Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 86: The Last Night

The soft red-orange light was particularly dazzling after the darkness. Nemo squinted his eyes, and then immediately turned his gaze in Oliver’s direction. They were entangled with the rune balls non-stop all night. While he had no problems himself, Oliver’s condition looked a lot worse.

The light brown hair of their leader was soaked in sweat and stuck softly to the skin. The moment when the black barrier disappeared, the brilliance of the setting sun poured down, causing Oliver to subconsciously raise his hand to block his eyes. “What time is it?” he said nervously.

“Less than a whole day, faster than I thought.” The female warrior was no longer in the same place, and Adrian Cross had moved a stool over and sat nearby. At this moment, he closed the book in his hand, stood up, and threw Oliver a water bag. “At least you can rest for a while.”

Oliver took the water bag. His lips became dry and cracked due to the loss of a lot of water, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down eagerly. Just as he was about to untie the water bag, he stopped halfway. Without the slightest hesitation, he threw it to Nemo as if it was a natural action.

“I need to confirm the specific time, Mr. Cross.” Oliver’s gaze stopped on Adrian. “We need time to communicate… Ms. Nadine may not be willing to cooperate. I think you know this better than me.”

“Indeed, but you need rest now.” Adrian raised his brows at the water bag in Nemo’s hand. “Even if you pass the training, considering this is your first practice, the success rate will be about 30%. If you’re in poor condition, this value will be even lower.”

“I’ll take him to rest,” Nemo said dryly. Instead of opening the water bag, he grabbed Oliver’s sweat-soaked shirt.

“But I’m not particularly tired…”

“I haven’t eaten or drunk anything for more than ten hours. Ollie, you’re human. I can see you’re in bad shape.” Nemo tugged at him firmly. “Anyway, Horizon won’t break their promise on the agreement… right?”

“No,” Adrian answered his question. “At least on this point, Godwin Lopez can be trusted.”

“Okay,” Nemo nodded. “To deal with Ms. Nadine… They won’t go full force. There won’t be a long preparation time in advance.”

“Then we can go before midnight.” Oliver was a little surprised by Nemo’s initiative, but he subconsciously continued the topic. “I can still sleep for two or three hours. Nemo, you can let me go—I won’t run away.”

“Good,” Nemo said, but the hand holding the shirt had no intention of letting go. He kept dragging Oliver into the room.

“What’s the matter with you?” Oliver adjusted his shirt. The rough fabric stuck tightly to his body, and the sticky touch made him a little uncomfortable. Unlike his current situation, Nemo looked no different from before the battle. The black-haired young man looked clean and fresh, but his attitude had become a little strange.

Nemo stared at Oliver with complicated eyes, as if he had a long nose on his face. The gaze was so focused, as if it was scrapping every inch of his face, that Oliver couldn’t help but raise his hand to confirm whether his facial features were still in place.

“Is there anything on my face?” Oliver asked after being stared at by Nemo for over half a minute as he wiped his face fiercely.

“…I have something to talk to you about, but not now.” Nemo’s tone was very solemn. “What you need most now is rest, Ollie.”

When Oliver quickly washed away the unbearable sweat stains on his body and walked out of the bathroom, Nemo was no longer in the room.

He sighed, trying to suppress his emotions. Oliver had never seen Nemo show such a serious expression. Even when he claimed to be a superior demon, he didn’t stretch his face so tightly.

He wasn’t sure if he had said something wrong. Oliver laid his head on the pillow and stared at the crack in the ceiling and found in despair that he wasn’t sleepy. Their cooperation was smooth, so Nemo had no reason to be anxious or unhappy about it. Questions churned in his mind and almost all his attention was focused on the ceiling. Suddenly, a hand patted his abdomen, causing him to almost bounce up like a live fish on a cutting board.

“Drink this, Ollie.” He wasn’t sure when Nemo had entered the room. Nemo handed him a glass of milk, but his face was still expressionless and his tone was as stiff as his expression. “You can’t go to the battlefield on an empty stomach.”

When Oliver took the cup, his internal organs slightly twitched. If he wasn’t familiar with Nemo’s character, based on the other party’s expression, he would have thought that there was something that shouldn’t be put in this drink. “Uh… Nemo, if you have any troubles…”

“No worries. I’m fine and very sober.” Nemo replied mechanically, continuing to stare at his face intently.

Oliver turned his attention to the glass of milk with difficulty and gulped it down his throat in one go. The temperature was just right and there was honey added that made it smooth and not greasy at all. The hot milk made Oliver drowsy for a moment, but when he put the cup by the head of the bed, his eyes met Nemo’s gaze again, and that strong gaze instantly drove away all his drowsiness.

Oliver put his head back on the pillow, swearing that he had definitely had a little arrhythmia at the moment. “Actually, I… I’m not too sleepy.”

In fact, his brain was a bit numb and every muscle in his body was faintly sore, but the prickly worry and tension rolled frantically in his mind, causing him to be unable to close his eyes. Nemo’s light gaze had increased this tension several folds.

“Can I help you?” Nemo asked seriously. “You want to sleep, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Oliver smiled reluctantly. “Why? Are you going to sing a lullaby or…”

Before he could finish speaking, Nemo had gently placed his hand above his eyes. Oliver only felt as if a hammer slammed away his nerves, leaving behind no pain or other unpleasant feelings. Rather, he felt an irresistible heavy drowsiness that instantly grabbed his mind, as if he was sinking into a sticky black shadow. His vision was swallowed by darkness for an instant, and then he could no longer think about anything.

Oliver then fell into a truly peaceful sleep within a few seconds.

Nemo withdrew his hand in silence.

He knew that his performance was terrible. Maybe he should tell Oliver what he thought. He stared at the empty glass sadly. He didn’t think it was a good idea to create too many emotional ups and downs before the start of a battle. His own mood swings had made the atmosphere stiff and awkward enough. If he chose this time to make a confession, God knows what kind of impact it would have on their cooperation.

The afterglow of the setting sun gradually dissipated, and the unique clear blue of the night began to spread outside the window. Nemo didn’t turn on the lights in the room. He sat by the bed and let the gradually dimming sky engulf him in darkness.

Oliver had fallen asleep, and his chest was slowly rising and falling.

His soft light brown hair exuded a faint, refreshing smell, indicating that he had dried it ahead of time. Nemo hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand again and brushed the hair on Oliver’s forehead.

Unlike when he was locked in the dark barrier, this time he took the initiative to touch Oliver’s forehead with his hand. A human temperature, he mused uncomfortably. So far, he hadn’t gotten used to the fact that they were “not the same kind”—or that Oliver didn’t plan to get him used to it at all.

Nemo sighed very lightly. He leaned down slightly and kissed Oliver’s forehead.

This wasn’t the first time he had done this. When Oliver was seriously injured by Witherspoon, “he” had done the exact same thing when he was caught in that wondrous state…

Different.

At that time, “his” heartbeat was steady, as if he was kissing the trees, the land, or the wind; but now, his heart was heavily colliding against his ribs, as if it was about to break through his chest and jump out. This feeling was novel to him but reassuring. Nemo hesitated for a few seconds before he tried to kiss the tip of Oliver’s nose.

His heartbeat was speeding up and the temperature of his blood seemed to have risen by several degrees, as if it had been mixed with some sour liquid that was surging through his blood and nibbling at his blood vessels. However, he felt no pain, but rather a slight tingling sensation that made him a little dizzy and numb.

“…It seems I should knock before entering,” a slightly embarrassed female voice sounded. “Uh… How long do you need? Half an hour? An hour?”

Although the sun had set, the night had not completely fallen, so everything in the room was still visibly clear. Ann leaned against the door frame as she cast a deep gaze at them.

“Remember to close the door next time,” she added dryly.

Nemo stood up stiffly and rushed to the door with great strides. “Ollie’s resting,” he said in a blunt voice. “We can talk in the hallway.”

“I just have two things to report. It seems that I am one step late.” There was a hint of teasing in Ann’s voice. “Let’s start with small things. When you weren’t there yesterday, White II ran out. It and other arthropod lizards were rummaging for this seed outside.” She stretched out her hand, and the familiar “small piece of gravel” lay quietly in the center of the calloused palm of the female warrior.

“They dug it out from the bottom of the desert and buried it in a shallow layer,” she muttered. “I can’t figure out what they want to do. Arthropod lizards can’t grow plants. This thing is also very strange… Cross said it’s a seed, but how can there be such a heavy seed?”

“It’s the seed of an Earthsea Orchid,” Nemo quickly confirmed.

“…How do you know?” Ann raised her eyebrows. “What kind of memory have you recovered? I’m getting more and more curious—”

“No, it’s not that,” Nemo hurriedly denied. “Ollie and I saw this thing at Ms. Nadine’s.”

“It seems that you can also ask her about this.” Ann stuffed the seeds into his pocket. “During the time when you two were falling in love while wiping out the rune balls, I had to run around trying to get more information about this thing, but no one recognized it. I even managed to dig out a little bit of news about Horizon.”

There was a soft noise from the corner of the corridor not far away, like the sound of the soles of an indoor shoe slamming across the wooden floor.

“News about Horizon? Could it be Debby…” Nemo most likely knew the identity of the person on the other side of the corridor but decided not to pay attention to it for the time being.

“Of course, I won’t make things awkward between the two of you,” Ann shrugged. “I just eavesdropped on them. With Nadine’s state like that and the time for her arrest wasn’t some kind of secret information, there were several mercenaries from Horizon guarding Howard’s home—you know, in case someone wanted to stir up trouble—after all, he’s not a very amiable client. However, those people looked bored to death, and all they could do was chat.”

She snorted mockingly.

“I originally wanted to tell Oliver, but it shouldn’t make any difference if I tell you… Horizon is planning to execute in the morning, and it’ll be Godwin Lopez who’ll be doing it alone. You know the whole ‘to express our condolences and respect’ shtick.” Ann imitated the tone of one of the mercenaries from Horizon. “Anyway, if you want to help Ms. Nadine, this is the time limit.”

“You want to help her?” a hoarse voice joined the conversation.

This time, the voice came from a human, and the hoarseness only came from an overused vocal cord. Lisa stood up from the corner with her indoor shoes in tow, carrying the shoes Oliver had lent her last night. The shoes seemed to have been thoroughly cleaned, and the soles seemed to have an extra layer of wear-resistant leather on them.

“I didn’t mean to listen in. Sorry,” the female innkeeper said. She still had a listless look and her swollen eyes hadn’t compressed yet. There were heavy bags hanging under them that frighteningly made her entire body look pale and haggard. “It’s Horizon… How can you help her?”

“We don’t plan to fight directly against Horizon,” Nemo said carefully. “We just… have an idea that may help her, but the success rate isn’t high, so you’d better not—”

“Could she survive?”

“…There’s a possibility…”

The word “possibility” was like a trace of moisture in the desert, a little light in the darkness. She begged and scolded. She thought she couldn’t do anything, and it was hopeless. The why’s and how’s of these Black Chapters were no longer important. There was only one thought left in Lisa’s head—she only had one thing she could do and only she could do it.

“Then take me with you,” she said hoarsely. “Please take me with you.”

“But didn’t you say…”

“Nadine may survive.” The innkeeper raised her face, and her eyes frighteningly lit up. “I can’t do anything… If I could, I really want to spend five years of my life trying to shut the old bastard Howard up. And you—you now say that she may still survive!”

Her pale face flushed again, but not from the angry purple with raging blood vessels, but from sheer excitement.

“It’s not forbidden to see your friends, right?” Her voice became louder. “That’s right, so take me there. As long as it’s possible, as long as there’s a way, I don’t believe…”

She took a breath.

“…I don’t believe she can bear to die in front of me.”

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The author has something to say:

Nemo: ! I like him. Let me take a good look.

Oliver: ??? What’s the matter with his expression? Does he want to quit the team?

The tacit understanding between the two is not well developed enough.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Oliver stealing forehead kisses when he first likes Nemo, and now Nemo’s doing the same. Can these two get any cuter?!?!?!

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 85: Cooperation

There was a lot of open space behind the Earthsea Orchid Inn. Without the cover of dark clouds, the stars in the sky were particularly bright.

Nemo could now regard what the position of “Commander of the Knights of Judgement” truly meant. Despite losing all his powers, Adrian Cross immediately found a way to cope with it. Adrian drew a less complex magic array on parchment paper and directly pasted all kinds of runes on it.

“Drawing a new spell from scratch? Not bad.” Ann casually picked up the parchment and drew on it. A tiny black ball fluttered out of the array and floated aimlessly in the air. “…But what the hell is this?”

“Their problem is not strength,” Adrian said without raising his head, and crossed out two more rune characters. “Those two lack on-the-spot response and cooperation.”

“And how many balls are you going to make for them to play with?” Ann stretched out her finger and tried to poke the black ball that wasn’t much bigger than a grain of rice. It almost merged into the darkness, and it took her a long time to determine its location. As soon as she stretched out her fingertips, the small ball disappeared in place, appearing more than ten centimeters away. “Ah, I see. But this can’t beat Nemo.”

“Only a stable magic output of more than ten seconds can eliminate it. Once the magic fluctuates, it will immediately detach. Surface magic is effective on it, which is something Mr. Light can’t do.” The knight commander made final adjustments, and he handed the parchment to Ann. “This thing isn’t powerful, so it’s not a problem for you to make thousands of them.”

“I probably know what you’re thinking.” The female warrior raised her brows at the pieces of parchment and flipped through them casually. “I’m fine with it, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s that difficult… Huh?” She lowered her head and stared at the last one.

“…You’re really a bad man,” she murmured.

“I’m already very lenient with them.” Adrian stared at the two young men who seemed a little lost in front of him. “At least I didn’t add any offensive element. If they were my subordinates…”

The former knight hitched the corner of his mouth. Seeing as how infrequently he did it, Nemo suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

“Are you ready?” Ann finished painting the array in the air. Black balls like flying insects rushed out from the center of the array, looking as if black sewage was spraying out of thin air.

“No,” Nemo stated flatly. No one seemed to explain what all this was, whether it was the knight commander or the female warrior. Oliver, beside him, didn’t respond as he was too busy intently looking at the creation of the magic array. The black ball flew around them before spreading rapidly everywhere. They flew silently in the night, like a swarming flock of flies.

“Then let’s get started.” Ann happily ignored Nemo’s answer. Her tone was relaxed and cheerful. “If you don’t clean up all the rune balls, you two won’t be able to get out—oh, also, you’re not allowed to use lighting. Nemo, you’re also not allowed to destroy it with brute force.”

“Destroy what—”

Ann completed the last magic array, which gave him his answer. The moment it was completed, all light disappeared.

It wasn’t just light that disappeared. The rustle of the night wind blowing through the leaves, the buzzing of insects in the grass, and the vague human chatter in the distance were gone as well. It seemed as if even sound had faded. The air no longer flowed where it could be felt on the skin. They seemed to have stumbled into a dark coffin that was buried deep in the ground and was cleanly separated from the outside world.

Nemo was in a daze for a few seconds and felt something cold gushing out of his bones. He didn’t like this scene; not one bit. It was like stepping off the edge of a cliff, and he fell into his first memory—dark, cold, silence.

A warm hand was placed on his shoulder. Nemo instantly regained his senses and suppressed the rising unhappiness and discomfort.

