Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 796

796. Refusal of Treatment

On the way down the mountain, Rembrary deliberately lagged behind.

“Lydal, even if your gums itch, don’t bite just anyone, okay? Bite arms. Preferably Lumena priests’.”

He whispered to Lydal, but Purple Hair shouted from the front,

“I can hear everything!”

“Oh. Can you hear me?”

“You’re so mean!”

Purple Hair protested to Rembrary and stumbled on a tree root while walking.

She would have fallen if the holy knight next to her hadn’t caught her.

Rembrary clicked his tongue and began to give Lydal various instructions again.

The mountain was much easier to descend than to climb. Moreover, unlike when the three of them were walking anxiously, there were plenty of holy knights around, which made them feel secure.

“Damn it! Come over here!”

However, the atmosphere changed instantly when one of the holy knights who had gone ahead as scouts shouted as he returned.

Several holy knights followed him forward. Rembrary grabbed Lydal and followed the holy knights.

Rembrary stopped at the foot of the mountain slope and stared blankly at the scenery in front of him.

Thick gray smoke was rising into the sky from the central mansion in the middle of the distant hills.

“Let’s hurry!”

The leader-like holy knight shouted.

“You guys come this way.”

The holy knights in the back row pulled Rembrary and Purple Hair. Rembrary grabbed Lydal and followed.

“What happened?”

Purple Hair asked as she hurried along.

“While we were catching the black magicians, it seems they attacked that place.”

The Lumena holy knight explained the situation to Purple Hair, even though she was still young.

Rembrary looked at Redrin. Redrin was looking at the front row and didn’t even glance at Rembrary.

After that, the speed of descending the mountain increased.

Even Rembrary slipped on the dirt a couple of times from running too fast. Purple Hair’s pants were already covered in dirt.

Even after descending the mountain, the group continued to climb the hill without rest.

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

Purple Hair muttered, panting, but the holy knights didn’t slow down.

“Do you want to wait here?”

One of the holy knights next to her asked slightly.

“No.”

Purple Hair continued to walk stubbornly, gasping for breath. Then, once in a while, she frowned at Rembrary. She was a strange kid.

Finally, when they arrived in front of the mansion’s large gate, the holy knights cursed here and there.

The gate was smashed. One half was crumpled and bent, and the other half was dangling precariously.

One-third of the mansion had also collapsed. Thick gray smoke was billowing from the annex.

The lawn was trampled and messy. People were lying here and there.

Rembrary pulled on Lydal’s arm and asked,

“Lydal. Do you see that?”

If it were the Lydal Rembrary knew, she would have been in an uproar, worried as soon as she saw that.

The current Lydal was just breathing silently. But her eyes were moving back and forth.

“You guys stay here.”

The holy knights told Rembrary and Purple Hair and ran through the gate.

“I’m going too!”

Purple Hair tried to follow, but the holy knights left without answering.

“It seems the commotion is over, so they’ll come to get us soon.”

When Rembrary told her, Purple Hair scoffed and squatted down under a large tree.

Rembrary grabbed Lydal and entered through the gate.

“Hey! Where are you going! Didn’t you hear to stay here?!”

“You weren’t talking to me.”

“I said ‘you guys’!”

“I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you.”

Rembrary made excuses to Purple Hair, who was trying to grab him, and walked across the peaceful, lush lawn.

“Monster……!”

A staff member who was collapsed and crawling gasped when he saw Lydal.

Rembrary felt Lydal’s tightly gripped arm twitch.

As expected, Lydal still had her reason. She clearly understood people’s words to some extent.

As they walked near the mansion, one of the holy knights from the second investigation team appeared.

He was talking to Gaieger, the deputy head of the Florandia Temple, who had brought Rembrary and Lydal here.

Perhaps sensing their presence, the two stopped talking and looked this way.

“Monster!”

As soon as he saw Lydal, the holy knight drew his sword, and Gaieger threw holy water.

Rembrary hid Lydal behind him. The holy water hit Rembrary and fell to the ground.

“Rembrary! Get away from the monster!”

Gaieger shouted.

“It’s Lydal.”

Rembrary corrected him and spoke firmly to the holy knight as well.

“She’s a novice priest. So put down your sword.”

The holy knight’s sword wavered slightly. He looked at Gaieger and asked,

“Isn’t Lydal the name of the novice priest you brought?”

“Rembrary, what are you talking about? A monster *is* Lydal!”

Gaieger scolded Rembrary instead of answering the holy knight.

“We encountered black magicians in the mountains. They cast a curse on Lydal.”

Just then, one of the first investigation team members approached from behind and explained.

“Black magicians?!”

Gaieger’s voice rose sharply.

“Yes. We caught two, but there will be more.”

The first investigation team member explained briefly, then looked at Gaieger and the other holy knight and asked,

“More importantly, what’s going on here? What happened?”

The second investigation team member squeezed his eyes shut once and then opened them.

“There was a signal from the mountain indicating danger. The second investigation team went to investigate. I was one of them. Then we met a novice holy knight in the mountains. We realized we had been deceived after hearing her words.”

