Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 724

724. Do You Know Who I Am?

The discipline priest left the children briefly to receive some instructions from the high priest.

In the meantime, Rembrary was left alone with unfamiliar children, standing blankly.

After about three minutes, the children, who had been glancing at Rembrary, began to stare openly when the adult priests didn’t return.

Some of them approached and started talking to him.

“What’s your name?”

“Are you here from today?”

“Where are you from?”

“You’re really handsome.”

The children didn’t hide their curiosity and revealed everything honestly.

“Why did you come here?”

“Are you under Lord Ricœur too?”

“How long will you be here?”

Rembrary was momentarily bewildered by the flood of questions.

Rembrary had seen many children of his age at balls and various events. But those children didn’t bombard him with questions like this.

Rembrary realized what the high priest meant when he said, ‘From now on, you can’t be treated like a prince.’

‘So, this is what it’s like.’

However, Rembrary didn’t think that being flustered by an unfamiliar environment was something a clever prince like himself should do. So, Rembrary answered with composure.

“Ask the senior priest when he comes.”

Remembering the high priest’s request in the carriage, he used polite language.

However, upon hearing Rembrary’s tone, the children opened their mouths and exchanged glances.

Seeing them more estranged even after doing as the priest told him, Rembrary thought that the high priest not only lacked eloquence but also social skills.

The children immediately guessed that this flamboyant boy came from a completely different background than themselves.

Whether it was higher or lower, Rembrary was already considered an alien to the children due to his atmosphere and tone.

Instantly, attitudes toward Rembrary were divided among the children. Some showed more interest, while others seemed to shy away and stepped back.

At that moment, a group of children pushed through the others and approached Rembrary.

Rembrary turned his head towards them.

Numerous children surrounded Rembrary, but the ones pushing through stood out.

The children who appeared were taller and bigger than the others. There were five of them in total.

Even though they were wearing the same clothes, it was clear that they were a group.

Rembrary saw the blond child standing at the very front.

The tall blond child, leading the group, raised one corner of his mouth strangely and said.

“I think I know who you are.”

Then, he lifted his chin and stared at Rembrary, seemingly expecting some reaction.

However, Rembrary had only lived surrounded by people who knew him, so what the child said didn’t seem particularly unusual.

But since they had to live together for a while, Rembrary kindly replied, thinking it would be troublesome if a fight broke out if he ignored him.

“I don’t know you. Who are you?”

Even though he asked kindly, the child’s face turned as red as a beet in an instant.

“What?”

Some of the children who had been pushed back by the tall blond child giggled quietly.

‘Is he famous here?’

As Rembrary was wondering at the reaction, the tall blond child suddenly glared at Rembrary as if to kill him, then lifted his chin and said.

“You’re the one, aren’t you? The prince, minion of the Demon King.”

At the word ‘Demon King,’ the children’s laughter stopped abruptly. Their eyes widened. Some whispered to the child next to them, “He said Demon King.”

Rembrary smiled and calmly retorted.

“The priest told us not to talk about worldly things. Was I the only one who heard that advice?”

However, the tall blond child became even more arrogant at Rembrary’s words and said.

“Who listens to that kind of talk?”

Rembrary, who was listening to that kind of talk, wondered what this was all about and raised his eyebrows for the first time.

Then, the tall blond child, seeming to think he was winning against Rembrary, looked around at the other children and said in a loud voice.

“Hey, it’s him. The prince, minion of the Demon King. He lived with demons and rides a dragon.”

At those words, the children shouted ‘Demon King!’ simultaneously, as if they had heard a ghost story, and became noisy.

“I heard that story too.”

“Me too!”

The children took two or three steps away from Rembrary as if someone had ordered them to. In an instant, Rembrary was left standing alone in the center, like a stone had fallen.

The only ones standing close to Rembrary were the tall blond child and his gang.

The tall blond child, with a face that showed he was enjoying this situation, pointed at Rembrary and shouted.

“He’s friends with demons. The Demon King picked him up and raised him. That’s why his parents are sending him to the temple to hide it.”

“Is it true?”

“So scary!”

