Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 898

◈ 898. Rembrandt’s Invitation (18)

“I don’t have a grand goal. I just want to confirm that he’s not Nakru.”

Jang Tae-ri let out a hollow laugh.

“Of course, he isn’t! He’s from a completely different world.”

“Exactly. I want to confirm that. Otherwise, I keep thinking he might be my enemy, and I can’t concentrate. I want to confirm he’s someone else.”

Shin Jo-woon trusted his self-control. He was disturbed now, but that was only because he had glimpsed someone who resembled his enemy.

Once he actually met and talked with him, he would be certain that he was someone else, and naturally, he wouldn’t be as bothered as he was now.

* * *

The next morning, Shin Jo-woon brought up the topic during breakfast before they left.

“Pig, do you know who I’m looking for?”

It was earlier than Jang Tae-ri had expected.

‘He’s already telling him.’ Jang Tae-ri stared at Shin Jo-woon with wide eyes, and when she saw that he had his usual expression, she felt relieved and continued eating her corn soup.

“What?”

Rembrandt, who was half-asleep during the meal, blankly asked back.

“Someone I really hate.”

Rembrandt didn’t wake up even with Shin Jo-woon’s explanation.

“I assumed you weren’t on good terms. I heard your expression was very bad when you were looking for him.”

Rembrandt mumbled and then dozed off again.

“But why did you tell me?”

“Because you’re looking for him.”

“Didn’t you consider that I might find him and harm him?”

“멸치 [Myeolchi – Korean for anchovy, used as an insult for someone thin and weak.] You are narrow-minded, thin, and weak.”

Rembrandt was still half-asleep. The food here wasn’t enough to wake Rembrandt up.

Shin Jo-woon couldn’t help but laugh at the nonchalant answer.

* * *

After hearing about Erit that day, the journey continued without any major incidents.

The roads connecting the towns and cities were better maintained than Jang Tae-ri had expected, so they just had to ride in the carriage.

Moreover, the layout of the villages here was completely different from where Jang Tae-ri lived, so she found the mysterious and beautiful scenery captivating.

It looked like a world out of a fairy tale.

However, the broken ramparts and severed roads that appeared from time to time showed that this was not a fairy-tale world.

“Did that road become like that when the Demon King invaded?”

Jang Tae-ri asked sadly, seeing a large pit in the middle of the dazzling road that had been paved with gold.

“Probably.”

The carriage left the well-maintained road and moved onto a dirt floor with scattered debris, and it started to shake violently, unlike before.

The group saw a construction site in the distance. People were loading golden bricks onto large carts, perhaps to repair the road.

Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri saw strange machines being used there for the first time, and the creatures, whether animals or monsters, that were lifting the machines also looked unfamiliar.

After leaving that place, a smooth road continued again, and the shaking carriage calmed down.

During the journey, the group encountered monsters about seven times, but Ardor dealt with them immediately by sticking his upper body out of the window, so there was no major threat.

“There don’t seem to be any very large monsters around here?”

Shin Jo-woon asked, recalling the giant monsters that appeared on Earth. Even on Earth, the appearance rate of giant monsters wasn’t high.

Still, they occasionally popped up in populated areas, and hunters would be dispatched urgently.

He had expected there to be more monsters here, but he was surprised that they were more common in forests and mountains and rarely seen in populated areas.

“Why wouldn’t there be?”

“I haven’t seen many.”

“People in your world can’t solve monster problems right away! People on our side solve them very quickly!”

Ardor tore off a piece of bread and chimed in with an arrogant voice.

Jang Tae-ri listened to Shin Jo-woon and Rembrandt’s conversation with interest, but when Ardor seemed ready to pick a fight again, she lost interest and closed her eyes.

On the other hand, Shin Jo-woon was more interested in Ardor’s words. Jang Tae-ri was running a volunteer organization, but he was running a hunter company.

If there was a way for these people to quickly deal with monsters, he would naturally be interested.

Thanks to the conversations in various fields and the hard work of traveling with little rest, they were able to arrive at a city near the Great Temple two days earlier than expected.

“Wow……!”

Jang Tae-ri exclaimed even before entering the city. Since the building styles were different, all the other towns and cities looked new and wonderful.

However, the city near the Great Temple looked even more mysterious.

“Mr. Rembrandt, Mr. Rembrandt. What are those cloud-like things floating around the town?!”

“Clouds.”

“Then, what about those knight-like people riding around on horses over there?!”

“Knights.”

“What is that thing that looks like a bridge but is incredibly long and high?!”

“A bridge.”

Shin Jo-woon bit his lip to hold back his laughter and leaned his head against the carriage wall.

“Jang Tae-ri is guessing right.”

Jang Tae-ri had been half-standing to get a better view of the scenery, but she was embarrassed and sat back down when Shin Jo-woon teased her.

“No, the clouds are floating too low, and the knights just keep riding around the ramparts quickly.”

Jang Tae-ri shook Shin Jo-woon’s arm and pointed to the bridge across the window.

“Look at that. It looks like a bridge, but it doesn’t seem like one.”

The ‘bridge’ that Jang Tae-ri was confused about started from the city gate and extended over the city.

At first glance, it looked more like a decoration than a bridge, so it was understandable that Jang Tae-ri was confused.

Shin Jo-woon was also curious about the purpose of the bridge installed at the entrance of the ramparts.

However, after watching the city’s exterior from inside the carriage for a while, the coachman knocked and opened the small window connected to the carriage and said.

“The checkpoint cannot be passed by carriage, Mr. Rembrandt. There are many people in line, so you will have to get off here. What should we do? Shall I reveal that Mr. Rembrandt is on board?”

Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon looked at Rembrandt with curiosity. If they said Rembrandt was here, could they pass without waiting in line?

