Ten years later - the fourth
"Meatloaf? Save me one." Jesse's voice came faster than anyone.
Taking off his iconic long blue coat, the blond young man changed into a free friar of Laddism, but he left the neckline that should have been tied up wide open, revealing his collarbone and a little muscle line. The long, scattered blond hair was scattered in a black monk's uniform, and there was a delicate sapphire earring on the earlobe. With that beautiful face that was a little exaggerated, Mr. Dylan didn't have the slightest taste of a simple monk.
Adrian Cross beside him carried a large bag of snacks, and also replaced the old clothes that had torn off the holy emblem on his chest. The monk's uniform was exactly the same as Jesse's.
"Ouch, Dylan, you're dressed like this... Are you sarcastic?" Ann took a piece of meatloaf and put it in her mouth, gasping for air, her voice a little vague.
"It's better to sneak into the city this way, after all, we are people living in the shadows." Jesse pretended to give a salute, wiping away the tears that didn't exist.
"No, because we've just come over from Hatfield." Adrian put the snack bag carefully on the table and spat out the truth mercilessly. "In the past six months, we have been active near the Holy Land. This kind of dress is more convenient for movement."
The former judge knight had long eyebrows, and his short dark brown hair had grown a little bit. Unlike the stiff and icy cold ten years ago, his brows and eyes were softened a little by the smile.
Adrian did not continue to equip the metal longbow, but instead was equipped with a simple standard silver sword and a standard free cultivator attire. Noticing Nemo's gaze, he nodded politely.
"Hatfield, is old Quinn okay?" Ann chewed the cake in her mouth.
"It's so good, it'll kill the longevity of the next Pope candidate." Jesse walked into the table anyway and snatched a whole meatloaf from the large plate on the table.
Without caring about the identity of the other party, the female warrior swallowed the cake in her mouth, stroked her sleeves, and stood up.
When Ann picked up the hunting spear and jokingly jabbed Jesse's heel, Gallagher, who had already learned a lot of the truth, buried his face in his hands, looking deadly.
Until there was a soft sound of the plate hitting the wooden table in front of him.
The red wine stewed beef and side dishes he ordered were put down steadily, but his movements were not gentle and polite. Those hands were obviously not men's, Gallaher looked up along the other's wrists and saw a girl's face - a girl with braids, with an impatient expression, wiping the water stains on her hands.
"That's all for today, I have other things to do. Mr. Wright, today's reward." Dellalienne held out her hand to Nemo.
As soon as the new judge knight entered the door, the abyss sage sat down in the corner by the door, as quiet as if it didn't exist. The former Judge Knight Commander obviously did not have such a deterrent power, and Della Lenien's eyes swept lightly over Adrian, only wrinkling his nose.
Then the demon began to observe Jesse Dylan eagerly, and it seemed that he wanted to study his hair while he was not paying attention.
"Thank you for your hard work. It's been a bit busy these two days, and it's not easy for us to ask outsiders to help." Nemo walked back to the wooden platform, tiptoed off a wooden box on the upper level of the wine cabinet, and counted a few record spar. "This is a structural analysis of the magic circuit in the Clebator salamander."
Della Laineen carefully pocketed the spar, and looked quite satisfied: "I can help you take care of the shop for another week, as long as you are willing to help me analyze my research results."
"make a deal."
Nemo clapped the dust on his hands and tucked the wooden box back into the upper shelf. Ann glanced at Dellalainen's waitress with interest, then glanced at the wine cabinet. A flash of fire flashed across her vision.
"Huh?" The female soldier approached curiously and looked around. "… What is this?"
The wooden table is hollowed out, and a rattan basket full of threads is placed on the dark table near the wine cabinet. In the middle of the rolling balls of thread, there is a red dragon doll that has not been sewn. It kept moving without much dolling, and swung its long tail, which had just been sewn in half, to and fro, and ejected sparks from the clumps of thread that had been squeezed in.
"Olivia's birthday next week, here's a present." Nemo brought the rattan basket closer.
"… very considerate, Nemo. But usually people don't make a toy for a kid so, uh, realistic." Ann poked at the almost-real dragon doll in the basket, choosing words.
The shrunken version of the red dragon, which was completely irrelevant to cuteness, opened its mouth and spurted a string of non-threatening warm sparks. Then he coughed because he sprayed too hard, and spit out round smoke rings.
"It shouldn't be a big problem? Debbie likes it very much. I made a blue dragon at first, and she took it away directly. This is the second one."
Nemo grabbed a thread from the dragon's tail and knotted it carefully to keep the little thing ramming through the rattan basket from tearing him apart.
"Don't worry, they're safe."
Using his fingers to squeeze the mouth of the red dragon doll, Nemo solemnly promises.
"This is still inspired by Mr. Meders. Remember his pile of skeletons that look like living creatures? Like those skeletons, this thing is not alive, it just acts according to the spell I set in advance, and it won't do anything. Dangerous things happened."
