A Picture Of Derelo
When Carla heard their words, her mind wandered to Daemon. He, too, enjoyed keeping beasts as pets. No wonder he and Derelo are on such good terms.
"What else is there?" she asked.
"That's all we have." Hapilia shook her head earnestly. "Actually, Brandy asked the same questions when he called. I didn't remember these two points despite racking my brains back then."
"It's fine. I'll let him know."
With that, Carla quickly shared the new information with Brandy before continuing her search in Dr. Feroma's study.
Suddenly, she stumbled upon an old photo. In it was a figure kneeling beside a young wounded wolf.
It was a photo taken from the side, and the photographer seemed to be standing quite far away. Also, it had turned yellow as if it had been submerged in water before. Hence, the already blurry figure was harder to discern.
In spite of that, one could still make out the slender figure in it. He seemed to be a short-haired youth in his teenage years, wearing a pair of pants with camouflage prints, a green t-shirt, black rubber shoes, and a straw hat.
"Who is this?" Carla asked Hapilia hurriedly.
"That's Derelo, " the latter answered in delight. "Carla, where did you find this?"
"That's Derelo?" Carla put the photo underneath the light to get a better look. Nonetheless, it was simply too blurry to make anything out of it. Other than the slender figure, nothing else could be seen.
"Yes." Hapilia nodded. "When I first came here, the photo was here in the study. However, it went missing after some books and medications were moved. How did you find it?"
"Are there any other photos?"
Feeling excited, Carla took a picture of the photo and sent it to Benard and Brandy so that they could run investigations according to the lead.
"No, that's the only one." Hapilia was sure of it. "Dr. Feroma said that some university students took this photo by accident. After that, they sent the picture over to him. In fact, he mentioned that Derelo didn't like taking photos."
"Why do you address Derelo by his name instead of his title? Isn't he a senior to you?" Carla asked while sending Brandy the information.
"Dr. Feroma forbade us from doing so, " Hapilia explained. "He was upset when Derelo left this place to learn modern medicine because he thought traditional medicine was all that was needed. When Derelo disobeyed him, their relationship soured."
"That's right. Later on, Dr. Feroma refused to acknowledge him as an apprentice anymore, " Sam chimed in as he picked something up. "In recent years, Dr. Feroma never mentioned him again. If it wasn't for Mr. Giblo—"
He held his tongue at mid-sentence, worried that he would spill something.
Knowing that they were still trying to hide the truth from her on behalf of Zayn, Carla sighed. "Considering that I'm here looking for Derelo, don't you think I already know?"
"Uh, that's true."
Hapilia and Sam exchanged glances the moment the realization dawned on them.
Since both of them were not exposed to the outside world, their thought processes were relatively simple. Hence, they were less able to connect the dots on many issues.
"By the way, " Carla asked, changing the topic, "what are your plans going forward?"
"We don't have any plans at the moment. All we want to do is repair this house, " Sam replied. "It leaks when it rains. Thus, I'm worried that Dr. Feroma's books will get wet."
"I hope you can go back with me, " Carla requested grimly. "Zayn's condition is worsening. Since we have yet to find Derelo, I'm worried that—"
"Carla, we would definitely help since you need us, " he quickly replied. "Anyhow, I still hope to repair the house before leaving. It may take a couple of days. Is that all right?"
"Yes, of course." She nodded at once. "In that case, I'll send someone to pick you two up then. As for today, I'll take some of these books and the photo back with me."
"No problem!"
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