This was the first time Nol and Teest entered Grape Collar in their original appearances.
The first time they came, they were wary of the Temple's Investigation Knights and didn't want to be recognized by Golden Sword, so they carefully hid their appearances.
Now… they had openly defied the Temple of Life, and Golden Sword was from that very god. If any Investigation Knights were to cause trouble, they could easily escape. As for the aftermath, let Painter deal with the headache.
After dealing with the gate guards with a confusion spell, Nol took Teest's hand and boldly crossed the city gate.
It was the end of winter, and there were fewer grape vendors on the streets; their absence was filled by sellers of roasted foods. The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, baked potatoes, and bread. The greenery of spring had yet to return, and the bare tree branches were wrapped in green cloth and golden bells. The tinkling in the winter wind mixed with jingling bells, shaking off some of the chill.
Nol and Teest each held a cup of hot fruit cider as they leisurely walked down the street. The bustling crowd flowed around them, with various product advertisements hanging at the shop fronts, oblivious to the battle against the False Gods above.
In the lively atmosphere, Nol relaxed. The closer they got to the truth, the calmer he became.
"People go to the fountain in the square to make wishes at the end of winter. Did you establish this custom?" Teest sipped his hot apple cider, exhaling a stream of white mist.
"No. They came up with it on their own." Nol remembered the countless shopping festivals on Earth. "Let me guess. There's no shortage of vendors there."
"That's right." Teest recalled for a moment.
Nol leaned forward curiously, looking at Teest's face. "Have you been there before?"
Teest showed a nostalgic expression. "Last year at this time, I decorated a High Priest in the very center of the fountain. That day, the fountain water was blood-pink, much like diluted grape wine."
Nol froze. "..." Alright, he shouldn't have asked the Mad Monk such a question.
Teest, noticing Nol's stiffened state, smiled even wider. "Even earlier, my family took me here. Thinking back, my parents probably hoped that such 'warmth' would make me more normal."
By the time they finished talking, they had already reached the edge of the square.
In the center of the square stood a sculpture of the Goddess of Life—a beautiful goddess backed by curving vines, holding bunches of plump grapes. Several exquisite wine jars lay at the Goddess's feet, with fountain water mixed with perfume gushing out.
The fountain was crystal clear, with the shimmer of silver hooks and copper pieces at the bottom, occasionally speckled with flashes of gold. Passersby stopped by the pool to make quiet wishes.
Around the square, countless mobile stalls were crammed together, mostly selling snacks and toys to please children, even mixing in many game stalls. Many families brought their children to make wishes, easy to bring but hard to take away.
Laughter and shouts filled the air, creating a joyful atmosphere.
…It was hard to imagine Teest hanging a corpse in such a place. Nol looked at his knight with an indescribable expression. Teest was looking at the statue in the middle of the fountain without a trace of guilt.
Nol decided not to delve deeper into this matter.
Seeing people around him making wishes and throwing money, his homeland's blood stirred. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, so he decided to make a wish first…
"I just thought this statue was annoying." Teest threw his empty fruit shell cup into the trash, and quietly flipped off the statue. "I imagined the Goddess's face as Enbillick's just now, and found my mood worsened even more."
Nol's coin-tossing action paused again.
"We can make wishes for each other." He coughed twice. "Essentially, there's no difference."
"Good idea." Teest turned around, his eyes sparkling. "Let me think… I hope you stop the side effects of [Ash Remnants]."
He pointed meaningfully at Nol's chest. "One gold wheel—I've already given it to you."
Nol clenched the copper piece, slightly stunned.
[Ash Remnants], while giving him the warmth of a living person, also brought with it a burning pain with each heartbeat. That pain was once his reminder to himself, and over time, he had become accustomed to living with it, sometimes forgetting its presence.
He didn't expect Teest to remember.
For both the Mad Monk and the False God Teest, this wish was too ordinary.
"Why?"
"Because the headaches you give me will accompany you." Teest shrugged, taking a sip of Nol's hot apple cider. "You no longer need that trivial reminder."
Nol raised his right hand, pressing his palm against his heart. With just a small change, the magic glow quietly lit up, and the pain in his heartbeat quickly dissolved.
It turned out, he could become even more relaxed. Nol exhaled. "Your wish has come true."
Having said that, he scratched his face somewhat embarrassedly. "This one doesn't count. Do you want to make another wish?"
"Honey, you are more generous than an old candy merchant." Teest sipped Nol's hot drink again. "For the remaining wish, I'd rather achieve them by myself. Now it's your turn. Please."
