Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 786

People screamed softly and rushed inside the building.

“Damn it. Why the sudden downpour?”

“Isn’t this more than just a downpour?”

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of hail falling on the ground grew louder.

Rembrary stood in front of the railing with a white umbrella, silently watching the hail fall all over the training grounds.

People glanced at him, curious. Among those who had rushed in to avoid the hail, Rembrary was the only one with an umbrella.

“How did you get an umbrella?”

However, among those who were looking, only the tall blonde actually spoke to him.

“I had a feeling something was coming.”

Rembrary answered calmly before staring intently at the tall blonde.

“Why?”

The tall blonde seemed a little uncomfortable with the gaze and asked, turning his head.

“What’s your name, little one?”

“…Do you know we’ve been sharing a room for over a year?”

The tall blonde asked, dumbfounded.

“Of course.”

“And you don’t know my name?”

“I think I heard it, but I forgot. I’ll remember it now.”

“…Kentry.”

Rembrary looked back at the training grounds.

The novice priests, who had been scattered all over the grounds, were busy running around, covering their heads. Children were still rushing in.

The discipline priests ran around, calling out the names of the novice priests they were in charge of.

“Wyder! Wyder!”

Among them was the discipline priest in charge of Wyder.

Rembrary glanced at the priest running around and shouting. The discipline priest was asking other children, “Has anyone seen Wyder?”

“Priest!”

Just then, a child ran up to the priest.

“Oh, yes. Hurry inside.”

The priest in charge of Wyder answered casually and scanned the training grounds.

“Priest! Wyder is collapsed over there.”

But at the child’s next words, the priest flinched and immediately turned his head.

“Collapsed?”

The priests, who had been keeping their ears open and taking care of the children, also froze at once.

“Is he hurt?”

Wyder’s discipline priest couldn’t help but shout.

“He’ll be fine. He’s a healthy child.”

A priest next to him tried to reassure the discipline priest.

“Let’s go find him first.”

A priest who had been counting the children chimed in.

“It’s hailing. Should we get an umbrella or something?”

Another priest asked.

As the story of the umbrella came up, people’s gazes turned back to Rembrary, or rather, to the umbrella Rembrary was holding.

“Shall I lend it to you?”

Rembrary held out the umbrella he was holding.

Before they could answer, the hail stopped.

The continuous thudding sound began to slow down, and the white hail stopped falling in an instant. The children came out from under the roof one by one.

“Looks like I don’t have to lend it.”

Rembrary smiled as he folded the umbrella.

The children peered at Rembrary with curious eyes.

“Which way was Wyder?”

But the priest disciplining Wyder didn’t care whether Rembrary seemed mysterious or not.

Finding the missing Wyder was the priority. The priest pressed the child who had seen Wyder.

“That way.”

The discipline priest ran straight in that direction.

Rembrary followed behind with the umbrella.

Going to a blind spot not visible from the building closest to the training grounds, they saw Wyder lying down. Wyder had a large bump on his forehead.

“Wyder! Are you okay?”

Wyder’s discipline priest quickly approached and gently shook the child’s face.

“…”

Wyder didn’t answer.

Rembrary just looked down at Wyder, still holding the umbrella. Wyder seemed to be losing consciousness.

“Rembrary. Can you take a look at Wyder?”

Seeing this, one of the priests who had followed asked Rembrary.

“I will.”

Rembrary walked up to Wyder and crouched down. When he placed his hand on the forehead with the large bump, the injury quickly healed. Exclamations of admiration erupted from the surroundings.

Wyder’s forehead quickly returned to normal.

Rembrary took his hand away and asked the discipline priest.

“Is it okay now?”

The moment Rembrary tried to take his hand away.

“Aaaagh!”

Wyder screamed as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Rembrary. Anyone would have mistaken it as if Rembrary had knocked him out.

“What’s wrong?”

Rembrary asked, bewildered.

“You… umbrella…”

Wyder pointed at the umbrella with his eyes.

“What about my umbrella?”

When Rembrary asked with a smile, Wyder, who had screamed, couldn’t answer easily.

“Can you get up?”

Wyder’s discipline priest grabbed the child and helped him up.

“Why did you bring an umbrella?”

Wyder, supported as he got up, barely managed to ask the question he wanted to ask.

“Did you even know hail was coming?”

