Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 746

◈ 746. The Inquisitors Are…

Niran felt like he’d been struck on the head.

“Rembrary wants to come to the Inquisition with me?”

Doubtful, he asked Heather, the high priest in charge of the Florandia Temple, again.

“Yes. It seems Rembrary likes Priest Niran.”

Heather smiled and handed Niran a piece of paper detailing the schedule and destination, along with an envelope containing the allocated funds for transportation, meals, and accommodation.

“Priest Niran, you’re going to have a hard time. But please take good care of him.”

“Yes…”

Niran accepted the envelope from Heather and left her office, his mind still in turmoil.

He had accepted a request from a Libulen noble to ensure Rembrary didn’t receive a favorable evaluation.

He had received a large sum of money in return.

He knew very well that he wasn’t a good priest, at least not to Rembrary. And he had revealed this several times.

But that clever child chose him? Someone with no connection to him? It would have been less suspicious if he had chosen Eliza, who had been taking care of Rembrary’s peers, instead of Rishuer.

As he walked out of the door and into the hallway, he saw a group of trainee priests heading to the dining hall.

Among the bright-eyed children, Rembrary stood out.

Just before the child at the back of the line glanced in his direction and their eyes met, Niran reflexively looked away.

‘Does he know something? Is he doing that on purpose?’

* * *

Two days later, Rembrary left the Florandia Temple again with Niran in a carriage.

However, the atmosphere was completely different from when they went to the Grand Temple.

Rembrary sat glued to the window, sniffing the air like a puppy.

Niran sat diagonally opposite him, trying to appear calm and just smiling.

It wasn’t until late at night when they entered an inn in a village and faced each other for dinner that Niran reluctantly spoke to Rembrary.

“What do you want to eat?”

Niran handed Rembrary the menu the waiter had given him.

Rembrary took the menu, brought his head close, almost touching it, and said,

“You can leave if you want.”

Niran didn’t hear him right away because he was looking around.

“What?”

Rembrary still had his head down at the menu, but he slightly raised his eyes.

“It’s okay if you want to leave me here.”

Niran felt a chill and half stood up before sitting back down.

“Why would I leave you? I’m your guardian on this trip.”

He tried to sound friendly.

“Okay.”

Rembrary muttered and pointed to the top item on the menu.

“I’ll have this.”

Niran took the menu and used it to shield his face.

Rembrary stared intently at Niran, who he couldn’t see.

He now knew that man’s name. And Rembrary suspected that he was a ‘bad priest.’

The initial investigation into that man was blocked by that large priest, but now that they were alone, there was no one to stop Rembrary.

‘Huh?’

Then, Rembrary felt a strange gaze from above and looked up.

An unfamiliar person was leaning against the railing on the second floor, looking down at them. When their eyes met, they smiled and waved.

Not knowing why, Rembrary waved back, and the person burst into laughter. The person’s companion, with a flushed face, pulled their colleague back.

‘Strange people.’

Rembrary looked back down at the menu.

* * *

“Did you see that?”

The person who Rembrary thought was strange, Person 1, sat down and whispered to Person 2 sitting across from them.

“We’re monitoring that kid. Behave yourself.”

Person 2’s face was red to their ears, and they threatened with a harsh voice.

“It’s weird to call us in for witness testimony and then monitor a seven-year-old.”

Person 1 said nonchalantly and raised their water glass high to pour water into another glass.

“Don’t joke around. And we have to monitor witnesses. They might not be witnesses; they might be targeted by enemies because they’re witnesses, or another incident might happen around them.”

Person 2 scolded, snatching the water glass.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Especially since a black magician was commissioned to steal that kid’s divine power, they might show up around him again. I know.”

Person 1 grumbled, resting their chin on their hand.

They were inquisitors secretly dispatched by the Inquisition to protect and monitor Rembrary’s group.

However, Person 1 didn’t like secretly monitoring a child. Why not just watch from the side?

“Anyway, that kid seems pretty amazing. Didn’t you hear? That kid is testing the priest who came with him by twisting his words.”

Person 1’s divine power manifested as sensitive hearing. Person 1 could hear smaller sounds and sounds from further away than others.

“Testing? Why?”

Person 2 also showed curiosity. Person 2 glanced up at the first floor.

By now, Niran had also chosen his menu, and the awkward group was looking in different directions.

“Lean your head in.”

At Person 1’s request, Person 2 leaned forward.

“That prince, Rembrary, was telling the person he came with, ‘You can leave me if you want.'”

Person 1 whispered and laughed.

Person 2’s eyes widened.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. But it’s clear that he’s not an ordinary companion or guardian. That child distrusts the priest he came with. Why does he distrust him?”

Person 1’s eyes, with their arms crossed, began to gleam with curiosity.

“Did you hear? That kid saved the Grand Temple priests from the clutches of a black magician. That little tyke. He already has divine power. And he’s good at testing people like that. I think that kid would be perfect as an inquisitor.”