Teest licked the fruit cider at the corner of his mouth and took a step back, bowing.
Make a wish, huh.
Just now, Nol was still hoping everything would go smoothly and for the early demise of Star Stealer Sol, but now he wasn't so sure. Teest was right. They could achieve these things by themselves.
This was his wish to the False God Teest. He should make a more meaningful, more special, and more… personal wish.
Nol clasped his hands together, activating [Creator]. Under Teest's curious gaze, Nol opened his palms to reveal a brand new gold wheel. It was exquisite and dazzling, much like the sun itself.
Teest was startled. "This…"
"For you, a special gold wheel." Nol smiled.
"…Is it real or fake?" Teest asked eagerly.
Silence spread between the two, and the next second, Nol, gritting his teeth, pushed the brand new gold wheel against Teest's chest. "Anyway, I want to make a wish with it. Real or fake, just take it."
Teest snorted, flipping the gold wheel into the air, catching it, and then stuffing it into his pocket.
"I hope you can live happily, Teest," Nol said solemnly.
Teest was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. "I'll try to fulfill your wish. But I'm fickle. You'll have to keep a close watch."
"Of course." Nol reached out and touched that beautiful silver hair.
"Wait for me a moment."
Teest winked at Nol and ran off, returning with two desserts a few minutes later.
"Grape frosted sweets. It tastes good."
Nol leaned in to see. The dessert was held up by a biscuit, looking a bit like frozen hard grape jelly, with faintly visible green grape flesh inside. Honestly, this didn't seem to match Teest, who always preferred meaty, filling food.
This little thing wasn't even two bites, accompanied by a roughly made wooden spoon, clearly meant for kids. Nol took the spoon, scooped a little, and nearly choked on the sweetness.
As a child, when his parents took him abroad for vacations, they had also bought such murderously sweet desserts, and the family of three couldn't even finish one portion.
Hold on, hold on. This was something Teest liked. Nol struggled to swallow it.
"The last time I came here—not the time I killed someone—my father bought this for me, and my mother made a wish for me."
Teest also scooped a spoonful. "She hoped my life would be happy. You reminded me of her just now."
Nol: "…Thank you?"
"My mother said, making such a wish for someone else is also a form of 'love'. Just like how my father queued up to buy this stuff—urgh, so sweet!"
Teest stuffed a mouthful and almost spat the dessert out. "I didn't have this impression back then. That old lady must have changed the recipe."
Maybe not. Nol smiled. His knight, in some respects, was indeed terrifyingly obtuse.
Nol forced himself to eat his portion, not complaining about the sweetness anymore. Just as he saw a glimmer of hope in his battle, Teest turned his portion upside down.
"So you really like it!" the Mad Monk insincerely exclaimed. "That's great. Please accept my tribute—mmph!"
Before he could finish, Teest was forcefully fed a large spoonful by an angry Nol.
Both coughed for a while. Nol weakly raised a finger, removed half of the sugar in the jelly, and tried to stuff Teest's portion back.
"Here you go, Your Grace," Nol said dryly.
Teest couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.
Nol blew out a breath and tried a small sip. Well, the sweetness was just right now. Indeed it had become tastier.
"…It looks like there won't be any trouble this year. Last year, the Mad Monk ruined the entire festival."
A keyword was mentioned, and a conversation from nearby reached Nol's ears. "My relative is an Investigation Knight, and I heard that the Mad Monk hasn't appeared for a long time."
Teest bit the spoon, joining the eavesdropping.
"He wasn't caught. That lunatic couldn't have just stopped." Another person muttered. "There might be some cases that haven't come to light."
"I'm sure there aren't. The last one was the case in Whitebird City. Maybe the Goddess couldn't stand it anymore and personally reformed that guy…"
Nol glanced at Teest with complex feelings.
Teest caught Nol's gaze, immediately showing a bright smile and mouthed, "You, reformed, me."
Nol turned his head away, pretending not to see.
This guy was sharpening his knife for the "Goddess herself", far from repentance. Teest had just lost interest in those small fries.
Turning a "lunatic" into a "super lunatic", it was hard to say that was "reforming".
"Did the Mad Monk change his profession to an assassin? It's said that Alva's Ship Island was destroyed, and there was an Eternal Church ship there. Maybe it was that lunatic's doing. Otherwise, there might be a second lunatic in Tahe."
Sorry, the one who destroyed Ship Island was me. Nol guiltily turned his head back, just to see Teest's solemn face.
"What's wrong?" Did Teest discover something?