His voice, which had been filled with fear, was gradually regaining strength.

“The weather looked like it.”

Rembrary made an excuse.

The adult priests didn’t pay much attention to Wyder’s inexplicable wariness towards Rembrary.

“Let’s get up.”

The discipline priest helped Wyder up and carefully checked to see if the child was hurt.

Rembrary stared down at Wyder, and Wyder lowered his head and didn’t lift it.

‘This confirms it. Wyder has been spreading bad rumors about Ridal and Rishuer.’

* * *

“Why did you do that?”

Wyder, who had been looking at the reddening sky beyond the window, suddenly turned his head. Rembrary was standing by the door of the hospital room.

“Why are you here?”

Wyder asked, startled.

“I came to visit.”

“You didn’t have to. I don’t hurt at all because you healed me.”

Wyder clutched the blanket.

“I know.”

“Then leave.”

“I just got here.”

Rembrary pulled a wheeled chair that was rolling around nearby to the side of the bed and sat down.

“But really, why did you do that?”

As soon as he sat down, Rembrary asked again, and Wyder made an uncomfortable expression.

“What?”

“The rumors.”

Wyder’s uncomfortable expression visibly stiffened.

“Rumors?”

“The rumor that Ridal is the culprit. And the rumor that Rishuer favored Ridal and created this situation.”

“!”

Wyder’s eyes widened. For a moment, he couldn’t say anything.

Rembrary waited patiently for Wyder to come to his senses.

“Why, why, are you saying that? It wasn’t me. I said it wasn’t me when you asked before. Why do you keep saying that?”

Wyder belatedly denied it in a trembling voice. He had responded calmly a week ago, but today his voice was shaking severely.

“You were hit by hail.”

Wyder’s eyes widened at Rembrary’s whispered words.

“What are you talking about…? What does that have to do with it?”

“You’re smart, so you understand.”

Rembrary said again in a small voice.

Wyder just stared at Rembrary with a pale face.

“Hail fell, but I’m the only one who got hurt. …Did you do something?”

After a long time, Wyder asked.

Rembrary got up from the chair.

“I didn’t do it.”

Rembrary put the chair back in its original place.

Wyder gathered the blanket like a shield and held it in both arms.

“It was the lies you told that brought it on.”

Rembrary told Wyder something close to the truth just before leaving.

“Good night.”

As Rembrary closed the door and left, the hospital room instantly turned cold. It was only then that he realized it was the middle of winter.

Wyder was overcome with fear and buried his whole body in the blanket.

‘Can Rembrary even make hail fall?’

There was a novice priest who left after being hit by hail a few months ago. Could that have been Rembrary’s doing too?

Wyder rubbed the area near his forehead where he had a huge bump.

* * *

“Crying again?”

Hearing the sobbing, Ridal got out of bed and approached Avit.

Avit was a child who had been living in the same room as Rembrary and had been moved here.

Avit had been sobbing quietly all day on the first day he moved into this room. But after a few days, he seemed to be getting better.

“Why are you crying again?”

When Ridal approached and asked, Avit asked, trembling.

“There was something like this before, remember?”

“It did hail. But natural phenomena are like that. The last hail wasn’t the first and last time it fell. It could come again.”

Ridal explained calmly.

Avit shook his head quickly.

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then?”

“I think… Rembrary did it.”

As soon as Avit said Rembrary’s name, he trembled as if he had broken a taboo.

“Calm down.”

Even when Ridal grabbed his wrist, Avit’s trembling didn’t stop.

“How could Rembrary do something like that? Rembrary has healing powers. That’s very rare. Rembrary healed the injured Wyder too. Rembrary didn’t make the hail.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Ridal quickly calmed the child, seeing that he seemed a little less afraid.

“You don’t have to think too deeply. Go to sleep.”

The child fell asleep quickly.

But this time, it was difficult for Ridal to fall asleep. Ridal thought of the umbrella Rembrary was holding.

Why was Rembrary holding an umbrella on such a clear day?

* * *

Around the time the aftermath of the festival was fading, three unfamiliar paladins visited the Florandia Temple.

“Could we get help from Rembrary?”

The paladins said that the trainees take outdoor exams every year, but during this exam, monsters that don’t normally appear in the area appeared in large numbers.

Because of this, several trainees and instructors went missing, and several were seriously injured.

