Night fell, the autumn wind was bleak, and a pale moon was embedded in the night sky, half blocked by the church spire. Nemo stood in front of Clement's Cathedral, looking out at the orange lights in the grand building.
This atmosphere is very good, and at first glance it is suitable for a final battle. Nemo tugged at his collar to the left, forcing his composure, and stuffed the cold Meiji into his mouth with the right. The little spider took the initiative to climb into the gap of the collar, and Bagmoru received a bland instruction as soon as he started to comb his hair with his beak.
"You go with Ann, Bagmoru." Nemo slurped Meiji into his mouth.
The female warrior took out the jug and just finished two sips of wine for herself. She sighed and tucked the jug back into her belt irritably, "Thanks, Nemo."
"I knew it would be like this." The gray parrot, who had returned to his normal color, complained sadly, "If you have other demons, don't want me! I didn't cause any trouble in the academy. Mostly class - I'm not good enough, you say?"
"It's too big. We're going to see the Pope of the Rad Sect. I don't know if he will have any advanced detection system there. Your power is too strong, in case the concealment spell I put on you is discovered... Then the scene will be Ugly." Nemo responded earnestly.
Grey Parrot grunted in dissatisfaction, staring at Nemo's collar, as if determined to tear the spider out with his eyes.
An rarely laughed, she just silently took out a few brown sugar cubes from the side bag of her belt and threw them at Bagelmoru. The latter caught them firmly before moving reluctantly to Ann's shoulders.
"I'm going to inquire about something. When you guys are done, remember to contact me with the communication crystal."
Nemo wiped it with his handkerchief, looked at the cathedral in front of him for a while, and moved in the direction of Oliver - the latter's face was equally nervous. Oliver stretched out a trembling hand and wiped the crumbs off Nemo's grey-black robe.
Jesse and Adrian were relatively calm compared to the two who looked nervous enough to vomit.
"You're a big guy anyway. Seriously, Mr. Wright. What are you nervous about?" Jesse's tone was a little bit of hatred.
"Can't help it." Nemo frowned.
When Ann left, the four of Tumbleweed were officially welcomed into the meeting room, and Oliver was so nervous that he almost tripped over the threshold. It's a pity that the object of his nervousness doesn't seem to be nervous at all - the old Pope yawned under the bright magic light, with a light blue peaked nightcap on his head very unruly, and the most simple robe on his body. After that long yawn, the elderly Pope Quinn leaned on the soft satin pillow and carefully added milk to the tea.
There was not a single trial knight in the room, only a tall and thin manservant stood quietly in the corner, his breath was not weak, but it was not their right at all. Seeing everyone step into the room, the footman made a polite guiding gesture and compared them to the couch against the wall. On the stone table in front of the couch, there were warm honey water and melons cut into small pieces. fruit.
Oliver: "..." It was completely different from the Pope's audience he imagined.
"Young people are spirited." The Ladd Pope winked. "It's very early for the old man to go to bed. Oh, see you again, Mr. Dylan. You're a lot faster than I thought."
"Is there still a snack like last time?" Jesse rubbed it enthusiastically.
"Dear Philip, go and prepare a few trays of treats for our tumbleweeds, thank you." The Pope waved to the valet.
I didn't expect that the first sentence of the team members came up to beg for food. Oliver looked up at the ceiling sadly - after scanning the portrait of Chenni on the ceiling, he resolutely looked back again.
"Ann Savage and the bird aren't here. Well, it doesn't matter. The head is... I think, Oliver Lopez?" the Pope said lightly, sipping his tea.
Oliver sat up suddenly on the sofa.
"Don't be nervous, after all, someone from the mercenary guild has investigated you. I have a good relationship with President Blok." The old man put down the teacup and glanced at Nemo who was sitting on the side intentionally or unintentionally. "You have done a lot of things in the labyrinth of Isamel. Horizon submitted a briefing not long ago, and the content is very interesting."
"That's it, Lord Quinn. Our captain ruined the Sword of Residual Fire, so I didn't have time to be admitted - Sword of Residual Fire's request is free from guilt and confusion, right? I'm actually very confident to be the It's a pity to be a candidate for the brave." The dessert plate was placed on the edge of the fruit plate, and Jesse picked up a piece of dessert and nibbled it gracefully. "This is really delicious, Ed, don't you want a piece?"
The former knight commander stood solemnly by the sofa, not intending to sit down or answer. Nemo slumped his shoulders, trying to make himself less conspicuous.
