Demon Castle
"Oli!" Debbie stood up first and patted Oliver's arm a few times.
Godwin bowed politely, with mixed feelings—they weren't the same as they were two years ago.
Oliver Ramon's time seemed to stand still. The head of the tumbleweed had calm and mature eyes, but the contours of his facial features still carried some of the softness unique to young people, which was no different from when they first met.
Oliver's hair was soft, but now it's a little longer, making him look innocent. The loose burlap shirt covered most of his muscular lines, and at first glance, Mr. Ramon looked more like a young employee of a fruit shop than a warrior. Godwin had to admit that Oliver looked far more innocuous than his neatly short-haired, casual clothes.
All kinds of terrible rumors of tumbleweed filled the intelligence agencies, and the leader of the terror team took off his armor, and no one even noticed his arrival.
"Gift." Oliver showed a big smile and lifted the cloth bag in his hands to the two of them.
Seeing the shape of the cloth bag, Godwin couldn't help showing a stomachache.
"The tip of the velociraptor's tail." Captain Horizon murmured in a voice close to suffocation, "don't tell me..."
"Yes, I got it from the last mission." Oliver pulled out the stool and sat down, scratching his head embarrassedly. "It's the one from last month, the task of 50,000 Swift Lizards eroding Mormo Forest."
"Oh, tumbleweed slaughtered 50,000 venomous lizards overnight, smashing their bones to ashes. I guess that's not the case, but you did turn in several carloads of venomous lizard tails—"
"Uh, how can I say it, we shouldn't have so many tails."
Oliver scratched his nose embarrassedly.
"They're just looking for water, they have no choice. Originally we made an appointment with them. Jesse and I teamed up to set up a space channel and send them directly to the barren swamps of another continent. Mystery evaporates. If Nemo was around, he'd be enough."
Godwin gritted his teeth at the name that made him twitch. "So what's up with those tails?"
"The poisonous lizards wanted to express their gratitude, but I didn't have time to refuse. Jesse... let out his aura and let out a howl. Most of the poisonous lizards cut off their tails instinctively on the spot. Those were all turned over to the guild." Oliver gestured, " This one was cut off by the head of the monster lizard before he left, and it is more precious. I remembered that you and Debbie's leather armor seemed to be useful, so I kept it."
"So you spent the night picking up your tails, which is great—it's estimated that few people will buy it when the information spreads." Debbie swallowed the fried potato with a smile. "Oli, this thing is worth a fortune. Are you sure you don't want to keep it?"
"The rewards for those missions are very high. We don't need very good protective gear, and I don't lack this tail."
"Thank you, Ollie." Debbie took the sack generously. "Thank you for my captain too. I guess he's too embarrassed to say it."
"… I'll pay for the meal." Godwin coughed dryly.
"Actually, I'll be-"
"Close the store temporarily! Hurry up!" A clerk as thin as a deflated pod rushed through the door.
Hanging up the sign of suspension of business, the clerk quickly closed the store door. The brightness of a few magic lights was turned down, and the store was darkened, causing a commotion among the customers.
"Everyone, sorry."
After listening to the clerk's whisper for a moment, the tavern owner bowed.
"I'll give you a discount on your bill in a moment. My shop clerk found a tumbleweed man at a carnival not far away, and this is the only pub nearby. We don't want to cause trouble, we'll stay out of the limelight for now, and please everyone understand-"
Everyone fell silent in an instant, and after a few seconds, they continued talking as if nothing had happened. Several guests who were planning to leave also sat back and waved to ask for more.
"It must be Jesse... He definitely dragged Mr. Cross too." Oliver wiped his face with his hands, and there was a little despair in his voice.
"Add a stew to this gentleman," Godwin greeted numbly. "And a big glass of light cider."
"Where's Ann?" Debbie started nibbling at the meat on the lamb chops.
"After the last mission, she was taken back by Marshal Gallagher on the spot to take care of business. Jesse and Mr. Cross were supposed to wait for me at the nearby hotel, but if there is a carnival festival... Alas, Jesse never misses an opportunity to party. , his face is too recognizable."
"..." Recalling Jesse Dylan's identity for a few seconds, even after two years, Godwin was not surprised to find that he still had a tendency to worsen his stomach pain.
