Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 894

◈ 894. Rembrary’s Invitation (14)

“What’s up?”

Shin Jo-woon asked as Rembrary returned. Beside him, Jang Tae-ri was looking at her phone.

Rembrary answered, lifting his bag.

“Didn’t you ask me to find someone for you before?”

Jang Tae-ri’s eyes widened as she looked up from checking the photos. The person Shin Jo-woon was looking for? The person who looked exactly like his enemy?

She glanced at Shin Jo-woon, worried. Shin Jo-woon showed neither joy nor welcome.

“Really? Where is he?”

He acted nonchalant.

“He’s a regular Redrin priest. His name is Erit. He’s traveling around the Camuel temples on temple business, so you’ll have to plan carefully to meet him.”

Rembrary explained without hiding anything.

“So, he’s still on the northern continent?”

Shin Jo-woon asked, looking up at the high mountain range.

“I haven’t heard that far. But if he’s a Redrin priest, he’ll be in constant contact with his affiliated temple. When you arrive at the Redrin Temple, you can send a message bird to him.”

“…….”

“By the way, Anchovy, how badly did you scowl that the Camuel Temple said your expression was fierce?”

“Why my expression?”

“They said you were looking for Erit at the Camuel Temple, but the atmosphere was so fierce that they deliberately didn’t tell you.”

Rembrary hesitated for a moment about whether to tell Shin Jo-woon about this part. But Rembrary eventually decided to trust Shin Jo-woon.

Shin Jo-woon paused for a moment but soon smiled, feigning disappointment.

“That’s too much.”

However, Jang Tae-ri couldn’t laugh along. She knew with what feelings Shin Jo-woon was looking for someone who resembled his enemy. Rather, her worries only piled up.

‘Coming to this world only adds more worries. When I go back, I should never come again if possible.’

Jang Tae-ri pressed her temple and firmly resolved.

Rembrary, having finished the story, packed his things and urged.

“Let’s go quickly. Didn’t you say there’s no time?”

Since it was true, the group suppressed their respective thoughts and began to climb the mountain.

“Looks like they’re going to the mountain with that few people.”

“Are they crazy and want to die?”

But as soon as they entered the path leading to the mountain, people began to whisper behind them. The sound was so loud that they could hear everything they were saying.

“Mr. Rembrary.”

When Jang Tae-ri called in a small voice, Rembrary smiled and told her it was okay.

“Usually, they cross the mountain in large groups, so they’re worried. If you move in small groups, you pack your things thoroughly, but we don’t.”

“Will it be okay?”

“Of course. I’ve crossed it with Ardor alone.”

Jang Tae-ri looked at Rembrary’s confident smile and tried to ignore the whispering voices of the people.

‘If Mr. Rembrary says it’s okay, it’ll be okay. It’s just hard to climb the mountain, but it won’t be dangerous.’

* * *

Crossing the mountain was less difficult than Jang Tae-ri had worried.

Her legs were heavy and her breath was short, but before she got too tired, Rembrary patted her back and infused her with divine power, so it wasn’t too painful.

Besides, unlike the monster-filled forest she saw when she first came to this world, this forest looked similar to the forests on Earth, so she felt much more familiar.

Occasionally, she saw unidentified heads running around with only legs or trees moving, but even this was okay.

Those strange things didn’t show interest in them or rather ran away from Rembrary first.

The problem was that she couldn’t rest because she wasn’t tired.

“Tae-ri? Are you okay? Shall we sit down for a while?”

Rembrary suggested taking a break when Jang Tae-ri stopped, hugging a tree. His attitude was different from when they were in the monster forest.

However, Jang Tae-ri had to refuse, repeating ‘one month, one month’ in her mind.

“I’m okay. Let’s keep going.”

Shin Jo-woon teased her with various excuses whenever Jang Tae-ri did that, and Ardor didn’t say anything with a sulky expression.

But as they reached the top of the mountain, Jang Tae-ri gradually became excited.

Unlike the monster forest with long stretches of flat land, this place was a mountain, so she could look down at the scenery. She could also see how high they had climbed, so she felt much less claustrophobic.

