Stray

Ann's speculation was correct, there are not many hotels in this small village - in fact, there is only one, and there are many mobile vendors gathered at the door. The hotel building is very old, only divided into two floors. Half of the walls are covered with creeping vines, which is quite pleasing to the eye from a distance. It's a pity that it is too hidden, and the group of people wandered around for two times before they found it.

The hotel's rusty sign is exposed outside the thick climbing vine, which is very inconspicuous. On the listing is a group of crooked vines, and next to it is the most common ordinary font.

"Dihailan." The female warrior shrugged, "...the four-leaf clover is more friendly."

This time their luck was not as good as the trip to the four-leaf clover.

"Sorry." There are no four-leaf clover uniforms, young and beautiful welcoming employees. The innkeeper, a woman as strong as a barrel, sat apologetically behind a wooden platform. "It's not usually like this. Today, a large mercenary group happened to be staying here... But yesterday's caravan is about to leave. Would you mind waiting here? I can give you a little cheaper."

The environment inside the hotel was not as bad as the female warrior imagined. The front hall is clean and tidy, there are no mud footprints stained with horse dung on the floor, and there is no sour smell mixed with sweat and dirty cloth in the air. There are fresh flowers in the dust-prone corners, and the walls all around are filled with delicate and interesting handmade decorations.

Not many people were waiting in the front hall, to be precise, only a father with a little boy. If it's a caravan, they shouldn't worry about the room.

Adrian stood against the wall, and Jesse stood aside with the grey parrot—the grey parrot was limp, its wings were motionless, and it looked like it was out of breath.

Long silence.

"Actually, I still can't believe that Nemo is... you know." Ann casually started the topic, "I dragged him off the bed, you see, I still alive."

"If you don't talk about the rationality of Mr. Wright's existence, it does make sense from the perspective of laws." Adrian stared ahead. "The law comes from cognition, and he should have taken measures to close his self-cognition. When Bagelmore attacked Mr. Wright, he implanted flesh and blood, and he instinctively began to disembodied under the stimulation of flesh and blood - this possibility is in theory. It does exist."

The grey parrot lets out a loud sob.

"Why?" It choked miserably, "It's such a bad place, so many people with stupid faces, why did I just grab the non-human one? My strength Can't you come back?"

The innkeeper opened his eyes wide and stared at it curiously.

"At least you're still alive," Jesse reassured, not very sincerely.

"I also want to ask this question." An murmured, "When I found them, I was thinking of taking two little fools along the way, getting back the black stamp, eating happily, etc. die-"

But she didn't finish. The man sitting next to him stood up and stopped a girl who was about to go into the hotel.

"How is it?" the man asked unceremoniously.

"How about what?" The girl raised her eyebrows. There was still some childishness on her face, and she looked less than twenty years old. Dressed in a delicate and generous mage costume, with brown curly hair just shoulder-length. "Sorry, I can't read minds."

Her attitude was not very good, with a subtle disgust on her face.

"Aren't you from Horizon?" The man raised his voice, "How is my commission? You took my deposit, you can't keep me here waiting—"

"...The commander is dealing with it." The girl's tone was even worse. She folded her arms and clenched the dagger-length staff tightly in one hand - the green magic stone at the top of the staff was shining. . "We've only just arrived here. What do you expect us to do, hand over Madam Nadine's head directly to you?"

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

"Howard?" Her freckled face began to slowly turn red, and the gentle smile on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by a suppressed anger. "Are you crazy? That's Mrs. Nadine! I'm still wondering where did the witch come from... You found Horizon? God, you found Horizon!"

"You watched Charlie grow up!" The man rubbed his nose and shouted back. The little boy on the side, Charlie, lowered his head and frowned, not looking at his father. "He's only fourteen, Lisa! That old woman just shook his hand and took 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, sullen, her face turned purple. "Everyone knows that if it is a disease that ordinary doctors can treat, Madam, she will never ask for life in exchange."

Mr. Howard let out a disgusting grin full of anger: "It's boring to reason with someone like you, are you a friend of little Nadine? Of course you will defend her grandmother. If dear Nadine Mrs. Ting's actions are reasonable, and Horizon will not take my task."

