"An adventure? Opening a store in a different place?"
Uncle Hawthorne's smile remained unchanged, though it slightly stiffened for a moment as he turned his head to look inside. In the kitchen, a cacophony of sounds was evident:
The sound of knives chopping shells, the clatter of utensils being moved, the rushing sound of water being poured... interspersed with the energetic shouts of Mrs. Hawthorne, also known as Mrs. Molly:
"Dear guests, how would you like your lobsters? Steamed? Boiled? Grilled with sauce? Would you like some garlic paste?"
"All of them!" Cirilla shouted back even louder:
"Sister Molly, you make what you are best at and love to eat! I’ve caught plenty of them! Want some chili? I brought some really good ones!"
Uncle Hawthorne looked toward the kitchen with a warm gaze. After a moment, he turned back to face Archmage Byerbo, about to speak, but Archmage Byerbo casually waved his hand:
"Let's eat first. We can talk after we're full. I’ve heard your wife’s cooking is excellent?"
"Absolutely!" A bright voice rang out from the kitchen. Mrs. Molly, carrying a two-foot diameter tray, walked briskly over and placed the tray on the largest wooden table. As she lifted the cover, a rich aroma immediately filled the air:
"All the dishes in our house are made by me! Baked bread, cookies, stews, fried fish, soups..."
She laid out a stack of small bowls and deftly served bowls of steaming seafood soup, starting with Archmage Byerbo and serving each person in turn. When she reached Mr. Baronessimo, she lifted her chin and smiled at him:
"Don't be fooled by his skill in cooking wild game during adventures; he can make anything delicious in the wild, but when it comes to home cooking, he’s no match for me!"
"That's true, that's true!" Baronessimo sat up straight, smiling at Mrs. Molly, clearly quite familiar with them. After smiling, he ladled half a spoonful of fish soup and shook it at Mr. Hawthorne across the table:
"My level is only about the same as his, far inferior to yours! Beautiful lady, when will the other dishes be served? I'm starving!"
Molly smiled and turned back to the kitchen to continue her busy work. The table was filled with fragrant seafood stew, honey-roasted ribs, tender and flavorful red wine beef tongue, and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside crab cakes, each dish arriving in a continuous stream:
"Delicious!"
"Delicious!"
"Delicious, delicious, delicious... mmm..."
The portions were indeed large. Garrett and Archmage Byerbo only sampled a bit of each dish before politely setting down their utensils. A small bowl of soup, a single rib, a piece of beef tongue, a thick slice of crab cake, and they were almost half full.
There were still those large lobsters to come, and the aroma of desserts wafting continuously from the kitchen. They really couldn't eat any more; otherwise, they wouldn’t have room for what was to come!
Cirilla, however, was eating so much she couldn't lift her head, spooning food into her mouth at an incredible pace, her entire face practically buried in her bowl. A smear of honey glistened and smeared at the corner of her mouth, too busy to even wipe it off:
"Delicious, delicious... sweet and savory... Sister Molly, are there more crab cakes? Please bring me another plate!"
"Coming!"
Mrs. Molly flew out of the kitchen with a plate of crab cakes, placing them all in front of Cirilla. Seeing the Silver Dragon girl's face light up, she couldn't help but smile and wiped her hands on her apron:
"Want more? We're out of crab for now, but I can use some lobster meat instead if you’d like!"
"Um... not for now, I’ll wait for the lobster..."
Cirilla barely answered before continuing her vigorous chewing. The crab cakes were made from fresh crab leg meat, likely still alive when the meat was extracted. The strands of crab meat were distinct, tender, and springy. A squeeze of lemon juice brought out all the fresh sweetness:
"Delicious, delicious! Garrett, you should try one too!"
With a plop, a thick crab cake landed directly on Garrett's plate.
Garrett took a deep breath. Weighing his digestive capacity, he hesitantly picked up his knife and fork. While cutting, he struck up a conversation with the host:
"Mr. Hawthorne, the items in your store are really convenient for adventurers!"
"Of course!" Uncle Hawthorne laughed heartily. He glanced back at the store section, lifting his head with pride:
"I was once an adventurer myself! Until..."
"You took an arrow to the knee?"
Garrett reflexively interjected. Uncle Hawthorne raised an eyebrow:
"How did you know?—But it wasn’t an arrow, it was an ice spike..."
Garrett drew a sharp breath. Taking an arrow to the knee might be a funny joke to outsiders, but for a doctor, it was no laughing matter:
The knee is a complex, precise, and fragile structure. Joint capsules, synovial membranes, cartilage, and whatnot can wear out with excessive movement or deteriorate from insufficient exercise. Not to mention, recovery from trauma is a significant challenge for both orthopedic and rehabilitation doctors...
"I was the one who cast that ice spike." From the kitchen, a smiling voice with a fragrant aroma approached. "Bang," "Bang," "Bang," several large lobsters were placed on the table:
One was steamed, one boiled, one with garlic paste, one baked with cheese... the aroma was overwhelming. Mrs. Molly used a silver knife to cut open the lobster shells, gently spreading them apart, revealing large chunks of snowy white lobster meat, eager to jump out.
