Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 862

862. Moroso’s Conviction

“This makes it certain.”

“What does?”

“The reason for all the failures.”

Rembrary looked at Moroso, who was simply staring at the horse’s mane fluttering in the wind.

“You said it was because of an internal enemy, right?”

When Rembrary asked again, Moroso raised his head, but still didn’t look at Rembrary.

“Ah, I’ve kept it that way publicly. I have to deceive even the spies who aren’t stepping forward.”

Moroso said sullenly, scanning the backs of the paladins walking ahead.

Rembrary blinked, belatedly realizing what he was trying to say.

“You weren’t suspecting an internal enemy?”

“I was certain about the internal enemy. And I was preparing for it every time. No, what’s there to prepare for? I’m just sweeping them all away.”

“Then what were you really suspecting?”

Moroso didn’t answer. He just kept his mouth shut and looked down at the reins.

It wasn’t until a sudden downpour forced them to set up tents and camp in a clearing deep in the forest that Moroso said, almost in passing,

“The Yira Grand Temple.”

With those words, Moroso took off his gloves and walked away.

* * *

Rembrary kept his eyes wide open, trying not to fall asleep while listening to the sound of rain falling on the waterproof tent.

The sound of snoring coming from all directions mixed with the rain, and Rembrary pushed aside his blanket and quietly got up.

Tiptoeing, Rembrary approached Moroso’s tent and tapped on the canvas with his fist.

“As if he’d hear that.”

The answer came from behind. Rembrary quickly turned around. Moroso was standing there getting soaked in the rain without an umbrella.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I came out to clear my head because I’m troubled.”

“Why are you troubled?”

“Why did you come?”

Rembrary looked around and pulled on Moroso’s arm. Moroso followed willingly.

Rembrary climbed up to a rock where he could see the campsite where the group had pitched their tents at a glance.

“Why here? You’ll catch a cold if you get rained on like that.”

“I won’t. But Moroso-nim [term of respect] might.”

“You’ll heal me, right?”

“Actually, I also thought the Yira Grand Temple was a bit strange.”

Rembrary whispered, lowering his voice as much as possible.

“You’re not going to heal me?”

Moroso mumbled, but bent down to meet Rembrary’s eye level.

When Rembrary felt that Moroso was ready to listen, he lowered his voice even more and told him about Cheru.

Moroso’s expression, which had been sullen with downturned lips, gradually turned neutral as Rembrary continued his story.

“This is quite a story. Not a pleasant one to hear.”

As the story ended, Moroso’s eyes were completely sunken beneath his dripping hair.

“Why are you so gloomy? Now that we know the Yira Grand Temple is the problem, we can just exclude them from our operations, right?”

“It’s too late.”

“?”

“The enemy is probably in a fairly high position within the Yira Grand Temple. If they’re handling things this subtly, then… it’s over. We can’t stop the Demon King’s invasion.”

“Why?”

“There are only two Demon King summoning circles left. If the enemies think it’s not going to work, they can just create the remaining summoning circles in the Central Continent. Then it’s over. How can we stop that?”

“What if we ask for help from the secular people of the Central Continent?”

“Will they believe in the Yira God they follow, or will they believe in us who follow a god from a neighboring continent? We won’t get any help.”

* * *

“Looks like things worked out well?”

As the group arrived at the Kamel Grand Temple, Kentry patted Rembrary on the back and asked.

“Um.”

Rembrary didn’t know what to say, so he responded ambiguously.

“Why? Did something go wrong?”

“No. It’s not that.”

‘Moroso’s gloomy story is still a secret, right?’ Rembrary made excuses and pretended to look around.

“Ah, are you looking for Ridal?”

Fortunately, Kentry saw this and misunderstood on his own.

“Where’s Ridal?”

Rembrary asked without missing the opportunity, and just in time, Ridal came running.

Rembrary packed his bag and glanced at Moroso. Moroso was talking with the highest-ranking priest and moving towards the main building.

“Rembrary, I have something to tell you.”

But unexpectedly, Ridal, who had run over, also grabbed Rembrary’s sleeve with a serious expression.

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you inside.”

