Stray

    Ten Years Later-Part Three

    Nemo completed today's accounts in five seconds, pressing the folds of the scroll with the book in his hand. Then he took out what was half sewn in the lattice of the wooden table, and continued to sew—the thread as the material seemed to have life, bumping lightly to and fro in the rattan basket.

    Seeing that the shopkeeper doesn't mind, the demon believers not far away continued the dangerous topic.

    "A wish was made."

    The old man who kept the two-headed crow lowered his voice even lower.

    "You all know that saying? If you have a dangerous mission that no one is willing to take, or you can't afford the money, you can go to the Mercenary Guild to hang up a mission, and choose Tumbleweed when specifying a team. ."

    "I remember specifying that teams that are disbanded or that don't exist don't count."

    "The horror is here, and some task scrolls are on fire! The task was completed well, and the reward was taken away - even those employers did not know what the prepared reward was. How did it disappear?"

    "...I've heard of it, too, was it near here recently? The whole village gathered two gold coins and found someone to deal with a large area of ​​out-of-control carnivorous vines. Two gold coins! Only a fool will take this job Son. It is said that the commissioner was illiterate at the time, so he copied ten designated teams for selection, and spelled 'poisonous bell grass' into 'tumbleweed'. The next day, the group of carnivorous vines disappeared from the village, The two gold coins that the client kept in his underwear pocket also disappeared... My cousin was in that village, and I still listened to her."

    "Bullshit." One of them gruffly ripped off a piece of meat from a roasted chicken thigh. "It's all **** gossip! I've tried it myself."

    "Have you tried?!"

    "Yeah, the pretense is a bit miserable, and the quest is written exaggeratedly. Isn't this kind of quest all accepted? It's exactly the same style as the superior demon looking for prey. Compared with ghosts, it's not as good as Said that when they were buried in the bottom of the abyss, they all turned into superior demons."

    "George, say the point! Are you really going to hang up?"

    "Hey, I'm pretending to be a thirteen-year-old girl, demanding to drive away the middle-level demons on the farm, claiming they crossed the border to steal cattle and sheep, and swallowed my parents alive - don't look at it like that Me, the farm and the mid-level demon horde exist, although the nest is pretty honest."

    "Tsk tsk, that's a bit of a loss."

    "It's not because some people talk about the ghost of the tumbleweed every day. No, they say that the ghost of the tumbleweed will immediately burn the task scroll, and my task is still hanging in the mercenary guild Well, nothing happened at all."

    "But my cousin—"

    "Everyone is listening to it now, do you really believe it? Or you can go to the mercenary guild to check, the reward I offer is so low that the quest is definitely still there."

    "Then you have to be careful, if you don't cancel for too long, you will be fined?"

    "Damn, I completely forgot about this, I'll cancel it tomorrow when I have time."

    The door of the store was pushed open again with a soft sound of jingle. With the bad experience of flying dogs and jumping just now, everyone stopped talking and swept towards the door subconsciously.

    There are three guests this time.

    The woman dressed as a warrior looks around forty, with a dusty atmosphere. The female warrior was wearing light old leather armor, carrying a hunting spear behind her back.

    It seems to be a female mercenary who is still active, but there is no badge on the leather armor on the chest.

      Not low light perfume smell. The man's long platinum blonde hair was braided in neat, loose, thick braids, hanging down behind his head, his lips pursed in a line.

    If you ignore the anger on his face, this swordsman's temperament can be called mature and elegant.

    Comparing the dress and temperament of the two people, this woman is most likely the bodyguard of the male swordsman, or a temporary hire. In short, the two did not seem to come from any royal institution or religious army, all the demon believers breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Cow dung." The male swordsman whispered angrily.

    "I can't guess the cow's mood, let alone its stomach condition!" cried the female warrior, "To be honest, I used to burn cow dung for warmth. Mr. Dog, I am saddened by what happened to you. But unless you are willing to fly the whole way, this kind of border town will inevitably get something in the fields that shouldn't be touched."

    "Pain? If you hadn't laughed for two full minutes before casting the cleansing spell, I would have believed it..."

    "Okay, okay." The female warrior held the swordsman's face and kissed the other's lips precisely, interrupting his unspoken words. "I apologize, honey, I shouldn't have laughed so loudly - next time I'll try to hold it back."

    The swordsman's face turned red as a tomato, and he said nothing.

    Standing beside them, the young woman who remained silent all the time clicked her tongue.

