Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 11: The Causal Relationship Between Danger and Fear

They didn’t run into other candidates again. In their field of vision were just endless trees, and beneath their feet, they had stepped on countless ferns, dead leaves, and slimy mushrooms. Time seemed to reverse, going back to a few days ago. They wondered if it was because Ann had chosen a safe route, as they were not harassed by any dangerous monsters along the way.

A few hours later, Ann, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. It was about noon. The bright sunlight had turned the stone walls in front of them white. Looking up from where they were, they could see a small cliff above. Countless wide gaps stood upright at the bottom of it. It couldn’t be called a cave as it could barely accommodate a few people.

Ann poked her hunting spear inward, causing the purplish-white lightning to reflect on the moist stone wall. Although they didn’t find any creatures in the gap, they could smell the scent of burnt hair coming out of it.

“A stronghold.” Ann announced this happily, as if she had completely forgotten the unpleasantness just now. Unfortunately, her teammates were still affected by the impact, and they didn’t respond to her. The female warrior raised an eyebrow at the awkward silence. Without making a comment, she began to draw a simple spell on the ground at the entrance of the cave.

The gray parrot got out of Nemo’s backpack and stood on his shoulder as it combed its feathers. Oliver leaned against the stone wall, resting his hand on the scabbard, and stared thoughtfully at Nemo’s face, causing the latter to feel itchy from his gaze.

“Do you have something you want to say to me?” Nemo finally couldn’t bear it anymore. This time he felt, “Oh my god, I have something to tell you. I’m suffocating from it” was written all over Oliver’s face.

“How much do you remember before we met?” After hesitating for a moment, Oliver finally asked, in a serious tone.

“What?” Nemo looked back in confusion. “You have to ask a specifically—”

“Our first encounter.”

Nemo frowned. This topic wasn’t a pleasant one. He didn’t sense any hostility or disgust in Oliver’s questioning, but the faint doubt made him a little flustered. “I don’t remember. Not many people remember what happened when they were only six years old.”

“You grew up here, didn’t you?”

Ann stopped the movement of her hands and glanced at Nemo.

“I really don’t remember, okay?” Nemo scratched the back of his head irritably, almost causing the short ponytail to come loose. “I remember hearing someone talking. There were stars in the sky, and I ran over to the voice and saw you. I don’t remember anything before that. What are you trying to say? Do you think I shouldn’t be afraid of this place, or are you thinking ‘it’s impossible for a child to survive in the Frontier Forest’?” At the end, his tone was inexplicably aggressive.

“…Sorry, I didn’t mean that. You seem to know nothing about it. I just can’t figure it out.”

In fact, Oliver knew that this was not what he wanted to ask. He had seen too many people after working at the inn for so many years. There were monsters wearing human skin, and there were also people who looked like monsters. Oliver prided himself on having a somewhat discerning eye. He was vaguely aware of the source of the discordance…

People’s real fears always came from instincts that couldn’t be guided or destroyed. Mice that had never seen cats also knew how to run away frantically when they encountered one in the wild. That was something that was engraved in their bones. Fear wasn’t taught. All people could do was learn how to deal with it, understand it, or ignore it.

But Nemo was different.

Oliver didn’t think Nemo himself was aware of this. He fled because everyone would flee, and he was afraid because everyone should be afraid. That discordance was like a seasoned actor performing a repertoire onstage; the feelings were real and infectious, but ultimately lacked something crucial.

This was even true when he faced death. This person seemed like he had given up, but what if that wasn’t actually “giving up”?

However, he couldn’t ask this question that he didn’t even know the answer to.

Oliver had many friends, many of whom were likable or had unflattering personalities. After dealing with people for so long, he knew that it was impossible for a person to agree with all the opinions of his friends, so he once thought that he could naturally ignore those negative factors and become good friends, or even comrades in arms, with Nemo. They were able to discuss future plans together and support each other through these dark times. Even if they part ways because of something in the future, they could occasionally talk to each other or get together in small groups. According to Nemo’s character, they should have easily developed into this kind of relationship.

But every time he tried to do this, a weird sense of self-loathing vigilance would always suddenly appear, like a cold hand holding his heart. He didn’t like this feeling at all.

Oliver didn’t think that this kind of warning from his subconscious mind would just come out of nowhere. If they were still in town, it would be enough to maintain a good relationship. Now that he had lived precariously, there were many things that could kill him. If he let go and let himself be affected by this subtle fear, the situation would only get worse.

He stared at the silver eyes solemnly. Nemo wasn’t looking directly at him. He stared at the corners of his clothes, as if he was infinitely interested in the stitches on them.

Oliver suddenly had a weird feeling; perhaps Nemo was ignorant of his “incongruity”.

Oliver never thought that he was a very courageous person. He considered himself to be only moderately brave. But at this moment, he couldn’t help but stretch out his hand, ignoring the increasing colic in his stomach that was becoming more obvious because of a sense of crisis, and finally succeeded in grabbing the other party’s hand.

Nemo hated being asked about his past.

He really only remembered the touch of his skin rubbing against the gravel, the stars in the dark, and perhaps faint singing. There were at least a dozen species in the Frontier Forest that could make people forget themselves, like dementia. Forgetting wasn’t surprising in and of itself, but the fact still remained; a child had survived in the Frontier Forest.

Old Patrick Light didn’t seem to care as he happily adopted him. Every year, poor people or prostitutes would throw babies that couldn’t be raised into the Frontier Forest, so it wasn’t impossible to occasionally find a survivor. “This guy is really lucky.” The old man would assert and firmly believe it.

He gave the child, who knew nothing, a name and taught him carefully.

“Fire.” He pointed to the beating flame on the candle. “You can’t touch it, or you’ll get hurt.”

The young Nemo stared at the fire as if he didn’t understand it. It just so happened at this time, a child on the other side overturned a bowl of soup, which made the old man get up to grab a rag and candy. Nemo took the opportunity to put his finger into the flame.

‘Very warm,’ he thought.

The girl who was next to him mimicked his actions and put her finger to the flame as well. She burst into tears, startling Nemo, who quickly withdrew his hand. The blisters on the girl’s fingers didn’t disappear for several days.

Nemo couldn’t help but try again when no one was watching. This time he felt the severe pain of being burned by the flames, and he got a blister on his fingers for several days. After that, he learned his trade and tried to avoid all the dangers that the old man had warned about. He didn’t even have to experiment on himself. Every day, he would witness other children giving live demonstrations of being injured.

“You shouldn’t get close to dangerous things. If you feel scared, you have to run away quickly.” Old Patrick concluded telling tonight’s horror story to the audience of trembling children.

“What is fear?” Nemo raised his hand to ask elegantly.

The old man mysteriously took out a huge dead spider with an exaggerated expression. “Look at this—”

The children’s screams became louder, while Nemo took the dead spider and subconsciously stuffed it into his mouth.

The old man hurriedly took the spider back. For a while after that, Old Patrick seemed to have found an interesting topic. He would change his appearance to scare the kid who hadn’t even learned his words well, but this was a kid who had survived in the Frontier Forest. He was seemingly born without the feeling of fear.

Until one day…

Old Patrick took the children to the edge of the forest to pick berries, but unfortunately they met a mutant spider-dog. The thing slid out of the shrub like a ghost and poked its sharp forefoot at one of the children. The old man didn’t hesitate to turn around and block it, and he was severely cut on the side of his neck.

Blood flowed instantly.

Nemo looked at the flowing blood and found that he seemed to understand what “fear” was for the first time. The old man might die, and he suddenly developed an awareness that shouldn’t belong to someone of his age, along with the realization that there was nothing he could do about it.

This fact made his feet soft, and he felt suffocation in his chest. He rushed forward to press on the wound, trying to stop the steady gush of blood, but to no avail. The other children had already howled into a ball, and finally he couldn’t help but start to shed tears. The old man breathed out, patting him on the head, and made a feeble grimace.

‘You shouldn’t get close to dangerous things.’ Nemo thought. ‘Then he should be afraid of those dangerous things.’

Old Patrick discovered that Nemo Light had become “normal” since he was injured. He began to be afraid of monsters, sharp objects, and the night. Even ghost stories scared him, leaving behind an unfulfilled feeling.

Since then, he really seemed to be no different from others, but Nemo himself knew very well that the order of his cognition had not changed. He needed to know what was dangerous first, and then fear it. He even became a librarian for this purpose.

For some reason, he lacked the ability to automatically recognize danger. He had long attributed this to simple dullness. The flame he first felt was like a thorn that he couldn’t pull out of his memories. He finally managed to wrap his cognition tightly and firmly, but it always stabbed him when he wasn’t paying attention; reminding him that there might be abnormalities behind his lost memory.

But he obviously didn’t care.

Nemo stared at the corner of Oliver’s clothes, trying to drive the candle out of his mind. Oliver’s question ignited it again, and it became bright, with a disgusting ugly face and a voice that sounded a lot like the gray parrot.

“You’re not normal,” it said.

At the next moment, his hand was held by a cold hand, and Nemo, who was contemplating, almost exploded.

“If it makes you unhappy, I am very sorry,” Oliver said, his voice was firm and his emerald eyes gleamed slightly. “I know my recent actions may be a bit weird… Yes, there are indeed strange things that you’ve experienced.”

His palms were still a little sweaty, but his hands were stable and didn’t tremble.

“In any case, I won’t be scared of you because of it.” Oliver said with great emphasis.

Kinky Thoughts:

So many mysteries surrounding Nemo.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 10: Common Sense of Life and Death

There was nothing worth mentioning inside the building. The lobby wasn’t big and was filled with long wooden tables that were full of messy scratches and suspicious stains. There wasn’t even a single seat for guests to sit down. As for the tin-badge mercenaries, the leader nodded at the employees and left directly through the back door without staying long. There were only the shuffling footsteps of the applicants in the room, occasionally mixed with a few coughs. No one talked or asked questions. It seemed that everyone knew what was waiting ahead of them. The air was much thicker and colder than it was on the street.

People queued up for their certification test. The line was moving so quickly that Nemo suspected the staff behind the reception desk didn’t verify the identities of the participants at all.

This was completely different from what he imagined. The test should be more intense and formal, and the atmosphere should be tense rather than lifeless.

“Ann Savage.” The person in front got their certificate and quickly left through the back door. It was their turn in less than ten minutes. The receptionist was a thin, red-haired young man with a soft voice. It was difficult to tell whether he wanted to talk or was simply talking to himself. “Well… This is the twenty-sixth time. One hundred gold coins.”

Nemo decided not to think too deeply about the meaning behind this number.

“Nemo Light. One gold coin. Someone had already paid for it,” The receptionist glanced up at him hastily as he said in the same feeble voice. “Looks correct. Take it.”

The receptionist seemed to hate touching others. He threw a small piece of metal with a sling at the table and waved it weakly. The object that had just been covered by fabric was exposed, showing a black round badge that didn’t look exquisite. It had a simple owl relief cast on the front.

“Thank you for choosing Garland, and I wish you all the best.” He buried his head and muttered without emotion. Nemo almost didn’t hear what he had said.

“Is this really a formal test?” Nemo twisted the dice-sized metal cube that looked cheap. There were a few simple charms painted on it, which made it look more like a trinket sold to children in the market.

“Refugees have no records,” Ann said dryly. “Most people make one up. The name of an exile doesn’t represent anything. Official residents who turned into criminals are better verified, if this is what you’re asking.”

“But he didn’t explain the content of the test,” Nemo said. “What do we need to do? Fight with monsters, or…?” He swallowed the words “each other” as it made his stomach roll.

“It’s the same every time, so it’s pointless to explain. You’ll know then.”

Nemo curled his lips, feeling an itching sensation on the back of his neck as if someone was staring at him. He turned his head sensitively, just in time to see Oliver turn his face away.

‘Just my imagination,’ he thought.