Rembrary followed Ridal to the lodgings. The rooms used by Ridal, Kentry, and Rembrary were lined up in a row along one hallway.

Ridal opened his door.

As Rembrary went inside and sat down, Ridal took a rather thick book out of the closet and handed it to Rembrary.

“What is this?”

Rembrary’s eyes widened as soon as he asked the question.

“This is a heretical book, isn’t it?”

Kentry opened the window, then slammed it shut with a bang.

“What? What kind of book?”

Kentry looked at Ridal with an expression that made it seem like his eyeballs were about to pop out.

“Ridal, don’t tell me…”

“No.”

Ridal’s face turned red, and he spoke firmly before asking Rembrary,

“Rembrary, your friend. Jeremy. Remember him?”

“Of course.”

“He came here.”

Kentry approached Ridal and Rembrary, squatted down, and asked,

“Did he give you this?”

Ridal nodded.

“Yeah. He asked me to give it to Rembrary.”

Rembrary looked at the title of the book. *Records of Past Yira Grand Priests*. It was a rather random book, even among heretical texts. He couldn’t even guess why he was given it.

“Why did he give me this?”

“I don’t know either. He just gave me this, asked if you were doing well… so I said you were the same as always, and then he said okay and left.”

* * *

After taking some rest, Rembrary prepared to return.

If Moroso’s words were true, Rembrary also had to discuss the matter with the Redrin High Priest and talk about future countermeasures.

“You’re already leaving?”

As soon as he mentioned leaving, Kentry asked as if he was tormented by the thought of having to travel by boat and carriage again.

“Can’t you stay a little longer? I feel like there’s more you can help with… or I can help.”

Unfortunately, there was no time for that.

“I can’t.”

Rembrary said firmly and went to find Moroso.

He had to tell him that he was leaving, but more than that, he wanted to ask if it was okay to tell the Redrin High Priest about his suspicions.

But Moroso said something unexpected.

“Then shall we go together part of the way? I’m thinking of going to the Central Continent.”

Rembrary’s eyes widened.

“Are you going to find the traitor yourself?”

“Yeah. I need to talk to the Yira High Priest. He won’t like hearing that there’s someone in his temple colluding with demons.”

Rembrary didn’t think Moroso’s words sounded good.

“Think about it again.”

“What? Why?”

“The Yira High Priest might be the culprit.”

“!”

Moroso’s eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. But whether he had seen it wrong or not, his expression was soon filled with indifference.

“What are you talking about? He’s the last person who would do that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because I know him well.”

“Is that really true?”

Moroso’s expression changed as if he wanted to punch Rembrary.

“Even before, there were only two high priests in this world, him and me. Just the two of us have been doing the work that four high priests should be doing.”

Rembrary shrugged.

Moroso frowned as if he was displeased.

“You can suspect me if you want, but don’t suspect him.”

“Isn’t it strange to assume that others won’t change when you yourself can change depending on your heart and circumstances?”

“!”

Moroso’s eyes narrowed. Instead of answering, he stared intently at Rembrary as if he were looking at a strange creature.

As they were having a staring contest, he muttered after a long time.

“Kamel-nim [term of respect] once told me about the gods. Stories about Lumena-nim, Redrin-nim, and so on.”

“That must have been fun.”

“Kamel-nim said that Redrin-nim has the strangest personality.”

“…….”

“Seeing you, I think I know what he means.”

Rembrary recalled Redrin saying that ‘Kamel is the dumbest’.

But Rembrary, being a brilliant high priest candidate, thought that Moroso would be hurt if he said such a thing, so he remained silent.

‘The strangest’ and ‘the dumbest’ have different nuances after all.

* * *

A few days later, Moroso really did move to the Central Continent with the Redrin paladins.

As Moroso rode his horse, the followers of the Kamel Church in the Northern Continent cheered, chanting Moroso’s name.

After a long journey that Kentry hated, the group finally reached the Central Continent.

“We’re going to the Grand Temple. What about you guys? You can come with us or go separately.”

At the fork in the road leading to the Yira Grand Temple, Kamel asked Rembrary’s group.

The Redrin paladins, Kentry, and Ridal naturally looked at Rembrary.

