Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 848

◈ 848. The Child Becoming a Hero and Those Around Him

“A simple method, you say?”

“How many Rembraries are there?”

The black magicians looked at each other.

“Only one.”

“That’s right. Only one. And he’s on the Southern Continent. There are five continents in total, you know.”

Only then did the black magicians exclaim in realization.

“That’s it! If we complete the summoning circle far away, there’s no way he can stop it, no matter how hard he tries.”

“Even if he’s amazing, he doesn’t have the ability to cross continents in an instant.”

They couldn’t believe they hadn’t thought of such an easy method! The black magicians laughed in disbelief.

It was true. The Demon King didn’t necessarily have to appear on the Southern Continent.

* * *

Rembrary returned to the village and noticed someone was missing, so he asked,

“Where’s Giremi?”

At those words, the priests all looked at the secretary priest.

“Ah, that kid.”

The secretary priest remembered receiving Giremi from Rembrary.

“Well, that kid…”

The secretary priest trailed off. Where did I lose him?

“I don’t know. You disappeared, Rembrary, so I didn’t have time to think about anything else.”

The secretary priest finally confessed honestly.

The paladin, who was the first to notice Rembrary’s absence, interjected.

“He was there when you disappeared.”

The highest-ranking priest clicked his tongue.

“He must have run away while we were looking for you.”

Rembrary was puzzled. Run away?

“Why would he run away?”

“He probably ran away because he would be captured by the Libulen soldiers if he returned with us.”

The highest-ranking priest clicked his tongue again. If Duke Ladderun had acted properly, the child wouldn’t have had to run around like this.

In any case, that child was just as young as Rembrary.

* * *

As everyone expected, Giremi was busily moving away from the Redrin priests.

He couldn’t rest, constantly running along the mountain path, fearing he would be caught the moment he stopped.

Fortunately, he had been practicing swordsmanship under his father when he was young, and in the paladin training camp for the past few years, so he could control his breathing and run for quite a while.

Then, Giremi tripped over something.

“Damn it!”

As he cursed and tried to get up, he grabbed the strange stone he had tripped over.

“What’s this?”

Giremi recognized the symbol engraved on the stone as the symbol of the Iira God. He had learned about it during basic education in the paladin training camp.

But why is it here?

Not knowing what it was, Giremi put it back down.

It didn’t matter now who worshiped the Iira God in the land managed by the Redrin God.

However, the moment Giremi placed the symbolic stone on the ground, a faint light began to emanate from it.

“Why is this…?”

As Giremi muttered, a faint voice echoed in his head.

“Come find me.”

Giremi’s eyes widened as he looked up at the sky.

He had never heard the voice of a god before. But the moment he heard it, he knew it was the voice of a god.

The Iira God…?

Giremi hesitated, then put the symbolic stone in his pocket and started going down the mountain again.

* * *

When the carriage arrived at the Grand Temple, Rembrary quickly got out.

But the moment Rembrary set foot on the ground, fireworks suddenly went off.

Rembrary’s eyes widened as he looked ahead.

There was clearly no one there a moment ago. Priests and believers were hiding and then rushed out all at once, setting off fireworks.

“Rembrary! You’re really amazing!”

“Rembrary-nim [term of respect], our future Grand Priest-nim!”

Rembrary’s eyes widened even more at their cheering. But soon he smiled calmly and waved his hand.

The believers especially liked that confident appearance.

In the past, when Rembrary did this, the temple people thought the child was arrogant.

But now that they acknowledged Rembrary’s greatness, even this appearance seemed special.

A future Grand Priest should be that bold! That’s not arrogance, it’s magnanimity!

As people cheered for him, Rembrary excitedly asked,

“How did you all hear about me and gather here? Did you hear how amazing I was?”

“Of course! Dozens of messenger birds flew around.”

“You were really amazing, Rembrary. But you have to tell us everything that happened.”

“Everyone is clamoring to hear your story.”

“Not only the nearby lords but also lords from far away are sending gifts here. Go check it out.”

The priests were so excited that they even forgot to greet the highest-ranking priest to see if he had returned safely.

They wanted to say even a trivial word to Rembrary.

It was only because Rembrary was coming here that the excitement had calmed down a lot.

When the priests first heard that Rembrary had saved countless priests and even stopped the Demon King’s summoning circle, they all screamed.

The believers flocked to the Grand Temple, and the paladins even had to close the doors and control access.

“I was amazing, wasn’t I?”

Rembrary was not shaken at all, even when surrounded by people.

Since people had often gathered and cheered for him since he was a child, it was nothing new to be surprised about.

Rembrary knew very well that he was loved by everyone and took it for granted.

“Redrin-nim was a great help. I did as Redrin-nim told me.”

“Honestly, these people.”

The highest-ranking priest shook his head but was still smiling.

Because of this incident, his mind was made up.

Raidal also seemed to be quite favored by the Redrin God, but Rembrary seemed 100% likely to become the Grand Priest.

* * *

If the secretary priest had gotten out of the carriage with Rembrary, he would have been happy too.

However, the secretary priest was inside, so he couldn’t get out right away.

