The loud purring of the grey parrot came from behind the half-partitioned wall.
Slightly frowned by the snoring, Oliver opened his eyes on time at six o'clock in the morning, as usual. He yawned, moved his neck, prepared to get out of bed to wash, and prepare for the pub to open.
It was the first summer after their wedding, and the air was already a bit sultry. The soft feathers have long been replaced by thin blankets, and the ice fish that will not melt float in the air, cruising silently along the edge of the ceiling, emitting a cool chill.
Another calm and peaceful morning.
The sun had risen, and the sun was leaking a little through the thick curtains, a soft trail of light on the messy clothes on the carpet. During the recent period, Oliver's power is still gradually getting stronger. The aspects of the new god that benefit the most from power right now—
Originally used to getting up at five o'clock to work, now the inexhaustible magic power can make Oliver stay in bed for an extra hour, and then open his eyes after sunrise.
Although the Demon King is very good at controlling magic puppets, such advanced spells are still inconvenient to be exposed to people. Organizing the front office where people come and going, and drawing up menus that require creativity, still need Oliver to do it himself.
Especially preparing breakfast for two for Nemo and himself.
This is Oliver's favorite part, and he's very reluctant to give it to a spell golem who only knows how to execute old-fashioned commands.
At first, Nemo tried to get up with Oliver, but after several consecutive nights of defeat in one-on-one crusades, His Majesty the Demon King with sore backs and weak legs decided to set eight o'clock in the morning as his wake-up time.
When his lazy lover gets up from the bed, Oliver will serve the breakfast that has been prepared, and the two will happily finish it in the room together. Next, Nemo will take the dishes back to the first floor with him and start directing shadow puppets to help with cooking and cleaning.
It should be.
There was something wrong with Nemo today.
Oliver tried to get up, but found Nemo's strong arms wrapped around his waist and hugged him tightly. A light. Bare thighs pressed against his legs, and Oliver was firmly fixed in the middle of the soft big bed. He turned his face helplessly - the culprit's black hair was scattered on the pillow, and he was smacking his lips with satisfaction in his sleep.
In theory, the incarnation of the World Pillar can be active without sleep, but Nemo likes to wrap himself in a quilt and hold Oliver in his arms like a pillow.
"Your Majesty." Oliver patted the arm helplessly and lowered his voice. "I have to get up."
Nemo, who was sleeping, hummed very perfunctorily, but his arms tightened.
"Today's breakfast is omelette." Oliver stretched out his right hand, twisted a strand of black hair, and tugged it gently. "If you let me go in a minute, I'll have time to buy the freshly baked bread on the other side."
"Just eat what's left over from yesterday, just wait a little longer," Nemo said dazedly, sliding his hand over Oliver's chest not very honestly.
This action caused the thin blanket to slide directly to his waist, and there were still many bright hickeys and tooth marks on the pale skin.
Oliver took a breath, turned sideways, and hugged Nemo, who was fumbling around.
Feeling the familiar body temperature, Nemo snorted comfortably, and seemed to have a tendency to fall asleep again. Oliver raised his arms slightly and tried to retreat quietly, but unfortunately he was just pulled back by a burst of force as soon as he moved himself to the side of the bed.
Nemo pressed himself all over, buried his nose in Oliver's neck, and hugged each other's back tightly.
The large bed creaked softly, and Oliver could clearly feel the hand caressing his back and the hard metal wedding ring on his fingers.
"Okay, Your Majesty, don't make trouble." He kissed the top of Nemo's hair. "I have to go down and prepare for today's work—"
"The door is not open today." Nemo buried his head in Oliver's neck, his voice a little muffled.
"But… "
"I put up the closed sign last night, don't worry." Nemo unceremoniously gnawed at his lover's collarbone.
"Then take a long break? After all, there will be a market tomorrow, and many people will definitely come out to drink tonight."
"All day," his daemon murmured. "I don't like getting up and not touching you."
