Thales frowned. His expression was unpleasant. "Girl?"
"Oh, I'm really sorry." Tampa sized him up and shrugged. He had a look of realization on his face. "You look so delicate. You've been sitting upright with your legs closed. If you didn't open your mouth, I would have really thought that you were a girl."
With complicated emotions, Thales smiled laboriously.
"He's a newcomer." Quick Rope coughed until his face was red. He only managed to catch his breath. "We just saved him from the desert … Please, be gentle with him."
Tampa stared at Thales, making the latter feel rather uneasy.
A few seconds later, Tampa's eyebrows relaxed.
He bent down again.
"Come!"
"Since you're Quick Rope's girl … I mean, since you were introduced by him …" As Tampa stood up, a glass of foamy beer was thrown in front of Thales. The tavern owner's voice was bold and happy. "First glass, authentic Western Desert Old Beer, free of charge!"
Thales, who had been mistaken for a girl just a moment ago, was instantly flattered.
"Thank you!"
'Quick Rope's reputation is so useful.'
The prince politely pulled the glass over. As he watched Quick Rope's satisfied smile, he wondered what kind of beer it was.
"I knew it. So many people suddenly came to Blade Fangs Camp … that nothing good would happen." Tampa leaned against the bar counter and poured a second glass of beer for Quick Rope. "Gray mixed breed, is it? So, this is another Desert War? "
Quick Rope's face fell.
"No.
Dean said it wasn't. "
With a stiff expression, he gulped down the second glass of beer. This time, Quick Rope did not cough.
"Is it?"
Tampa filled his glass thoughtfully. "But at the very least …
"The good news is that no one in your team has deposited money with me, so I don't have to return it …"
Quick Rope raised his glass halfway and stopped in the air.
The young mercenary trembled slightly.
"Actually, Tampa." Quick Rope took the glass from his lips and gulped laboriously. "Yes."
Tampa frowned.
"Yes!"
Quick Rope shuddered violently, as if he had been pricked by a needle.
"Kant, remember the Northland Greatsword?"
He sprang up from his seat and fumbled in his pocket for a shabby little book.
"He saved it, he saved it, he promised to deposit the money with you. This is … this is what he left behind, his account book, he hid the money in the flowerpot in the room …" Under Thales and Tampa's gazes, Quick Rope's tone sounded a little rushed, and there was a slight tremble in his voice.
"He has … He has twenty-one Mindis, eighteen Midier, thirteen Northland Solons, ten Kahn, nine Anlenzo's Kellers, four Camian's Southeastern Universal Coupons of unknown denominations, seven Levor Independent Coins, five Steel City's Hammer Coins, as well as countless annoying small squares from the Three Kingdoms of the Lost Sea … and two Thabiso's."
Quick Rope flipped to the last page in a flurry and read the messy words on the paper.
"Just, just … just that morning, before he died."
Quick Rope's voice became softer. He stared at the small ledger in a daze.
Thales also stared at him in a daze. He remembered the Northlander who carried a greatsword.
However …
"No, Quick Rope.
"I don't remember him coming." Tampa frowned as he stared at the crumpled, small ledger that was no better than trash. "And I don't have his signature in my records …"
Quick Rope's face turned pale.
"Tampa." He gritted his teeth, as if he knew that his words were not very convincing, but he still tried his best to defend himself. He flipped to the page again and showed it to Tampa. "He did deposit the money with me. I can go and get you the money. Look, it's written here, twenty-one Mindis …"
"Stop, I don't want to be annoyed to death by your Camian accent," Tampa said coldly. "Or die of stupidity because of your mathematical skills."
"So, strictly speaking …" Quick Rope acted as if he did not hear what he said and shook his head vigorously.
"He saved it, Tampa, Kant saved it!"
Tampa stared at him coldly.
"And Kant didn't come back." Quick Rope's expression darkened, and even his voice became much deeper.
"So, according to the rules, he should have gotten his share …"
"Impossible." The tavern owner shook his head rudely. "The money is with you, not with me. Look at my ledger, there's no record of him in it. This doesn't count."
