Stray

The procedures were more cumbersome than they thought. Oliver signed parchment after parchment of sheepskin; eventually his expression turned completely blank. Jesse left the hall with another serious-looking staff member, presumably to deal with the remnants of his previous team. Ann was still waiting around at first, but later she felt bored…

“I’m going to see what Cross is doing.” She yawned and casually waved her hand at Nemo. The female warrior walked to the corridor on the side of the hall without looking back. Her figure was quickly enveloped by the flow of adventurers that were coming and going.

Oliver was still working hard signing all the agreements in front of him while Nemo was standing in the middle of the hall of the Mercenary Guild branch. Suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable.

Unlike when he first thought he was a demon worshipper or a demon warlock, now he could clearly realize his inhumanity. Since he compromised with the idea that “he was a superior demon”, he had been able to do more things. This strange sense of division had become more obvious. Nemo stared at Oliver’s right hand that was holding the quill pen for a while and decided to find something else to distract him.

He tapped at the black badge on his chest with his fingers and tried to release a little magic. The magical light screen unfolded instantly in front of Nemo’s eyes causing Nemo, who had never succeeded before, to take a step back excitedly that he almost collided with an adventurer who was passing behind him.

After he hurriedly apologized, Nemo began to carefully check their team information.

The Mercenary Guild was quite efficient. The name of their team had already been changed to “Tumbleweed”. The appearance and information of everyone in the team were displayed in detail and even their wanted level was clearly marked.

Ollie and himself still had the original “dangerous” rating, while Ann was the lowest level of “anomaly”. It could be because of the apostasy, since the knight commander’s wanted level was “criminal” which was higher than “dangerous”. Jesse was also “criminal”, but his level didn’t show the reason why. He had no idea what their newest member with unknown intention had done.

He then grinned bitterly at the section of the team member’s race. They were labeled as a “pure human team”; at least the Mercenary Guild hadn’t noticed their abnormality yet.

However, there was a small question mark behind his name, and he wasn’t the only one who had this mark. Jesse Dylan’s name also had one as well.

“Jesse Dylan’s information… Is this what you meant by business you had?” In the corridor not far away, Ann shook her completely deflated coin pouch, showing a regretful expression. “Now that those boys aren’t here, we can have a ‘real’ talk, Cross.”

“He uses the Laddism Church ‘spiritual sacrifice’.” Adrian Cross had a serious expression, “but he doesn’t look like he’s part of a Choir. I’m sure you know—”

“The people in the Choir are all incurably blind,” Ann replied casually. “If it’s just this though, you shouldn’t react this strongly.”

“He’s also behind the blooming of the earthsea orchids.” The knight frowned. “I originally thought he might be a demon warlock or a superior demon that’s involved with the Laddism Church, but now it doesn’t look like it.”

“Oh?” Ann raised an eyebrow. “Tell me.”

“It’s not unusual for them to use a human body as a medium to perform a certain degree of surface magic. Even if it’s ‘spiritual sacrifice’, there’s a possibility of using stones as a magic source to muddle through it.” Adrian rubbed his chin. “However, I tried it again in Caleb and I’m positive that he didn’t use other means.”

“I’m not going to ask how he revitalize the earthsea orchids.” Ann stared thoughtfully at the position of Adrian’s chest that should have been where the Laddism Church emblem was. “Not to mention skills, it takes a lot of power to do that kind of thing. In other words…”

“Whether it’s stimulating the earthsea orchids or supporting my battles with his magic, the level of surface magic he possesses exceeds the limit that could be disguised. If you forcibly use Abyssal magic to transform, the human body that’s the medium will collapse.” Adrian shook his head. “Dylan shouldn’t be related to the Abyss.”

“Knowing the esoteric spells of the Laddism Church, possessing powers beyond imagination, and also having the talent of divinations, I must admit this is indeed serious business.” The female warrior leaned casually against the wall. “So you think he’s part of the Laddism Church? That kid Dylan is a self-proclaimed atheist. Even if a person from the church lies, they wouldn’t say such blasphemous thing.”

“There is more than one person who knows such esoteric spells.” Adrian stared at the amber eyes of the female warrior. “In the Garland dungeon, the teleportation array that got Mr. Light and me out— Even if there was an external spell involved, there are not many Laddism teleportation techniques that could avoid the Wall of Sighs.”

“But you didn’t check on me.” Ann didn’t avoid the other’s gaze. The corners of her mouth slightly tugged. “Is it because my power ‘didn’t pose a threat’?”

“Because no matter how much you pretend, deep down, you are still afraid of Mr. Light. I can see it.” Adrian raised his arms, “but Jesse Dylan isn’t.”

“Perhaps because of his prophetic talent, he knows that Nemo wouldn’t hurt him.”

“What if it’s not? Judging by your actions, I’m afraid you don’t really think Mr. Light might hurt you,” Adrian sighed. “Miss Savage, I can feel that you’re not malicious, and I’ll never use any means to spy on your privacy, but Mr. Dylan is different…”

“He’s definitely related to the Laddism Church, but I can’t find out what the connection is.”

“If you need more funds, I am also willing to contribute a bit.” The female warrior shrugged. “Nemo and Oliver are in good condition now, so we need to keep an eye on Dylan. Even if the world is going to be destroyed, at least don’t let be ruined under the instigation of a fool. As for me…”

She paused. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you, but now, since it won’t have an impact on us in the future— I quite like the current situation so please understand. I can only assure you one thing. I did not betray the Laddism Church, because I have never truly believed in it.”

