Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 885

◈ 885. Rembrary’s Invitation (5)

“Ah, that side, well… my…”

Rembrary even paused mid-sentence, making the gazes towards Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon even more intense.

Jang Tae-ri was nervous, wondering how Rembrary would introduce them.

“They’re my friends.”

Rembrary’s conclusion after a long pause widened Jang Tae-ri’s eyes. Of course, they were friends, but why did she feel a little touched?

She glanced at Shin Jo-woon, who also wore a perplexed expression.

“We’re now officially High Priest Rembrary’s friends.”

Jang Tae-ri chuckled, nudged Shin Jo-woon’s toes, quickly grabbed her bag, and stepped out of the carriage.

* * *

“I’ve sent an urgent message to His Majesty, so someone from the royal palace will arrive soon. Until then, please stay here. If you need anything, please let anyone know.”

The person in the splendid clothes personally guided Rembrary, Ardord, Jang Tae-ri, and Shin Jo-woon to their rooms.

The four guest rooms were lined up neatly along one hallway.

Jang Tae-ri was impressed by the obvious consideration in the room arrangement.

After the splendidly dressed person told them to rest well and informed them of the mealtime, Jang Tae-ri couldn’t hold back any longer and asked Rembrary,

“That person seems to be very high-ranking here, right? Who is he?”

“I met him for the first time today.”

“No, I mean, his position. I don’t know if they call it a position here, but something like that.”

“They called him the Lord.”

Jang Tae-ri’s jaw almost dropped at Rembrary’s casual reply. She had guessed he was quite high-ranking.

But the Lord? So, the Lord himself came out to greet them and personally guided them to their rooms?

Ardord’s lips twitched upwards as he felt proud of Jang Tae-ri’s amazement.

The day when the heretics realized their shortcomings and stepped down from their position as friends, realizing Rembrary’s greatness, seemed not far off.

“Tae-ri, go in and rest first. You must be tired from walking so much. You too, Sardine.”

At Rembrary’s suggestion, Jang Tae-ri remembered that they hadn’t rested properly for a long time, packed her things, and went into her room.

After Shin Jo-woon and Ardord entered their rooms, Rembrary closed the door and entered his own room.

However, Rembrary, after closing the door, did not lie down on the bed to rest.

‘Redrin, are you busy?’

Rembrary sat cross-legged, leaning against the door, and immediately looked for Redrin. Fortunately, he was contacted quickly this time.

[My child. What is it?]

‘Redrin, what is Kamuel busy with these days?’

[I don’t know why you’re asking me about Kamuel.]

‘I came to the northern continent while passing through the passage, and the situation here is a mess. It’s a place not close to Kamuel’s temple, and even though Moroso is away, it’s still a mess.’

[Kamuel is…]

Redrin had been busy with his own work since coming here and hadn’t had the time to pay close attention to Kamuel.

He had to look after the two continents he was in charge of, as well as the continent that Lumena was originally in charge of.

Redrin believed that Lumena would definitely return, but looking after a place where even the High Priest had disappeared was quite a hectic task.

[I’ll check what he’s doing later and let you know.]

Eventually, when Redrin confessed that he wasn’t interested in Kamuel, Rembrary thought that he knew it and ended the call.

‘Okay. I’m busy too, so I’ll contact you again later.’

[My precious child. Is there anything else you want to say?]

‘No.’

As Rembrary finished his prayer and went to wash up, Redrin stirred the clouds for no reason, frowned, and got up. What is Kamuel doing?

[Redrin? Where are you going?]

[To Kamuel. I’ll have to go see him myself.]

* * *

Rembrary thought that Redrin would immediately inform him about Kamuel’s situation, but Redrin didn’t say anything after that.

Rembrary decided to assume that Kamuel was doing well and busy.

If he wasn’t doing well or if something urgent had happened, Redrin would have told him, but there was nothing like that.

If that was the case, it meant there were no particular updates, so there was nothing to worry about.

Having made this judgment, Rembrary told the Lord about Moroso that evening when he had dinner with him.

“The atmosphere here doesn’t seem good, but don’t worry too much. Moroso will be back here before long.”

He didn’t know what Kamuel was doing, but he said it because Moroso would definitely be able to use the passage.

The Lord, who had been recommending this dish and that dish, was surprised and asked back.

“Is that true?”

“Of course. He could appear as early as tomorrow. I don’t mean he’s really coming tomorrow.”

At those words, not only the Lord but also the others around him showed joyful expressions and looked at each other, pleased.

“It would be great if Moroso returned soon.”

“If Moroso returns, people will come to their senses.”

“People will come to their senses? Is the current situation that bad?”

“The atmosphere is grim because the demons stirred things up. Some countries are still under the influence of demons.”

“But if only Moroso would return…”

Jang Tae-ri quietly ate her meal, watching the scene with wonder.

‘They really like the High Priests here.’

She couldn’t understand how they believed that the problems of several countries would be solved just by the return of one High Priest, according to Jang Tae-ri’s standards.

Of course, Jang Tae-ri didn’t reveal these questions outwardly. Jang Tae-ri quietly ate her meal, only listening carefully to the conversation here.

After finishing the meal, the group scattered back to their rooms.

At first, Jang Tae-ri planned to lie down on the bed and take a deep breath as soon as she washed up.

However, as she lay on the bed, looking at the sky through the open window, her heart was restless, and she couldn’t fall asleep.

