Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 849

◈ 849. The Young High Priest

The black mages disappeared from the Southern Continent all at once.

As if they had never appeared in the first place, they vanished in an instant.

The disappearance of those who had been summoning monsters, spreading curses and diseases, or kidnapping priests was immediately noticeable.

People whispered that the number of monsters seemed to have decreased as well.

At first, everyone was puzzled.

“There must be something going on. They must be preparing for a bigger attack. It’s probably the calm before the storm,” some speculated.

However, after a few months, most people thought, “Ah, the crisis must be over.”

Countries that had sent troops withdrew their soldiers, and the paladins returned to their original posts.

People who used to visit the temple frequently to pray when the black mages appeared also reduced the frequency of their visits.

The number of monster invasions was still higher than it had been a few years ago, so the level of vigilance wasn’t completely lowered.

However, compared to a few months ago, people’s vigilance was noticeably different.

The Grand Temple held meetings on this issue every three to four days. They still suspected that this was a ploy by the black mages to lower their guard.

Priests, especially those in positions with a lot of information, couldn’t rest easy.

One demon king summoning circle had already been completed. Rembrary had stopped the second summoning circle, not the first.

But the black mages suddenly gave up and quit? It didn’t make sense.

The priests believed that there must be another reason behind it.

“They may be trying to lower our guard.”

“And it’s already having that effect.”

The reason why the black mages had become quiet was naturally revealed after a few months.

One day, the secretary priest urgently came to the highest priest and shouted.

“The second demon king summoning circle has been completed! The gate has opened!”

The highest priest was so surprised that he stood up as soon as he received the report.

“How! Where?! There were no signs of it!”

“The North! It’s in the North!”

The secretary priest shouted, even sweating.

The highest priest staggered and sat down weakly in his chair. The North, of all places.

The Northern Continent was the domain of the god Kamuel. High Priest Morso was firmly holding the line, so it had been safe all along.

How much had the priests there bragged that the Lumena and Redrin domains were frequently attacked because they didn’t have a high priest?

But the summoning circle opened there…

“I trusted High Priest Morso and was completely careless.”

The highest priest felt strange when he thought of the smug faces of the Kamuel priests.

“High Priest Morso was like that from the start. All the priests there acted as if this invasion was someone else’s problem. I wonder if they’ll pay attention now.”

The secretary priest muttered with a strange expression, as if he felt the same way.

“The problem is us now. The danger hasn’t disappeared, it’s just blowing in from another direction, but many people are already letting their guard down…”

The highest priest shook his head, recalling the recent atmosphere.

Rembrary turned eleven years old three days ago.

Somehow they found out, and not only the believers but also nobles and royals from all over sent gifts and letters.

Since the Grand Temple was a place where ordinary believers had difficulty entering, it was only this much. If Rembrary had been in the Florandia Temple, he would have been overwhelmed by the visitors.

Perhaps because the black mages retreated after Rembrary stopped the second summoning circle, many people seemed to think that the black mages retreated because an outstanding priest like Rembrary had appeared.

“Where is Rembrary?”

The highest priest was lost in thought for a long time, overwhelmed with worry, and then suddenly asked.

His biggest concern was that time was running out. No matter how great Rembrary was and how clear a candidate he was for high priest, he was too young.

Everyone had to hold on safely until he became a high priest…

“It’s mealtime, so he must be in the dining hall.”

The secretary priest chuckled and replied.

“He’s still the same, even though he’s become famous in an instant.”

* * *

Two years later, the third summoning circle was also completed on the Northern Continent.

After the second summoning circle was completed on their continent, Morso and the Kamuel priests lowered their guard and busily ran around.

But it was an unbelievable result that still happened.

The highest priest was worried that the Kamuel Grand Temple might ask for Rembrary’s help, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, High Priest Iira of the Central Continent visited the Northern Continent and provided various assistance, but from afar, there were no visible results.

In this situation, time flew by, and Rembrary finally completed his five years as a regular priest.

* * *

As Rembrary approached the test for his divine power vessel [a test to determine the strength and purity of one’s divine power] after completing five years, the priests of the Grand Temple gathered to discuss this matter.

Everyone knew that Rembrary possessed the divine power to become a high priest and more.

In addition, he had satisfied the condition of working as a regular priest for five years. Rembrary could now become a high priest.

However, Rembrary was still only fourteen years old.

Since the age limit was established, there had been no precedent for a fourteen-year-old becoming a high priest in the Redrin Temple.

But could they promote Rembrary to high priest?

“Of course, we can. He has met all the conditions. He is over ten years old and has stayed as a regular priest for five years. Even if he is young, he has met the conditions, so we must promote him after this test.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“What else should be difficult when he has met the conditions?”

