Chapter 343 Bad Luck
The ghost stared at her for a moment, then nodded slightly. "You made the right choice. I'll discuss this with you in detail later."
After saying that, he stopped looking at Emilia, who was obviously relaxed, and turned to look at Ethan.
"Mr. Ethan," the gray eyes clearly reflected the mercenary's immediately tense face: "Or should I call you, Ethan Money?"
Ethan's pupils shrank sharply, and his breathing quickened slightly. He pursed his lips, and the suspicion and luck he had felt along the way completely vanished at this moment.
Charlotte looked at her companion blankly. When she met him more than ten years ago, he claimed to be an orphan who grew up wandering the streets. She didn't know he had a last name... and it seemed a little familiar.
Emilia's brows furrowed slightly. "'Asylum' company?"
The "Protector" company, which once started out with coal, has taken advantage of the royal family in recent years and has developed into a behemoth involving many fields such as energy, technology, military industry, stocks, etc. by selling bonds. The company's general supervisor, Lionel Mony, was once selected as the richest person in the empire except the king.
Was this a coincidence? No, otherwise Mr. Ghost wouldn't have deliberately invited this unremarkable mercenary to come for an interview. Emilia Carleton's eyes suddenly became alert. She quietly took a few steps toward the black-haired young man—after all, among those who had extended an "olive branch" to the Carleton family was the "Protector" company.
"...Yes." The mercenary said with an inexplicable sense of resignation: "I am indeed related to that Lionel Moni. I only found out about it three months ago."
Charlotte: “…”
Charlotte: "You mean, buddy, you're going to be rich?!"
The warlock lady couldn't help but reveal a strange expression of shock mixed with ecstasy, confusion in her ecstasy, and trance in her confusion.
"What's so good about getting rich?" Ethan sneered. "My 'father' probably has dozens or even hundreds of illegitimate children. I'm just one of them who was accidentally left out."
Then they listened to a bloody drama together.
A mercenary who was wandering around begging for a living was found by a mysterious person during a mission and his blood was taken. After the blood relationship spell was used for identification, he suddenly learned that he and the wealthy businessman were actually the father of the man.
But this is not a good thing.
"Millionaire Lionel Money has contracted a strange illness, and no healing spell can cure him." Ethan said coldly, unhesitatingly betraying his suddenly-appearing, cheap dad. "His therapist suggested he use magic to transfer the deformity to someone else to buy time for treatment, and a blood relative is the best choice."
Charlotte was stunned for a moment, then jumped up the next second: "Wait! I was wondering why you suddenly disappeared for a few days! So they were looking for you because—"
"...Just as you think." The mercenary turned away expressionlessly, glancing over the extremely dangerous standoff and negotiations. "In the end, I reluctantly exchanged a year of free time with them, using the excuse that as a mercenary I had traveled extensively and could find skilled healers."
After a year, he could run away alone and live in anonymity forever, but his innocent companions and their families could not escape.
"I'm sorry, Miss Caledon," the mercenary said swiftly to Emilia, who had a complicated expression on her face. "I heard about the wonders of the Deep Green Potion, and since you were willing to use it as a commission, I approached you and accepted your commission."
——But if the potion is really effective, this delicate noble lady will probably be "invited" by the "Protector" company by any means necessary.
...A strange disease. The professor tapped the wooden box thoughtfully.
Emilia looked at him for a moment, then suddenly seemed to have thought of something and widened her eyes slightly: "Wait, have you guessed something?"
Ethan: “……?”
Speaking of Miss Carleton, who he regarded as a life-saving straw, did she regard this ghost gentleman as a god?
"...Just a guess." The black-haired young man glanced at her and nodded slightly reservedly. However, he did not elaborate on his thoughts. Instead, he began to ask Ethan in detail about the wealthy businessman's specific illness.
"You have two choices now, Mr. Ethan." The ghost calmly raised a finger. "First, take Miss Charlotte away. Someone will safely transport you to the vicinity of Eagle's Nest Town. The condition is that you sign a soul contract, forget everything that happened today, and then you can continue to be free mercenaries living on the edge of life and death. The premise is that you can avoid being pursued by the hostile forces of the People's Party, or cure Lionel Money's strange illness within the so-called 'one-year period.'"
Ethan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that this ghost gentleman was actually so "reasonable" - but he soon realized that either of the two options in the "premise" would be a fatal trouble for them.
Seeing the mercenary's expression gradually become serious, the black-haired young man slowly raised a second finger and said, "Second, stay and work for the Limin Party. Your skills and experience are very valuable to us. As a reward, the Limin Party will do its best to protect your personal safety, no matter what threats you may face."
"You can discuss it. I'll give you a day." Seeing the two of them looking at each other in bewilderment, he paused and added, "Whether you want to continue collaborating or go your separate ways, you must carefully consider the pros and cons before making a decision. Don't act rashly."