    The young girl had neat short shoulder-length hair and a wide-brimmed ladies hat on her head, with the upper half of her face hidden in the shadow of the brim. Her breath is clean and quiet, and her dress is simple in style and low-key in color. Since entering the door, he has lowered his head slightly, far less conspicuous than the two beside him.

    A spider the size of a slap was lying on her shoulder, and the eyeballs in her abdomen were spinning excitedly.

    Everyone is more at ease - spiders have obvious characteristics of abyss creatures, and 80% of young girls are also demon believers.

    "The patty is almost ready." Nemo put down his knitting needle. "Ann, it's your favorite flavor—the skin is grilled and crispy, with more coarse ground pepper and crushed chili pepper."

    "Long time no see, Nemo. It's very considerate." The female warrior's tone was cheerful and winked. "Give me a blank piece of parchment, Gallagher is too picky, it's a little troublesome to order food with his mouth. What's the matter, Cross and the others haven't arrived yet?"

    "The breath of the two of them is nearby, and they are stopping by the dim sum shop. They should be there in a while."

    Nimo held a pen and paper in both hands, Gallagher stared warily at that hand, gasping between his teeth.

    About whether she minds her telling Gallagher the truth, Ann asked Nemo after establishing a relationship with Gallagher. Gallagher's performance right now doesn't surprise him too much.

    "Delia, why are you...?" Nemo politely looked away from the nervous former "Wild Hound" and continued to ask.

    Catbeard jumped off her shoulders and circled excitedly on the table. Seeing Nemo approaching, it stretched out its two front feet and waved it vigorously.

    Nimo poked it lightly with his finger, and the black shadow swirled at his fingertips, condensing into a black bead that exuded the magic of the abyss.

    The over-excited spider caught it with excitement and ate it happily.

    "I want potato soup with whipped cream, boiled chicken with cauliflower, and a little bread." Delia whispered to Ann, who was writing menu requirements to Gallagher.

    "I heard that Alban and Willard signed a peace treaty last week." Nemo waited patiently for Ann to finish writing, looking for a topic at random. "Mr. Salter. You are no longer Marshal, but I thought..."

    "I don't need to go with me, Quentin Leonard can handle this beautifully."

     Gallagher raised his chin slightly, his facial muscles still a little stiff.

     "But with all due respect, you'd better think of a way. Mr. Leonard still always talks about tumbleweeds - tumbleweeds were almost wiped out in expeditions because of greed. As soon as the rumors came out, he gave himself an amplifying spell and promoted the glorious image of tumbleweed to his subordinates for a whole week." Immersed in the memories, Gallagher's voice became more and more dissatisfied. "It went straight to me, and it was his deputy, Mr. Elmer, who dragged him back."

    Nimo scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

    "Don't think it's just a simple act of mourning, Mr. Wright. Mr. Leonard guessed right, he insisted that the members of the Tumbleweed are too strong to die because of stupid greed, just To take this out of the public eye. The appearance of the 'Tumbleweed Ghost' in recent years has made him more and more convinced of his guess - if it wasn't for the field marshal's job to hold back Mr. Leonard, I think he would have dared to come out and look for you. And I have a hunch that he will find it by then."

    "That will have to wait for him to step down." Oliver walked out of the back kitchen and put a jug of juice on the table. "If he does find us then, we'll tell him part of the truth."

    "I reserve my opinion." Ann shoved the written menu to Oliver. "...Maybe they'll find out through other channels, like I decided to tell Gallagher."

    Delia stopped pouring juice. Catbeard stared at the master with the eyeballs in his abdomen, and also solidified in the air.

    "No." Delia said coldly, "I said, I will break up with Wilhelm tomorrow."

    "You said that the day before yesterday, the day before yesterday and yesterday." Ann put her chin on her hand and pointed out with a smile.

    "That's just..."

    "Hayden has a good temper. In my opinion, it's a miracle that you can quarrel every three days." Ann took a sip of juice. "Seriously, what are you both arguing about? Busy, it's hard to say which of you is busier, if that's the reason—"

    "Ann!"

    "Okay, let's change the subject. Nemo, remember Hayden Wilhelm? That kid just got off the field and went to Clement College to be a professor of nursing. ."

    "Oli and I planned to visit Clement in a few years. So maybe we'll see him then." Nemo poured himself a glass of juice , shake the cup. "But looking at the situation back then, I thought he would have something to do with Marilyn Lawler..."

    Alban's current Queen's icy gaze swept over instantly.

    "Head therapist Marilyn Lawler, I know this person."

    There was no hostility in Delia's voice, only respect.

