Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 829

◈ 829. Ardor’s Joy

Ardor walked backward.

He wasn’t tall enough to reach the water fountain yet, so the paladins across from it didn’t notice him and continued chatting.

“Even if he’s done great things, he’s still a kid. A real kid, I hear.”

“Ardor’s a kid too, but he does his part.”

“He’s… crazy… that’s why.”

“Did Lady Mimelnoa see that kid too? I bet she did, right?”

Ardor tilted his head further, listening to their murmurs.

He was confused. When he first met his benefactor, people had called him a paladin, hadn’t they?

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that his benefactor had visited the Warubu territory around the same time as he did.

“I wonder if Ardor saw that kid too?”

Just as his name was mentioned, Ardor walked around the water fountain. Seeing him, the paladins seized the opportunity to ask.

“Oh, we can just ask him. Ardor, have you seen two famous novice priests at the Redrin Temple?”

“I was actually going to ask about that too. What do those novice priests look like?”

“Huh?”

The paladins blinked blankly at Ardor’s question, then thought, ‘Ah, he must not have seen them. He’s asking us instead.’

“Is there no description of what they look like?”

Ardor asked again.

The paladin next to him stifled a laugh and answered.

“I don’t know the specifics of their appearance. But they say they look like angels.”

Remembering the dashing figure of his benefactor riding a horse, Ardor became so anxious he could hardly stand still.

His benefactor looked like an angel too. The kind of angel people imagine.

“Ardor? Did you finish drinking?”

Ardor’s teacher called out in a loud voice when he didn’t return after going to drink water. Ardor quickly ran to his teacher.

“Here.”

Then, instead of taking the wooden sword his teacher offered, he declared.

“Teacher, I want to go to the Grand Temple.”

“Sure. Shall we go on the festival day?”

The teacher readily replied and offered the sword again.

“So let’s have class now.”

“We need to leave now to arrive on the festival day. It’s far away, isn’t it?”

Instead of taking the sword, Ardor calculated the date in his head.

“It’s not that far, is it?”

The teacher asked, puzzled. The Grand Temple was only a comfortable two- or three-day carriage ride away.

“It’s on another continent.”

“Huh?”

Only then did the teacher realize that he and his student were talking about different things.

“Another continent? Which Grand Temple are you trying to go to?”

“The Redrin Grand Temple.”

“What?! Why there?”

“I overheard the senior paladins talking earlier. They said there might be a famous novice priest there who is my benefactor.”

“!”

The teacher knew about the ‘benefactor’ that Ardor always talked about.

He also knew that Ardor had become a novice paladin to meet that benefactor.

But Ardor’s benefactor might be a novice priest at Redrin? Hearing that, the teacher felt a sense of unease creep up his spine.

‘Is his benefactor really at the Redrin Temple? What if he really leaves?’

He didn’t think it was likely, but the teacher knew how persistent Ardor was.

“Teacher. Have you ever seen the Redrin novice priests? The famous two. The one who looks like an angel. Is their hair blonde?”

“No. Red.”

The teacher blurted out a lie without realizing it. The thought that he shouldn’t lie to his student came later, only a tiny bit.

“If it’s red, then it’s not him, but…”

As Ardor muttered, the teacher quickly handed him the wooden sword back.

“You must be misunderstanding something. The rumored novice priests were just taken in because it’s a bit dangerous there right now. It’s not like they’re amazing or anything. So stop worrying and let’s do our work.”

Ardor tilted his head, but eventually nodded and accepted the sword.

After training, the teacher quickly took a bath and bought toys that kids Ardor’s age liked, then went to his quarters.

He intended to dissuade the boy properly before he got any vain hopes. The teacher knocked on the door and called out in a gentle voice.

“Ardor, can we talk for a moment?”

But there was no answer. He knocked the door three or four more times, but it was the same.

A sense of unease suddenly washed over him. The teacher threw the door open. Ardor was not in the room.

‘Ardor!’

* * *

The Grand Temple was reaping the benefits of Rembrary’s effect [Rembrary’s positive influence].

It hadn’t been long since the two novice priests had come here from the Florandia Temple, but the rumors spread like wildfire.

“We’re getting an enormous number of inquiries about whether people can come to see the children on the festival day,” Rogerren, the highest priest’s secretary, said, placing a wicker basket on the highest priest’s desk.

The basket was filled with various letters.

“Was it like this at the Florandia Temple too?”

The highest priest asked Gaieger, who was beside him.

Gaieger, the deputy head of the Florandia Temple, was still here to see how the children were adapting.

“Yes, it was. But it seems like more are coming here.”

“There aren’t any other novice priests here, so there’s no need to be self-conscious, I suppose.”

The secretary neatly stacked the letters on one side of the desk and left.

The highest priest looked at the letters with a satisfied expression. He was proud that two talented individuals had suddenly appeared at the Redrin Temple.