"I hear it, the Tumbleweed Apostate and Jesse the Viper." The man at the next table lowered his voice. "To be honest, I still feel that Adrian Cross is... a pity. His strength seems to have recovered? Well, if he is willing to confess to Chenni and suffer for a few years, His Majesty the Pope will definitely accept him. "
"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with the snake's face, but it's still a tall man. If Clos is just lusting for beauty, when he returns to a high position in the Holy See, there will definitely be a beauty who wants to climb into bed, I really don't know him What are you thinking about?"
"Maybe people like the smell of lawlessness and danger. To put it in a bad way, I would never bless someone who likes men - you see, anyway, the religion is betrayed, and it's not a big deal to play a beautiful criminal."
Oliver coughed in great embarrassment.
The person at the next table immediately stopped talking, and found that it was a young man in his early twenties who was coughing, and several sturdy guests stared back unceremoniously. Fortunately, their attention quickly turned to the expedition that was about to begin, and they were no longer interested in talking about that suffocating topic.
Godwin chewed the biscuits silently, before sighing.
"Has Cross really repented?" Godwin asked dryly after a few seconds.
"Probably once... Mr. Cross emptied the milk pail that Jesse was going to use to make the dessert. It smelled sour and he thought it had gone rancid. I have to say, Mr. Cross's apology after the event was not enough. Quite sincere."
Godwin stared solemnly at the tavern ceiling, trying to maintain his inner peace.
"... But then again, does it really matter if there are tumbleweeds in this expedition? I heard people say a few months ago that they have been dealing with things in the abyss." The people at the next table started chatting drunkenly again. .
"Oh, I know about it—their parrot, huh? It was seen carrying the package into the abyss, and the tumbleweeds were all out there, God knows what they were talking to. Let this Dangerous teams join the expedition, tsk tsk tsk."
"This expedition also has a horizon, and I hope Godwin Lopez can keep an eye on the tumbleweed. Well, if you really want to maintain the surface, the horizon should take the opportunity to kill them." One of the men made a gesture around the neck. Rude gesture.
"Maybe, didn't Godwin Lopez have a bad relationship with Oliver Lopez?"
"That's what it says..."
"Brother." Oliver sipped the fruit wine carefully, "Why don't I pay the bill."
"As much as I can really do to you, eat you." Godwin pushed the dessert in front of him irritably.
"What's with that package?" Debbie pricked up her ears.
"Piggybacking for Nemo," Oliver replied quite naturally.
"…Wait?! You haven't seen him, I thought—"
"Why?" Oliver stopped chewing, his voice a little nervous.
"I thought my poor eldest brother and poor you were separated, and a sad drama of love and longing was being staged." Debbie covered her chest. "Only demons can pass through the barrier and convey some verbal information... and so on."
"Ah. I promised him that the next time we meet, I will put a ring on him and pick him up." Oliver replied a little embarrassedly, "We are at most separated from each other, working separately. Also sent him the latest books and snacks, and magic photos…”
"...You did the right thing, Ollie, it's good to hold back from seeing you, at least he still has something to think about. As he is, if you go down like this every now and then, Nemo will probably be too lazy to go back to the surface."
Debbie thought for a few seconds, nodded earnestly, and said with a heavier tone: "You must pull him out, I'm serious."
"Can we talk about expeditions now?" Godwin interjected weakly.
"Of course, of course." Oliver nodded quickly.
"First of all, it's what we said two years ago, and now I can tell you the whole truth - we're about to start working together, and you have a right to know the truth."
The head of the tumbleweed became serious.
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and Godwin and Debbie looked at each other.
"Let's talk about the expedition first." Godwin's voice returned to calm.
Oliver raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Well, about the so-called truth, I have the same attitude as Debbie."
Godwin Lopez threw a cracker into his mouth, and the breathless deterrence of those days disappeared a lot.
"The answer is there, it doesn't mean we have to understand it. Since knowing doesn't change anything, it just adds to the troubles, it's not bad to live like this. Although it's a 'not motivated enough' idea, but now I do think so ."
