Don't Piss Off the Apothecary

Chapter 012

Melissa led Carl and Henry to a separate room, shut the door behind them and got her knights to guard the room.

She finally let go of Carl's arm and the sweet fragrance wafted away from him, leaving him feeling rather empty inside after having enjoyed this wonderful smell for so long.

At the same time, Melissa sounded concerned as she asked, "Henry, are you really injured?"

Henry's gaze flickered as he pondered whether he wanted to continue keeping it a secret. Ultimately, he decided there was no point in doing so since Carl had already detected his injury. He nodded slightly and said, "That's right, Melissa. You've got to help me keep it a secret though."

Melissa was shocked that Carl's hunch was proven right, but she was also curious. "What wound is this for you to be walking around injured? Does it mean even the priests can't heal it?"

"Don't talk about it anymore." Henry looked really upset. "The priests at the temple have really deteriorated in skill and power. They become exhausted after casting a few healing spells and none of them work. I think I need to meet with the high priest to resolve this issue."

"That serious?" Melissa widened her eyes, then an idea struck her. "Henry, do you want Carl to take a look at your injury? He was even able to deal with a terrible poison like the Grim Reaper's Scythe, so he might be able to help with your injury."

"Him?" Henry did not say no, but his doubtful glance at Carl said everything.

Carl looked just as doubtful of himself. "Your Ladyship, please don't think so highly of my medical knowledge. I don't want to give others false hopes."

Melissa looked at Carl, then looked at Henry, and burst out laughing. Her smile made her look as pretty and as alluring as a flower in full bloom. "Forget it then. Both of you can leave now. Please help me to call Baron Raymond in, thank you."

Carl nodded. "Yes, Your Ladyship."

"Wait…" Henry hesitated. He could endure the pain from his injury without showing it, but it did hurt quite a bit. If possible, he would rather recover as soon as possible. He did not trust Carl, but he felt that he could trust Melissa.

He sighed and finally caved in. He carefully undid his shirt and revealed his muscular chest. Carl was mentally prepared for the worst, but he still could not help but feel shocked when he actually saw the wound.

The very long slit started from a shoulder and went diagonally across Henry's chest all the way to his abdomen. The wound was at least 40 centimeters long.

This was a very strange wound. The cut itself did not seem very deep and a pale green glow on the outside of it seemed able to keep Henry's blood from flowing right out.

What shocked Carl even more was that this wound would heal itself, then split open again, then repeat this process over and over.

Before he could even think of what this could be, Melissa gasped loudly. "This wound must have been made with a Winged Demonic Wolf's stormblade! Henry, have you gone mad? Why did you fight such a powerful magical beast?"

"It wasn't a Winged Demonic Wolf. I'm not that crazy. I would like to live for many more years, thank you very much."

Henry shook his head and there was a vengeful look in his eyes. "It was a sword imbued with demonic power coupled with a special move that left this strange energy lingering inside my body. I have only been able to stop the energy's spread, but I can't seem to get rid of it."

"A demonic sword made from a Winged Demonic Wolf's crystal core then?" Melissa went into deep thought for a while. "Was this the doing of the Thunderstorm Pirates?"

"Hmph!" Henry did not answer her question and glanced at Carl instead. "Can medicine do something about such an injury?"

Carl scrutinized the wound very seriously and felt like he had learned something new today. "So, this is what a wound made by a demonic sword looks like," he thought.

He reached his hand out to touch the wound but Henry caught his hand before that.

"Mister Apothecary, can you handle this or not?" sneered Henry. "If you can't, just say so. Don't waste my time."

Carl went into deep thought. The first thing he had thought of when he saw the open wound was to suture it. That idea was quickly thrown out because this was no ordinary wound. This was a wound caused by a supernatural power. He had to get rid of that supernatural power first, otherwise he could sew this wound up and it would just burst open again.

He wondered how he should deal with the wound. He had never even seen a demonic sword before, much less knew anything about what they were capable of. How was he supposed to resolve this problem?

Suddenly, he remembered something.

Melissa had mentioned something about a Winged Demonic Wolf earlier, and the demonic sword that left this wound on Henry's body was likely to have been made from the beast's crystal core.

He suddenly recalled reading a passage about a Winged Demonic Wolf in his tattered notebook. Damn, what did it say again…?

Carl looked like he had gone into a daze because he was trying so hard to recall.