After a few steps, he reached the back door that led into a courtyard that was equally mediocre. Most of the people who just came in seemed to be gone. There were two mercenaries holding their palms against the soil. Under their hands was a magic array that exuded a soft silver light. The space above the magic array was cut into a square hole, just enough for one person to pass through. The scenery on the other side of the entrance was clearly visible; a familiar green, accompanied by the pleasant sounds of singing birds.

The people who were taking the test walked in slowly. Nemo suddenly had an ominous premonition, and this premonition became a reality when he passed through the “door”. He was greeted by the gray-white ridges of the Ash Mountain Range.

They had returned to the shithole Frontier Forest. Looking at the distance from the mountains, they should be in the hinterland of the forest, as they could see trees with trunks that were amazingly thick, and the bark was covered with dense dark red moss. The singing of birds was strangely hoarse. The air was humid and didn’t have a fresh scent but was mixed with a faint rancid smell.

The only thing that made people feel at ease was that the mercenaries followed them at the end and entered this area with them. One of the mercenaries leaned down and opened a box in his hand. Countless beetle-sized insects rushed into the sky and scattered in all directions. The man, who had earlier nodded to the employees, stretched out his hand and briefly drew a spell on his chest, then cleared his throat loudly.

His actions were quite unnecessary. Nemo looked around for a while before changing the hand that was holding his staff. The people who participated in the test were horribly quiet, as if they were some new species of humanoid plants.

“The boundary is a circle, and this is the center. When approaching the boundary, the warning pendant will heat up. If you cross the boundary at all, it will melt away.” The man’s voice was exceptionally loud. He shook the sling in his hand, causing the gray metal block to vibrate with the rope. “If you’re still alive by tomorrow morning, and the warning pendant is still there, you’ll pass.”

“We’ll be monitoring your actions, so don’t dream of doing things you shouldn’t,” he added, gesturing to his companions, apparently not intending to allow time for questions. The mercenaries nodded to each other, scattered in all directions, and were quickly swallowed up by the dense shrubs and trees.

The humanoid plants that had just stood still finally came to life again. People gathered in groups of three to five and whispered to each other before dispersing. The mother holding her child was particularly eye-catching. She tied her child to her chest with a cloth belt before quickly moving into the woods.

“That’s it?” Nemo hung the sling around his neck and let the metal cling to the skin of his chest.

“Yes, that’s it.” Ann chuckled lightly, clenching her hunting spear. “The Black Chapter doesn’t keep idlers.”

As soon as her voice fell, a male scream came from not far away. Whether it was disturbed by the scream or had gotten its fill of sleep, the parrot finally woke up. It poked its head out from Nemo’s backpack and shook it vigorously.

“Wow,” it said in surprise, “there are quite a lot of demons here. What’s the matter with you? Are you planning to commit suicide while I’m not paying attention? Don’t act like this.”

Its contractor gave it a painful look. He didn’t know whether it was out of disgust or anger because he hadn’t gotten enough sleep and he wasn’t in a mood to respond to it.

“Come with me and find a safe stronghold first,” Ann said. “Don’t touch anything, you two.”

Nemo silently took back his hand that was poking at the moss. The feeling of being watched came again. He frowned, and this time, he directly met Oliver’s gaze. He looked at the other party suspiciously, a little uncertain whether he should ask. After all, that expression looked like he had constipation. If he really had stomach problems and was embarrassed to talk about it, it would be rude to ask directly in front of a woman.

Oliver quickly turned his gaze away again.

Nemo shrugged inexplicably and followed Ann. It seemed that there were many experienced participants. There were a few people who were moving in the same direction as they were, only a dozen steps apart. He finally had a real sense that this was a test at this moment, which could be a good sign that the recent unpredictable, crazy days were heading back on the right track. After surviving this test, everything would return to common sense…

Nemo’s eyes suddenly widened.

The two people walking in front of them suddenly kneeled to the ground, and then fell heavily into the grass. Blood and brain matter splashed everywhere, and a strong smell of blood quickly spread. The two older-looking men instantly fell to the ground and remained motionless, while the young boy walking with them didn’t seem to react. He looked around blankly and tried to pull his partner lying next to him up, but didn’t get any response. The young boy collapsed as he stumbled towards Ann, screaming for help uncontrollably.

Nemo stared at Ann’s back. The female soldier didn’t say a word or move as she let the young boy run towards her. When he was about a few steps away from Ann, his body shook abruptly and then fell softly. His head disappeared and his entire tongue was exposed in the air, leaving behind a wound that was bubbling with blood.

With a slight thump, a living person had died right in front of them.

This was completely different from Old Ramon at that time. Nemo suddenly felt his stomach churning. If it weren’t for its emptiness, he would have turned his head and puked all over Oliver. Oliver turned pale and looked uncomfortable.

“Let’s go,” Ann said briefly. At the same time, the two men not far away also stood up silently. “It’s full and won’t attack again.”

Nemo stared at Ann in disbelief. Her tone seemed to be describing a freshly fed dog in her yard, as if she had just lost some dogfood instead of a person. For the first time in these days, he realized he had been living in another world; this world was heavy with death.

A little less than an hour ago, he privately thought that she was a gentle but inexpressive person, but people’s eyes didn’t lie. She didn’t really care.

“We just…” Oliver swallowed. “We could’ve saved him…”

“Not necessary,” Ann responded calmly. Her mood seemed to have turned sour. “Fighting that thing is thankless. It didn’t attack us, so it’s the most reasonable thing to walk away when it’s full.”

“But that’s…” Oliver seemed to be hit harder by what had just happened.

Ann turned around and walked a few steps forward. She herself was very tall, so she didn’t lose much momentum when she stood in front of Oliver, who was almost 6 feet tall.  

“Can you save him?” she asked coldly.

“I don’t know.”

“Compassion is the most useless thing here. That kid just now didn’t want your sympathy. He wanted you to risk your life to save him. You said you don’t know, then were you hoping that I would step up to save him?”

“Listen, little boy.” She grabbed Oliver’s collar. “It seems you have made a mistake. First, compassion without the premise of strength will make you die faster. Second, I think my life is much more valuable than that of a stranger. I don’t owe you anything. I have no obligation to respond to any of your expectations. This is common sense.”

“You listen too.” Ann gave Nemo a side glance, causing him to subconsciously shrink his neck. “It’s understandable that young people have heroic fantasies, but you better remember for me, if you make a mistake, it’s not my style to sacrifice my life to wipe your ass.”

After that, she waved her hunting spear casually, and a strange tentacle broke off beside Oliver, spouting sticky purple mucus.

Nemo didn’t dare look at the boy’s corpse. He was so thin that he wasn’t sure if he was even an adult. The joy of returning to the world of common sense disappeared at this very moment.

While Ann didn’t ask him, he felt a terrible sense of powerlessness. Can he save the child? Will he die like this—quietly, without a grave or tombstone, and the first feeling of those who knew him was relief? He began to vomit in another sense.

Ann was right. He did make a mistake. The survival and death that he believed were justified did not exist here.

“Oliver.” He approached the dejected, brown-haired young man. “Are we friends?”

Oliver raised his head and looked at him with a complicated expression for a while. “…Probably.”

“What she said is reasonable, but I still can’t accept it.” Nemo’s voice trembled with hints of spinelessness, but his tone was firm. “If I accidently rush out and cause trouble, don’t save me.”

Oliver gave him a knowing look and was silent for a moment before he finally sighed.

“Then I have the same request,” he responded hoarsely, kicking the turf on the ground uncomfortably.

Kinky Thoughts:

Ann just tells it like it is.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 9: At Sunrise

Nemo had never taken any tests other than an interview in his life. Unfortunately, Miss Savage was experienced in combat and had no interest in explaining the current situation. As soon as Nemo washed the mud and grime that he had saved up for the past few days, he couldn’t wait to run out to clear up some questions, but he only found a young girl with freckles on her face.

“Ann’s out. Dinner is in the room over there.” The girl pursed her lips into a thin straight line and stared at the ground while she carried a basket of bread in her arm.

Nemo tried to maintain a kind smile, implying that she should say more. It was a pity that the girl had turned away as soon as she finished speaking, bringing a breeze full of “I’m in a bad mood”.”

Nemo gave a slight shrug in the dim corridor, reconfirmed the objects in his lower waist bag, and walked from the corridor to the simple restaurant. Oliver was already sitting at the table. His short light brown hair was still dripping with water, and the light from the fire blurred his small wounds. He looked a bit like the Oliver Ramon that he would meet in town.

He was stuffing his mouth with pumpkin soup. The dark bags under his eyes were still obvious. Nemo didn’t say anything and pulled out the chair opposite of him. The feet of the chair rubbed against the rotten, decayed wooden floor, causing a sound that could make people jolt.

“Ann’s out.” That was the only thing Nemo could come up with to say as he stirred the soup that was in front of him. After eating dry and stale bread for days, the traces in the soup stirred by the spoon were full of artistic flavor in his eyes.

“I know.” Oliver raised his eyes. “What do you think?”

“Of what?” Although the pumpkin soup was cold, the delicate taste almost made Nemo cry, causing him to be a little distracted.

“The matter of the black badge, what are your plans for the future? She just wants to join only in name. What about you?” Oliver still had the spoon in his mouth.

“…To be honest, I have no idea, but I don’t want to act alone. The price of trusting the wrong person now isn’t simply losing your wallet; it may be your life. At any rate, the two of us know each other well. It’s good to find a few reliable people to do simple tasks together.”

Oliver didn’t respond. He looked at the drops of soup stains left by the pumpkin soup on the table.

Nemo sighed. “If you want to find something related to your father…”

“It’s not this.” Oliver quickly denied. “I mean, don’t you have anything you want to do? My problem has been solved for the time being. I just need to accept it.” He paused. “But your situation…”

“I know.” When it came to this topic, Nemo slumped his shoulders listlessly. “Only the church knows about this kind of thing. Even if Garland’s attitude towards demons is more relaxed, those bishops definitely aren’t willing to counsel a demon worshipper; at least not for free. This problem can’t be solved at all.”

Oliver was shocked for a few seconds by Nemo’s straightforward, conceding attitude. “No, I mean, maybe we can get in touch with other demon worshippers.”

This time it was Nemo who was shocked by Oliver’s amazing adaptability. Demon worshippers never had a good reputation. Most people like to use the shorter term “cultist” to refer to them. In Alban, it was a popular trope used to scare children.

“You also saw what happened just now. If it weren’t for his demon’s sudden convulsion, we would’ve become gold coins in his pocket. Are you sure when even Ann can’t deal with him alone?” What was more, the guy had a hooligan look with slanted eyebrows and mousey eyes. He didn’t look like a knowledgeable and powerful character at all.

“If it’s just for information, it should be fine,” Oliver said. “I heard people mention that Noer seems to have a neutral tavern… I can’t remember the name. We can ask Ann tomorrow.”

Nemo nodded, though truthfully, he had no hope. The gray parrot wasn’t unbearable. Its presence had not been demanding on his quality of life, and the weight of the pumpkin soup in his heart at this moment was much heavier than that unsolved mystery.

The next morning, Nemo was woken up by Ann.

During the few days they spent in the forest, he had hardly closed his eyes. Although his strengthened body could bear it, his spirit was extremely exhausted. He finally was able to touch normal pillows and a bed that even if they weren’t soft or comfortable, he still slept like a baby.

Ann almost shouted Nemo’s full name, but even the gray parrot showed no signs of opening its eyes. The female warrior gritted her teeth, grabbed his ankle, and dragged Nemo off the bed.

“It’s not dawn yet.” Nemo glanced at the window from the gap in his eyelids, trying to climb back to the warm bed.

“Alright then, please continue sleeping until the last minute before the registration deadline and then go register comfortably in front of countless eyes of bounty hunters. They’ll definitely give you a standing ovation,” Ann snorted.

Nemo instantly stood up. “…I’m sorry!”

However, the situation didn’t seem to be as bad as Ann said.

The registration office was a low-rise structure that seemed out of place for its purpose.There were still scattered stars hanging in the sky at this time. The gray parrot was still sleeping in Nemo’s backpack. There were many people who stopped by the building in small groups; almost all were dressed as civilians, ranging from young to old. There were even mothers carrying their babies.