The head of Horizon raised his mouth: "Your ring alone gave me a headache for half a year. When I really catch up with Flint Lopez's mood, we can talk about this again."
It took him two years to determine that there are people in this world who cannot be surpassed, and things that cannot be done. Now, he finally doesn't need to push himself too hard—a tough change, but Godwin likes the outcome.
"… Until then, I'd like to help you complete your plan. Oliver Ramon."
At least compared to many years ago, his words can be called calm now.
Deep in the abyss.
Nemo posted another magic photo on the wall of the Illusionary Library. Although the content of that photo is puzzling - the three members of the Tumbleweed pestle in the middle of a pile of wriggling poison lizard tails, throwing or whipping each other with their broken tails. Adrian Cross was standing at the edge of the screen, pinching his eyebrows.
When he was sure the location was right, Nemo clapped his hands in satisfaction, took two steps back, and threw a butterscotch in his mouth.
The entire wall was almost covered with letters and photos, and the phonograph spar that was brought down from the wooden table was spitting out a soft-tuned song. In the phantom sunshine, Nemo stretched.
"Wait, Wright."
The grey parrot, who was resting on the bookshelf in the fantasy world, opened his mouth solemnly.
"I suddenly have a feeling, are you using me as a carrier pigeon? Are you? How dare you—sorry, Ramon—"
"Nothing." Nemo hurriedly denied, "This is an exchange of information that breaks through the surface and the abyss. You are the greatest messenger ever, Lord Bagelmore."
"It's about the same." The grey parrot raised his head and swallowed a small almond cookie.
"You can eat this, I scraped it off my… uh, I don't know what creation, I tried it, and the effect is similar to bone jade." Nemo took the cookie jar in his arms and gave it to the grey parrot. Contains a small plate of black scale fragments. "Leave me some biscuits, but here's one less one."
"I'll send new ones down! The scales are fine though..."
"After all, it takes up a lot of space. Didn't you get seen last time?"
"Bah, that's the fault of those humans!"
"but-"
"You even kept a Pandoratel while I was away. Look, have I complained? Huh?" The grey parrot flapped its wings vigorously.
"She has her own clan, only occasionally—"
"I don't care! She's just eating and drinking, and I'll send you a letter!"
Nemo silently returned the cookie jar, and the grey parrot stopped his sharp cry and chewed the biscuits scaly.
"I'm going out first." Nemo took his eyes off the bottom of the cookie jar and gasped in distress.
"Do you want to continue today?"
"Well, after all, Ollie is not lazy, and I can't give myself a long vacation."
"Go, go, after I finish eating the cookies here, I'll go back to the surface." Gray parrot straightened his feathers.
Nemo tied the scattered black hair hastily, and picked up the long-repaired staff leaning against the door.
At the bottom of the abyss, the phantom of Lubiao Town is surrounded by the beautiful creation of the Demon King, maintaining a constant sunny day. And outside that sleeping creature—
There was no trace of the cold desert and the mound of corpses. The dark and strange rocks overlapped each other, towering like mountain peaks, forming an endless nightmare city. Rough in style and light in structure, it does not appear to be naturally formed, like a nest of something.
Unlike the previous "every generation" of demon kings, the "nineteenth generation" will soon have a demon king city in the legend.
Nemo closed his eyes, smacking the unfinished candy in his mouth, calculating for a moment the blueprint for this huge dead city. Then he smiled and raised the staff in his hand slightly.
Earthquake-like tremors began, and with a loud rumbling, the ordinary day began again.
This may be the first time in his long memory that he is looking forward to an expedition, the Demon King thought to himself.
"Come on, Ollie."
Countless black boulders floated into the air, lined up quickly, and then fell heavily.
"...let's have a good fight."
The author has something to say:
Ollie: Work hard on the surface to make money and hack yourself (?) to be a competent salesperson.
Nemo: Eating takeaways, receiving couriers, and moving bricks like crazy.
… The two are very serious about building the future for each other (×
———
Jessie: Ah, when the yogurt is ready, I'll make some yogurt snacks... (flick tail)
Ed: Is this milk broken? Give him a fresh bucket. (drained)
Jesse: …
Ed: … I'm sorry.
Jessie: Lie down and say it again, and I'll forgive you.