Rembrary was called to Heather and listened to this story together.

“I stopped by the clinic on the way. The manager there said you can heal any trauma or illness. Can you help? Heather, is it okay if we take Rembrary for a while?”

Heather couldn’t answer easily.

The paladins were important forces. Helping the paladins and their trainees was the right thing to do.

But separately, Heather was worried that she should reduce the number of times Rembrary was sent out for external work these days.

Heather was thinking that the reason why Rembrary couldn’t get along with the other children might be Rembrary’s frequent outings.

“That’s right. Rembrary, you’re close to Sir Cheru, right? Sir Cheru’s younger sibling was also injured. Ah, it’s a secret that we mentioned Sir Cheru’s sibling.”

Rembrary thought of the child who had hair like Cheru and was wearing glasses.

“Really?”

“Yes. The most monsters came out towards where that child went.”

“Then I’ll go.”

He was going to go anyway, but Rembrary immediately agreed when the story of Sir Cheru came up.

“I can go, right?”

Rembrary begged, looking at Heather.

Heather recalled Rembrary approaching the green-haired girl and talking to her.

In the end, he had no choice but to agree.

* * *

A few days later, Rembrary arrived at the paladin training center. As soon as Rembrary arrived, he offered to treat the injured people.

“Rembrary, this way.”

Heather grabbed the child, who was running around without knowing which direction to go.

“Not that way.”

“Come this way.”

The paladin, who had traveled with them in another carriage, pointed in the opposite direction.

“The injured are gathered over there.”

As Rembrary ran towards that direction, the paladin lifted the child up and ran even faster.

“Where is Sir Cheru’s sibling?”

As soon as he arrived at the treatment room, Rembrary tapped the paladin’s shoulder.

The paladin put the child down and walked into the room where the patients were lying.

“Where is Sir Cheru?”

Rembrary continued to ask, following behind.

“Is he with Sir Cheru’s sibling?”

The paladin’s pace noticeably slowed.

Before entering the ward, the paladin hesitated, holding the doorknob, and then confessed.

“He disappeared. Trying to save Mullu. The monster that appeared to Mullu was a type that could only be dealt with using divine power.”

Rembrary, who had been excited about meeting Sir Cheru, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Divine power?”

The Letter-Eating Apricot Tree – 2

“What do you think? Am I right?”

The village chief had brought a small book. Flipping through it, it was just a blank page.

“That’s a Shine Muscat [a type of Japanese grape] cultivation manual. It ate it all up, didn’t it?”

“Chief?”

“What? Officer Lee, you’re giving me the same look as Sergeant Yang?”

“Pardon?”

“Anyway, look. There’s not a single letter left, is there?”

The village chief’s excitement gauge skyrocketed.

“So, the apricot tree ate it?”

“Haven’t you heard anything about that apricot tree?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, you’d have to come and go to hear rumors. After Teacher Gil Chang-deok died, those guys barely show their faces…”

“So, this book is the evidence?”

“That’s right. There are no letters, are there?”

“Did you see it, Chief?”

Kangmo hit the nail on the head. He didn’t want to listen to any more nonsense.

“I didn’t see it.”

He immediately backed down.

“Okay, you can go now.”

He returned the book.

“If you doubt me, put the book under the apricot tree. Then you’ll know.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Oh, on a rainy day, that’s important.”

The village chief turned around, limping. His house was behind the left wall of the clinic. It wasn’t even 30 meters in a straight line.

“Oh, if you need someone to clean the house, let me know. I can find someone for you. Just give them 150,000 won [approximately $120 USD] per day.”

He left even unasked words and disappeared into the single-story house.

‘A letter-eating ghost?’

He stood under the apricot tree. It was old. He didn’t know much about trees, but it seemed to be at least 100 years old.

‘He’s got to be kidding me.’

He just wasted time.

The signboard arrived. The electricity was reconnected. Looking at the clinic in the overgrown lawn, he sighed.

He had been managing it from time to time, but it wasn’t a house that could be fixed by just sweeping and wiping.

He was wrong to believe his uncle. The point of house management he mentioned was probably a long time ago.

But he wasn’t discouraged because of the prison.

Kangmo, who had completed his public health service in prison. He knew everything from the inmates’ rooms to the atmosphere of the solitary cells, so he could endure this much.

