Stray

Chapter 145: Temperature

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The sun was about to set.
The sunlight projected on the floor had an orange-red hue.

The honey milk was already cool, and a thin lipid film had formed on the surface.
Nemo exhaled.
His eyes were still dry.
The icy invisible layer that had been wrapping him finally collapsed.
He sank into the world again, like a fish thrown back into clear water.

He was finally able to breathe smoothly.

Nemo could feel a soothing kiss on his ear.
Oliver drew back his arms around him, spread the pillow, and laid back on it.
His lover put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling with a serious expression, obviously lost in thought.

After a brief hesitation, Nemo threw off his shoes and cautiously climbed onto the bed.

Since Oliver disappeared, he hadn’t closed his eyes for a single moment.
Although it was impossible for a Demon King to falter because of such trivial matter, his spirit that was stretched to its limits suddenly relaxed and he almost collapsed.
As he moved forward, his knees touched the hilt of the Rest in Peace.

Nemo originally wanted to put the Rest in Peace on the bedside, but he regretted the moment he reached out.
After glancing at Oliver quietly and making sure the other party didn’t care about it, Nemo put the sword in the gap between the two and then immediately withdrew his hand as if it was on fire.

This way, it was still in Oliver’s reach.

He quickly pulled half of the quilt up and buried his face into the pillow and turned his back to Oliver.
Nemo originally thought he would be so nervous that he couldn’t sleep, but the sun was warm, and the Oliver’s heartbeat was gentle and powerful.
He almost fell asleep within a few seconds.

“Ollie,” as if to confirm something, Nemo stared at a thread on the edge of the pillowcase and spoke.
“When everyone gathers again, I have to make this matter clear.”

He paused for a moment, but Oliver didn’t intend to answer, so he continued, “I’m indeed… some kind of danger.
It’s unfair to keep Ann and Mr.
Cross in the dark.”

“Does Dylan know?” Oliver quickly grasps the point and threw out a rhetorical question.

“He knew it from the beginning.
If I guessed correctly, he’s probably—”

“Stop, stop, stop,” Oliver quickly interrupted him.
“I have a bad feeling… Nemo, I’m still digesting your identity.
We’ll talk about Dylan later.”

The air was completely quiet for a while.

“Do you want to hear my opinion about the confession?” Just when Nemo almost fell asleep again, Oliver took the initiative to speak.

“Nn,” Nemo replied in a daze.

“I’ll tell you my reasoning.” Oliver’s voice was firm and calm.
“I understand what you’re thinking, Nemo.
I won’t deliberately hide it from them, but now’s not the right time.”

Nemo suddenly woke up.
“What did you say?”

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“Let’s not talk about Ann’s position.
Mr.
Cross will definitely report the situation to the Holy Church.
Compared with to the average Knights of Judgement, his attitude is indeed more understanding… but your situation is more special.
I think you know.”

“…I understand.”

“None of us know what the ‘you use to be’ had planned.
If you confess this matter, it will only lead to meaningless conflict and panic.
Even if they don’t have direct evidence… If someone wants to thoroughly investigate the affairs of the Abyssal Church, they will still find some clues.” His lover sounded terribly calm.
“Personally, we’d better wait for some clues before we talk to them.”

“……”

“As for the safety of those people… Trust me, Nemo.
Once your identity is exposed, Mr.
Cross and Ann will certainly not survive.
After all, you used to be companions.
No one would be tolerant of this kind of thing.
Everyone would just want to ensure complete security.”

Nemo wrapped into the quilt tightly and curled up.
The frustration of overgrown, soft thorns hit him again.
“I see.”

“And it’s better for me ‘as a human being’ than for you to confess this yourself.” A warm handed reached out and rubbed the back of his neck.
There was a friction of the cloth behind him.
Oliver seemed to have taken away the weapon between the two of them and put it on the edge of the bed.
“You don’t have to be so anxious to prove yourself.
It’s okay.”

“Go to sleep,” Oliver added, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Before he finished speaking, Nemo had already fallen asleep, as if his words were some powerful hypnotic spell.
Anxiety and uneasiness were still there, but at this moment, they had become extremely thin.
Nemo thought hazily that he could probably sleep until Ann’s arrival.

But he woke up much earlier than he thought.