"Oh, about this." Oliver leaned over and wrapped his arms around Nemo's waist naturally. "Debbie put the blue dragon in the bedroom."
"What's the matter, Ollie?" Nemo turned his head away.
"It's always secretly burning Godwin's socks during the day when no one is there, one pair at a time. Godwin asked me about it at dinner last week, Nemo, should you? meeting… "
"Maybe there is something wrong with the spell." Nemo coughed twice and looked at the ceiling. "Occasionally... well, occasionally this kind of thing happens."
"Oh—occasionally." Allah ended his sentence.
"Understood, my majesty. Tonight, I will buy a dozen pairs of fine wool socks to make amends and make up for the trauma of my elder brother's heart." Oliver shook his head with a smile. "Speaking of this... Bagmoru, it's time to walk the sheep!"
The grey parrot flopped out of the back kitchen window with a chubby body, a bunch of grapes in its mouth.
"Got it, got it! It's so noisy, aren't you afraid that others will hear it?" The grey parrot swallowed the grapes and muttered in dissatisfaction.
It wobbled on the floor, stepping over Oliver's feet deliberately and unintimidatingly.
"As a result, I still didn't have a chance to eat my roast lamb chops." An glanced at the grey parrot and sighed with emotion. "At first, I thought that the sheep would not survive for half a year, but it even survived the expedition."
"A few days ago, I also saw it trying to hit Olly's horse and went straight through the horse's chest." Nemo patted Oliver's hand around his waist. "Actually, that Fuller goat is quite clever, half a year is really-"
"Don't worry, at first I thought you two would only survive three months." An Youyou sighed with emotion.
"… "
"What are your plans for the next few days? Do you want to go to Doru for a day, anyway, Delia has brought a lot of spare teleportation spells. There is a trade fair over Doru recently, and Dylan and the others will definitely not object."
"Speaking of which, we may well tomorrow night..."
Just as Oliver was about to answer, the black spar by the wooden table began to flicker. Nemo quickly kissed his lover's cheek, got out of the hug, and activated the communication crystal.
"Brother, have you started dinner over there?"
"Well, Jesse and Ann are here."
"The old lady who was poisoned is no big deal, but she has to drink herbal medicine for two days to remove the remaining demon toxin. I don't have poison bell grass at my house, do you still have any stock there? And the escaped demon believer... "
"It was taken away by Roderick, don't worry." Nemo's voice was smiling, "His luck is really bad."
"Roderick... 'Eclipse' Roderick?! How did the Knight Commander of the Judgment come to your shop, could it be—"
"Dawning Tavern is fine, Debbie. And I don't need poison bell grass, I can go directly to see it tonight and treat it."
"Speaking of which, I finally persuaded that stubborn stubborn Godwin."
Debbie's tone became beaming, raising her voice.
"We don't have to go to the pub to celebrate Olivia's birthday, everyone is here. Come to Ramon's! We decided to have a birthday party in the backyard to make it more lively. If it's convenient, everyone is willing to help tonight. Arrange it?… As a reward, I can provide you with free accommodation.”
At the end, Debbie's voice was full of laughter.
"My room with Ed should have a double bed, the best one." Jesse licked the crushed sesame seeds from his fingertips and immediately requested. "And a big bathtub."
"I can give you the second best, and I have to leave the best to my elder brother." Debbie responded very firmly.
"… well, I can barely accept it."
"And before everyone is ready, I'll ask Ollie to freeze the bathtub first." After a short pause, she added.
"… "
"Come here when you're done. I happen to be baking the party biscuits for tomorrow. I think I've baked a lot more."
For the next few hours, Nemo saw Oliver closing the store so neatly for the first time.
In the past ten years, even if they traveled abroad, they would come to spend various festivals with their relatives on time. Familiar with the spatial coordinates of Signpost Town, Nemo can quickly rush back from any corner of the world.
However, they mostly celebrated outside in the tavern, and even held a bonfire at the edge of the frontier forest once. Godwin was still a little strangely wary of Nemo, which eased a little after the baby was born. Although Godwin would not deliberately take his child from Nemo's arms, he stubbornly refused to allow Nemo to step into his and Debbie's home.
"Okay, I have to admit, there's something about him being awkward about it."
At one of her oldest son's birthday parties, Debbie shook her head at Nemo.
"Never mind, big brother. You see, we rejected 'the whole truth' after all. As far as we know now, 'you are the devil' is certainly true... And given your special circumstances, Gord Wen Zhun is afraid that children will grow up and remember things, find something wrong, and leak them to people who shouldn't."
"I understand, he has helped us a lot before, and I won't take it to heart." Nemo rubbed Debbie's hair with a smile. It will take a few years to digest.”
"… Big Brother!" Debbie couldn't help laughing.
It appears that this year Mr. Lopez has finally relented.
With Debbie's precautions, Jesse didn't get the chance to slack off in a five-hour hot bath this time.
