Sylvester didn't know what to do. His mind was blank, and there was nobody he could count on to deal with this situation. He knew that Hendrix likely knew he had elven blood, but not who's blood. It was impossible to check without the Holy Land's help.
He stared into the man's eyes, and the latter did the same. As if the two were talking through their eyes, they kept looking at each other.
"Bard, who else do you have in your family?" Hendrix asked.
Sylvester replied honestly. "Just a mother who birthed me alone in a remote village of Highland Kingdom. Sadly, the villagers tried to kill me, and the church adopted me. Just like what Grandpa Monk used to say--One who has nothing, the Church becomes their everything."
Pope at the side agreed with that statement in particular. "Rightly said, young bard. The old man used to say this often."
"What about your father?" Hendrix inquired.
Sylvester shrugged. "Mum said he's no longer with us. I don't pry too much as I don't care who my father was. All I care about is my mother and the lord."
There was silence once again as the two looked at each other's faces for many seconds. But there was nothing conclusive that came up.
However, with that short exchange, both learned that the latter was aware of the other's intentions.
"I will have to cut open your blockage and first look at it to decide how to treat it. Every solarium blockage is different. Some remain fixed to one place, and some are more spread around and require deeper surgery." Hendrix brought the topic back to healing.
But that left Sylvester in more worry. 'Is he trying to sabotage me? Cut me open, so I can't run away while he tells everything to the Pope?'
He decided to confirm his doubts indirectly. "Is it going to leave me immobile? What if some danger occurs while I'm injured? Perhaps we should return to the Holy Land, and you come with us."
Hendrix grunted annoyedly. "Why would I do that? Bard, no need to be scared. You are with a Grand Wizard and a Supreme Wizard. And I won't be making a big incision. It will be an inch wide, as I only need to take a look at the blockage."
'He's not lying, nor do I feel any disgust or hatred from him. But I'm one hundred per cent sure he knows.' Sylvester had a choice to make.
"Where is the restroom?" He asked suddenly.
Again, Hendrix looked at Sylvester for a few seconds before speaking. "Out of the room, second door to your left."
Sylvester nodded and walked out of the room swiftly. He looked around at the house's structure, decorations and every other minor detail. His mind was in havoc, and he desperately looked for something to latch on to.
Soon, he entered the restroom and shut the door behind him. Of course, he didn't need to use it. He only wanted to speak with Miraj.
"Chonky, I have an important task for you. I need you to search the entire house and find anything suspicious or strange. Perhaps some sort of an evil medical experimentation practice. Human remains or something related to heathens. The man travelled the world. There is no way he's normal." He ordered Miraj.
Miraj saluted with his paw. "Aye, aye, Maxy. But why do I need to search? Did something happen?"
"That healer knows, Chonky." Sylvester got closer to Miraj's ear. "You know, about my father. If he tells the Pope, then I will be killed. So I need leverage to counter-blackmail Hendrix."
Miraj nodded his head intensely. "Got it! Find dirty stuff about the healer."
"Good." Sylvester walked out of the restroom and let Miraj run away to search the house.
But Sylvester didn't go to the healer instantly. Instead, he went to find the healer's family and see if he could leverage something through them. So he arrived at the kitchen of the house, where various utensils were on multiple furnaces, cooking dinner.
At the same time, Daline, the little girl, was sitting on a chair beside Elaine, the wife of Hendrix. She was reciting some words from a book and remembering various things.
"Daline, you need to memorise all this, or your dad won't buy you the pony you wanted," Elaine warned the little girl.
Daline grunted. "Ugh... But this is so boring. I wanna dance, I wanna play and talk to big brother."
Sylvester walked in and made his presence known. "Daline, if you memorise this, I will sing you a song and play my special musical instrument."
"Really?"
"Promise."
Daline's big eyes quickly focused on the book and started reading with focus this time.
'She's too innocent and adorable. There is no way I'd find anything from her. But the mother, she's too pretty to be married to an old man, and the way she said she had seen me before was not natural.'
So Sylvester focused on her. "Thank you for accepting us in the house, my lady."
Elaine blushed and waved her hand. "No, no, it's fine. You're very famous and respected by all. It's an honour to meet you, Lord Bard. I've heard a lot about you, and honestly, I hope Daline will memorise so I can hear your famous hymns."
Sylvester smiled warmly. "Don't worry, even if Daline fails, I can always sing a few hymns for you privately. By the way, I wanted to ask something. Why did you say you've seen me before?"
"I still stand by those words, Lord Bard. When I saw you, I felt as if I had met you before. I can't remember when and where, but you look very familiar."
'No lies, no confusion, but a lot of romantic interest. It seems I won't find anything here either, and harming them would be the most foolish option. I hope Chonky finds something now.'
"That's very strange, but if you remember it, then do tell me. I shall return to the other room now. But, again, thank you for your hospitality, my lady."