“Shall we eat something?”

When they reached the top of the mountain, Rembrary pointed to the lunch boxes he had bought in the village and suggested.

“Yes!”

Jang Tae-ri answered excitedly. It looked so far away when she looked up from the bottom of the mountain. Certainly, getting constant recovery from Rembrary while hiking was easier than hiking alone on Earth.

Since they didn’t bring a mat to reduce luggage, the group decided to sit separately on large rocks and eat.

“Tae-ri, this is yours.”

Rembrary took out the lunch box first and handed it to Jang Tae-ri, and also distributed the other people’s lunch boxes separately.

Jang Tae-ri was puzzled and received the lunch box.

‘Are the side dishes all different? Why is he pointing them out separately?’ Her doubts were resolved as soon as she sat on the rock and opened the lunch box lid. She burst out laughing.

“Wow! This is cute!”

Inside the lunch box, there were cute monster sculptures made of unknown fruits.

“I asked them to put it only in Tae-ri’s lunch box.”

As Rembrary said with satisfaction, Ardor hurriedly ran to Jang Tae-ri’s side.

Ardor saw the vegetable flower decorations and fruit monster sculptures in Jang Tae-ri’s lunch box and looked at Rembrary with a shocked expression.

“Rembrary, I like these things too. Why is there no decoration in my lunch box and only this heretic’s lunch box is full of decorations?”

“There wasn’t enough time to do everything.”

Rembrary answered firmly.

Shin Jo-woon also came over and saw that Jang Tae-ri’s lunch box was unusually fancy, and shook his head and sighed.

“That’s why it’s useless to raise a pig. How many pizzas have I fed you in the meantime.”

“Anchovy, there might be something in your lunch box too?”

At Rembrary’s words, Shin Jo-woon checked his lunch box again.

He searched every nook and cranny and finally found a few anchovy-shaped crackers in the jam sea in the corner.

“…….”

As Shin Jo-woon picked up the wobbly cracker, Jang Tae-ri grabbed her stomach and laughed.

“Jo-woon, that’s so you!”

“How about trading it for your flower decoration?”

When Shin Jo-woon suggested, Jang Tae-ri hesitated and held out a monster sculpture.

“I’ll trade it for a monster.”

Ardor was completely sulky and ate his lunch box silently. Rembrary glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

Ardor became even more upset and finished his lunch box, and finally, a cute bird-shaped cracker came out at the very bottom of the lunch box.

Ardor was immediately moved and his sad feelings disappeared.

Jang Tae-ri, who had eaten half of her lunch box, drank strawberry-flavored juice and looked around. It wasn’t very cold up here on the mountain.

Besides, the air was so clean that she felt her lungs clearing just by breathing.

Jang Tae-ri took out her phone and took a few pictures of the group eating lunch boxes.

Rembrary immediately recognized the sound of the photo and looked at her, smiling. Jang Tae-ri smiled back and put down the camera.

Her heart was pounding.

She was worried about attacks while traveling in the carriage. Rather, she belatedly felt the joy of traveling when she arrived in a place where there was no one.

* * *

After the meal, Shin Jo-woon asked Rembrary.

“You said you were going to ride a monster?”

“Wait here for a moment.”

As Rembrary walked alone to the cliff, Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri were worried and couldn’t let him go alone, so they approached him.

Ardor was organizing his luggage and saw the scene and misunderstood, grumbling that the heretics were trying to avoid cleaning up.

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

Jang Tae-ri was horrified when Rembrary stood precariously on the cliff and asked.

“It’s okay.”

Rembrary answered, looking back, then turned back and waved his hand towards somewhere.

Then he hummed a song that could barely be heard, and an amazing thing happened. As Rembrary sang, clouds approached.

On closer inspection, they were not clouds but monsters with cloud-like fur huddled together.

But the fur was like clouds and the exposed face was shiny silver, so it didn’t look threatening at all.

Even the monster’s eyes looked gentle, like a thin line of diagonal stripes.