“I think I get it.” Oliver was close at hand, but Nemo couldn’t see him. To be precise, he could feel Oliver’s presence more vividly now, from his heartbeat to his breathing to the tiniest movements of his body. Nemo could “perceive” clearly, but he couldn’t see him.

The magic array designed by Adrian was perfect. There wasn’t even a single trace of light left. The rune balls flew around perfectly, blending into the darkness. After the other voice disappeared, Nemo could hear its faint whispers from time to time. The magic contained in those small runes was too weak and flew too fast; sound was the only clue.

He conservatively estimated there were at least thousands of rune balls flying around.

“More than ten seconds of magic output,” Oliver said in a low voice. In such an environment, even the small volume sounded a bit harsh. “It’s impossible for me to see them, and I don’t need physical movements to counter them. I think what Mr. Cross’ intention is… Nemo you have to hold them and I’ll destroy them as soon as possible.”

“I think you’re right,” Nemo tried to answer. Besides Oliver, he couldn’t even see his own body. This made him unsure of whether his vocal cords were still working properly. The unhappiness that was pressed into his heart surged again. “But their power is too weak. I can try… Try it first.”

The task of catching these rune balls was tantamount to catching invisible dust in the air. As soon as Nemo concentrated his consciousness, before he had time to act, the pile of rune balls suddenly scattered.

It seems he couldn’t use too much magic before confirming their location. The only option he had left was to listen to them.

Nemo’s breathing became short, and the darkness that tightly enveloped him made his anxiety heavier. He became frustrated and was unable to concentrate. He tried listening, but it didn’t go well, as another sound was interfering with him.

Oliver’s breathing was very gentle, but his heartbeat was fast. The powerful heartbeat was like the beat of a war drum in the darkness of nothingness as it was mixed in together with his breathing, leaving no quiet gaps, which made Nemo unable to ignore it.

Nemo settled his mind, tried several times, and succeeded in fixing a rune ball through sheer luck. After less than three seconds, Oliver began his spell according to instructions, but it flew away again and disappeared into the darkness.

His magic output was too unstable.

This was just one, and there were thousands of others waiting in the dark.

Were they too confident in their own powers? Nemo stood in place blankly. It seemed that the practical difficulty of the plan was not at the same level as the theoretical one. They only had about one day left, and no one knew when Godwin Lopez would act.

Could they actually do this?

No. Nemo shook his head, intending to empty his mind of negative thoughts. He took a deep breath and tried to control his heartbeat. He succeeded in the first few seconds, but unfortunately, this success wasn’t long-lasting. Their heartbeats had just been consistent for half a minute, but when Nemo turned his attention to the rune balls, his heart returned to its original beating speed.

The thick darkness aggravated the anxiety in his heart.

Nemo’s breathing unconsciously became more rapid and heavy, and after perceiving this, he simply stopped breathing. This didn’t make the status quo much better. In the darkness, the passage of time became unpredictable. God knows how long it took them before they destroyed the first rune ball.

Too slow.

Every time they encountered a desperate situation before, they were able to save the day in the end. Nemo thought this was the first time he had to face his own immaturity and powerlessness so directly. When they face Nadine, they would only have one chance. After all, unlike the fluttering rune balls, a life was much heavier.

“Nemo,” Oliver, who had just put down his sword, suddenly spoke.

“Hmm?” Nemo responded as smoothly as possible, “I’m here.”

“You don’t seem to be using your spatial magic.”

“Yes, I’m listening… They make sounds.”

“I’m sorry,” their leader said, his voice a little tense. “…Am I distracting you? Is there anything I can do?”

“No,” Nemo was distracted, and couldn’t help but start breathing habitually again. He tried to suppress the depression and discomfort in his voice. “It’s okay, Ollie, we still have time. We have just started.”

You can’t mess with yourself. You’re a superior demon. Nemo repeated to himself sternly. A true superior demon. A superior demon shouldn’t have claustrophobia.

“…” Oliver was silent for a while before clear footsteps sounded. He walked closer and then held his breath, as if he was listening to something.

“Are you uncomfortable?” after a moment of silence, Oliver asked tentatively. “Is it because of those potions?”

“No, it’s not. I’m fine. Let’s continue,” Nemo replied quickly. “Don’t talk about me… Your heartbeat is a bit fast—are you too nervous? Don’t be nervous, we will—”

“May I hold your hand?” Oliver interrupted him. “If you don’t mind.”

“If it makes you feel better.” Nemo stretched out his hands decisively.

Oliver fumbled for a while, wiped the back of his hand with his fingertips, and then simply held Nemo’s hands.

“I’m really nervous.” Oliver held his hand lightly and said in a gentle voice. “I’m afraid I can’t do this. I’m afraid I’ll see Nadine being killed by Godwin… I’m afraid I’ll let you down.”

Nemo could feel the caution in his tug. Oliver pulled on his hands and pressed them against his forehead.

“I’m as nervous as you… Even though I don’t know why you’re resisting.”

Still, Oliver found out. Nemo sighed in his heart but didn’t pull his hands away. The other party’s palm was dry and warm, which only meant one thing; his own hands were wet and cold.

He couldn’t hide his anxiety and discomfort.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say… Nemo, you may not know yet, but I’ve sworn a bunch of vows to others. I know how far I am from you,” Oliver continued. His voice was soft and even had hints of a smile. “While trying to catch up to you, I can only promise one thing—no matter how bad things are, I will always greet you with a smile. At least I won’t cry like the first time.”

“You must remember what happened at that time, right? If you want to laugh, you can laugh. I won’t get angry,” he said very gently.

Nemo tried to hook the corners of his mouth, but he failed to laugh successfully. Honestly, he didn’t think it was funny at all. From that cry, he no longer even dared to look at the weak human child for fear that the other party would run away forever because of fear, and now Oliver Ramon, who had already grown up, was standing in front of him.

Oliver’s heartbeat was still rapid and irregular with no sign of ease.

That’s right. Nemo slowly exhaled.

This darkness wasn’t as empty as he’d thought. It was indeed harsher than he remembered, but from a certain point of view, it was better than what he remembered. At least this time, his light wasn’t too far away from him.

His breathing calmed. His lungs no longer seemed to be as if they were being squeezed by icy clutches, and he didn’t need to suppress his breathing. Nemo was finally able to easily adjust his breathing rate to match Oliver’s.

Then there was the heartbeat.

This time he didn’t try to adjust his heartbeat. Perhaps if he had adjusted it, things would proceed smoother, but Nemo wasn’t sure. He only knew one thing; his heart no longer beat as smoothly and regularly as it did before, and this wasn’t controlled by his subjective will.

Gradually, consistent sound gaps began to appear one by one, interrupting the quietness. The magic of the Abyss exuded a dim light that quickly erupted, like lightning striking the ground from the sky. The trajectory of the spell solidified in the air, like the dead branch of a shrub that suddenly flourished, and each twig had runes strung up at the end.

“We do have time,” Oliver said as he plunged the Rest in Peace into the ground. White silk of light that was a little blue wrapped around the rune balls and, after ten seconds, they quietly turned into ash. “Everything is just beginning.”

Perhaps he was too deeply influenced by the stories in books. Nemo thought he had carefully analyzed his feelings and was waiting for a clear sign. It was as if his feelings could grow their own labels and instruction manual after a while. It was true he had a lot of problems, but now that his identity had been clarified, he suddenly felt relief.

That unique light; if he had to give that persistence, trust, and warmth a label, “like” was a good word for it.

Things may not be as complicated as he thought. If he really simulated everything about humans perfectly, then this abnormal heart rate was enough to prove it.

It was rapid and irregular. There was no need to make any special adjustments. As long as a little correction was made, it would slowly match the other party.

The rune balls began to decrease from a dozen at a time to hundreds at a time. The intervals were getting shorter and faster, and the sense of unity of fighting side by side felt reassuring. He had even forgotten the depression that was caused by the airtight darkness.

When the last rune ball turned into ash, the darkness instantly dissipated, but it was no longer the starry sky that greeted them, but the setting sun that had just sunk to the ground.

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The author has something to say:

I want them to start falling in love in this volume!!!

Life is too short.jpg

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Knight Commander: …I sent you in for training. (Stop talking)

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Kinky Thoughts:

Ahhhhh Nemo finally realizes his feelings!

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 84: Cat and Goat

Nemo’s first reaction was to erect a shield. As soon as his thoughts moved, the translucent black shadow instantly covered the two of them.

It wasn’t dark enough outside that they couldn’t see their fingers if they reached out. The contours of the things in the dark were still clearly discernible. They wouldn’t miss a human-size figure, unless…

A round orange cat was trying to drill out of the gap in the garden fence. However, it was too fat and got stuck halfway through.

“Help me.” It repeated unskillfully in that terrible voice. “Help me.”

“…” Nemo was silent for a while before he removed the shadow shield. He pinched his arm a few times blankly, to make sure this wasn’t a ridiculous dream. “Ollie, did you hear that? I may be hallucinating again.”

“I heard it.” Oliver walked forward speechlessly and laboriously pulled the cat out, almost knocking down the fence with it. “This should be Ms. Nadine’s cat. It’s just…” He suspiciously raised the cat in the air and looked up at the cat’s round face. “Did it just speak?”

“Put me down.” The orange cat quickly proved its language skills.

Oliver shivered blankly, and instinctively let go of his hand. The cat slammed into the ground with all four of its feet, completely lacking the elegance unique to a cat. It calmly adjusted its posture and began to lick one of its front paws.

“Why did you say there’s still time?” Nemo thought he must be crazy as he asked… He was talking to a cat.

“Blight,” the cat said in an unpleasant voice, as if it was unable to pronounce long words. “I can provide… Blight spell. Do you want to help her?”

It stopped licking its paws and raised its head and looked at the two of them. “Do you want to help?”

“I don’t mind,” Nemo whispered. “Do you want to try it, Ollie?”

“Of course.” Oliver squatted down and petted the cat—or something—on the head. “Although we can’t guarantee success… Who are you?”

“Caramel,” the “cat” answered. “There is no other name.”

“Uh… Let me put it another way. What are you? Where does the blight spell come from—” Oliver was still asking when he was suddenly interrupted by the scene in front of him which caused Nemo to also take a step back.

The round cat’s pupils widened even larger, and almost the entire eye of the orange cat became pure black. Suddenly, two new eyes emerged from its face, which then flattened, and its body swelled rapidly like dough rising in an oven.

A huge arthropod lizard appeared in front of the two of them.

Unlike White II, who was half a person tall, this one’s carapace was faintly golden in the moonlight and its height was the same as Oliver’s. The intermediate demon in its original form blinked with four eyes and moved cautiously towards the stone road so as to stay away from the garden. When it began to restore its original shape, its claws touched a weed on the road, causing the original moist green grass to wither visibly to the naked eye.

“Demon,” it said. “You call us demons.”

The yellowish lizard flicked its tongue in Nemo’s direction and turned its face toward Oliver. “You’re very strong. You don’t hurt us. You named us,” it said, with difficulty. “You’re good.”

“Thank you?” Oliver said with uncertainty. Listening to the lizard’s meaning, it seemed to know about White II, although he still couldn’t figure out what White II wanted…

And they still had so many other questions.

Adrian said that the arthropod lizards were very sensitive to magic. White II was so afraid of Nemo before, perhaps because it felt the aura of the superior demon. However, it still stuck close to him and even helped them along their journey to Caleb Village as they crossed the entire desert.

“You are waiting…” Oliver tentatively put his hand on the lizard’s bone shell and guessed, “…For someone to help her?”

Oliver thought that if White II had communicated with it and their purpose was the same, this kind of efficiency was too low. White II never spoke, and it was powerless to change their itinerary.

If the plan was to pick up powerful passersby, then awkwardly protect and follow them in the hopes that they would truly stop by Caleb Village so it could notify its companion in the village who could speak and find an opportunity to persuade them to help a dying witch; this may appear feasible at first glance, but the success rate for something like this was just too pitiful.

This didn’t even mention how dangerous it was for intermediate demons to appear in a human village. Even if the person it selected didn’t attack it, there was no reason for them to help the witch either. Oliver had already seen its poor eloquence. He didn’t think that a demon who could barely speak the lingua franca could understand Woodruff’s Theorem and know how to save Nadine.

They were just… waiting. Waiting for someone who may or may not ever appear.

“Yes.” The arthropod lizard’s answer was very clear. “There is nothing else I can do.”

The humid air seemed to make it uncomfortable. It shrank a few times unnaturally, then changed back to the appearance of an orange cat and began to lick the hair on its back frantically.

“What are we going to do?” Nemo learned from Oliver and patted the cat’s head, causing all its fur to explode instantly.

“You need a medium,” The orange cat seemed to be trying its best to curb its instinct to escape, which made its unpleasant voice hitch a bit. “You help her, I will give it.”

“Thank you,” it shivered and added, lowering its furry head. “Thank you.”

“We will do our best,” Nemo muttered, and took the opportunity to pet it again. The fat cat shook so much that it seemed as if its bones would fall apart. It struggled to stand up, then rushed into the garden again; this time, its fat body didn’t get stuck.

Nemo sighed and withdrew his hand awkwardly.

“Remember, Ollie, ‘they are on vacation since their king isn’t here’.” Nemo looked at the orange cat who had skillfully drilled into the house. “In terms of its powers, it’s likely to be—”

“The leader of that group of arthropod lizards,” Oliver finished Nemo’s sentence and lowered his head to lift the upper part of his indoor shoes. “But shouldn’t they and Nadine be natural enemies?”

However, they weren’t the only ones who were troubled by arthropod lizards.

Adrian Cross was leaning against the corridor, looking out the window. Although it was dark, most of the glass windows were stained with his shadow.

Too many things happened in one day. His common sense and reality were tearing away endlessly in his mind. He was indeed relieved for Oliver Ramon… or rather Oliver Lopez, but the former Chief Justice was still a little uneasy. It wasn’t an indecisive emotion but a vague premonition born from instinct.

Things couldn’t be that simple.

A superior demon born from the bottom of the Abyss just happened to grow into a human? Adrian didn’t think that humans could fish out a complete “human” from the bottom of the sea. Besides, the biological appearance at the bottom of the Abyss was always more exaggerated than that at the bottom of the deep sea.

But he couldn’t find any known theory to explain it. Without solid evidence, he denied the other party with an “I think it’s impossible”, and Adrian asked himself if he could do this.

This made his head hurt even more.

And just when he was almost about to pinch the center between his brows purple, a vague white shadow flashed by the window. Its speed was quite fast, but it wasn’t fast enough to be indistinguishable to the former knight commander. A fuller goat was running outside the village without a fixed leather rope tying luggage to it.

It was an intermediate demon with an unknown purpose. Adrian didn’t hesitate. He confirmed that there were enough arrows in his quiver and decisively chased after it.

Fifteen minutes later, he raised his arms, trying to suppress his urge to pinch his brows again.

Adrian Cross was stepping on the gradually icy sand. White II stopped not far from the village, changed back to its original shape, and then began to dig sand intently. It wasn’t the only one who was doing it. A group of arthropod lizards bit at the ends of each other’s tails and created a familiar spine shape that appeared in front of him again. They spread out not far from White II, plowing the sand like a groundhog and drilling into the depths of the desert.

