Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 841

841. A Strong Sole Candidate

The black magicians, preoccupied with gathering materials for the second summoning circle, couldn’t monitor Duke Ladderun as closely as before.

Then, one of the black magicians finally noticed a pattern.

Duke Ladderun was frequently taking a carriage somewhere. He would return, pace back and forth in the garden, and then take the carriage away again.

The black magician, remembering the condition he had previously set for Duke Ladderun, went out to the garden to intercept the Duke.

Soon enough, the carriage returned. Duke Ladderun emerged, looking even paler than before.

The black magician approached him and inquired,

“Were you able to enter the palace?”

Seeing the Duke’s silence, it was clear he hadn’t gained access. But just to confirm, he pressed the question. Duke Ladderun’s expression turned grave.

“I couldn’t get in, I see.”

The black magician merely smirked and muttered under his breath.

Duke Ladderun stammered a couple of excuses and then hastily retreated, heading towards his study.

As soon as the Duke entered the study, he slumped down at his desk and tapped the floor impatiently with his cane.

Although he hadn’t been granted entry to the palace, the Emperor hadn’t yet punished him. But how long would that last?

It had been quite some time since the Emperor and Empress had responded to his letters. Rembrary might write and send another letter, further complicating things.

‘First… if that Prince writes and sends a letter, I must intercept it.’

* * *

Strangely enough, Rembrary was also thinking about the letters he had sent to his parents around that time.

He had some free time since his schedule hadn’t been set after becoming a lay priest, so he was simply relaxing and reflecting.

‘That’s right. Duke Ladderun. What happened to him?’

Rembrary asked the visitors who came to the Great Temple if they knew anything happening in the palace.

The visitors were amazed, exclaiming, ‘Is he the Rembrary,’ and eagerly shared all sorts of stories they had heard.

Many stories circulated, but none of them mentioned Duke Ladderun.

‘Do my mother and father think the Duke Ladderun affair is trivial?’

Puzzled, Rembrary wrote and sent another letter.

Duke Ladderun’s henchman was lying in wait. When the postman emerged from the Great Temple, he swiftly approached, created a distraction, and stole the letter.

Unaware of this, Rembrary continued to enjoy his peaceful days. Two days later, he was summoned by the highest priest and went to his private office.

“Well, Rembrary. How have you been lately?”

The highest priest greeted Rembrary as if they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“Yes, I’m fine. The food here is good.”

Rembrary replied in kind. The highest priest smiled benevolently and gestured for him to sit down.

Rembrary drank the cocoa that the secretary priest had brought and gazed at the highest priest.

“You know why I called you, right?”

“You missed me, right?”

“Well… that’s right. And there’s something I want to ask you.”

“I’ll tell you anything.”

“Thank you, Rembrary. It’s about your residence.”

“It would be nice if it were bigger.”

“Well… I see. I’ll move you to a bigger room when you’re a bit older. And Rembrary, as you know, when you become a lay priest, you start working. As you can see from Kentry, even young lay priests are working for an hour or two a day while receiving education.”

Rembrary quickly raised his hand.

“There’s a place I want to go.”

“Where is it?”

“The Inquisition.”

The highest priest didn’t take Rembrary’s words seriously, dismissing them with a laugh. When you’re young, you often want to do unusual things.

“I see. But you still have to study, so you have to stay in the Great Temple for a few more years.”

“Then why did you ask me?”

“What kind of work do you want to do? Kentry is helping to guide tourists for two hours a day.”

So that’s why Kentry was constantly running around. Rembrary recalled Kentry, who was busily going from garden to garden, and nodded.

“What kind of jobs are there?”

“If you like meeting people and want to work while walking around, you’ll enjoy guiding tourists. If you like books, you can work in the library. If you want to help people, counseling is also a good option.”

Rembrary was lost in thought, staring blankly. If I can’t go to the Inquisition, shouldn’t I focus on helping people?

The highest priest watched the child pondering and slyly suggested.

“Rembrary, if you don’t dislike paperwork, how about helping the secretary priests?”

The secretary priest next to him widened his eyes.

The words were ‘help the secretary priest,’ but in fact, it was no different from ‘help me.’

The highest priest’s work was very important, so he didn’t entrust auxiliary tasks to young lay priests.

The highest priest’s secretary priests were all chosen based on their intelligence and work processing skills, not their divine power.

Putting a child among such elites…

‘Is the highest priest trying to prepare Rembrary for the possibility of becoming the next high priest? Well. Ridal has lost his divine power, so Rembrary is now the most likely candidate.’

Moreover, these were dangerous times with unusual demon activity.

Even if Rembrary became the high priest in the future, it might be difficult to find the time and effort to teach him the necessary skills.

“You’ve already decided what to do, haven’t you? Then why did you ask me?”