"Oh, I have to say a few words about this." Although Mr. Howard's attention had been removed, the girl dressed as a mage remained in place. "We promise you only because of two things... First, you named us at a high price, and we happened to be passing by. Second, Lady Nadine is not a human, nor a human-friendly race - believe me, if she is, I Will definitely shove the deed down your throat with my own hands." She grunted briefly, "With all due respect, Mr. Howard, of course this is just a personal opinion - you make me a little sick."

"I'm your client, you little bitch—"

The girl turned the dagger-like staff in a random circle in the palm of her hand, and the man's mouth closed suddenly, as if he was suddenly pinched by an invisible hand.

"I probably know what you're thinking." The young female mage said coldly, "The head won't care too much with you, what about me... As a rogue from the same background, I have a little Checked your finances. Mr. Howard, all you have is enough for a deposit, isn't it?"

She lifted her staff, and the man was finally able to open his mouth again. His face started to turn pale.

"I was originally strange." The girl's eyes swept across the black chapter team enthusiastically watching in the front hall, "This kind of task is more suitable for the black chapter, it is much cheaper to entrust them - sorry, a few I didn't mean to belittle you - but you chose us the most expensive."

"Charlie is my son, of course I want the best for my son—"

"Oh." The female mage glanced at the little boy - the boy's eyes were already red, he let go of his father's hand and buried his head lower. "Really? Why do I think you just want to use our name to scare Mrs. Nadine, and cancel the mission after she has returned to her life? In this way, you only need to pay a deposit, and the cost-effectiveness is really high."

This time Mr. Howard did not meet the girl's eyes.

"Indeed. We will not directly kill non-human creatures that can communicate with each other, and there is no malicious inhumanity." The girl said softly, "You did a good job in your homework, but one thing...I don't know. Have you ever thought about what if Lady Nadine refused?"

"...how could she refuse." Mr. Howard gritted his teeth, "She doesn't know how much life she has given, but it's only five years, what can't she give up. She didn't waste much effort—"

"Really?" The innkeeper interjected coldly, "Then you can completely skip going to her place and treat Charlie by yourself... It won't take much effort anyway."

"We didn't expect her to be lenient with children, okay?" Howard's attention returned to the female boss. "Look, I didn't really plan to let her die. She's all you people are used to... A witch, we're very polite that we didn't expel her, she's still here swaggeringly collecting rewards!"

"You know how many people she saved—"

"She got paid!"

"This is my property, and you didn't pay, now please get out of here."

"...Dad, stop arguing." The little boy finally said timidly, "Is it alright to withdraw the mission? Anyway, I... either forget the best five years, or not the dying five years. I've got my best back, and Madam Nadine has been very nice to me..."

"Shut up, Charlie!" Mr. Howard was really angry this time. "If she's really nice to you, what will she do with your lifespan? Don't interrupt, child."

"You're not as good as your son." Lisa sneered, "Little Charlie, I agree with you - we are all human, and no one is born obligated to serve anyone."

The man who completely lost face kicked over the wooden platform, and countless gadgets mixed with letters scattered on the floor. Just when he was about to say something, the girl stretched out her right arm and pointed her staff at Mr. Howard - the latter stumbled back out of the hotel door as if he was being held by the back collar.

"Wait, I will definitely complain to the Mercenary Guild—" The man's roar quickly disappeared.

And Charlie Howard wiped his eyes and bowed slightly to the people in the front hall.

"I'm sorry." He said in a voice not much louder than a mosquito, "I'm causing trouble for everyone."

"You did nothing wrong." Lisa rubbed his head, "Go, child."

"I can't stand it." The girl muttered, and began to bury her head in picking up the letter on the ground. "It's definitely an unfortunate time after the success of an important mission."

The anteroom was almost covered with letters and papers, and Ann and Adrian joined in picking up the letters. The chubby female boss put down the stool, tucked her hair, and lifted the heavy wooden platform. "…thank you all."

"You're welcome." The young female mage carefully put away a stack of letters. "I've always looked down on him. I think there might be some misunderstanding by Mr. Howard - not that the money is paid and the whole horizon is his dog. Well, I hope the regiment commander can convince Mrs. Nadine. Otherwise... Attitude is one thing. , reputation is another matter.”

"Then your rules are really **** up." The female boss buried her head in sorting out the letters.

"No way, after all, the witch is on the hostile list."

Ann also picked up a stack of letters, she frowned at the sender's name - each one was "Naten".