White II’s speed was particularly fast. When Adrian began to wonder if it had penetrated the center of the earth, it returned to the surface again. Its tail was carefully wrapped around a small mass of wet sand. It shook the grains of sand on its body, rested in place for a few minutes, and then began to bury the hole it left behind.

Not every arthropod lizard was so lucky. Only two or three returned to the ground wrapped in sand balls. The successful tails pointed straight to the sky, while the losers curled their tails into balls, silently burying the traces of digging.

Adrian watched in silent wonder at the unknown actions of the arthropod lizards.

White II gathered the sand balls obtained by its companions, plowed a shallower pit, and threw the sand balls down one by one. When it got to the last one, a sinful hand grabbed the final sand ball.

Adrian frowned and squeezed it open, seeing a few small stones inside that were as heavy as metal. He pulled out a handkerchief, wrapped the suspicious small stone with it and put it in his pocket. Then he lowered his gaze. White II gave him a look full of grievances. As if knowing that the other party had no intention of returning it to it, it turned around with frustration and began to bury the sand again.

“Your interests are quite strange.” A frivolous voice came from behind. “Coming out in the middle of the night to watch demons playing with sand? Are the hobbies of the Knights of Judgement so unique?”

Adrian didn’t look back but sighed. “Your interest is also quite strange. Following your companions isn’t a commendable behavior.”

“Oh, I thought you were going on a date with a girl!” Jesse Dylan rubbed his hands. “If that were true, I would have to rudely interrupt, right?”

“Where’s Bagelmaurus?” Adrian didn’t have the energy to humor Jesse Dylan.

“It fell asleep and screamed, ‘don’t eat me’ in its dreams.” The blond young man shrugged. “Mr. Light may have left a serious psychological shadow on it.”

Adrian pondered for a moment, took out the handkerchief, and unfolded it again: “Don’t talk about that… Dylan, do you know what this thing is?”

No matter how unorthodox this person was, his strength and insight weren’t false.

“Seeds.” Jesse twisted one up and threw it up casually. “They are so old that they’re no different from dead ones.”

“Thank you.” The knight commander nodded. “I’ll go back first. You can slowly enjoy watching the night view.”

He had just shifted his attention for a bit, but the arthropod lizards had already run away. Even White II became a small dot in his field of vision that was running in the direction of the village. From the outline, it had changed back to its appearance of a fuller goat.

“What are you doing with these dead seeds?” Jesse asked suddenly.

“That demon is too purposeful. This thing may have something to do with its purpose,” Adrian replied quietly. “I am the consultant for this team, and I have an obligation to tell the captain this information.”

“Why be so bothersome? I think we’ll leave soon. The arthropod lizard doesn’t like humid climates, so it’s impossible for that demon to leave the desert with us.”

“Still.” The knight sighed. “I don’t think the captain will leave Caleb right now. Ms. Nadine’s affairs… He will intervene.”

“You believe that he will?”

“I believe in my own vision and ability to discern people.” Adrian’s voice became a little colder. “If Oliver Ramon chooses to ignore it at this time, I will reconsider my decision.”

If Mr. Ramon chose to run away in front of an opposing power, turning his back on the blood of an innocent, then his promise about Nemo could only be regarded as a declaration in the heat of passion or a cover-up for his love.

Adrian resolved to only trust him once.

“You see, this is why I wanted to join you.” Jesse’s tone was full of interest as he ignored Adrian’s cold voice. “You always do these kinds of stupid things that have no chance of success. This kind of excitement makes me very happy.”

“This is not a stupid thing.”

“Well, you certainly don’t think so, since you have done exactly the same thing.” Jesse stretched out an arm as if he was trying to hook it around Adrian’s shoulder, but it was quickly blocked. “You knew what those old men would do, but you still insist on exposing poor Cahill? He hadn’t done anything yet. Don’t be surprised. Do you think I believe the outside rumors… That an evil knight tempted his best friend to fall from grace for the sake of merit?”

“How they deal with it is their business.” Adrian accelerated his steps so that he could get rid of the person behind him. “What I do is my business. There’s no link between them.”

“Even if you know the ending?”

“I don’t know the ending,” the knight commander stopped. “For me, a miracle has happened once, then of course it can happen a second time.”

“You’re so innocent. It’s quite lovely. What if it doesn’t occur?”

“Then it didn’t happen,” Adrian shook his head. “You don’t understand at all, Mr. Dylan. The actions or possible outcomes of others are irrelevant. I think the same is true of Mr. Ramon. We just chose the path we firmly believed in.”

“That’s called being ‘stupid’.” Jesse raised his brows.

“Think as you wish,” the knight commander replied nonchalantly, and began to move towards Caleb Village. “I don’t need your understanding.”

This time, Jesse didn’t keep up.

The blond young man was no longer throwing the seeds and catching them in his hands. He grabbed it and stared at Adrian Cross fading back.

Delicate green vines emerged from between his fingers and wrapped around them. They were slender and fragile but full of vitality. Jesse loosened his fist, revealing the gravel-like seed that was lying in his palm. The vines were rapidly retracting into it, like a frightened snail retracting into its shell.

“That’s stupidity,” he sighed. “Don’t you think so, Miss Miracle?”

Adrian Cross had returned to the inn. He wasn’t disappointed. Their leader seemed to have decided to intervene, but this also made his stomach hurt.

No one had packed their luggage. Oliver was holding onto his Rest in Peace with a serious expression on his face. The sword’s body was bright and clear as he was practicing his magic control. And the other…

“One more!” Ann threw out another magic array. Nemo nodded at a certain position of the array with a bitter face, causing it to suddenly collapse and disappear.

“Oh, Cross, have you calmed down?” The female warrior turned her head as she grabbed Nemo’s robe. “Regarding Nadine, these two boys thought of an idea which is somewhat feasible.”

“It’s very feasible,” Nemo corrected her in a low voice, sounding a little guilty. “But we have to practice…”

“And our demon seems to have remembered a lot of good things. I haven’t found a spell that he can’t solve yet.” She seemed to think of something and loosened Nemo’s robe a little stiffly. “But I can only make up to three arrays at the same time. What about you, Cross? Is there any way to give him some problems?”

“Maybe.” Adrian’s expression remained calm. “If I guessed correctly… You plan to start practicing node destruction, right, Mr. Light?”

“Yes.”

“You can see those roots.”

“Yes.”

“…Okay, but I have to explain a little in advance,” Adrian Cross said. “If you really intend to drill a loophole in Woodruff’s Theorem, as far as the current situation is concerned, you cannot succeed. I have seen similar attempts. Simulating death is a sophisticated operation.” The knight commander glanced at Oliver, who had already stopped nervously. “And you seem to plan to operate this with two people simultaneously.”

“But that’s the only way we can do it,” Nemo’s expression was blank. “After all, my powers are not homologous to Ms. Nadine’s, so it can’t be used as a medium.”

“I said, ‘As far as the current situation is concerned’.” Adrian spoke slowly. “But I don’t think this is too much of a problem for you and Mr. Ramon. I apologize in advance, but you may not have time to rest tonight.”

“It’s best for the two of you to practice how to cooperate from now on.”

---

The author has something to say:

How can they fall in love without synchronization when fighting side by side?

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 83: Incomplete Elements

The cry was not far from them. It wasn’t sad, but there was a suppressed pain in its sound.

Nemo’s first reaction was to stand up and look, while Debby frowned and clenched her rod. The cry was very short, and its owner seemed to swallow it back. Oliver moved the fastest, and when the last sound dissipated, he had already opened the door and looked out.

“It’s the lady we almost bumped into.” Oliver turned his head. “She… doesn’t look good.”

The fat middle-aged woman had stopped crying. She was squatting in front of a window in the corridor, blowing her nose vigorously with her handkerchief. Seeing someone looking around, she hurriedly moved forward, as if she wanted to stand up, but she failed. Looking at her red eyes and the abnormal flushing on her face, she might have lost all her strength from crying.

Nemo leaned against the door and saw Oliver pass by and stretched out his hand to help the lady up. Debby also looked out with interest. The moment she saw the lady, the smile on her face froze. She retracted her head sullenly and returned to the room in a bad mood.

“She is the innkeeper here, Lisa,” Ann whispered. “Before you came back, she almost used a bench to whack the client of Horizon.”

“Mrs. Lisa…” Nemo recalled the yellowish envelope for a few seconds. “Is she the one communicating with Ms. Nadine? We saw a letter signed by Lisa to Nadine.”

“That’s right. She also thinks that Ms. Nadine is ‘Nadine’s grandmother’,” Ann added. “Nemo, look after Oliver. Don’t let him leak this.”

On the other hand, Oliver had just helped the innkeeper up. She smiled gratefully and reluctantly, then turned her head and blew her nose loudly again. Her standing position was a bit strange, and her left foot didn’t seem to dare touch the ground. Nemo glanced at him, knowing that he had seen this situation hundreds of times at the orphanage.

Now he had a better way to help deal with it. Nemo walked out of the room and squatted down next to Oliver. A dark shadow wrapped around Mrs. Lisa’s ankle.

“It’s okay,” he said softly, “I’m here to help.”

“Thank you.” Mrs. Lisa looked sad and tired. She tentatively stepped on the floor with her left foot, and then stood still. “I remember you two… I almost bumped into you just now. Sorry, boys.”

“You seem to be troubled.” Oliver hesitated for a few seconds. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“I’m afraid not.” She shook her head. She raised her eyes and saw the black badge on their chests and then turned her gaze to Ann. “Even though I really want to entrust you… It’s just that no one can beat Horizon.”

Ann sighed while Debby in the room buried her face in a pillow.

“You are—” As soon as Oliver opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Nemo’s fiercely pinching his legs, causing him to turn his head in surprise.

Nemo nervously stopped Oliver’s words. “I heard, Mrs. Lisa. Grandma Nadine treated me… She’s a kind person. It’s really a pity.” He desperately emphasized the words “grandma” and cast a stiff look at Oliver.

“Is that so?” At this point, Mrs. Lisa didn’t have the energy to care about the awkward tone of the other party. “How can I explain this to Nadine… That’s her only relative, and I can’t do anything…”

Nemo suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in his throat.

Oliver was silent for a while. “We just came back from there, and we happened to run into Horizon, who was negotiating with Nadine… Grandma Nadine.”

Mrs. Lisa slowly raised her head.

“If this can bring you comfort,” Oliver said softly, “she was very calm and was even in the mood to water her seeds.”

“You don’t need to say that.” The female innkeeper shook her head. “There’s no need to water her seeds. Whatever is in her hands, as long as the seeds are planted, flowers will bloom within the next moment… She will only water her flowers.”

She showed a somewhat vague smile. “I appreciate your kindness, but there is no need to coax me.”

“But she did water the seeds of the Earthsea Orchid,” Nemo quickly interjected. “Looking at your store’s name, I think you must have heard of it—”

“What?”

“Uh, Earthsea Orchid?”

“You just said—who watered the seeds of the Earthsea Orchid?” The female innkeeper’s voice suddenly became sharp, with even a hint of hostility. “Nadine’s grandmother? Bullshit! Listen, I do thank the both of you, but I’m not really in the mood to joke around right now—”

“The seeds are in a glass bottle and are very heavy, like stones.” Nemo was surprised by Lisa’s attitude. “We’re not lying to you, Mrs. Lisa.”

Lisa could feel the blood vessels in her forehead thumping. It must be because all the blood poured into her brain that her feet became cold. At this moment, she felt so dizzy that she thought she could faint. Cold sweats were pouring out uncontrollably. ‘They’re lying,’ she thought. ‘It couldn’t be true.’  She remembered it clearly…

“I will write to you.” Seventeen-year-old Nadine was breathtakingly beautiful. “I’ll… keep writing to you.”

“Listen, you’ll be able to meet a prince.” At that time, she said loudly from the bottom of her heart. “Don’t forget me when that time comes!”

Nadine smiled embarrassingly and didn’t answer. “Is there anything you want?”

“The letters are enough.”

“Other than the letters?”

“Then… Will you come back soon?”

“…What else?”

“Anything?” Even if it was an impossible wish that would make her always remember?

Nadine was the most upstanding person she had ever met, so she would always remember. This was perhaps the cleverest idea she ever had in her life. Lisa was even secretly quite proud of it.

“Then don’t tell anyone. No one, or they’ll laugh at me for being stupid,” she said very solemnly. “I want to look at an Earthsea Orchid. You see, this is the name of our inn. I heard my grandparents say before that they are extremely beautiful. You’re the best at these things, so maybe you can find one outside!”

“Of course,” Nadine readily promised her.

Until now, Nadine occasionally mentioned this in her letters, but she never said that she had discovered the seeds of the Earthsea Orchid. On that matter, Lisa knew better than anyone else. The Earthsea Orchids had only appeared in this town and were long extinct. Her grandfather even wrote a heavy book on it that she had read countless times.

However, the two young men said that Ms. Nadine had the seeds of the Earthsea Orchids, but Nadine hadn’t come back since she left. It was impossible to tell anyone this secret, let alone her grandmother.

“She doesn’t know how long she has lived. It’s just five years. Why would she be so reluctant to give it up? She didn’t waste much effort—” Howard’s annoying yelling suddenly exploded in her mind.

If such a lifespan was taken away, why was Ms. Nadine becoming weaker?

Lisa stood still, finding it difficult to breathe. The chill gnawed at her feet, and now it was starting to spread from her calf upwards. In the warm oasis, she felt as if she was standing in an ice cave.

“Impossible!” she shouted, regardless of how rude her tone sounded. “This isn’t possible.”

But could these two kind-hearted young men really lie… with such accuracy? She didn’t know what her expression was now, but the worry on the faces of the two young men in front of her became more intense.

Impossible.

She couldn’t process the thought in her head right now. Lisa turned around in a daze and instinctively ran to the lobby. It’s impossible. She wrote so many letters, so many novel things…

It can’t be like this. God, please.

“…Is she okay?” Nemo’s face was a little pale. Mrs. Lisa’s distorted face had really frightened him; a superior demon. “Perhaps we shouldn’t mention this? She looks even worse now.”

“Let’s follow and have a look.” Oliver’s face wasn’t much better than his.

“Then I’ll be here waiting for you to come back,” Ann sighed. She recognized the look in Mrs. Lisa’s eyes. She probably had figured it out, and Ann never liked to watch tragedies.

“Are you going to have a look too?” The female warrior turned to Debby. The mage of Horizon had completely buried her head in the blanket. “Nemo’s gone.”

“No… I’m not going.” Debby’s voice trembled a little, and she covered the blanket tighter. “I… I have to go back to Horizon. Ann, can you say goodbye to Nemo for me?”

At this time, the figures of the two had completely disappeared from the corridor.

When Nemo and Oliver stepped into the front hall, Mrs. Lisa was standing in front of the wooden platform shivering and rummaging for something. Several new guests were waiting at the entrance, but she didn’t even lift her head.

“Yes, yes.” Lisa carefully picked out a letter from the pile of letters, wiped her hands carefully on her apron, and unfolded the letter. “Nadine, she was in Vincent Town in Willard three days ago!” The female innkeeper was keen to prove something. She suddenly turned to Nemo and said, “She’s there, she’s fine.”

She went to all the towns they had planned together and showed her everything she wanted to see. Her letter had never been broken, and the content was always full of hope—she couldn’t be old.