He started cleaning. Anyway, the opening was scheduled for Monday. He came down as soon as he was discharged, so it didn’t matter if he rested for a day or two.

Cough, cough.

Still, it wasn’t easy. When he touched the shelves, corners, or medicine cabinets, he couldn’t tell if it was dust or snow that had accumulated.

He changed his KF94 mask [a Korean standard for respiratory masks, similar to N95] three times while dusting for a couple of hours.

“Ah!”

He also screamed a few times. It was the millipede’s turn to appear. Centipedes even came out from under the old planks.

He picked them up with tongs and released them in front of the stream across the road. He hated things with a lot of legs. Of course, he hated things with no legs at all.

After finishing the interior, he went to explore the backyard. It was also wide. A jujube tree stood tall among the fragrant trees that formed the fence.

There was also a small spring in the corner. It was half water and half fallen leaves because it wasn’t taken care of. He started by removing the fallen leaves.

For dinner, he used the wild vegetable bibimbap [Korean mixed rice with vegetables and chili paste] at a roadside restaurant. Several kinds of wild vegetables came out. Eating it in the countryside made the aroma even stronger.

He threw in a spoonful of red pepper paste, mixed it thoroughly, and returned to the clinic.

A light rain was falling. Because it was surrounded by mountains, it got dark quickly. The mountain in front was dark as if it had drawn a black curtain.

He thought about going to a nearby motel to sleep, but he packed his sleeping bag. He had bought it when he went car camping on the weekends.

He lay down in the master bedroom.

Summer was approaching, but it wasn’t too hot without air conditioning because it was close to the mountains.

It felt different from when he lived in an apartment. Why did he feel so determined?

Mom.

I came here.

I’m the only one who can uphold my great-grandfather’s legacy, right?

I’ll do well.

Kangmo recalled his mother, who had passed away from cancer the year after he entered medical school. As the reminiscence ended, a loud silence pierced his ears.

‘A ghost?’

A meaningless word flashed through his five senses.

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

He wasn’t a marine reconnaissance like Seungmo, but he was a public health doctor who had dominated the prison.

Among the prisoners he had given acupuncture and moxibustion to, there were prisoners serving life sentences and death row inmates.

-There was also a serial killer and a brutal murderer who chopped her husband into 36 pieces.

-Those people frowned, saying that he was terrible at acupuncture.

Unpleasant memories came to mind.

It wasn’t comforting at all. A small uneasiness multiplied infinitely, and his pores suddenly tingled. He heard footsteps.

“Who is it?”

He quickly turned around and aimed the medical book.

Miaow.

It was the voice of the intruder. How did it get in? Was the window open? A jet-black Bombay cat was glaring at Kangmo.

He was really terrified. He felt like his internal organs were freezing.

“Get out.”

He opened the door and expelled the trespasser.

But…

Miaow.

The sound multiplied infinitely. Was he already possessed by a ghost? There were more than one or two cats in the yard.

Miaow, miaow.

It was from the apricot tree. The cats were coming out from there.

Clang.

He closed the door. Several cats climbed onto the floor. He turned off the lights and turned them back on.

Turning them off would be advantageous for observing the enemy’s movements, but he couldn’t stand it because of his psychological anxiety.

He looked at the closet, walls, and ceiling. He wondered if there was a hole since the cat had come in. The interior was safe. The cats disappeared one by one.

‘What? Are there that many stray cats even in this rural village?’

Dreary rain and dreary cats. It wasn’t a beautiful atmosphere.

He barely caught his breath and tried to sleep. It wasn’t easy. Even the sound of the wind made all his sensors react hypersensitively.

Kangmo wasn’t afraid of cats. But meeting a cat like this… was scary.

‘Should I have gone to a motel? Should I go now?’

After smoking all sorts of thoughts, he fell asleep.

Tap, tap.

Something was tapping at his ear. Were the cats trying to open the door? He turned his body towards the wall and tried to sleep.

Thump, thump.

The sound was getting louder little by little. Was the rain getting heavier? No. This was definitely the sound of footsteps.

“Ah, really.”

Eventually, he kicked off his sleeping bag and got up.

“These damn cats, I swear.”

He grabbed the broom and opened the door.

Huh?

It wasn’t a cat. What came into Kangmo’s eyes was the village chief. The rain had stopped cleanly.

