Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 740

740. The Qualities of a High Priest

“I don’t want to.”

Rembrary said firmly, looking around at the high-ranking priests.

Heather’s shoulders tensed up. He awkwardly patted Rembrary’s arm.

“Rembrary, aren’t you good at it? You know, shooting light prettily from your head.”

Rembrary shook his head anyway.

“I don’t want to do it.”

The surrounding priests murmured, then burst into hearty laughter.

“There are times when you don’t want to do it.”

“Of course, if you don’t want to, you shouldn’t.”

Heather followed suit with an awkward laugh.

Ridal stared at Rembrary with wide eyes.

Not only Ridal but also the other apprentice priests who had accompanied the high-ranking priests were giving him more curious glances than when Heather had been praising Rembrary.

Rembrary placed both hands neatly on the table and didn’t say a word until the meeting was over.

About 30 minutes passed like that.

“Well, let’s let the children go out and rest.”

The priest with glasses sitting next to the highest-ranking priest on the right said. Then, some of the lay priests standing by the door approached the apprentice priests and told them to follow.

A woman with pink hair approached Rembrary and Ridal.

“Let’s go out and play, kids.”

Ridal looked at Heather.

“You guys go too.”

When Heather gave permission, Ridal and Rembrary quickly followed the pink hair.

* * *

The apprentice priests followed the lay priests to the cafeteria and received milk and cookies. After the meal, the lay priests took the children to their respective accommodations.

Rembrary went into the room, quickly brushed his teeth, and got into bed. He was exhausted from the long carriage ride and wanted to get a good night’s sleep.

But footsteps approached. When he opened his eyes, Ridal was coming towards Rembrary.

Ridal sat at the head of Rembrary’s bed and asked.

“Why didn’t you use your ability earlier?”

“Just because.”

“Just because why?”

“I have my reasons.”

Rembrary glossed over it instead of revealing his plan to hide his excellence for three years.

As he was about to close his eyes, Ridal poked Rembrary’s arm.

When Rembrary reluctantly opened his eyes again, Ridal propped himself up on his arm and said.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

“You faced a monster, didn’t you?”

“If I only think about being scared, when will I think about the fun things?”

Ridal sighed deeply, looking thoughtful. But Rembrary wasn’t interested in counseling others.

“Go to sleep quickly.”

Rembrary then turned over, but Ridal poked Rembrary’s back again.

Rembrary reluctantly turned back around.

“Hey, the coachman only took me.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t hate the coachman too much. The monster popped out on your side. The monster was on that side…

He had to go next to the monster to take you. So the coachman only took me. I was with him the whole time.”

“Okay.”

“The coachman cried a lot thinking you were dead.”

“You’re a chatterbox, baby.”

Rembrary was annoyed that Ridal kept talking to him when he was dying to sleep.

Ridal finally went back to his place but spoke again from afar.

“Rembrary, how do you use divine power?”

“Just because.”

“Do you just use it?”

Rembrary fell asleep right after that, so he didn’t hear what Ridal was saying.

But he vaguely remembered Ridal saying something about having a hard time.

* * *

The next day, when they went to the cafeteria, brown bread and potato soup were served. Rembrary ate the bread without much thought, and his eyes widened. It wasn’t bland!

“You seem to like it.”

Heather had been dozing off while eating across from him due to the meeting that had lasted until dawn, but he smiled in his sleep when he saw Rembrary’s expression.

“Is it good?”

Ridal followed Rembrary and put the bread in his mouth but immediately frowned.

“It’s a bit salty.”

“That’s good.”

“You eat too salty.”

“I should come to the Grand Temple later.”

Heather woke up completely at Rembrary’s declaration and burst into laughter.

“Just because of the food? Aren’t your ambitions too modest and grand, Rembrary?”

Ridal laughed along, then asked when Heather yawned again.

“What time did you come in yesterday?”

“Three in the morning… I’m so tired.”

