v4c49

Long Road, Fragments of the Past (4)

The others nearby seemed to have noticed something unusual between the two and stopped to look at them. Maynild felt Brendel’s gaze and quietly replied, “I have heard people speak of the beauty beyond the Shining Sea-”

“You’ve heard of it?”

“Yes.” Maynild nodded and did not seem like she wanted to pursue the topic. She took off her cloak and hung it on the back of the chair, then returned to sit with her knightly demeanor.

Brendel looked at her, deciding to stop asking questions. But he knew in his heart that that was impossible! He had seen that view before; he had seen the blue waves, the sunlight casting a white-golden section in the sea, and the white-brown peaks of the Kalanga Mountains reaching through the clouds where the sea and sky met.

But the memory of that time was like an old faded and charred photograph, he still vaguely remembered the faces in the photo, one of which was becoming more and more vivid, overlapping with the face of the female knight in front of him, as if it had been given color again.

Brendel frowned slightly, his mind was a jumbled mess of trivial details that had happened years, months, even days ago, and they intertwined and formed some speculations.

A thought that made him shudder slightly suddenly emerged.

Bai Jia, was it really her? Did she recognize him? Or did she only recognize that he was a player? Is this supposed to be a test? Brendel’s fingers trembled nervously. His fingertips touched the smooth edges of the wooden plate a little at a time, and he felt his throat dry and his heart pounding.

The people at the edge of the round table was quiet as well, the whispering of Laurenna and Filas.

Brendel quietly glanced towards Maynild’s direction. There was something paradoxical about this feeling. Is this female knight who I think she is? That was what he was hoping for. Because there was a feeling about the other person that was familiar to him, but she also felt like a stranger at the same time.

Besides, Brendel knew very well that if the other party was Bai Jia, she would have been more powerful than this. In the game, she had played for a shorter period of time than him, but her achievements were far greater than his. Her experience would never let her become a silent bystander after crossing over, and if it was her who was by the princess’s side, then there would be no need for him to deal with Arreck and Seifer.

But what was going on in the current situation?

Brendel was all too familiar with the Kalanga Mountains of the Shining Sea.

It was their first time at sea, and everyone was struck by the magnificent landscape of the Shining Sea, which was so intimate and so deeply burned into their memories that they simply could not forget it. It was as if it was the beginning of a story because, from that day, days of bloodshed followed.

All for the sake of that Aouine who had left them a memory-.

He looked at Maynild in stunned silence, but the female knight was at peace, “Jia ……” Brendel opened his mouth and uttered this short syllable.

The abrupt voice was as if a string snapped in a quiet room, piercing the brief silence and making everyone turn their heads. Laurenna stopped talking to Filas, subconsciously looking back.

But Brendel did not care about what the others might think.

He just needed an answer.

He stared at the shoulder-length dark hair, calm-faced female knight, Maynild’s’ slender fingers shivering slightly, “Senior?”

It was just with the slightest movement.

But it was as if a dagger had been thrust into Brendel’s heart, causing his veins to constrict all over his body. At that moment he felt a tingling sensation like suffocation, and then the blood flowed back in, giving him a short period of tinnitus.

Two lifetimes had passed and he never thought he would re-encounter the one person who had changed him the most, who had taught him what companionship, passion, and love were from his cold, selfish nature.

He stared into Maynild’s purple eyes, waiting for just one answer.

But Maynild raised her head and looked at him calmly, looking a little confused.

There was nothing but dead silence.

There were at least ten seconds of confusion before Filas broke the silence and asked, somewhat curiously, “Gar …… alfalfa festival? What does that mean, Count? Is it a dialect of Aouine?”

The bright light in Brendel’s eyes faded for a moment, “No.” He replied somewhat bitterly, he took a small breath and looked back with great difficulty to manage a smile, “Gashuj – a city in the Kingdom of Rubik, I mean just as good to see thereafter leaving the Shining Sea.”

“Really?”

Filas looked interested, “The Kingdom of Rubik, I’ve heard of that place, it’s a silvery desert, you can see crescent-shaped sand dunes from passing by the sea, one after the other. There are also mountains there that reach straight into the clouds?”

“…… Where there is land there are mountains, and a little further south you can see them ……” replied Brendel with a flat tone.

Suddenly he felt something keenly and looked back, it was Maynild looking at him in some surprise. Their eyes met for only a moment, but she quickly turned back, no longer paying attention to this side.