“These are all the people who are going to take the test?” Oliver stared at a mother who was bowing her head to coax her child. He was unable to see her expression clearly.

“They’re refugees. I estimate that they won’t be able to survive,” Ann responded lightly. She crossed her arms and looked towards the end of the road.

Soon they knew what Ann was waiting for. A two-wheeled carriage passed through the morning fog that was filled with miscellaneous weapons. The coachman parked his cart on the side of the road and quickly got down to business.

Ann wrapped a cloak around her leather armor and strode forward. “Ann Savage,” she said loudly, “Number eleven.”

The fat coachman sniffled as he plucked out a long cloth bag from the pile of weapons. “Here.” He handed it forward impatiently.

Ann took out a few gold coins and put them on the messy shelf, then picked up the cloth bag and left, removing the dirty cloth as she walked away. When she came back to them, the contents of the package had been completely exposed.

“It’s not a good sword, so make do with it. I’ll discuss the cost when you make money,” she said, throwing the sword at Oliver. Although she said that, Nemo was sure that this sword was better than the others in the cart. The blades on those swords were covered in dirt, while this one had at least a clean leather scabbard.

While Ann had a tough attitude and a ruthless approach, her heart was in the right place. Before Nemo could finish his thought, he was almost hit by a metal rod that Ann threw over.

“What is this thing?” The stick was more than half a person’s length and was heavy. There was hardly any workmanship, and the top had a roughly inlaid yellow stone. The stone had no signs of grinding marks, which made Nemo suspect that this was what it originally looked like when it was quarried.

“A staff,” Ann said. “You’re a mage, theoretically.”

Nemo stared at the black metal rod in horror. “But I can’t use—”

“Yes, I know. That’s why it’s iron. That way, you have a way to attack someone by surprise.” Ann made a waving gesture, looking very satisfied with her creativity.

“……”

Oliver, somewhat unaccustomed to hanging a sword around his belt, leaned over and patted Nemo on the shoulder with understanding.

Gradually, more carts came, offering more types of things to buy. At first it was only weapons, then some had medicine and simple scrolls. The asking price wasn’t very high, and the quality was awfully poor. Judging from the gaps and patches on the clothes of the refugees, there was no market for high-end goods here.

Ann ignored the new carts. She grabbed the clothes of the two people beside her and dragged them to the corner of the street. The sky was getting brighter, and the morning fog had gradually dissipated. The figures at the end of the stone road became clearer.

A group of people approached as they were talking and laughing. The vendors, who had just been busy quickly setting up their carriages, tore off a teleportation rune and quickly disappeared, leaving only pieces of fine garbage behind. The refugees spontaneously retreated with their purchased goods in their arms, not saying a word.

“Remember,” Ann whispered in their ears, “white tin badges. They are regular mercenaries. Don’t provoke them. Your black badge level is low compared to theirs. If you don’t cause trouble, they won’t take the initiative to attack you.”

The sky was now completely bright, and the red light of the rising sun broke through the sky curtain.

“Let’s go.” Oliver nudged Nemo’s arm. “Ann said that she had already helped fill in our information, but the certification has to be done in person—”

“The sun’s out,” Nemo said blankly, looking at the bright sun in the distance.

Oliver suddenly noticed something.

In the past few short days, Nemo Light seemed to have an indifferent attitude towards everything, which had nothing to do with the word positivity. He was the embodiment of what it meant to “live in the present” and leave the troubles for tomorrow. If Oliver was being honest, he didn’t appreciate this kind of character. He didn’t like how the other party didn’t seem to care about dying at any moment. He had seen his pain, fear, and exhaustion, but it was mixed with an indescribable inconsistency.

This sense of inconsistency made him instinctively want to keep a distance, but Nemo was undoubtedly a kind person in the traditional sense, as he really did save his life. It wasn’t acceptable for him to alienate Nemo just because of some non-existent thing. Oliver determined that this was all due to the paranoia caused by his recent emotional outburst.

While he had obviously made up his mind, the feeling that had disappeared for a while had now resurfaced.

When Nemo looked back at him, Oliver recalled a certain moment many years ago with instant clarity. It was the first time that they met when Nemo was peeping at him.

His back burst into hot sweat and then quickly became cold. His heart was beating so fast that it made him uncomfortable. The sound of blood flowing seemed to be magnified countless times, and dark spots appeared in his field of vision before he was about to faint. He tried to adjust his breathing, trying to resist this strange and ominous feeling. At that time, he was still young and had no concept of this kind of feeling. Now, he knew how to describe it—

Instinctive fear.

It was as if some huge alien was standing behind his head and had entrenched its sharp nails directly against his scalp, which could pierce his head like berries. The sense of oppression almost grounded his whole body into meat purée.

The feeling was fleeting, but it stuck to him for hours.

“You see, even if we encounter such shit, the sunrise is still very beautiful,” Nemo said with emotion, showing off a big smile. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a sunrise. Let’s go. Aren’t we going to get our certification?”

Oliver smiled stiffly, holding his other arm in his hand, and he could feel his body trembling uncontrollably.

“Are you nervous?” Nemo blinked curiously. “I don’t think you need to worry. If anyone fails this test first, that person will probably be me.”

Oliver took a deep inhale, looked directly into Nemo’s eyes, and tried to keep his voice steady. “Stop joking around. Ann is waiting for us inside.”

You can’t show it. He repeated it frantically in his heart. You can’t show it, Oliver Ramon.

It hurts to express fear wantonly before confirming the truth.

Kinky Thoughts:

It seems there’s more to Nemo than meets the eye.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 8: Noer’s City Wall

Ann did change her mind. Instead of bringing them immediately to Noer, she coldly asked Oliver to start training.

“It will be troublesome if you hurt others,” she pointed out mercilessly. “You must learn the method to control it. Please practice until you remember. I’ll take you in on the last day. There won’t be a backup plan, so I hope you can show some sincerity.”

‘She’s indeed being sincere,’ Nemo thought. When the female warrior first said this, the tip of her spear was still buzzing with sparks, ready to string them up at any moment, but her attitude towards them did change. Although the coldness didn’t decrease, Nemo could feel a subtle sense of equality that didn’t exist before.

Ann spent a lot of time fighting against Oliver with a murderous aura. It could be said that her method was effective. Oliver was at first unsteady, but eventually he was able to put up some resistance after only half a day.

On the other hand, Nemo’s job was to sit next to the gray parrot and eat nuts.

It wasn’t like he didn’t try. The dark shadow barrier that day seemed to be like a dream. Before he could taste the joy of being able to use magic, due to his panic, he had reverted back to the usual state where he couldn’t even cast a simple illumination spell. Nemo even asked Ann to give him a solid beating, which only resulted in him being pummeled to the point where he puked up all his lunch and was left only with abdominal pain and a wounded self-esteem.

Nemo chewed on the nuts gloomily as he looked at Oliver, who was holding a wooden stick as he managed to hold on a bit longer against the lightning this time, feeling that his last trace of confidence was about to be swept away by the wind.

“At least you’re very resilient when it comes to fighting.” The parrot swallowed the seeds in Nemo’s hand in one bite, then tried to say a few unpleasant words. “If you were an ordinary person, you would probably be half disabled by now, seeing as how you were beaten to death by her so many times.”

Perhaps it was the influence of the contract, but Nemo found it difficult for him to hate this gray parrot from the bottom of his heart. Still, despite trying his best, he couldn’t squeeze out much goodwill for it either. It was just that in this current hot battlefield, as the only living things who were idle, it was hard for them not to make a sound to try and regain a little sense of existence.

“I tried my best,” Nemo said lightly, with a mouthful of nuts. “I have repeated it a thousand times that that spell will definitely appear in my nightmares.”

“What you did yesterday was quite similar.” The parrot squatted on a pile of shells. “Remember how it felt at that time!”

Nemo opened the palm of his right hand and stretched it out to the front with great care as he chanted the familiar mantra in his mouth. Unfortunately, even when his face turned purple from suffocation, the scenery in front of him was still clear, bright, and lovely. He took a big inhale and stood up with a sigh. Then he walked to the nearest cluster of icicles and broke off a piece and bit into it.

The two people who were fighting stopped and turned to look at Nemo. Their concentrated expressions and the glisten of the sweat on their faces made him feel guilty. Nemo quickly waved his hand. “You guys continue. It’s too hot, so I couldn’t resist trying…”

The maker of the icicles, Oliver, chuckled. He threw down the wooden stick in his hand and also broke off a small piece of ice, ignoring the bloodstains on his hand. “You’re right,” he said, with gasps in his voice, as if he had just been fished out of water. “That’s why I chose ice in the first place.”

Ann stared at them. The words that filled her eyes almost overflowed.

“Almost.” Not to be outdone, she also broke off a block of ice and took a few bites. “I’ll take you two over the wall after dark today. Registration for the black badge test will start tomorrow morning, so we have to get in tonight.”

“Can’t we follow you into the city normally?” Nemo was a little surprised.

“Noer’s soldiers will not give you trouble in principle.” Ann threw away the ice piece and wiped her mouth. “Most of our businesses have agreements with the gatekeepers. They don’t have the right to deal with you, but it’s another matter if they sell the news to others. That business is easy and profitable. Most bounty hunters will not catch strong prey. There’s no shortage of villains in this world, so I don’t bother wasting my time on it.”

The two of them had already changed into the clothes they had obtained previously. Combined with their sloppy appearance, created from spending two days in the forest, they looked like two Garland civilians. Oliver looked more haggard as the continuous high-intensity fighting had left him with countless wounds and bruises. Nemo wasn’t sure if he was trying to avoid certain emotional problems as there were heavy dark bags under his eyes. Most likely, he hadn’t slept properly after his fever had subsided.

Nemo licked the crushed nuts stuck between his teeth, and after recalling the smiling face of this person for a few seconds, he suddenly felt strange in his heart.

When Nemo stood under the city wall, he stopped all his superfluous thoughts. At that moment, the sun had just set, but the air was still warm and humid. The smell of food and cooking smoke wafted from the wall. Nemo looked up at the top of the city wall, causing his neck to become sore. Noer’s just a small town, but why is the city wall so high?

“How do we get up?” He subconsciously touched the stone tiles on the wall, hoping to trigger a secret switch from somewhere.

“We only have fifteen minutes while the gatekeepers change shifts,” Ann said. “I’ll go up first and throw down a rope so you guys can climb up. Any other questions?”

“No, but you—” Oliver obviously had the same question. He even tried to step against the wall with his feet, watching the soles of his shoes slide down the rough masonry.

A real smile appeared in Ann’s eyes. She didn’t say anything and instead wrapped a few hemp ropes around her palm and then cracked her fingers. In the next second, she grabbed the wall dexterously, like a wild mountain goat, as if an invisible handle suddenly appeared on it. The female warrior’s physique and petite size were completely irrelative. At this moment, she quickly scaled the wall as if freed from gravity, taking less than a minute.

Ann turned her head for a while, then hung the rope down. “Come on, boys.” She lowered her voice and whistled happily.

Nemo swallowed hard as he thought about the height of the city wall.

“I’ll go first.” Sensing his fears, Oliver stepped forward, though his voice had a slight tremor. He tentatively tugged at the rope, stepped on the wall again with his feet, and climbed up a few steps.

However, at this moment, the wall didn’t show the friendly attitude it had just now. As if it had turned into butter, Oliver’s sole slipped again and his whole body swayed in mid-air, almost slamming himself against the wall head-on.

Ann wiped her face speechlessly.

Oliver let go of the rope decisively and slid back to the ground, leaving behind blood marks on the hemp rope. He looked at the swinging rope, picked up a thick branch casually from the ground, and swung it down in the direction of the wall. The training in the past few days paid off. Skewed ice marks on the wall began to appear as icicles protruded horizontally on the edge. Oliver took a deep breath, grabbed the hemp rope again, and cautiously stepped on the tip of the icicles and climbed up the wall.

