Stray

Oliver washes quickly. He didn't seem to have any desire to chat, and went straight to his bed, then wrapped himself in a thin blanket into a cocoon with his back to Nemo.

Nimo lost his only nightgown, so he had to wear his day clothes and slid back to bed wet. There was still the hole left by Witherspoon's greatsword on the deck of his bed—it creaked loudly as he tried to lie down.

The sharp noise echoed in the quiet room, bringing an inexplicable embarrassment. Nemo crossed his fingers and lay on his back like a corpse, not daring to move. But after all, his endurance was limited, and the taste of lying on the broken wood was not pleasant - he tried to roll over, and the noise suddenly cut through the silence again.

"...Come on, let's squeeze." Oliver said with his back to him.

Nimo grabbed the pillow and sat up, then hesitated: "But you know, I..."

"We won't be able to sleep like this - or do you really think I'll be too scared to sleep?"

After that, he moved to the bed, leaving a space barely enough for one person. Nemo arranged the pillows graciously and lay down carefully—he turned to the edge of the bed, the overly soft mattress quickly taking over his mind.

"Are you really not afraid?" He turned his back to Oliver and muttered vaguely.

"I'm afraid." Oliver replied simply, "I'm afraid you're always thinking about this. Do you remember 'Dirty Jack'?"

"The madman who hacked his wife and children to death?"

"That kind of people really scares me, sleep."

"You're right," Nemo yawned, "compared to him I'm very... upright..."

His breathing was slow and he fell asleep very quickly.

Oliver carefully rolled over. One side of the mattress dented because of other people's weight, which made him not used to it - he had never slept in the same bed as anyone else since he could remember. The other party also had some wet black hair scattered on the pillow, exposing one side of the neck. He can reach out and touch it.

This man has just split the sky, but now he is sleeping in front of him, making a small snoring sound.

Oliver quietly stretched out his fingers and dried the other person's hair again. No longer bothered by the dampness, Nemo smacking his lips in satisfaction, rolled over, and arched again into the soft pillow. Oliver slowed his breathing for a moment, fearing that his breath would be sprayed on the other's face. His calming heartbeat began to speed up uncontrollably again—his eyes slid from the other person's eyebrows to his lips, and he couldn't help recalling how it felt for a few seconds as they covered his wounds.

He quietly propped up, approached carefully, and kissed the other party's forehead lightly.

"Good night." Oliver sighed softly.

Nemo slept well. In fact, he was counting on himself to have another dream, preferably an encyclopedia about his life. But when he opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. Oliver had already changed his clothes, and he was flipping through the books in the room on his chair, nibbling fruit by the way.

Nimo looked to the side expectantly - his bed still had a miserable gap, and pieces of wood were scattered on the floor next to him.

"Don't look at it, it's not a dream." Oliver relentlessly made up the last blow, raised his hand and threw a fruit. Nemo scrambled to pick it up, but it still hit him in the nose.

"Do you want to kill me?" He covered his nose and complained angrily.

"Then I will throw the statue of Zeni, maybe it will be better." Oliver thoughtfully, "Okay, sorry - but you better get up quickly, just now Tried to break the door."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a hurried knock on the door.

"There's something serious this time!" Ann growled angrily outside the door, "I don't care what Nemo Wright is, if he dares to sleep until noon, I will **** him myself. Hanging from the ceiling-"

Nimo jumped up from the bed, stumbled to the door, and quickly opened the door. "I'm awake, sir!"

Anchong grinded his teeth.

"Bad news this morning." She scratched her chestnut hair, which was shorter than Oliver's, looking a little irritable. "The offerings for the blessing festival are set."

"What is that?" Nemo asked cautiously.

"The festival of the Radhist religion. It is necessary to let the big man smoke a few unlucky eggs and 'dedicate' it to God." Ann was too lazy to hide his sarcastic tone, "Guess who this time... Forget it, guess Shit, that guy Cross has been chosen as a sacrifice - hell, I should have known!"

"That's why you were in a hurry before?" Oliver threw another fruit to Ann, who snapped it without looking at it.

"Yeah, the whole Hiram will be in a spree by then, an annual opportunity. Now it looks like we're not the only ones thinking about it - that fake Cahill must be too Thinking of this, he still wants to kill Cross. Things are getting troublesome, let's go and refund the deposit. Wait for the test next quarter..."

"So they're going to execute someone who didn't lie?" Oliver put down his book.

"At least Cross still has a demon imprint, do you know how many people were executed by the old school for the word 'blasphemy'?" An twitched his lips.

"But trading with the devil may not be voluntary, didn't he lose his power? We just quit?" Nemo frowned.