“But why is he coming to the temple?”

“He shouldn’t be here.”

The tall blond child, excited by the children’s response, shouted even louder.

“He’s going to build power here and conquer the world.”

‘My parents already own a significant portion of the world, why would I bother…?’

Rembrary thought to himself, but tried not to think about worldly matters, as advised by the high priest.

On the other hand, the tall blond child was so excited to be the center of attention that he openly strutted towards Rembrary and even poked his shoulder.

“Answer me if I’m wrong! Answer me!”

The children, emboldened by that, shouted together.

“Yeah, answer him!”

“Tell us if it’s true.”

“Get out of here, Demon King’s accomplice!”

“Don’t come here!”

Rembrary found it amusing to listen to their chirping and laughed. He only laughed very slightly, but the children fell silent in an instant.

“Why are you laughing? Do you think I’m funny?”

Conversely, the tall blond child was agitated and shouted at Rembrary. Rembrary shook his head and kindly told him.

“No. I just thought you were very brave.”

“Brave…?”

“If I were a minion of the Demon King, I wouldn’t let anyone who insulted me live. But you’re shouting, risking your life. You’re very courageous.”

“!”

The children fell silent in an instant. The tall blond child also remained silent. He hadn’t thought that far.

Then, the tall blond child flinched at Rembrary’s gaze.

He had tried so hard to gain the upper hand, and the children were collectively criticizing Rembrary. Yet, Rembrary was watching him as if he were looking at a strange creature.

The tall blond child was four years older than Rembrary, but still a child, so he was frightened by the strange gaze and stepped back.

“He must have used magic…”

“He must have done something.”

The children whispered among themselves, even more terrified.

Rembrary, for his part, didn’t understand the children’s psychology and stood with his hands behind his back, wondering.

And the discipline priest, who had returned after seeing off the high priest, saw the scene from afar and smiled awkwardly.

‘I knew he wouldn’t go unnoticed. This is a real problem.’

Before leaving, the high priest had instructed that Rembrary should correct his attitude as a prince and not use his power to control others.

Should this also be seen as wielding power?

But the discipline priest decided to be flexible about it. Otherwise, the prince might have been bullied, which would also be a big problem.

‘He used polite language, so it should be okay. But why is that prince being polite to his peers?’

* * *

As the children quieted down, Rembrary waited comfortably for the priest to return.

Soon, in less than a minute, the unfamiliar priest who had been talking to the high priest earlier came in alone and introduced himself.

“Hello, Rembrary. I’m Ricœur. I’m a discipline priest.”

Rembrary raised his hand to say ‘hello’ together, then just waved his hand and smiled.

Ricœur found the child’s appearance very cute, so he smiled broadly and continued.

“From now on, Rembrary will study with the friends here and prepare to become a priest.

Until Rembrary becomes a regular priest, I will be the priest in charge of Rembrary and the friends here.”

The discipline priest is actually sometimes changed due to circumstances. But explaining that would be complicated, so Ricœur omitted that part and asked appropriately.

“Do you have any questions?”

“What is a priest in charge?”

“Your guardian. If you want to consult or need help in the future, you can tell me.”

Rembrary nodded and hugged Ricœur once before letting go.

“Please take care of me.”

At that action, Ricœur’s mouth turned up as if it would reach his ears.

‘How cute! I heard he was arrogant, but he’s cute?’

On the other hand, the tall blond child, who had stepped back because he was afraid of Rembrary’s gaze, cursed inwardly.

‘That fraud!’

Ricœur, noticing that gaze, was about to introduce the children to Rembrary but gave up, remembering the scene where Rembrary and the children were confronting each other earlier.

‘Since they have to be together for several years anyway, they’ll naturally get closer.’

Thinking so, Ricœur said to Rembrary.

“It’s mealtime now, okay? I’ll show you where to eat.”

Rembrary followed Ricœur.

The other children still kept their distance from behind, as if they were avoiding Rembrary, but Rembrary was more curious about the meal than the children.

The dining hall they finally arrived at was a separate building a little away from where Rembrary had been gathered, and there was another large building next to it.

Ricœur pointed to the large building and said.

