Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 659

◈ 659. A Painful Choice

“It seems there are people trapped in the Demon Realm who want to escape. Only two have openly expressed this desire, but there are likely more who are afraid to speak up,” Rembrary said.

“It was their choice. They should have been prepared for the consequences when they made a deal with demons. We should respect their decision, High Priest Rembrary,” Ardor countered.

“Weren’t they driven into a corner, forced to choose that path? They went without knowing what would happen, and they didn’t harm anyone along the way,” Rembrary argued.

“Didn’t harm anyone? The very act of entering the Demon Realm empowered the Demon King.”

“They weren’t aware of that dynamic, were they?”

“Even without knowing, entering the Demon Realm is still a form of aiding the enemy… You’re right about everything, Rembrary. I must be losing my mind. How dare I argue with you, Rembrary?”

Rembrary watched Ardor fervently reaffirm his loyalty before returning to his spaghetti.

He had suspected as much, but Ardor was proving to be of little help with these kinds of moral dilemmas.

“Does the food please your palate, High Priest? Do you enjoy the Vongole spaghetti that this Ardor prepared? Next time, I’m considering making Bolognese spaghetti.”

‘Well, Ardor excels at cooking. He doesn’t need to be helpful in other areas,’ Rembrary mused.

“When is this ‘next time’?”

* * *

“Rembrary, may I ask you something?”

It was while Rembrary was anticipating his Bolognese spaghetti. Ardor, having meticulously lined up the onions he was about to chop, asked with an eager tone.

“Go ahead.”

As soon as he received permission, Ardor quickly inquired, “Who is the best cook among all the people you know, Rembrary? I’m definitely not asking because I expect you to say it’s me.”

When Rembrary remained silent, Ardor hastily added, “Actually, I am expecting it a little.”

Rembrary kindly informed him in a gentle voice, “It’s you.”

“Rembrary…!”

Ardor’s eyes widened at the response, and Rembrary nodded contentedly.

However, the warm atmosphere was shattered by Emperor Shin Jo Woon’s entrance into the kitchen.

“Didn’t you say that to my cook before?”

Ardor stared at Rembrary with betrayed eyes.

“Rembrary…?”

Rembrary frowned and asked the Emperor, “When are you planning to leave?”

“When things are resolved? I might just live with you forever.”

At that answer, Ardor glared at the Emperor, who didn’t even flinch as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a coffee.

That was the fourth time Rembrary had seen him take out a coffee drink today.

“Your Majesty seems to have a fondness for coffee. What will you do when you return and there’s no coffee?”

Rembrary clicked his tongue at the sight, but the Emperor simply laughed it off.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

After saying that, he left, and Ardor said with heartfelt sincerity, “I hate that guy, Rembrary. I truly do.”

“I think he’s alright.”

Ardor looked at Rembrary with a dismayed expression at those words.

“Are you serious? He has nothing to offer except his face?”

“Bolognese spaghetti. Bolognese spaghetti,” Rembrary repeated, eager to change the subject.

Ardor, with slumped shoulders, turned around and began cutting onions.

‘Sometimes his reactions are amusing.’

Rembrary watched his retreating figure with a faint smile, a sentiment Ardor couldn’t have known.

Rembrary watched with satisfaction as the kitchen gradually filled with a sweet aroma each time Ardor moved with his slumped shoulders.

“Hey, Aksasa must be out of his mind!”

Rembrary turned his head at Woo Yeon-woo’s sudden entrance.

“Aksasa? Ah, that guy who left a lot of hateful comments yesterday?”

The rhythmic sound of Ardor’s knife against the cutting board abruptly ceased.

Woo Yeon-woo, oblivious to the change in atmosphere, sat next to Rembrary, saying, “That bastard openly attacked you. He’s claiming they’re living peacefully, but because your image is deteriorating, you’re unfairly targeting them.”

“I don’t use arrows, do I?”

“But my gun might be aimed at him. Who is Aksasa, this heretic?”

Only after Ardor slammed the knife into the cutting board with a loud thud did Woo Yeon-woo quickly move away from Rembrary.

Rembrary quickly intervened to calm Ardor.

“It’s okay, Ardor. He’s going to be sealed with the Demon King anyway.”

However, Ardor’s fervent expression didn’t subside. Woo Yeon-woo, observing his reaction, added, “It seems a few people have joined him.”

“Let’s see.”

Woo Yeon-woo, still glancing nervously at Ardor, quickly found the screen he had been checking on his phone and showed it to Rembrary.

There was a short video uploaded by someone Woo Yeon-woo identified as ‘Aksasa.’

The video contained the same denunciations that Woo Yeon-woo had summarized earlier.

When Woo Yeon-woo closed his phone, Rembrary asked in amazement, “Do people actually believe this?”

* * *

“It seems they do.”

Daeju, who had been standing in front of the window, released the lowered blind and turned around.

Rembrary shrugged as he sipped his coffee on the sofa.

“People lead such fascinating lives.”

Daeju retorted coldly, “Fascinating? They’re so easily swayed by a few words. And what’s the point of believing this or that? They refuse to believe our words.”

Rembrary smiled as he took another sip of his coffee.