"See? I just knew he couldn't do anything about it." Henry put his shirt back on and looked a little disappointed. This wound was not fatal, but it felt like a bone stuck in his throat, and it made him feel uneasy all day.

"Oh right! The fruit of a dryad!"

"What?" Henry was startled.

Carl's expression was very serious. "I need the fruit of a dryad."

Melissa's eyes lit up. "Would a fruit of a dryad be able to heal his wound?"

"Not necessarily, but it might be useful," replied Carl honestly. According to the notebook, if he combined a fruit of a dryad with the crystal core of a Winged Demonic Wolf, then added a few other herbs, he could make a magical drug that could make a person fly.

This was also one of the many reasons why he felt that the contents of this notebook were pure nonsense.

Of course, this seemingly magical drug did not have any direct connection to Henry's injury. However, as an apothecary, he could draw a simple conclusion from the formula itself. Good things could happen from combining the fruit of a dryad with the crystal core of a Winged Demonic Wolf.

At the same time, if he made a wrong guess, then it was too bad for the young man in front of him. Even so, Carl was pretty sure that Henry was willing to give it a go anyway.

Henry immediately picked up on Carl's choice of words and felt like the apothecary might be trying to kill him. He eyed Carl suspiciously. "Not necessarily? It might be useful? You're basically saying that you're not confident, right?"

"That's right," Carl readily admitted to it. He did not particularly like Henry in the first place, so he said in a flippant voice, "I'm just going to try and see if it works, but I can't guarantee anything."

"Why, you…!" Henry was offended and scoffed angrily, "Melissa, you've been too lenient on your subordinates! Look at how rudely he speaks! Do you need me to take him in hand?"

"Henry, put your prejudice aside," said Melissa with a smile. "Don't you find him very honest? Other apothecaries love to brag about their abilities even though they can't actually do anything about the problem they're presented with. Compared to such people, I like Carl's honest attitude way better!"

Honest attitude? Henry was nearly wheezing from how angry he felt and almost caused his wound to start bleeding. He shook his head, buttoned up his shirt and got up. "Melissa, remember to keep this a secret."

Henry pulled the door open and marched right out.

After the door closed again, Carl said, "Your Ladyship, this isn't my fault. He's the one who's not being cooperative."

Melissa chuckled. "No, Carl. He's being very cooperative."

Carl blinked a few times before realizing what Melissa was trying to say. "So, you mean he's gone to look for that fruit?"

"That's right," said Melissa. "Carl, don't look down on a port city's tax official. His family comes into contact with so many merchants from all over the continent and you have no idea what sort of rare and valuable items they get their hands on. Trust me, he's going to come back with the fruit you need in no more than half an hour."

And Melissa's guess proved to be correct less than 20 minutes later, when Henry returned with a box in hand.

Carl was really amazed this time. The manor was quite a long way from the city. How did Henry send his request out so quickly and how did the recipient get what Henry wanted in such a short period of time?

While he was still thinking about these matters, Henry opened the box. A gentle glow instantly filled the room. One fresh and gorgeous-looking turquoise-colored fruit sat in the middle of the box.

It was small and delicate, and the greenish glow it gave off made it as good as a lamp on its own.

So this was a fruit of a dryad? Carl curiously approached the box and wanted to pick it up to take a closer look, but Henry stopped him. "It's poisonous!"

Wait, what? Carl looked up with a start. He had no idea that this fruit was supposed to be poisonous.

Melissa had the same question. "This beautiful fruit is actually poisonous?"

"In the southeastern part of the Red Moon Continent, or the southern region of the Parée Kingdom, lies a gigantic swamp that spans a few hundred kilometers. The area is teeming with aquatic plants and miasma. Apparently, several ferocious magical beasts and those legendary dryads live there too."

Henry continued his explanation, "Legend has it that dryads survive on miasma, and that's why the fruit they produce naturally contain a frightening sort of toxin. That's why when you said that something like that could heal my wound, I seriously started to suspect you were trying to kill me."

"Oh?" Melissa still doubted that such an alluring fruit could ever be poisonous.

"Do you want to see what happens?" Henry raised an eyebrow. He got a small knife, then made a small slit in the fruit, causing its white sap to flow out. He then placed the knife with the sap on it inside a glass of water and mixed it.

A few seconds later, the water inside the cup began to boil and give off terrifying sizzling sounds.