Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 680

680. When Friends Fight, Stay Out of It

“Side effects?”

When Shin Jo-woon asked, Rembrary had already released a bit of divine power.

Rembrary explained in a gentle voice, trying not to worry Shin Jo-woon.

“It’s not a major side effect. It’s just a bit perplexing because a side effect that didn’t exist before has appeared.”

“What kind of side effect is so perplexing?”

“It seems like your faith deepens a little.”

“Faith?”

“Yes.”

Although he said, ‘Major side effects don’t appear,’ Rembrary used less divine power than usual, just in case.

After all, Shin Jo-woon didn’t have any noticeable external injuries.

Still, once he felt he had sent enough divine power to heal his mind and body, Rembrary removed his hand from his shoulder.

Shin Jo-woon immediately turned around and asked Rembrary again.

“Faith? What are you talking about?”

Rembrary didn’t answer right away but observed Shin Jo-woon’s reaction.

He certainly didn’t want side effects to occur, but he was a little curious to see Shin Jo-woon following Redrin.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

As if noticing the gaze, Shin Jo-woon frowned and asked.

“Are you honored that I’m staring at you?”

Rembrary asked with anticipation.

However, Shin Jo-woon frowned even more as soon as Rembrary finished speaking.

“Honored?”

Rembrary leaned his head forward slightly.

“Do you see a halo around me?”

“Are you talking about that thing you turn on and off behind your head? It looks like it’s off now.”

Shin Jo-woon’s eyes scanned the top of Rembrary’s head.

Rembrary shook his head and asked again.

“Not that halo. I mean a halo you feel. Or, don’t I look particularly handsome?”

Shin Jo-woon replied in a reluctant voice.

“You look better.”

The reaction was clearly different from those Rembrary had healed before. The excited look that appeared on them was not observed in Shin Jo-woon.

“Don’t I look particularly excellent?”

Still, when he asked again slyly, Shin Jo-woon reluctantly answered.

“I don’t know.”

I don’t know?

“Then what about Redrin?”

Shin Jo-woon was silent for a moment before asking reluctantly.

“I don’t know why you keep asking strange questions. If it’s about that, don’t you know better than me?”

“No, what kind of existence is Redrin to you, you anchovy?”

“The god you believe in.”

Rembrary was taken aback by Shin Jo-woon’s firm tone and asked.

“Just that?”

Shin Jo-woon asked back in a puzzled tone.

“Should there be something more?”

Rembrary muttered to himself.

“Oh. Is it fixed?”

“Fixed?”

“I’m talking about the side effect I mentioned. Maybe it’s because Redrin’s image has worsened on Earth, but after healing, a side effect of adoring Redrin has appeared.”

Upon hearing Rembrary’s explanation, Shin Jo-woon asked back in bewilderment.

“You used that on me right away, even though it has such side effects?”

“It’s not a major side effect.”

Even though Rembrary explained, Shin Jo-woon didn’t ease his expression.

However, since he hadn’t actually seen the side effect, even if it was said that ‘faith arises,’ he couldn’t guess how much it would be, so it was ambiguous to argue.

Rembrary, for his part, was puzzled because Shin Jo-woon didn’t show any different appearance from before. Had the side effect disappeared in the meantime, or…?

“Anchovy. Do you have anyone at home who’s injured?”

“Why injured people?”

“I want to check if the side effect has really disappeared. If that’s the case, isn’t it a good thing?”

After a while. Following Shin Jo-woon’s instructions, the people employed at the mansion gathered in the living room one by one.

With most of them gathered, except for a few who couldn’t come due to circumstances, Shin Jo-woon gestured to Rembrary.

At the signal that it was okay to proceed, Rembrary quickly stepped forward and asked the people.

“Is there anyone injured? I’ll heal you. But my condition has become strange, so if you receive treatment, a slight side effect will occur.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the butler quickly stepped forward.

“Rembrary, my back hurts a bit. It’s not an external injury, but I have a slight disc issue [a problem with the cushioning discs between the vertebrae]. Can this be treated too?”

He didn’t seem to care much about the side effect story.

“Of course!”

Rembrary quickly approached the butler, but Shin Jo-woon changed his direction from behind, causing him to walk in the wrong direction.

When Rembrary stopped walking and looked back, Shin Jo-woon said firmly.

“The butler can’t. He’s the one who controls our entire house, and if he becomes engrossed in religion, everyone will be affected.”

The butler looked bewildered at the sudden religious story, so Shin Jo-woon sighed and informed him.

“He said the side effect is that your faith deepens.”

Rembrary had no choice but to ask again.

“Then someone else?”

Although not as immediate as the butler, a volunteer appeared fairly quickly this time as well.

“Would burns be okay? It’s not a major injury, just a minor one.”

It was one of the cooks.

“Of course, it’s okay. But would it be okay if a little faith arises?”

“Oh, of course. What’s wrong with having faith? If you receive a miraculous treatment, you’ll develop faith you didn’t have before, right?”

The cook stepped forward cheerfully and held out his injured hand. Unlike his statement that it was a minor injury, the reddened area was wider than expected.

Rembrary placed his hand on the area and released divine power.

In the blink of an eye, the affected area, which had turned red and looked like it would peel, became clean, and Rembrary observed the cook’s reaction. Had the side effect disappeared after all?