The sky outside the window was a dark blue color that was closer to black that even a few stars couldn’t be seen.
The warm sunlight had disappeared.
Nemo sat up abruptly, instinctively leaned to his side, and in the next moment his fingertips touched warm skin— Oliver’s temperature was still there, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

It really wasn’t a dream.

Nemo looked around him.
Oliver kept his hands behind his head, and his emerald eyes was still staring at the ceiling.
At this moment, he moved his gaze over and collided with Nemo’s gaze.

“You didn’t sleep,” Nemo retracted his hand somewhat awkwardly.

“Mm-hmm,” Oliver whispered.

Nemo plucked up the courage and put his hand back.
Oliver didn’t tremble, but his muscle did tighten under the skin.
The skin wasn’t smooth.
He now could touch protruding scars and sunken dark wounds.
Anger and pain came out from the bottom of his heart again.
Nemo hitched his breath and stroked his fingers along the long scar.

Then Oliver grabbed him.

Nemo subconsciously looked at Oliver’s face and found his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled.
He subconsciously wanted to withdraw his hand but found that Oliver’s hand was tightly clenched.

“This isn’t a dream.” Oliver’s tone was firm, and his grip became a bit stronger.
“I have been thinking about it, Nemo… but it’s really not a dream.”

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The faint moonlight poured into the room.
Oliver’s nightgown opened slightly from his movements, revealing a hideous scar on the left side of his chest.
Nemo leaned closer and pressed the scar with his other hand.
He could feel Oliver’s body stiffened with his movements, but the temperature attracted him so much that Nemo couldn’t retract his hand.

This reality was too beautiful, even now.
He dared not believe it was true from the bottom of his heart.
Maybe he would wake up at a certain moment and find himself sleeping in a lonely and cold corner…

And he wasn’t the only one who had this concern.

First their fingers, then their entire palms, as if they were touching human skin for the first time.
The temperature of the other person kept radiating from the palm of his hands.
For the first time in his life, Nemo had the idea of taking the initiative to plunder something.

He liked this temperature.

Before his consciousness reacted, he had already propped up Oliver’s pillow with both hands and stared intensely into the familiar emerald eyes… At this moment, they were glowing with obscure light.

“Do you mind?” Nemo asked softly.
He could feel his pupils losing control and changing back to the appearance of a demon, but he didn’t dare care about this now.
His heartbeat was so loud that it was out of control.
It kept pumping blood into his brain, but Nemo had forgotten how to breathe again.

“Of course not.” Oliver’s voice was a little hoarse.

Nemo leaned down, pressed his left hand onto the fatal scar, and bit into Oliver’s lips with great seriousness.
He felt his heart would explode because of the joy and sadness in the next moment.
Oliver reached out his hands and gently rubbed Nemo’s ears and cheeks.
The temperature of the room was rising, and the skin under his palm revealed a thin layer of sweat, which became slippery and a little cool.

They kissed each other intently, as if the world outside the room no longer existed.

Oliver inserted his slender fingers into Nemo’s black hair.
His movements were very light, and the heat in his palms became more obvious.
Nemo let out a small groan from his throat, and slightly propped his arms and licked the corners of his lips.

“You don’t have to be so careful,” he murmured, pulling down the neckline of Oliver’s nightgown.
“I’m not fragile, you know—”

Before he finished speaking, the world in his eyes suddenly turned upside down.

After a few seconds, Nemo realized what had happened— Oliver turned over quickly and tightly restrained his wrist with his hands.
The gentleness and obedience had dissipated in an instant, and the momentum was like a beast that gave its prey its final blow.

“That’s right,” Oliver said slowly.
“I know.”

After that, he lowered his head and kissed Nemo’s eyes.
That was his last move that had anything to do with “softness”.

After the moist kisses, Nemo didn’t have time to open them.
A slightly stabbing pain hit the side of his neck.
He wanted to struggle, but he could feel the eagerness and sadness in that bite.
The tingling sensation hit his brain.
When he tried to take in air, his breathing became slightly panted.

Forget it, Nemo thought. Completely relax your body.

Next, the concept of “time” completely disappeared in this ordinary guest room.
It wasn’t until the sun rose the next day that this crazy night really ended.

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“…We need to talk it over Ollie,” Nemo buried his face in the soft pillow and muttered rather breathlessly.
“You can kill me, I don’t mind… but not in this way, okay?”