Rubbing his head in frustration, he returned to the healing room and laid down on the mattress on the side. By then, Hendrix was ready to do the minor surgery with his heated, sanitised blades.
The method of surgery was not very popular in the world, even among good healers, as it leaves too much uncertainty. So, only a few master healers do such things.
"It will hurt a little, but if you've been cutting yourself open, then I believe you'll be fine." Hendrix started working on his leg.
He used a sharp blade to cut the skin of his thigh. He then placed a surgical retractor that stretched open the small incision and allowed Hendrix to look inside. Of course, blood was coming out profusely, but it was all fixed with magic.
Hendrix then used a small pair of forceps to remove a small chunk of a blood clot. After that, he quickly removed the Surgical Retractor and proceeded to pour some sort of molten wax on the incision without stitching it up.
"I might have to open it again, so I will not stitch it yet. Let me check the blood clot first." Hendrix said and walked to the side to take out another glass plate. He put the sample on it and used his special magical runes.
Meanwhile, Sylvester only stared at the man, fearing that he'd reveal his secret at any moment. 'If he wants, he can easily kill me right now. I won't even be able to run or fight back in the slightest.'
"As I guessed." Hendrix didn't look delighted with whatever he saw. "This is not good, Bard. You have come too late to me. The clot has started to spread, and it's a worse version of a clot that strengthens itself by consuming solarium in that part of the body. So, I will have to open you up and burn the Solarium from that whole region. However, we will need to go to a solarium hotspot for the surgery to ensure a better recovery."
At this point, anything that Hendrix was saying felt like a lie, even though Sylvester didn't smell anything like that. The paranoia that the two overly powerful men could kill them no matter how much he may struggle was not very calming.
"The Soul Peninsula!" The Pope exclaimed. "You won't find a better place than that. There is also the old man's shack for us to use."
"Are you sure? Won't that be against the rules of the Church?" Hendrix inquired.
The Pope laughed proudly. "Yes, and I am the Supreme Pontiff of the church. Don't worry. As long as the young bard is healed, nothing matters."
"Good, then I shall pack the luggage with my family. I hope you don't mind my daughter and wife coming along. I never leave them behind anywhere, for I am the one who ensures they remain safe."
"Dear, the dinner is ready." Elaine's call came from the kitchen.
Hendrix stood up instantly. "Well, my beautiful wife has prepared food. Let's go and appreciate it. "Bard, you stay here for a few more minutes and let the wound heal."
Sylvester nodded diligently. He didn't have plans to go anyway, as Miraj had returned and was waiting for a chance to tell him something.
"I will join you in a minute." He muttered while showing a pained face.
With that, the two old men left the room. Miraj then started to whisper in his ear. "Maxy, there is something strange on the top floor's last room. There is a strange shrine in that room."
"Are you sure it's not Solis' shrine?"
Miraj shook his chubby head firmly. "No, no, I know Solis. Solis is shiny, and this one was not."
Sylvester didn't waste a moment as he had a tiny window of opportunity. "Good, then you stay here and do anything you can to stop anyone from coming to the upper floor. I will go and take a look."
"Aye, Aye, Maxy!"
Sylvester didn't feel much pain as he had abnormal healing. But still, he was slightly limped in one leg. However, it wasn't big enough of a problem. So he arrived in the room Chonky talked about in no time.
As soon as he entered, there was complete darkness. So he created light from his magic, and there it was, at the end of the empty room.
"Hmm... This is definitely not Solis' shrine."
He got close to it and checked it carefully. There were real idols placed in the shrine, opposite to what's usually in Solis' shrine. But, he could not remember who the idol belonged to.
'The decorations here only point in one direction. If it's true, it'll explain everything.'
He had many thoughts but no time. So, he walked back and, without any mishap, arrived at the dining room. He also took a seat and silently started to eat. But he also glanced at Hendrix and his family the whole time.
'Only one way of clearing the doubt.'
"This is very tasty, my lady." He praised the woman and ate fast.
A surge of tension was looming in the room, but only Sylvester and Hendrix knew it. They shared a look at one another from time to time but never spoke.
Then thirty minutes passed, and everyone was done eating. Elaine and Daline were working to get the plates washed. And the Pope also went to wash his hands and take a leak.
'This is the moment. I think I have a decent idea of what that idol is.''
"Respected Healer Darwin Hendrix, you never told me about your family correctly. I never knew you were an admirer of Remira Goddess. No wonder lady Elaine felt close to me for some reason." Sylvester started pressing him and instantly sensed the rising anxiety from the man.
"How did this even come to be? A Grand Wizard, so close to the Holy Land--Married to an elf and has a half-elf daughter.'
Thud!
A glass of water fell from Hendrix's hands as both men glared into each other's raging eyes.
700 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
Ape Together Strong