Thales watched the argument quietly.
"This counts!"
Quick Rope said anxiously, "It's just … I didn't have time to give it to you. He was very unwilling at first, but he still decided after hesitating … He's with me … I plan to come back …"
"Tampa, please!"
"Rules are rules." Tampa shook his head coldly. "No."
"I promised him."
Quick Rope's argument was bordering on despair. He swung the small notebook powerlessly. "I promised!"
"Then perhaps …" Tampa interrupted him roughly, "You should be the one to pay for the money?"
"Remember, ten times!"
He said fiercely, then turned around and left.
Quick Rope stared blankly at the tavern owner's back as he left. The small notebook in his hand fell limply.
Thales sighed and patted Quick Rope's shoulder.
"Quick Rope …"
The noise in the tavern seemed to have returned to this small corner.
Quick Rope sat down quietly and put Kant's small notebook back into his waist pocket.
The young mercenary stared at his wine glass.
A few seconds later, he suddenly smiled.
"You know, Wya.
"Kant was the first." Quick Rope's shoulders trembled. He raised his wine glass and drained it in one gulp. "I persuaded him to save money. He was my first successful business."
Thales moved slightly.
"Kant came from Northland and settled down in Constellation. He has two children, a boy and a girl. He also has a wife who is sick all year round …" Quick Rope put down his wine glass, and his face was expressionless. "They live in the Ruins. Old Hammer brought him here. I'm thinking … how will Old Hammer tell his wife and children?"
Quick Rope leaned forward, picked up the bottle from the bar, and poured himself another glass.
"You know."
"He gave me the address where he saved his money, and left me the ledger." Quick Rope gritted his teeth. "But I …"
"Quick Rope," Thales sighed softly. "He's already gone. It's not your fault, and you can't do anything."
Quick Rope's shoulders trembled violently.
"I can't do anything …"
He continued to pour wine, and he smiled while he was doing so.
"You know, a long, long time ago, so long that it felt like a lifetime ago … there was a ship …"
Quick Rope stared at the wine bottle absentmindedly. His smile froze. "There was a young sailor on the ship who was determined to go out to sea since he was young. He looked forward to sailing to the end of the world one day.
"On his first voyage, he went to the most legendary place in the Sea of Eradication: the Eye of the Sea of Eradication."
Thales frowned.
"That damned place. It's a cursed place that even the Maiden of the Ocean Shepherd did not protect.
"The compass failed, the sails were torn, pirates followed, fog was everywhere, dark clouds covered the sky, the seabirds were nowhere to be seen. In the endless darkness and the endless drifting, even the eternal stars in the sky changed their appearance. Huge waves, whirlpools, and submerged reefs were endless. Under the terrifying sea, there was even …"
Quick Rope's voice became desolate and hoarse.
"The captain, the first mate, the second mate, the observer, the sails operator, the helmsman, the chief combatant, the boatswain, and the kind Uncle Bill … Almost everyone died.
All of them. "
He shuddered and continued to pour wine.
Thales resisted the desire to raise his head to look at him. He only extended his hand and lifted the spout of the wine bottle from the already overflowing cup.
Quick Rope paused for a long time and let Thales take his wine bottle.
"As the only person left on that ship, the young sailor held onto the last wooden plank. He floated and sank in a daze. He listened to the never-ending sound of the waves and watched the alternation of day and night around him. He was thirsty, hungry, cold, and afraid. He did not know where he would float to and what his fate would be. Around him were the swollen and pale corpses of his companions, and the bone-chilling seawater …
"He was the same … he couldn't do anything …"
Thales could not stand it anymore. He pressed down on Quick Rope's wine cup. "Quick Rope …"
Quick Rope's voice trembled, but he stubbornly took his wine cup. "That young sailor survived, but he could no longer go to sea …
"Because no matter when and where he was, as long as he closed his eyes, he could see the broken wooden planks and the corpses of his companions. When he pressed down on his ears, he could hear the raging waves and the roar of the storm. When he twitched his nose, he could smell the saltiness of the seawater and the smell of blood …"
Quick Rope trembled as he picked up the wine cup and drank the alcohol and tears in one gulp.