Especially Rembrary, who Redrin had specifically told him to keep here.

The pleased highest priest looked through the various letters people had sent and came up with a good idea.

It was to have Rembrary and Ridal sing.

After all, everyone sang hymns at the temple on festival days. There were songs sung with the believers and songs sung by the priests.

It would be fine to include a song sung by the two children.

People who make decisions always start by imagining the results, don’t they?

The highest priest was a good person, but he didn’t even consider the possibility that Ridal might be terribly tone-deaf.

“S-sing? Me too?”

Rembrary was nonchalant about the singing, but Ridal’s face turned pale.

“But I’m not very good at singing.”

Ridal mumbled, his face bright red.

But the highest priest, knowing that Ridal was kind and courageous, took the child’s words as modesty.

“You can practice.”

The highest priest entrusted this task to Gaieger, who was lingering around idly, and Gaieger covered his ears after listening to Ridal’s singing.

“Ridal, aren’t you mistaking singing for screaming?”

“But Priest, this song has high notes.”

“Why are you screaming to reach those notes?”

“How do other people reach them…?”

In the end, Gaieger left the singing practice to Rembrary and went to make the costumes the children would wear on the festival day.

Ridal, completely dejected for the first time in a while, asked Rembrary.

“Do I sing that badly?”

“Yeah.”

“!”

Ridal pouted, feeling sad, and then asked.

“How do you sing so well?”

“I don’t know how to explain it. Only tone-deaf people think about that. I’ve never thought about it.”

Ridal buried his face in his knees.

In the end, the highest priest was horrified when he heard Ridal’s singing, so they decided to sing the song together as usual.

Still, he had to stand on the front row of the platform, but Ridal was greatly relieved that he could be drowned out by the singing of others.

In the meantime, time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the festival day had arrived.

As soon as Rembrary woke up in the morning, he put his forehead against the window and looked outside.

Even though the Grand Temple was always crowded, there were twice as many people coming and going today.

The gold and silver ribbons that the priests had carefully hung fluttered wildly in the wind.

Below, people dressed in white walked around holding paper roses.

Rembrary and Ridal wandered around, looking at the people, and then ran to the agreed-upon place when it was time to sing.

As the two stood side by side on the highest platform, they could hear people murmuring from the congregation.

“Are those two the children?”

“They’re younger than I thought.”

“Which one is the healer?”

“I don’t know, but they say the other one has higher divine power.”

Ridal was so embarrassed that he wanted to go back to his room as soon as possible.

Ridal envied Rembrary’s mental strength, which was no different from usual even at times like this, more than his divine power or healing abilities.

“Benefactooor!”

But it was in the middle of singing. Someone shouted through the magnificent hymn.

Ridal tried to look in the direction of the sound, but he forced his gaze to stay fixed on the congregation as the song didn’t stop.

“Benefactooooor!”

But the voice grew louder. Ridal couldn’t help but look in the direction of the sound. Rembrary and the believers also looked in the direction of the sound while singing.

But there were too many people to tell who had shouted. Besides, there was no more shouting after that.

Perhaps someone had told them to be quiet, and they had shut their mouths.

Rembrary immediately lost interest and focused on letting people hear his amazing singing again.

‘Redrin, can you distinguish my singing? Of course, you can, right?’

* * *

‘It’s the benefactor! It’s the benefactor!’

Ardor covered his face with both hands and widened his eyes. Ardor trusted his excellent eyesight.

The way he glanced over here was definitely his benefactor.

And that annoying kid next to his benefactor was definitely someone he had seen once at the central mansion.

‘I went all the way to my benefactor and came back!’ Ardor almost screamed. ‘What a stupid thing I’ve done!’

His benefactor wasn’t even a paladin. He was a novice priest, a novice priest. Who the heck mistakenly told me he was a paladin at first?

Ardor stared blankly at his benefactor far ahead, and when the singing was over, he quickly went outside and stood by the door.

‘He won’t live in there forever, so he’ll come out if I wait,’ Ardor predicted cleverly.

It felt like an eternity to Ardor before the sound of many people’s footsteps began to rush towards the door.

Soon, the large door opened from the inside, and believers poured out with roses in their hands.

Once enough believers had left, the priests began to appear one by one.

Some of the priests glanced at Ardor, who was wearing the Lumena novice paladin uniform, but Ardor stood firm.

Finally, the moment when his patience would be rewarded had arrived.

“How was my singing, Priest?”

“It was good. I could hear you really well, Rembrary.”

“How was my singing…?”

“You were good too. You guys are good at singing.”

“You’re good at lying too, Priest!”

“!”

A conversation between children and adults could be heard from inside the door. Ardor paced anxiously, wondering what he should say when he met his benefactor.

‘Should I thank him first? Should I say I’ve been looking for him? Should I tell him he sings very well?’