“What nonsense.” A man dressed as a merchant shouted impatiently, tapping the door frame hard with his cane. “Vincent Town disappeared more than a week ago. It was destroyed by some Black Chapters! Can we go through the formalities quickly? Shit, my goods had to be pulled from that destroyed town. What terrible luck.”

The letter fell gently on the wooden table.

The female innkeeper’s face was still flushed, and her eyes swelled to like a goldfish’s blistering eyes. The expression on her face was frozen at that moment that was mixed with hope and despair. Instead of looking at the loudmouthed merchant, she stared at the two Black Chapters in front of her.

Nemo turned his face, unable to stand it. His eyes were heavy, and he couldn’t bear the weight.

“You know, right?” The female innkeeper whispered. “Otherwise, are you two… looking at me so sadly?”

Lisa didn’t cry this time.

She turned around without even waiting for the two of them to answer and carefully folded the letter as if she was in a trance. She put it back into the envelope and creased the opening neatly. The movement was crisp, if one could ignore her trembling hands. She ignored all the angry guests that were waiting, carefully untied her apron, and tightened her hair. She looked at the entrance for a while before she suddenly ran out. She didn’t even change into shoes that were suitable for going outside.

Oliver and Nemo glanced at each other and hurriedly followed. Mrs. Lisa’s condition was worse than they thought. If something were to happen to her, they would surely be crushed to death by guilt.

She was currently desperate enough.

Mrs. Lisa ran faster than they thought. In spite of everything, she ran recklessly and even lost her indoor shoes halfway. Her foot must have been injured as Nemo could smell blood on the trail. By the time they picked up the shoes she had lost, she was already in front of the witch’s residence and had already passed by the yard.

It was dark that night, and there was a faint and distant light in the windows of the house.

Nemo thought Lisa would rush into the door and have a sad farewell with her best friend, whom she hadn’t seen for many years, but she stopped right at the door. Half a minute later, they watched her turn around and sit weakly on the stone steps.

Mrs. Lisa didn’t care about her bleeding feet. She buried her face in her arms and hunched her shoulders without making the slightest sound.

“She…” As soon as Nemo spoke, Oliver put his hand on his shoulder. His leader shook his head and walked forward.

“Mrs. Lisa.” Oliver squatted down. His tone was very light. “We are really sorry… She didn’t want you to know.”

“It’s not your fault.” The female innkeeper didn’t raise her face. Her voice was choked with agonizing sadness. “You didn’t mean it… I know. I just…”

She took a quick breath and held it for a while, trying to suppress the cry that almost broke out.

“Is she dying?” Lisa still had her face buried in her arms. “Is she dying? But I’m not ready yet. What should I do?”

“You… Won’t you go and meet her?” Nemo still couldn’t help asking softly as the dark shadow silently crawled over the wound on the soles of Lisa’s feet.

“…She doesn’t want me to worry, so it’s better for me to continue ‘not knowing’.” Lisa finally raised her face, which was covered in tears. “At least in this way, she won’t be… too sorry.”

After another short breath, she staggered to her feet.

“I’m going for a walk,” she said softly. “Please don’t follow this time.”

“But you—”

“I still have a daughter, so I won’t do anything stupid.” Lisa’s voice grew softer. She looked at the indoor shoes in Oliver’s hands. “Thank you for your kindness… I just want to be alone for a while.”

“I see, Mrs. Lisa.” Oliver nodded and took off his own shoes. The straps had changed to be rough and coarse since they had crossed the desert, but at least the soles were strong enough. “At least… Please wear this. I still have my companion with me, so I won’t get hurt.”

The female innkeeper looked at him steadily for a while, then bowed awkwardly. She put on those somewhat bulky shoes very skillfully, and her figure quickly disappeared into the night.

“…You don’t mind?” After a while of silence, Nemo couldn’t help but speak up as he watched Oliver struggle to put on the indoor shoes.

“I’ve walked on those bloody blisters in the beginning, so this is nothing.” Oliver tried to take two steps forward, indicating that he was moving normally.

Afraid of disturbing Nadine, the two quickly left the front door of the witch’s residence. The flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom, but it was a pity that the rich and sweet fragrance of the flowers couldn’t save the bleak mood that they both were in.

“Ollie… What do we do now?” Nemo stared at a flower and asked dryly. “Personally… if I choose to leave here now, I will always feel that I am not something special.”

“I feel the same,” Oliver replied dryly. “But… I don’t mind, but can you confront Miss Light head-on?”

“…Can’t.”

“Speaking of Miss Light.” Oliver stopped suddenly. “Didn’t you just say something… What did you say? There’s a way to make Nadine lose her power? No, don’t make that expression.” Seeing Nemo’s face frozen, he quickly added, “I don’t care where your knowledge came from.”

“That’s just a theoretical possibility,” Nemo said listlessly. “Do you know Woodruff’s Theorem?”

“…No.”

“…It’s okay. I didn’t know about it until yesterday,” Nemo sighed. “Once the two-way connection across space is established, it can only die out naturally in accordance with the law. The connection itself cannot be destroyed… The surface contract of a superior demon also conforms to this theorem, which is why I suspect how I know this.”

“I don’t understand,” Oliver admitted honestly. “What does it have to do with Nadine’s inability to break free?”

“She’s connected to the main plant of the Eastern Witch by its root system that spans across space. It’s like the flesh of a superior demon that’s contractually connected to the body in the Abyss. If feasible, we can kill the things on either side that connect them together, which will cause the connection to disappear naturally. However, if both sides are still alive, the connection itself is unbreakable. This is a fact.”

“But you said there was a way.”

“There is a way to indeed perfectly simulate death on one side.” Nemo pressed his temple hard. “But the power at the moment of death… Well, Debby’s right. Nadine isn’t strong enough to do it. On the other hand, although I can see the root system, I don’t have a blight spell to destroy the nodes.”

“I might have a way with Nadine.” Oliver pondered for a moment. “But why do you need a blight spell? Can’t you do it?”

“If the spell attribute exceeds the cognition of the root system, it will only think that she has been attacked. It won’t recognize Nadine’s death, so it won’t disconnect on its own.”

“In other words… There’s still hope.”

“But we only have one day left!” Nemo rubbed his face vigorously, staring at the indoor shoes that were covered in sharp stones. Thank God there wasn’t a smell of blood in the air. “It’s too late.”

“There’s still time.”

“Ollie, what’s wrong with your throat?”

“…It’s not me who answered you.” Oliver’s voice was a little dry.

“There’s still time.” That voice was not far from them, hidden in the darkness. It was hoarse and weird, like a dying old man speaking on his last breath.

“There’s still time,” the voice repeated.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 82: First-line Transfer

Bagelmaurus desperately wanted to escape.

It simply couldn’t figure out the thoughts of the superior demon named Nemo Light. At first, it did feel like the contract was a bit strange. After its powers were taken away, the contract that should have been completed was now stuck in a delicate state. Through the remnant magic that was still there, it could still sense the existence of Nemo, but it could no longer do anything other than that.

If Light was a human, it could still ponder what went wrong with its magic. However, Light wasn’t human, which meant one thing. If Light wanted to, he could take away its powers. It was pretty sure that Light was much stronger than itself. Even if Light didn’t mind that its flesh had fallen to that of an intermediate demon, Bagelmaurus didn’t want to take this risk.

Even if it became a brainless parrot, it was better than losing this piece of flesh entirely.

These idiots didn’t understand anything. The gray parrot stuffed its head into its wings and ignored Debby Light, who had just stepped into the room. Humans didn’t know as much about demons as they thought. This Black Chapter team had no idea what an unreasonable monster they were facing.

Generally speaking, the strength of a superior demon is proportional to the size of its body. Assuming that Nemo Light was really a complete superior demon, judging from his size alone, his strength wasn’t much stronger than the foggy Pandorater; rather, he might even be under Pandorater.

Adrian Cross should also be aware of this law, so he tolerated Ramon’s naïve proposal. Bagelmaurus groaned angrily. If the former Knight of Judgment could feel everything it perceived, he would be desperate to report the situation to the Holy Church right at this moment.

Bagelmaurus didn’t know how powerful Nemo Light could be when he was full of hostility, but it recalled exactly where the familiar aura that came from, at the bottom of the Abyss. It was like dead air that was so thick it almost condensed into an entity filled with nothingness that seemed to swallow everything.

After all, a superior demon was just an ordinary creature. There was no race born with such a terrifying aura. That aura didn’t infect anyone casually. It was born from the cruelest battle. As a member of the most risk-averse race in the entire Abyss, Bagelmaurus was very familiar with this aura. That wasn’t a level of endless battles that Pandorater could survive.

But Nemo Light claimed that he crawled to the surface as soon as he was born.

He was lying; he must be lying. If this was a lie, then the statement about the body must be the same—after all, there was only one exception in the Abyss where body size and strength were completely disproportionate.

The gray parrot suddenly shivered fiercely.

“Hey, Dylan…” it muttered in a low voice. The blond young man raised his brows and winked at it.

“…When was the eighteenth generation Demon King defeated?” Absolutely impossible, Bagelmaurus thought. However, an unknown chill kept climbing up its back. It couldn’t help asking, “I heard that it should be the nineteenth generation now.”

“More than 20 years ago.” Jesse Dylan turned his gaze back to Debby in the center of the room. “The nineteenth generation? Nobody knows anything about it after all these years. The last expedition was fruitful, so the next one shouldn’t be this soon. Why? Do you doubt…” He seemed to suddenly become interested and lowered his voice, pressing his beautiful face up close, “Mr. Light is the nineteenth generation Demon King?”

“No!” Bagelmaurus held back its scream. “He… He must be a wanderer. He can’t be that thing!”

“You should be a little more confident in yourself, cute little guy.” The smile on Jesse’s face became more obvious. “Maybe your guess is correct.”

“But if that’s true, Aurorae… Aurorae didn’t respond yet.” It was almost paralyzed by its absurd conjecture. Fortunately, there was still a lifeline for it to grab. “…You’re playing around with me!”

“Oh, yes.” Jesse coughed lightly. “Who made you look so serious? I couldn’t help it, sorry.”

But the gray parrot wasn’t fooled by him.

“You’re not going to ask me who Aurorae is?” It stared suspiciously at the beautiful face of the blond young man. “Do you know who Aurorae is?”

“Maybe.” Jesse replied casually, turning his gaze back to the center of the room again…

“…Nemo, does your team choose people based on their faces? I like this idea.” Soon after entering the door, Debby stood in the center of the room and glanced around. “What were you doing just now? Why does everyone look… Uh, unhappy.”

“Nemo just finished seeing the doctor, so we were just asking about the situation,” Ann quickly answered.

Hearing the word “doctor”, the girl lowered her head slightly. “Ah… Yes, Nemo can’t remember what happened before he was adopted. So this is why you’re here to find Ms. Nadine.” Her voice was getting smaller and there was a subtle awkwardness that was slowly spreading.

“So?” The girl took a few breaths and quickly changed the subject. “Nemo, have you recovered your memories?”

“It’s been restored.” Nemo tried to squeeze out a less suspicious smile, but it only caused his face to stiffen. “It’s nothing special—I was just lucky, just like we guessed when we were kids.”

Debby narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? When I was a kid, I guessed you survived by breathing fire.”

“…It’s almost as Old Patrick had guessed.”

Debby looked at him up and down, and then glanced at the gray parrot next to the blond young man who was pulling its feathers. It took a long time before she said “oh”.

“Does Horizon have to kill Nadine?” Seeing as Nemo couldn’t hold it together any longer, Ann solemnly switched topics. “Don’t worry, I’m just asking. After all, you did stop me from asking the innkeeper further questions. I don’t think you’re acting in a completely cruel manner.”

“We investigated it. She hid from everyone in this village and didn’t even tell her best friend the truth. They all thought Nadine was her own ‘grandmother’.” The smile on Debby’s face dimmed a little. She jumped to the table in the room and sat down, dangling her legs. “Although I don’t know the reason… She worked so hard to maintain the status quo, so there is some motive.”

“Miss Light.” When Debby stepped into the room, Oliver spoke for the first time, with inexplicable tension in his voice. “According to Ms. Nadine, the client should be just an ordinary patient. Things should not reach the point where they are irreparable.”

“As far as I know, there is no remedy.” Debby stared at Oliver’s face for a few seconds. Her legs stopped swinging, and her expression became a bit more formal. “Judging from the regulations of the Mercenary Guild, the Eastern Witches are a hostile race and a potential threat. We swore to the tin badge that we would not let go of any dangerous elements that might harm our compatriots. Unless she could throw away all her power… but we all know that’s impossible.”

“Why?” Nemo sat down on the edge of the bed. Seeing that Debby was no longer struggling with his memory problems, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Have you ever seen a flower off itself, brother?” The girl shook her head. “I have to give you some magic books. The library in Roadside Town is full of useless things… The previous generation of the Eastern Witch will extract the lifespan of her offspring through a root system. You should know this. The connection of the root system obeys Woodruff’s Theorem, and they keep getting those nasty roots.”

“Just counter it with homologous power.” Nemo heard himself speak. Before he could react to whether “Woodruff’s Theorem” belonged to the lingua franca, the words had already leaked out of his mouth. It was as natural as finding an old toy that had been forgotten in a dusty box. A mix of runes and magic array swept through his mind like the wind.

“…If it creates just the right recoil while it absorbs, it’ll destroy the loop nodes of the root system in sequence, targeting the original source. The roots will then be cut off. Woodruff’s Theorem will still hold true.”

Like Bluebird’s language, knowledge from unknown sources was churning in his mind.

Debby was silent for a while. “…Did a rich man donate a lot of money to the library?”

Shit.

Cold sweat suddenly appeared on Nemo’s forehead. He hadn’t recovered from his procedure and his chaotic thoughts made him completely tongue-tied, so he looked to Oliver for help…

“We’ve been to many places,” Oliver said very sincerely. “As you know, Nemo has always liked reading.”

“Oh, I thought my brother was in charge of logistics for the team.” Debby coughed. Oliver’s innocent expression was surprisingly convincing. The suspicion in the girl’s eyes gradually dissipated. “Uh… That approach is theoretically feasible, but with all due respect, Ms. Nadine isn’t that strong. To destroy the nodes, the root system must be observed, and no one can see the roots of the Eastern Witches.”

“I know you want to help her,” Debby straightened out the robe, “but for Nemo’s sake, I would advise you—you’d better not get involved. Believe me, you are not the first people to want to do this. Our commander is a mission madman. He will not be merciful because of… certain things.” She gave Oliver a meaningful look. “I don’t really want to talk about the ending of those people, so don’t ask.”

She ended the topic decisively.

Apart from this, the atmosphere was relatively light. Nemo chatted with Debby for an hour while Oliver listened carefully and would interject from time to time. Adrian watched the first ten minutes numbly before leaving the room while Ann stayed where she was staring at the small gap on the edge of the wooden table in a daze.

Suddenly, a suppressed cry pierced the gradually darkening sky.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 81: Hero Bloodline and Superior Demon

Debby Light followed her tall companion, trying her best to adjust her facial expressions. The strong but soft joy made her head dizzy. A competent mercenary should never bring emotions into their work. She pinched the palm of her hand with her manicured nails and adjusted her breathing rate to finally calm down the excited beating of her heart.

Even though Godwin Lopez successfully obtained the holy sword in the last mission, she didn’t have such definite joy.