"From then on, he was afraid of ships, the sea, the lake, and even all the places in the world with water …
"So he came to the Great Desert.
"The place with the least amount of water in the world."
* Thud! *
Quick Rope slammed the cup on the bar counter.
"Damn it …"
He wiped his face in pain and turned his head so that Thales could not see it.
"When a person dies, nothing will be left behind, Wya. Not even a trace." Quick Rope's voice grew hoarser. "You disappear from this world. You will no longer have thoughts, feelings, or consciousness. Nothing will be left behind. Nothing will be meaningful, and you won't know anything anymore."
His shoulders trembled. "Kant, Palka, Haken, Breeze … They won't know anything anymore."
Thales listened quietly.
"Then, what's the meaning of our lives?"
Quick Rope said hoarsely, "To suffer and wait for fate to smack us to death and then disappear without a trace, as if we had never come to this world?"
Thales bit his lip, but he did not know how to answer.
Quick Rope stretched out his hand, but he grabbed empty air where the wine bottle should have been.
At this moment …
* Bang! *
A thick black leather book was smashed on the bar counter.
Thales and Quick Rope looked up in confusion.
The fierce-looking tavern owner, Tampa, stood in front of them. He held the wine bottle in one hand and pressed the black leather book with the other. He said coldly to Quick Rope,
"Look at what kind of customer you found for me.
I want those who are strong and powerful, but are often in unstable situations. They seem to have a lot of accidents, but in fact, they can all return safely … "
Quick Rope was slightly stunned. His unfocused gaze did not focus for a long time.
"That's how I can make money, understand? And the first customer you found is one that loses money … I really regret taking you in as my subordinate. I really thought that Dante's Greatsword would be a good market, but in the end, all of them died so quickly … "
Thales furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He felt uncomfortable with Tampa's words.
When he heard the familiar name, Quick Rope gritted his teeth and retorted indignantly.
"We are!"
"We have strong muscles like Kant and Haken, great guides like Mickey, sharpshooters and sentinels like Palka and Gentle Breeze, experienced Old Hammer, and the best female captain who's infatuated with girls." Quick Rope held his empty wine cup in agony.
"And the smartest, Dean!"
"We …" His tone became gloomy. "We are supposed to be the kind of people who 'seem to have a lot of accidents', but will definitely return safely."
His voice became softer, and there was a faint, indistinct sound in his voice.
"Should be."
The tavern owner stared at Quick Rope.
A second later, he slapped a pen hard on the black book. * Thud! *
"Here, put his name in the book, that Kant."
Tampa looked at Quick Rope fiercely. "This is the rule. I will not allow even one account to be unclear."
At that moment, the noise around them seemed to have been cut off again.
Thales looked at Tampa in surprise. He understood what the other man meant.
Quick Rope was stunned.
Some of his drunkenness seemed to have been dispelled.
"Boss …"
Tampa gritted his teeth and pushed the black book forward angrily. "Then go and calculate how much he has saved. Use Constellation's currency. Please give me a round number, you bastard!"
Quick Rope's breathing quickened.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Quick Rope, who had figured it out, excitedly took out Kant's small book from his waist pocket. "Tampa, boss, boss … I'll do it for Kant's wife and children —"
"Shut up!"
Tampa slapped the book impatiently, and the wine bottle paused on the bar counter. "Quick! Write his name! Damn it … you drank half a bottle of my good wine! "
Quick Rope jumped up like a frightened rabbit. "Of course!"
He took the pen in a flurry. "So I'll write it down here? Err, Kant, does it start with 'k', or some other letter? "
"Who the hell knows!"
Tampa crossed his arms and said in annoyance, "Anyway, it's another bad account. Try touching this bottle of wine again if you dare!"
