Stray

The loud snoring of the gray parrot came from behind the semi-partitioned wall.

He frowned slightly by the snoring, and as usual, Oliver opened his eyes on time at six in the morning. He yawned, cranked his neck, prepared to get out of bed and wash, and prepared for the tavern to open.

This was the first summer after their wedding. The air was already a bit sultry. The soft feather quilt had long been replaced with a thin blanket, and the ice fish that wouldn’t melt floated in the air, cruising silently along the edge of the ceiling, exuding a cool chill.

Another calm and peaceful morning.

The sun had risen, and its sunlight was leaking through the thick curtains. A soft trail of light sprinkled on the messy clothes on the carpet. Recently, Oliver’s power was still gradually becoming stronger and the aspect that benefited the most from this new God’s increase in strength right now was…

Originally, used to getting up at five to work, now the inexhaustible magic could allow Oliver to stay in bed for an hour and then open his eyes after sunrise.

Although Lord Demon King had a good ability to control the spell puppets for work, such high-level spells were still inconvenient to expose. Oliver still needed to do it himself to organize the front hall where people came and went, as well as develop a creative menu, and the likes.

Especially preparing a double breakfast for Nemo and himself.

This was Oliver’s favorite part, and he was very reluctant to give it to a spell puppet who only knew how to execute old-fashioned instructions.

At first, Nemo tried to get up with Oliver, but after several consecutive nights of one-on-one crusades, His Majesty the Demon King, who had a sore waist and soft legs, decided to set eight in the morning as his wake-up time.

When his lazy lover got up from the bed, Oliver would serve the breakfast that had already been prepared, and the two of them would eat happily in the room together. Next, Nemo would take the dishes back to the first floor with him and start commanding the shadow puppets to help with cooking and cleaning.

That was how it should be like always.

Something was wrong with Nemo today.

Oliver tried to get up but found that Nemo’s strong arms hooked his waist and hugged him tightly. His naked thigh pressed against his legs, and Oliver was firmly fixed in the center of the soft bed. He turned his face helplessly— The culprit’s black hair was scattered on the pillow, and he was smacking his mouth with satisfaction in his sleep.

The incarnation of the Pillar of the World could theoretically move without sleep, but Nemo liked to wrap himself in a quilt and hold Oliver in his arms like a pillow.

“Your Majesty.” Oliver patted the arm helplessly, lowering his voice. “I have to get up.”

Nemo in his sleep gave a very perfunctory snort, but his arms became tighter.

“Today’s breakfast is omelets.” Oliver stretched out his right hand, twisted a strand of black hair, and tugged gently. “If you let me go in a minute, I still have time to buy the freshly baked bread on the opposite side of town.”

“Just eat the leftovers from yesterday. Stay a little longer,” Nemo said in a daze, sliding his hand across Oliver’s chest very honestly.

This action caused the thin blanket to slide directly to his waist, and there were still many bright hickey and tooth marks left on his pale skin.

Oliver took a breath, turned to his side, and hugged Nemo, who was groping around randomly.

Feeling the familiar body heat, Nemo sighed comfortably. Seeing that there was a tendency to fall asleep again, Oliver gently raised his arm and tried to retreat quietly, but unfortunately, as soon as he moved himself to the side of the bed, he was directly dragged back by a burst of force.

Nemo directly pressed himself up, buried his nose in Oliver’s neck socket, and hugged the other party’s back tightly.

The wide bed creaked softly, and Oliver could clearly feel the other party’s hand behind his back and the hard metal wedding ring on his fingers.

“Okay, Your Majesty, stop it.” He kissed the top of Nemo’s hair. “I have to go down and prepare for today’s work—”

“I’m not opening the tavern today.” Nemo buried his head in Oliver’s neck socket sounding muffled.

“But…”

“I hung up the closed sign last night, don’t worry.” Nemo bit his lover’s ears unceremoniously.

“Then take a half day off? After all, there will be a fair tomorrow, and many people will definitely be out drinking tonight.”

“All day,” his Demon King muttered. “I don’t like not being able to touch you when I get up.”

Oliver thought for a moment and decided to regain the initiative. He rolled over, pressed the other party under his body, and gave a long kiss that was enough to make people’s brain melt. After a kiss, Nemo finally opened his eyes. His silver eyes were unfocused signifying he hadn’t woken up yet.

