Ten years later - the third
Nemo finished today's account 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 shop owner didn't mind, the demon believers not far away continued the dangerous topic.
"Someone made a wish."
The old man who kept the two-headed crow lowered his voice even lower.
"You all know that saying, right? 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 were disbanded or didn't exist don't count."
"The horror is here. Some task scrolls were burned on the spot! The tasks were completed very well, and the rewards were taken away - even those employers did not know how the prepared rewards disappeared."
"... I've heard it too, it's nearby the last time, right? The whole village collected two gold coins to find someone to deal with a large piece of out-of-control carnivorous vines. Two gold coins! Only a fool takes this job. It is said that the person who entrusted it at that time did not Literacy, copied ten designated teams to be selected, and spelled 'poisonous bell grass' into 'tumbleweed'. The next day, the group of carnivorous vines disappeared from the village, and the client carried it in his underwear pocket. The two gold coins 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 the roasted chicken thigh. "It's all bullshit gossip! I've tried it myself."
"Have you tried?!"
"Yeah, the pretense is miserable, and the quest is exaggerated. Isn't that the kind of quest that was accepted? It's exactly the same as the style of the higher-level demons looking for prey. Compared with ghosts, it is better to say that they were buried in the abyss. In the end, they all turned into superior demons."
"George, get to the point! Are you really going to hang up the mission?"
"Hey, I pretended to be a thirteen-year-old girl and demanded to drive away the middle-level demon group on the farm, claiming that they crossed the border to steal cattle and sheep, and swallowed my parents alive - don't look at me like that, the farm and the middle-level demon group It all exists, although the nest is quite 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 quest scroll. My quest is still hanging in the mercenary guild, and nothing happened at all. ."
"But my cousin—"
"Don't everyone listen to it now, do you really believe it? If you go to the mercenary guild to check, the remuneration I provide is so low that the task 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."
Jingle bell rang softly, and the store door was pushed open again. 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 soldier 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.
The man beside her looked a little older than her, and wore a sharp sword that didn't look like an ornament. Unfortunately, the coldness of the weapon could not cover up his extravagance and the faint scent of high-grade perfume. 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, 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 tell the truth, I used to burn cow dung to keep warm. Mr. Wild Dog, I am sorry for what happened to you. It hurts. But unless you're willing to fly all the way, a border town like this can't avoid getting 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 didn't say a word.
Standing beside the two, the young woman who remained silent all the time clicked her tongue.
The young girl had neat short shoulder-length hair and a lady's hat with a wider brim on her head, the top 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 slap-sized spider was lying on her shoulder, and the eyeballs in her abdomen were rumbling excitedly.
Everyone is more at ease - spiders have obvious characteristics of abyss creatures, and 80% of young girls are also demon believers.
"The meatloaf is almost ready." Nemo put down his knitting needle. "Ann, it's what you like—the skin is grilled and crispy, with more coarse ground pepper and crushed chili peppers."
"Long time no see, Nemo. It's very considerate." The female warrior said cheerfully, winking her eyes. "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 snack shop. They should be there in a while."
Nemo passed a pen and paper in both hands, and Gallagher stared warily at that hand, gasping between his teeth.
Ann asked Nemo after she established a relationship with Gallagher about whether she minded her telling Gallagher the truth. 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.
"I have nothing to do recently, come and have a look. I brought the teleportation talisman paper, and I can go back to Doru City at any time." Delia took off the wide-brimmed hat after confirming that the seat was concealed enough.
Catbeard leaped off her shoulders and circled excitedly on the table. Seeing Nemo approaching, it stretched out its two front feet and waved it vigorously.
Nemo poked it lightly with his finger, and the shadow swirled at his fingertips, forming a black bead that exuded a magical aura of the abyss.
The over-excited spider caught it with excitement and ate it happily.
"I'll have potato soup with whipped cream, boiled chicken, cauliflower, and a little bread," Delia whispered to Ann, who was writing a menu request to Gallagher.