Jesse was even the one doing the most work this time—except that the things were flying so fast that it was a bit dazzling, and the backyard was quickly organized. The magic string lights are hung, and the ribbons and flowers for decoration are just right. In order to get rid of the sweltering summer heat, animal ice sculptures that will not melt are placed in the corner of the backyard, shimmering like crystals under the light.
"Those two guys are not good at aesthetics." Mr. Dillon declared.
The next night, the tables and chairs were also neatly arranged. The bonfire had been lit, and many of the town's children arrived before their parents and were running around screaming in the backyard.
Parents are clearly reassured about Godwin Lopez, the one-time hero.
However, Mr. Lopez fully explained the meaning of the word "scorched", and now he is panting to drag out two little boys who were trying to go to the kitchen to steal cakes, and one of them stuffed a cookie. Not to mention that just a few steps away, three young Lopez ran screaming in the backyard, trying to tug at the string of lights that Jesse had cast aura on.
The hero tried his best to ignore Nemo, who was sitting under the giant sequoia, and seemed to be desperately trying to suppress his desire for help.
Looking towards the hotel kitchen from under the tree, I could see Debbie preparing cakes in the kitchen, and the other two shadows should belong to Adrian and Jesse. After setting up the tables, chairs and dishes, they went back to the kitchen with Debbie to help.
For food preparation, let alone Debbie, who used to be the chief mage of the horizon, one sham is definitely enough. Rather than attacking, Mr. Cross's real purpose is probably to watch over Jesse so that he won't sneak in ahead of time.
But not long after they entered, Bagelmore and Ann also sneaked in. Right now, Marshal Gallagher happened to go outside the hotel to replenish cleaning tools, and he didn't have time to keep an eye on his lover. Counting Jesse, the former Judge Knight Commander may have to bear three times the pressure.
Nemo thought seriously while sealing the flopping red dragon doll in the gift box.
Not far from him, Oliver carefully put the gift he prepared into the gift box made of colored paper, and finally checked the edges and corners of the table and chairs to make sure that they were all wrapped.
After the final preparations, he took the gift box that Nemo had wrapped and put it together with the gift he had prepared. Then he grimaced and drove away a few young Lopez who rushed over to try to steal the gift.
Nemo watched the figure of his lover.
Considering that there were too many children coming to the banquet, Oliver left the Sword of Rest in the hotel and only brought the white ukulele. Seemingly aware of Nemo's sight, his knight turned his face and winked at him.
Seeing the three little Lopez nibble on cookies and candy with the kids, Oliver walked back to Nemo and pointed to the top of the tree.
"Are you going to see it, Your Majesty?"
Oliver smiled and rolled his eyes: "There will be too many people in a while, so we won't be able to get up quickly."
Nemo lifted it up, and a string of soft blue-blue light points floated in the middle of the backyard, flying like fireflies. The children hula-la all around, they fiddled with the beautiful lights with their hands, and no one cared about the two boring adults who suddenly disappeared by the giant sequoia.
After stepping on the top of the tree, Oliver took a long breath.
There was no Ulysses' skull at the top of the giant tree, and no dry bouquets and bouncing tits. Missing the "Mr. White" he once was, in the hazy night, the old tree was no longer indistinguishable from the rest of the giant sequoias.
It's okay, Oliver raised his eyes slightly—
Nemo stood where the skull used to be, staring at the scene under the tree.
Below the giant sequoias, the townspeople finally began to enter. Someone played music, laughter and singing blared loudly, steaming upwards like hot air. The lyre, clarinet, and accordion mingled haphazardly, not at all harsh, but subtly pleasant. Looking from top to bottom, flickering firelight danced around people, and the ice sculptures in the corners shimmered.
"Good evening, my lord."
Over the distant singing and laughter under the tree, Oliver said softly. He leaned on the nearest branch and held the ukulele in front of him.
"I've played all the pieces you taught me well for you. Now I'm trying to write a new one myself... Do you want me to play a piece for you?"
"Please." Nemo didn't put on a listening posture, but stepped forward. "But before that—"
"Dad, Daddy!" Eddie Lopez screamed at Godwin half a minute later. "Uncle Ollie and Uncle Nemo are secretly kissing in the tree!"
"Those two bastards, how could they be in front of so many kids—wait, you mean tree? Which tree?"
Godwin looked from side to side, grabbed a soft shoe, and waved it in the air twice, raising his voice.
"Don't climb that tree in the backyard. I said it a thousand times, Eddie Lopez! . . . don't run, stop me, brat!"
"Mom, help—"
At the same time, the beautiful sound of the ukulele came from the top of the tree, and was soon engulfed by the lively music of the birthday party.
The stars twinkled in the night sky, and everything was as usual.
[END]
The author has something to say:
At this point, the main body of this article is officially over. There will be about five episodes later~
Thank you to everyone here! After going around for so many years, the two simple townspeople (?) finally managed to escape from Lubiao Town to Noe City, a neighboring country, to start a small business and settle down XD
This article was very cold at the beginning, it was really cold. Without everyone's support, I may not be able to persevere. I sincerely thank every little angel who enthusiastically supports the genuine! ! ! (;ω;)