Inside the restaurant, batches of noisy diners came and went.
After more than ten minutes, Otto had long since leisurely eaten the roast meat on his plate completely clean, and casually called over the boss, generously using silver coins to settle the meal for the two of them.
Afterward, he leaned against the somewhat greasy wooden chair, propping his chin with one hand, staring blankly outside the door until Philin ran over panting from the street corner.
“Otto!
Sorry, sorry, making you wait for a long time!” Philin rushed into the restaurant covered in sweat, sat heavily on the bench, picked up the wooden cup on the table, and gulped down a large mouthful of water.
“Those merchants were too difficult to deal with, I spent a little more time.”
Otto smiled and shook his head:
“No, it’s fine, Philin.
I was sitting here just now observing the pedestrians coming and going, and found that the local customs here are quite interesting; time didn’t pass slowly at all.”
This just-right reply instantly made the guilt in Philin’s heart vanish like smoke.
Philin looked at this considerate friend in front of him, secretly sighing in his heart that people with high emotional intelligence really made others feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze when they spoke.
“Let’s go, we are heading back.” Philin wiped away his sweat and stood up.
The two walked back side by side to the square where the carriage was parked.
As soon as they approached the caravan, Otto discovered that the situation was a bit off.
In the open space where the goods were originally piled, a sturdy, glossy chestnut horse was tied alone at this moment.
Not only was this horse’s back equipped with a brand-new, sturdy leather saddle, but its sides were also hung full of bulging luggage, and even the water bag and dry ration bag were fully prepared.
Although Otto was not any expert in evaluating horses, he was not blind either; no matter how one looked at it, this horse was the strongest and most beautiful one among the few horses pulling carts in the caravan.
“This is…” Otto turned his head to look at Philin, with a trace of inquiry in his eyes.
Philin stepped forward, reaching out to gently stroke the chestnut horse’s mane, a gentle yet somewhat complicated smile appearing on his chubby face.
“This horse is the child born by that old companion I loved the most before.”
Philin’s voice somehow suddenly became low, and his eyes also became somewhat dim, as if through this horse, he saw the years from a long time ago.
He did not look at Otto, just slowly opening his mouth to recount:
“When I was young, I wanted to become a towering figure, just like those legendary figures sung about by bards.”
“During my adolescence, I felt that becoming a lord wouldn’t be bad either.”
“During my youth, being able to become a knight felt great.”
“But when reaching middle age…” Philin smiled self-deprecatingly, patting his protruding big belly, “I discovered that actually being able to be a merchant, being able to support myself, and eating roast meat every day is already enough to make me very satisfied.”
Philin turned around, his gaze fixed tightly on Otto, a flame named “expectation” burning in his eyes:
“Otto, you are different.
You have things on you that I lost long ago.
Now I want to give this horse to you, which is just like…
giving the horse to my former self in my youth who was full of dreams.”
“Otto, go fulfill the dream I couldn’t complete!
Go find King Arthur, and bring peace to this land!”
“A man’s romance, entrusting one’s dreams to someone else, just like Red-Haired wagering an arm on the New World.”
Listening to these words, Otto’s heart beat fiercely, and the few polite remarks he had prepared stuck firmly in his throat.
He put away his usual flippant expression, looked seriously at Philin, and said:
“Rest assured, Philin, I will definitely not let my dreams shrink as I age.”
“The world is too big, and we are all just small figures…
But I will keep persisting!”
Just at this moment, a light burst forth, dazzling to behold!
Persist immortal, oh wait, wrong channel.
“The first thing that came to my mind was air conditioning.
Although Xuanzun said there doesn’t seem to be this person inside the air conditioning, maybe I haven’t watched in too long and forgot.”
The two just stood like this in the dusk square, looking at each other without words.
At this touching moment, in Otto’s mind, that long-lost system prompt tone sounded very sensible.
[Ding!
Triggered side quest: I came, I saw, I recorded, I inherited]
[Quest Details: Please accomplish something earth-shattering in this world!]
[Quest Reward: 800 gold coins.]
800 gold coins!
A full five pulls!
He took a sharp intake of breath inwardly; the system was truly acting like a human being this time, but even without these 800 gold coins, just for Philin’s words, he would definitely stir up a big commotion in Britain.
Otto stepped forward and solemnly took the horse’s reins from Philin’s hands.
The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the young man’s long golden hair.
Looking at Otto grasping the reins tightly before him, Philin in a trance seemed to truly see his past self — that youthful youth who used to hold a wooden stick as a long sword and clamor to conquer the world!
