Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 791

◈ 791. More Freedom Than Expected

“Did you just call me Grass’s little sister?”

Mulu asked belatedly as Rembrary placed the cake in front of her.

Cheru, noticing Mulu’s flustered state, put a fork in her hand.

“You should be thankful.”

“Thank you.”

Mulu said reluctantly before bursting out again, “I’m thankful, but-”

“You’re welcome.”

Rembrary turned away, leaving Mulu’s last words hanging in the air.

“Sister, he just-!”

Mulu grabbed Cheru’s arm in embarrassment, but when Cheru looked at her as if she couldn’t get enough of her cuteness, she immediately put on a solemn expression.

“Rembrary must like you. He even brought you cake. Just say thank you and eat it.”

Cheru lightly tapped her sister’s cheek and gently shook the plate.

“He called me Grass.”

Mulu protested in a small voice before taking a bite of the cake.

“And he doesn’t like me. He likes you, Sister.”

“It probably means you’re as green and generous as grass.”

“Sister, I’m not stupid.”

As Mulu tried to speak like an adult while protesting, Cheru couldn’t help but hug her sister.

“Sister, I told you. Please keep a distance in front of people.”

* * *

The Commander almost sulked because Rembrary didn’t give him cake.

“Commander, let’s share it together.”

However, his heart melted as soon as Rembrary placed the plate between them and offered a piece.

“You’re really kind. Why don’t you become a Paladin?”

“I can’t, Commander. I’m already a priest.”

“There are cases where people become Paladins after being priests.”

“I’m not curious.”

Rembrary said firmly and cut a piece of cake to eat.

The Commander stared blankly ahead, feeling even more upset when he met Heather’s grinning eyes.

“What are you laughing at?”

In any case, the Commander told them the story of the black magician.

“When I asked the black magician his purpose, he said, ‘It’s already too late.'”

The Commander omitted the part where the black magician spewed terrible curses and mocked the priests and Paladins.

“And after rambling on some more, he said, ‘The preparations are almost complete.'”

“Preparations are complete? What preparations?”

“He didn’t say what it was.”

The Commander frowned, recalling the black magician’s chilling laughter.

“Then he shouted, ‘Now you can’t stop it,’ and killed himself.”

“Couldn’t we stop it?”

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t.”

The Commander sighed deeply, then noticed that the plate of chocolate cake was already empty.

“We were going to share. You ate it all yourself.”

The Commander, Heather, and several Paladins spent two busy days in meetings. Heather, of course, didn’t tell him the contents of the meetings.

The Commander also didn’t reveal the meeting details, so Rembrary had no choice but to spend the two days sightseeing around the training camp.

And finally, the day came to return to the Florandia Temple.

Inside the carriage, Rembrary asked Heather once more.

“What did you talk about at the meeting, Heather?”

“It’s a secret, Rembrary. The meeting contents are confidential.”

But it was no use.

Rembrary thought it was unfair.

He and Cheru had caught the black magician together, but he wasn’t invited when they talked about the black magician.

“How old do I have to be for you to tell me?”

Rembrary asked with a sigh, and Heather chuckled.

“About ten years from now.”

“Hoo…”

Rembrary sighed, shook his head, and leaned against the carriage window.

Heather, noticing that Rembrary seemed dejected, quickly changed the subject in a cheerful voice.

“Oh, right, Rembrary. I heard you had a sword duel with Cheru’s younger sibling? It was amazing, they said?”

Rembrary lifted his head from the window and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“The Commander praised you a lot. He said your stance, strength, and senses are great, even though you’re not a Paladin trainee.”

“Is that so?”

“Have you ever learned swordsmanship?”

“Yes. I learned it with my older brother and sister from the Knights Commander.”

“…”

Heather briefly closed his mouth as too high of a figure appeared in the light conversation.

No wonder. There was a reason the Commander was impressed by the child’s solid fundamentals.

Rembrary tugged at Heather’s sleeve a couple of times.

Heather realized that Rembrary wanted to hear more praise and started flattering him again.

“There’s nothing Rembrary can’t do. You can handle divine power, heal people, and you’re good at swordsmanship.”

“Yeah!”

Rembrary was happy for a moment, but when Heather didn’t say the words he wanted to hear, he quickly added.

“Heather, Heather. Do you know? Cheru’s younger sibling is the top student.”

‘I know. I’m the one who told you,’ Heather thought to himself, but still clapped.

“Wow. Rembrary, you dueled with the top student and tied? That’s amazing!”

“Is that so?”

Rembrary smiled brightly.

“That’s right. But Rembrary, was the sword your main weapon when you learned from the Knights Commander?”

“Why?”

“I heard Cheru’s younger sibling’s main weapon is a spear.”

Rembrary’s bright face dimmed slightly at Heather’s casual remark.

‘Did I say something wrong?’ Heather thought, feeling a pang of regret.

However, Rembrary didn’t look disappointed. His brow was furrowed, as if he had suddenly fallen into deep thought.

“Rembrary, there’s no need to be disappointed. You’re majoring in divine power, not swordsmanship.”

Heather comforted the child, just in case.

The child shook his head as if to say, ‘That’s not it,’ and crossed his arms.

“Should I say I lost…”

The child’s small mutter could be heard.