“Then how about we go downstairs together?” After the long kiss, Oliver’s breathing was a little short, and he smiled and straightened his lover’s hair. “If you want to rest, we can go to the lake, or—”

“Let’s go to the Border Forest. Today is an anniversary, and an anniversary is not suitable for work.” Nemo sounded completely sober this time.

“Anniversary?” Oliver instantly went through the recent holidays, wedding dates, everyone’s birthdays, and even the date of the decisive battle in his mind, but he didn’t find any date that matched today.

“The day I saw you for the first time.” Seeing the blankness in those emerald eyes, Nemo’s voice brought a smile.

After reacting, Oliver coughed embarrassedly.

“Yes, it was the day I scared you and made you cry. You were still young at the time, and it’s normal if you didn’t remember.” Nemo didn’t mean to simply let him go, and pinched Oliver’s waist a few times.

“I thought you would want to celebrate at home. Why go to the Border Forest?” Oliver retaliated by biting the tip of Nemo’s nose.

“Surprise.” Nemo’s voice was nasally.

Oliver raised his eyebrows and didn’t hide the impatience in his voice. “Okay, then let’s get up now—”

However, a pair of arms encircled his neck and hugged him in his arms again.

“Don’t worry,” Nemo breathed in his lover’s ear as his right hand brushed down the other man’s chest. “It’s only six now. We have plenty of time.

……

When Nemo, who was beating his waist, led Ollie to the vicinity of the Border Forest, lunch time had already passed.

The two young men chewed their cold beef sandwiches while stepping on the thick lawn. The gray parrot stomped hard on the lawn, looking extremely angry.

“Can you move my bird stand to the first floor?” It flapped its wings sadly and angrily. “I endured it last night, why did it start again this morning? I’m trying to sleep!”

“You can cast a mute array for yourself.” Nemo rubbed his waist, his voice a little hoarse.

“No! Let’s not mention that I won’t be able to hear the call for dinner, this is more a spiritual— Wait, there’s something here!”

Oliver also stopped.

There was a rustling sound from the bushes around them, and it was obvious that something of a large size was hidden behind the bushes, but seeing Nemo’s relaxed look, Oliver didn’t pose in a vigilant posture.

“I don’t think anything can scare me to tears right now.” Oliver surveyed the thick, one-person tall shrub and rubbed his hands together.

Nemo smiled and shook his head, put his thumb and index finger into his mouth, and whistled.

Round and sturdy creatures emerged from the bushes one by one.

Most of them were one or two feet taller than an adult male, and they look like standing seals. Charcoal-gray fleece covered their skin, their eyes were round and black, and their long soft nose hung in front of sharp canine teeth, which made this creature a bit more funny than terrifying. Their lower limbs were short, but their upper limbs were long and powerful, and their fingers seem to have great grip.

Not a very beautiful creature, but Oliver was very familiar with it.

He had described this “terrifying” creature to “Mr. White” on the tree countless times.

Having talked to Godwin a few times about the past of the caramel apple tart, Godwin had asked specifically about it— and now he knew it well. To prevent his young self from running into the Border Forest, his father, Flint Lopez, made up a horrific monster out of thin air to add to his fears. Before his first encounter with Nemo, the demon “palulu weevil” was the biggest shadow of his childhood.

It was also the precious story his father created for him, which belonged only to him.

“I created them according to your description, but some places may not be very accurate.”

Nemo stretched out his hand to touch the monster’s head, and the monster lowered its head obediently, squinting his eyes comfortably.

“They do live deep in the Border Forest, but they don’t attack children. Instead, they will lift them up and throw them to the nearest human village.”

His Demon King turned his face, his silver eyes gleaming in the sun. “I also forged the research report of the scholar ‘Piper*’ and placed it near their activity area. Ollie, they were finally successfully discovered yesterday.”

*Referring to Oliver’s dad who came with this demon. It also could be a loose reference to the Pied Piper of Hamelin who’s closely associated with kids as he kidnaps them by hypnotizing them with his magic instrument.

“They’re really true to their name. This is what I wanted to show you— A real intermediate demon, the palulu weevil.”

Oliver trembled and took a deep breath as he sniffled.

“Actually, the name is pretty stupid.” Eventually his eyes reddened. “Seriously, Nemo. I didn’t have time to prepare an equivalent gift for you. It’s too… I…”

“Hey, this is compensation.” Nemo leaned over and dropped a warm kiss on his eyes. “I didn’t mean to scare you back then.”

