Val Pov(first person point of view)
As Eclipsara and I followed Sylvaris, Eclipsara frantically whispered to me.
"Val...i am not dreaming right?"
I sighed. "No...no you are not"
Eclipsara was still in shock on the revetion Sylvaris loves Dr. Trauss. All I can say is that man really did have some serious game.
As She lead us us into a nice, well maintained neighborhood, she suddenly turns left, revealing a decent sized house for us.
"Like the look?" Syvaris asked.
Eclipsara and I nodded. "It really is a nice house" As Eclipsara complimented, admiring the house.
"I'm gd you like it. I know it's a one-story building, but this pce has a rge basement, three bathrooms—one of which has a rge tub—three bedrooms, a spare room, a decent-sized kitchen and dining area, and even a small balcony."
Eclipsara and I blinked rapidly at the detailed news.
Eclipsara then voiced a question that had been on my mind. "Isnt this pce...a bit much for us? Like dont get me wrong, theres nothing bad about it at all! But we are just 2 person at the moment"
Sylvaris narrows her eyes. "Listen, Cooler-or Dr. Trauss, as you call him, wrote me in his letter to give you a nice home, apparently this was the only one I could think of at the moment. It has nice neighbors, its spacious, and has lot of things you need." Sylvaris paused. "Plus, if any guests-or maybe Dr. Trauss himself-ever come by, you'll have a spare room for them. It will show that you have Hospitality. So you see, its a win win"
I hesitated. "Ah, but how much do we pay-"
"Oh you dont pay, call it free service from me as this is just one of my many houses in the nation"
Eclipsara and I blinked rapidly at the news before both of us yelled in unison. "YOUR RICH?!"
Sylvaris covered her ears while rolling her ears. "Ugh...I hate it when people say I am rich. I mean, I just have a bit of spare money"
Eclipsara scoffed. "Of course, that's the normal reaction! Who else owns multiple houses in a single nation? And 'a bit of spare money'?! Care to eborate on what you consider 'a bit'?"
Sylvaris waves her hand dismissively. "AH, its no big deal, its normal for me..besides-" Sylvaris mutters something else quietly, though both Eclipara and I heard it clearly. "Cooler can choose any of the houses if he evers come here as well, and we get to have our happy little home"
Both Eclipara and I fell silent. I had a feeling that if we asked her to eborate, our conversation would go on and on for hours with no end at sight.
Sylvaris then cpped her hands. "So go get your luggage and put it in the house."
Val Pov(first person point of view)
After getting our luggage that the driver kindly held for us, I made sure to pay him extra. Though he initially refused, I insisted—it was thanks to him that Eclipsara and I could explore the nation freely while searching for Sylvaris
As Eclipsara explored the whole house alongside me as Sylvaris acted as our tour guide, Eclipsara excitedly threw out ideas for decorations.
"That spot would look amazing with house flowers and pnts, Val!"
"Yeah i agree"
As Eclipsara and I had moments like these, Sylvaris reamine d unusally quiet.
Suddenly, Sylvaris asked something to us, a question she had been supressing ever since she had found out that we were associated with Dr. Trauss.
"Hey, um....hows Cooler-no, I mean Dr. Trauss-been doing? Is he...happy?" Sylvaris asked nerviously and calmly.
"Hes happy, I believe. He smiles and ughs alot along with his fellow nurses and doctors. He also makes the lives of his patients happy too while also occasionally doing a bit of trolling in the baground. He also uses his skills and knowledge to heal many people. I am indebted to him as well for being very kind to me." I answered warmly.
"I...I see. Thank you. I needed to hear that. Really. He went through alot in his life" Sylvaris let out a rare warm smile as she takes a deep breath processing the information I gave her.
"Hey, Sylvaris. How do you know Dr. Trauss by the way?"Eclipsara asked, curious.
"Oh...well...um...."Sylvaris had a rare moment of being flustered. "What do you know about Dr. Trauss?"
Eclipsara and I tilted our heads in confsuon. "What do you mean, I mean hes a doctor rig-?"
"No, I dont mean that fact." Sylvaris sighed. "Ah...I guess he didnt tell you huh. Well, no one really knows about his past except that old teacher of his and I'"
"Know what about him exactly?"
Sylvaris took a deep breath, "So...you see before Cooler Trauss was the doctor you see today, he was a lizardman who had lived a unique and complicated life...he was an assassin, a warrior and the intelligence reconnaissance expert of the Lizardfolk, 28 years ago, when he was extremely young. He is the man who exhiled himself permanently from the lizardfolk and gave away all the blessings of the world and universe had given him back to the goddess of the lizardfolk, Vaassith, despite her disaproval of his actions. He was also the one who secretly orchestrated the downfall of the world’s most blessed hero—despite having neither blessings nor mana himself."
For a moment, I forgot to breath. Eclipsara, too, seemed frozen, her mouth slightly open as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out. The weight of Sylvaris’s words crushed the air from my lungs. Dr. Trauss— the kind, brilliant doctor who healed the sick, who ughed and joked so effortlessly— had once been an assassin? A warrior? A ghost moving through the shadows, carving history in blood and silence?
And he had never spoken a word of it.
Sylvaris watched our stunned faces and nodded slowly, as if she had expected this reaction. Her voice, though quiet, carried a gravity that pressed down on me.
"Yeah... Cooler Trauss is unlike anyone else in this world. The lizardman who rejected fate itself—the man who turned his back on power, who abandoned everything the universe id at his feet. The world doesn’t know his name, doesn’t whisper his deeds in history books, because that’s how he wanted it. He erased himself from the past to forge a future that wasn’t bound by it.
He cut ties with everyone. Everyone… except his teacher.
And me."
