Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 900

900. Rembrary’s Invitation

“Brother Iden, thank you so much for coming all the way here. I’m grateful you came anyway.”

Shin Jo-woon raised his eyebrows at Ningling’s sudden, serious greeting. Wasn’t it a little late to be exchanging such greetings?

“I sincerely appreciate it. It couldn’t have been easy to come all this way.”

However, Ningling steadfastly continued her story. It was a story that others would be too embarrassed to say seriously, but Ningling was firm.

“Yes.”

Shin Jo-woon answered appropriately, even while wondering about the sudden gratitude.

He didn’t understand why Ningling was suddenly acting like this. But if she wasn’t trying to pick a fight, going along with her was no problem.

“You must think it’s strange that I’m suddenly like this, right?”

“Yes.”

“You answered right away……”

“It’s just unfamiliar to see you being so polite all of a sudden.”

It might sound like he was picking a fight if you misunderstood, but Shin Jo-woon could speak in a way that wouldn’t offend the other person if he wanted to.

Ningling smiled sadly.

“The High Priest’s situation is much better now. When he first came back, his image was really strange because of what Woo Yeon-woo had done. The High Priest doesn’t seem to feel wronged at all. Still, knowing the circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. The High Priest will be happier when his friends visit.”

“Don’t the people here know that someone else was in Rembrary’s body?”

Shin Jo-woon raised his eyebrows.

Wouldn’t it be easily resolved if they just revealed that part? Even if Earth is a world far from magic, this world has magic and divine power. It didn’t seem impossible for souls to be switched, right?

“Only a very few people know. Who would believe it? They just think he’s avoiding responsibility.”

‘Is soul-switching also a rare occurrence here?’

“I see.”

“Besides, if it’s said that the High Priest’s soul was switched with an ordinary person, there will be many people who will try to exploit that. Even if they don’t like the High Priest’s actions, they would have originally thought, ‘He must have his reasons,’ but if they know that souls can be switched, they might insist, ‘That’s not the High Priest!'”

Shin Jo-woon nodded.

“I thought the High Priest was an unshakeable position. It seems there’s infighting here too.”

“Even if they believe in the same god, priests and believers are different. It would be even more different if that believer was a powerful person.”

Ningling made a pointed remark, bowed, and this time really went outside.

Left alone, Shin Jo-woon walked to the window and stared silently at the building Ningling had pointed out.

* * *

After washing up, changing clothes, and resting sufficiently, time passed quickly, and it was already evening.

Shin Jo-woon thought he should find Rembrary and Jang Tae-ri, so he went out into the hallway. But just then, Ningling was walking towards him.

Ningling saw Shin Jo-woon and shouted brightly, pointing to the hallway she had come from.

“You came out just in time. Come this way.”

“Where are we going?”

“We have to go to the High Priest. The High Priest is probably giving blessings to people right now. You’ve never seen it before, have you? After that’s over, let’s all go out to eat together.”

Shin Jo-woon twitched his eyes. A scene of giving blessings didn’t particularly interest him.

He now knew that Redrin was a real god and that the Redrin religion was the most influential religion in this world, but it wasn’t easy to change his first impression.

Still, he followed without complaint, and he saw Mulu and Jang Tae-ri standing next to an archway inside a large building.

Mulu was looking inside the archway, and Jang Tae-ri was looking around.

Jang Tae-ri saw Shin Jo-woon and waved his hand in relief.

“Come quickly.”

Jang Tae-ri urged him with just his mouth. Jang Tae-ri was also feeling uneasy while resting, being separated from people he knew.

As Shin Jo-woon approached, Mulu greeted him with a nod and looked inside the archway.

Shin Jo-woon also looked there. Beyond the archway was a very large auditorium, packed with people.

The people were all looking at Rembrary, who was standing at the front. Rembrary was healing people one by one from the head table.

The people who were healed were all moved, praising Rembrary and Redrin, and returning to their seats.

Shin Jo-woon, who had imagined a blessing with just words, muttered as he saw a much more concrete action than he had expected.

“Do you do that every day? It must be effective.”

“Isn’t he amazing?”

The answer came from behind. Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri turned around at the same time. The highest-ranking priest was walking over with a group of other priests.

He gave Shin Jo-woon and Jang Tae-ri a nod and looked at Rembrary inside the auditorium with a proud expression.

“The influence of Redrin has increased dramatically since the High Priest gained healing abilities. Our High Priest is the one who has brought the most heretics to the Redrin faith among all the High Priests.”

The highest-ranking priest seemed very proud of Rembrary.

“The High Priest was already famous even before he became the High Priest. He had healing abilities from a very young age. Everyone was just waiting for the High Priest to become the High Priest.”

Listening to the praise, Jang Tae-ri really thought that the highest-ranking priest regarded Rembrary like a grandson and asked.