"Otherwise? The guards of the sacrifices in the heresy will be stricter, and there will be a lot of trouble in going further. Step back, even if we can bring him out, Mrs. Edwards will not Know if it is under the control of the devil. Adrian Cross is dead." She took a bite of the fruit and concluded bitterly.

"We may be one of the few people who know that he didn't lie." Oliver said slowly, "I...I don't want to give up now. Personal opinion, even if we don't take the prison, it is within the limit of our ability. It is also good to find out the truth.”

"I agree." Nemo raised a hand. "I suggest asking Cross in person—if that's possible, of course."

"I wanted to ask before, what's wrong with you two?"

"He may be innocent, I don't want to pretend not to see...We have nothing else to do now. Ann, is there really nothing to do?" Oliver's voice was very sincere. "This is not a requirement. After all, you are the most experienced among us. If there is really no way, we will definitely not force it."

"My side is very simple. The only person who knew the truth didn't turn a blind eye to me for fear of trouble." Nemo stood up and pulled the folds on the robe. "I think that's a good feeling. Would like to share it with Mr. Cross if possible."

The female warrior fell silent and began to pace repeatedly in the room, her face uncertain. When Nemo began to formally consider the lunch menu, she finally stopped.

"That's it." She took a breath. "I'm going to see Mrs. Edwards to see if I can get some more information. Oliver, Nemo, are you sure you're going into this muddy water?"

"OK."

"That's right."

"Well, there is no way to get close to the sacrifice." She raised her eyes, "You can be locked in the depths of the dungeon. Oliver, follow yesterday's script, you go and sue Nemo."

“…what?” Oliver blurted out.

"Cross has been in prison for less than a year, and he is a human who has lost his power. They will not lock him in too deep. We could have reached him as a caretaker. No, the sacrifices must be kept at the bottom, and the places closer to the bottom are usually held by demon warlocks - if there are any - and more powerful demon believers. Now tell me, do you still want to go?"

"I... um, is there a way to get it out again?" Nemo confirmed, pinching the fruit - he almost squeezed it into jam.

"Yes, but it's more painful," Ann said, "and Cross may not want to talk to you."

"How painful?"

"Sorry, I have no experience as a demon warlock or a superior demon, so I don't know. But you can try it later, and if you can bear it, we will discuss the next step."

"Try it?" Nemo looked at Oliver a little uncertainly. "I have no problem here."

"If Nemo agrees, I have nothing to say." Oliver stared at the core in his hand, "After all, he sounds more unlucky."

"Okay." Ann nodded. "I thought I was crazy enough. You win, boys. Nemo, come here and take off your shirt."

Nimo stopped a little awkwardly and blinked.

"...Or do you want to stay in a dungeon for the rest of your life? I have to draw you a special refuge for the Rad Cult, let's talk about it first, it will really hurt. After all, the magic of the Holy See has always been aimed at abyss."

"You...you're a lady, it's a bit..."

"I'm only interested in comparing my older men." Ann took out the pen for drawing the magic circle, and then dug out a small bottle of silver ink from the innermost part of her pocket. "Shy ass, how come there is so much nonsense, let you take it off."

"I'm going to talk to the hotel people about the compensation for getting out of bed." Oliver stood up uncomfortably and quickly left the room.

Anchong raised his eyebrows at his back and snorted meaningfully.

But Nemo didn't feel any pain, it was a little itchy. In order not to make Ann's doubts worse, he did not share the discovery. Ann drew an extremely complex circle on his back, which took a full two hours—the thin lines were like molten silver, and the circle flowed on the skin of his back like a living thing.

After drawing the final incantation, An put away the pen and sighed painfully at the flowing light. And Oliver stood on the sidelines with a sullen face - he had dealt with the innkeeper in fifteen minutes and had to go back to his room. For the rest of the time, his gaze went from uneasy to amazement and finally to sympathy.

After all, the drawing of the circle does not allow too much jitter. Nemo was rooted to the floor like a mushroom, and his legs were numb.

"Once you're in the dungeon, they'll wash it with holy water...well, pour it all over you. The mana in it should be enough to trigger it. You've only got one night, Nemo, and it'll kill you at zero o'clock You send it out—as a special magic circle of the Rad Cult, it will not trigger the alarm in the dungeon."

"Oliver, after you send Nemo over, meet me at Edwards' house. Remember to ask the bishop for a holy light amulet, you've done a good job in reporting, and he won't be stingy. We must guarantee zero points. When the wall of sighs is open, Nemo can't get out only by the magic circle."

"Go on, you two—if Adrian Cross is indeed guilty, you two owe double what you owe."

(m..=)