"Yes, she was the one." Uncle Hawthorne leaned back, dodging the steaming plates, and turned his head with a smile:
"And then she compensated me with herself... we opened this 'Flint and Molly' together. 'Flint' is my nickname, and Molly is hers... over the years, she’s made me gain 40 pounds!"
He patted his belly forcefully, making a loud "thud, thud," shamelessly showing off his post-marriage happiness. Molly rolled her eyes at him coquettishly, sat down beside him, and in the next second, a large piece of white lobster meat fell onto her plate:
"She’s the only one who never seems to gain weight, no matter what! After all these years, she’s still so young and beautiful. I’m so envious!"
"That’s because I’m a half-elf." Mrs. Hawthorne lightly rolled her eyes at her husband. While talking, she cut a fist-sized piece of steamed lobster meat for him, carefully slicing it and pouring sauce over it before pushing it towards him:
"Half-elves don’t gain weight that easily. Unlike you, sitting here all day in the store, eating without moving around. Just this year, you’ve already added two belt notches..."
Garrett quietly watched the couple's interaction, his mouth gradually curling into a smile. Beside him, Cirilla gently leaned over, her arm dropping down, her pinky lightly tickling his palm:
"You mustn't get fat, you hear?"
"Of course..."
Garrett answered softly. Originally, he had planned to help his senior brother persuade the shopkeeping couple to move their store, but now he had reconsidered. Cutting a piece of lobster meat, dipping it in sauce, chewing, and swallowing it:
These two adventurers had braved many hardships together, and it was a relief for them to finally have some stability. Why disturb them? As long as they were happy, that’s all that mattered. As for the task in the Eagle God's Kingdom, someone else could handle it...
"Is your wife really a half-elf?" Archmage Byerbo set down his fork and suddenly asked. He carefully examined the couple's appearances:
Mr. Hawthorne appeared to be around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, or possibly forty, old enough to be called "uncle";
Mrs. Hawthorne, or Miss Molly, had a light and youthful figure. Judging purely by her appearance, she looked no more than twenty-three or twenty-four, with an air of youthful vitality.
If they were similar in age when they met, then now, there was a fourteen or fifteen-year age difference. As time passed, the gap between a human and a half-elf's appearance would only grow larger:
Now it was fourteen or fifteen years, in a few years it would look like twenty years, and eventually, they might even appear as grandparents and grandchildren. And this difference would only increase, never decrease, until death separated them.
"Yes!" Mrs. Molly nodded with a smile. She casually lifted her thick hair, revealing slightly pointed ears, not very obvious but noticeable:
"It's not that easy to tell, right? My mother said I’ve always been hard to identify, except for these ears. Just wear a hat or keep my hair long! But I can't get too close to people, or they’d be a nuisance..."
She glanced back at her husband with eyes full of affection:
"Even he didn’t know! If I hadn't injured him back then and owed him a favor, I wouldn’t have paid him any mind!"
"Mr. Hawthorne, do you wish to advance further on the warrior's path?" Archmage Byerbo nodded and asked:
"At your current level, if you advance further to a great knight, your lifespan would significantly extend... with some medication, your youthful years could be prolonged even more... not a lot,
but twenty to thirty years for sure."
"No need."
"No need."
The Hawthornes didn’t even look at each other before speaking in unison. Mrs. Molly smiled as she leaned on her husband's shoulder:
"Advancing further is too dangerous! Every step forward on the warrior's path is a life-or-death struggle. I can't bear to see him risk his life... he’s just fine as he is! Really, being together quietly is the best..."
Even if it meant one would face decades of loneliness after the other's life ended? Garrett wanted to ask, but Archmage Byerbo was already smiling:
"There are ways to advance without combat, but they are quite costly. However, there is a good opportunity now..."
He raised his hand, sketching a map of the New World, showing the northern and southern regions and the Storm Islands in between. The archmage pointed to the location of the Eagle God's Kingdom:
"The council has been invited to assist the Eagle God's Kingdom in resisting the invasion of the Radiant Church. We plan to establish a base there, open trade routes, and attract merchants and adventurers. Of course, the mage tower will be built, but—"
But mages can’t handle everything, and shops serving merchants and adventurers are necessary. As the first pioneers, the council is willing to offer sufficient protection and benefits to these daring merchants.
Mr. Hawthorne could easily deduce this, but providing his wife with a quiet and warm environment was more important to him than anything. Of course, if his wife were interested, he could still go to the Eagle God's Kingdom for a while—
He instinctively turned to look at his wife, only to see Molly staring intently at the green, narrow continent below the light and shadow. Her gaze was fixed, almost entranced.
"What’s wrong, Molly?"
Mr. Hawthorne asked softly. Molly carefully examined the continent, from the towering mountains at the top to the lush rainforests below:
"My mother told me that my father came from there—"
Table of content - Next Chapter >>>
