Stray

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 with 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 head of the Horizon Mercenary Group. 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 to 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. “What are you looking for me for, 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, what is your relationship with the head of Horizon?”

“I’m an only child.” Oliver took a few sips of water abruptly. His expression still a little dazed. “…At least I thought I was. 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 just picked up a doughnut, shook his hands and almost dropped it to the ground. 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 murmur: “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 and serious, with a bit of command peculiar to the 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.

“Your voice has not aged yet, if I have not made a mistake in judgment… 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 an ‘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 eyelids 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, and according to his parents. Your ‘effort’ will make their son live five years shorter, and they cannot accept it.”

“And 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 the 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 two days. You can deal with the 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 greetings 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 look similar in appearance, they seemed to possess different things in their bones. He recognized that look; the look Godwin Lopez cast at Nadine— It was not the look one gives to a “person”. The leader of the horizon looked at the old lady indifferently, as if he had just completed something that must be done, and what was lying in the rocking chair was just a weak beast that had lost its teeth.

“If I can live to that time.” 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 head of the Tin Soldier Mercenary Group?” she asked softly, “of course, if you don’t mind telling me.”

“He’s my uncle.” There was no emotional fluctuation in Godwin’s tone. He opened his legs but did not 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 opponent’s face a little erratically, not very imposing.

“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 said very 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, glanced at the two of them unfriendly, 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… Ollie, are you really not from the Lopez family?”

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

Then the two were silent for a moment, looking 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 did not 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 said hurriedly. “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 head of the great Tin Soldier Mercenary Regiment— My enemy and benefactor. In fact, I thought you were a bit like him at first, Mr. Ramon, especially your smile.”

“He killed 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 staggered to Oliver on 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 hit 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 is 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 the hotel room. He opened the hand that patted Oliver on the shoulder, and a light brown hair laid intact in the palm of his hand. The head of Horizon put his 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 with hair in his hand. “In addition, let Miss Light come to me. I need her for a blood identification spell.”

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~

Kinky Thoughts:

I thought Godwin would be his twin.