“They probably weren’t swayed by just a few words. Before that, there was the documentary trailer, and Vice Minister Morso told my story once and then cancelled it. It’s all been accumulating, one way or another.”

Daeju still seemed to disagree with Rembrary’s words, avoiding a direct answer and asking, “What are you going to do?”

Rembrary put down his coffee and approached the window where Daeju was standing.

Following Daeju’s example, he lowered one section of the blind halfway, revealing people protesting around the Redrin headquarters building.

The signs read ‘Rembrary is not a hero,’ ‘Redrin followers are all cultists,’ ‘Just stay still and don’t ruin things,’ ‘Rembrary is trying to kill our families,’ and so on.

Among them was ‘Rembrary is not a healer,’ which made Rembrary burst out laughing.

“That’s a bit strange.”

Rembrary then noticed a sign next to it that read, ‘Rembrary is a fraud. He can’t do anything,’ and asked Daeju, “What’s that supposed to mean, even if the others are true?”

“They must think everything you’ve shown us is a scam, High Priest.”

“Wow, they have quite the imaginations.”

Daeju sighed at Rembrary’s amusement.

“You shouldn’t just see it in a positive light.”

Rembrary, who hadn’t seen it in a positive light at all, returned to the sofa and sat down instead of responding to Daeju’s words.

Daeju continued to speak as he brewed his green tea.

“I wonder if giving them a month’s grace period has backfired. We should have just sealed them without telling them.”

However, Mullu immediately refuted Daeju’s words.

“They would have found out anyway. They frequently post updates on their lives online. If it suddenly stops at the same time, everyone will guess what happened when the time comes.”

“That’s true, but…”

Even though Daeju was still worried, Ninring shouted enthusiastically, “Don’t worry, everyone. They’ll calm down after doing that for a while!”

* * *

Despite Ninring’s optimistic message, the number of protesters continued to increase as time passed.

Later, when Redrin followers tried to enter the headquarters, they were met with insults and projectiles thrown at them from both sides.

“You’re skipping this gathering?”

“Yes. It’s a bit difficult to attend because people keep swearing and throwing things at me as I walk to the headquarters.”

“I’ll pray at home for the time being, Daeju.”

As a result, ordinary followers felt threatened and attendance dwindled, and even the kind-hearted hunter followers came less often.

They had hoped the number of protesters would naturally decrease over time, but instead, it continued to rise.

Eventually, a meeting was held at Worldboom [a company] to address the situation.

But somehow, some protesters followed them to Worldboom.

However, because Shin Jo Woon had turned the Worldboom courtyard into a particularly slippery ice rink, all the protesters who entered through the front door slipped and slid out through the side door.

After repeating this three or four times, the protesters eventually gave up protesting on the Worldboom site and instead began protesting nearby.

Fortunately, the sound wasn’t loud enough to be heard inside, but Daeju, who was observing the protest, was horrified.

“Did you have a hard time?”

Shin Jo Woon, who noticed his expression, asked in amazement. Daeju usually maintained a gentle and refined demeanor, so it was rare to see him so visibly disgusted.

Daeju immediately complained, “Yes. Usually, they just leave some hateful comments online and it’s over, but I wondered why these people were so persistent, so I investigated. An unexpected conclusion emerged. Most of them are relatives of people who went into the Demon Realm.”

Jang Tae-ri, who was listening to the conversation, clicked her tongue.

“If that’s the case, it’s understandable that they’re acting like that. Those people are pitiful too. Rembrary, those people are just insisting that you’re a fraud because that’s the only way they can justify their relatives’ choices.”

Jang Tae-ri looked at Rembrary with concern.

However, Rembrary answered with a calm smile, “It’s okay. I expected some damage to my image, Tae-ri.”

“What image do you have to lose—”

Woo Yeon-woo started to say, but Woo Sung-woo poked him in the side to silence him.

Thanks to that, Rembrary was able to continue speaking without interruption.

“My image might suffer a bit, but monsters keep appearing. I’ll be able to recover later with my abilities and Daeju’s miracles.”

Shin Jo Woon nodded. Rembrary thought of Gu Joo-il [PD stands for Producer] and added, “I don’t expect much, but the documentary that Gu PD is making will also provide some defense.”

Rembrary then thought of the two people who had expressed a desire to leave the Demon Realm and checked their social media.

This time, each of them had replied.

And surprisingly, some of those who had initially ignored Rembrary’s message had also sent messages.

‘What’s this?’

Rembrary was rather perplexed by the replies.

—I don’t know how to get out ㅠㅠ I’m really sorry, but can you come in and take me out ㅠㅠ?

—I don’t know where the exit is ;;

—Rembrary, I’m sorry for the late reply. I was a bit upset. But what exactly happens when you’re sealed? Do you mean you die? Or do you just fall asleep?

—Hello, Rembrary. I’m sorry for replying a few days after receiving the message. I don’t know if I should even be saying this. Actually, there are fewer people living here, so we do a lot of group activities. The story of Rembrary’s message came up at the meeting, and everyone said it was a scam and just ignored it….

Ninring, who noticed Rembrary’s expression, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“…I should try that method.”