“You had a meeting until three? What was the meeting about?”

Heather pondered whether he should tell the children about the meeting while eating his soup.

The number of monsters had increased, and the organized movements of black mages were being observed. The damage from them was also occurring here and there.

The fact that five paladins who were supposed to come here with them had been attacked and disappeared was also unsettling.

The outskirts of the territory were not close to the Florandia Temple, but monsters did not often appear there.

Monsters were mainly outside the walls. Even if a monster came near the village, it was even rarer for a monster strong enough to harm five paladins at once to appear.

But this kind of story was sure to scare the children.

“Heather?”

Ridal asked again in a worried voice when Heather didn’t answer. Like the smart child he was, he seemed to have sensed bad news from Heather’s silence.

On the other hand, Rembrary was so impressed that the bread was salty that he was moving his head around, looking for a way to get more bread.

*Perhaps Ridal has more talent to become a high priest than Rembrary,* Heather thought to himself and said brightly, “No, I just had a lot to say since it’s been a while since we met.”

“What happened to the paladins who were supposed to meet us?”

Ridal still asked in an anxious voice.

“Everyone will be found soon.”

Heather said, deliberately smiling.

Ridal nodded and forced himself to eat the soup.

Rembrary called the pink-haired priest.

“Priest! Could you give me one more bread to commemorate our bond yesterday?”

Heather choked on his soup and coughed.

“Oh, how cute. The baby priest speaks so beautifully!”

The pink-haired priest giggled and brought three more pieces of bread.

Ridal’s face turned even redder, and he bowed his head deeply.

* * *

After having a hearty breakfast, Rembrary received Heather’s permission and went to tour the temple with Ridal.

Heather went back into the meeting, and a very old lay priest took care of the two children and guided them through the Grand Temple.

When the old priest asked if there was anywhere they wanted to see, Rembrary asked without hesitation.

“Priest, priest. Where is the room that the High Priest uses?”

“Shall I show you?”

“Yes!”

Rembrary followed the old priest, memorizing the clean and clear path made of white marble.

“One of our baby priests might use this place later.”

The old priest said as he let the children into the High Priest’s room, which was currently empty.

Rembrary went into the room and smiled brightly.

*Is it a private room? It is a private room. Is there a personal bathtub? There is. Is the bathtub big? It is big. Is the room size satisfactory?*

Satisfactory. *Does the sunlight come in well? It does. Is the ceiling high? It is high.*

After finishing a few checks, Rembrary nodded contentedly.

This was even slightly larger than the room in the palace he used to use.

He would get bigger when he grew up, so a slightly larger room was appropriate. This size seemed very suitable.

“Are you done looking around?”

The old priest asked with a chuckle when Rembrary had thoroughly looked around the room and returned.

Ridal thought it was rude to look around someone else’s room too much, so he was already next to the old priest.

“Yes, yes.”

Rembrary grabbed the old priest’s arm and smiled.

“I like it. The bathtub is pretty here, and the walls are pretty too. It would be nice to live here.”

“Oh my, this baby priest is like someone who came to buy a house!”

The old priest chuckled again at the child’s answer.

The old priest knew that this cute-looking child was the one who had been labeled the ‘Ominous Prince’.

But he had lived long enough not to be swayed by ridiculous rumors.

“Our baby priests! Where else do you want to go?”

The old priest asked as he closed the door to the High Priest’s room.

“I heard there is a very pretty flower garden in the Grand Temple.”

Ridal said cautiously and politely.

“That’s right. That flower garden is very pretty.”

The old priest nodded and took the children to the flower garden.

Being a famous flower garden, there were many other apprentice priests in the vicinity following the guiding priests.

The Grand Temple’s flower garden had an abundance of white and red flowers.

“Rembrary, look at that!”

Ridal shouted, pointing to a human figure made of flowers. Rembrary ran to it with Ridal.

They were having fun looking at the flowers when suddenly, a scream was heard from somewhere.