Brendel was slightly startled and confused. As he dealt with Filas’ exuberant curiosity, he paid some attention to Maynild, but alas, she had not looked back the entire time.

It was as if everything before was nothing more than an illusion.

Brendel’s heart was somewhat despondent and he could not help but feel low.

The past was indeed the past, and the rest was nothing more than a one-sided wishful thought. Medisha and Laurenna were aware of the change, and they immediately steered the conversation at the table to something else, each of them thinking that Brendel was so familiar with this place and perhaps had such an unforgettable memory here. After all, everyone had their own secrets, and the two wise ladies tacitly kept silent.

In the meantime, only Freya saw something wrong with Brendel’s clumsy word of concern, but he brushed it off. The female mercenary leaned against the Azure Lance, sitting in a corner and took in the scene, but consistently just watched in silence.

Only Filas reacted, trying to make small talk with Brendel. This prince from Kirrlutz seemed to view Brendel as his closest friend after Brendel had given him the right to be the first to touch his prey. Ciel laughed at this, only subtly deflecting the conversation when Brendel was starting to feel annoyed.

Laurenna at the side looked at this scene and nearly facepalmed. How dumb can Filas be.

The sand in the magic hourglass placed in the center of the hotel hall had flowed about a third of the way. That is, it was almost a dreary hour later when the sun was off over the lake, casting shade through the windows onto the maple studded floor. Lunch was nearly four late when it was finally served

The overly fat venison was overcooked, with crumpled bread, salt-baked salmon that was so dark it looked like smoked meat, fish soup stirred with red beans, and the potato custard, which was the most decent thing on the table.

Although Brendel had known that there could not possibly be anything good in such a notorious inn, he could not help but frown at the sight of the food on wooden plates that seemed to have been long past their shelf life. How long had it been since he had eaten such food after he broke away from his solo hunting career in the Amber Sword?

He looked up at the sweaty, balding owner, good thing the man was not useless, he had actually gotten a jar of honey in addition to fruit wine and goat’s milk. Honey was not common in this day and age, rather it was the nobles’ luxurious items. In addition, Brendel knew that there were no beekeepers in the upper Shallow Water Town area, so Brendel guessed that this jar of honey was most likely wild honey from the hunter’s home.

he owner nodded at him – so respectfully of course not just because of who he was, Brendel was well aware of the other man’s intentions, which was understandable, and of course, he was true to his word. He gathered his previously jumbled thoughts and gestured to the Silver Elf princess on the other side.

Medisha immediately took out her money bag and had Brendel grab a handful of gold coins from it. Brendel looked up, stared at the balding innkeeper, and then threw the gold coins in front of him, making clattering sounds. He was not trying to put up a scene, it was just that Brendel knew that in order to deter these mercenary people who had been drilling in the marketplace for so long, taking out a nobleman’s way of doing things was the most effective method.

The yellow gold coins reflected even more brightly on the boss’s head, he was shocked by Brendel’s gesture. It was not that he had not seen so much money before, it was just that a customer as generous as Brendel was a rare occurrence in his life.

A thousand Taels was almost half a month’s worth of his business income.

“I’ll do as I say, I’ll never be stingy as long as you meet my orders.” Brendel replied bluntly, “We’re here to hunt a special group of prey this time, do you have any news of the town’s hunters?”

“Yes, yes” the balding innkeeper grew more and more respectful, Brendel had already risen to the level of a great nobleman from Ampere Seale and Kurkel in his eyes, and he was afraid of annoying these great men in front of him, he respectfully replied, “Of course, my lord, the Shallow Water Town is just this size.” There’s nobody in town that I do not know, except for, of course, outsiders.”

“Oh? You mean you would know when outsiders appear in town?”

The innkeeper did not even dare to raise his head: “Pretty much, my Lord. I wouldn’t dare to say all of them, but I know a good amount. Merchants, adventurers, and those entering the town will always need to find a place to rest, and in a place like an inn where news flows quickly, it’s hard to hide any secrets, my Lord.”

Brendel knew that without saying but he was purposefully luring the information from him; The things people speak unconsciously are often the most truthful and trustworthy: “Since you know the surrounding area so well, tell me, is this time of the year a good time for us to come hunting?”

“My Lord, the timing you have chosen is wonderful. Only after the middle of the month of Flowing Fire will this forest in the north warm up a bit, and then two months after that, it will quickly enter winter again. The only time to hunt is these two months, my Lord.” The innkeeper looked as if he knew everything.

……

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