“Have you known Rembrary since he was young, Highest-Ranking Priest?”

“You could say that.”

A sad yet admirable smile appeared on the highest-ranking priest’s face.

“The High Priest was too special from a young age. So even though he didn’t have a bad personality, he had almost no friends.”

Shin Jo-woon tilted his head at the part about Rembrary not having a bad personality.

The highest-ranking priest noticed this but pretended not to and continued speaking.

“Even the friend he was closest to was interfered with and compared so much that it became difficult to stay by his side… Anyway, it became difficult to be by his side.”

The highest-ranking priest shook his head, thinking of Raidal, and then, thinking that he had told too heavy a story, he smiled brightly and added.

“So I feel more comfortable bringing friends who are not affected by the High Priest’s greatness. If you need anything while you’re here, just say so. I’ll take care of you as much as I can.”

A loud applause was heard. The highest-ranking priest stopped speaking. The group looked inside the auditorium at the same time.

Rembrary’s treatment was over, and people were cheering while crying.

Redrin-nim [Praising Redrin], Rembrary-nim [Praising Rembrary], Redrin-nim, Rembrary-nim…

Listening to the endless cheers, Jang Tae-ri shook his head without realizing it.

“He’s really amazing.”

‘Even though his image has been greatly tarnished because of Woo Yeon-woo, if it’s this much, how much was he worshiped before that?’

* * *

Redrin was standing in a place full of clouds and mirrors. But what was reflected in the mirrors surrounding Redrin was not the appearance of a god.

Inside, various events in the human realm were passing by quickly.

The speed was so fast that even if ordinary people looked closely at the mirror, they would not be able to recognize anything other than ‘something passed by quickly’.

However, all the fleeting scenes were being recognized in detail in Redrin’s eyes.

Surrounded by hundreds of such mirrors, Redrin stared intently at all the scenes without even blinking, only blinking slowly once in a while.

Every time Redrin blinked, the scene in a certain mirror would pause for a few seconds before flowing quickly again.

The angels moved around without making a sound, occasionally bringing Redrin snacks made by warming the morning air.

The angel who delivered the snack to Redrin stepped back and stood next to a colleague, hugging the tray and shaking his head in admiration.

“He’s really amazing. He’s looking at all four continents. He doesn’t even have time to rest. He’s amazing. Our Redrin-nim would never do that with his original personality. I guess the situation is very bad right now.”

The angel shook his head, thinking of Redrin, who used to work leisurely, lying on the clouds and making time for leisure before the incident happened.

Redrin was good at making time for leisure even while looking at two continents.

But now, for the sake of Kamuel, who was sick, and Lumena, who had disappeared, he was looking after their continents as well, so he was literally busy without any time to rest.

Besides, didn’t he have to clean up after the Demon King’s attack? There were still demons wandering around everywhere, and there were many demons.

If Redrin hadn’t been angry with Yira, he would have had to look at five continents, so he would have been even busier. He was angry with Yira, so he was neglecting that side, so he was only looking at four continents.

A fellow angel muttered worriedly.

“But is it okay? If you don’t take care of Yira-nim’s continent, the humans there will become noisy… If one side becomes noisy, I wonder if it will affect this side.”

The angel who delivered the snack replied coldly.

“What does it matter? Even if the humans in the central continent can’t stand it and their faith disappears completely and Yira-nim is no longer a god, it has nothing to do with us. Did they care about us and join hands with the Demon King?”

The fellow angel became a little bitter. Yira was like that. But the humans there were like that because Yira was like that, and most of them didn’t even know that Yira was like that.

Of course, the benefits of Yira joining hands with the Demon King were enjoyed together even if they didn’t know the truth.

But they were all angels under Redrin, so they had no choice but to bend inward. The fellow angel hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.

“That’s right. Redrin-nim must be thinking about that and neglecting the central continent.”

The two angels who were talking stopped talking and turned their heads when they heard someone coming from behind.

However, the angel who appeared busily only gave his colleagues a nod and immediately approached Redrin.

Redrin did not turn his head even when the angel approached, but the angel stood behind him and carefully opened his mouth.

“Redrin-nim, Redrin-nim, you were right. Not only ordinary demons but also the Demon King’s close demons are being found here and there. He was in the southern continent a while ago, but now he is said to be in the northern continent.”

Redrin instructed without turning around.

[Do not take your eyes off.]

“Yes.”

As the angel stepped back, a change appeared on Redrin’s face for the first time. Redrin narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the mirror reflecting the northern continent.

Inside the mirror, a monster with numerous legs was running at a tremendous speed and ramming a carriage that was going ahead with its body.

Redrin’s forehead furrowed.

[Aquari is unconscious now. The demons under Aquari are not acting under his orders, are they? They must be doing things on their own… What are they up to?]