Nemo’s eyes darkened. His new friend had just amicably helped him increase the difficulty. He had only climbed short ladders from the library before. In front of him now was a flat stone and brick wall with hideous icicles and a thin rope dangling between. This could be considered hell mode. He held his breath and grabbed the rope tremblingly, trying to imitate Oliver by stepping on the icicle while climbing up. As a result, as soon as he stepped on the second one, his wrist began to lose strength and he fell firmly from a height of more than a meter high.

Fortunately, his body was extremely durable now. Nemo gritted his teeth and grabbed the rope again.

“Such a pity.” The gray parrot flapped its wings proudly beside his head, not letting go of any opportunity to mock him. “If you had even a little talent like the size of a pea, you can just directly fly up!”

Nemo rolled his eyes and climbed up with difficulty again, leaving no strength to refute. He suspected that even if he stepped in the right place every step of the way, his physical strength would not be enough to complete the journey.

Ann gave a loud tsk. “Oliver, hold on to the rope,” she instructed in a low voice.

Oliver blinked his green eyes in confusion, and subconsciously obeyed. Immediately, Nemo watched as he was pulled to the other side of the wall by Ann, who had disappeared from the top of the wall. He was jerked up so fast that he almost hit a thick icicle.

The worst thing was that when he made it over the wall, he was dragged directly to the other side by the rope. As soon as he realized that he was free falling, he had already landed on his ass on top of a haystack. Oliver was sitting not far from him, in shock.

Ann landed gracefully in a neat semi-kneeling posture.

“Alright,” she said. “This yard belongs to my acquaintance. We can take a break here. Wait—”

She abruptly stopped the conversation and drew her hunting spear from behind.

“Jude.” Ann pulled out a fake smile. “Nice to see you.”

She lengthened each syllable, turning the greeting into more of a curse. Nemo turned his head with difficulty and finally saw who she was greeting. It was a horse-faced man who looked to be in his 40’s or 50’s, wearing leather armor, similar to Ann’s style, with a dirty beard on his face and long curly hair that was tangled into a ball. At this moment, he grinned, showing a row of brown teeth.

What was most eye-catching was the thing on his shoulder. The size and color of the sack looked very uncomfortable, like a swollen corpse of some hairless animal. Its limbs were very similar to the feet of a gecko. Several of them couldn’t be seen as they firmly grasped the man. Nemo couldn’t tell where the head was. There were a few dark, eye-like things that were exposed on the man’s shoulders, which were opening and closing one by one.

“Miss Savage.” Nemo asked, at the lowest volume he could muster, “Would you care to introduce?”

“My colleague, your kind,” Ann sneered. “Jude Major, a demon worshiper. To be more precise, a hyena who comes to steal food.”

“Don’t be so mean,” the man said with a lax smile. “I’m just here to try my luck. If you want someone to blame, blame it on my dear Oni’s loose mouth. Coming from Roadside Town at this time, it’s not difficult to guess what your interests are… God, my luck is truly great.”

The thing on his shoulder squirmed in response. Its eyes-like things open and close faster. Nemo suddenly felt that the gray parrot was very pleasing to his eyes now.

“Sorry, baby.” Jude blew a kiss. “I have been very short of money recently.”

He didn’t give Ann time to react and raised his hand as a black light hit Nemo’s chest. The gray parrot rushed out and swallowed the light in one bite.

“Bah!” it commented. “Inferior goods. I’m going to get diarrhea.”

Jude narrowed his eyes, but his hands didn’t slow at all. He drew out a machete to block Ann’s spear while the monster on his shoulder spewed out a large amount of yellow fog from the areas where it was opening and closing.

Now that Nemo could see clearly, those things weren’t eyes at all but a bunch of black holes that were opening and closing.

Ann quickly stepped back a few steps and then retreated to the two of them, avoiding touching the yellow mist.

“You should know that your fighting style has no advantage over me.” Jude himself seemed to be completely unaffected by the yellow mist. His tone was brisk and cheerful. “Let’s be sensible, pretty. It’s not too late to find a team of garbage to make up the numbers.”

“Nemo,” Ann said in a deep voice as her eyes remained fixated in Jude’s direction. “Can you cast that spell now? Just ten seconds. As long as we stop the fog, we have a chance of winning.”

“I… can’t.” Nemo looked at the monster. He had a strange feeling that the thing seemed to be watching him, even though he didn’t know where that thing’s eyes were.

Ann didn’t say a word. She glanced at Oliver and fell into contemplation while maintaining a defensive posture. Even though he acted unforgiving, Jude looked a bit scared. He paced up and down, standing near the edge of Ann’s attack range, like a mangy wolf considering how to deal with a hedgehog.

Nemo’s gaze moved to the monster on Jude’s shoulder. As long as that thing was dealt with, Ann had a way to deal with Jude. He thought all he needed to do was get rid of that…

Unexpected mutant.

The monster on Jude’s shoulder suddenly fell to the ground, as if it had become a real sack. It remained motionless with all its black holes closed, looking like a corpse. Its master was bewildered.

“Tam!” Jude sent the machete forward, as he said in a flustered voice. “Get up for me!”

The monster, which Nemo didn’t know if it was a subordinate or intermediate level demon, was still lying on the ground, dutifully acting like a corpse.

Ann didn’t miss this opportunity. Before Jude finished speaking, she rushed out like a leopard. She cautiously kept her distance as she sent a ray of lightning towards her opponent while he was distracted.

It was aimed right towards his heart. The leather armor on Jude’s left shoulder was scorched by lightning, revealing bloodied red flesh. The man let out a hoarse and ugly wail, followed by a series of vague swears. He didn’t curse much as he responded when Ann was about to deliver her second blow. He decisively took out a piece of parchment and tore it up. Suddenly, he and the monster disappeared from sight.

“Short-distance teleportation. If you can’t beat them, run. It’s… very Jude,” Ann muttered in disgust. “Speaking of which, what happened to his demon just now?” She raised her voice as she arched an eyebrow towards Nemo and the gray parrot who was perched on his shoulder.

“I don’t know.” Nemo said honestly.

“It’s just pretending to be dead.” The gray parrot replied almost at the same time. “Just now, this kid was probably hostile to that piece of garbage, and it discovered this. Isn’t this a common situation to play dead?”

“That’s true. Noble demon warlocks can naturally suppress inferior demons. Is this what you’re trying to say?” Ann sighed. “Forget it. Just treat this as if he was unlucky. That guy’s luck has always been bad.”

Jude Major panted as he carried his demon back to the Dawn Tavern. When he entered, he slammed it on the table. “Vance! Vance!” he roared, “Come and take a look for me! Also, bring a bottle of medicine! Damn it. That bitch—”

“Brother, what’s the matter?” The man at the table next to him stretched out his head curiously, and a bunch of grape-like eyes floated over with his movements.

“Bad luck. Who knows what’s going on.” Jude sank into the chair, causing the wooden chair to make an unbearable creaking sound. “Can you imagine that my contract was broken? Damn, this kind of inferior good is really unreliable.”

“It’s not that your contract was broken.” The drinker at the next table shrugged and said, “…Man, your demon is really dead.”

The man called Vance finally arrived. He gently set the bottle of medicine beside Jude.

“Yes, it’s dead. Probably was frightened to death,” he said in a gentle and elegant tone. “It’s common for this species to have the same courage as a hamster.”

Then he showed a very decent smile.

“…So, which demon warlock did you meet? Are you interested in exchanging information?”

Kinky Thoughts:

Mountain goats can really scale heights.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 7: Father

“What are you talking about?” Oliver asked blankly. He just woke up, and his brain buzzed like a honeycomb, feeling pain as it overflowed from every bone in his seams. The misty dizziness disappeared as he shook his head, and Nemo’s voice sounded a lot clearer.

“I just said that Miss Savage gave us a proposal.” Nemo sat beside him. He was a little blue, while the gray parrot sat on his head. “She suggested that we mix into Noer and then qualify for a black badge.”

“It turns out that you humans call ‘I’ll kill you if you don’t do this’ a ‘suggestion’?” The gray parrot jumped a few times. “I’ve learned something new.”

“Black badge?” Oliver turned his head and looked at the female warrior who was maintaining her weapon, “But we don’t—”

“I’m not interested in whether you’re innocent or not. I’m pretty sure my conscience is not worth three thousand gold coins. It’s just a transaction.” Ann rubbed her cloth on her hunting spear harshly. “Noer’s black badge certification has three days left. That’s why I rushed back to check on this matter. It doesn’t matter if you disagree. Regardless, I’ll get it.”

“But…”

“Do you prefer I exchange your heads for gold coins?” The corners of Ann’s mouth turned up, but there was no smile in her amber eyes. “Look, I think this deal is very good. With me, you’re guaranteed to pass. What you have to do is very simple. Form a team and let me join it.”

“You should already belong to a team though,” Oliver coughed a few times, but his throat was still dry and itchy.

“Yes, it’s a pity that everyone’s dead. I have to find a new team to register with. That’s the rule,” Ann said. Her face didn’t look sad.

“Why did you choose us?” Oliver stared at the heavy hunting spear with fear. “…Uh, I mean, it sounds really good. I’m just a little curious.”

“I don’t like to act with others. I tried a team of refugees, and they either died too quickly or disbanded too soon. The criminal team lasted longer, but it was a pity that most of them were unpleasant scums,” Ann explained calmly. “You don’t look like the kind of trash who likes to cause trouble. There are many people at the ‘dangerous’ level who are more or less capable. It should be okay to do some low-level tasks and I can live in peace for a while. I’m betting three thousand gold coins on my intuition.”

“I think it’s okay.” Nemo moved in Oliver’s direction, muttering in a very spineless voice. “If you can live for one more day, it counts as another day.”

“I have no problem,” Oliver responded in a low voice. “With three thousand gold coins on the line, it’s better to promise before she changes her mind.”

“What the hell is a black badge?” The gray parrot squeezed between them; its ass almost hitting Nemo in the face.

“Second-class citizen or cannon fodder.” Nemo grabbed the bouncing bird and put it on the ground. “Choose one that you can understand.”

Although the black badges were given out under the Mercenary Guild, which should sound appealing, they were essentially cannon fodder. There were many small countries on the mainland constantly at war. With the laws of each country being different, it directly led to criminals and refugees fleeing everywhere; the former to evade legal sanctions, the latter to beg for food. If they were inattentive, they would eventually become the former.

Once people cross the border, official negotiations became extremely troublesome. The current president of the Mercenary Guild, Pollock, was a good example. Before he was president, he secretly raised intermediate-level demons in the capital of Alban, and his wanted level soared to ‘outlaw’ after he was discovered. Seeing that things weren’t going well, Pollack quickly absconded to Willard, the enemy country of Alban. Unexpectedly, in the days that followed, he became prosperous and climbed the social ladder, eventually becoming an extremely wealthy man.

Alban persistently tried to extradite people back, resulting in raising tensions between the two countries to the point that they almost extended their front lines.

After Pollack became president of the Mercenary Guild, he created a system where refugees and criminals could pass the Mercenary Guild’s test and obtain a black badge that could be used in lieu of one’s identification documents from the country where they were originally from. It was just that what they could do was tightly restricted. Most jobs were either troublesome or dangerous, which legal citizens would be unwilling to deal with, and the taxes and commissions for them were surprisingly high.

Black households without identity certificates could hardly live a normal life, so even if the jobs were terrible, a considerable number of new black badges were born every year. In fact, even without Ann’s “suggestion”, they would’ve embarked on this path sooner or later, unless they really wanted to break the jar and become actual villains in exile.

“We agree,” Oliver said. “What do we need to do now?”

Ann tapped her chin with her fingers, then whistled, causing the white horse to run over. She took a sword from a leather bag hanging from the saddle and handed it to Oliver.

“This kid said it was you who cut down the wolfhound. Have a look.” She clenched her spear. “If you make any superfluous moves, I won’t mind stringing you up and dragging you to Noer.”

