Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 772

772. When Someone Shines, Someone Darkens

“Rembrary, is it okay to play with people from other temples?”

“Rembrary, those guys are heretics. Shouldn’t we play among ourselves?”

The children, who had been bickering amongst themselves, turned to Rembrary simultaneously when they couldn’t resolve their dispute.

The children’s eyes sparkled as they awaited Rembrary’s answer.

The instructor, who had arrived for the class, stood just outside the classroom door. He had heard the commotion inside but deliberately refrained from entering.

The fact that ‘Libulen the Prince’ was among the students was a major topic of discussion, even among the adults. The instructor was curious to hear the answer of the child who was receiving so much attention.

The issue of associating with heretics from other temples was, in fact, a topic of much debate even among the priests.

The more extremist they were, the more they opposed fraternizing with heretics. Conversely, the more moderate they were, the more they argued that ‘it doesn’t matter as long as they are not from the dark lineage.’

“All heretics are potential brothers and sisters. They can always change their minds.”

Rembrary answered in a slightly dreamy voice.

The instructor nodded at Rembrary’s words. It seemed the prince leaned towards a more moderate stance.

“So, if they are not enemies, we can be friendly with anyone.”

However, the instructor raised his eyebrows at the following words. Rembrary’s statement was so lenient it was almost reckless – as long as they are not enemies.

Unlike the instructor, the children interpreted Rembrary’s words more simply.

“Then it means we can play with you!”

“Rembrary is on our side! Did you hear that?”

The children of the Lumena Temple shouted in excited voices. The children of the Redrin Temple frowned and remained silent.

However, when they heard the sound of the door sliding open, the children from both temples scattered at once.

Rembrary’s blocked vision was finally clear. He saw an old man walking towards the teacher’s desk.

“Is that old man the teacher?”

The child in the front row asked the child sitting next to him in a hushed voice. It seemed that neither the children of the Lumena Temple nor the children of the Redrin Temple knew who the old man was.

“Hello, everyone.”

The old man spoke to the children in a kind voice.

“Hello!”

The children answered in loud voices, even though they didn’t know what was going on.

The old man wrote ‘Paladin’ in large letters on the blackboard.

“I am a Paladin. I have retired now, though.”

“A Paladin!”

“It’s a Paladin!”

“Why is a Paladin here?”

The children were curious but even more puzzled.

The children had come after hearing that outstanding young priests would gather to receive special training. But the first instructor to appear was a Paladin?

“You all seem surprised. Well, that’s understandable. The reason I’m here to teach you today is that even if you are priests, you must be able to protect yourselves in the end.”

“But Paladins protect the priests, right?”

One of the children raised their hand and asked.

“That’s right. But if the Paladin protecting you can’t stop the monster, you will eventually face the monster. Of course, Paladins are working hard to prevent such situations. But you must respond calmly in such situations so that you don’t let the Paladin’s sacrifice be in vain.”

The classroom atmosphere turned cold. As the children stared with their mouths agape, the Paladin cleared his throat.

“Of course, this rarely happens. Paladins are strong, after all. But since monster intrusions have been increasing recently, there’s no harm in learning it.”

After finishing speaking, the Paladin suddenly looked at Rembrary and asked.

“I heard that this priest has faced monsters several times already?”

“Yes.”

Rembrary answered weakly, feeling sleepy.

The children looked at Rembrary again and admired him.

Rembrary woke up a little and stretched his back. Rembrary decided to boast about his achievements if the Paladin asked about monsters.

“See? That’s why you all need to learn how to face monsters.”

But the Paladin only asked that much.

Rembrary relaxed his shoulders again and began to doze off.

The Paladin explained a few more things and then clapped his hands.

“Okay. There’s no use in just talking about it. Let’s actually do it once.”

As the Paladin’s clapping stopped, the doors and windows opened simultaneously, and monster heads appeared from outside.

“Aaaagh!”

“It’s a monster!”

The children sitting by the windows on the hallway side cried and ran to the opposite wall. They huddled together, pressed against the wall furthest from the hallway windows, and cried.

“See? You shouldn’t do this.”

As the Paladin clapped his hands again, the monsters retracted their heads and the windows closed. The children stopped screaming and looked at the Paladin.

The Paladin thought to himself, ‘As expected, priests have weak mental fortitude,’ and was about to launch into another long speech when he belatedly noticed Rembrary.

Rembrary was sitting there blankly.

The Paladin’s expression mirrored the children’s when they realized the monsters were fake.

But the Paladin recovered skillfully. He quickly composed his surprised expression and pointed to Rembrary, saying to the children.

“Look. Rembrary has faced monsters several times, so he can respond so calmly. You can become like this if you train too.”

“What was that monster just now?”

“They are Paladins. I deliberately had them wear monster masks.”

As the Paladin gestured, the children returned to their seats.

The Paladin explained the characteristics of monsters for about 30 more minutes and then clapped his hands again and shouted.

“Okay. Now, let’s assume that monsters have invaded and the Paladins who were protecting you are not by your side for some reason. Then monsters appear. Let’s divide into two groups and respond. Redrin Temple priests?”

“Yes!”

“When I signal, the monsters will appear again. Use the basic knowledge about monsters that I taught you and try to respond appropriately this time.”

“Can we do anything?”

“Of course. Do it in whatever way you think is best. Then… start!”

As the Paladin clapped his hands again, the monsters appeared as the windows and doors opened. But the children didn’t panic, perhaps because they knew it was fake.

Moreover, perhaps because they had observed the Redrin Temple children’s initial response, they exchanged glances and acted more cautiously than before.

The Lumena Temple children got up from their desks and stood against the wall by the windows.

The Paladin was pleased, though for a different reason than when he had admired Rembrary. The response he had hoped for from the children from the beginning was closer to this.

At that moment, Rapsus stepped forward and reached out his hand towards the monster facing him. Then, one of the monster heads suddenly let out a strange scream.

The children who had been holding their ground clung to the wall again. The monster mask fell off with a thud, revealing the Paladin’s face.

Blood was dripping from the Paladin’s mouth.

“It’s blood! It’s blood!”

“It’s blood!”

The Paladin’s body seemed to fall backward, and then a thud echoed from the hallway.

“Paladin!”

“What happened, Paladin!”

The children who saw it shouted wildly.

“Just a moment. Everyone stay where you are.”

The Paladin gave instructions in a loud voice and went to the hallway. Other Paladins were gathered around the fallen Paladin.

The retired Paladin assessed the condition of the fallen Paladin and closed all the classroom doors.

As the Paladin who went outside didn’t return, the children slowly returned to their seats.

The commotion coming from the hallway frightened the children. They gradually began to glance at Rapsus.

“Did you do that?”

“What did you do?”

The Redrin Temple children spoke to Rapsus, but Rapsus couldn’t answer.

The Lumena Temple children glared at Rapsus as they moved behind Rembrary for protection.

“No, I… just…”

Rapsus muttered in a faint voice.

Rapsus just wanted to stand against the monster in front of everyone, just like Rembrary had done. He had absolutely no intention of hurting the Paladin.

Rembrary looked back and forth between the purple-haired child who couldn’t lift his head and the unfamiliar children who kept gathering around him.

“If that Paladin is hurt, it’s all your fault.”

One of the Lumena Temple trainees said coldly, and Rapsus lowered his head further.

After watching all that, Rembrary got up.

“Where are you going?”