand in the pocket of the jacket she had taken off and placed next to her.

“?”

But there was nothing there. She was sure her phone was here.

“What? Where did my phone go?”

She searched the other pocket, her bag, and even the locker, thinking she might have put it somewhere else, but it was the same.

Jang Tae-ri stood blankly for a moment, then spotted a pink-haired demon walking side by side with a horned demon across the rink and immediately jumped onto the ice.

As Jang Tae-ri slid across the ice and grabbed his collar in an instant, the demon’s eyes widened slightly.

Jang Tae-ri lowered her voice and asked fiercely.

“Hey Pink. Where did my phone go?”

This demon had approached Jang Tae-ri, who was preparing for figure skating, introduced himself as ‘Noir,’ and then said he would be her employer in the future before leaving.

If her phone disappeared here, whoever the culprit was, it was ultimately this bastard’s fault.

“Who is this?”

But Noir feigned ignorance and only looked at Jang Tae-ri’s hand grabbing his collar as if it were interesting.

“Aren’t you a new employee who was newly hired at our ice rink today?”

“Where did my phone go?”

Jang Tae-ri calmly got angry and ignited a fire in her hand, but unexpectedly, nothing came out.

“?”

Puzzled, she let go of the collar and looked at her hand, then looked at Noir, and the demon smiled as dazzlingly as the spring sunshine and took out a broom from thin air and held it out.

“Our new employee has a bad temper. You’ll have to sweep a hundred times to cultivate your mind, right?”

The demon, who spoke in a teasing tone, straightened the clothes that Jang Tae-ri had messed up while pulling, winked, and left.

Jang Tae-ri was dumbfounded and stared at his back, then tried to throw a fireball again, but it was useless.

As she was looking down at her palm in bewilderment, someone who was leaning against the steel locker spoke to her.

“It’s no use. Once you belong here, you’re governed by the dungeon rules.”

When she quickly raised her head, she saw Woo Sung-woo, also holding a broom.

“Woo Sung-woo?”

Woo Sung-woo shook his head with a miserable face.

“To meet like this. It’s not a very good situation.”