"I heard that Alban and Willard signed a peace pact last week." Nemo waited patiently for Ann to finish, picking up topics at random. "Mr. Salter. You are no longer Marshal, but I thought..."
"I don't need to go with me, Quentin Leonard can handle these things 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 - when the rumor that the tumbleweeds were almost wiped out in the expedition due to greed came out, he beat himself up. Amplifying spells, and promoting the glorious image of tumbleweeds to subordinates for a whole week." In the memory, Gallagher's voice became more and more dissatisfied. "It went straight to me, and it was his deputy, Mr. Elmer, who dragged him back."
Nemo scratched his head and smiled a little 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 so powerful that they won't die because of stupid greed, just to fade out of the public eye. Come closer. The appearance of the 'Tumbleweed Ghost' over the years has made him more and more convinced of his guess - if it wasn't for the marshal's job to hold back Mr. Leonard, I think he would have dared to run out to find you. And I have a hunch that he will. found."
"That has to wait for him to step down." Oliver walked out of the back kitchen and put a pot of juice on the table. "If he does find us then, we'll tell him part of the truth."
"I have reservations." Ann shoved Oliver the written menu. "...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 that I will break up with Wilhelm tomorrow."
"You said that the day before yesterday, the day before yesterday and yesterday." Ann put his chin on his 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 day." An 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—"
"install!"
"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 and shook it. "But looking at the situation back then, I thought he was going to 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, a few of them hadn't graduated yet. Ms. Lawler, who is still unmarried, devotes all her time to research. I admire her for that."
After saying that, Delia lowered her head and concentrated on drinking the juice, 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 reserved a table for tumbleweeds at the wedding. I am alone. He secretly took a look, he should have received the gift I left behind."
An smiled lowly, without touching the pre-dinner juice, stubbornly waiting 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 Ann 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 that aside, I'll have something to talk about for dinner later." She tried to make her tone lighter.
Oliver leaned towards the delivery window of the back kitchen and served the steaming meatloaf on 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 snack shop, and I'll be back in a while." This time Nemo smiled a little reluctantly.
"Oli." Before leaving, he called out to his lover in a meaningful way, and Oliver nodded knowingly.
Seeing Nemo go out, An Chong smacked his lips with the tempting aroma and the sizzling meatloaf, and stood up from the table: "Show me the store, Oliver, I'm afraid I can't help it. 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 behind 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 the letter, right?" "I figured out the answer."
"Ann..." 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."
Ann brushed the dusty wine bottle with her fingertips, her voice still smiling.
"Don't look at Gallagher like that, I still like him. And Delia, I've seen the kid grow so big... I can't imagine sending them away by hand. I know, maybe you can too. Give them a long life. 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 passing, I can't really forget now, if I decide not to No matter how sad it is, I may not be considered '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, almost immortal inconvenience."
"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... From your appearance, Debbie and Ge Devin gave a similar answer."
"… Um."
"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. It doesn't have anything to do with nobility, just Just an ordinary person who wants to eat and die. Now that I have a nice lover by my side, and a lovely niece who has the ability to let me enjoy life to the fullest, is much better than my most unrealistic dreams. "
"Not to mention getting all of you, uh, amazing guys to look like that for me. I think it's a pretty perfect life - and I won't spare you if you shed tears at my funeral."
"Ann, we're always here if you change your mind."
"Well, let's see how I feel."
Ann reached out and rubbed Oliver's hair vigorously.
"Live well. Look on the bright side, two people are better than one."
She sniffed lightly.
"Oliver, I've known both of you for a long time now. You're both amazing fellows, and I hope you'll stay where you are forever. With Baglmore, the tumbleweed will last at least five. Members... don't let it really disappear, okay?"
A bell rang again at the door.
"Nimo!" An waved his hand and narrowed his slightly wet eyes. "...and you, Dylan, why so slow. I'm starving to death!"
Ann picked up the bottle and sat back in her seat.
"Can I start eating my meatloaf now?"
The author has something to say:
Mr. Leonard, the petite aristocrat of the academy roll, the hardcore fan (…
And unfortunately, not everyone will live long. _(:з」∠)_