Stray

Oliver starts to get confused by the odd horse. Since the first battle, the black horse would look at him with extremely deep eyes from time to time, making him hairy all over.

But now is not a good time to think about it.

People flee Alban's capital Doru.

The army of Marshal Gallagher and his followers is about to arrive in the capital, and no one knows how bad the chaos will be in the capital. War is always the carnival of refugees and gangsters. People with small wealth have already made plans early to evacuate the capital Doru with valuable belongings and flee to nearby cities.

However, this only distracts from the target of the ill-intentioned, and robberies and thefts are not uncommon. Although the army tried to suppress it, no one had much energy to care about these details during the confrontation between the army inside and outside the city.

Oliver is more than happy to take on this thankless task.

In the end, this war is inevitable. Both he and Nemo preferred to minimize the casualties of the war than to win quickly and accurately.

To the point where things are now, they have indeed fully demonstrated their position. According to the information returned by Cat Beard, Oliver personally didn't have the slightest impression of Prince Eldric, but he could stand in line and return to the line, which did not mean that he had the right to stab the blade into the opponent's carotid artery.

On this point, Ann has an amazing tacit understanding with them, and the female warrior did not ask for the tumbleweed to further intervene in the dispute of interests. The rebels split, and the other two groups of Tumbleweed were more like escorting the army where Ann and Gallagher were.

Up to this day, Ann just let them move freely, by the way, to prevent the end of the war from causing some people to take destructive actions. At the same time, she asked Jesse and Adriana's team to pay attention to Willard's recent movements, so as not to be profited by the fisherman.

"I'll deal with the bone bomb in the storage room." Nemo suggested after the two guarded the people together for a long time. "An and the others are about to enter the city. Those things are always hidden dangers near the palace."

Oliver recognized Nemo's expression. Nemo always looked like this every time he was confronted with raw carrots at dinner—his lover clearly didn't like the Prince's dangerous collection in the pantry.

Raw carrots don't matter, since he can't help Nemo eat the Bone Jade Bomb, Oliver nodded cheerfully: "Be careful."

Seeing that the sun is about to set, the night is now several times more dangerous than usual, and most citizens are aware of this. After sending the group of citizens through the woods, his work for the day will be over.

The robbers who were killed in the middle of the road didn't even count as an accident. The head of the tumbleweed will skillfully bundle them together and pile them in one place, and then soldiers who specialize in dealing with disputes will drag them away and lock them up.

It's just a bit boring to do it alone.

This thought only lasted for half a minute - a round figure sneaked in from the edge of the woods, looked left and right, and crept forward.

Too obvious.

Oliver couldn't help laughing when he thought of himself and Nemo fleeing in the frontier forest without thinking. The sky is not yet dark, there are not many beasts, and there are not many rogues left. Logically speaking, it doesn't matter, but out of some strange emotion, he still pulled the reins and led the horse forward.

"You go on a horse." He said to the old man who was almost as fat as a ball.

The fat old man was panting forward, carrying only a small cloth bag inside, and the whole person seemed to be paralyzed from exhaustion in the next second. The old man even put on a patched sackcloth shirt to hide his eyes from the public, but unfortunately his overly plump figure and the smell of expensive perfume completely betrayed him.

The old man was obviously taken aback by the sudden appearance of the young man.

"I don't have any money!" the old man shouted, and the girl usually put her arms across her chest in a defensive posture. After staring at the young man for a few seconds, he changed his posture as if he had just woken up from a dream, and pulled out the useless short knife around his waist.

"I just want to give you a ride." Oliver shook his head, "At this time the capital is going to be completely closed, you should be the last one - there is a cave in the forest where people take refuge, and there are people burning and driving Veterinary medicine, I will send you there."

The old man gasped, looked at Oliver suspiciously, and finally stopped at his eyes. Oliver began to thank the ukulele with the Sword of Rest in his back, making himself look less suspicious.

"Hmm." The fat old man snorted noncommittally and put down the knife hesitantly. "You seem to… forget it, okay, okay."

The old man took a lot of effort to get on the saddle, the horse bared its teeth and roared with great dissatisfaction. Oliver had to go up and reassure a few times.

"Oh, thank you, young man." The tight strings loosened, and the fat old man was paralyzed on the horse's back. "It's not been peaceful recently."

"Yes." Oliver responded with a good temper, the old man was obviously not completely relieved of him, and his eyes would slip from the corners of his eyes from time to time. As the sky gets darker, this frequency is gradually increasing.

"Actually, I didn't bring anything rich." The old man murmured for a long time, still muttering in a low voice. "Seeing that you don't look like an impulsive type, I'll just say it straight. I just go back and get some paper materials, they are of no use to you... When I get to the shelter, I can find someone from my family, I will To reward you, so..."

"You really don't have to worry." Glancing at the glistening sweat on the other's forehead, Oliver didn't get angry at the old man's subtext, but made a joke. "Seriously, do I look that scary?"

The old man laughed dryly.

"What do you do?" Seeing that the other party was sweating profusely, Oliver simply took the initiative to chat, so that the old man would not faint from being too nervous - although he had no idea why the other party suddenly started again nervous. "I...well, my family runs a hotel. You look like a businessman, if you want me to."

As soon as he finished speaking, Oliver carefully released a hint of momentum, scaring away a lower-level demon who was spying in the dark.

