Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 677

◈ 677. The Perplexed Butler

Unlike Daeju, Ardor’s expression was unreadable. Yet, he remained silent.

Considering Ardor usually blurted out whatever came to mind, this unusual reaction suggested he felt guilty.

“What’s wrong? Did Ardor cause some trouble?”

Seeing this, Rembrary interjected. Daeju, glaring at Ardor through the rearview mirror, replied,

“The incidents this guy is suspected of causing have been reported non-stop in various places for two years. It’s been very difficult, especially with Redrine’s overall image already suffering.”

Ardor scoffed at those words.

“What? Do you have proof?”

Daeju immediately retorted,

“Listen to him, Your Eminence, talking like a culprit who erased all the evidence.”

Rembrary honestly trusted Daeju’s words more.

However, saying that aloud worried him that Ardor, who was so elated after their reunion, might apologize by shooting him with a gun.

A gunshot wound could be healed immediately, but if it was compounded by the side effects on the already fanatical Ardor, it would be too much to handle.

“Rembrary… Judging by your lack of response to Daeju’s words, you trust this Ardor.”

“Ardor is a good cook.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Ardor is also a good cook.”

“I will live up to Your Eminence’s faith.”

‘It feels like they’re just saying whatever they want.’

While Daeju frowned, looking at Ardor and Rembrary in the rearview mirror, Ardor, thoroughly intoxicated by Rembrary’s trust, smiled brightly and confessed.

“Actually, Your Eminence, this Ardor believed that you would return when the time was right.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So, while those foolish heretics and Daeju, who is better than a heretic but still useless, were chasing after your whereabouts, this Ardor prepared for the long term.”

Before he could say what he had prepared, Daeju’s expression soured.

Rembrary also felt a bit uneasy and asked,

“What did you prepare?”

“This Ardor, Your Eminence, watched the situation two years ago and realized what was currently lacking: manpower. Manpower to protect you.”

“?”

“The Knight Commander is useless. The people the Knight Commander brings are so unnoticeable that I don’t even know they exist. So, this Ardor searched for proper manpower.”

“Proper manpower?”

Daeju asked sullenly, and Ardor replied as if it were obvious.

“People from the Igrasil Temple. Not soft Earth-native believers who were born and raised in a safe place like you, but comrades who came all the way from hell.”

“If a priest is from hell, that seems like an even bigger problem.”

Daeju, who had been refuting Ardor’s words with a look of disdain, clicked his tongue and adjusted the rearview mirror, belatedly panicking and shouting,

“Who did you say you were looking for?! Igrasil [a potentially dangerous religious order]?!”

The driver, startled by the shout, slammed on the brakes.

The car, which had been moving smoothly, suddenly stopped, and horns blared from behind.

“Shall we start again?”

The driver asked cautiously. Daeju nodded, and the driver started driving again.

However, Daeju couldn’t recover from the shock and remained frozen for a while before barely managing to ask,

“Did you find them?”

“Unfortunately.”

“You found them…!”

“I didn’t find them.”

If he didn’t find them, it shouldn’t be unfortunate. Daeju thought so and let out a sigh of relief.

But when he thought about it, the answer was obvious.

If Igrasil Temple priests had entered Earth, there would be dozens of people like Ardor. It couldn’t have been this quiet.

Then, Daeju belatedly noticed that Rembrary was staring at him with a look that said he had something to say and asked,

“What is it?”

“Speaking of Mullu and Ninling, where are they?”

At Rembrary’s question, Daeju’s expression darkened rapidly.

Rembrary recalled that Daeju hadn’t answered the question ‘What about the others?’ when he had called earlier.

Moreover, after meeting him, he realized that Daeju didn’t know Ardor’s whereabouts.

So, he was slightly worried that the situation might be similar for the others.

‘I thought I could meet everyone at headquarters.’

Daeju, noticing Rembrary’s guess was correct, replied with an uncomfortable expression.

“Actually, Your Eminence, the two of them left immediately after you disappeared. They said they would look for you… But at first, we were in contact, but about a year ago, we stopped hearing from them.”

“You don’t know their whereabouts?”

“Yes. It’s one thing for Ninling, but the Commander has green hair, so he should be noticeable, but there haven’t even been any sightings, so I’ve been constantly worried.”

‘I thought everything would be fine since I took it all on myself. But everyone scattered.’

As Rembrary frowned, Daeju quickly comforted him.

“Everyone must have heard the news of Your Eminence’s return, so they will all gather soon. Please don’t worry too much.”

* * *

Thanks to Rembrary’s constant questions, the group arrived at Redrine headquarters in what felt like no time.

There were still many reporters in front of the headquarters, but there were no protesters like during the documentary incident.

“It’s really calmed down a lot. Only reporters are left.”

Rembrary was impressed. But Daeju, instead of adding an explanation as before, frowned and muttered,

“No, there weren’t even any reporters when I came out.”

“There weren’t any reporters?”

“Yes. I don’t know what happened. Why are they gathered there?”

Daeju’s question was resolved when the car stopped and Rembrary got out.

“When did you find Rembrary?”

“Where was Rembrary before returning?”