Jang Tae-ri pulled off the blanket and approached the window, looking up at the sky.

‘I came here because I was invited by Rembrary, but I still feel uneasy being in such an unfamiliar place. How hard must it have been for Rembrary to come to Earth alone at first?’

* * *

Because of her unsettling feelings, Jang Tae-ri fell asleep late that night.

It took a long time to fall asleep, but once she fell asleep, she fell into such a deep sleep that she didn’t even dream.

This was because she had worked hard to go on a month’s vacation, struggled to move through the monster-infested forest, and went to jail as soon as she left the forest.

Since no one came to wake her up, the sun was already high in the sky when Jang Tae-ri woke up.

Jang Tae-ri quickly washed her face, changed her clothes, and went outside.

“Rembrary?”

However, when she knocked on Rembrary’s door, there was no answer from inside.

“Rembrary? Are you asleep? Are you not there?”

She couldn’t just barge in, so Jang Tae-ri hesitated and knocked on Ardord’s door this time.

“Ardord?”

However, Ardord also didn’t answer.

Jang Tae-ri tilted her head and knocked on Shin Jo-woon’s door, but when even Shin Jo-woon didn’t answer, she was flustered and returned to her room.

‘Where did everyone go except me?’

When she checked the time, it was already 3 PM. It was long past the time when other people would have left their rooms.

‘Did they go to eat?’

The problem was that this place was not just a foreign country to Jang Tae-ri, but a foreign world, and all she knew about this place was that ‘High Priests are treated better than expected.’

Jang Tae-ri hesitated, going back and forth between the hallway and her room.

Should she ask someone passing by to find Rembrary, or should she wait in her room for someone to return?

After a short deliberation, she closed the door, locked it well with the key, and walked into the hallway. She was thinking of exploring the castle alone.

It wasn’t the isekai [another world] trip she had expected, but since she had taken a long vacation for the first time in a while and come very, very, very far, shouldn’t she at least pretend to travel?

She would have to travel for a long time to get to the southern continent, so she wanted to keep the sights of this isekai [another world] in her eyes from time to time.

Jang Tae-ri was humming as she went down the stairs.

And just as Jang Tae-ri went down two steps, Shin Jo-woon, who was taking a bath, belatedly opened the door and looked around.

‘Did I hear wrong? I thought I heard a knock?’

As he was wondering, Ardord opened the door and frowned when he saw him next door.

“Heretic. What are you doing sticking your head out there?”

“Did you knock on my door?”

Shin Jo-woon asked, pointing to the door, then found the answer to his own question.

“Never mind, then.”

Shin Jo-woon watched Ardord fix his gaze on him like a bird and knock on Rembrary’s door, then knocked on Jang Tae-ri’s door himself.

There was no answer from Jang Tae-ri.

‘Is she still asleep? Then Tae-ri didn’t knock on my door either?’

She had been traveling hard for a long time, and today was the first day she was resting properly, so it was understandable that Jang Tae-ri was sleeping in.

When he looked next door, Rembrary didn’t seem to be responding to Ardord’s knock either, so Shin Jo-woon only checked that far and went back into his room.

He decided to go to the next room again in an hour or two and pulled back the curtains on the window to let sunlight into the room.

Then, as he looked around outside the window of this isekai [another world], he unexpectedly saw a familiar crown of hair walking somewhere.

‘Jang Tae-ri?’

Shin Jo-woon hurriedly walked to Rembrary’s door. Ardord was squatting in front of the door.

“Where’s Rembrary?”

“He’s not here.”

“Where did he go?”

“I don’t know.”

He’s not helpful. Shin Jo-woon clicked his tongue and turned around, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask Ardord.

“Why are you sitting there?”

“If the High Priest is in the room, I’ll be the first to see him when he comes out. If the High Priest is outside the room, I’ll be the last to see him when he comes in.”

“…”

“It’s my spot. Don’t covet it.”

Shin Jo-woon shook his head and turned around. Rembrary is a local here, so he’ll be able to get around on his own. He needed to find Jang Tae-ri first.

* * *

Two hours earlier, Rembrary had eaten alone in the dining room while the three others seemed to be asleep, listening to the Lord talk about the monster forest.

When the demons were at their peak, this side had less damage, but as the Redrin High Priests returned and started fighting the demons, the number of monsters here increased, making it more difficult.

After finishing his meal, he strolled around the castle to take a walk, wondering what he should show Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon when he took them to the Great Temple.

He was walking around, thinking happily, when he heard cheers not far away.

At first, Rembrary didn’t pay attention, but as people coming from that direction whispered, ‘The High Priest brought her,’ ‘The High Priest’s friend,’ he became curious and went in the direction of the sound.

When he arrived, he saw monsters lying next to the castle walls, and people were surrounding Jang Tae-ri and praising her.

It seemed that Jang Tae-ri had caught the monsters while passing by.

Jang Tae-ri seemed to want to get out of there because she was embarrassed by the cheering people, but the people were too excited to notice.

Rembrary was pleased to see this. Tae-ri is so cool. I’m a cool person, so I have cool friends. I’m really great.

Then, Rembrary realized that Jang Tae-ri was alone and looked around. Where’s Sardine, and why is Tae-ri walking around alone?

As he was looking around, he thankfully saw Shin Jo-woon looking down at something from the castle walls a little further away.

But Shin Jo-woon’s expression was not good, wondering what he was looking at.