“What is it?”

“My ankle. It hurts more after sleeping, you know? Did you put the needle in wrong?”

The village chief frowned and held out his ankle.

“Ouch.”

He put the needle in again. The village chief’s expression crumpled like crumpled aluminum foil.

“Are you really a great-grandson of Teacher Gil Chang-deok?”

“Chief.”

Kangmo glared.

“It hurts, so what? It doesn’t seem to be getting better.”

“If it got better after one acupuncture session, would there be anyone in the world who is sick?”

“You have a silver tongue, don’t you?”

“Come again tomorrow. You have to get it done three times.”

“Teacher Gil Chang-deok’s long needles could lift up the disabled and open the eyes of the blind with just one session.”

“Chief.”

“You did a rough cleaning, didn’t you? Are you going to use it like this?”

“It seems like there won’t be any problems if I paint it a bit and fix some minor things since it was built so well. Why?”

“Are you going to have room and board too?”

“Yes. But do I have to tell you even that?”

“Anyway, cut down that apricot tree.”

“Why? It’s antique and goes well with the house.”

“It is antique. It’s really old, so it’s over 500 years old.”

“500 years?”

“If I exaggerate a little, it’s said that Muhak Daesa, who gave King Yi Seong-gye his fortune, planted it.”

“Yi Seong-gye lived 600 years ago.”

“500 years or 600 years, it’s all the same.”

“Are you sure it’s 500 years?”

“Hey, what do you think of me? I’m the village chief of this neighborhood. I’m also the fourth-generation village chief.”

“…”

“Do you know why Gil’s great-grandfather opened a clinic here? It’s because of that apricot tree.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Okay. A young person, if I give you advice because of your great-grandfather’s face, you should follow it right away. Do you think I have nothing else to do?”

“Anyway, I’ll take care of the tree myself. And don’t come into this house without permission in the future.”

“Oh, young people are so prickly. In the old days, Teacher Gil Chang-deok didn’t say anything even if the townspeople used it as a guest room.”

The village chief, who had been raising his voice, scratched salt on the wound in front of the gate.

“Three times, my foot. You’re a quack, so you can’t stay in Seoul and open a business in the countryside.”

The village chief left after making a strong statement. In fact, the person who was really raising his voice was Kangmo. He had been subtly using informal speech since yesterday. He put up with it because of the village chief’s age.

‘Oh, shoot.’

Only then did he come to his senses.

“…?”

Kangmo opened the door to the treatment room, and his legs gave way. The medical books placed on the old desk were in a mess.

It was the work of the cats. He picked up the books that were rolling around here and there. Fortunately, there wasn’t much damage.

Huh?

When he picked them up, one book was missing. It was the relatively thin “Pillow and Cover Practical Edition.”

It was a book he had bought when he went to Japan for training in his third year of medical school. The hexagonal design and practical content made it a book he often read.

He looked under the desk, under the chair, and even in the medicine cabinet, but it wasn’t there.

‘Did the cats take it?’

He even checked under the floor, but the book was nowhere to be found.

‘Maybe I didn’t take it out of the car?’

That could be the case. He shook off the moisture on the grass and went out the gate. The book wasn’t in the car either.

‘Ah, these damn cats…’

He was already annoyed that he hadn’t slept well, and now they stole a book?

He was getting a little angry. Then something flickered under the apricot tree.

Huh?

When he craned his neck, it was that hexagonal book. It seemed that the cats had brought it there. It was a little wet, but fortunately, it wasn’t damaged.

But…

“…?”

Kangmo’s gaze, which had been turning the pages of the book, was paralyzed. The book was blank. No letters were left.

Was he hallucinating because he hadn’t slept well?

He turned the pages of the book again. The letters were gone. He checked each page in slow motion, in detail, but it was the same.

“…!”

However, only one Japanese word remained crookedly at the very end. Like a fish that had barely escaped the net.

[おしまい] (Oshimai)

It meant ‘The End.’

The village chief’s advice flashed by like narration.

-If you doubt me, put the book under the apricot tree.

-On a rainy day, that’s important.

Both conditions were met.

As a result, the letters in the book disappeared. This wasn’t erased with chemicals or anything like that. It was proven that the village chief was right.

“Chief.”

Kangmo, who had run out of the gate, called the village chief.