Quick Rope, who was about to drink another glass, was shocked. He looked at the book in worry, shook his head to shake off his drunkenness, and immediately turned to help.
"Wya, do you know how to write? Dean said that you're someone with status in Northland, you might know … "
Thales raised his eyebrows and took the pen and the book. "Give it to me, I'll try to spell it … Kant."
Wya, who had found his savior, was filled with gratitude. He raised Kant's small book in his hand. "I'll leave it to you, I have to —"
Quick Rope's smile had yet to fade. When he raised his head, he saw the tavern owner's wrinkled face.
"If you dare to count an extra copper, Quick Rope, even if it's the most worthless Northland Kahn copper coin …" Tampa leaned forward, bared his teeth, and flashed a ferocious smile. "Fraud … Do you miss the Prison of Bones?"
Quick Rope shuddered, pulled up his pants, and turned around while stuttering. "I have to, I have to find Enzo to count … to ask about the latest currency exchange rate …"
As he watched Quick Rope leave, Tampa spat on the ground fiercely. "You only know how to cry at a bottle of wine. What a coward."
Thales did not say anything. He only smiled, lowered his head, and began to write.
“。”
Thales looked up in confusion. "What?"
The tavern owner pressed down on the wine bottle and said in a low voice without raising his head, "Kant's name starts with 'k'.
"When he first came to Blade Fangs Camp, I was the one who introduced him to Old Hammer."
The tip of Thales' pen stopped moving.
"Write it better. Names are very important, especially in this book. "Tampa rubbed the wine bottle in his hand calmly. His gaze did not move." Because even if you write it wrong …
"He won't know."
The owner's words were slightly stiff.
Thales lowered his head.
He wrote Kant's name neatly on the latest page of the account book according to the format in front of him. After he finished writing, he even flipped a few pages forward to check the format to ensure that he did not make any mistakes.
But his hand stopped on one of the pages.
Thales narrowed his eyes.
A second later, the prince looked up from the account book in surprise and shouted a name.
"Kohen Karabeyan?"
Tampa was stunned.
"What's wrong?"
When he saw the familiar name, Thales was slightly excited. "The name on the account book … I know this guy.
"So, Kohen used to deposit money here … 4th of September, 2007, deposit amount …"
Tampa frowned.
As he read the words on the account book, Thales widened his eyes. "Two hundred and fifty Tormond Gold Coins?"
'Two hundred and fifty … gold coins?'
After a while, Thales exhaled and looked in front of him in disbelief. "Damn it.
Rich bastard. "
A few seconds later, Tampa looked away from him with a strange gaze.
In the tavern where people came and went, Tampa waved his hand and asked a waiter to greet a group of new customers.
Tampa retrieved the account book and glanced at the name on it. Then, he stared at Thales with a contemplative look.
"You know him?"
"Of course."
When he remembered his past in Heroic Spirit Palace and his current situation, Thales could not help but sigh. "We can be considered … friends. We used to stand together and fight side by side."
"Stand together and fight side by side?"
Tampa seemed to be shocked. He sized Thales up and asked suspiciously, "You and Kohen?"
"Umm …" Thales was a little embarrassed. "To be precise, I stood and fought."
Tampa stared straight at Thales until he laughed and slapped Thales' shoulder hard!
"Very good! He's also my friend. Haha, Kohen, that skinny, sneaky, shrewd, snobbish bastard … "
'Huh?
Skinny, sneaky, shrewd, snobbish? '
Thales was stunned for a moment.
"What?"
But Tampa did not seem to have any intention of stopping. The more he spoke, the more excited he became. The scar on his neck surged. "… He's the most cowardly when he fights, and he likes to lift up girls' skirts the most!"
'The most cowardly … Lift up girls' skirts … '
Thales' expression became more and more strange.
"Umm, maybe we're not talking about the same Kohen?"
Tampa's smile froze.
"But that's Kohen Karabeyan. He has black hair and brown eyes, and he's like a skinny monkey." Doubt appeared on Tampa's face. "Which Kohen are you talking about?"
