Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 858

◈ 858. Overtaking

“I don’t know.”

Rembrary said nonchalantly, and Kentry clicked his tongue.

“Keep an eye on it.”

Rembrary pointed to the exam room.

“I was just taking the exam.”

Kentry pointed to the chocolate wrapper in Rembrary’s hand.

“You were just eating chocolate. *I* took the exam.”

Rembrary stared blankly at him and unwrapped his third chocolate.

Kentry, realizing it was useless to say more, rubbed his hair and looked around.

“Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine. It’s just an exam, right?”

“It’s not just that……”

Kentry was about to say that Rydal’s condition had worsened as the exam day approached, but he stopped when he met Rembrary’s eyes.

*What’s the point of saying it? He won’t understand the anxiety of being worried about a bad exam result or not growing on his own.*

“Rembrary.”

“What?”

“Just in case. If you run into Rydal, don’t talk about the exam results. Got it? Not until Rydal brings it up first.”

Rembrary thought for a moment and then asked.

“Whose exam are we talking about? My exam, your exam, or Rydal’s exam?”

“All of them.”

Rembrary thought Kentry was doing something unnecessary. Kentry sometimes did things that didn’t make sense.

“Okay.”

But it wasn’t a hassle, so Rembrary readily agreed and nodded.

* * *

Kentry’s choice was very appropriate. Rydal was more dejected than ever, hiding in a corner of the room where no one came and went.

*Is there no chance for me to become a High Priest anymore?*

Even if I couldn’t become a Great Priest, I wanted to become a Highest Priest and stay by Rembrary’s side. Rydal drooped his shoulders and neck, staring down at the cold, gray floor.

Falling behind Rembrary was no longer surprising. Rembrary was at the forefront of the entire world.

Even the Great Priest Lumena’s candidate, who was said to be amazing, was suppressed by Rembrary and shouted down, wasn’t he?

But being pushed back even by Kentry, who barely became a Common Priest and had no presence at all, constantly chipped away at his confidence.

*I shouldn’t think like this. Redrin-nim [referring to their deity] doesn’t like me because I’m thinking like this.*

No. You have to congratulate others when they do well. Don’t be too envious. Rydal tried to soothe himself constantly, but it wasn’t easy.

* * *

He told me not to talk about the exam with Rydal. Rembrary was mindful of what Kentry had said.

So, when Rembrary ran into Rydal in the hallway on his way back from healing a cursed believer, he made an effort to bring up something completely unrelated to the exam.

“Hi.”

Rembrary waved, and fortunately, Rydal burst into a smile.

“We saw each other this morning.”

“I’m happy to see you again.”

“Where are you coming from?”

“I healed a cursed believer.”

“Did you fix it?”

“Of course.”

Rembrary raised his chin proudly, but when Rydal muttered dejectedly, “That’s nice,” he quietly lowered it again.

“Rydal, you’ve been cursed before, right?”

Rembrary asked, not understanding Rydal’s attitude. Kentry told him to be careful, but this wasn’t about the exam.

Rydal smiled again.

“Right. Those days were really—”

But just as he was about to feel relieved, Rydal trailed off and his expression turned gloomy, as if recalling old memories.

“Have you had dinner? There was a really delicious meal today.”

Unable to watch any longer, Rembrary tapped Rydal’s arm.

“I’m going to eat later.”

Fortunately, Rydal returned to his original mood.

“Okay.”

Rembrary thought Rydal’s constantly changing mood was strange, so he deliberately waved and turned away.

*I don’t know why Rydal is like that, but it’s better to leave him alone when he’s so depressed.*

“Rembrary.”

But Rydal called out to Rembrary from behind, who had walked about three steps away.

Rembrary turned around.

“Do you ever have worries?”

Rydal’s question was out of the blue.

“No.”

Rembrary answered, puzzled.

“Then, is there anything that doesn’t go your way and frustrates you?”

Rydal asked again. He was really strange today.

“I want to become an Inquisitor, but I can’t.”

Rydal’s expression darkened rapidly.

“I see.”

Rydal looked dejected even to Rembrary. *Why? I avoided all exam topics as carefully as I could?*

Rembrary stared at Rydal’s receding figure, puzzled.

* * *

It was just another ordinary day for Rembrary. The Highest Priest, who was always busy, personally came to the garden where Rembrary was at a fast pace.

“Highest!”

Rembrary, who was talking with an old priest on a garden bench, waved his arm casually when he spotted the Highest Priest.

“Highest, join us!”

The Highest Priest had come to see Rembrary anyway, so he approached and asked.

“What were you talking about?”

The old priest next to him informed him.

“We were talking about the difference between people whose divine power keeps increasing and those whose divine power stops.”

The Highest Priest sighed at the unexpectedly heavy topic.

The old priest smiled lightly and asked.

“Did the Highest Priest come to see Rembrary-nim [a respectful suffix] ?”

“Yes. Rembrary, something big has happened.”

The Highest Priest said with a stern expression, and the old priest quietly asked.

“Shall I leave you two alone?”

The Highest Priest shook his head.

“No. You’ll find out anyway, so it’s okay. It’s about the fourth passage that has opened.”