Most of the abandoned children in the Light orphanage wouldn’t stay after the age of thirteen. Thanks to its geographical location, there were a lot of professionals and adventurers of all kinds who would come and go. Those with talents and dreams would be taken away as soon as possible out of that remote town, and start their own lives.

Nemo was the only one who stayed behind; he was her actual caregiver, but also the main object of her bullying when she was young and ignorant. By the time Debby was old enough to climb up the roof of the house and blow up the neighbor’s chimney with her magic, Old Patrick was so old that he would have to catch his breath after a few steps. In order to maintain the orphanage’s livelihood, the eldest, Nemo, began to run around to work and carried all the responsibility in one basket himself.

Although she cautiously confirmed it, Debby still didn’t think Nemo Light was a person obsessed with power. He had never pursued his “authority” in the orphanage, and he had never shown even the slightest jealousy of her power.

She was nothing short of a brat when she was a child. Although she didn’t want to admit it, Debby knew this well, but he never really got angry with her, or even scolded her. Nemo would always be like Old Patrick and babble solemnly—she even thought he was so weak at the time.

The girl smiled helplessly at herself in her memories.

Such a person wouldn’t hurt others for a little so-called power. His eyes didn’t change, and she decided to believe him.

Debby originally planned to go back to Roadside Town when she was an adult, bringing honor, money, and apologies to repay this relative who seemed to have never learned what anger was. At that time, he should have settled down and maybe had his own family. Nemo would never leave Roadside Town. She had always believed this firmly for no apparent reason.

And now they had met.

Her eldest brother became a Black Chapter, but it didn’t matter. She could still take care of him this time.

The door to Godwin Lopez’s room was unlocked. The warrior, Victor, stepped into the room first, and Debby successfully adjusted her expression and followed him into the temporary residence of the commander of Horizon. Their young and handsome leader was frowning at a report, and the holy sword was well placed in its scabbard, resting within his reach.

Seeing the members enter the room, Godwin put down the parchment roll in his hand and smiled softly.

“Commander, what did Ms. Nadine say?” Debby asked first.

“She refused.” Godwin shook his head. His voice was calm. “We can only act according to the regulations. If it was a Swamp Witch, there would still be some room, but she’s an Eastern Witch… There’s no other option. I left her two days.”

As if being doused with a bucket of ice water, Debby’s joy was instantly diluted. “Can you… persuade her again?”

“I can see Ms. Nadine’s determination, and she doesn’t have many days left to live.” Godwin shook his head. “I’ve already warned you, Debbie, don’t let illusion cloud your judgment. It’s just a flower, no different from the grass you tread on every day. We’re humans, and naturally we must put humans first.”

“Even if it’s a scumbag?”

“Even if it’s a scumbag.”

“You’re in charge.” Debby took a breath, determined to end this topic that made her unhappy. “You came to me for…?”

Godwin pushed the glass vial containing Oliver’s hair to the edge of the table, and then neatly pulled a few strands of his blond hair.

“Blood identification,” he said.

Debby raised her brows, and she instantly remembered the young man who had stiffened like a stake at the entrance of the inn. She didn’t say much and opened the glass vial neatly.

The green magic stone at the top of the rod began to flicker, and the short rod quickly drew lines of light green mantras in the air. The light brown hair floated out of the bottle and turned blood red. The melting was like a drop of blood dripping into hot water. There was the same change in Godwin’s blond hair. The pattern of diffusion kept changing until it stopped and turned into two strands of blood-red smoke that had been coagulated.

Debby turned the rod in her hand and made up two arrays. Two strands of blood-like things overlapped. With them at the center of the circle, several rings of runes that were nested began to slowly rotate around the blood.

“The mother’s side is irrelevant. The father’s blood is the same… No, it’s different. Very similar. The father should be a brother.” Debby shook her rod cleanly, and everything that had solidified in the hair instantly shattered into fine dust. “The owner of the hair is your cousin, commander.”

“Sure enough.” The face of the commander of Horizon showed no surprise. “The rumors were wrong. Uncle Flint’s son did survive.”

“That’s why you asked me to investigate Oliver Ramon?” The warrior who had been silent opened his mouth. “He himself is at this inn.”

“I met him at the Eastern Witch’s residence, but he didn’t seem to know anything.” Godwin shrugged. “How did it turn out, Victor? Why is he a Black Chapter?”

Debby crossed her arms, retreated to the wall, and listened intently.

“Oliver Ramon was born in Roadside Town of Alban. His father was Piper Ramon. He’s been charged with sheltering a demon worshiper named Nemo Light. The warrant stated that they murdered Piper together.”

Debby gasped loudly. She didn’t have time to cover her mouth.

Godwin glanced at her helplessly. “I won’t ask about Nemo Light for now… What about the information about Piper Ramon?”

Victor nodded with a sullen face and flipped through the booklet in his hand. “He is of unknown origin. He suddenly appeared in Roadside Town one day. Then… Well, he opened an inn in the local area. It’s rumored that it was a good place, but there’s nothing special about it.”

“No disability?”

“There is no disability.”

“Features?”

“He didn’t have any special hobbies, but sometimes he would play the ukulele in a tavern.”

“It sounds like something Uncle Flint would do.” Godwin raised his fingers and fell into contemplation. “There were two members of the Tin Army who didn’t participate in the expedition that year. Talbott Vance is missing, but even if he’s still alive, he should be very old… The other is a necromancer, and skeletons don’t grow flesh out of thin air. After what happened that year, Uncle Flint should have had no one else to trust.”

“And Sonia Ramon is just a wandering dancer. If she has relatives, it’s impossible for her father not to mention it. He didn’t entrust his kid to someone else…” He frowned. “I don’t know why he had sound limbs… But since he uses the surname ‘Ramon’, Piper Ramon should be Flint Lopez himself.”

“I don’t know about your family affairs, commander,” Debby finally couldn’t help interrupting, “I just want to affirm one thing—I don’t know who Oliver Ramon is, but Nemo is my big brother, and I know him. That crime should be Alban’s usual shit.”

“Brother… He’s from the Light Orphanage?”

“Yes. If you need it, I can use my reputation to guarantee his character.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t mean to deal with Mr. Light… At least not until there’s conclusive evidence. Regarding demon worshipers, Alban’s warrant is indeed not credible.” Godwin nodded solemnly. “Debby, you can go back. I have something to talk to Victor about.”

“Okay.” Debby grimaced. “I have said all that I wanted to say anyway.”

The young female mage shrugged, her rod turned dexterously in her palm, and she walked out of the room.

“That demon worshiper is not a threat. There’s no hostility in him.” The commander of Horizon glanced at the holy sword casually, “But shit is shit. The Alban army would not fabricate things out of thin air. So the extent of this matter…?”

“Some townspeople saw Oliver Ramon kill the seriously injured Piper Ramon with their own eyes.” Victor snapped his fingers, and a simple soundproof cover wrapped the two of them. “In other words, Mr. Ramon did commit the crime of patricide—”

“—The same crime as you, commander.”

At this moment, the sinner in their mouths was sitting nervously on the edge of the bed. To be precise, Oliver and Nemo were sitting alone in the corner of the bed, swallowing their saliva at the same time.

“Ollie, give me the medicine—I think I should take the medicine.” Nemo tried to escape reality. Adrian was staring at him. Although it didn’t contain hostility, the gaze looked as if it was dissecting him so he could be studied piece by piece. “I think I’ll go into a coma for a while.”

“It’s still too early.” Oliver dryly rejected Nemo’s request. “And you won’t pass out, trust me.”

“Hmm.” Ann stood opposite of them, leaning against the wall. “Before you start sharing the little story, do you have anything extra to prepare? Maybe taking a bath and building an altar and praying for three days and three nights?”

“You all know my situation.” Nemo simply gave up. “I’m a superior demon—complete, pure, and natural, and may not contain any human ingredients.”

“That’s right,” Ann said. “It sounds very suitable for cooking.”

Jesse Dylan turned the burst of laughter into a few coughs.

“Debby was one of my younger siblings when I was in the orphanage. She was taken away by a large mercenary group when she was eleven years old. We never saw each other again after that, and I didn’t know she joined Horizon,” Nemo added with a sullen face. “She has no bad intentions; she’s a good kid.”

“In other words, there is no new problem on your side.” Adrian’s tone was very serious. “Then your return together… I think something happened to Mr. Ramon.”

“Yes,” Oliver reluctantly took over, “The witch Horizon wants to hunt is Ms. Nadine. We just bumped into their leader, and Ms. Nadine refused the client’s demands… Well, she has her own things to deal with and Nemo recovered quickly, so we left early.”

“So what?” Ann asked unceremoniously. “A commander of Horizon can’t scare you two like this. Does he have a long head or something?”

“…He’s my cousin.”

“What?”

“Horizon’s commander, Godwin Lopez, should be my cousin.” Oliver held his forehead with both hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. “We… look very similar.”

There was a dead silence.

“…If I remember correctly, Godwin Lopez’s father is Emanuel Lopez,” Adrian said very slowly, “And Emanuel Lopez has only one brother. Mr. Ramon, are you indicating that the head of the Tin Soldier Mercenary Group is your father?”

The only relaxed smile left on Ann’s face completely disappeared as she stared at Oliver. It wasn’t a simple shock. It was mixed with many other things. As soon as Nemo was about to distinguish the emotions, she quickly hid them again.

“Flint Lopez should have no children,” the female warrior said softly. “It’s no secret that his wife was pregnant when she died.”

Oliver suddenly looked up at her, but Ann did not respond to his eyes.

“It’s just a baby. There are as many ways to fake a death.” Jesse spread his hands.

“Indeed.” Ann thought for a moment. “In that case… if it was Flint Lopez, then it could be possible.”

She didn’t speak anymore, and finally raised gaze to Oliver, showing a trace of sadness that flashed in her amber eyes.

“Yes,” Adrian Cross nodded, “if it’s him, then it’s really not surprising.”

“Oliver just said that they look alike, but you didn’t notice that?” Ann frowned and turned her face toward the knight commander. “Do you think he looks unpleasant? Haven’t you seen him before?”

“No.” Adrian shook his head. “He only came to the Holy Church when he was awarded an honorary knight, and I happened to be out on a mission at that time.”

“You don’t seem the type to hate a person you have never met,” Ann murmured.

“The Holy Church likes his style very much. I have heard a lot of his ‘deeds’.” The former knight sighed. “Let’s put it this way, this is just my personal opinion—in fact, Godwin Lopez is more suitable for the position of the commander of the Knights of Judgment than me.”

Ann showed a look of relief.

“What do you mean?” Nemo interjected carefully.

Adrian glanced at him deeply, but still answered his question. “In the position of a leader… Sometimes, even if the ‘correct’ decision is made, there will always be some innocent people who are destined to be sacrificed. I personally think that this is not ‘as it should be’. In the past, I would indeed bury the innocent with my own hands, and I also knew that it’s a sin of my own choice.”

“But for Godwin Lopez, there is no innocence other than human. As far as I have heard… He will be merciful, but he will not feel that there is anything wrong with killing from the bottom of his heart.”

“You two may not have heard of it.” Ann took over. “His first battle was very famous. About five years ago, a child on Willard’s side was bitten to death by a crazy insect, and Mr. Lopez wiped out the entire insect village by himself.”

Nemo moved towards the corner of the bed where Oliver was.

“A suggestion,” Ann raised her brows, “if what Oliver said is true, sooner or later, Lopez will notice Oliver’s blood relationship with him, and he will start paying attention to us. You better not reveal Nemo’s connection to demons to anyone in Horizon. This includes Debby. Even if it’s the level of a demon warlock… Never admit it.”

“Demon worshipers are still considered humans, but they will never be soft in the face of a demon warlock who is possessed by a superior demon,” she muttered, and added, “Oliver, if you want your sweetheart to live more comfortably, remember not to provoke your cousin.”

Oliver’s ears turned bright red. Nemo coughed dryly, pondered for a moment, and then moved back to the corner of his bed.

“The son of Flint Lopez and a—Nemo, sorry—a complete superior demon.” Ann rubbed her face fiercely. “Why did I pick the two of you up in the first place? I should’ve gone to the capital of Garland and drawn the lottery instead and used the grand prize to eat and drink merrily until I die.”

“This can explain Mr. Light’s performance in the Heretical Judgement Hall dungeon.” Adrian Cross pressed his temples with both hands. “On the other hand, if Mr. Ramon is really the son of that one, it’s not surprising that he has this strength. Mr. Ramon, maybe you can really reach the height you want.”

“So what are you going to do now, captain?” Different from the heaviness of the other two, Jesse casually scratched the neck of the gray parrot, which stood stiff like a stuffed dead animal. “You see, there is nothing wrong with my prophecy. Mr. Light has recovered his memory and got his answer. What are we still doing here? Why don’t you hurry up and get away from Horizon, leave this small place, and register the team.”

Perhaps this is the wisest option. Nemo thought this, but he glanced at the exquisite vial of potion and only felt that his heart was blocked. Oliver rubbed the small medicine bottle and lowered his eyes.

“You don’t owe that witch anything,” Jesse added. “What are you hesitating about? Horizon is here. If a conflict were to—”

There was a knock on the door. Jesse swallowed the remaining half of his speech and gave them a “I warned you” look.

“Nemo?” A girl’s elated voice sounded. “Nemo, I’m here to see you—”

“Poor little girl. She still doesn’t know what her older brother is,” Jesse whispered. “Speaking of this, my dear Ann, how did you subdue these two characters in the first place? I’m really curious.”

“Who knows? Maybe I was born with a big destiny.” The female warrior stood up and walked towards the door of the room.

She stopped at the door, put her hand on the door handle, and let out a very light sigh.

“…It may also be that I am destined to help someone pay off their debt,” she murmured at a volume that no one could hear.

---

The author has something to say:

Cousin is very standard anthropocentrism, while Oliver… buys pudding for two non-humans.

————

Godwin: Don’t call me when you get married.

Oliver: (Send invitation)

Godwin: …Don’t call me when you get married!

Oliver: (Send a car invitation)

Oliver: Happy.jpg

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 80: The Two Lights

When leaving the witch’s residence, Nemo couldn’t help but look back.

The courtyard full of flowers was as peaceful and lovely as it was at first, but at this moment it felt a bit lonelier. The orange cat that they first saw was nowhere to be found. The witch should still be sitting in front of her workbench. After she planted the last of the Earthsea Orchids, her entire body seemed to meld with the workbench. Bottles after bottles of medicine were prepared, labeled, and put together with a small wooden sign with a name on it.

Except for the sound of glassware bumping and the thin sound of clothing rubbing, it was too quiet.

Nadine stuffed the bottles belonging to Nemo into Oliver’s hand, gave a few instructions, and then waved casually. She then gave them an ordinary farewell, as if they would meet again.

After withdrawing his attention from the courtyard, Nemo looked at Oliver’s face. It was the first time he saw Oliver Ramon show this expression. Oliver had never really been discouraged. Even if he was confused, even if he couldn’t see what was ahead, he usually forced himself to march forward. But now…

“Nemo.” Oliver noticed his gaze. He seemed to want to withdraw the heavy expression on his face, but failed. “I… Sorry, I’m a bit confused now.”

“I may not be able to empathize,” Nemo subconsciously stretched out his hand and rubbed the other’s short light brown hair. After realizing that this method of comfort might not be appropriate, he shrank his hand back embarrassedly. “After all, I’m not from the Lopez family, but I… can imagine it.”

