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nSand City, Royal Palace

nThe large block-like bricks in the walls of the Sand City were best to trap the heat in winter and keep it out in summer. The Sand City was the biggest and likely the only large city in the Highland Kingdom, where most economic activities happened. Although the Kingdom spanned from the Wall of Void to the Blood Sea, most economic activities occurred beside the Snake River or to its east.

nThe King Atrox Highland and the Queen Trinity Highland were the famed power couple as both were Grand Wizards, the only two in the Kingdom. But, sadly, both of them were unable to sire children for some unknown reason, so they treated the entire Kingdom as their family.

nPerhaps, the Highland Kingdom was one of the only Kingdoms where most commoners loved their King. Of course, situations like Sphinx Town or Fallshoot village were too small to change the perception of commoners.

nBut the destruction of an entire town was something that could not just be accepted and shrugged away. So, when the men with the news arrived in the Sand City, the Imperial Council was called, where the King and the Queen sat side by side on one side of the table and the rest of the advisers or administration around it.

nAlthough the King and the Queen usually donned a very easygoing and kind attitude, they were serious and outraged at the moment.

n“… We saw the leftover pyres of the dead bodies. The entire town was gone, not a single wall was left… and we found a remembrance stone near where the monastery was, with the words ‘Here lived the kind and strong Shane Kolt, the little bard, apprentice of Sylvester Maximilian.’ engraved on it, your majesties.”

nThe Queen held her husband’s clenched hand, knowing the man was angry but felt helpless about who the perpetrator was. She asked the messenger. “Is this Sylvester Maximilian, the famed Bard?” 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

n“Yes, your majesty. From the words of Archpriest of Fallshoot village, we learned that Lord Bard was headed to Sphinx Town to heal the demon possessions there… in doing so, he also defeated the bloodling terrorizing the mountains beside the Desert Road.”

n“Elder Brother.” The King’s Prima, Gladius Highland, spoke. “I shall write a letter to the Holy Father and ask why they sent the bard to destroy a little town–without asking us.”

nKing Highland stopped all the talks, however. “It was not the bard… it does not make sense that he’d first help them, kill the Bloodling, then destroy the town only to leave behind a remembrance stone. But this is likely done by the church… and I shall have my answers. I will be going directly to the Holy Land to meet the Holy Father. They can ignore your letters, but not me,”

n“Dear, the time isn’t right. You know the turmoil in Riveria.” The Queen warned him.

nKing Highland ignored her warnings. “They dare not touch a man or woman as strong as us, Trinity. The Faith needs us for the coming war, and even Riviera knows that if I die, their south-eastern flank will be wide open–And I might meet the bard as well, always wanted to since I learned about him.”

nThe Queen sighed and facepalmed. “You still have not given up trying to adopt him?”

nThe King chuckled and proudly replied. “We both know the lord has not blessed us with an heir… so if we’re going to select one from the crowds, why not the best one in the world?”

n“You don’t even know him.” She argued.

n“That’s why I shall go and meet him. Until I return, take care of the Kingdom, my beautiful Queen.”

nKing’s Prima, Gladius grunted and stood up annoyedly, dismissing the council as well. “Move along, folks, the two have started flirting again… you don’t want to see them go wild–trust me. Elder brother, and Lady Trinity, see you in the evening.”

nThe two were the strongest in the Kingdom and cared about nothing. Perks of being too old and strong. So, they did everything whenever they wanted… of course, they always maintained some decency.

n“Yeah yeah… shut the door when you leave, Gladius!” The King boomed, and soon in that room, some steam bloomed.

n…

nIt was nearing night when Sylvester and the rest arrived near the Holy Land. They had already passed by the Green City and were now on the best road in the world where they could feel the soothing winds.

nThe closer they got to the Holy Land, the less cold they felt, as the Holy Land had perfect temperature because of harboring the Orb of Purity that spews an extreme amount of light and Solarium.

n“Bishop Lazark, why don’t you join my group? I’m sure the administration will have no problem with it.” Sylvester offered the man. He was relaxing at the back of the carriage with Bishop and Gabriel, while Sir Dolorem and Felix steered.

n“I am afraid I will have to refuse, Lord Bard.” Bishop Lazark replied. “I appreciate that you don’t care about a necromancer being in your group, but I must consider the reaction of others. If I was just a dark wizard, I would have joined you, but I am a necromancer. We don’t have an outstanding reputation and get too many eyes on us. They will talk about you even if nobody says it to you directly. Which may hurt your future prospects as a God’s Favored.”

nSylvester could understand that reasoning, but he felt some pity for this man. The former had proved a reliable partner on the mission, even fought against a Bloodling, and survived twice. This was not the sign of an ordinary man. “Too bad, I would have liked to have you on the team.”

nBishop Lazark chuckled in a self-deprecating tone. “That’s why necromancers are cursed and blessed at the same time. I have the power to raise the dead and have company… sadly, it’s usually just me doing the talking.”