Besides, Raidal was sitting across from him.

The sound of people cheering could be heard throughout the carriage.

Rembrary! Rembrary! Our future Grand Priest-nim!

The sound of people shouting enthusiastically could not be blocked by the thin walls of the carriage.

‘This is awkward.’ The secretary priest scratched his head as he looked across.

Initially, Raidal was the one who received people’s expectations. Wasn’t Rembrary chased into the temple because of rumors that he was involved with demons?

But now the situation was completely reversed.

Even before leaving the temple and returning, Raidal was as talented as Rembrary.

But now Raidal had barely recovered his divine power.

In this adventure, Raidal had stayed in the village inn.

Raidal was a good child, and the highest-ranking priest and the secretary priest had told the weakened Raidal to stay in a safe place.

Thanks to this, Raidal had accompanied them on this adventure but had not played a major role.

“It’s okay.”

Then, the secretary priest was surprised and lowered his hand. Raidal was looking at him and smiling.

“Huh?”

“I thought you were worried about me. I’m okay.”

The secretary priest felt even more sorry for the child’s mature comfort. If only that child hadn’t left the temple….

“I also think Rembrary will become the Grand Priest.”

Raidal smiled proudly and looked beyond the open carriage door.

Rembrary was surrounded by people and couldn’t be seen, but his friend would be somewhere there.

“Raidal…”

“But I won’t give up.”

“Yes. You shouldn’t.”

The secretary priest smiled and patted the child’s shoulder when he saw that Raidal was not discouraged.

It wouldn’t be right for him to pity the child when the child said he was okay.

It was strange to correct a child who said he was okay, saying, ‘No, you should be having a hard time right now.’

“Rembrary has a strange personality. He’ll be like that even when he becomes the Grand Priest. So I’m going to nag him from the side. By becoming the highest-ranking priest.”

The secretary priest smiled contentedly.

Rembrary, who is righteous and brave but overly self-centered. Raidal, who is weaker than Rembrary but kind, righteous, and follows the rules.

With these two children, the future of the Redrin Temple will be bright.

* * *

‘I wish people would just shut up.’ Rabsus covered his ears and thought.

Wherever he went, he heard Rembrary’s name.

“Isn’t that kid Rembrary going to become the Grand Priest first at this rate?”

“Definitely. The difference is too big.”

“Rabsus is great too, but his achievements can’t compare.”

“Rabsus doesn’t have any achievements at all. He’s strong, but he’s always safe under the protection of the highest-ranking priest and the paladins.”

“If we’re talking about strength, Grand Priest Kamuel is also incredibly strong. But since that kid is the only healing Grand Priest, the difference in rarity is too big.”

“He’s staying as a regular priest because of restrictions, but he’s actually the most outstanding in the Redrin Temple.”

The moment he took his hands off, he heard Rembrary’s name again.

People only talked about that kid endlessly.

If they wanted to talk about that kid, they could just talk about that kid, but they stubbornly kept talking about Rabsus as well. It was driving him crazy.

Then one night, Rabsus couldn’t stand it anymore and slipped out of bed in the middle of the night and went to the prayer room.

Standing in front of the large Lumena statue, Rabsus put his hands together and kept asking.

‘What should I do, Lumena-nim [term of respect]? What should I do to be liked by people as much as Rembrary? What else should I do here to become stronger?’

[Don’t worry about it.]

Then, a kind voice entered Rabsus’s mind.

Rabsus thought it was the warmest voice in the world. A voice that could turn even midwinter into spring.

Rabsus immediately recognized that it was Lumena’s voice. The moment he realized that, he started crying.

‘Lumena-nim, Lumena-nim. It’s so hard. Lumena-nim, can’t you make me stronger too?’

[Don’t be conscious of that child. Your path and that child’s path are different.]

Rabsus’s eyes widened.

‘Then does that mean I always have to go down a worse path than Rembrary? Is that how I was born?’

[It’s not something to compare like that. It means you have your own uniqueness. You are a child I love. It hurts me to see you sad.]

Rabsus shed tears.

Lumena’s voice was so warm and nice, but it was not comforting at all.

* * *

One day, Raidal received a letter.

‘What’s this?’

The letter was anonymous, and the place of origin was the port.

‘Do I have an acquaintance living in the port?’

Raidal opened the envelope with a letter opener.

-Rembrary doesn’t see anyone as equal except himself. Eventually, you will realize that too. You’re the only one who considers Rembrary a friend. He has no interest in you.

Raidal looked down at the neat handwriting on the letter.

The sender’s name was not on the letter. But he guessed who sent it.

“What is it?”

Raidal hurriedly covered the letter when he heard a voice from behind. Rembrary was standing right behind him.

“It’s nothing. Just a letter.”

Raidal made excuses, feeling anxious. ‘Did he see it?’

“You don’t have to hide it since I’m not interested.”

Fortunately, Rembrary didn’t seem to have seen it. He didn’t ask who the letter was from or joke about why he was hiding it. He simply yawned and walked past.

Raidal stared blankly at his back and then looked down at the letter.

―He has no interest in you.