They could kill wolfhounds, repel worms and demons, and even stop a small-scale war. They may have power far above an ordinary person, but they couldn’t change stupid and stubborn thoughts. This was enough to make him feel frustrated. From Oliver’s point of view, the executor of this foolishness was very likely to be his own blood relative.

“Let’s meet everyone first.” Nemo tried to dispel this powerless atmosphere by changing topics.

Unfortunately, as soon as the words were spoken, his tension returned instantly. After discovering his identity, he hadn’t communicated with his other companions, especially Adrian Cross. Even if he wasn’t a typical Knight of Judgement, Nemo wasn’t sure whether the former Chief Justice could withstand this.

Now his mind was also a mess. The two walked side by side, lifelessly as their faces turned blue. They looked as if they were sleepwalking hand in hand in broad daylight. During this time, he was almost knocked down by a fat lady running wildly.

“Sorry!” the barrel-like lady shouted with a loud voice without turning her head back.

The precious time they spent in a daze always passed by quickly. Even if there were more episodes, the village was pretty small, so they quickly found the inn. Nemo was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the “Earthsea Orchid” sign.

“Why did both of you come back?” The last companion Nemo wanted to face, however, had appeared first. Adrian was holding the leashes of the two fuller goats, but this scene didn’t dampen the knight’s momentum one bit. He squinted his eyes and looked at Nemo from head to toe, and then asked a question that neither of them wanted to answer.

“It’s a long story… You haven’t booked a room yet?” Oliver diverted the question with another question.

“The room has just been vacated. You arrived just in time.” Adrian raised his brows, as if he had read the subtext of Oliver’s words. “We can talk about it once we settle down.”

Oliver nodded in low spirits. It seemed that it was aware of his low mood as the fake goat pulled on the rope and bleated comfortingly. Oliver patted the goat on the head a few times.

This pause made Nemo the first person to enter the inn.

He stared solemnly at the wood grain and dust on the floor, racking his brains to think about what kind of expression would be appropriate to face his other companions. However, after only a few seconds of deep contemplation, a scream belonging to a girl entered his ears and something rushed straight at him like a cannonball that was fired from a siege artillery. Nemo’s body reacted first. He dodged at a speed that was normal for humans, and the rushing object flew into the air.

Nemo raised his head stiffly. Ann Savage was standing in the lobby directly opposite of him, but the scream didn’t emanate from her. The face of the female warrior was puzzled. That was normal, Nemo thought nervously. After all, he should have stayed with the witch, Nadine. He rubbed the stiff muscles on his face and was just about to squeeze out a smile…

When the mysterious attacker slammed into him from behind.

A pair of slender arms encircled his neck, with a rod in one hand. However, this wasn’t some type of new attack, because the owner of the scream spoke again with a voice that was filled with vibrant joy.

“Nemo!” She yelled. “Why are you here? God, how could you be here?”

The girl let go, turned to Nemo, and gave him a tight hug that seemed like it could break his ribs.

Ann’s expression became more complicated, and Nemo now knew why the female warrior was puzzled. Ann must’ve witnessed the entire scene just now. He lowered his head numbly, facing this strange girl who was too enthusiastic for a first-time meeting. Her facial features were subtle and looked familiar.

“……Debby?” Nemo asked blankly. His gaze swept over the white tin badge on the young girl’s chest that was exactly the same as Flint Lopez’s. There was no doubt that she was part of Horizon.

“How can you use such an interrogative tone?” Debby Light let go of Nemo angrily. She was frowning, but her voice was full of laughter. “I recognized you from a single glance! It’s not fair, you’re such a mean guy—”

Ann raised her brows and glanced at Oliver, who had just stepped through the door, then at the young female mage who was acting coquettish; her brows rose even higher. A few steps away, when Nemo appeared, the gray parrot had shrunk into a ball and squeezed into Jesse Dylan’s pocket. The blond young man made no attempt to hide his ambiguous smile as he watched the excitement unfold.

Oliver froze visibly to the naked eye. He had originally looked a little lifeless, like a vegetable leaf that had been scalded by boiling water. After seeing this scene, the vegetable leaf named Oliver Ramon changed from “scalded by boiling water” to “thoroughly overcooked”.

“Wow, why are you here?” The Horizon female mage’s attention was still completely on Nemo. After the hurricane-like excitement, the girl looked calmer. “Hey, you have become a Black Chapter… and a snake level?”

She turned her head and glanced at Ann. “If you’re a snake-level, you should be acting with Ms. Savage. I see. Which special bastard in your team raised the danger level for all of you?”

Ann instantly turned her gaze to Jesse, causing the smiling face of the latter to freeze.

“Even though I don’t mind this evaluation… I haven’t joined the team yet!” He cried aggrievedly.

Nemo rubbed the top of the girl’s head. When he sent Debby Light away, she was about the height of a pitchfork, and now the top of her head was almost to his chin. Now Nemo remembered very clearly. Back then, when he hadn’t understood the world, this girl had copied him and stuck her fingers into the flame—Debby Light might have had more guts than all the children in the orphanage combined, and unlike Nemo, who was unable to use any magic at the time, her magical talent was also terrifying.

These two characteristics add up to form the former bully of the Light Orphanage.

The younger Debby gave him a headache, and her iconic scream could almost collapse the roof of the orphanage. Even on the day he sent her away, she was busy tossing around and rolling all over the floor, asking him to carry her to the candy store for an all-you-can-eat.

It was only at that time that she actually cried.

Six years later, the little girl who misbehaved that year had become a regular mage of a first-class mercenary group.

She really grew up, and Nemo couldn’t help but cock the corners of his mouth. At that moment, “superior demon” and “Black Chapter” seemed to have once again become words that belonged to another world, and he had returned to Roadside Town. This was a reunion between ordinary people after a long separation.

“No,” he replied softly. “It’s true… something happened on my side.”

“Nemo, you should introduce this lady first,” Ann retracted her gaze from Oliver, coughing dryly. She tried her best to hold back the smile in her voice. Their leader was nervously frozen at the entrance, as if he had been petrified.

“This is my big brother.” Debby pointed to Nemo and spoke first. Adrian was stepping into the door and joined the stiff ranks when he heard the words. “I am a mage from Horizon, Debby Light, who also came from the same orphanage in Roadside Town. Old Patrick was unreliable, so I was basically raised by my big brother. Ms. Savage, what did my brother do? Why is he Black Chapter?”

“Demon worshiper,” Jesse interjected with a smile. “At least that’s what the warrant says.”

“……What?” Debby frowned. “What? Sorry, I may have heard it wrong just now—”

Ann sighed and nodded, “Demon worshiper.”

“He’s… a demon worshiper? Where is his familiar?” The female mage’s voice instantly revealed her professional mercenary background and had even a hint of murderous intent. “Where is his familiar?”

Jesse pointed to the gray parrot in his pocket, desperately trying to reduce its sense of existence.

“Nemo,” Debby curled her lips and raised her head again. “Let’s talk about it. Did you pick it up, or did it pick you up? Such a thing…” She wrinkled her nose, as if looking for a more suitable sentence. “If this is what they call a demon worshiper, then I can call myself a rabid dog worshiper when I go out with my puppy.”

For a few seconds, the gray parrot stretched out its head, as if trying to spray abyssal magic at the girl, but its little eyes swept past Nemo in front of Debby, and then shrank back silently.

“But I have to be honest. For a demon worshiper, the snake level is too exaggerated.” There was a bit more seriousness in Debby’s relaxed voice, and the fingers holding her rod tightened stiffly. “If I’m not mistaken, Alban’s side will charge you with some messy crime to deal with you… but it won’t be that big. Even if you participated in the Black Chapter test, it should’ve been capped at a jackal at most.”

She looked into the eyes of the relative in front of her very seriously. “I’m not joking. I only have two questions, big brother. Did you participate in the promotion of the snake level? …Are you really serving that demon?”

Nemo smiled at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of him. He knew her concerns. Six years was indeed enough time to change a lot of things, and she didn’t deliberately ignore this.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything that would get me scolded by Old Patrick.” Nemo chose a compromise and calmly responded to her gaze. “As for that demon, I have no contractual relationship with it now.”

“Okay, I believe you.” Debby nodded solemnly, the smile on her face relaxing a bit. “After all, the team you are in is quite good. Ms. Savage’s rating has always been good. Our commander wanted to recruit her before… The leader of your team?” She casually glanced at the other two Black Chapters at the door, and the end of her words trailed off.

“No, you’re not the leader, right?” She stared at Oliver, raised her rod slightly, and her expression became serious.

“That’s our leader.” Nemo pressed her raised arm down. “It’s a bit complicated.”

“But he looks like Godwin…”

“Uh… This question can’t be answered so briefly. Maybe you can ask Mr. Lopez yourself.” Nemo scratched his head. “Let’s not talk about this, Debby. How have you been—”

“Light.” A low male voice interrupted Nemo’s questioning. A tall, heavily armored warrior greeted them blankly.

Debby and Nemo looked at him at the same time.

“The commander is looking for you.” The armored warrior swept past the crowd in the lobby, but his eyes remained on Oliver’s face for a few seconds, showing no special emotion. “…Are these Black Chapters your friends?”

“Sort of.” The girl scratched her nose. “A friend I just met.”

The Horizon warrior nodded politely but was alienated towards them. “I see. Hurry up, Light. These people seem to be staying in the same inn, so you still have the opportunity to visit them later.”

Debby glanced at Oliver curiously again, then blew a kiss at Nemo. “Big brother, don’t run away,” she said in a crisp voice. “I have so many things I want to catch up on.”

As Miss Light left with her companions, the horn-braided girl next to the wooden platform began to tap on the guest list.

“Do you still want to check in?” Her voice sounded annoyed.

“Of course,” Ann said as she propped an arm on the counter; her voice was quite lively. “How big is the biggest room here? We need a spacious interrogation room.”

Adrian held his forehead, Jesse nodded approvingly, and the female warrior’s eyes swept between Oliver and Nemo. “We also have… so many questions to ask the two of you.”

---

The author has something to say:

Obtains [sister] × 1. Do you want to pick it up?

Nemo: Choose [yes] with relief

————

Obtains [cousin] × 1. [Cousin] forcibly bound to your inventory.

Oliver: Solemnly delete repeatedly, and even want to contact GM.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 79: Written Fate

It wasn’t an important letter; at least based on the contents, it didn’t look like it.

The lines were full of trivial things; the font was clumsy and there were many traces of corrections and typos. There was no grammar so to speak of. It was like the sender herself was nagging at the stationery, and that nagging was turned into words and sentences that occupied the piece of paper. However, the witch held her breath and smiled at the corners of her mouth as she listened intently.

The letter was so short that Nemo finished reading it in almost an instant. The witch nodded gratefully at him. She held the frame of her glasses and began to write her own letter.

“Where was I? Oh yes, Mr. Lopez,” she whispered while writing. “I have to write for a while, so you two find a place to sit first. There’s also a plate of candied fruit in the cupboard that you can try.”

Nemo sat down, while Oliver remained standing in place. As if the witch had eyes on her back, she turned her head and sighed at him.

“If you’re still thinking of wanting to stop all this,” she said softly, “there’s no need, really. You don’t owe me anything. I can probably guess who the client is. They will never change their minds, and now Horizon has an obligation to protect them. You two are Black Chapters, aren’t you? In case of conflict… Horizon can kill you in accordance with the rules and regulations without any responsibility. My life is destined to come to an end, but you can still live for a long time.”

“I was just thinking… if there’s any other way,” Oliver said dryly.

“Ollie, I don’t think the commander of Horizon will…” Nemo reminded him carefully.

“I know. I’m in no position to negotiate with him.” Oliver still didn’t want to sit down. “He should be much more informed than me. Sooner or later, he will know about my relationship with him, but blood doesn’t mean friendship, and I don’t think we have a good impression of each other. I mean, in other ways, I…”

“I was very young when my father died,” the witch spoke suddenly, interrupting Oliver’s words. “He wasn’t a good father; weak and incompetent and was controlled by my mother. I think you can guess the ‘educational style’ of the Eastern Witches. My mother wanted me to wake up early so that she could find the next prey and make the next victim. I wanted to escape at the time, so she chained me against a wall.”

Negativity. Twisted. Insults. Abuse. It may be that her body was too old and the wounds in those memories no longer revealed lingering pain but had become numb and blurred. There was no pause in the witch’s writing.

Her mother was truly an excellent Eastern Witch. A model witch that was hated by mankind. Her cowardly father only dared to look from a distance. If he protested a little, he would be whipped senseless. She tried to beg and scream, but there was no innate instinct of love. Her mother patiently watered her with pain and despair, waiting for the day of her transformation, and she didn’t make her mother wait too long; the rough skin of the young girl began to become fair and smooth, and the original withered hair turned brilliantly golden.

The buds of hatred began to grow.

Then there was only one step left, the final step. At that time, she already faintly knew what would happen as her mother would carry out the favorite ending of all Eastern Witches—letting her father be destroyed by mankind and cutting off her last attachment.

Then she really lost him.

An ugly and weak human being; a father who would secretly give her a piece of candy while she was held in the dark room. Within a few seconds, she tasted a little bit of the sweetness of being treated like a living thing, but that sweetness was like an illusion.

Thorns began to crawl under her skin.

As long as she took the initiative to kill a person, as long as she could see blood, she could gain all the powers suppressed in her bloodline. She could start her revenge—on her mother, on the murderer, on the fate that was never kind to her. Her mother had sowed the seeds of hatred and she almost did what she wanted.

“I’m sorry.” Flint Lopez, the captain of the Tin Soldier Mercenary Regiment, lifted his cloak and squatted down. His tone was serious and his moist eyes seemed like they were in pain. “Even though I know it won’t change anything, I’m sorry, young lady.”

The dirty outcast, who was ignored by the soldiers, choked and stared at the man in front of her with wide eyes. The stolen spell book was still in her pocket, and the thin thorns were secretly entangled in her fingertips. She could raise her hand at any time—as long as she raised her hand, she could let the thorns penetrate the man’s neck, and then…

She knew she was being used, but so what? Hatred always had a goal.

But she didn’t do anything. The restless thorns pierced her fingers, oozing small beads of blood. It felt good to be treated as a “human”. She wanted to feel it for a few more seconds. As long as she saw a little perfunctory expression, as long as she smelled even a hint of danger, she would immediately do it. The young witch was determined.

A few minutes… A few hours…

“I understand you have every reason to hate me. I will not ask for your forgiveness.” The captain of the number one mercenary regiment would always squat down and look into her eyes when he spoke to her. “But please allow me to take this responsibility. I will definitely not make you homeless.”

A few days…

“There are acquaintances of mine in Caleb Village—a very good-tempered old couple. They are very good mages, so you will be taken care of very well,” he said softly. “It’s a very beautiful village, Miss Nadine.”

She didn’t respond to any of Flint Lopez’s words. She just stared viciously at his eyes, then at his throat, and finally back at his eyes. She sniffed hard, like a wounded young wolf, looking for any traces of malice, but all she could smell was remorse.