“Leave only four.”

At Rembrary’s words, the other cotton balls turned back and floated in the sky or wandered around the mountain.

Rembrary grabbed one of them and asked Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon.

“Who wants to ride first?”

When both raised their hands, Rembrary pointed to Shin Jo-woon, who was closer.

“Anchovy, come here.”

“Do you have to call me Anchovy even here?”

Shin Jo-woon lamented but approached. He was rejecting that he was an anchovy, but he seemed to have already accepted his fate.

Jang Tae-ri thought it would be good to see in advance, so she took a few steps closer and watched Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary.

Rembrary stroked the fur of the cotton ball-like monster and asked.

“Anchovy, do you have any metal on you?”

“Metal?”

Shin Jo-woon pointed to the watch on his hand.

“Like this?”

“Yes. Take off your watch and put it in your pocket. These kids are gentle but easily scared. If you touch them with metal in your hand, they misunderstand that you’re attacking them and bite your hand.”

Shin Jo-woon took off his watch and put it in his pocket. Jang Tae-ri, who was listening nearby, also took off her ring and put it in her pocket.

“Anything else?”

Shin Jo-woon stared at the sheep monster, which didn’t seem gentle at all according to the explanation, and asked. Then Shin Jo-woon made eye contact with the sheep monster.

Unlike before, the sheep monster was slightly opening its diagonal eyes, and it was rolling its small eyes to examine Shin Jo-woon up and down.

“Does it look at me as if it’s evaluating whether I’m easy prey?”

As Shin Jo-woon muttered, Rembrary smiled with satisfaction and explained.

“It looks like this, but it’s a very smart kid.”

Whether it was really a smart monster, the sheep monster glared at Rembrary when Rembrary said ‘it looks like this’.

“There’s nothing else, just hop on.”

As Rembrary said and stepped back, Shin Jo-woon felt suspicious. Even when riding a horse, there are precautions, but he’s saying to just ride the monster?

The Rembrary that Shin Jo-woon knew was not the kind of person who would give wrong information with malice. But sometimes he would joke when it didn’t seem like he would.

But when Rembrary really didn’t explain any further, Shin Jo-woon had no choice but to climb onto the monster sheep as if riding a horse.

Fortunately, the monster sheep was really still. He was startled because it looked up at him with its small eyes.

“How is it? How is it?”

Jang Tae-ri was excited and asked when Shin Jo-woon safely climbed onto the sheep.

“It feels like riding on a soft cotton ball. It’s cozy.”

At Shin Jo-woon’s explanation, Jang Tae-ri urged Rembrary.

“Rembrary, me too! Me too!”

As Jang Tae-ri urged, Rembrary brought another sheep monster and brought it to Jang Tae-ri.

Jang Tae-ri also climbed onto the monster as if riding a horse.

“Wow!”

Jang Tae-ri, who had climbed onto the monster, touched the monster’s fluffy fur with her hand and couldn’t help but hug its neck.

“It’s really cozy!”

The monster only rolled its eyes and remained still this time as well.

“I want to take one back to Earth later.”

Jang Tae-ri hugged the monster’s head and muttered sincerely.

After that, the group packed their luggage and all four climbed onto the monsters, and the sheep monsters began to quickly move along the long mountain range, stepping on the air.

Jang Tae-ri looked at the mountain passing quickly right below and occasionally looked up at the sky.

If she stared up at it, she would occasionally see something like a large shadow passing by, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

In that way, the most worried mountain range crossing ended easily. The way down the mountain was so quick that she was even sad.

When the group got off, the sheep monsters gathered together and went up the mountain.

Jang Tae-ri looked at their backs with regret, then turned her head at the loud noise.

A group of people who seemed to be about to climb the mountain were entering the mountain path.

They were all surprised to see Rembrary’s group, who had passed through the mountain with only four people and not much luggage.

As they passed by them and came out of the mountain path, a village with a completely different architectural style appeared.

“This place is managed by Redrin,” Rembrary said with a proud voice, pointing to a much larger village than the one they had just passed.