Oliver licked his chapped lips. “Actually, I don’t know what happened last night.”

He really had no impression.

“Oh, where did you get so much shit!” When it saw the opportunity to prove that it was telling the truth, the gray parrot became excited. “Just cut! Why don’t I help you brew your emotions—”

Before Oliver could say a word, a hapless spider-dog appeared out of thin air. The spider-dog kicked its eight legs angrily, trying to bite Oliver’s face. Oliver only felt the tips of his hair stand up, and without a second thought, he raised the hand that was holding the sword.

However, this was just an ordinary sword.

The spider-dog grabbed his right arm and opened its mouth again to bite. Oliver panicked as he was quite sure he was about to lose his right arm, so he hurriedly made up for the blow with his left arm, sweeping the spider-dog onto the ground as he gasped for breath.

Ann didn’t say a word as she stood by, watching with interest.

How did he swing the sword last night? Oliver desperately recalled how he felt at the time. He gritted his teeth and stabbed the spider-dog again. As a result, he almost stabbed himself.

Before the sword would pierce, countless icicles formed, stretching frantically forward along the tip of the sword. The spider-dog was directly blasted into the soil, but the icicles did not stop there. It exploded as soon as it touched the ground, bursting into a huge, hideous, transparent ice flower. The sharp petals had icy thorns pointing in all directions, with the shortest one being more than one meter long.

These cold thorns had no self-awareness. Oliver’s failure to stab the spider-dog almost made him poke one of his eyes out on one of the sharp icy thorns. Oliver took a few steps back and almost tripped over some weeds behind him as he leaned back. Nemo quickly rushed up and supported him.

The moment the icicle burst open, the sword was shattered into several pieces, leaving behind the hilt that was frozen in ice. The fine ice chips drifted into the air, causing the temperature to drop a few degrees in the sultry summer.

“Although the style was a bit different, the wolfhound was basically finished like this,” the gray parrot explained affectionately to Ann. “You see, I’m an honest demon. I’m just here for the view!”

“Three thousand gold coins…” Ann stared at the huge pile of ice spikes with an ugly expression on her face. “How cheap.”

Nemo was holding Oliver from behind, and when he first touched him, Oliver’s short light brown hair buried into his face. His nose was sore from being hit, and he wasn’t sure if he was bleeding. Fortunately, the medicine Ann gave had a good effect. Oliver was no longer burning up like a human charcoal. He quickly stood up before Nemo couldn’t support him any longer and coughed a few times.

“Thank you.” He turned around. His face wasn’t shocked but was frowning slightly.

Nemo rubbed his nose, trying to conceal his somewhat stiff expression of shock. “Oliver, you—”

“I changed my mind.” Before he could utter half the sentence, Nemo was cut off neatly by a low female voice.

Nemo turned his head abruptly; his movements were so large that he almost twisted his neck. At this moment, he wholeheartedly hoped that this sentence was not what he thought it meant.

“Take it easy.” The female warrior’s expression was serious. Her tone wasn’t as relaxed as before. “I’m not going to kill you. Now it seems that I’ve missed my best chance.”

Nemo found that his arm was grabbed by Oliver and was pulled behind him. Whether it was intentional or not, it made him a little inexplicably angry that he slapped Oliver’s hand away and instead stood in front of him.

Ann sighed. “Sit down, you two. We need to have a good talk.”

Nemo and Oliver looked at the hunting spear in the female warrior’s hand at the same time, without moving a step.

Ann didn’t say anything. She thrust the spear hard into the ground and took the lead to sit down. “That brown-haired kid, Oliver Ramon, right? You have a bit of foundation, but your movements are too rusty. I’m really curious. Even a blind man won’t miss this talent. What was your teacher thinking? For Alban to let go of this kind of talent… If he knew about this, the bishop in your area would probably pull his hair out.”

“I gave up very early.” Oliver thought for a moment, while still standing. “Because I… Don’t like it very much. My father also said it’s not a big deal. If I didn’t want to learn, I didn’t have to. That was all.”

“No big deal? I have been in this business for nearly 20 years. To be honest, I haven’t seen many at this level.” Ann raised her voice. “Forget about the demon-boy. Abyssal magic is as indistinguishable as wild mushrooms. I can’t judge it well, but you’re a purebred human, right?”

For a moment, Nemo felt that he had been classified as a parrot hybrid.

“Yes,” Oliver answered with incomparable firmness. “Is there a problem?”

“It seems that you two have no idea about the world outside of Roadside Town,” Ann said. Her face didn’t look good. “You’ve been living a good life safely and steadily, no? I’m really curious if your teacher is someone who has seen the world. It’s impossible for you to be so leisurely—”

“His father… There are no problems with his teacher’s character.” Nemo interrupted the female warrior’s words, and the inexplicable unhappiness became more apparent, as real as the melting ice on his skin. “You’re right. I was the one who implicated this guy. He could have lived a leisurely life, but it’s not because of anyone’s ‘educational mistake’.”

Ann turned her sharp gaze to him causing her nose to flutter quickly. When she spoke again, her voice was calm. “Your teacher is your father? Interesting. Now that I’m interested, tell me what you did last night,” she said. “I’m familiar with that expression. It looks like two groundhogs whose holes have been trampled on, confusing and scaring them to death.”

It’s a pity that Ann Savage’s nearly two decades of experience did not help her much in putting together their somewhat faltering narratives.

“I can probably guess what happened to your father.” Ann rubbed her lower lip. “If he wasn’t the one who summoned the deadwood jellyfish, he must have forcibly transferred the summoning ceremony to himself. I have seen this kind of deadly, completely laborious, and thankless practice.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver had already sat down honestly during his narration, only leaving Nemo, who was still standing stubbornly.

“For higher-level demons, the first thing they do after being summoned is to attack the summoner.” Ann said. “In simple terms, creatures with brains are reluctant to do the biddings of others. They need to confirm the strength of their future master. If the summoner is too weak, it means that they probably won’t get many benefits. If the summoner is killed, the demon can be free to eat and play to their delight before returning to the Abyss.”

She glanced at Oliver. “A powerful person can’t summon a deadwood jellyfish. If I guess correctly, the summoner was probably eaten to the point where there was only residue left. Your father probably forcibly transferred the summoning ceremony while the monster wasn’t completely free yet… Most likely to protect the town.”

“But he…”

“The next part is where I can’t figure it out,” Ann said, leaving no time for Oliver to ask questions. “The key point is that, according to records, only demon warlocks are capable of forcibly transferring rituals. Was there anything abnormal about your father?”

“I swear not. My father has absolutely no abnormalities.”

“Then there is only one possibility left,” Ann said. “A superior demon who obtained a human body can do it too.”

“Impossible!” Before Oliver could respond, someone screamed for him. The gray parrot swaggered over, its tone full of confidence. “I’ve seen that man. It’s impossible for him to be a superior demon! If he was, I would definitely detect—”

“You are?” Ann raised her beautifully shaped eyebrows at it. “What do you mean you can detect and suppress it?”

“Bah,” the gray parrot shot back contemptuously. “We rely on the aura of our peers! If we don’t want low-level garbage to find out, there are ways, but you can’t hide it from a demon on the same level.”

Ann took a deep look at it, then poked it firmly and slowly with her hand. The gray parrot exploded with anger and plunged into the shrub next to it, very unlike a parrot.

“Where were we?” She frowned. “Oh yes, Oliver, did your father use magic in front of you?”

“He did, but only once,” Oliver said. “It was a very ordinary illusion. I don’t think that can be used as a reference.”

Oliver didn’t seem to be shaken by Ann’s statement. Nemo suspected that he didn’t intend to believe this statement at all in the first place, and he could relate to this sentiment. The only thing Old Ramon might harm are mosquitoes passing through Roadside Town with his own hands. Even the raw meat at the inn was already prepared; it was purchased from the local butcher. Their share of shock in the past two days had long been overdrawn, and they didn’t need more additional blows.

“Alright.” Ann noticed their unhappiness. She raised her hands and made a gesture of conceding defeat. “Then skip this question. After the ceremony is transferred, the demon will also shift their target, which is probably why your father wanted you to kill him.”

Oliver raised his head abruptly.

“Assuming that you are telling the truth and he was really about to die when you met, then the transfer ceremony can only buy the army some time. He probably came up with this kind of plan if he was taking the monster out of town at that time.” She sighed. “If the summoner is killed by a third party during this confrontation, it’ll be deemed as a summoning failure. According to nature’s law, the monster will be sent back to the abyss immediately.”

“I can’t think of any other reason than to protect the town.” Ann shrugged. “I apologize for what I just said. If you didn’t lie, then Mr. Ramon is not an ignorant man and I don’t judge this kind of behavior. At least for me, I’ll never do this kind of thing for irrelevant people… And let my loved ones suffer like this.”

“I can be sure of one thing, boy. Knowing the rules behind demon summoning and being able to perform the transfer ceremony with your own hands… Your father is definitely not an ordinary person. If you have the heart, you can try to find—”

“Thank you very much for your explanation.” Oliver said as he stood up and shook his feet. He gave a non-standard salute to the female warrior. “Really… Thank you very much.”

“But no, I don’t want to know his past. It’s already enough.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 6: Ann Savage

Even so, the two of them didn’t know where to run; Oliver was still injured. Instead of returning to the depths of the forest, defenseless, to face unknown monsters, they might as well face a known race of the same kind as them. Since the other party had ways to find them, it was of little use to slowly try and change places.

“Teach me a few more spells, Bagelmaurus. Just defensive ones.” Nemo stood up and threw the sheepskin roll to Oliver. “Even if you’re not a superior demon, you can at least do that.”

“Defensive?” Putting aside the identity issue that it was too lazy to refute, the gray parrot was still dissatisfied with its disobedient contractor. “You might as well just hug that woman’s thigh* and beg for mercy.”

*(抱大腿) Trying to take advantage of other people to gain benefits, especially the weak, taking the initiative to take advantage of the strong.

“She’ll find us sooner or later unless we escape back to the forest. Oliver can’t fight right now and you’re of little use.” Nemo’s tone was firm. “Do I have any other options?”

“Useless? I have recovered a little bit now. If I try my best, I can kill with a single shot,” the gray parrot tutted loudly. “But you see, everyone has to make a way for themselves, right? After all, you two are useless, so I have to save this power until you can’t—”

“Spells.” Nemo insisted.

“Consider offensive spells. I promise the woman will survive. Although I don’t want to admit it, if you die now, I’ll have a headache.”

“Defensive spells,” Nemo continued to insist. “If you teach something else without telling me, don’t expect us to believe you again.”

“As if you ever believed my words in the first place,” the parrot grumbled.

“Wait.” Oliver finally couldn’t hold back. “Nemo, you don’t know how to use magic, right?”

“Just in case.” Nemo was still staring at the parrot, as if to scrape out a spell with just his eyes. “I learned a very important thing last night. Almost dying is an effective motivator.”

“Incorrigible idiot,” the parrot sneered contemptuously. “Listen, I’ll demonstrate it once. You can see for yourself whether it’s an offensive or a defensive spell.”

The spell was short. A palm-sized translucent shadow rose slowly in front of it and turned into a strangely shaped shadow shield that kept squirming around its edges.

“It can only block spells,” it said. “As you know, superior demons have no need to defend against ordinary sword strikes.”

Nemo repeated the spell, and as expected, the spell showed no sign of being activated. He didn’t give up this time and kept repeating the spell as he grabbed a stone. He was honestly at a loss, but on the bright side, he reflected bitterly on how he had grown accustomed to this sensation.

“That lady doesn’t seem to be an arrogant and unreasonable type.” Oliver stood up, leaning on the trunk of the tree. His injured leg trembled a bit. “Maybe we have a chance to clarify the facts…”

Before he could finish speaking, something flashed by from the corner of his eyes and directly scorched the trunk of the tree he was leaning against. Oliver coughed dryly and moved his hand silently. The other party came faster than they predicted.