The control she had imagined didn’t come, nor did the imprisonment. Flint Lopez left, and the old couple were indeed gentle to the bone. With warm food and clean clothes, she could no longer find a reason to take action, so she had to stab gerbils in the yard with her thorns. Overwhelmed by her unusual beauty, no one wanted to approach her, but she thought it wasn’t bad. At least she had someone to talk to and could look at the sun. 

Only the memory of that day was particularly clear.

The witch stopped writing, and the tip of her pen trembled on the paper.

“My mother did a very successful job, and I awakened very early… Flint Lopez was just the unlucky guy who happened to hit her trap, but had he been arrogant at that time, you wouldn’t see me here today,” the aging witch continued, staring at Oliver’s emerald green eyes that were no different from those in her memory. “I can never forgive him for killing my father, and this will never change, but he sent me here and gave me a real world. For this, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to him.”

The weather was good that day in her memories. A little head that wasn’t beautiful in the slightest leaned over the railing. The girl’s hair was short, curled up everywhere, and her round face was covered with mud. At that moment, Nadine had just ripped a gerbil open, so she moved vigilantly, covering the bloody gerbil corpse with her body.

“You’re so beautiful!” the strange human girl exclaimed. “Wow, more beautiful than everything I’ve ever seen combined. Would you like to be friends with me?”

She stared at the girl vigilantly.

“What’s your name? My name is Lisa… Hey, wait.” The human girl’s head disappeared from above the railing, and she ran away quickly. Just when Nadine was about to destroy the corpse of the tragically dead gerbil, she came back.

“Look!” She threw a bunch of wildflowers into the front yard that was only covered by a green lawn. “That’s right—although I can’t find a flower that can match you. Can I still come to see you?”

Nadine hurriedly blocked the blood and internal organs with the flowers. She looked nervously at the girl who called herself Lisa without saying a word.

“…Well then, I’ll just… Um, look at you secretly!” Lisa lowered her voice, sounding aggrieved, “If you don’t mind.”

“…I don’t mind.” At that time, she responded in a low voice, carefully taking a step towards the girl.

The witch couldn’t write anymore. Aging itself took away most of her vision, and those memories made her vision even more blurred. Fortunately, she had finished writing the letter, so she wouldn’t delay this matter for too long.

“After all, this is just a grudge between me and Flint Lopez. This hatred will not extend to you, Mr. Ramon.” She suppressed the small tremor in her voice and concluded as calmly as possible, carefully sealing the envelope. The withered thorns stretched out from her fingertips and slowly wound into a skylark. It picked up the envelope and rushed straight out the window. “Just do one more thing for me… After I’m done, I have to start dispensing medicine. There are still many people whose prescriptions have not been adjusted.”

The witch laboriously straightened her waist, took off the rolls of parchment paper attached to the workbench, and put them away one by one. She stroked the handwriting and gave a vague little smile, then she took out a glass bottle from the drawer on the edge of the workbench, which contained a small half-bottle filled with something stone-like.

“Mr. Light, you… You should be able to wield magic, right?”

“Yes.” Nemo took two steps forward and helped the witch pick up the bottle that didn’t look light. It turned out that his intuition was correct, as it was indeed surprisingly heavy.

“That’s good, Lopez… Mr. Ramon, can you help me get the watering can?”

The two followed the witch to the backyard of the house. It was different from the front yard, which was full of vitality and flowers. The backyard was barren, and the soil even showed signs of desertification. The witch waved her cane, and the bottle in Nemo’s hand spit out the cork by itself. As soon as the small stones inside flew up, they fell back into the bottle.

“…I’m sorry. It seems that I really have to ask for this favor, Mr. Light.” Nadine lowered her head. “Bury them in the soil, five centimeters deep… and pour a little water. Here, that’s about it.” She gestured in the air.

“What is this thing?” Nemo twisted a stone, and the unnatural weight almost made him drop it.

“The seeds of the Earthsea Orchid.” Nadine squatted down with difficulty, twisting the sand. “They only grow in the desert.”

“…But aren’t they extinct?” Nemo recalled the book he was reading. The author spent at least ten full pages lamenting the disappearance of this rare plant.

“Yes, but there’s still a bit of life left in these seeds. I’m also a plant, so I know this,” she said. “They can hardly germinate, but… it’s not impossible. I collected a lot in the early years, but now there are only a few left, so let’s plant them all.”

It could be seen she never succeeded, as there was no greenery in the soil in front of them.

Nemo didn’t say a word. The dark shadow spread out almost instantly, sending the heavy seeds to their designated location. Oliver didn’t bother with the watering can; instead, he condensed water bubbles and accurately watered the seeds.

“Young people are quick to do things. Thank you very much.” The corners of Nadine’s mouth tugged as she stood up straight and patted the dust off her skirt. “Don’t look at this land like this. I almost succeeded a few times. Two plants have sprouted, but unfortunately, they still lack stamina and died shortly after… At least they can still germinate. I hope this time…”

She only sighed and didn’t continue.

There was no need to feel sorry. Nadine raised her head and looked at the scenery in front of her that was still blurred through her glasses. The green in the distance blended into a hazy mass in her vision, while the sand in front of her melted into a golden yellow. She tried her best, she thought. She successfully persisted to the last moment without ruining anyone’s life.

The life cycle of the previous generation would begin after the next generation reaches adulthood. This meant that Eastern Witches without offspring would begin to age soon after adulthood and grow significantly old at a rapid pace.

“Are you going on a trip? …That’s amazing!” Seventeen-year-old Lisa still had an ordinary face. Miraculously, she didn’t become a beauty.

“…Do you want to go with me?” She failed to hold back these words.

“I can’t. I can’t do it. I have to inherit the inn at home. I will always wait for you to come back! Remember to write to me, Nadine.” Lisa still had that rambunctious voice. “Do you want to take a picture together? Otherwise, I will miss you to death.”

“Okay.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been looking for my relatives. I recently found my grandmother, who’s still very healthy,” her throat choked with pain. “Wait… Wait a few years. If I don’t come back, I’ll let my grandmother take care of the house for me. I have already arranged it.”

“That’s good. Actually, I don’t mind taking care of it for you, I—”

“I will write to you,” she interrupted the other party, “I will… keep writing to you.”

…Until the end of her days.

And that day was coming soon.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 78: Letters

Ann’s speculation wasn’t wrong. There weren’t many inns in this small village—in fact, there was only one with many mobile vendors gathered around its entrance. The inn’s building looked old and only had two floors. Half of the walls were covered with vines, which made it look quite pleasing to the eyes from a distance. Unfortunately, it also made it so hidden that the group had to wander around for a while before discovering it.

The rusty signboard of the inn was exposed outside the thick climbing vines, which made it very inconspicuous. The hanging board was painted with a group of crooked vines that were next to the most common ordinary font.

“Earthsea Orchid.” The female warrior shrugged. “…Doesn’t seem like a Four-Leaf Clover.”

This time their luck couldn’t keep up with them. Unlike when they were at the Four-Leaf Clover, not only were the general bunks not available, even the rooms were fully booked.

“Sorry.” There weren’t any uniformly dressed, young, and beautiful employees here. The innkeeper was a woman who was as large as a barrel. She sat behind a wooden platform with an apologetic face. “Usually this isn’t the case, but today there happens to be a large mercenary group staying here… But yesterday’s caravan is about to leave. Would you mind waiting here for a bit? I can make it cheaper for you.”

The environment inside the inn wasn’t as bad as the female warrior thought. The lobby was clean and tidy, there were no muddy footprints stained with horse dung on the floor, and there wasn’t a sour smell mixed with sweat and rancid clothes in the air. Fresh flowers were placed in a dusty corner and the surrounding walls were covered with exquisite and interesting handmade decorations.

“It’s fine. We don’t have all our people anyway.” Ann pulled a rough wooden stool over and sat down in front of the lobby to wait. There weren’t many people waiting in the lobby right now, or rather more precisely, there was only a father with a little boy. If a caravan was leaving, they shouldn’t need to worry about their lodging issues.

Adrian stood leaning against the wall, while Jesse stood aside with the gray parrot; the bird had collapsed softly with its wings motionless as if it was out of breath.

There was a long silence.

“Actually, I still can’t believe that Nemo is… you know.” Ann casually brought up a topic. “I always drag him off the bed and look, I’m still alive.”

“If we don’t consider the rationality of Mr. Light’s own existence, it does make sense from the perspective of the law.” Adrian kept staring in front of him. “The law comes from cognition, and he should have taken measures to close his self-cognition. When Bagelmaurus attacked Mr. Light, it implanted its flesh, which began to instinctively dismantle the mimicry under this stimulation. This possibility, theoretically, exists*.”

*Clarity: He’s saying as the law of nature, whether innate or not, one has to follow it because the cognition exists, but if Nemo had no such cognition, then (theoretically) it’s possible to defy the law as he’s not bound to it.

The gray parrot sobbed loudly.

“Why?” it sobbed miserably. “In such a garbage place, with so many stupid-looking humans, why did I catch the one who wasn’t human? Can my powers be returned?”

The innkeeper widened her small eyes and stared at it curiously.

“At least you’re still alive,” Jesse comforted it very sincerely.

“I also want to ask myself this,” Ann murmured. “When I picked them up, I was thinking about taking two little fools along the way, getting a black badge, and happily eating and drinking and waiting for death—”

But she didn’t finish. The man sitting on the side stood up abruptly and stopped a girl who was about to walk into the inn.

“How is it going?” The man asked impolitely.

“How’s what going?” The girl raised her brows. There was still some childishness on her face, and she looked less than twenty years old. She wore a delicate and extravagant mage dress and had brown curly hair that’s shoulder-length. “Sorry, I don’t know how to read minds.”

Her attitude wasn’t very good and there was a subtle disgust on her face.

“Aren’t you from Horizon?” The man raised his voice. “How is my commission? You have accepted my deposit, so you can’t keep letting me wait here—”

“…Our captain is dealing with it.” The girl’s tone became even worse. She raised her arms and clenched the dagger-length rod tightly in one hand. The green magic stone at the top of the staff gleamed. “We just got here not long ago. What do you expect us to do? Just give you Ms. Nadine’s head?”

The innkeeper stood up abruptly. Her fat body squeezed the wooden platform away, and a harsh rubbing sound pierced the ears of everyone present.

“Howard?” Her freckled face began to redden slowly, and the gentle smile on her face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a foreboding anger. “Are you crazy? That’s Ms. Nadine! I was wondering why they’re here… You found Horizon? God, you went to Horizon!”

“You watched Charlie grow up!” The man scratched his nose and yelled back. The little boy on one side, Charlie, hung his head, frowned, and didn’t look at his father. “He’s only fourteen years old, Lisa! That old woman just shook his hand and took away five years of my son’s life… Five years! Maybe she took more! It’s not that we don’t want to give money—”

“Everyone knows.” The innkeeper, Lisa, was sullen. Her face had now completely turned red. “Everyone knows that if it’s a disease that can be cured by ordinary doctors, she will never ask for lifespan exchange.”

Mr. Howard let out a nasty snort full of anger. “It’s pointless to argue with people like you. Aren’t you a friend of little Nadine? Of course, you will defend her grandmother. If dear Ms. Nadine’s approach was reasonable, Horizon wouldn’t take my task.”

“Oh, I have to say a few words about this.” Although Mr. Howard’s attention had been turned away, the girl dressed as the mage still remained in place. “We promised you only because of two points… First, you gave us a high price, and we just happened to pass by. Second, Ms. Nadine is not a human, nor is she a human-friendly race—believe me, if she is, I would definitely stuff this contract into your throat with my own hands,” she whispered briefly. “With all due respect, Mr. Howard; of course, this is only a personal opinion—you make me sick.”

“I’m your client, you little bitch—”

The girl turned the dagger-like rod in her palm at will, and the man’s mouth closed abruptly, as if he was suddenly choked by an invisible hand.

“I probably know what you’re thinking,” the young female mage said coldly. “Our captain will not care too much about you, but as for me… As a rascal who’s also from the bottom, I’ve investigated your financial situation. Mr. Howard, all your belongings are only enough to pay for the deposit, right?”

She raised her rod, and the man was finally able to open his mouth again. His face began to turn pale.

“I was surprised at first.” The girl’s gaze swept across the Black Chapters who were enthusiastically watching in the lobby. “This kind of task is more suitable for a Black Chapter. It’s much cheaper to entrust them with it—sorry, I don’t mean to belittle you guys—but you chose the most expensive option.”

“Charlie is my son, so of course I have to give my son the best—”

“Oh?” The female mage glanced at the little boy. The boy’s eyes were already red. He let go of the hand holding his father and buried his head lower. “Really? Why do I think you just want to use our name to scare Ms. Nadine, and then cancel the mission after she returns the exchange? In this way, you only need to pay a deposit instead of the full commission.”

This time, Mr. Howard didn’t look the girl squarely in the eyes.

“Indeed. We will not directly kill non-human creatures that can communicate and don’t show malice,” the girl said softly. “You did a good job on your homework, but one thing… I don’t know if you have ever thought about it. What if Ms. Nadine refuses?”

“…How can she refuse,” Mr. Howard grinded his teeth. “She doesn’t know how long she has lived; it’s just five years. Why would she be so reluctant to give it up? She didn’t waste much effort—”

“Really?” The innkeeper interrupted coldly. “Then you can stop going to her and treat Charlie by yourself. Like you said, it won’t take much effort.”

“We didn’t expect her to be merciless to children, okay?” Howard’s attention returned to the female innkeeper. “You see, I didn’t really plan to let her die. She is what you people are used to… a witch. It’s already kind enough that we haven’t expelled her. She’s still living here and receiving rewards!”

“Do you know how many people she has saved—”

“In exchange for a price!”

“Fine.” The innkeeper, Lisa, walked out from behind the wooden platform, grabbed a bench directly, and threw it in the air. “This is my property. You didn’t pay, so please leave.”

“…Dad, please stop arguing,” the little boy said timidly. “Will you withdraw the mission? Anyway, I… either forget the best five years or die five years earlier. I have gotten back my five years and Ms. Nadine is very kind to me…”

“Shut up, Charlie!” Mr. Howard was really angry this time. “If she wants to be kind to you, what is she doing with your lifespan? Don’t interrupt, child.”

“You’re not even as good as your son,” Lisa sneered. “Little Charlie, I agree with you. Everyone is human, and no one is born to serve another.”

The man who had completely lost face kicked over the wooden platform, and countless gadgets mixed with letters scattered all over the place. Just as he was about to say something, the girl stretched out her right arm and pointed her rod at Mr. Howard. It caused him to stumble out of the inn’s entrance like he was being pulled by something.

“Just you wait. I will definitely complain to the Mercenary Guild—” the man’s shouting quickly disappeared.

Charlie Howard wiped his eyes and bowed slightly to the people in the lobby.

“I’m sorry,” he said at a volume not much louder than the sound of mosquitoes, “for causing trouble for everyone.”

“You did nothing wrong.” Lisa rubbed his head. “Go on, kid.”

“I can’t stand it,” the girl muttered, and began to bury her head in the ground while picking up the letters. “This is definitely an unlucky time after the success of an important mission.”

The lobby was almost covered with letters and paper. Ann and Adrian joined the ranks and started picking up the letters. The chubby female innkeeper put down the bench, gathered her hair together, and lifted up the heavy wooden platform. “…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The young female mage carefully put away a stack of letters. “I have always disliked him. I think Mr. Howard may have misunderstood something—he acts like the entire Horizon is his dog since he commissioned us. Haa, I hope the captain can convince Ms. Nadine. Otherwise… Attitude is one thing; credibility is another.”