    "When Ann sent me to Clement College, they had not graduated yet. Ms. Lawler is still unmarried and dedicates all her time to research. For this, I admire she."

    After saying this, Delia lowered her head and drank the juice intently, without any intention of speaking again.

    "Speaking of those people... Leonard's deputy is Oliver's roommate. Elmer, do you have an impression? He got married last year and left a tumbleweed at the wedding. There's a table. I took a sneak look at it by myself, and he should have received the gift I left behind."

    An laughed lowly, didn't touch the pre-dinner juice, and stubbornly waited for the wine: "That stubborn boy actually drove away a guest who pointed at the table and asked him to remove it."

    Seeing that as the topic continued, Nemo's expression mixed with nostalgia gradually appeared sadness, and An stopped the conversation. She stretched out her hand and touched her face following the other's line of sight, and then she felt the tiny wrinkles on the corners of her eyes carved by the years.

    "Forget it, I'll leave it to dinner for a while." She tried to lighten her tone.

    Oliver leaned towards the delivery window of the back kitchen and brought the steaming meatloaf to the table. And Nemo took a deep breath, threw a heat preservation spell, and left the table.

    "You guys talk first, I'll go see what Dylan is doing in the pastry shop, I'll be back in a while." This time Nemo smiled a little reluctantly.

    "Oli." Before leaving, he called out to his lover, Oliver nodded knowingly.

    Seeing Nemo out of the door, An Chong smacked his lips with the tempting aroma and sizzling meatloaf, and stood up from the table: "Show me the store, Oliver, I'm afraid I can't help but start now."

    "Of course." Oliver glanced at Delia, who was sipping his juice gracefully, and Gallagher, who was sitting upright like a soldier, and raised the corner of his mouth.

    The two first came to the wooden platform where Nemo was just now. Oliver walked to the wooden platform and took out a bottle of wine.

    "Boy Nemo, it's been ten years, and he's still not very good at acting. It's about the thing you mentioned in your letter, right?" Ann put her elbows on the wooden platform, pretending Look at the bottle of wine. "I figured out the answer."

    "An..." Seeing the familiar open smile on the other's face, Oliver was sure that he had tasted some kind of bitterness in his mouth.

    "I don't need a long life."

    An's fingertips brushed the dusty wine bottle, her voice still smiling.

    "Don't look at Gallagher like that, I still like him. And Delia, I saw the child grow so big...I can't imagine sending them away by hand I know, maybe you can give them a long life as well. But as I said earlier, Delia will also fall in love with others, and will likely have offspring of her own. What will you do then?"

    "Oli, we are human beings, people are terribly fragile. Relatives, lovers, friends... At least I can't bear the endless loss. The pain of Abbas's departure, I am now Can't really forget, and if I decide not to be sad about it, I might not be 'me' anymore."

    She patted his shoulder.

    "Humans have human time. In my opinion, a hundred years is enough. Presumably by now, you and Nemo should be able to experience a little, uh, the inconvenience of almost eternal life."

    "Ann, we..."

    "You don't need my guidance, Mr. Brave. Don't show that expression, I'm easily shaken. To be honest, I'm more worried about the two of you... Look at you, Debbie and Godwin gave similar answers to that question."

    “…hmmm.”

    "Not surprising, after all we know our boundaries. Hey, don't act like I'm going to die in the next second! You know, I don't have any great ambitions. Noble words are not related, just an ordinary person who wants to eat and die. Now I have a good lover by my side, and a lovely niece who has the ability to let me enjoy life to the fullest, which is more impractical than I am Dreams are much better.”

    "And to get all of you, uh, amazing guys to make that look for me. I think it's a pretty perfect life--if you shed tears at my funeral, I can't forgive you."

    "Ann, if you change your mind, we're always here."

    "Hmm, let's see how I feel."

    Ann reached out and rubbed Oliver's hair vigorously.

    "Live well. On the bright side, two are better than one."

    She sniffed lightly.

    "Oliver, I've known both of you for a long time now. You're both amazing guys, and I hope you'll stay where you are forever. Add Bagelmore, wind and roll The grass can maintain at least five members all the time... don't let it really disappear, okay?"

    The door rang again.

    "Nimo!" Ann waved and narrowed her slightly wet eyes. "...and you, Dylan, why so slow. I'm starving to death!"

    Ann picked up the bottle and sat back to her seat.

    "Can I start eating my meatloaf now?"

    The author has something to say:

    Mr. Leonard, a petite aristocrat of the Academy Roll, a **** fan (…

    And unfortunately, not everyone will live long. _(:з」∠)_