‘Is there a need to say you lost?’ Heather wondered, but soon thought that the child must have his own reasons and leaned back in his seat.

His expression gradually darkened as he looked at the sunset outside the window. The world was becoming dangerous. How long would this peace last?

* * *

Rembrary, who arrived at the Florandia Temple, spent the next few weeks peacefully.

Even if it was peaceful, the power struggles and ostracism among peers didn’t change.

However, Rembrary didn’t care much even when the children avoided him.

Rembrary frequently talked to Redrin, and when Rembrary counted and told him the number of feathers left, Redrin sent him a few more.

Very occasionally, he would write ‘Rembrary’ on the blanket and send it.

In return, Rembrary sometimes sang songs for Redrin.

However, while Rembrary was living peacefully, various things were happening outside.

The incident of the black magician appearing near the Paladin training camp was reported to the Redrin High Temple, and the Redrin High Temple passed the information on to the Lumena High Temple.

Once again, a meeting was held with the High Priests and Archpriests.

The Redrin High Priest and the Lumena High Priest seriously interpreted the words the black magician had said before committing suicide.

They argued that instead of just training talented children, more active preparations might be needed.

However, Archpriest Kamuel and Archpriest Iira didn’t take it so seriously.

“Black magicians always boast like that, don’t they?”

Archpriest Iira smiled and looked at the two High Priests alternately, as if to soothe them.

“The numbers aren’t good, but it’s not enough for all of us to step in.”

“It will be too late to regret it after something happens.”

The Lumena High Priest retorted bluntly.

“That’s right.”

Archpriest Iira nodded. But the opposing opinion didn’t change.

“But if we all step in, people will be afraid. They will be more frightened than necessary and will not be able to enjoy their daily lives. Then chaos will come.”

Archpriest Kamuel listened indifferently, then chuckled and added.

“Isn’t the reason the Lumena Temple and the Redrin Temple are attacked so much just because they don’t have an Archpriest?”

It was at that moment that the two High Priests flared up.

“Something terrible has happened!”

The employee working in the conference room came in with a pale face.

“What’s wrong?”

Archpriest Kamuel asked, and the employee swallowed hard and replied.

“It seems that several mountains connected to the Demon World have been occupied by black magicians.”

“!”

“What are you talking about? They were just occupied now?”

“No. A few weeks ago. They were originally places where monsters appeared frequently because they were near the Demon World entrance. The number of monsters has increased compared to before, but so no one thought it was strange. The number of monsters is increasing worldwide, so they thought it was just more than usual.”

“You fools!”

The Lumena High Priest slammed the table.

The employee flinched but continued to report to the end.

“But looking at the trends, the number of monsters hasn’t just increased. It seems that black magicians have occupied the area and are releasing monsters to kill or chase away anyone who comes near.”

Archpriest Kamuel rolled his eyes for a moment. But only for a moment. He soon said nonchalantly.

“Then we can just recapture the area.”

“…It’s definitely not something we can just ignore.”

Archpriest Iira seemed to have changed his position slightly.

The Redrin High Priest and the Lumena High Priest looked at each other with concern.

* * *

Ardor, who had been living as peacefully as Rembrary, heard a very disturbing story one day.

It was the story of a young High Priest named Lapsus.

But the child was young, yet his divine power was at the High Priest level, he had been staying at the Central Estate during the time Ardor received the handkerchief and help, and he was strong enough to eliminate monsters alone.

Ardor was lost in thought after hearing that.

‘People said he was wearing Paladin attire. Maybe he changed his clothes for a while. Is the person I’m looking for a priest, not a Paladin?’

Moreover, after becoming a Paladin trainee, he was told that trainees had no reason to go to the Central Estate.

Ardor began to investigate the appearance of the young priest named Lapsus.

“They say he has blonde hair?”

“I heard he has red hair.”

“I heard he has white hair. Or was it silver hair?”

“Isn’t it purple hair?”

“I heard he has black hair.”

However, since the stories were all different, none of them were credible. In the end, Ardor went to his teacher and begged.

“Teacher. Please show me Lapsus’s face.”

“Why are you telling me that?”

The teacher was dumbfounded.

But the teacher loved Ardor too much to just dismiss it as the child throwing a tantrum.

The teacher began to look for a way for his disciple and finally found some good information.

“Ardor. I heard that the High Priest named Lapsus will be going to the Central Estate in a few days.”

“Can I go too?”

“I’ll take you. Considering my reputation, they won’t stop me from going.”

Ardor jumped for joy at his teacher’s bold promise.

* * *

And a few days later. Heather was lost in thought after receiving a letter from the Redrin High Priest.

The High Priest briefly informed him of the contents of the High Priest meeting and then made this request.

-Among the mountains occupied by black magicians, there is also a mountain located near the Central Estate. We have decided to send an initial investigation team consisting of Lumena priests, Redrin priests, and Paladins, using the Central Estate as a base. We hope Rembrary will come to the Central Estate and heal any injured people. Of course, Rembrary will not go to dangerous areas, so you can rest assured.

Heather rubbed his temples. Heather knew Rembrary’s personality. Rembrary was the type of child who would follow him to dangerous areas by any means.

‘What to do?’