No sooner had he thought of that expectation than the cook, who was looking at the treated area as if it were amazing, stretched out both hands towards the sky and shouted.

“Oh, Redrin! I have received the blessing given by Redrin!”

The colleagues who had gathered to see the treated appearance retreated back in a rush.

“Redrin! Before receiving this treatment, I was always living a life with something missing! Now the lacking part of my life has been filled! That was Redrin!”

The people who had been staring blankly at the cook shouting simultaneously moved their eyes to look at Rembrary.

Shin Jo-woon also looked at Rembrary and asked in a subdued voice.

“A little? Is that what you call a little faith arising?”

“That’s pretty normal.”

“Does that look normal to you?”

Rembrary crossed his arms and looked up and down at Shin Jo-woon.

“I’m more amazed by you. Anyway, the side effect hasn’t disappeared yet. Why are you okay, you anchovy?”

Rembrary recalled what Sajae had said before.

Shin Jo-woon’s power was influenced by the rift, so it was different from awakeners, priests, and even grim reapers. Could that be the reason?

Anyway, Shin Jo-woon’s condition, which had been said to be not good, now seemed to be all right, so Rembrary brightly suggested.

“Anyway, it seems like you’re all better. Then, Anchovy, will you go to Redrin headquarters with me? Tae-ri is there too.”

However, Shin Jo-woon, who had been talking well all along, immediately refused this offer.

“No. I have a lot of work to do.”

“You seemed to be resting earlier.”

“I was resting for a while. Now I have to work again.”

Rembrary tilted his head, looking at Shin Jo-woon’s back, who didn’t seem busy at all.

* * *

“Huh? Rembrary, weren’t you going to pick up Jo-woon?”

When Rembrary returned with Hwasa, Jang Tae-ri asked, having gathered her head with Jong-woo and Dae-joo to check something.

“He said he has a lot of work to do.”

When Rembrary answered, Jang Tae-ri frowned and looked at Hwasa.

‘Is that true?’

Hwasa shook his head, meaning he didn’t know anything, and Jang Tae-ri frowned even more.

“What’s wrong?”

When Dae-joo asked slyly, Jang Tae-ri answered in a voice that Rembrary couldn’t hear.

“It’s President Shin. He said he was sick earlier, but now he’s busy.”

“It’s an excuse.”

Although they lowered their voices, their whispering voices reached Rembrary’s ears.

Rembrary, who was walking towards Jong-woo with the script, stopped abruptly upon hearing the conversation.

‘Is Anchovy really avoiding Tae-ri?’

Rembrary looked at Jang Tae-ri worriedly. If that was the case, he wanted to counsel Jang Tae-ri about it.

However, Dae-joo’s secretary came in and announced that reporters had arrived, so he had to postpone the matter.

‘What happened between the two of them while I was away that caused the two good friends to fight?’

Rembrary tilted his head while checking the script for the last time.

Whatever the reason, if the two had fought, the benevolent and fair high priest Rembrary had to step in and reconcile them.

Thinking about it made Rembrary feel good.

Isn’t that what a mediator is like?

Once while counseling Jang Tae-ri, once while counseling Shin Jo-woon, once while calling them together and counseling them together, and once again if things go well. You can get something delicious at least four times.

“Rembrary. Why are you smiling while looking at the script?”

“It’s nothing. More than that, Jong-woo. Didn’t the reporters come too early?”

“I didn’t call many people. I only called friendly reporters on purpose.”

Rembrary quickly put the script under his arm to resolve this matter and reconcile the two friends.

“I’ve roughly memorized it. Now, do we just have a press conference? Where do we do it?”

Jong-woo asked suspiciously.

“Did you really memorize it all?”

“Of course. I don’t know why I had to memorize it, but I memorized the flow. Didn’t you say that you only need to memorize the flow and the main points?”

“I’m not saying don’t look at the script at all. I’m saying that if you forget or get confused while speaking without looking, you can look at it slightly and naturally.”

“I’m good at this. Don’t worry.”

“…Rembrary is an excellent healer, but somehow I don’t trust him in this area. Is it because it’s a bit similar to when Yeon-woo went wild?”

“Even if you don’t trust me, is there anything you can do?”

“!”

* * *

While Jong-woo was drinking cold water to suppress his somehow familiar anger. Rembrary received an explanation about the press conference from Dae-joo.

“I only called ten people, and all of them are friendly reporters on our side. Even if one or two of them change their attitude, the majority will write articles favorably. As long as you don’t make any big mistakes, please answer according to the direction you memorized in advance, and keep in mind that the people watching the press conference scene are the public, and speak normally.”

“I understand.”

“If you get stuck, please look at me.”

“I understand. But where do we hold the press conference?”

“We’ll do it in a mid-sized conference room.”

After hearing the explanation from Dae-joo. Rembrary went down to the conference room after wearing a neat suit and tying his hair neatly in one.

The conference room was already crowded from the nearby hallway because the reporters had already gathered.

They stopped talking among themselves when Rembrary appeared and looked at Rembrary strangely.

As Rembrary entered the conference room and walked to the front of the platform, the surroundings became so quiet that even the sound of flies flying could be heard.

Rembrary watched the scene of the gathered people busily moving, turning on recorders, preparing for shorthand, and taking out laptops.

In the meantime. Dae-joo went to the opposite side of where Rembrary was standing so that he could give Rembrary a signal at any time.

Rembrary grabbed the microphone.