But the child, unaware of this, asked in a slightly sulky voice, feeling like he wasn’t given a real choice.

The highest priest laughed heartily and patted the child’s shoulder lightly.

“You’re so smart that I really want your help.”

“That’s true.”

* * *

Butterflies fluttered over the purple cosmos flowers. The autumn air was particularly pleasant today.

Rembrary chased after the butterflies, following them as they flitted from one flower to another.

From tomorrow, he had to help the secretary priests for two hours a day, but today he was free.

There was no special education scheduled either, so Rembrary wandered around the central garden of the Great Temple alone.

The Great Garden was famous, attracting tourists and other priests, and it was usually crowded. However, the central garden was quiet, making it a good place to play alone.

[My child.]

Then, a kind voice – Redrin’s – called out to Rembrary, who was following the butterflies. Rembrary stopped immediately.

‘Redrin?’

Rembrary looked around. It was definitely Redrin’s voice. It seemed to be coming from closer than usual.

‘Redrin? Where are you?’

Redrin had descended once before, so Rembrary immediately began searching for him without hesitation.

[Here.]

‘Where is here?’

Rembrary, running around, spotted a blurry figure standing among the cosmos flowers.

It clearly had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but its face was difficult to make out. At first glance, it resembled Redrin.

“How did you get here?”

Rembrary went over, hugged his arm, and looked up.

[I came because I missed you.]

Redrin smiled and stroked Rembrary’s hair. At that moment, Rembrary pushed away the arm he was holding and frowned as he stepped back.

“Who are you?”

[I am Redrin.]

The other person’s actions were quite like Redrin’s, but Rembrary stepped back further.

As he stared intently at the figure, the person who looked like Redrin tilted his head and grinned.

[Why are you doing this? Can’t you recognize me?]

“I fought with Redrin and we aren’t talking these days. Who are you?”

The other person’s mouth drooped at Rembrary’s firm words.

[You even fight with God.]

The voice and tone were also completely different from Redrin. Rembrary narrowed his eyes and prepared to activate his halo.

Seeing his openly wary stance, the blurry opponent sighed and grumbled.

[Anyway, you’re a really weird kid.]

Rembrary recalled his visit to a certain territory in the past. The lord of that territory had claimed that the god Redrin had answered his prayers.

Could this be the same demon who impersonated Redrin to deceive the lord?

“Are you the demon who impersonated Redrin to the lord before?”

The blurry opponent tilted his head and disappeared in an instant.

Rembrary quickly ran to where the demon had been standing.

There were definitely traces of grass being pressed down as if someone had been standing there, but not a single ant was crawling.

‘Redrin, Redrin! There’s a demon impersonating Redrin!’

Rembrary shouted in surprise, but then he thought, ‘Oops,’ and added firmly.

‘Don’t talk to me yet.’

* * *

Although he wasn’t talking to him, Redrin was watching everything. Redrin frowned and asked the angel.

[Who do you think that demon is?]

“I don’t know.”

The angel answered politely and left the spot. Redrin looked down below the clouds again.

After a moment, Redrin’s expression hardened. Why do demons keep approaching my child?

Moreover, this wasn’t a recent occurrence. Redrin already knew of three such demons.

[Rembrary.]

After much deliberation, Redrin called Rembrary.

‘I’m a little busy.’

The child’s voice was still angry, but he answered immediately.

Redrin sent a gentle breeze over the child’s head and offered a concession to appease him.

[My heart aches because my child is sulking. Let’s do this. Instead of immediately restoring Ridal’s previous divine power, I will observe him completely anew.]

‘What does that mean?’

[It means I will watch him and give him a chance to prove whether he has sincerely repented or if his regret was only temporary. If he is deemed worthy of receiving divine power again, I will restore it. How does that sound?]

Rembrary opened his eyes wide and whispered to the cosmos.

‘Redrin isn’t usually this understanding, is he?’

[Say generous.]

The angels exchanged surprised glances as Redrin made an exception for a small human child.

They could hardly believe it, even though they had just witnessed it. Many gods were like that to some extent, but Redrin was known for his unwavering will.

‘Then Redrin, can I tell Ridal that story?’

The child, unaware of the great privilege he had received, whispered again.

[That won’t do.]

‘Why?’

[If he knows, he will naturally try to manipulate the situation. What I want is for Ridal to strive for redemption without knowing anything.]

Ridal would be capable of that much on his own. Rembrary smiled contentedly.

After listening, it seemed better for Ridal to earn Redrin’s recognition on his own, as Redrin suggested.

‘Redrin is truly brilliant. You’re smart.’

Redrin burst out laughing as Rembrary praised him to the cosmos again.

[I’m not there.]

Lumena had just come to visit and saw the scene. She asked the angel what was happening.

Redrin’s angel recounted the story in a short and concise manner, and Lumena exclaimed in surprise.