“We must look at why the condition of staying as a regular priest for five years was created. A high priest is a ‘person in charge.’ That’s why we make them stay as a regular priest for five years, no matter how strong their divine power is. They need to know how the temple works on the ground.”

“Rembrary has also completed five years.”

“Ah, are these people doing this on purpose? Rembrary did work, but he didn’t do as much as other regular priests. He only did secretarial assistant work for two hours a day. He is young, so he didn’t handle any work himself and just ran errands.”

“That’s right. It’s the same even if you think of it in worldly terms. It’s like immediately assigning a squire to the role of commander. We must be careful.”

The priests exchanged words quickly without a break.

Among those who opposed it were people who fervently supported Rembrary. It wasn’t that they opposed it with bad intentions.

“Three demon king summoning circles have already been completed. If three more are completed, the demon king will appear. Rembrary’s ability will be a great strength not only to the Redrin Temple but also to all people. Are we going to keep the child who will become a high priest as a regular priest while the demon king is about to appear?”

“Rembrary is unpredictable. And since he was an apprentice priest and even now as a regular priest, he doesn’t listen if he doesn’t think it’s something he really needs to do. We’re keeping him in check to some extent because he’s a regular priest. If he becomes a high priest, we won’t be able to control him. We must be careful.”

The highest priest became depressed as he listened to the conversations that the temples were exchanging without a break.

All of their opinions were correct. That’s why it was even more troublesome.

After talking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, the priests all turned their heads to the highest priest.

The highest priest hesitated and said.

“His own opinion will be important, so let’s call Rembrary and ask him.”

“Rembrary will naturally want to become a high priest.”

“Even so, we must hear his opinion.”

The highest priest cut it off and instructed the secretary priest.

“Bring Rembrary.”

* * *

Rembrary sent gifts to the paladin training center every year around his birthday.

To do so this year as well, Rembrary sat on the carpet and tried to tie a ribbon neatly on the wrapping paper.

Unlike the other priests, Rembrary naturally believed that he would become a high priest, so he didn’t care about that issue.

“Rembrary, can you come to the conference room for a moment?”

For this reason, Rembrary was a little surprised when he was called to the conference room and heard that the priests were discussing ‘the issue of promoting Rembrary to high priest.’

“Is this something to discuss?”

The priests were embarrassed because Rembrary asked in such a bewildered manner.

They didn’t discuss it with bad intentions. The way he expressed it made them feel like villains who were plotting to block the child’s future.

The highest priest asked in a bright voice as the atmosphere became awkward.

“So, Rembrary. What is your opinion?”

Rembrary smiled gently and asked back.

“Are you asking how to create new rules to prevent me from becoming a high priest?”

A cold air like frost settled over the entire conference room.

The priests were silent and did not open their mouths.

And a few months later, Rembrary safely rose to the position of high priest.

* * *

However, as soon as the news that Rembrary had become a high priest spread, the very thing that the Grand Temple priests had feared happened.

Until now, the secretary priest had been able to cut off most of the incoming requests for help on his own, citing the reason that ‘the child is young and a regular priest.’

But now that Rembrary was in a position to make his own decisions, he couldn’t do that.

The problem was that others knew this as well.

As a result, the number of requests for help increased fivefold in one month as soon as Rembrary took the position of high priest.

“Here, this is it.”

The secretary priest brought Rembrary a pile of documents as long as his arm. There were so many documents that they couldn’t even be placed on the desk.

“What is this?”

“Requests for you to help.”

Rembrary’s eyes widened as he flipped through the documents one by one.

Most of them were requests to be healed or blessed, but there were also absurd requests to eliminate monsters from time to time.

“Shouldn’t this go to the paladins?”

When Rembrary asked blankly, the secretary priest explained.

“It’s difficult to ask the paladins for help directly, so they usually ask the priests for help. If it’s something that seems necessary, the temple will tell the paladins to go.”

The secretary priest pointed to the protruding strings between the piles of documents.

“The documents with strings attached here are official documents that came officially from larger places.”

Rembrary pulled the string at the top.

A document with a string attached slid out.

Rembrary was surprised as he scanned the document.

“Why?”

“It came from the Grand Temple of the Central Continent.”

The secretary priest was also surprised and asked back.

“The Central Continent? The Iira Grand Temple?”

“Yes.”

Amidst the chaos that had spread to the Northern Continent, the Central Continent had the least damage.

It wasn’t a strange thing. It wasn’t like the demons had an infinite number, so they naturally couldn’t invade the entire continent at the same time.

They usually targeted one or two continents and went there first.

Looking at history, it had always been like that. There were always places that were invaded first and suffered great damage, and places that had no damage until the end.

The secretary priest just thought that the Central Continent was in that lucky position this time.

“What does it say?”

Rembrary handed the document directly to the secretary priest.

“They want you to come.”