A heavy sigh escaped from the second investigation team member’s mouth.

“When we realized our mistake and returned, the mansion was already under attack. Fortunately, we changed direction midway and managed to stop them around here.”

The first investigation team member’s eyes widened.

Gaieger quickly added,

“Moreover, after the second investigation team left, the people who told us that the first investigation team’s request for help was fake disappeared.”

“They set multiple traps to empty the mansion’s forces.”

The first holy knight muttered, touching his forehead.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

“What about the novice holy knight?”

“Sir Mielnoa said he couldn’t leave the children in a dangerous area and took them away.”

As the adults were engrossed in conversation, Rembrary quietly took Lydal to another side.

* * *

Rembrary treated the injured, but this battle ultimately resulted in several casualties.

It was only thanks to the second investigation team’s return midway that the number of victims was reduced.

If they hadn’t changed direction and returned, the mansion would have been even more chaotic.

For several days, the holy knights thoroughly searched the surrounding area, fearing that the black magicians might have gone to the village.

On the other hand, Rembrary was only briefly busy when treating the injured.

After that, he simply spent his time leisurely in his room. Occasionally, Rembrary would grab Lydal and try to infuse her with divine power.

[Kkeeng!]

Lydal screamed and ran away whenever Rembrary infused her with divine power.

She remained still when he used healing abilities, but like real monsters, she didn’t seem to like divine power.

Then one day, the holy knights, who had been busily moving around, called Rembrary and Lydal to the room in the center of the first floor.

“The child was crying. She definitely has reason!”

“That’s right. She’s been with Rembrary the whole time and hasn’t caused any trouble.”

As soon as he slightly opened the door, shouts poured out from inside. The shouts became even louder when he went inside.

Rembrary closed the door and knocked loudly. Only then did the holy knights stop shouting and turn around.

“Ah. Rembrary. You’ve come.”

One of the holy knights recognized Rembrary’s face and called his name.

“I came because you told me to come with Lydal. What’s going on?”

Rembrary answered and looked at the holy knights and priests sitting around the round table.

“Sorry to call you when you’re busy. We have something to ask.”

“It’s okay.”

“Rembrary. What exactly happened to Lydal?”

“A black magician cast a curse on Lydal. Lydal jumped out of the cave herself while her body was transforming.”

The holy knights and priests whispered at the unexpected statement.

“She does have reason! Unless she’s completely turned into a monster, we should leave Lydal alone.”

Taking this opportunity, one of the holy knights quickly argued.

“The problem is how long that reason will last. She seems fine now, but what if she loses her reason later?”

“Then we can talk about it again then.”

“She’s not going to notify us and disappear when she loses her reason. What if she’s fine now but attacks people in their sleep in the middle of the night?”

“We can’t just get rid of a child who hasn’t attacked anyone.”

“Accidents must be prevented before they happen.”

“Punishment is for after something happens.”

Rembrary looked back and forth at the adults arguing without giving him and Lydal chairs.

Lydal had been trembling since entering this room.

Just as Rembrary, who couldn’t stand watching any longer, was about to say something, someone stood up and shouted.

“Stop fighting! There’s an easy way to tell whether she’s become a monster or not, so why are you arguing so much?”

Rembrary didn’t know who the holy knight was, but judging by his attire, he was a Lumena holy knight [a knight serving the goddess Lumena].

“An easy way?”

The Redrin holy knight, who had argued that punishment should be postponed, frowned and stood up.

The Lumena holy knight smiled brightly and drew his sword. Rembrary stood in front of Lydal.

At the same time, several holy knights also half-drew their swords from their scabbards and were wary of the knight who had drawn his sword first.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s nothing.”

The holy knight who drew his sword smiled and slashed his own palm. The moment red blood flowed down the silver blade, Lydal, who had been obediently held by Rembrary, bared her teeth and lunged at the holy knight.

“No!”

The holy knight who had been trying to save Lydal desperately blocked Lydal in front, but instead had his shoulder bitten.

“Cut it off!”

“Are you crazy! Just pull her off!”

“Pull her from behind!”

“Cut it off!”

A commotion broke out in an instant. Finally, several holy knights grabbed Lydal from behind and pulled her away.

Lydal was panting heavily, but once she was pulled away, she didn’t lunge again.

“Did you see that?”

The holy knight who had drawn blood from his palm pointed at Lydal with his chin and shouted.

“That child is already a monster. I feel sorry for her, but if we’re going to be like that, there will be those pitiful people among the monsters we’ve captured or killed this time. We can’t say she has reason if she can’t control herself.”

“What are you talking about, deliberately drawing blood!”

“It’s deliberate now, but it might not be deliberate later. If someone gets hurt next to her, she’ll attack the injured person.”

Rembrary glanced at the fighting people and treated the holy knight who had been bitten on the shoulder by Lydal.

Then, as he pulled Lydal away, he also treated those who had been scratched by her nails.

Then the injured people voluntarily approached Rembrary one by one.

The last one to approach was the holy knight with a cut as long as a lifeline on his palm.

However, Rembrary lowered his hand and said,

“I won’t treat you.”

“!”