Thales scratched his head and chuckled.
"Kohen … Umm, a young master who ran away from home. He's very tall, almost six and a half feet, very strong, muscular, blond hair, and blue eyes." Thales tried to describe the tall man in his impression of him. He looked at the boss hopefully. "He's good with a sword, agile, likes to bully people with his body when he fights, and when he talks, he's a little … how should I put it …"
Thales thought for a long time before he raised his head and said awkwardly,
"… Stupid and silly?"
When Tampa heard these descriptions, his face scrunched up again.
"He sounds like an annoying idiot."
Thales sighed.
'Alright.
'It looks like … there's indeed a mistake.'
"In fact, if you know him, it's hard to hate him." Thales shook his head and said, "He's a little … special."
Tampa was deep in thought.
"Hmm, the person we're talking about might not be the same Kohen." The tavern owner spread his hands.
"Oh." Thales grabbed his wine glass and smiled unnaturally. "I see. I'm sorry, I got the wrong person."
Just when Thales was about to take a sip of wine to ease the awkwardness …
* Thud! *
Thales looked at Tampa, who had his palm firmly pressed on his wine glass. "What's wrong?"
The owner of My Home shook his head expressionlessly.
"Trust me, you don't want to drink this wine."
Under Thales' surprised and bewildered gaze, Tampa spilled the wine in his glass.
"I added some horse urine and a few mouthfuls of my old phlegm into it." Tampa nonchalantly threw the "spiked" wine glass to the side. "Maybe there's also something that makes people sleepy. The taste is wonderful, and the content is profound."
Thales was completely stunned.
'Horse urine …
Old phlegm … '
He stared at the owner, then at the glass on the ground. He remembered that the wine was full of bubbles earlier, and he almost drank it …
Enduring the discomfort in his abdomen, Thales raised his head angrily. "What?!"
Tampa grinned, but the fierce look on his face made his smile look ugly.
"Although you look like a 'white pig' who has just arrived at Blade Fangs Camp and doesn't know anything."
The tavern owner shrugged. "But I don't think you're that simple … So, I have to see your background … Then, I'll decide whether to extort money from you or strip you … Or, you know, there have been a lot of nobles coming to the camp recently, and pretty boys are popular among them.
"Obviously, Quick Rope isn't a good bodyguard."
Thales was first dumbfounded, then he looked at Tampa with righteous indignation.
"You …"
The tavern owner smiled and cast a sidelong glance at the prince. "Some terrible places are used to giving newcomers a taste of their own medicine … It's a test, and also a lesson. If you're a 'white pig', you'll be sold and counted."
Thales looked at the wine glass and protested in disgust, "White pig … What are you doing?"
Tampa tapped on the ledger and narrowed his eyes. "Remember, kid.
This is called 'First Lesson'.
"Didn't Cohen teach you?"
Thales supported himself against the bar counter in disbelief.
'The world is unfair to me.
And I can only respond with grief and indignation. '
So, the prince could only look at the man with grief and indignation. "Then, why did you change your mind?"
Tampa laughed.
"Because you do know Cohen, and perhaps you've really fought alongside him before, instead of playing along with my words and pretending to be familiar with him."
Thales furrowed his eyebrows. "Cohen."
"Yes, the violent gorilla that you obviously hate, but find it hard to truly hate." The owner nodded and pointed at the name on the ledger. There was nostalgia in his words.
Tampa chuckled.
"Cohen Stupid Karabeyan."
There was silence.
Thales was still angry. He looked at the man with a displeased expression and said sarcastically, "Oh, thank you. This is the first time I've heard his' middle name '."
Tampa took out another bottle of wine and a new wine glass. He did not mind filling it up for him.
"You're welcome." The tavern owner hummed a tune and pushed out his new wine glass to serve the new customer. "Authentic Western Desert Old Beer …"
The corners of his lips curled up, revealing a few teeth. He smiled slyly.
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