After handing over the gift, the atmosphere relaxed again.
In the evening time, the two spent it just like the most ordinary day, gnawing on bread together in the tavern, drinking ale, and chatting about interesting anecdotes from all over.
There were no sad parting words, but both of them clearly knew that after parting tomorrow, in this era where transportation basically relied on walking, they really didn’t know when they would meet again.
It was late at night.
Returning to the room, before blowing out the candle to sleep, Otto seemed to suddenly remember something.
He looked at Philin, who was sitting by the bed in a daze, smiled mysteriously, and then reached into his jacket pocket.
With a thought, he took out the infinite hip flask he had just drawn today from the system space.
Then he casually picked up two slightly crude wooden cups on the table, silently chanted “red wine” in his heart, and then slightly tilted the white hip flask.
Swish swish —
Blood-red, clear and translucent wine liquid flowed slowly along the mouth of the pot into the wooden cup, and a rich, mellow, charming wine qi with layered fruity aromas instantly permeated the simple stone house.
Philin, who was still secretly sorrowful, twitched his nose twice, and his eyes instantly widened round.
In this era, the ale drunk by commoners was sour and bitter, and even the wine bought at high prices by noble lords was mostly sour and astringent, and had to be mixed with low-quality spices and honey to barely be swallowed.
But the aroma of the red wine in front of him was so pure that it was simply like nectar brewed by the gods themselves in the Garden of Eden.
“Here, Philin.” Otto picked up a cup of red wine and handed it over.
Under the flickering candlelight, his dark green eyes carried warmth, “Cheers to our meeting, to your safety, and to our respective dreams.”
Philin flattered, took the wooden cup with both hands, and took a small sip.
The silky, mellow liquid slid across the tip of his tongue without a trace of impurities or astringency, and that texture instantly conquered his taste buds.
Philin only felt as if his soul had been baptized, and his eye sockets became warm again.
“Otto…
This must be another precious fine brew from your hometown, right?
I swear, even the King of Britain has definitely never drunk such delicious wine!” Philin’s voice trembled slightly with emotion, and then he generously raised the wooden cup, “Cheers!
My most generous friend!”
“Cheers.”
The two smiled at each other, clinking their wooden cups gently in the simple stone house, draining the red wine in their cups in one gulp.
The tipsy intoxication accompanied by the aftertaste of the red wine just right diluted the trace of melancholy before tomorrow’s parting.
Otto thought of something after drinking the wine.
Taking cover by reaching his hand into his jacket pocket, with a thought, he took out a roll of parchment from the system space—that “riddle-maker diary” with chicken-scratch handwriting written on the carriage during the day.
“Given to you, Philin.” Otto handed over the parchment roll, smiling and teasing, “Consider it a farewell gift from me, although this thing doesn’t look like much of a proper gift either.”
“Feels like this can summon something, a holy relic?
Feels like the probability is high”
Philin was stunned for a moment, then solemnly took it with both hands.
He didn’t open it to look on the spot.
On one hand, he was afraid that if he opened it now, looking at Otto’s handwriting written by hand, he wouldn’t be able to help being too sad and crying out loud, which would be too humiliating.
On the other hand, he felt that this must be some world-shaking wisdom recorded by Otto, and he had to wait until he was alone, burn incense and wash his hands to slowly study it.
Otto watched Philin carefully shove the parchment roll into his inner clothes, and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly: Good thing you didn’t look.
If you had read those “chuunibyou riddles” I wrote to deal with the system, the atmosphere would have turned from sentimental to comedic on the spot.
…
Early the next morning.
The thin mist had not completely dispersed, and a trace of coolness penetrated the city gate of Lampus Cape Castle.
Otto led the chestnut horse, carrying ample supplies prepared by Philin, and bade a final farewell to Philin.
There were no long pavilions and ancient roads, nor were there willow branches broken for farewell.
Otto flipped and leaped onto the horse’s back.
Thanks to the enhancement of the props, his movements were crisp and neat, completely unlike a modern corporate slave who had never ridden a horse.
“Philin, let’s stop here.” He reined in the reins, looking at Philin standing at the city gate seeing him off.
“Have a safe journey, my friend!” Philin waved his hand, his eye sockets still somewhat red.
The corners of Otto’s mouth curved into a smile, facing the rising morning light, he gently squeezed the horse’s belly with both legs.
The horse raised its hooves and ran steadily along the dirt road leading to the northwest.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”