The old priest opened his mouth in a daze at the more terrifying story than he had expected, and barely managed to sigh.

“Oh, dear.”

Rembrary got off the bench and asked.

“Is it the Northern Continent again?”

After Rembrary stopped the black magicians’ attempts head-on, the black magicians were stubbornly targeting only the Northern Continent.

“Yes. Great Priest Kamuel was confident that he had made all the preparations this time, but it happened again.”

The old priest asked in a suspicious voice.

“Didn’t they say that Great Priest Iira helped this time too?”

“That’s right. But I thought it would be okay since she directly helped this time. The predictions were completely overturned. Kamuel’s Great Temple seemed shocked as well. They must have been confident that they could definitely stop the enemies here.”

Great Priest Kamuel was a very aggressive and strong Great Priest.

Rembrary recalled how monsters couldn’t even approach Great Priest Kamuel.

In terms of the ability to attack monsters alone, Great Priest Kamuel was superior. But why can’t they keep stopping them?

“Now, if two more passages are completed, the Demon King will be able to invade.”

The old priest muttered.

The Highest Priest became gloomy and couldn’t say anything.

A great fear seemed to be taking on an increasingly clear form and staring at them. How could this happen?

Even though the demons’ invasion was difficult, they overcame it and there were records of their victory. But what about the Demon King’s invasion? What can we do if the Demon King invades?

“This is a big problem. It’s too scary.”

The old priest sighed again.

The Highest Priest nodded and called out to Rembrary, who was lost in thought.

“Rembrary, Great Priest Kamuel called you because of that.”

“Why me?”

“There’s a location that the enemies are expected to target this time, and he wants your help to stop them. He has formally requested your help. He didn’t specify exactly what part he wants you to help with. He wants to tell you directly.”

The old priest’s eyes widened. A current Great Priest publicly asking a still young High Priest for help……!

* * *

Not only the old priest but everyone who heard the news was surprised.

It was unbelievable that Great Priest Kamuel, who had always asked only Great Priest Iira for help, had called Rembrary, who wasn’t even a Great Priest yet.

But while they were surprised, the Redrin priests were very proud. They were sure that Rembrary would make a mark in the history of the Great Priests.

On the other hand, when the Highest Priest Iira heard the news, she was filled with worry and asked Great Priest Iira.

“Could it be that Moroso has noticed something?”

Since there are only two current Great Priests, Great Priest Kamuel was the closest to Great Priest Iira.

So, in dangerous situations, Kamuel’s Temple always asked Iira’s Temple for help. The opposite was also true.

But to skip Iira’s Great Temple, which is closer in both heart and geography, and ask for help from Redrin’s Temple. A temple that doesn’t even have a Great Priest yet.

The Highest Priest was worried that Kamuel or the Great Priest might have noticed Iira’s change of heart. If not, why would they bother asking for help from the Redrin High Priest?

“Probably not. Moroso… if he found out, he would come to me and protest without hesitation. He is not the type to use schemes.”

Great Priest Iira muttered with a bitter smile.

“Then, did he really ask that High Priest Rembrary for help? What help can that child be?”

* * *

Amidst everyone’s surprise, Rembrary, the center of this commotion, began to prepare to leave.

Rembrary packed his bag for the first time in a while and checked the maps he had before and the newly created maps.

The roads were constantly changing due to monsters and demons, so he had to check carefully.

*What else do I need?*

Comfortable clothes and shoes, a blanket, formal priest attire to wear when he arrives at Kamuel’s Great Temple, etc. Rembrary packed his bag quite skillfully and went out.

But when he was about halfway done, someone knocked on the door.

“Rembrary, do you have time?”

“Yes.”

Rembrary, recognizing Rydal’s voice, answered without looking up.

Then the door opened and Rydal came in.

Rydal hesitated at the door, and when Rembrary didn’t turn around, he sat on the carpet next to him and asked.

“Rembrary, um. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Of course.”

Rembrary was busy moving his hands and didn’t even look at Rydal as he answered.

Rydal was relieved by that. But he couldn’t say it right away and hesitated for a while even after coming in.

“What’s wrong?”

When Rembrary asked again first, Rydal finally mustered the courage to open his mouth.

“When you go to Kamuel’s Great Temple this time. Can I come with you?”

Rembrary stopped packing and looked up. Rydal’s face was red, and he scratched the carpet for no reason.

“Is it not okay?”

“It’s okay for you to come along. But it’s going to be dangerous. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Actually, my Secretary Priest is against it because of that. He said it was okay before because I had defense power, but it’s dangerous now that I don’t.”

“Your Secretary Priest told you not to go?”

“Yeah……”

Rydal looked dejected and stared at Rembrary’s bulging luggage bag.

In the past, he wouldn’t have gone after Rembrary, even if it meant going against the Secretary Priest’s opposition. Rydal tried to follow the adult priests’ words as much as possible.

But when he saw Kentry’s skills increase dramatically after following Rembrary and traveling through several continents, he became anxious.

He felt like he had to do something too.

*Maybe my divine power will increase more if I show Redrin-nim my will. I have to do something.* The more Rydal thought about it, the darker his expression became.

Rembrary packed his bag again, glancing at Rydal’s expression.