"…The Eternal Church." Teest had a face like he forgot to turn off the tap. "It seems we didn't bring Fischer Reginald with us."
Nol was stunned. He thought Teest had other plans, but he just forgot?
"Never mind, he's an adult. He can go home by himself." Teest sighed. "Let it be."
"..." Nol rubbed his forehead. "Next time we contact him, remember to ask him to bring Aesop along."
It was still early, and the two loitered around the fountain for a while. As they were about to visit the General, Teest suddenly pulled Nol in a different direction.
Seeing the sign of the "Good Blessings" bakery in front of him, Nol was somewhat puzzled. He never thought Teest would take him here voluntarily.
This time Teest didn't wait outside. He just pulled Nol's hand and entered the shop as if it was nothing unusual.
The familiar sweet scent swept over, and in the shop's central display, cute and tempting peach tea cupcakes were still placed—only the "new" on the sign had changed to "hot-selling", and the price was now 1 silver hook each.
"Want to try?" Teest pointed at the peach cake. "The desserts we bought just now weren't great. I need to make it up to you."
Nol stared blankly at Teest, who just smiled back.
[One of the values of truth.]
Teest's soft thoughts came over. [Now we know who the enemy is, he doesn't deserve to leave a mark on me—help me remove it, Nol.]
"Since you're treating, let's buy a few more items." Nol cleared his throat. "And bring some for our old friend as well."
"…You're being too much now." Teest put on a dramatically heartbroken expression.
Nol was about to tease back when his gaze swept over several people behind Teest, his expression instantly blanking. Teest, sensing something was off, was about to turn around when a small figure burst into his view, heading straight for Nol.
"Daddy, Mommy, it's the brother who came to eat last time!" The little girl joyfully exclaimed.
Colette Alva.
And she called out to "Daddy" and "Mommy"…
"What a coincidence, Mr. Nol."
Enbillick Alva, carrying a basket of sweets, sounded as hearty as ever.
His wife, Avra, stood by his side, also carrying a basket of desserts. The sweets in their baskets varied greatly in style. It seemed the couple was buying separate treats for their children.
"Hello," Avra said in slightly awkward common language while shyly bowing.
The sweet joy of the moment vanished. Nol, though able to suppress anger and disgust, couldn't bring himself to greet Enbillick with a smile. Was it chance? Was it a reversion? Or was there a new scheme from Star Stealer Sol?
…There were people all around. Were they going to start a fight here?
"Good afternoon to both of you." Teest stood beside Nol, his arm naturally resting on Nol's shoulder. "You must be Mrs. Alva? You're even more beautiful than the rumors."
At the last dinner, Teest was busy sneaking treats under "A Midsummer Night's Dream", so Avra had no impression of him.
"You are…?"
"I'm Nol's partner, Teest. Didn't your husband mention me?" Teest continued cheerily. "Billy, I'm going to be sad."
"I had some trouble with my work before, you know about it."
Enbillick's face was full of nearly sincere apologies, as if they really had some kind of relationship. "I just got home not long ago and haven't had the chance to mention you two yet—I need to make it up to my precious family first."
"Fountain Square!" Colette called out.
"Make a wish. Make a wish!" Her brother Moore also started jumping.
"We came here to relax and didn't expect to meet Billy's friends." Avra, a bit embarrassed, wrapped her arms around the children. "If you two are free, come to our house for dinner sometime…"
"Billy said he wants to be with his family. I'm afraid it would be inconvenient for us to go."
Teest casually moved the topic along, tightening his hold on Nol's hand. "The fountain is indeed nice. I recommend the grape frosted sweets over there."
"Thank you." Enbillick waved his hand.
"Nice to see you two. We're going to check out first."
After saying that, he made a gesture. Strange magical fluctuations dispersed. Teest subtly stood in front of Nol, but nothing happened.
"Wait." Nol suddenly spoke up. "Enbillick, what wish are you planning to make?"
Enbillick blinked his ash-gray eyes. "This year, I'll wish for 'smooth sailing at work'."
Avra gave them a puzzled look.
"That's a good wish," Nol said, pausing between each word. "Remember, wishes come with a cost."
"Thank you for your advice." Enbillick wrapped his arm around his wife and turned towards the store counter.
"Why did you suddenly ask him about his wish?" Teest curiously asked after the Alva family left the store.
"Because, that fucker stole the gold wheel I gave you." Nol was still staring in the direction Enbillick left. "There are too many people here, so I couldn't take action."
Teest clicked his tongue loudly.
"It's okay." He kissed Nol's forehead. "I'll retrieve it from his corpse."