"The little Natine that Howard said just now is...?" She raised her head and looked in the direction of the innkeeper. "You know Nadine, ma'am?"

"Call me Lisa." The lady boss smiled, "Little Nadine is my best friend. She is traveling outside now! Mrs. Nadine in the village is her grandmother, help her Take care of the house."

"They're all eastern witches?"

"Actually, I don't know what the eastern witch is, a kind of witch? Probably." Lisa put the letter away carefully, "Anyway, they are no different from us... They are all very nice, Isn't that enough? There are people who come from out of town to ask Madam Nadine to see a doctor."

An Gang wanted to speak, but found that the female mage of Horizon made a silent gesture and shook her head gently. So she raised her eyebrows and swallowed the question in her throat.

"I have to think of a way, Howard is a stubborn ass." The innkeeper murmured, "I will try to persuade his wife... I'm sorry, I have to leave for a while. Nadi, Nadi! Stop playing and help Mommy watch the counter."

A little girl with braided horns emerged from the corner of the corridor with a displeased face. Lisa gave her a quick kiss and hurried out the door.

"Ann Savage." An Chong, the young female mage, stretched out her right hand, "Nice job, young mage."

"Debbie Wright." The girl held that hand cheerfully, her cold expression replaced by a playful smile. "I heard of you, Ms Savage."

"The caravan is leaving, the caravan is leaving." He glanced at the flickering guest book. The braided girl rolled her eyes and shouted in a milky voice. "Guests who need to stay, please prepare, if you bring livestock, please lead to the barn-"

"I'll go." The knight commander nodded at the girl - Ann and Horizon's mages had already chatted, and Jesse didn't mean to move.

The knight commander looked out the door, the real and the fake two Fuller goats were close to each other, and even the frequency of their tails was exactly the same, which looked a little weird. Until now, they still haven't figured out the purpose of that knuckle lizard—

etc.

Adrian narrowed his eyes. The witch's fat orange cat had its back turned to him, rubbing its face with its paws in front of White II, the cat might not have noticed something. He shook his head and walked towards the two goats, gently driving the cat away.

It's still too far away and the angle is not good enough. Adrian Close missed quite a few details.

Just dozens of seconds ago, the cat with its back turned to him was raising its head and hissing at White II, which was obviously not a feline. The slender tongue sticks out of its mouth and rolls around—noticing that someone is approaching from behind, the orange cat quickly stands up and runs away from the lawn, leaving a yellowish paw print on the green lawn.

The wind blew across the lawn, and the footprints were instantly covered up.

The Witch's House.

"Uncle Ramon? Flint Lopez?" Nemo didn't control the volume this time, "No way! Flint Lopez doesn't have a right arm, and he...he doesn't Probably beats a deadwood jellyfish."

"Father won't lie to me about murder." Oliver's expression was very stiff, "Look, you are not the only one who has more questions now."

"Assuming, I mean, assuming it's true...then Godwin Lopez..." Nemo hesitated.

"...It's my cousin..." Oliver continued, "Can we pretend we don't know?"

Nemo patted his shoulder painfully.

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

The witch chuckled.

"Oops, you said exactly the same thing as Mr. Wright," she said softly. "No, I don't mind. As I said, Mr. Lopez is also my benefactor. Even if I I'll never forgive him, and he did save me. I'm glad you guys were willing to help, two. There was a handsome young man before he died, and a handsome...I don't know what came to accompany me, I'm content."

Nemo coughed dryly, and the witch's smile grew even stronger. She tapped her cane and moved to the workbench with difficulty.

"If you're curious, I can talk to you about Mr. Lopez," she said calmly. "Anything. At least I have a little time left, which is better than being alone. It's better to be alone...well, much better."

She fumbled for a quill and a piece of paper, trying to control the trembling of her right hand, and dipped the tip of the pen in the ink bottle.

"I can't see clearly." She sighed at the ink stains dripping on the work table, "The letter next to me... Could you please read it for me? A pale yellow envelope, send The letter is Lisa."

"But there's no letter...?" Nemo rummaged for a moment, but didn't find any pale yellow envelopes.

"It will be soon." As soon as the witch finished speaking, a rattan lark swept into the room through the open window and dropped an envelope on the workbench.

"Please," she said.

(m..=)