However, his lover did not give a definitive answer.
Oliver hummed vaguely and simply fell asleep.

Nemo stood up and for the first time hated his physique.
He gritted his teeth and performed a cleaning spell on the crumpled sheets and mended the newly appeared tears on them.
Oliver was lying on the pillow, sleeping heavily.
The loose nightgown had already turned into shreds in the floor, and his scarred upper body was exposed to the air.

Nemo looked away in frustration.
The last bit of unhappiness left in his heart disappeared instantly.
There were a lot of bloody scratches on Oliver’s back, and as a final revenge, he was determined not to treat them.

Although a cleansing spell was much faster, he still decided to take a bath.
The touch of hot water pouring on his body brought him back to reality again.
That absurd night didn’t leave many traces on his skin.
Nemo stared deeply at the splashing water and found that he couldn’t find the heavy state of mind of the previous day.

‘Oliver really wasn’t afraid of him at all,’ he thought… Though his proof of love was a bit too powerful, this was still good news

After carefully rinsing, Nemo dried his hair casually and put on a loose robe.
He planned to go to the restaurant to get some food.
After all, the pudding and milk was ignored by them all night, and they were no longer suitable for eating.

However, when Nemo just picked up a glass of hot milk and planned to take a sip, he truly returned to reality…

Ann was sitting at the dining table by the window with a piece of oatmeal bread in her mouth.
The gray parrot was pecking at a nut biscuit, making clicking noises on the side.
It and Nemo directly confronted each other, and it gave an earth-shattering squawk.

The female warrior raised her head and chin as if to say hello, but when she saw the other party’s situation clearly, Ann reached out a hand slowly and took down the oatmeal bread in her mouth.

“…Where’s Oliver?” She swallowed the bread and cleared her throat.
“I remember you wrote ‘everything is going well’ on the task.”

“Still sleeping,” Nemo said with a flat face.
His ears were burning half because of the tension and half because of embarrassment.

“Oh.
Still sleeping— No! What time is it?!” Ann clutched the poor bread tightly.
“Can’t you heal him? Oliver is usually up by five… Did… Did you take a shower, Nemo? At this time?”

She glanced at the plate Nemo was holding.
There was no doubt it was breakfast for two.

The expression of the female warrior froze.

“My God… You guys really— No, no.
I mean.
Did you give Oliver—?” Ann raised her eyebrows high, ignoring the surrounding gaze and made a vulgar gesture with her hands.

The heat exploded directly on his face.
Nemo didn’t say a word and turned away.

“This reaction… Oh, it doesn’t seem to be…” Ann resoundingly tsked.
“Hey, don’t go yet.
Come back! Sorry! ….Pfft.”

“Young people are so thin-skinned.” Looking at Nemo’s feeling back, Ann poked the gray parrot with a smile.
“I can’t believe that Oliver kid really did it.
This is no longer a problem that medals can solve.
Cross should apply for a trophy for him.”

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The nuts in Bagelmaurus’ mouth directly fell on the table.
It stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, then fainted.

The author has something to say：

Let’s review the process behind Nemo’s secret identity reveal—

1.
Fighting Witherspoon near Hailem.
It was discovered that Nemo’s related to a superior demon.

Oliver: I’m not afraid.

Divide half of the bed and let Nemo sleep all night.

2.
Nadine discovered that Nemo is a complete superior demon.

Oliver: I’m not afraid!

Slept with Nemo in his arms on the sofa all night.

3.
It was discovered that Nemo is the Demon King.

Oliver: I’m not afraid—

…and put Nemo to sleep all night.

————

Nemo: Something’s wrong here?!?!

Kinky Thoughts:

That’s certainly one way to tame a Demon King.
Ahhh… All that suffering is so worth it for this! They finally consummated their relationship~

Poor Ollie.
The events of the Withered Castle scarred him that he doubts whether this was reality.
Well… he certainly did confirm it was truly a reality.

Side note: I like Stray so much I decided to pick up another novel by the same author called Happy Doomsday.
It’s a sci-fi/fantasy setting set in a post apocalyptic world.
Do check it out, especially if you’re a fan of Stray.
The prologue has been released.
As Stray is my main project, Happy Doomsday will be released on a weekly basis until Stray is complete.