Those smoky grey eyes narrowed slightly. Although he was clearly just an ordinary person, and his voice was calm, the two mercenaries suddenly felt a chill down their spines. "—Otherwise, you wouldn't want to know how the People's Party treats traitors."
The three people who came from afar finally left. The professor pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, rubbed his forehead which was aching from staying up late, and decided to make another cup of coffee to refresh himself.
He stretched and flexed his overly stiff back muscles. Just as he was about to jump off the wooden box that hurt his butt, he was caught off guard when he saw a figure standing in the shadow behind him. The figure was surprisingly close to him, with blue eyes staring down at him condescendingly, but without making a sound.
The professor's pupils suddenly shrank violently.
"Be careful." Azuka reluctantly reached out and grabbed the back of the black-haired young man's neck to help him steady his body.
"Have you forgotten my existence?" He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked with a smile.
The other party paused suspiciously and angrily: "...No."
"I thought you'd gotten used to life without me," the savior said calmly, his fingers gently gripping the back of his enemy's neck showing no sign of loosening. "After all, it's been a full week since we last met..."
"Six days and fourteen hours," the professor corrected him expressionlessly, "less than a week."
“…Well, less than a week.”
Azuka chuckled meaningfully, but slid his fingers up little by little, gently hooking the black-haired young man's pale chin with his little finger, forcing him to raise his head, while his thumb slowly and gently rubbed the obvious dark blue skin under his lover's eyes, which made people's hair stand on end.
"How many hours of sleep did you get last night?" he asked gently without warning.
Nova was silent for a moment. After weighing the pros and cons, he realized that lying might make the person even angrier, so he answered honestly, "No."
"The day before yesterday?"
“…Four hours.”
Seeing the savior take a noticeable deep breath, his lips tensed, and sensing he was about to be punished—perhaps even worse than the punishment on his butt, like having his coffee confiscated for an extended period—the professor immediately interrupted him, saying, "The war situation is very tense lately. Only by keeping an eye on me personally can I feel assured."
"And I always can't sleep well without you." He stared into those dazed blue eyes, looking very serious, as if he was just stating some established truth: "I always wake up with a headache, so I don't want to sleep."
Upon hearing this, Azuka's brows furrowed slightly. Without saying a word, he quickly cast several detection spells on the person and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the other person had no serious health problems.
"You have figured out how to deal with me, right?" The blond young man said helplessly, and the expression on his face was finally no longer so inexplicably scary.
...It makes people angry and heartbroken. I don’t know what to do with the person. I wish I could hold him in my mouth, lick him until he melts, and then swallow him.
He walked over to the professor, clasping his hands on the wooden boxes on either side of the black-haired young man's body, holding him firmly in his arms. Then he leaned forward slightly, staring intently at his lover's tired face with his blue eyes. A faint sense of oppression suddenly spread over him. "Starting today, go to bed at a certain time, and keep this up for at least a week - can you do this?"
The professor subconsciously frowned and retorted, "That depends on whether there are any emergencies..."
"The People's Party won't fall apart just because you missed a night," Azuka interrupted him gently. "On the contrary, everyone needs you to maintain a healthy body and a clear mind."
"... Besides, I'm here, sir." He gently brushed the scattered hair with his hand and kissed his lover's pale forehead. After holding back for a moment, he finally couldn't help but kiss her again, then her eyes, cheeks, nose tip, lips...
"...Hmm." Nova stared at those slightly trembling light golden eyelashes in a daze for a moment, and suddenly responded vaguely.
"You've had a hard week," he said, then reached out and pushed the guy's face away, interrupting the deep kiss that was about to go deeper and would definitely make him weak and breathless. But before that person could show dissatisfaction or grievance, the black-haired young man took the initiative to reach out and put his arm around the other's shoulders, completing the half-formed hug.
Azuka was stunned for a moment, then readily embraced her tighter. The immense satisfaction of having the person he had been thinking about day and night once again perfectly embraced him softened his expression. He couldn't help but lower his head to kiss the soft, slightly curly hair, his fingers reaching in and caressing it gently and lovingly.
"Have you missed me these days?" Someone began to greedily and quietly want to get more.
"Yes."
The person in my arms is so well-behaved that it makes my heart feel soft and swollen.
"I miss you, too." He couldn't help but hug her tighter, carefully sniffing the pleasant scent of his lover, his voice gradually lowering: "I think of you every moment, my husband."
"You can't do it all the time," the professor, who was being held in someone's arms, blinked and seriously pointed out the mistake. "At least during sleep, especially deep sleep, your brain won't be able to sustain 'missing', a conscious mental activity that requires high-level cognitive participation."
Azuka: “…”
"You make a lot of sense," he asked with a smile. "Then can you guess what I did to you in my dream, my professor?"
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