Adrian Cross’s pupils tightened for a moment. He pondered for a while, then looked at the person in front of him in disbelief.

“You see, it’s easy to guess.” Ann took a deep inhale. “Since you can guess it, don’t pursue it, alright?”

“You…”

“It’s all in the past.”

In the hall on the other side, Oliver finally finished signing the frighteningly thick roll of paper. He moved his wrists with a bitter face, turned around slowly and then found that there was only one member of the team left.

“Ollie,” Nemo was manipulating the task light screen, “someone had designated us.”

“What?”

“Did you mark the task ‘Requesting an escort into the catacombs under the Abyssal Church’?”

“Yeah, I did…”

“The client appointed us.” Nemo pointed to the task light screen in front of him with a serious expression. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“When Ann and the others comes back, let’s discuss it together.” Oliver leaned on Nemo from behind and languishingly rested his chin on Nemo’s shoulder. “Let me see… Duran Virgil. What exactly does he like about us?”

“We don’t even have a flashy name.” Nemo smiled as he enlarged the content of the task. “Maybe Mr. Virgil really doesn’t want to attract attention.”

“Yes,” a low but cheerful voice joined in. “Are you from Tumbleweed? There are portraits in the team introduction.”

Nemo turned his head stiffly.

A tall man with brown skin was standing a few steps away from them. He was about half a head taller than them. He had very warm light brown eyes and his hair was grayish brown like tree bark. The person who supposedly was Duran Vergil was looking at them with a beaming smile, revealing a neat row of pristine white teeth.

He wasn’t dress like a warrior. Rather, he was wearing a thick cloth robe that had a belt around it and there were small objects pinned to his belt. There were several oversized packages hanging on his back, plus a wooden easel that was tied with leather rope. He carried so many things on his back that he looked like a ladybug with bulging wings. Although there were a lot of strange things piled up on his body, there was peculiar smell on the man and he was covered everywhere with colorful paint stains that had dried out.

He looked more like a painter than an adventurer.

“Duran Vergil.” The uninvited guest nodded, his smile becoming more enthusiastic. “What a coincidence, everyone, this must be a destined meeting! ……No kidding, I just saw that your team just registered here, and I happened to be nearby. I think you look quite suitable, so I came to have a look.”

“……Suitable?” Nemo looked up and down at the person in front of him. He vaguely felt something was wrong as the man didn’t seem quite like an ordinary human, but as for what he felt was off, he couldn’t tell at the moment.

“Yes, I think my judgement on people are very accurate. You don’t seem to be the bad-hearted types. Believe me, there are a lot of good things in the catacombs of the Abyssal Church. If the Black Chapter I’m cooperating with decides to take something away… Oh, it’ll become troublesome.”

“Why don’t you find mercenaries?” Oliver asked cautiously.

“No money,” Virgil replied heartily. Oliver’s face twitched, and Nemo suspected that it was a repressed sympathetic expression.

“Of course, you can discuss with your teammates first— Boys, where is your captain?” Virgil scratched his crisp short hair. “I want to meet him.”

“…It’s me,” Oliver said slightly dryly as he raised his head unaccustomed. “Do you have anything to ask?”

Virgil was silent for a little over than ten seconds before he said, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t look closely. I thought… It seems you may be more reassuring than I thought.”

Oliver wiped his face. “Thank you for your…compliment.”

“I’m sorry,” Virgil said. He stretched out a hand, looking like he was about to pat Oliver on the shoulder.

Nemo quickly reach out his hand and grabbed the other person’s wrist causing Virgil to be taken aback. He turned his head sideways and cast a questioning look at the expressionless black-haired young man. The latter stared at him without saying a word.

“Nemo?” Oliver immediately noticed the other party’s abnormality. “Well, Mr. Virgil, I’ll go and discuss with my teammates first… Can you wait a while for us here?”

“Of course.” The tall man shrugged and tugged at the rope of the package. “I’ll sit over there for a bit. These things are very heavy.”

Oliver strode towards the corridor where Ann and Adrian were. After making sure that the distance was far enough, he whispered carefully. “What’s wrong with you just now?”

Nemo breathed out slowly and pursed his mouth as he looked back again. Their client, Duran Virgil, was honestly sitting down on the floor and stretching out his waist, which looked extremely normal…

But he wasn’t “normal”.

After perceiving a sense of discordance, Nemo tentatively explored it. He then immediately knew why Mr. Virgil was carrying so many things on his back. Those packages that were surprisingly large and seemed to be dragging on the ground was just a disguise. They were hiding the deformation that was behind him. Although it looked like wings at first glance, it wasn’t wings. Duran Virgil had a pair of huge and standard human hand bones that was attached to his back. They protruded from his skin and overlapped with each other and clung to the man’s back like wings.

“That’s a demon warlock, Ollie.” He hesitated for a few seconds, and then confirmed Virgil’s aura again. “I… There shouldn’t be an error in my judgement. Duran Virgil is a real demon warlock.”

The author has something to say：

Took the name of a team that has no pursuit → Client: I like friends who have no pursuit.

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Nemo: Fuck, it’s a demon warlock! Super dangerous. Everyone should be careful.

The rest of the teammates: (Stop talking)