Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Merlin is not here, no special effects

As usual, Tom is responsible for cooking dinner in the evening. He plans to try all the dishes from the four volumes of "Complete Guide to X Sea Cuisine and Cooking Methods" and then note down the dishes that everyone likes.

Artoria sits upright, placing her sword horizontally on her lap, as if contemplating something.

The sword is named the Sword of Promised Victory, 115 centimeters long, with a deep blue handle, a golden hilt, and a silver-white blade that seems to conceal a golden light.

As a Noble Phantasm, it can appear or disappear at the owner's will.

The reason for Artoria's current appearance is probably that Adrian told her about the swordsmen in this world. He mentioned something like, "When you want to cut, you can cut through steel; when you don't want to cut, you can't even cut paper. And they don't rely solely on brute strength or aura, nor do they rely solely on famous swords to achieve this."

Her swordsmanship practiced for a long time and the swordsmanship of this world are completely different. However, the move she used against Shanks yesterday gave her some insight into the fighting style of this world.

Adrian, on the other hand, is preparing for the opening of the tavern, making sure the glasses are clean and plentiful, and the drinks are well-stocked.

If there's one thing he's not good at, it's understanding wine, but it doesn't matter. He'll just look at the prices. After all, the people coming to the tavern are not wine connoisseurs. At most, he'll do a simple survey later to see which kind is the most popular and order more of that.

The old signboard at the entrance of the tavern has been taken down and replaced with a new one that simply reads "Adrian's Tavern." It's not creative, but it fits the naming style of the taverns in this world.

The new signboard was brought by Goodman Uncle when they bought the tavern that day. He said he would bring his colleagues over to support the opening when the time comes. After all, many of them were regulars at this tavern.

Adrian immediately offered a half-price discount to the people brought by Goodman Uncle.

However, he was declined with the reason: "Those bastards have a lot of money. Just giving them an 80% or 90% discount on the opening day is enough. We can gouge them later."

Adrian had to agree. He knew Goodman Uncle wasn't short of money. Offering a slight discount was probably just to save some face.

In the future, when Goodman Uncle gets old, he might boast like this: "Thinking back to when I was young, the kid who gave the Four Emperors face also gave me face..."

"Adrian, what should I do if the tavern opens tomorrow?" Artoria asked, watching Adrian bustling around.

"Sit at the bar with Tom, drink tea, read the newspaper, and have some snacks."

Adrian didn't feel that Artoria needed to help much. Old Bob used to run the tavern on his own, and having Artoria carrying trays and serving drinks didn't seem to fit the atmosphere. It's not like they're at an official carnival.

Artoria looked at him. "But I also want to help."

Adrian thought for a moment. "Then be the tavern's guardian. If someone causes trouble, you can help me deal with them. If someone drinks and refuses to pay, you can help me deal with them."

"Okay, okay!" Artoria nodded earnestly, and her ponytail bobbed along with her little head. Then she asked, "And what if no one causes trouble?"

"Then sit at the bar with Tom, drink tea, read the newspaper, and have some snacks."

"... " Artoria felt like she was being brushed off, but she didn't have any evidence.

But the delicious food that Tom brought out next temporarily made her forget about this matter.

Taking a bite of the beef, it's so fragrant and delicious.

Taking another bite, chewing... so happy~ The special effects are about to appear~

Helping at the tavern or anything... whatever...

After dinner, Adrian continued practicing sword swings until his hand trembled.

...

The next day, Tom was still the earliest to get up. He sat on the staircase railing and slid down, retrieving three bottles of milk and a newspaper from outside the door.

After skimming through the news headlines and finding nothing interesting, he neatly folded the newspaper and placed it on the bar, then turned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Adrian and Artoria set off together for their morning exercise. Physical training was something they couldn't neglect. The yard was still too small for them to run comfortably.

So "Adrian the Runner" is back in action, accompanied by a beautiful blonde girl – Artoria in her workout attire now looks like a middle school student.

People had already noticed them when they were shopping together yesterday, and today, exercising together, they attracted even more attention.

Some of the shipyard workers who saw them on their way to work were already preparing their 3000-character drafts for bragging.

As the two of them jogged and chatted along the way, they attracted quite a few curious glances.

"Artoria, do you think I should wear weights when I run in the future?" Adrian was used to the attention by now and was more focused on asking exercise-related questions.

Artoria, who didn't care about the onlookers either, replied, "You can. When you can run two laps around this island's edge with ease, it's about time to try wearing weights."

Adrian estimated the size of the island, "Oh... it's a bit difficult right now, but it shouldn't take long. My stamina has been improving quite quickly lately."

Hearing this, Artoria looked at Adrian's arm, "Is your arm okay now? The intensity of yesterday's sword training was beyond that of a beginner."

Adrian continued running while bending his arm, "I woke up fine this morning. I feel like I can increase the intensity today."

Artoria pondered, "I always feel like your physique is somewhat different from ordinary people."

"It has indeed improved a lot compared to before, and sometimes it seems strange. For example, I was obviously emaciated from

starvation before, but after eating a lot, I quickly recovered. It's like my life is being restored." Adrian also took the opportunity to explain the Rokushiki techniques and Life Return to Artoria.

"Interesting techniques. If you really master that Life Return, you can almost train without any cost during regular training."

"The problem is that I haven't learned it, and it seems to require conscious control. But I haven't felt anything at all." Adrian was a bit frustrated. "Actually, the technique in Rokushiki that interests me the most is the Moon Step."

"Indeed, if you can move in the air using that method, you'll have more options in combat. However, walking on air by stomping on it is quite absurd. Maybe you need to see it firsthand to have some idea."

Creating a technique and imitating a technique have different difficulties. Many adept martial artists can decipher or imitate the techniques of Rokushiki after seeing them once, but they can't create them. On one hand, it's because it's not necessary for them, as they don't need to train new recruits. On the other hand, it's because creating a technique out of thin air is too challenging.

The two of them chatted while jogging, circling around two blocks and returning to the front of the tavern.

Before the tavern opened, Artoria would add a new lesson to Adrian's schedule.