Rembrary looked towards the sound. The children who were looking at a small fountain were screaming.

Rembrary looked towards the sound. The children who were looking at a small fountain were screaming.

Some priests went towards the sound and then stepped back. The priests looked at each other and then hurriedly turned around and shouted.

“Call the paladins and take the children to their rooms!”

“Take the children to their rooms!”

Something seemed to have happened.

“Let’s go.”

The old priest grabbed Ridal and Rembrary, one in each hand, and started running towards the dormitory.

“There is a shield that the former High Priests made in the dormitory.”

The old priest said all sorts of things to reassure the children.

Rembrary was running after the old priest when he looked back.

“!”

Something with a bizarre shape, like a long, narrow towel unraveled, was rising from the water. People in priest robes were caught in between.

Some priests entrusted the apprentice priests they were with to other priests and approached the bizarre-looking monster.

“Let’s go, quickly!”

The old priest pulled Rembrary’s arm, urging him on as he had slowed down to look back.

Rembrary quickly started running after the old priest.

But just before arriving at the dormitory, the priests and apprentice priests who had entered earlier ran out, shouting.

“Don’t go in! There’s something inside!”

The old priest stopped abruptly. Rembrary noticed that the old priest’s palm was wet with sweat.

“What’s inside?”

The priest who had almost reached the door asked the priest who had run out. The priest who had run out gasped for breath and pointed inside.

“I don’t know. Something big and big… something big…”

“Are there people inside?”

“There will be almost none. The high-ranking priests went into the meeting, and the apprentice priests are sightseeing now-”

At that moment, a thud sounded from inside, and something revealed itself beyond the glass door.

The shape that appeared looked like a person at first glance, but it was different from the human form. The body was like ordinary people, but the head on top of it was too huge.

Its head looked like a human head inflated to the maximum.

The height to the shoulders was similar to that of adult priests, but because of the size of its head, the monster’s head barely touched the ceiling.

The monster stopped and looked at the people beyond the glass door as if observing them.

The large eyes befitting the huge head moved from side to side, and Ridal gasped and stepped back.

“Run away!”

Rembrary thought he had briefly made eye contact with the monster.

But the monster turned its head again and started walking forward again. It didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out.

“The paladins?”

“They’re coming over there.”

The voices of some priests shouting quickly were heard.

The paladins seemed to have arrived.

The old priest turned to Rembrary and Ridal and said.

“You must stay close to me. Got it?”

“Where’s Heather?”

Ridal asked, sobbing.

“He’s in a meeting, but everyone will come after hearing the news. When the paladins and high-ranking priests come, two monsters are nothing.”

At that moment, Rembrary’s eyes widened. The monster with the huge head, which seemed to be passing by, was rushing towards them.

The monster’s waist stretched endlessly.

Some of the priests in front were hit by the monster and fell or were grabbed by the hand. A large mouth bit someone’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

One of the grabbed priests seemed to use divine power, and the monster released the priest, then instantly grew longer and grabbed the old priest’s back.

Rembrary saw the old priest’s eyes widen. Almost at the same time, he let go of the hands holding Rembrary and Ridal.

The monster’s waist, which had priests in both hands, shrank in the blink of an eye, and the huge head was crushed and entered the building.

A moment of silence.

“Aaaaaah!”

Ridal screamed and ran back. The other children screamed and scattered.

“Come here!”

“We have to go together!”

The lay priests hurriedly tried to take care of the children, but the frightened children became difficult to control.

“Paladin, it’s over there!”

Someone shouted. The paladins seemed to have arrived.

“Everyone, step back!”

The arriving paladins shouted to the priests. They seemed to be about to do something.

But the old priest had already been dragged inside. They didn’t seem to be going inside right away.

The paladins approached the priests.

Rembrary ran into the entrance alone.

“Rembrary?!”

Cherub, who came with the other paladins, noticed a familiar figure passing by like a squirrel and hurriedly followed.