“That’s the dormitory where you guys will be staying. I’ll take you there after the meal.”

After entering the dining hall, Ricœur took out one of the piles of dishes and handed it to Rembrary.

“When you come into the dining hall, you have to take one of your own dishes. Got it?”

Rembrary was surprised once that he had to take the dish himself instead of a court lady, and twice that the dishes were piled up like that.

Ricœur, amused by Rembrary’s expression wavering for the first time, took the child to the food distribution line.

“You have to hold the dish and stand in line. If you hold out the dish to the priests serving food, they’ll put food on it.”

Rembrary was surprised a third time that the food was not delivered by a court lady but received directly.

Ricœur was a little worried this time when the child’s expression wavered again.

‘He’s so surprised. Is half of the food something he can’t eat?’

No, judging by his reaction, it seemed like it would be a relief if he ate even half of it.

However, when Rembrary actually sat down at the long table, he ate the food quite well.

The way he picked up various things with a fork without being picky and chewed them thoroughly seemed to show that he was less picky than the other children.

“Is it good?”

When he asked because he was curious, Rembrary thought for a moment and answered.

“It’s a little bland.”

“!”

So he’s not eating it because it’s delicious. Ricœur smiled awkwardly and started his own meal. But he’s eating it anyway, so whatever.

* * *

After finishing the meal, Rembrary went to the classroom with the discipline priest and read scriptures.

Afterwards, he went to the dormitory and saw the room he would be using.

It was about half the size of the room Rembrary used to use alone, and Ricœur surprisingly said that ten people had to live in it.

Rembrary was surprised again after the dining hall.

And the tall blond child, who would be sharing a room with Rembrary, was so disgusted that he burrowed into the blanket.

“Each room has its own bathroom, and there’s also a public bathroom in case of emergency. You can use any of them freely. As long as you don’t go to someone else’s bathroom.”

Ricœur took Rembrary’s toothbrush and towel and took the child to the bathroom.

“The one with your name on it is yours.”

However, the sink in the bathroom was not the right height for Rembrary.

“Priest. I can’t reach the water.”

Seeing that, Ricœur gave him a small footstool placed in the corner and said.

“Until you grow taller, you can step on this to go up… But do you know how to wash your face?”

“Of course.”

Ricœur blankly watched Rembrary splashing water and rubbing it on his face like a cat washing its face, and thought it wouldn’t work, so he washed his hair himself.

After such a busy day, Rembrary went into the blanket on the bed right in front of the window. The bed was hard and the blanket was not cozy, just like the nanny had said.

Still, thinking there was nothing he could do, he was about to sigh when Ricœur taught Rembrary how to pray.

“From today, you must pray to Redrin at least once a day. Have you ever prayed before?”

“My father and mother do it often.”

“Now Rembrary has to do it too. Rembrary will become a priest, so he has to do it more often than his parents.”

“How do I do it?”

“The posture doesn’t matter, but you have to concentrate very hard. If you concentrate and honestly tell Redrin your story, that’s it. Can you do it?”

“That’s easy.”

Ricœur burst into laughter, then laid the child down, covered him with a blanket, and checked on the other children one by one.

As Ricœur turned off the lights and left, moonlight streamed in diagonally through the window behind the bed, creating a black shadow that looked like a person on Rembrary’s bed sheet.

Rembrary stared blankly at the shadow, then took the pillow from the head of the bed, hugged it, closed his eyes tightly, and prayed to Redrin.

He was going to pray hard now that he had to become a priest.

‘Today…’

But when he actually tried to pray, Rembrary was a little worried. There were thirty children here.

Even if he prayed hard, wouldn’t his voice be buried before it even reached Redrin’s ears if there were too many voices?

Besides, there were even more people in this entire temple, weren’t there?

Rembrary pondered, came up with a good idea, and started praying again.

‘Lord Redrin, Lord Redrin. Hello. I am Rembrary.’

* * *

Redrin was idly stirring the clouds when he heard a strange prayer.

-Lord Redrin. I am Rembrary. Lord Redrin. I am Rembrary. I am… Rembrary!

“??”