The female warrior was riding a white horse and had a hunting spear in her right hand that was pointed at them from a distance. The tip of the spear was entangled with cyan lightning. Just when Nemo felt that he was about to be run over by the rushing horse, she stopped it and raised her eyebrows at Nemo who fell on the ground flat on his ass.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it.” She gestured with her spear; the sharp tip was pressed against Nemo’s throat and the lightning became more intense. “You two little guys are actually ‘dangerous’. The acting skills of young people nowadays are truly amazing.”

Nemo swallowed with difficulty and tried to explain while repeating the spell frantically in his mind. The stone he was holding in his right hand had long been forgotten by him. “Miss, it’s not like that. We’re actually—”

Before he finished speaking, the spear was pulled back and he was stabbed in the shoulder. Nemo was so frightened that he quickly stopped talking, rolled on the spot, and avoided the tip of the spear. The lightning whipped his back, causing him to scream from the pain.

“Do I look like the kind of fool who waits for the enemy to narrate a story?” The female warrior, Ann, sneered. She threw the hunting spear, and it swam along its trajectory like a lightning snake. Nemo “just in case” didn’t happen as he watched the lightning explode at him.

Oliver dragged his injured leg and tried to grab the spear with a clumsy surprise attack, but Ann quickly turned around and dodged it. The hunting spear drew an arc in the air as the tail of the spear hit him on the chest, knocking Oliver abruptly back two steps.

Nemo, who had just escaped the lightning, took advantage of the situation by throwing stones at her. His strengthened physique was finally useful, and the stones rained down on Ann like cannonballs, but he was struck by the spear’s sweep.

This woman is more difficult to deal with than the wolfhound. Nemo rubbed the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand as he thought in a daze.

“Are you two really ‘dangerous’?” She threw out a question suspiciously, but the movement of her hand did not stop at all. The hunting spear pierced Nemo’s shoulder again.

An ominous dark purple light lit up, and Nemo turned around abruptly.

“Stop!” He roared. “Bagelmaurus, she didn’t kill!”

Unfortunately, it was too late. The brilliance was about to pass over his head and hit the female warrior on her head. Nemo’s mind was blank. The old water bottle was still hanging on his belt… She shouldn’t have to die like this.

Instead of running, he instinctively raised his hand, ignoring the spear’s tip piercing his shoulder—

Dark shadows flashed from the air, and in an instant, a dark curtain formed, almost extending out of his sight. Unlike the translucent shield demonstrated by the parrot, this one was thick and big, and he couldn’t see the other side. It seemed that something hit it, as negligible ripples could be seen, like water droplets falling into a lake.

The female warrior and Nemo were both stunned.

“Is this… Did you manage to cast it?” Oliver limped to the thick black shadow, stretched out his hand and poked it, but found he couldn’t touch it.

“I don’t know.” Nemo replied dryly, his eyes straightening. “I think—”

Then he felt the pain of being hit by a blunt instrument on the back of his head. At that moment, he opened his eyes instinctively and finally lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was still hanging high in the sky, without the slightest intention of setting.

“Oh, you’re awake.” There was a white horse that was gnawing grass freely not far away, and its owner was squatting in front of him. Ann touched her chin, and her eyes were filled with curiosity. “Good physique, boy; the one behind you is still unconscious.”

Nemo was horrified to find that he was tied into a tight cocoon. Oliver was firmly tied behind him. Looking at his body, he should still be asleep. Oliver’s body temperature had seeped through the thin cloth, and it felt hot to the touch, as Nemo couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

“Now we can talk.” Ann raised her left hand and pointed her thumb back to the gray parrot poking its head out on the branch in the distance. “What the hell is going on with you two?”

Nemo glanced at the hunting spear she was holding in her right hand, and then looked down at the shining silver on his chest.

“What is this?” He cleared his throat nervously. “What the hell do you want?”

“It’s me who’s asking the questions… Forget it.” Ann didn’t loosen her weapon. “That’s a magic charm. It will only make your whole body weak. Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything too excessive.” She accentuated the word “excessive”.

Nemo didn’t feel that he was weak, but he would not be stupid enough to share his discovery with the female warrior.

“We are innocent! …Maybe not that innocent, but there’s a reason.” He stopped talking nonsense and quickly spilled the beans. “The charges on the warrant are actually—”

“You’re Nemo Light, a demon worshipper, right? Is that your demon? It’s the first time I’ve seen a demon of this breed.” She glanced back at the gray parrot and wave her hand casually. “I’m not interested in your crime. The army usually makes up one, so they’ll kill you regardless.”

She raised her chin in Oliver’s direction. “I’m more curious about that one.”

“His father asked him to do it.” Nemo explained. He raised his head and looked at Ann without guilt. “The reason… I don’t know the reason. I was standing far away at the time, but one thing is clear. His father seemed dead at that time.”

“It’s more than that.” Ann gave a noncommittal tut. “This kind of thing would only be considered ‘abnormal’ at most. How does a demon worshipper rise to the level of ‘dangerous’? I can understand that the Emperor of Alban hates demons but killing only one civilian can’t be judged as ‘dangerous’, little guy.” 

“We also injured a wolfhound.” Nemo could only think of this.

“Then he was implicated by you?”

“Well, to be precise, he injured the wolfhound.”

“Killed!” the gray parrot interjected loudly in the distance.

Still, no one cared about it.

“Interesting.” The female warrior stood up with a spear. “Is the wolfhound part of the Albanian army? To be honest, I only have the confidence to run away in the face of them. Did your friend steal some powerful weapon—”

“The sword was picked up on the road. When we ran away, I couldn’t see anything and assumed that it must’ve been injured,” Nemo replied quickly. He didn’t think the dirty sword had any powerful origins. Otherwise, it would’ve been taken away by adventurers keen on treasure hunting.

Ann raised her eyebrows.

“What about you? Why are you summoning demons?” she said. “You don’t seem to be that kind of…” She paused and picked the words. “Unscrupulous person.”

“…Also picked it up on the road. No, I’m definitely not playing tricks on you! I did not summon it. It wanted to attack Oliver at that time.” Looking at the female warrior’s face, Nemo panicked.

“You’d better say things clearly. I didn’t ask you out of curiosity.” Ann curled her lips. “There must be dozens of bounty hunters waiting for you at the gate of Noer. In the face of the ‘dangerous’ level, no one wants to spend time catching you alive. But you… how can you say it’s not like that?”

Nemo looked at her a little puzzled.

“I have killed enough ‘dangerous’ wanted criminals, and I know exactly what they are.” She rolled her eyes. “If you are really ‘dangerous’, what just happened* should be a robbery, not a transaction. But of course, you may also be acting. I have to confirm, so stop prevaricating me with bullshit.”

*Clarity: She’s referring to when they first met, and he asked to trade for medicine.

“I’m not lying.” Nemo lowered his head and whispered.

“If you hadn’t blocked that for me just now, I would be holding both your heads and waiting to exchange them for money.”

“…I really didn’t lie.”

Ann suddenly sneered. She weighed the hunting spear in her hand, raised it and stabbed Nemo. Nemo froze in place. He didn’t dare to dodge, for fear of accidentally using Oliver as a shield. The gray parrot rushed over, screaming loudly.

However, the next moment, he felt a slight tingling of pain from blood rushing back to his limbs. The rope was scorched by lightning and scattered all over the place. The hunting spear did not stab him but cut the rope neatly.

The gray parrot’s scream abruptly came to an end, and it flapped its wings awkwardly in mid-air.

“I don’t think you’re one of those scum.” Ann shrugged, showing a grin. “If you are, your friend would definitely be stabbed right now.”

“Ann Savage, bounty hunter.” She plunged the hunting spear into the ground and stretched out her calloused right hand.

“Nemo Light, librarian.” Nemo scratched his head but got up slowly by himself. “Uh, former librarian. My hands are dirty, so I don’t want to—”

Ann laughed and retracted her right hand. “Loosen your friend’s rope first. It’ll take a while for him to wake up. The efficacy of the medicine should be starting soon.”

“You…” Nemo was a little uncomfortable, “Do you believe us?”

“Of course not. I’m not an idiot,” Ann said softly. “I just think you’re quite pleasing to the eye. If I read you wrong, that only means that you’re good at deception. In short, that’s my misfortune for my decision.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me too early. I haven’t officially decided to let you go.” Ann patted him on the shoulder with a calm face. “Three thousand gold coins is not a small amount.”

“……”

The author has something to say:

Catch insects.

Kinky Thoughts:

Liking this Ann already!

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 5: A Question

The body behind him was getting hotter, to the point of abnormality. The woods ahead seemed endless and the crisp birdsong began to make him feel restless. Nemo took a deep breath and mechanically moved his legs.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of a way. He even tried asking for help from the gray parrot, but the annoying bird was not only useless, but it also kept making countless inaudible noises, prattling as if “demonic healing magic” was an incredible blessing.

It was a good thing he didn’t encounter any monsters, so Nemo forced himself to cheer up and move on.

“Bah,” the gray parrot suddenly yelled, “your luck is here.”

Nemo subconsciously glanced around, seeing nothing special, until a dog’s barking could be heard. He hurriedly hid behind a tree with Oliver on his back and held his breath. As the sound got closer, he could hear the wooden wheels of a carriage crushing dead branches and the faint sound of laughter coming from it. It didn’t sound like their pursuers but more like a caravan.

He poked his head out a little and saw two carriages not far away, heading in the same direction as them. It seemed to be a small caravan with a small number of people. The coachman’s clothes were the popular style of the Garland people.

Nemo didn’t know if their story had spread from Roadside Town, but he was out of options. Being too cautious, would cause Oliver to die on his back even if he didn’t die from the wolfhound.

“Help!” He chased in the direction of the caravan, yelling with all his strength. “Please help me!”

The caravan pathfinder dogs discovered him first. They were well-trained, so they stopped him by barking frantically at him. The carriage slowed down slowly and two people jumped out of the carriage. Nemo ran forward, stumbling with Oliver on his back. His heart was beating wildly, as if it would jump out of his throat at any second.

He tried to open his mouth several times before he succeeded in making a sound.

“We were attacked by wild beasts.” He spoke rashly and quickly, not daring to take a closer look at their expressions. “My friend is badly injured. Do you… Do you have any medicine? I can exchange it for something.”

“Let me see.” The man with a goatee was the first to speak. He looked at Nemo from head to toe. “Put your friend down.”

Nemo gently lowered Oliver down. The latter’s face was flushed, his breathing was short and painful, and there was no sign of waking up. The linen cloth tied to his left leg had been soaked in blood and pus.

“This is very troublesome.” The man twisted his goatee and raised his eyes. “We do have medicine to deal with this, but it’s really not cheap. What do you have to exchange for it, sir?”

Nemo tore open his waist bag neatly. There was a gold pendant that was firmly sewn into the inner layer that looked heavy and exquisite. Unfortunately, it had encountered many difficulties as the entire pendant was marked and full of scratches.

“It’s made of gold.” He hesitated for a while, opened the pendant, and took out the pictures inside. “Would you take a look?”

The goatee merchant put the pendant on the palm of his hand and looked at it carefully for a while.

“Ann, give them a bottle of decontamination medicine,” he said to the woman standing on the side. “Also get two sets of old clothes.”

The woman raised an eyebrow before taking a dark brown medicine bottle from her pocket. She looked like a warrior, with short chestnut hair, and was tall and heroic-looking. There was a scar below her right eye that was particularly eye-catching, but it didn’t seem to affect her eyes, as those amber eyes were shining and full of banter.

“Get the clothes yourself. Don’t order me around,” She grinned at the goatee man, showing a row of beautiful teeth. “Do you want these two boys to wear women’s clothing?”

The goatee man smiled and shook his head, then returned to the carriage.

“What the hell do you have in this bag?” Ann approached them with the medicine, and Nemo could smell the faint aroma of thyme. “Open it quickly.”

Nemo carefully unwound the bandage, but the pus and blood had firmly adhered to the wound and linen, causing it to make an unpleasant tearing sound when it was removed. He tore at it slowly, his hands shaking unsteadily.