nSir Dolorem chimed in. “Why not find other necromancers and make a group with them?”

n“There are a few, but none in the Sanctum Inspector division. Most clergymen with brains dare not volunteer for this job–as we saw in the mountains how dangerous it came to be.” Bishop responded.

n‘If I didn’t have light magic, this could have been the end for all of us.’ Sylvester thought about it. His light magic was one of the reasons why he was never scared of standing against evil entities.

n“I will write the report slowly this time. I need some rest.” Sylvester changed the topic.

n“Remember not to mention the Void Keepers in it. Instead, tell Saint Wazir in person about what truly happened.”

nSylvester thanked the man for reminding him and sat back silently. The darkness was increasing slowly, and soon the twin moons were menacingly watching over them.

nSylvester tried to think about the hidden underground castle he saw under Sphinx Town. It had a lot of crescent moon engravings too. So this made him wonder, ‘Was there some sort of a moon-related religion in the past? The Faith of Solis did develop five thousand years ago, after all. What about the rest of history before that?’

nNot so surprising, these were the questions whose answers he could never find in a book. So he’d have to do research himself–carefully even as the matter involved Faith.

n‘I just want to take a bath and sleep for now. Too much chaos for such a short time.’

n…

nBy midnight, Sylvester finally arrived at his home. He had dropped Felix and Gabriel at their quarters, then Sir Dolorem at the Inquisitor Camp, and Bishop Lazark at his house. Then, he parked the carriage away, took Frost alone, and reached the Bright Mother complex.

nMost of the rooms and housing units appeared to have lights off, but one did not as he soon smelled the mouthwatering scent of some honey buns and other food. Despite all that had happened, he smiled as he was about to knock on the door. “Of course, mum is preparing for me.”

n“Quick, Maxy! I’m hungry.” Miraj was going crazy due to the aroma.

nSylvester, however, caught Miraj first and tied him into his bag. “We shall have a bath first… and you will not run today.”

nKnock Knock!

nBam!

nJust a few seconds after he knocked on the door, it opened, and jumped out an overly excited and happy woman, hugging his neck enough to suffocate a normal human. “My Max is back! You were gone for so long this time… I missed you.”

nSylvester responded and patted her back. “Now, now, calm down. Seriously, why is it that you act more like how I should be acting.”

nXavia stepped back embarrassingly. “Well… the house felt very lonely without you… so I got excited.”

nHe didn’t mind, however, since her emotions were genuine. “Let’s go in… I brought you a souvenir from Fort Sunflower. They are famous for their flowers and make the best perfumes.”

nHe shut the door behind them and followed her in. Instantly he was hit by the strong aroma of so many dishes that his stomach started to grumble. He had, after all, only eaten in the morning today.

nXavia chuckled when she heard his stomach. “Go and take a bath, Max. I am making so much good food for you… look at you, grown so thin and weak. It hurts me to see you.”

nSylvester knew that mothers tend to see things out of proportion regarding their kids. But here he agreed because he was still healing from that solarium deficiency and blood decrease. “I will go and take a bath. By the way, mum, do you have blood-replenishing potions at home? I will need them.”

nXavia jumped close to him and touched his forehead. He appeared warm, too much, in fact. “You have a fever?”

nHe shrugged. “It’s okay, mum. I am a light wizard. I am usually hotter than most others.”

nPicking the bag that was a cage for Miraj, he went to the bathroom. Thankfully, with a new bigger house, it was indoors now. With the help of magic crystals, anything could be done in the Holy Land.

nMiraj had accepted his fate and soon found himself sitting in the large bathtub in front of Sylvester and getting his furry head rubbed like an obedient child.

n“Mraaa… Maxy! It’s going in my eyes.”

nSylvester chuckled and wiped the eye clean. “Aren’t you the one who adopted me? Then why am I bathing you?”

nMiraj visibly appeared anxious to find an excuse. “Ummm… because I’m a cat, and if I were to bathe you, that’d mean I lick you all over. You want that, Maxy?”

n‘It’s a nice answer, honestly.’ He thought.

nSoon after, the two dried themselves with the air element and came out looking fresh. Miraj jumped onto the kitchen shelf to see Xavia cooking while Sylvester sat down by the dining table.

nHe looked at his mother in a loose, long robe, humming one of his hymns, shaking left and right in the kitchen and making food for him happily. Her happy, free, and kind nature was a breath of fresh air for him truly, and he wished for this to last forever… her happiness, at least.

nThen suddenly, his face turned grimmer as he glanced at the house’s front door and wondered. ‘There is nothing stopping someone–the church–from coming into this house and destroying everything. They can harm her, r*pe her, kill her–kill me… and I can just watch it happen.’

nHe looked back at Xavia. “Mum.”

nShe turned around, a smile donned on her face. “What is it, dear?”

n“What if–One day–I became the Pope?”

n______________________

n400 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.

n1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.

nAPE TOGETHER STRONG!

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