Oliver thought for a moment and decided to take back the initiative. He turned over, pressed the other party under him, and gave a long kiss that was enough to make people's brains boil. After a kiss, Nemo finally opened his eyes, and there was still a sense of out of focus in his silver-gray eyes.
"Then let's go downstairs together, how about that?" After the long kiss, Oliver's breathing was a little short, he smiled and straightened his lover's hair. "If you want to rest, we can go to the lake, or—"
"We're going to the Frontier Forest. It's Memorial Day, and it's not a good day for work." Nemo sounded sober this time.
"Anniversary?" Oliver went through the latest festivals, wedding dates, everyone's birthdays, and even the date of the decisive battle in his mind in an instant, but he couldn't find any date that matched today's number.
"The day I first saw you." Seeing the blankness in those green eyes, Nemo's voice brought a smile.
After reacting, Oliver coughed a few times in embarrassment.
"Yes, it was the day I scared you to cry. It's normal for you not to remember when you were young." Nemo didn't want to let him go, and pinched Oliver twice on the waist.
"I thought you'd want to celebrate at home, why go to the Frontier Woods?" Oliver bit Nemo's nose in retaliation.
"Surprise." Nemo's voice was slightly nasal.
Oliver raised his eyebrows, without concealing the impatience in his voice: "Okay, then let's get up now—"
However, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and hugged him again.
"Don't worry." With his right hand down the other's firm chest, Nemo blew into his lover's ear. "It's only six o'clock, we have time."
…
By the time Nemo, who was beating his waist, led Ollie to the vicinity of the border forest, it was quite a long time for lunch.
The two young men stomped across the thick lawn while chewing on a cold beef sandwich. The grey parrot stomped hard on the lawn, looking furious.
"Can you move my bird stand to the first floor?" It flapped its wings angrily. "I put up with it last night, why did it start again this morning? I'm going to sleep!"
"You can cast yourself a soundproof magic circle." Nemo rubbed his waist, his voice a little hoarse.
"No! I won't be able to hear the starter if I don't say it, it's spiritual—wait, there's something here!"
Oliver also stopped.
There was a rustling noise from the bushes around them, and it was obvious that something large was hiding behind the bushes. But seeing the relaxed look of Nemo's faction, Oliver didn't put on a guarding posture.
"I don't think anything can scare me to tears now." Oliver looked at the thick bushes as tall as a man and rubbed his hands.
Nemo smiled and shook his head, thumb and forefinger stuck in his mouth and whistled.
Round and sturdy creatures emerged from the bushes.
Most of them are a head or two taller than adult males and look like standing seals. The charcoal-grey hair covered the skin, the eyes were round and black, and the long, floppy nose dangled in front of the sharp canines, making the creature's horror a little more comical. Their lower limbs are short, but their upper limbs are long and powerful, with fingers that appear to be extremely gripping.
Not very beautiful creature, but Oliver was very familiar.
He has described this "horrific" creature countless times to "Mr. White" in the tree.
Had talked to Godwin a few times in the past about the caramel apple tart, and Godwin had asked about it specifically—now he knew it. To prevent his young self from running into the frontier, his father, Flint Lopez, concocted terrifying monsters out of thin air to scare him. Before meeting Nemo for the first time, the demon "Palulu Elephant" was the biggest shadow of his childhood.
It is also a precious story that his father created for him and belongs only to him.
"I created them according to your description, and some places may not be very restored."
Nemo reached out and stroked the monster's head, and the monster lowered his head obediently and narrowed his eyes comfortably.
"They do live deep in the frontier forests, but they don't attack children left alone. Instead, they lift them up and drop them to the nearest human village."
His Demon Lord turned his face, his silver-gray eyes gleaming in the sun: "I also forged the research report of the scholar 'Pibor' and put it near their active area. Ollie, yesterday they were finally succeeded. Found."
"They did admit that name, and that's what I wanted to show you—a real, mid-level demon, the Palulu Elephant."
Oliver took a deep breath tremblingly and sniffed.
"Actually, this name is quite silly." He still had red eyes after all. "Seriously, Nemo. It's too late for me to get you a present of equal value... I..."