The female warrior shook her head and decisively pushed his hand away. She quickly removed the blood-stained linen cloth, took a metal pot from her belt and poured the liquid from it directly on the wound. The rich aroma of wine suddenly drifted into the air.

Oliver frowned, but still hadn’t regained consciousness. Ann took out a small dagger and cut off the blackened wound that had started to rot, dexterously as if it was cheese, then took out a clean handkerchief and carefully wiped away the remaining dirt and blood clots.

The entire process took less than five minutes until the ointment was finally applied and Oliver was rebandaged.

“It’s actually better to sew it as it’ll heal faster,” she murmured, glancing at Nemo casually, “but this works just about the same… Don’t worry, young man. Your friend won’t die. Give the rest to him and have him drink it three times.” She shook the medicine bottle.

“Thank you.” Nemo took the medicine bottle and thanked her solemnly.

“We’re just exchanging money for doing things.” Ann glanced at his blood-stained face. “What’s the matter with you? Have you wandered into the woods without anything? I don’t think you even have a bag of water on you. “

Nemo looked away in embarrassment.

“Here, take it. This will last for a day.” She pulled out a leather pouch from her waist bag that had water condensation roughly embroidered on it. “This place is not far from Noer in Garland. I suggest you wash yourself before entering the town. Don’t look at me like that. This thing isn’t really expensive. The pendant just now was pretty good, so it’s worth the price.”

“Two sets of clothes.” He didn’t know when, but the goatee man returned and handed Nemo a flat cloth bag. “Do you want to go with us? It’s hard to carry the sick on your back.”

Nemo moved his lips. “…No, thank you,” he said, as he carefully put the medicine bottle into the package, then held it to his chest. He bowed slightly to the two of them, and picked up Oliver, who was still asleep. “It’s only a few steps away. We can go by ourselves.”

The goatee man shrugged. “Then good luck, young man.”

The speed of the carriages was very fast, and the caravan quickly disappeared from his sight. He hoped that news about them hadn’t reached Garland yet. Nemo closed his eyes and slowly breathed out a sigh of relief.

“You didn’t want to hurt them, right?” He didn’t know when Oliver had woken up, as he asked softly behind his back. His tone was more like a statement than a question.

“Those two people were good just now,” Nemo said. “We’re lucky enough to have medicine and clean water.”

“Perhaps they recognize the two of you and were planning to turn you in to the guards at Garland for a reward,” the gray parrot remarked maliciously as it flew down from the branch.”They just gave you a bag of water. Tsk tsk. What about weapons? She didn’t mention a word, right?”

“I’m a realistic person.” Nemo stopped its chatter angrily. “I just look at the results.”

“Bah,” the parrot said.

Nemo found a relatively clean place for Oliver to lie down. There weren’t many dead branches and rotten leaves, and the ground was covered with thick moss. The air smelled fresh and clean. Oliver seemed to have recovered a little, as he was able to get up by himself and sat down, leaning against a tree.

“Take a break,” Nemo suggested. “We just need to leave this goddamn place before dark. Just in case we need to escape, we have to save our strength.”

“Okay,” Oliver replied quickly.

Then they fell into a subtle silence. The situation was urgent before, so the two of them had no time to waste on interpersonal communication. Now that the tension had faded, the unique sense of awkwardness among strangers had resurfaced. Nemo tried to find a topic, but he didn’t know if the other party had the mind or stamina to chat, so he had to grin in vain towards the air and then stiffly lower his head to study the moss on the ground.

In the end, Oliver, who had been through many hard battles in the service industry, took the lead in breaking the silence.

“Hey Nemo.” He blinked a few times, and his tone was as relaxed as leaning on an oak chair in a tavern. “Are there any girls in town who’ll miss you?”

Oliver almost immediately realized that he had chosen the wrong topic as he saw Nemo plucking up the moss on the ground uncomfortably.

“We broke up.” He sounded a little regretful. “You know, I’m too… Uh, busy. It was my fault.” It was just like any other love story and breakup. Even the reason was ordinary. He had the idea of inheriting the orphanage, but she wasn’t interested, which he couldn’t blame her for because it was a natural reaction. He hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, and he wasn’t as sad as he thought; he was just a little embarrassed when the subject was brought up.

“What about you? There are many beautiful girls who visit the inn,” Nemo quickly responded to his question.

Oliver instantly understood what it meant to dig one’s own grave.

“None.” He slid down the trunk a bit.

“How could that be?” Nemo didn’t bother hiding his shock. Oliver was pleasant and had a handsome appearance. He looked gentle and harmless, making it difficult for people to be wary of him. He was sociable, had a good temper, and was going to inherit the only inn in town. This made no sense at all.

“There’s a question that I haven’t figured out yet.” Seeing Nemo’s eyes widening larger and larger, Oliver quickly defended himself.

“What?”

“…My parents love each other very much.” Oliver raised his head and stared at the blue sky that was exposed between the leaves.

“Isn’t that great?” As an orphan, Nemo had no thoughts on this. His only relative was Old Patrick, who had long passed away, and the group of young children who were taken away when they were minors, so he lacked the empathy to relate.

“I don’t think that’s a good thing.” Oliver was still staring at the sky. There was a strangeness to the calm tone in his voice.

“You know, I have never seen my mother. She passed away a long time ago. In contrast, my father…” Nemo closed his mouth immediately and looked at him nervously.

“It doesn’t matter, since we’re talking about this.” Oliver obviously felt the other party’s nervous eyes. “We can open up and talk.” Regarding this subject, Nemo was more cautious, so it was better for him to start.

“My father never told me anything about my mother, and there was no portrait or memorabilia of my mother at home.” Oliver narrated it smoothly, as if he was talking about somebody else. “When I was a kid, I was a little curious about my mother, but then I stopped caring much about it.”

“Then how did you know…?” How did you know that they were in love? Nemo didn’t find anything sweet or lovable in the story.

“His eyes,” Oliver said. “The only thing that was left to my father was the ukulele that was given to him by my mother. It had her signature engraved on it. He sometimes talked to it, and it looked like—” he paused, and considered his words for a second. “I never thought anyone could show such sad eyes… How can I put it? It seems like a part of him died with her. To be honest, I think that kind of relationship is a bit scary. Can people really love another person to that extent?”

Nemo opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

“I have heard people say that when my father first arrived in Roadside Town, he carried a coffin and hugged me in his arms. He had nothing else with him. The coffin supposedly contained the body of my mother,” Oliver continued. “I always thought he was just waiting for me to grow up, and one day he would tell me the whole story, but he never did.”

“He just looked at me, as if he had finally let go of some unbearable responsibility. That was the feeling that I got. I kept trying to persuade him to find a good woman to live with, but he would always change the subject every time. Last night I… I could feel his worry, but I also felt his relief. Why didn’t I talk to him sooner?”

Oliver hugged his arms and clenched his sleeves.

“…How could I not blame him.” He raised his eyes. His cheeks were pale from the heavy blood loss. It was like pure anger that was finally wringing something out from his heart that had been building up for a long time and was full of bitterness. “If I hadn’t taken action at that time, would he still be saved? Why did he make such a request? Why didn’t he even try? I’ve killed my father with my own hands, and he didn’t even give me a reason!”

“He kept me alive but in the dark all this time. Sometimes I don’t even feel like I’m his family. I know the wine he likes to drink, the songs he likes to sing, and the books he likes to read… But I don’t know his birthday, his wife’s appearance, or how she died, let alone the story between them. I don’t know his hometown, I don’t understand his pain, and I don’t even understand why he chose to die.”

“What have I done…”

He finally poured it all out. Nemo thought. It was the kind of pain that was something he could relate to.

Nemo stared at Oliver as he raised his arm to block his eyes and clenched his teeth.

It was like this. For a moment, he finally found that the last bond between him and this world had disappeared, like a ship that had lost its anchor. The face and voice of the dead fade irreversibly from memory, only leaving behind remorse that would not dissipate, that would become a curse that corroded the spirit forever.

Oliver’s condition was even worse. He had to cut the anchor with his own hands.

“I can’t answer your question.” Nemo pulled the drawstring on the water bag a few times, causing the shriveled bag that was filled with water to gurgle. “I won’t comfort you by saying things like ‘it will pass’. We all know that it’s all bullshit. Take it and wash your face. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Thanks.” Oliver looked calmer. He moved his arm to block his eyes and took the water bag. Nemo didn’t see any tears this time; he only saw slightly red circles around his eyes. Nemo marveled at Oliver’s terrible self-control. In the days when Old Patrick had just passed away, he would shed tears just seeing the old man’s teacup.

“If you’re not going to cry together, I suggest you move somewhere fast,” the gray parrot said, while looking satisfied with its flying posture. They didn’t know which tree it had just rushed down from, but it threw a roll of crumpled parchment paper on Nemo’s head.

Nemo frowned and pulled on the roll of paper in front of him, unfolding it. After half a minute, he released it, then buried his face in his palm, showing what depression looked like with every movement of his body.

“What’s the matter?” Oliver still had water droplets on his face, but since it was probably the cleanest part of his body, he wisely chose to let it air dry.

“You know what?” Nemo announced, in horror. “We’re worth three thousand gold coins together! I have never even seen three thousand gold coins in my life…”

As soon as Oliver’s expression eased, it quickly stiffened back up.

“What?” He let out a weak exclamation. “I haven’t seen it either.”

“I tore it off at the gate in Noer.” It may be his own illusion, but Nemo always felt that there was some schadenfreude in the parrot’s voice. “What did I just say, kid? That woman saw this thing and now she’s coming back for you—on horseback, with her weapons, just for both of your heads.”

The author has something to say:

…Yes, this is a story about bending each other!

Kinky Thoughts:

I have to say, the author’s writing is quite beautiful and well done. Oliver will eventually find out that yes, you can love someone to that extent (hint: he’s right next to you).

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 4: Starting Point

An amazingly thick giant fir tree grew in the backyard of the inn. It was so high, it looked as if it could pierce the sky. Thanks to it, the Ramons’ inn was particularly easy to find.

Piper Ramon was sitting under the tree, casually playing the ukulele as he was humming the song “Beautiful Sandra”. The afternoon sun cast its rays over the leaves, and the breeze was full of the aroma of plants.

Oliver, on the other hand, held a wooden sword and was laboriously chopping the thick wooden stake in front of him.

“No.” His father stopped humming and scratched his chin. “This won’t do. You have to find an unshakable faith—or else, the magic won’t activate.”

“An unshakable faith?” How old was he then? Oliver pondered. Eight? Nine?

“It’s something you’ll never doubt.” Piper popped a grape into his mouth. “Just like your old dad. Back then, I… Forget it. In short, once the swordsman begins to deny his will, everything will be over.”

“I don’t want to be a swordsman.”

“Dad just wants to teach you some lifesaving moves. If you’re not interested, you can learn something else.” Piper Ramon winked and smiled. “Don’t think too much, son. No one says you must be a swordsman. What do you think of the ukulele? Do you want to learn it?”

“Who would be interested in that kind of thing,” the young Oliver muttered in a low voice. “What’s the point of cutting stakes?”

Piper couldn’t hold back his smile. “What happened to the stake?”

“The guests would talk about the outside world.” Oliver dropped his wooden sword and wiped the sweat on his neck off with his sleeve. “Those particularly powerful heroes had killed a lot—”

“What do you want to kill?” His father put down the ukulele in his arms. It was rare that there was a lack of emotion in his voice.

Oliver was taken aback; he hadn’t thought about this question at all. The guests would talk about heroes, and the bards would sing praises to legends that made the great warriors in those stories sound terribly handsome, so that it always had an excess of appeal to children.

“Demons, monsters…” he replied with uncertainty. “They’re the bad guys, right?”

“In order to become a ‘hero’?” Piper Ramon raised an eyebrow.

“For justice!” The little boy’s voice was loud, as if this was an unshakable truth.

