Old Friend

"Norman, my child..." Upon hearing the call from inside the room, Yago froze on the spot. His hand, which had been reaching for the doorknob, stopped mid-air. A strange tremor ran through Yago's heart. How could this be? How could his name be spoken? Was it a coincidence?

But Harry didn't notice Yago's stiff movements. Hearing the sounds from inside the room, he shrugged indifferently and said, "Hey, your grandmother is calling your uncle's name again. No wonder your father used to dislike your grandmother so much. Come to think of it, it makes sense. Your mother always cared about your Older Brother and not you, and even more than ten years after your Older Brother died, she kept talking about it. If I were your father, I would have a breakdown."

Yago asked in confusion, "Uncle?"

Harry looked Yago up and down suspiciously. "Yeah, your uncle, Norman Russell, was quite famous back in the day. He was the dream lover of a whole bunch of Nobility ladies. My aunt used to have a crush on him. Wait, Loa, what's wrong with you? You seem a bit absent-minded."

"Norman Russell? It seems like just a coincidence..." Yago muttered to himself, then ignored Harry and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, a whiff of disinfectant mixed with a strange, rotten smell filled his nostrils, causing Yago to frown slightly.

In the fairly spacious and bright room, a large bed was placed in the center. On the bed lay Old Woman with silver hair and many wrinkles on her face. Her eyes were closed, and her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat from typhoid fever. Her lips were chapped, and she was still muttering Norman's name. This was Loa's grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Mrs. Russell.

Seeing this, the maid quickly stepped forward and took a wrung-out towel to wipe the sweat from Mrs. Russell's forehead.

Harry leaned close to Mrs. Russell and whispered, "Mrs. Russell? Mrs. Russell? Loa's back, your grandson's back."

Upon hearing Harry's words, Mrs. Russell opened her eyes, but they were now dull and cloudy, as if a grayish-white film covered her pupils.

"Loa? Where is Loa?" Mrs. Russell murmured with difficulty, and then, pulled by Harry, Yago walked to Mrs. Russell's bedside, while Harry chattered on and on about Yago's exploits on the battlefield.

"Loa is quite something now. He's surpassed Uncle Newman; he's Colonel now, madam. You should be proud of him."

Mrs. Russell reached out and took Yago's hand. Yago could feel that Mrs. Russell's hand was very light and thin, with prominent veins and wrinkles on the back of her hand, as if it were just a layer of skin. "Newman? He's my child too. Loa, Loa is Newman's child, yes, Newman's child."

Yago looked at the frail Mrs. Russell, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He also didn't know how Loa had treated his grandmother before, so Yago tentatively called out, "Grandma?"

Although Mrs. Russell couldn't see, Yago's words "Grandma" still brought a tear to her cloudy eyes. She murmured, "If Norman's child were here, he would be as old as Loa. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have said that to him. If I hadn't said that, Norman wouldn't have run away from home in a huff, and he wouldn't have been killed. It's all my fault..."

Upon hearing this, Harry's expression immediately changed. As Loa's childhood friend, he knew best that Loa, like his father Newman, was extremely annoyed by Mrs. Russell mentioning the name of his long-deceased eldest son in front of them. Harry turned to look, and sure enough, Yago's expression was very strange.

Harry quickly told the maid to take good care of Mrs. Russell, then pulled Yago out the door.

After a long while, Russell Manor was completely transformed after being repaired by Harry and his group. At the manor gate, Harry patted Yago on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Old people, they just love to gossip. You're the younger generation, you can't argue with your elders."

Yago nodded noncommittally, then handed Harry a small leather bag. Harry was taken aback, wondering what he was doing. He took it and saw—good heavens! A whole bag of banknotes!

Harry: "Loa, what do you mean by this?"

Yago: "Don't we owe your family money? Pay it back!"

Harry was speechless, but a hint of embarrassment and anger flashed across his face. His pale face flushed slightly, and then he roared, "You bastard, I already told you I'm not here to collect a debt! Don't you believe me? Don't you consider me a brother? Damn it! If I could beat you up, I would have punched you!"

Just in case, Yago contacted Miss Qingmei upon returning from the front lines, hoping to obtain some financial support. Unexpectedly, Miss Qingmei generously sent two large boxes of banknotes and a considerable amount of Rute Gold Coin. The Hizuru is truly a wealthy and powerful nation.

It took a lot of persuasion to get Harry to accept the money. Before leaving, Harry even invited Yago to visit him at his house sometime.

After saying goodbye to Harry, Yago returned to the villa and gave the maid a large sum of money. In return for her thanks, Yago learned that her name was Daisy. Yago then asked Daisy to find a few more maids to help manage the estate, Daisy agreed without hesitation.

Then Yago entered a room that Daisy had already cleaned. It was bright and clean, with neat and tidy bedding. Near the window, there was a desk and a chair. Yago walked to the window and looked down at the Russell Manor. This place was quiet and secluded. I wondered if all the Nobility of Marley liked to make their homes in such places, but it was very suitable as a base and a place of refuge for the next operation.

Consider the money given to Harry and the maid as compensation for Yago using Loa's identity and as payment for borrowing Russell Manor in the future.

Just as Yago was thinking about his next move, there was a knock on the door, and Annie's A-Yi walked in carrying two large boxes.

As soon as she entered, Annie couldn't wait to tear off the Hardening disguise on her face, revealing her originally pretty face. After letting out a comfortable breath, she looked at Yago, her light blue eyes clearly radiating a hint of vitality.

Yago chuckled awkwardly; it did seem to be partly his quirky sense of humor.

A-Yi also removed the Hardening disguise from his face.

To ease the tension, Yago pointed to the two boxes and asked, "What's inside?"

Upon hearing this, A-Yi kicked the box with his toe, and the box was opened, revealing two sets of black uniforms that Yago had never seen before, as well as two sets of familiar equipment and belt sets.

Yago's expression hardened. "What is this?"

*Swish! Annie bent down and drew a gleaming Blades from its sheath. "The latest Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Didn't you say there was an operation coming up? More than two years have passed. You haven't forgotten how to use the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, Yago?"

As Yago gazed at the familiar Blades, memories of his battles against the Titan on Paradis Island flooded his mind. A smile crept onto his lips. "Old buddy, how could I forget?"