"I'm afraid it's not just the residual fire. Destroying the dragon's breath stone ball, splitting the space. Either one is much more serious than the residual fire. Of course, of course, it is not to say that the residual fire damage is not serious - it took us to take it when we photographed it. Not a small one."
Oliver's face turned from pale to pale.
"But you came out to meet us quickly." Jesse kicked Oliver in the calf to get him back. "If you just want to recover losses or punish us, we should have the heavily armed Judgment Knights under our noses right now."
"Oh." Pope Quinn scratched his cheeks, the wrinkles on his face gathered in a smile. "Good sense, Mr. Dylan."
Oliver, who was so nervous just now, woke up like a dream, and the strange courage in his heart made him take the initiative to speak for the first time: "You... plan to make a deal with us?"
There is no other possibility. What they made was not a trivial matter. The Isamel Labyrinth was one of the wonders of the entire surface. Without the huge dragon's breath stone sphere as its core, it was estimated that it could no longer operate as precisely as before. As the Rad Sect, which has the right to interpret miracles, it stands to reason that they would like to have their heads screwed off. But the Pope of Radhism was sitting in front of them, and the old god was drinking tea with excess milk.
Even if Pope Dwayne Quinn's reputation spreads far and wide, he will not extend goodwill to this Black Badge team that got into trouble.
"Godwin Lopez contacted the researcher on my side before giving the briefing." The old Pope did not directly answer Oliver's question. "He wants to determine if there might be another reason for the damage to the Dragon's Breath orb. Your cousin, Mr. Commander, is serious about trying to minimize the impact of this. Godwin's a nice lad, So we are naturally happy to give him an answer."
Nemo swallowed loudly and found the Pope's eyes swept over. He hurriedly squeezed into the soft sofa, wishing to squeeze himself into the sofa cushion.
"'Recently, the status of the Dragon's Breath Stone Ball is not very stable. We need to check the information before we can answer you.'... This is our reply for the time being. So in the briefing, he did not mention this."
Oliver held his breath.
"You have no idea of what the Dragon's Breath stone means, do you?" the old Pope sighed. "You might have damaged a hundred flawless diamonds of equal size in terms of value. Do you understand now?"
Nemo's eyes went dark, and he subconsciously looked at Oliver who was sitting next to him - Oliver's face had a tendency to turn from blue and white to purple.
"That is to say, Captain, if your actions spread out, it will be an incredible strength and notoriety." Jesse warmly added that he had already wiped out half of the snacks on the plate.
"And you held the news down... What the hell do you want?" Oliver breathed carefully, trying to save his overwhelmed heart. Pope Quinn doesn't seem to like direct answers, and he just wants a good one.
"A favor." The old man said happily.
"… what? Uh, sorry, what did you just mean?" Oliver suspected he had heard it wrong.
"If I'm not mistaken, your strength is not as simple as it seems. Take you, Mr. Lopez...or Mr. Ramon? I can't see your strength at all, which is very good. And just me With your decades of experience watching people, you are also a good guy, not as rambunctious as rumored. So I want an agreement."
"I can help you hide the Dragon's Breath Stone, and the report will be based on the information disclosed by the horizon - you just destroyed the sword of remnant fire, the space crack is probably the natural result of the adjustment of Isamel's Great Labyrinth The product. The Rudd Church will add one, and you also stole the gem on the Sword of Remnant Fire."
The former knight commander looked at Jesse Dillon somewhat unexpectedly, and the latter twitched the corners of his mouth.
"In this way, the dangers of all of you will remain in the impression of a 'thief', and perhaps the level of the black seal will be improved, but there will be no curious powers staring at you. If I, the old man, are not mistaken, you prefer fighting and slaughtering. calm life."
"… what agreement do you want?"
"First, I hope you and your teammates don't make any dangerous actions against the surface, and the judgment of 'dangerous' is up to me. Second, before the expedition, there will always be black chapters and people from the Holy See who will lead the way. , explore the way to the bottom of the abyss. To tell you the truth, I have trained a lot of lovely and capable young people, and the bad thing is that they are too passionate. Older people tend to be soft-hearted, and I don't want to see them in the abyss. In vain - so at that time, I hope you and your party can act as Radical escorts. Would you?"
Oliver glanced at Nemo quickly, frowning slightly. "I… "
"Black badges of snake rank and above must participate in the expedition pioneer, otherwise they will be disqualified from the black badge." Adrian Cross said quietly, "But less than ten years have passed since the last expedition, and no one knows the next expedition. When is it?"
"Yes, yes. So this contract has a deadline. You are twenty years old now, so let's take another ten years. If there is no plan to expedition on the surface within ten years, this part of the agreement can be voided." The Pope sighed, " Alas, it's a pity I can't live by that time."