“Libulen’s youngest prince, an inquisitor? No way. He’ll just play around and live comfortably in the easiest position.”

Person 2 shrugged and picked up their juice glass.

* * *

The carriage wheels rolled into the Inquisition. Rembrary heard the sound of small stones hitting the wheels and opened the closed window halfway.

He saw several buildings that looked like ordinary temples, all white and clean.

“The Inquisition isn’t anything special,” Rembrary said to Niran as he closed the window.

“Were you expecting something special?”

“The tall blonde said that the Inquisition has monster-like priests who torture people. He said there’s blood splattered everywhere and screams coming from all directions. He said there are puddles of blood on the floor.”

“Haha, surely not.”

The answer came from outside the carriage.

Rembrary was surprised and opened the carriage door to see two priests in the same attire as the inquisitor who had come to the Florandia Temple before.

“Oh!”

Rembrary recognized one of their faces.

“It’s the person I saw at the inn.”

Niran’s heart almost dropped when Rembrary blurted out that he recognized them. He had no idea he was being watched.

Niran praised himself for bringing Rembrary here safely without abandoning him.

He had actually felt the urge to leave Rembrary behind three or four times.

“See? I told you he was smart.”

The inquisitor who had waved at Rembrary arrogantly said to his colleague next to him and lifted Rembrary down from the carriage.

“Everyone says that.”

The two inquisitors burst into laughter at Rembrary’s firm agreement.

Niran looked at them and awkwardly laughed along.

* * *

Once they arrived at the Inquisition, Niran no longer needed to take Rembrary around.

The red-haired inquisitor took Rembrary somewhere, and the blonde-haired inquisitor told Niran where his room was, where the dining hall was, and what to be careful of here.

“You can wander around anywhere, but you must not enter the areas marked with a red line.”

“Red line? Is there a reason?”

“If someone who isn’t an inquisitor wanders around in that area, they’ll be considered an escaped prisoner. Well, we’ll check their identity later, but by then, we’ll already be a little… upset.”

“!”

The blonde inquisitor nonchalantly spat out terrifying words and left, wishing him God’s blessing.

‘Why did I have to come here?’

Niran shuddered.

But even though it was unsettling, this was an opportunity. It had already been five months since he received the money from the client.

In another month, it would be half a year, and he still hadn’t achieved any results.

If he didn’t achieve results, he would have to return half the money he received after half a year.

If he didn’t do something within a month, he would only receive half the money even if he completed the request.

‘That won’t do.’

When he was at the Florandia Temple, it was difficult to do anything because Rembrary was always with the other children.

But now that they had come to a place where they were isolated, he could take some action.

For the next month, he had to achieve results no matter what.

‘Duke Ladderun said that if Rembrary’s divine power was eliminated, he could be branded as an ominous prince again. But looking at the situation, it seems the Duke hired a black magician to eliminate Rembrary’s divine power… Damn it. If things go wrong, I might get caught up in the black magician’s mess. Is this okay?’

* * *

Rembrary, walking down the long corridor with the red-haired inquisitor after parting with Niran, noticed the red lines drawn here and there on the corridor and asked.

“What are those?”

“Oh, no entry lines.”

“Can I go in?”

“Related people can go in.”

If the inquisitor’s blonde colleague had been there, they would have scolded him for not explaining properly.

Rembrary thought that he should go inside there when he had time later.

Rembrary thought that he was a trainee priest and a person invited to tell his story.

In Rembrary’s opinion, that was enough to be considered a related person.

“I see. You have to keep outsiders out.”

“That’s right. You’re smart!”

“Of course.”

The red-haired inquisitor knocked on a door and opened it before hearing a response.

Unlike the white exterior, the interior, with its walls, floor, and ceiling all black, was revealed.

About five people in inquisitor uniforms were gathered, and they all turned their heads in this direction at the same time.

“I’ve brought Rembrary.”

The red-haired inquisitor grabbed Rembrary’s arms and led him forward like he was arresting a cat.

Stumbling forward, Rembrary was released.

His position was in the center of the five inquisitors. The inquisitors looked down at Rembrary simultaneously.

Rembrary looked up at each of the five inquisitors surrounding him and realized that they were expecting a greeting.

Seeing that they were all keeping their mouths shut, it was clear that they were waiting for Rembrary, the great Rembrary favored by Redrin, to acknowledge them first.

However, it would be too cumbersome to greet each of the five people individually. After a brief moment of thought, Rembrary greeted them one word at a time.

“Hel. lo. how. are. you.”

This way, he could achieve the effect of greeting five people with just one greeting! Rembrary smiled proudly and looked back up at the inquisitors.

The inquisitors, who were deliberately creating an intimidating atmosphere as they did with all witnesses, felt a strong sense of shame at the greeting of a child who was clearly just seven years old, no matter how hard they looked.