He still remembered his father’s expression at the time. Oliver didn’t understand the meaning of that expression then, as he only remembered that his father smiled at him. Now that he thought about it, that smile was very familiar, as it reappeared again in their final farewell…

A bitter, sad, but gentle smile.

What was father’s answer at that time? Oliver couldn’t remember. He only knew that after he had finished the last lesson, he had never picked up the sword again.

Oliver suddenly panicked. He realized that if he really couldn’t recall it, the answer would disappear completely. He had no one to ask and confirm. Those trivial, irrelevant memories had become extremely precious at this moment, but when he didn’t care, they were already blurred with very few left.

The fact that his father was dead had never been clearer. At that time, he had just learned how to play the ukulele from his father…

Then he realized that the sourness in his mouth did not come from his feelings but from something tangible that belonged to the outside world. His head became clearer, and his body fell from the flickering warm dream, smashing into this damn reality.

After Oliver regained consciousness, the first thing he did was wrinkle his face desperately.

“You’re awake.” Nemo Light looked down at him and smiled apologetically. “I can’t help it. The water in the forest is not very clean. Thoreau fruit are a bit sour… but you have to drink something.”

Oliver blinked, finally completely woken up. It was already dawn. The turquoise leaves in the sun looked charming and harmless, and the bird calls were gentle and pleasant. He tried sitting up, but the muscles on his body screamed in pain and objected. His left leg, which was scratched by the wolfhound, was bandaged simply. The wound was covered by linen, and it was still burning painfully and was abnormally swollen. His body felt heavy and weak so that he couldn’t even clench his fists.

Oliver had to continue lying down as he looked at the person sitting next to him.

Old Light’s orphanage and the town library were both on the east side of the town, while his inn was on the west. They rarely interacted, let alone had a friendship, but Oliver had a deep impression of this person…

Strictly speaking, it was not Piper Ramon who discovered Nemo in the Frontier Forest that year, but 6-year-old Oliver. He had a big fight with his father and ran into the forest out of anger, scolding his unreliable father. At that time, the sun was high, and he was just walking on the edge of the woods, thinking he was safe.

Oliver still remembered how he felt at that time.

He was hiding behind a tree and peeking in the direction of the town in case his father had caught up to him while he wasn’t paying attention when he suddenly felt a chill behind his back causing all his hair to stand up.

Something was peeping at him. The little boy quickly turned around and pressed his back close to the tree as he swallowed nervously. He saw it at a glance—it was squatting on the ground, with long tangled hair covered in dead vines. Grass, stems, and indistinguishable filth covered its entire body, and only its eyes were exposed in the gap between its hair, staring directly at him. It was the only thing that could be considered clean, but there was no emotion in its silver pupils.

Oliver did what any 6-year-olds would do in fear—he burst into tears. The thing seemed to be frightened too, as it shrank into a ball in place, motionless. Piper Ramon, who was looking for his son everywhere, heard the cry and rushed quickly over and carried them back together.

It was… really shameful.

Because of this subtle psychology and the fact that they had no reason to communicate, they both maintained a state of acquaintance in which they simply nod when they meet. As a result, more than ten years later, he still had those silver eyes that he saw in the Frontier Forest that day, and now, comically, they had returned to that starting point.

To be fair, Nemo Light was very good looking; he didn’t look much like him. Although he had a strong physique, his skin had an aristocratic paleness to it. His black hair was always a bit messy, and he would casually tie it into a short ponytail that would swish around in all directions. The silver eyes could easily make him look gloomy, but he always had a smile on his face that would make his eyes blossom, abruptly turning the gloominess into casual elegance.

It was a look that was extremely popular with the girls.

‘If he didn’t need to take care of several children, like an old mother hen for so long, he would have received a bouquet of flowers at the Rose Festival,’ Oliver commented impartially in his heart.

But at the moment, Nemo Light’s condition was not easy to compliment. His whole body was covered in blood and grime, and the left half of his sleeve was completely gone, revealing his entire arm. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have suffered any serious injuries.

Still, Oliver remembered that he screamed last night. As soon as he wanted to open his mouth to ask questions, Nemo grabbed another thoreau fruit and squeezed all the juice into his mouth. Oliver’s face wrinkled even more severely as it was so sour that he couldn’t say a word.

“Are you still thirsty?” Nemo picked up another fruit with a gentle expression like a child.

Oliver shook his head desperately.

Nemo shrugged and took out the small packet of butter from his bag. After carefully cleaning the blood stains on it, he stuffed it into Oliver’s mouth.

“The wolfhound didn’t follow us,” he said. “It’s still safe here for the time being… probably.”

“That puppy is dead.” The gray parrot, who had finally learned how to fly, swooped over, and grabbed a thoreau fruit with its claw then flew above Oliver’s face and released it. Oliver suspected that it was practicing its aim. “It seems that you are still useful.”

Nemo caught the fruit that was about to hit the bridge of Oliver’s nose with one hand and skillfully grabbed the parrot with the other and threw it aside. The swelling on his right wrist seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

“The blinding lasted for most of the night.” Nemo continued, “I didn’t dare to stay there long, so I kept dragging you forward… It didn’t catch up to us, so it might have been seriously injured.”

“It was killed by this gingerbread head,” the gray parrot said as it used its beak to clean its feathers. It seemed that it was getting more accustomed to being a bird.

“He has a name, Oliver Ramon. Not ‘gingerbread head’.” Nemo rolled his eyes. “Just like I’m Nemo Light, not a ‘once-in-a-century idiot’. If you call our names wrong again, I’ll pluck out all your feathers.”

“Your injuries?” With the butter melted in his mouth, the sour taste finally became less unbearable. Oliver hurriedly spoke. “Last night, I heard you… um, scream.”

“I don’t know either.” Nemo scratched his head. His hair was covered with clotted blood, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Maybe I was lucky, and my arm got stuck between his teeth.”

“Bullshit!” the gray parrot yelled. “I know where my power has gone. Come. Cut off your hand—”

Nemo threw the fruit in his hand at the damn bird.

“Why are you so irritable?” The parrot said. “That’s my power.”

After that, it swooped in and clawed at the back of Nemo’s hand, leaving two gashes behind, causing Nemo to inhale sharply. In the next moment, under the gaze of the two people and one bird, the wound healed quickly. Except for a small amount of blood that was still stained on his skin, it seemed as if there wasn’t a previous wound there at all.

“Look!” the parrot said triumphantly. “Next time we can try your head. Maybe you can grow it—”

Nemo rubbed his temples and wiped his bloody face. He didn’t seem happy about it.

Oliver wasn’t surprised. A skilled human healer could treat a wound of this degree. Even if Nemo was truly lucky and gained the ability to regenerate limbs, it would not be of much use to him, who had no fighting capabilities. It was like giving a box of gold coins to a person who’s about to die from thirst in the desert. They wouldn’t be grateful for it.

“Oh.” Sure enough, Nemo responded without enthusiasm. “Oliver, can you stand?”

“Sorry,” Oliver responded apologetically. “I can’t move very much.”

Nemo stretched his arm. “I’ll carry you on my back.” He said simply, “You are burning up badly. We need to find someone to deal with your wounds quickly.”

“Don’t be so…” Before Oliver finished speaking, he found that his upper body was pulled up, “…anxious.”

“Hold onto my neck. Don’t be embarrassed,” Nemo said generously. “It’s okay. I can carry you. I’m sure if our positions were swapped, you wouldn’t leave me behind.”

Their sizes were not that much different, but Oliver was slightly bigger. He was worried that he would crush Nemo to the ground, but it turned out that Nemo had some strength in him. He stood up in a single breath, shook twice, and walked forward steadily. He even paid careful attention to the wound on Oliver’s left leg throughout the whole process and didn’t touch it at all.

“In any case, it seems like I have some connection to a demon, so it’s not easy for me to get tired,” Nemo said. Oliver could feel the vibration in his chest as he spoke. “Just keep walking west, right?”

“Yes.” Oliver put his chin on Nemo’s shoulder to prevent him from being poked in the face by the short ponytail behind Nemo’s head. At this moment, the black hair was still covered with reddish-brown blood stains, exuding the peculiar smell of stale blood.

“That bird…” Oliver spoke, completely ignoring the parrot flying nearby. “It shouldn’t be a superior demon.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Those who form contracts with superior demons aren’t called demon worshippers. They are called demon warlocks,” Oliver continued. “One had stayed in my inn before. I heard from my father that there will always be a part of a demon warlock’s body that becomes deformed.”

“Perhaps my intestines have turned bow-shaped,” Nemo grumbled. “Thank you for the comfort. It’s okay. I’m still a long way from collapsing.”

“It’s not that kind of deformation.” Oliver sighed slightly. “Let’s put it this way. The one who stayed at my inn, both his arms had extra joints, and they were long enough that they dragged on the ground. His chest was covered with insect-like feet, as if his ribs had been turned inside out… It’s said that this is a relatively normal appearance among demon warlocks.”

Unfortunately, this explanation was counterproductive as it caused Nemo to tremble and slowed down his pace.

“Demon worshippers are completely different,” Oliver quickly added. “They will only get a little power from ordinary demons, and their body appearance will not change.”

Nemo breathed a long sigh of relief this time.

“Thank you, I feel much better.” He turned his face slightly, and his tone was sincere.

“I don’t feel good at all,” the gray parrot said. “You’re slandering me.”

It was a pity that no one cared about it.

“What shall we do next?” Nemo murmured. “Do you have any ideas?”

“I have never left Alban,” Oliver replied dryly. “I heard from a businessman from Garland that the entry inspections at the border cities are quite strict. As for how long it takes to exchange information about wanted criminals… I don’t know.”

“I haven’t even been outside Roadside Town,” Nemo tried to make his tone sound optimistic, “but since we’re both unlucky now, good luck should be coming our way, right?”

Oliver chuckled. ‘It’s a bit cold,’ he thought wearily. Nemo didn’t seem to be in terribly bad condition, so it was fine for him to take a little break…

With a strange sense of peace of mind, he lost consciousness again.

On the other side of the forest, the garrison of Roadside Town was silent as he stood in front of the corpse of a ratliff wolfhound.

It was reasonable to say that the corpse of any creature that stayed overnight in the Frontier Forest, even that of a dragon, wouldn’t be left unscathed, but the corpse of the wolfhound, which exuded a strong smell of blood, didn’t lose a single hair. The frost everywhere had not disappeared, and there were still traces of coldness despite the summer sun. The trees on the edge of the forest were staggering, compared to what a disaster scene should look like.

A soldier pulled a bloodied object out of the wolfhound’s mouth that seemingly resembled a human arm.

“Sir, there are no fresh human corpses nearby.” The white light conjured by magic and used for reconnaissance disappeared as a soldier saluted and reported loudly.

“Look at this.” The captain of the garrison in Roadside Town lowered his face. “Which bastard said last night that it was fine to deal with it according to the ‘exception’?”

The soldiers looked at each other, then lowered their heads in unison. They all lived in the same town and knew more or less about the inhabitants’ affairs. What kind of combat power would the son of an innkeeper and a librarian have?

It was a capital crime to be involved with demons. Sending a wolfhound after them was more than enough to deal with two unruly ordinary people, overkill even. It was just that the wolfhound was so hungry and restless last night, so they intended to let it loose with the intention of letting it hunt for its food after they gave it instruction.

However, when it never came back, they realized that something was wrong and used magic to locate it but found that its sign of life had already disappeared.

“Raise the wanted level of those two people to ‘dangerous’,”  the captain ordered, while rubbing the wolfhound’s fur distressingly. He then tore off the silver medal engraved with a location array on its neck. “Oliver Ramon, a murderer of unknown strength. Nemo Light… No longer a suspected demon worshiper. Treat it as if he is one.”

He picked up the fleshy arm, and the fragments of clothing on it had the embroidery unique to a librarian’s uniform.

“Those two bastards are trickier than we thought. Notify Garland’s side immediately. No delay is allowed.”

Kinky Thoughts:

How Oliver and Nemo met kinda of reminds me of Ike and Soren from Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn. Even their classes are the same.

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