The gray parrot let out a loud retching on the nearest branch.

Then it tilted its head and stared at Oliver who grabbed a palulu weevil with Nemo and took out the photo crystal. In the end it still decided to pat its wings and squeeze itself into the magic photo.

At the other end of the Border Forest, the Ramon Inn.

“Praise Zenni. You… You are…”

“I just came to look.”  Godwin Lopez nodded politely to the innkeeper.

“Please make yourself at home—” The middle-aged innkeeper spoke loudly. “Oh my god, Jennifer, come out and have a look! It’s the leader of Horizon, Mr. Lopez!”

There was a scream of surprise belonging to a woman at the end of the corridor.

However, Godwin didn’t pay attention to the reaction of the owner and his wife at the moment. He looked at the corners of the tavern and had an inexplicable expression.

It was here that Flint Lopez raised Oliver Ramon.

Godwin took a few steps forward and stared at the weird nicks on the door panel that recorded the height of a child. The handwriting on it was very familiar.

Flint Lopez’s writing.

“Are you here to stay for one night, or…?” Following Godwin’s gaze, the innkeeper’s wife obviously misunderstood Godwin’s meaning. “Oh, you know, when Little Ramon was convicted of being a fugitive, this place was immediately confiscated so my husband and I bought it. Some of these corners weren’t cleaned up very carefully.”

“I don’t mind.” Godwin shook his head soothingly. “I just came and have a look.”

“You…”

“…I’m a distant relative of Piper Ramon. I was just passing by when I heard he had done business here, so I came to take a look,” Godwin replied after hesitating for a moment.

“Oh, you came at just the right time.” The innkeeper’s wife wiped her stout fingers on her apron. “That kid Oliver, ahem, there’s no news from Little Ramon after he escaped. I happened to tidy up the basement a few days ago, and I found some of Ramon’s old things. I was thinking whether to throw it away. Would you like to take a look? I mean, if it’s a relative, there might be some value—”

“I’m sorry to trouble you.” Godwin nodded.

The innkeeper’s wife picked up her apron and led him all the way to the dark basement.

Although the basement of the Ramon Inn was dark, it wasn’t very damp, which was very suitable for storing items. There was still the smell of dust and soapy water in the air, and no cobwebs could be seen, so it did look like it had been recently tidied up.

There weren’t many things belonging to “Old Ramon”; just enough to fill a small wooden box.

It was stuffed with books and sundries and from a glance there didn’t seem to be anything of real value. There were also many letters, but they were all ordinary order forms and greeting letters. Godwin half knelt down and brushed away the dust inside.

With his movements, a few glass beads from the bottom of the box bones rolled over. The things here were full of life, and there was no shadow of the former commander of the Tin Army.

Godwin pursed his lips.

‘Not surprising,’ he thought. Flint Lopez did completely abandon the past; he shouldn’t have anything anymore…

An old ukulele popped up among the debris.

It was small and rough, and it didn’t look like it was for adults, but Godwin was pretty sure that Oliver hadn’t spent his childhood learning how to play it.

He pulled it out curiously and turned it over in his hand. There was a yellow envelope attached to the back of the ukulele, and the contents of it made his heart stop.

[For my brother, Iman.]

Godwin’s hand trembled a little, and he tried several times before opening the envelope under the curious eyes of the innkeeper’s wife.

[My dear brother, I heard that my sister-in-law is pregnant. This means I’ll be an uncle before you, right?]

[But you are too tense and don’t know how to relax at all. This isn’t good. You see, I made a great ukulele for my future nephew— or niece. I think the little one will like it. Promise me, don’t throw it away! You can’t let my dear younger generation be as restless as you.]

[It’s true that I’ve been in very bad shape lately, but don’t worry. Expeditions make people sad, but with Sonia by my side, everything will pass…… When your child is born, you absolutely must buy me a drink.]

[Your indefatigable brother, Flint]

“Uh, Mr. Lopez, you… if you want it, you can take these whatever you want—”

“Nn.”

Godwin heard himself reply like this, and he held the little ukulele in his hand.

“…I like this ukulele very much.”

“As well I want to ask… How much are you willing to sell this inn for?”

The author has something to say:

The first extra XDDD