“Then your rules are really fucked up.” The female boss buried her head in sorting out the letters.

“Not true. After all, the witch is on the hostile list.”

Ann also picked up a stack of letters, and she frowned at the sender’s name—each one was “Nadine”.

“The Little Nadine that Howard said just now is…?” She raised her head and looked in the direction of the innkeeper. “Do you know ‘Nadine’, miss?”

“Call me Lisa.” The female boss smiled. “Little Nadine is my best friend. She is traveling outside right now! Ms. Nadine in the village is her grandmother and helps her take care of the house.”

“They are all Eastern Witches?”

“Actually, I don’t know what an Eastern Witch is. Are they kind witches? Probably.” Lisa put the letters away carefully. “Anyway, they are no different from us… They’re all nice people. Isn’t that enough? There are also people who come from out of town to ask Ms. Nadine for her help.”

Ann wanted to speak but found that the female mage of Horizon made a silent gesture and shook her head gently, so she raised her brows and swallowed her words back.

“I have to think of a way. Howard is more stubborn than a donkey,” the innkeeper murmured. “I’ll try to persuade his wife… I’m sorry, I have to leave for a while. Nadi, Nadi! Stop playing and help mom look at the counter for a while.”

A little girl with a horn braid came out of the corner of the corridor with an unhappy face. Lisa kissed her quickly and hurriedly ran out the door.

“Ann Savage.” Ann stretched out her right hand towards the young female mage. “Well done, young mage.”

“Debby Light.” The girl shook her hand readily, and her cold expression was replaced with a playful smile. “I have heard of you, Ms. Savage.”

“The caravan is leaving. The caravan is leaving.” The horn-braided girl rolled her eyes and shouted angrily as she looked at the flashing guest list. “Please be prepared for guests who need to check in. If you bring livestock, please take it to the livestock shed—”

“I’ll go,” the knight commander nodded to the girl. Ann and the mage from Horizon continued their chatting, while Jesse remained motionless.

The knight commander looked out the door at the two fuller goats, one fake, one real, leaning tightly together. Even the frequency of their swishing tails moved exactly the same, making it look extremely odd. Until now, they still haven’t figured out the purpose of the arthropod lizard…

And many other things.

Adrian narrowed his eyes. The witch’s fat orange cat had its back to him and was rubbing its face with its paws in front of White II. The cat seemed to have noticed something. Adrian shook his head and walked towards the two goats and gently drove the cat away.

Due to his distance and being too far away, Adrian Cross missed a lot of details.

Just ten seconds ago, the cat that had its back to him was raising its head and hissing at White II, making a sound that was unlike a feline. Its slender tongue stuck out of its mouth and rolled around. Realizing that someone was approaching behind it, the orange cat quickly stood up and ran away from the lawn, leaving a slightly withered yellow paw print on the grass.

The wind blew across the lawn, instantly covering its footprints.

The residence of the witch.

“Uncle Ramon? Flint Lopez?” Nemo didn’t control the volume this time. “Impossible! Flint Lopez doesn’t have a right arm, and he… He couldn’t even beat a deadwood jellyfish.”

“My father won’t lie to me about murder.” Oliver’s expression was very stiff. “You see, you’re not the only one who has more questions now.”

“Suppose, I mean, suppose this is true… Then Godwin Lopez…” Nemo stopped talking.

“…Is my cousin…” Oliver accepted it bitterly. “Can we pretend we don’t know?”

Nemo patted him on the shoulder, painfully.

“If you mind, I can go outside first—” Oliver turned to the witch, Nadine.

The witch chuckled.

“Oh, you and Mr. Light said the exact same thing,” she said softly. “No, I don’t mind. As I said, Mr. Lopez is also my benefactor. Even if I could never forgive him, he did save me. I’m glad you’re willing to help, both of you. Before I die, there are two handsome young men… I don’t know what’s coming to accompany me, but I’m very content now.”

Nemo coughed dryly, and the witch’s smile became a bit stronger. She knocked on her cane and moved towards the workbench with difficulty.

“If you are curious, I can talk to you about Mr. Lopez,” she said calmly. “You can ask about anything. At least I have a little time left. It’s better than being alone… much better. “

She fumbled and took out a quill pen and a piece of paper and tried to control the trembling of her right hand as she dipped the nib in the ink bottle.

“I can’t see it clearly.” She sighed at the ink stains dripping on the workbench. “The letter next to it… Can you please read it for me? The light-yellow envelope. The sender is Lisa.”

“But there is no letter here…?” Nemo rummaged for a moment and found no light-yellow envelope.

“It will be there soon.” As soon as the witch’s voice fell, a rattan lark swept into the room from the open window and threw an envelope on the workbench.

“Please,” she said.

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 77: The Two Lopez

Godwin’s words sounded like a question, but his tone was about the same as “please get out of the way”. Nemo really didn’t have any reason to block him at the door, so he turned his head and glanced at Oliver, who was trying to focus all his attention on the doughnut. He could only give up passage in an apologetic mood.

Godwin walked into the house without squinting. When passing by the tea table, he glanced at Oliver holding the doughnut. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and then he looked away.

“Ms. Nadine.” He nodded to the old woman in the rocking chair and seemed to have decided to ignore Oliver, who was almost choked to death by the doughnut. “I’m Godwin Lopez, the leader of Horizon. If it is convenient now, I want to talk to you.”

“…You didn’t come to see a doctor, did you?” The old woman took out her glasses with trembling hands and put them on with difficulty. She was stunned for a few seconds and turned her face towards Oliver. Oliver was still struggling to deal with the doughnut that was stuck in his throat. She didn’t tangle with the two faces that were too similar for long, as her focus was elsewhere.

“Lopez,” she whispered. The gentleness in the voice completely disappeared, replaced by a dry and emotionless flat tone. “Why are you looking for me, Mr. Lopez?”

“Your illusion is quite powerful.” Nemo poured a glass of water and handed it to Oliver, who was still coughing. “Would you mind explaining to me what your relationship is with the leader of Horizon?”

“I’m an only child.” Oliver took a few sips of water abruptly. His expression was still a little dazed. “…At least, that’s what I thought. No, that’s not the problem. Nemo, I’m here—”

“We stopped by to take a commission for a witch hunt, and that commission is for you.” Godwin got straight to the point. “You’re an Eastern Witch, aren’t you?”

The old lady in the rocking chair looked at the young man in front of her through the thick lenses and nodded slowly. Nemo, who had just picked up a doughnut, shook his hands and almost dropped it. Oliver quickly helped catch it for him.

“So, you’re here to kill me?” Her voice was calm, even with a subtle smile. “Mr. Lopez… Always a Lopez, always a Lopez.”

Godwin didn’t seem to pay attention to the witch’s mumbling. “Not for the time being. The next topic may involve your privacy. If you mind, the two Black Chapters over there—”

He glanced at Nemo and Oliver at the tea table. The two of them were standing still, listening intently.

“It’s fine.” Nadine coughed twice, rubbing the unopened pudding bottle with her right hand. “One of them is my patient. He can’t leave yet. And I don’t have any shady ‘privacy’. Sit down, Mr. Lopez.”

“I hope you can return Charlie Howard’s lifespan.” Godwin sat very upright. His tone was serious with a bit of command peculiar to a superior. “If you agree to do that, I will convince his parents to cancel this task.”

“You are so kind,” the old witch said indifferently.

“If I have not made a mistake in judgment, your voice has not aged yet. Ms. Nadine, you should have no offspring.” Godwin continued, “That only means one thing—until now, you have been unilaterally extracted by your mother.”

The witch stared at him quietly.

“You haven’t really harmed mankind.” Godwin paused for a few seconds. “I respect your determination. That’s why I want to talk to you—I have heard that the memory witch in Caleb Village will charge for lifespan. I’m afraid you have lived to the present by relying on the life span voluntarily handed over by your patients.”

“This approach… If people don’t protest, we usually don’t interfere. But if someone proposes a crusade, we have no reason to refuse. This is ‘evil’ behavior after all. I hope you can understand.”

“So you want me to return the ‘consultation fee’ of the last patient so things will be resolved, right?” She rolled her eyes wearily, trying to keep them open.

“That’s correct.”

The witch gave a difficult smile. “But I don’t think I did anything wrong. If the other party didn’t consent, I wouldn’t be able to take it. My patient knows this very well.”

“Charlie’s memory has indeed been restored, according to his parents. Your ‘effort’ will make their son live five years shorter, so they cannot accept it.”

“They personally brought their son to me, and they knew the price from the beginning,” the witch replied quietly. “With a little effort? That is the curse of voodoo wood. I’m pretty sure that no one can solve their son’s problem except me… I won’t return it to you, Mr. Lopez. As you can see, I may die any day now. Being squeezed out by my birth mother or killed by you makes no difference to me—I don’t want to bow my head to an unreasonable fool before I die.”

“…Is this your answer?” Godwin sighed, showing a look of regret.

“Yes.” Nadine coughed a few more times. She didn’t seem to be used to talking too much in one breath, and her shriveled chest fluctuated violently.

Godwin raised his hand. His speed was extremely fast. Before Nemo had time to react, the brilliance of a magic array had merged into the sunlight. The small magic array directly hit the chest of the old lady in the rocking chair. She still breathed hard but had no special reaction.

“Then I will leave you for two days. You can deal with your unfinished business.” Godwin stood up. His voice was still calm and not cold, as if what he said wasn’t a death warning, but an ordinary greeting between strangers. “I will kill you later.”

Nemo suddenly felt that the air was a bit colder in an instant. This person wasn’t like Oliver at all. Even if they looked similar in appearance, they seemed to possess different things in their bones. He recognized that look; the look Godwin Lopez cast at Nadine—it wasn’t the look one would give to a “person”. The leader of Horizon looked at the old lady indifferently, as if he had just completed something that had to be done, and what was lying in the rocking chair was just a weak beast that had lost its teeth.

“If I can make it to that point.” Nadine grinned weakly. “In addition, I also have a question for you.”

Godwin, who had already stood up, turned his head and raised his eyebrows.

“What is your relationship with Flint Lopez, the leader of the Tin Soldier Mercenary Group?” she asked softly, “Of course, that is if you don’t mind telling me.”

“He’s my uncle.” There was no emotional fluctuation in Godwin’s tone. He turned around but didn’t move in the direction of the door but instead walked straight to Oliver. “What a coincidence. I want to ask the same question, but to this one.”

“…I don’t know him.” Oliver stared at the other’s face a little erratically in an unimposing way.

“What is your name?”

“Oliver Ramon.”

“Mr. Ramon.” Godwin suddenly raised his hand and patted Oliver on the shoulder. “…Nice to meet you. This is really an interesting meeting, isn’t it?”

Oliver looked in Nadine’s direction, and then decisively pushed the hand away. “I don’t think it’s interesting,” he raised his head and responded firmly.

Two pairs of almost identical emerald eyes looked at each other for a moment. The atmosphere didn’t have any gentle meaning; rather it was tense. After the initial shock, the two found denial and vigilance in each other’s eyes at the same time. Godwin retracted his hand, cast an unfriendly glance at the two of them, and then simply walked in the direction of the door.

“It seems that the leader of Horizon hates Black Chapters,” Nemo said, completely losing his appetite. “His expression just looked like Mr. Delaney’s… Ollie, are you really not from the Lopez family?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver said in a deep voice. “Now I’m not very sure.”

The two were silent for a moment before they looked in the direction of the witch together.

“That magic seal just now,” Nemo took the lead.

“It’s a tracking mark for prey,” Nadine explained lightly. “Of course, I’m not stupid enough to think I can escape from Horizon. It seems that you will be my last patient, Mr. Light.”

“You just… accepted it?” Oliver frowned slightly.

“Death? I have long been mentally prepared.” She fumbled for her cane, struggling to stand up. Her back arched even more severely. “I am a doctor, and I know my body. There is no solution to this situation, I have long been a pile of waste. Wait a minute, I have to match the last few bottles of medicine… I still have a lot of things to deal with. I’m afraid I can’t take care of you, Mr. Light.”

Nemo didn’t move, nor did Oliver.

“Are you sympathizing with me? I don’t need it.” The witch’s voice was a little lower. “This is my own choice. There is no grievance, no unwillingness… It’s just my time.”

“No,” Nemo replied quickly. “It’s just that you just said that there are still many things to deal with. Is there anything we can do to help? After all, your body is a bit reluctant.” He hesitated for a bit. “…Ms. Nadine.”

Oliver’s breathing stopped for a moment.

The witch let out a nice laugh. “I love to hear that,” she said, deliberately not looking at Oliver. “When I die, you can choose a bouquet of flowers in the yard. Any will do.”

“…The question you just asked.” Oliver obviously found the witch’s evasive gaze. “Do you know Flint Lopez?”

“That’s right.” Nadine finally turned her gaze back to Oliver’s face. “The respectable Flint Lopez, the leader of the great Tin Soldier Mercenary Group—my enemy and benefactor. In fact, I thought you were a bit like him at first, Mr. Ramon, especially your smile.”

“He murdered my father.” She sighed. “…My innocent and incompetent father. My last relative. This matter is quite complicated.”

“Your father,” Oliver spoke suddenly, speaking extremely slowly, “Is he… very fat, with a heavy body odor on his body. With a beard and a southern Alban accent?”

“Yes, how do you—”

“Was he killed by a swordsman… Then the soldiers discovered the Eastern Witch emblem on him and confirmed that he was innocent?” He would never forget the last lesson his father taught him. He also talked to Ann about this during the Black Chapter test. Oliver clenched his fists subconsciously, and the sudden tension made his throat tighten.

“Yes,” Nadine said as she staggered over to Oliver with her cane. She raised her head and looked up at the young man in front of her blankly. “I was using a tracking spell to find my father. The soldiers didn’t let me see the scene, but I knew—Flint Lopez had killed him.” She knocked on the ground with her cane. “They told me. I remember very clearly… They said he was stabbed in the chest by a sword.”

“And he was wearing a dark brown vest with square buttons and a huge patch on his right chest. The shirt was yellow or white and looked a bit too dirty,” Oliver added.

Nemo looked at Oliver in surprise. After receiving the witch’s affirmative reply, Oliver closed his eyes and turned a little pale.

“Now I can answer that question, Nemo.” Oliver calmed down and whispered, “Flint Lopez…”

The words he was about to say seemed to be stuck in his throat. He slowed down for a while before speaking again.

“Flint Lopez may be my father.”

On the other side of Caleb Village.

Ignoring the onlookers who crowded over again, Godwin Lopez returned to his hotel room. He opened the hand that had patted Oliver on the shoulder, and a light brown strand of hair lay intact in the palm of his hand. The leader of Horizon put the hair in a slender glass vial, and then decisively activated the communication crystal.

“Victor, check all the information about Oliver Ramon. A snake-level Black Chapter shouldn’t be difficult.” He calmly gave the order, looking at the vial in his hand. In addition, let Miss Light come to me. I need her for a blood identification spell.”

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The author has something to say:

Oliver bought a bag of doughnuts and gave it to a relative…

In the previous chapter, many people guessed the blood relationship correctly. Godwin is Oliver’s cousin~

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Kinky Thoughts:

I thought Godwin would be his twin.

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