"If you must participate in the expedition pioneer, then I am willing to take care of the people of the Rudd. Do you have any opinions?"
Nemo shook his head complexly, and Jesse was enjoying himself, at least he didn't seem to have a problem. As for the former knight commander, Adrian is even less likely to have other ideas. Even if there is no such agreement, he will definitely not sit idly by and watch the people of the Rad Sect suffer.
"I agree." Oliver took a deep breath.
"Very good." Pope Quinn patted with satisfaction. "The contract will be ready soon, you only need to sign it. But if you violate the contract, I will disclose all the information about you and your team, please remember."
"It's fair."
"…and Mr. Dylan, if you like this snack so much, you can take a few boxes with you."
"Lord Quinn, you will definitely become the most successful pope in the history of the Ruddism." Jesse exclaimed emotionally.
The old pope really didn't want to keep them. Oliver took away the sterling silver seal that symbolized the agreement to take effect as a token. And Jesse took five boxes of snacks, and it was a little bit like walking.
"One box per person," he announced contentedly.
Nemo stayed silent. During the entire conversation, the Pope just glanced at him with a deep meaning at first, and then his eyes never fell on him again. Nemo wouldn't really believe it was the shading effect of the soft sofa, and the old Pope ignored him.
He couldn't figure it out.
But since the result is good, maybe it's nothing to think about. After all, he wasn't Della Lane, and he didn't have a suffocating curiosity.
"Why?" In Clement's Cathedral, someone helped him ask this question. Servant Felix tore off the soft mask on his face, revealing the face of Discipline Bishop Felix. "You just let them go? Their strength is too dangerous. Even with this agreement, it is likely to cause—"
"We're not their right."
"what did you say?!"
"Ed is alright, I know what that kid is capable of. But Oliver Lopez, Nemo Wright, Jesse Dillon... well, this is the first time I've seen such a monster in my life. Felix, With all of Alban's forces, you might be able to deal with an Oliver Lopez. Nemo Wright is an interesting man, and there is so little information about him that I won't comment. But Jesse Dillon... maybe It's more dangerous than we thought."
"… "
"So I gave them two options—either get bitten by mosquitoes like a stray dog, or make friends and give each other a little convenience. It's a good deal. Don't look like that, Felix, you know. I'm from a merchant background. I'm not Alban's first emperor, and I won't do stupid things like destroying treasures if I can't control them."
"But Jesse Dillon, I've looked into it. He's called 'Viper,' and has a little talent for divination. Other than that, nothing special. Why do you think that?"
"The letters of admission to the Royal Military Academy of Clement, yes, those two letters that Mr. Wright and Mr. Ramon got in. According to my information, Mr. Dylan arranged them."
"Is there any problem with this? Although it is not easy to be false with the testing level of Clementine College, but..."
"No." The smile on the old Pope's face faded a little. "That's the problem. I have to read those two letters. They are true."
"… "
"You know how well our most important bishops are protected, especially at the spiritual level. But Jesse Dylan did it without leaving any traces. If I hadn't read it myself, those two letters would have been true. It will be treated as a fake. Don't look at tumbleweeds as just a group of young people, that's not what we should be entangled in. Don't be too obsessed with them, at my age, alas, some things are difficult to be confused."
The Bishop of Discipline frowned, shock and confusion mixed on his face.
"It's not a good idea, dear Felix." The Pope stood up, straightened the nightcap on his bald head, and put his pair behind his back. "Remember the reason why you believed in deni in the first place. Faith in this thing, I still prefer it to be a crutch than a weapon. If all that may threaten us, we will get rid of them one by one - then the world will definitely change into a special place.”
At the same time, facing the hotels full of people, the four tumbleweeds were huddled under the bridge by the river, silently eating snacks and waiting for the sunrise. As soon as they left the church, they were the first to contact Ann. But the female warrior just mumbled vaguely to show that she knew, and then hurriedly cut off contact.
Only the dim sum slag was left in the dim sum box, and Chaoyang was just showing a little bit of brilliance. Oliver leaned all over Nemo, his head twitched uncontrollably, and he was about to fall asleep.
The black seal on his chest suddenly trembled.
Oliver, who was half asleep, rubbed his eyes and skillfully called out the task screen.
"Assignment?" He shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Assign the task, assist the client to meet Delia Alastair." Nemo whispered intimately, but he still failed to control the voice that changed because of shock. "Client Ann Savage."
"... remuneration... once the arrears are written off, plus all my personal property?!"