‘What should we do, Redrin-nim? We could just go back, but…’

It was more difficult to talk to Redrin when entering another god’s territory than before.

Rembrary waited for an answer for a moment, but there was no response as there had been in the Northern Continent.

“What are you going to do?”

When Rembrary didn’t answer, Moroso checked his watch and asked again.

“Let’s go together.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Rembrary came to a conclusion.

They could travel separately, but Rembrary was worried about Moroso’s great faith in the Yira High Priest.

“Alright.”

Moroso smiled crookedly as if he could see Rembrary’s thoughts and turned his horse around.

* * *

During the three hours from the fork to the Yira Grand Temple, Moroso became even quieter.

Rembrary deliberately rode in the carriage and looked at the book that recorded the past Yira High Priests.

“You shouldn’t be looking at that, should you?”

Ridal asked worriedly about once every 30 minutes.

“It’s okay.”

Each time, Rembrary repeated the same answer and turned the pages.

Whatever reason Jeremy had for giving him this book, it certainly wasn’t for a good purpose.

But he had to read it himself, because he wouldn’t be able to figure out Jeremy’s purpose unless he looked into it himself.

But before he could even read 1/5 of the book, the carriage arrived at the Yira Grand Temple grounds.

As soon as the carriage stopped and he heard a commotion outside, Rembrary quickly put the book inside his bag and covered it with clothes.

Then, belatedly, he went outside the carriage and saw the two high priests standing face to face and talking.

Rembrary saw the trusting looks they gave each other and realized that Moroso really believed in the Yira High Priest, not just in words.

‘Well, the Yira High Priest did give me proper sealed artifacts.’

* * *

For a while, the people of the Yira Grand Temple were busy sending the horses to the stables, organizing the carriages, and giving accommodations to the people of the Redrin Church and the Kamel Church.

Rembrary also received a single-person accommodation lined up in a row with the two peer priests, just like at the Kamel Grand Temple.

Kentry and Ridal were exhausted, so they washed up and went straight to sleep.

Traveling across the continent by carriage and boat was not an easy task.

But Rembrary was able to recover faster than others with divine power.

As soon as Rembrary washed up, he erased his fatigue with divine power and went out into the hallway. But there was no need to wander around looking for Moroso.

Moroso, like Rembrary, had come straight out into the hallway without resting. As soon as he saw Rembrary, he immediately made a suggestion.

“Good, you’re here. I’m going to talk to the Yira High Priest, why don’t you come with me and talk too.”

“Can I watch too?”

Rembrary thought it was unexpected, but Moroso answered lightly as if he didn’t think much of it.

“Yeah.”

The two went straight to the Yira High Priest.

“Moroso? You’re already here?”

The Yira High Priest seemed a little surprised that Moroso and Rembrary had visited without resting.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected the two to visit, as the Yira’s highest-ranking priest was also in the high priest’s room.

“Didn’t you say you had urgent business?”

Moroso greeted the highest-ranking priest, whom he seemed to know, and approached the Yira High Priest.

“I’ve learned some bad news.”

Moroso spoke in a more somber voice than usual.

The Yira High Priest smiled with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?”

“There is someone in the Yira Grand Temple who is helping the Demon King’s invasion.”

Moroso didn’t beat around the bush. It wasn’t ‘there seems to be someone’, but ‘there is someone’.

Rembrary carefully watched the Yira High Priest’s reaction, but on the surface, there was no wavering.

“I don’t understand. Why would you make such a conjecture?”

Moroso told the story of how he and Rembrary had stopped the most recent summoning circle, without adding or subtracting anything.

After finishing his story, Moroso stared intently at the Yira High Priest.

Even though he said he trusted him more than himself, his attitude made it seem like he was interrogating the Yira High Priest.

Perhaps because of that, the Yira High Priest frowned and opened his mouth.

“There is no such person in our temple, Moroso.”

It was the same attitude as when Rembrary had said that the high-ranking priest here was suspicious.

The Yira High Priest seemed to be the type to thoroughly protect the priests under him.

But just as Moroso was about to say something more, a dull sound came from the side.