“Please tell us why Rembrary hasn’t been seen all this time.”

“Rembrary, where have you been?”

“Is it true that you were seriously injured and recovering?”

The reporters who had been waiting rushed towards Rembrary, holding out microphones and shouting questions.

When they left the red bean shaved ice restaurant in Gyeongju, some onlookers were holding up their phones. It seemed that the news of Rembrary’s return had already spread.

“Wow. That’s fast.”

Seeing that, Rembrary muttered, suddenly remembering something.

“Come to think of it, I left my phone charging at the Gyeongju branch.”

“Pardon?”

“I left it charging while going to eat something. I was going to go back and get it after eating. I forgot about it because I came straight here from the site.”

Even as Rembrary spoke, he waved to the reporters. Daeju carefully turned Rembrary’s body around and led him inside the building.

“If the atmosphere has changed favorably, shouldn’t we do a short interview?”

“Since you haven’t been back for long, it’s better to find out more about the situation and contact a newspaper that is friendly to our side for an interview.”

Rembrary was surprised by Daeju’s meticulous remarks and stared at him.

“You’re even paying attention to things like that now?”

Daeju muttered with a face full of emotions.

“Yes. Media play is important here too.”

“I was surprised. You sound just like Jongwoo.”

“You know him well. I’m still getting help from Director Lee.”

“Who is Director Lee?”

“Jongwoo.”

“?”

Rembrary stopped in front of the elevator and stared at Daeju in surprise again.

“Jongwoo?”

It had been a while since Jongwoo had been called ‘Director,’ so that was understandable. But it was strange that Daeju was getting help from Jongwoo.

Two people from completely different areas were helping each other?

Daeju noticed the gaze and quickly explained.

“We signed a cooperation agreement with LLL [Likable Lion League, an entertainment agency].”

“What?”

“Woo Yeonwoo arranged it. It wasn’t signed right away two years ago, but around the time the image improved a bit.”

“No, isn’t that an entertainment agency?”

“Woo Yeonwoo arranged it.”

“No, still, isn’t that an entertainment agency? Is Daeju going to become an idol?”

Rembrary’s voice, becoming flustered, rose slightly, and one of the believers who was running over to greet him was startled and staggered.

Daeju awkwardly waved his hand.

“No. Woo Yeonwoo stepped in to help, and we didn’t have any companies to cooperate with, and LLL only had Wild Animal as their artist, so they had manpower left over. Various circumstances overlapped, and that’s how it happened.”

Anyway, does that mean he can see Jongwoo often? Rembrary felt happy at the thought.

“I’ll send someone to get your phone. The Gyeongju branch manager will take good care of it, so don’t worry. It will arrive by tomorrow morning.”

“I was going to contact Yeonwoo, Taeri, and Myeolchi [Shin Joongwoon’s nickname].”

“You can use my phone.”

Arriving at Daeju’s room, Rembrary took the phone and hesitated for a moment before contacting Shin Joongwoon.

“….”

However, the phone only continued to ring. The other party didn’t answer.

After hearing the message ‘The phone cannot be answered’ three times, Rembrary was puzzled and asked Daeju.

“Doesn’t Myeolchi answer your phone? He’s not answering?”

“He does that sometimes.”

Rembrary had no choice but to send a text message.

* * *

—Rembrary, who disappeared after eliminating the demon’s domain two years ago, was spotted at a branch of the Redrine Hunter Company located in a city in Gyeongju. According to witnesses, Rembrary visited a nearby restaurant with Redrine officials and then went to a famous red bean shaved ice restaurant nearby. After that, national hunters….

At the clear voice of the anchor coming from the phone held by Shin Joongwoon, the butler smiled as he approached with a teacup.

“It seems Rembrary has returned?”

The butler placed the teacup in front of Shin Joongwoon and continued in a pleased voice.

“You’ve been looking for him all this time, so you must be relieved now. We’ll be able to see the three of you playing together again. You’ll bring him here, right?”

However, Shin Joongwoon only smelled the tea and didn’t give a specific answer.

The butler was puzzled and looked at Shin Joongwoon. The butler’s expected reaction from Shin Joongwoon was to answer and go outside immediately.

And when he returned, he thought his pizza-loving friend would be with him. Shin Joongwoon didn’t go out, and his expression was subtle.

“President?”

Eventually, the butler couldn’t help but ask directly.

“Aren’t you going to see Rembrary? I think he’s at Redrine headquarters right now.”

Only then did Shin Joongwoon answer calmly.

“Yes. I’m not going.”

At the firm answer, the butler’s eyes widened in surprise.

Shin Joongwoon didn’t easily keep people around him, but once someone entered his domain, he took care of them thoroughly.

Besides, when Rembrary suddenly disappeared, how hard did Jang Taeri and Shin Joongwoon search for him?

It wasn’t just for a month or two, but they had been doing it until recently. But he’s not going to see him even after hearing the news of his return?

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes.”

Shin Joongwoon, answering in an indifferent tone, got up from his seat and went up the stairs.

The butler blankly stared at Shin Joongwoon’s back as he headed in the opposite direction of the door.