"Jeweler." The old man said shiveringly, shaking the cloth bag vigorously. "These documents are just old orders with no real gold in them—ouch!"

It didn't matter what happened, something swooped down from the sky. A wide-billed crow neatly snatched the old man's dangling cloth bag, and then quickly flew towards the bushes.

Oliver's reaction was quicker, he picked up a stone from the ground and hit the wide-mouthed thief almost the next second. The wide-billed crow let out an angry scream and dropped the bag, and the parchment in the bag was scattered on the ground in an instant.

"Tristan's house?" Oliver picked up the parchment on the floor - the fat old man didn't lie, it did have a beautiful design drawing on it, and the customer information was attached to it. Recognizing the famous mark, Oliver raised an eyebrow.

The jeweler Tristan's family is very rich. Most of the jewelry of the Alban royal family came from the craftsmen of the Tristan family, and there were many guests who could not be offended. No wonder the old man specially brought these things out of the city.

"I'm just a shopkeeper!" the fat old man hurriedly shouted, covering his horse like a deflated water bag.

"Sonny, I'm not from Master Tristan's family. This is just a worthless document, the oldest, and I missed it. Trust me, it's not for sale A few bucks. But if it's lost, my job is... you, no, you'll be fine..."

He was too nervous to speak.

"You are the best jewelers." Oliver's thoughts drifted to other directions for a while.

"Yes, it is. You see, we all do things for people, sir. We..."

"Are you still taking business now?"

"…Huh?" The fat old man didn't react for a while.

"Every city has your store, just... You're going to another store to stay for a while, right? You don't plan to close the store for the time being."

"No plan or no plan..." The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead, and the panic on his face turned into doubt.

"How much does it cost to design a pair of wedding rings?" Oliver whispered, tightening the reins.

The question almost came out of his mouth, and when he realized what he was asking, Oliver turned his head - he could feel a sudden heat on his cheeks.

"This, it depends on the materials you choose, the construction period, and the level of craftsman you specify—" the fat old man replied subconsciously, a little puzzled why this simple-dressed young man suddenly started talking to him about business .

"I provide the gems myself, how much is the remaining material if I use the best?"

"The gems are provided by themselves, and if we help to cut them, I think... If there is no expedited request for the construction period and no designated craftsman, then it will be about a thousand gold coins."

Oliver gasped, he simply calculated the money he got from Ann's mission, and found that this crazy idea would bring him back to a state of poverty and nothing almost immediately.

But if the money is gone, you can earn it again, but this pair of rings will be bought sooner or later, and he will not really be shaken by it. The luck of tumbleweeds has not been very good. Rather than pinning his hopes on the wandering future, Oliver wants to bring them with him sooner - even if he hides it from Nemo for a while, they will make him feel more at ease. .

"If you don't have special needs, you can order from other stores. After all, we are a store for nobles. It's good if you like it, and I think your girlfriend will understand." Misunderstanding That cold breath, the fat old man tremblingly advised.

"Boyfriend." Oliver corrected patiently, his mind still spinning fast.

The fat old man choked: "Uh, you must be Al himself, lad. To be rude, Chenni does not recognize such a marriage, and no church will be willing to hold a wedding for you. . You know about wedding rings..."

"Oh, I don't think he'd mind admitting it," Oliver replied vaguely, returning all the parchment he had picked up to the cloth bag. "It doesn't matter on our side, but you, will the Tristan family refuse such an order for religious reasons?"

"No, but..."

"Then I'd like to book a pair. I don't have any special needs, I just want the best for him." Oliver scratched his head embarrassedly.

The fat old man stared at the other party suspiciously for a while, and found that the shyness didn't seem to be pretending - the other party was at least someone who could get a thousand gold coins, which made him look up and heaved a sigh of relief . "God, your horse is a military horse. I thought... I'm so sorry, young gentleman, I apologize for my attitude just now."

"Don't take it to heart." Oliver was still immersed in his own impulsive decisions.

"Okay, sir, you have to leave your name. There should be blank parchment in that bag, and I'll prepare a reservation contract for you later."

The fat old man straightened his back and changed his honorific title obediently.

"When you arrive at the shelter in a moment, you have to provide me with some necessary information. If there is no portrait, we will design it according to your description of your lover. If possible, the gem can also be handed over first I - when I get to the shop over there, I will arrange a craftsman for you as soon as possible."

"Okay, how long do I have to wait?"

"Usually it takes a month and a half." The fat old man wiped his face with his sleeves, and put the cloth bag in his arms. "God knows what the situation will be at that time, but don't worry, Garland also has our store, and we will never default on the bill."

"I see." Oliver gritted his teeth.

"At that time, you can find any one of our stores to pay and just show the contract. For the sake of your help, in special circumstances, I will not ask you for a deposit. You see, in fact, the current data are all stored in the use of stone, if these things are too old, alas..."

He took out a piece of paper from the cloth bag and shook it: "We still keep the order from more than 20 years ago, and other customers come to the door and say no. But the boss just told us to keep it. It has to be strictly guarded, God knows how easy this thing is to forget, it really doesn’t make sense.”

Oliver glanced at the piece of paper at will, and his head that was slightly hot instantly cooled down. He knew the design, and he knew the name.

A beautiful pendant design with a familiar name—

Flint Lopez.