“No, don’t reveal it. I’ll wait in line.”

However, Rembrandt wanted to move quietly, so he stopped the coachman.

“Understood.”

The coachman closed the window connected to the carriage.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just reveal your identity and move on?”

Ardor asked, worried about the thought of Rembrandt having to wait in a long line. He felt proud but also disliked it when other people recognized Rembrandt and flocked to him.

“If we don’t go in quietly, 태리 [Taeri – Jang Taeri’s name] and 멸치 [Myeolchi – anchovy] won’t be able to see the sights here.”

Ardor felt even worse when Rembrandt said that he had decided to wait in line because of the two heretics.

Jang Tae-ri knew that Ardor was upset, but she also knew that the crazy priest was always like that, so she didn’t care much.

Rather, she was more concerned about Rembrandt taking out a veil to cover his nose and mouth.

“Mr. Rembrandt? Why are you covering your face?”

“I’m afraid people will recognize me.”

Jang Tae-ri burst out laughing at Rembrandt’s answer.

“Mr. Rembrandt is a celebrity here too!”

It was half a joke. However, after entering the city and having a meal at a restaurant, Jang Tae-ri realized that Rembrandt’s actions were not excessive.

“Mr. Rembrandt is—”

“The High Priest is—”

“So, with the High Priest—”

If you listened carefully to the conversations around you, 60-70% of the topics were about Rembrandt.

People seemed to talk about Rembrandt more than the temple.

Someone was even heard lamenting like this.

“The rooms are all full. What should I do? All the rooms in other places were full too. Should I stay in the next town and come back? I put my name down at the Great Temple, but they said I have to wait at least three months to see Mr. Rembrandt.”

Jang Tae-ri stared at Rembrandt with her mouth open.

When the group who said they had to wait three months to see Rembrandt passed by, she lowered her voice and asked.

“Do you have to wait that long to see Mr. Rembrandt?”

Rembrandt raised his chin with an arrogant smile.

“I don’t know. I’ve never waited to see myself.”

Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon looked at each other and shook their heads.

They had heard enough that Rembrandt was famous and well-treated all the way here, but they were still surprised by the continuous stream of surprising events.

“I was really surprised that people only talk about Mr. Rembrandt,” Jang Tae-ri muttered, and Rembrandt smiled proudly and explained.

“It’s more so because this is around the Great Temple. The tourists here all want to see the Great Temple and me.”

‘Can you call them tourists?’ Jang Tae-ri thought so, but nodded.

Shin Jo-woon pondered seriously.

“Is it okay if I call you Pig at the Great Temple? Won’t someone bring a weapon and say I’m being disrespectful?”

“I can’t say it won’t happen.”

“!”

Shin Jo-woon was genuinely surprised. But he was also confident that he wouldn’t be hurt at all even if someone ran at him with a weapon. Still, it would be annoying.

Shin Jo-woon pondered whether he should endure the annoyance and continue calling Rembrandt Pig, or whether he shouldn’t do it inside the Great Temple.

“Just don’t call me nicknames. Is this something to worry about so seriously?”

Jang Tae-ri, who couldn’t stand it, asked in disbelief.

“Why? He calls me 멸치 [Myeolchi – anchovy] at my company.”

However, Shin Jo-woon could never give up the Pig nickname if Rembrandt didn’t stop calling him 멸치 [Myeolchi – anchovy].

Rembrandt smiled contentedly. It was so reassuring to be in a place full of allies.

“Call me whatever you want. You can do whatever you want if you can handle the consequences.”

Jang Tae-ri shook her head.

“You two are the same anyway. You never want to lose.”

* * *

After the meal, the group toured the city. The city, which was closest to the Great Temple, seemed to be related to the Great Temple in every way.

There were also far more people walking around in priest robes than in other cities.

Jang Tae-ri also crossed the bridges that crisscrossed the city. She thought of these bridges as elevated roads or overpasses that also served as decorations.

Only after touring the city did the group get back in the carriage and leave for the Great Temple.

“I sent someone ahead to let them know we were coming.”

Ardor informed them in a passing tone inside the carriage.

Jang Tae-ri heard this, but didn’t think much of it.

‘I guess the priests will come out to welcome Mr. Rembrandt like when we first visited the Camuel Temple.’

She took it lightly and watched the beautiful meadows that stretched widely between the large city and the Great Temple.

However, as soon as the carriage entered the main gate of the Great Temple and stopped, she was surprised from inside the carriage.

Numerous people in priest robes were gathered on the large road.

Following Rembrandt out of the carriage, she saw that they all had very happy expressions on their faces.

The expressions of the Camuel priests when they saw Rembrandt were not comparable to how happy they looked.

“Come here.”

Rembrandt gestured to Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri, then approached an elderly priest in the front row center among the gathered people.

“These must be the High Priest’s friends. I am Claminte, the highest-ranking priest of the Redrin Temple. I have heard many stories about you from the High Priest.”

The kind-looking elderly priest said with a very happy face when he saw Jang Tae-ri and Shin Jo-woon.

All the other priests also had joyful faces, but the elderly priest had an especially happy expression.

“This is the 멸치 [Myeolchi – anchovy] I told you about, no, Shin Jo-woon, and this is Jang Tae-ri.”

Rembrandt also introduced Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri one by one, pointing at them with a more excited expression than usual.

Jang Tae-ri guessed why the elderly priest was so happy, so she smiled kindly and greeted him.

“Hello?”

Shin Jo-woon also noticed that the elderly priest was more intimate with Rembrandt than the other priests, and he reached out his hand to shake hands.

However, almost at the same time as he reached out his hand, the elderly priest raised a hand heart first.

“!”

Shin Jo-woon quickly stepped back.