"Hey, that's compensation." Nemo leaned in and dropped a warm kiss on his eye. "I didn't mean to scare you back then."
The grey parrot made a loud retching on the nearest branch.
Immediately, it tilted its head and looked at Oliver, who grabbed a Paluru elephant trunk with Nemo and took out the shadow spar. Still decided to flap the wings and squeeze myself into this magic photo.
At the other end of the frontier forest, the Ramon Hotel.
"Shen Ni is on, you... how do you... "
"I just came to see." Godwin Lopez nodded politely to the shopkeeper.
"Please feel free to—" the middle-aged shop owner shouted loudly, "Oh my God, Jennifer, come out and see! It's the head of Horizon, Mr. Lopez!"
At the end of the corridor came a scream of surprise belonging to a woman.
However, Godwin did not pay attention to the reaction of the owner and his wife at the moment. He looked at the corners of the tavern and couldn't say anything in his heart.
It was here that Flint Lopez raised Oliver Ramon.
Godwin took a few steps forward, staring at the odd notch marking the child's height on the door panel, with familiar handwriting.
Words by Flint Lopez.
"Are you here for one night, or...?" Following Godwin's gaze, the boss's wife obviously misunderstood what Godwin meant. "Oh, you know, when little Ramon was convicted as a fugitive, this place was immediately reclaimed. My husband and I bought it immediately, and these corners were not cleaned up very carefully."
"Never mind." Godwin shook his head reassuringly, "Just here to have a look."
"you… "
"...I'm a distant relative of Piper Ramon. I happened to pass by here, and I heard that he had done business here, so I took a look." After a moment of hesitation, Godwin replied.
"Oh, that's just right." The boss's wife wiped her thick fingers on the apron. "That kid Oliver, ahem, there's no news after little Ramon escaped. I was just cleaning the basement a few days ago, and I found some things from Ramon's house. I was thinking about throwing it away. Would you like to take a look? I mean, if it's a relative, it might be of some value—"
"Excuse me." Godwin nodded.
The boss's wife picked up her apron and led him all the way to the dark basement.
The basement of the Ramon Hotel is dark, but not very damp, making it a good place to store things. There is still the smell of dust and soapy water in the air, and no spider webs can be seen. It is indeed that they have been sorted out recently.
There were not many things belonging to "Old Ramon", and it just happened to be filled with a small wooden box.
It was stuffed with books and sundries, and at first glance, it was really worthless. There were also quite a few letters, but they were all ordinary order forms and greetings. Godwin half-knelt down and pushed the debris away.
With his movements, even a few glass beads rolled past the bottom of the box. The things here were full of life, and there was no trace of the former captain of the tin soldier.
Godwin pursed his lips.
No surprise, he thought. Flint Lopez has really given up on the past completely, he shouldn't have any more—
An old ukulele popped out of the clutter.
It's small and rough and doesn't look like it's meant for adults. But for now Godwin was certain that Oliver had not studied the ukulele for half a day as a child.
He pulled it out curiously and turned it over in his hand. There was a yellowed envelope stuck to the back of the piano, and the content on it made his heart stop.
[To my brother, Iman.]
Godwin's hands trembled a little, and he tried several times before opening the envelope in the curious eyes of the boss's wife.
[My dear brother, I heard that my sister-in-law is pregnant. That means I'll be an uncle before you, right?]
[But you are too tense, and you don't know how to relax at all, which is not good. You see, I made a great violin for my future nephew—or niece. I think the little ones will love it. Promise me not to throw it away! You can't let my dear junior be as restless as you are.]
[My condition is really bad recently, but don't worry. The expedition is sad, but with Sonia by my side, it will all pass... You definitely have to buy me a drink when your baby is born.]
[Your unsatisfactory brother, Flint]
"Um, Mr. Lopez, you… you can take these with you if you want—"
"Um."
Godwin heard himself answer, taking the little lyre in his hand.
"...I like this piano very much."
"And, just ask... how much are you willing to sell this hotel?"