A common tavern that connects all fantasy worlds

"In short, there should be no problems in the future...then I'll go back first."

Kate nodded, said goodbye to her sister from another world, stood up holding the hand of her father beside her, and disappeared into the darkness that suddenly appeared on the side of the car.

After all, Jacob is not from this world, and his children are still underage, not yet ready to be independent; therefore, Kate applied to Boss Xue for the position of a buyer on the staff list of the tavern, got the key, and was responsible for The two worlds sent their father indirectly.

When I was young, my father often drove them to pick up their siblings from school. Maybe now is the time for her to repay the kindness of her upbringing.

The car with the silver cross also drove into the wilderness not far from the town, and gradually stopped.The night outside the window became thicker, and the shadowy mist rose. Tonight is not suitable for traveling overnight.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Papa Burke lowered the window cover, leaving only the three cross-shaped viewing windows on the front and side; On the silver cross, holy radiance was reflected towards the surroundings, and no ghosts and monsters could even think of approaching this car at night.

Leila, who was sitting in the co-pilot and reading a theological monograph under the light, also looked out of the window where the cover was being lowered.

After arriving at the place where the traces of civilization had disappeared, the wilderness looked dark and empty, only the light reflected from the cross illuminated the land within ten meters.

Only in the farther distance, on the ruins of a certain road, there are still street lights flickering.

It is the technology of the nobles. It is said that it can automatically store energy during the day and illuminate the road at night without laying additional cables or other forms of energy supply lines; because vampires generally have night vision, such lights are actually Not much brightness either.

Just like the street lamps, other technologies of the nobles have gone through an unknown number of years, but most of them are still functioning normally, and it is not clear when they will break down.

"Would you like coffee?"

Papa Burke, who just got out of the cab and walked around, came back and asked her with a coffee pot.

The coffee machine in the back compartment is of course also from another world.In the process of transforming this car, Father Jacob and others transported various things through the tavern, making it no longer like a battle fortress, even if it stays in the wild like today, it can be used temporarily Settle down and settle down, solve basic necessities of life.

Leila ordered a cup of coffee as well, put it on the console beside her, imitated Papa Burke, put the seat down, and sighed comfortably while lying on it.

...It has been a long time since I lay down and rested so leisurely. The men of the Marcos Brothers obviously have no leisure to transform this place into a more lively place, even if it is a night when no prey can be found and they cannot rush to the next village. , they will only use various stimulants to stay awake, drive a car chasing animals in the wilderness, howling with unknown meaning, more like wild animals than the things outside the car.

At that time, she also felt that the only way to survive in this cruel world was to turn herself into a beast.

But later a certain nobleman told her on that bridge that sometimes being alive is not the most important thing.

Thinking of this, she suddenly turned her head and asked the person in the driver's seat: "Father Burke, you have actually met that mixed race, right? Can you tell me about it in detail?"

She had heard the story before...but suddenly wanted to hear it again.

Amidst the whimpering wind, Charlotte walked into the specially separated room without windows at the rear of the car.

Meyer, whose body has become much thinner, sat on a chair and looked up at her with a warm smile.

"I heard... It's a good thing those people didn't get in the car. How was today?"

He said.

Charlotte sat down beside him, leaned against his arm, raised her hand to caress his thinning face, and replied distressedly: "The priest's sermon was also very successful today. When it was broadcast on the radio just now, there was still a lot of people in the past." The believers from the village connected in... What about you? Do you feel any strange feeling?"

Meyer looked up at the roof of the car.From the gap in the transom there, the light of the silver cross was shining into the small cabin, but strangely, as a vampire, he was unharmed.

He can even stretch out his finger, exposing it to the light, and feel the tingling pain from his fingertips.

"It doesn't appear to be."

He smiled and lifted the blanket covering his lap to reveal the Bible inside.

"The feeling these days is really unprecedented. If you use 'weird' to describe it, I think it is true."

A few days ago, when he first touched the cover of this book, he felt his heart was about to burn.That severe pain was something he had never experienced before, and even the "degree" of the pain when he was exposed to the sun was an order of magnitude worse.

Every sense of his was being destroyed bit by bit, along with his body.

But he could clearly hear the elderly priest shouting, "Have you ever hurt innocent people?"

"...There was, although it was not my original intention, but on the way to flee north with Charlotte, a village tried to set my carriage on fire, and caught Charlotte who got out of the carriage...to burn her to death .”

He could only squeeze out the answer from the back of his throat with a hoarse voice.

But the priest said, "Are you willing to repent for this?"

"...every moment, I regret it...but if I had to go through it again, I would still do it!"

Father Jacob just nodded and said something that quickly settled his pain: "This is not a question of crime and punishment, Meyer Link. On behalf of God, I question whether you still have a conscience... ...and you obviously didn't lose it."

Mayer Link is a strange aristocrat.He wasn't transformed out of his own will, and he hasn't sucked human blood since the day he became a nobleman.

Whether it is to humans or vampires, he is an anomaly.

Not even a drop of blood spattered his own mouth as he killed the villagers in a rage.His distaste for it was too strong.

Hitting the road with Charlotte was the happiest moment of his life, yet he endured hours of thirst and emptiness after his hands were covered in human blood.

But he told himself that he must persevere... In the past, it was because he didn't want to become a beast that only knew how to prey like the nobles, but now it was because his lover was a human being.

He doesn't like human beings, he can even say he hates them... But Charlotte is human, so he will never hurt her kind.

Can this be called conscience?

The priest asked again: "What are you willing to sacrifice for your love?"

"Everything...my life, my soul!" He could only shout out in pain.

"Then ask forgiveness."

After doing that, he found himself mentally settled...even though his body was covered in bruises.

As the priest touched the top of his head and said the prayer, his intellect returned to his body, the Bible, the cross, the holy water, these things that were supposed to destroy his existence like poison can no longer cause any harm to him.

Even later, when the woman named Amelia brought a bag of blood, the priest simply said, "Yes."

He also asked why, and Father Jacob explained: "This is the blood donated by others. In order to save the injured or sick, human beings voluntarily dedicate a part of themselves; it represents not exploitation, but mercy. Thanks to human beings. Kindness, then use it."

When the blood was injected into the dry blood vessels in his arm, he also discovered that he even retained the ability to rely on blood to recover quickly.

This is enough to show that he is not "reversing the transformation", but has really obtained forgiveness as a nobleman.

The world has not given up on him.

I don't know if the mixed-race vampire hunter who insisted on standing on the side of human beings usually feels similar to him at this time?

It happened that Charlotte also asked about D. She leaned into his arms and asked him softly: "The people who helped us are all around us now, but where did that hunter go?"

"Well... the last time we parted, the human they called 'Boss Xue' told me."

Meyer stretched out his still weak but unshakable hand, hugged his lover's shoulder, looked at the silver light seeping through the crack of the transom above, and replied:

"As long as we are still on the road, we will meet again sooner or later."

Chapter 43 The Road Ahead

When Kate walked into the tavern again, she felt that the left and right places had opened up a lot.

In fact, she doesn't have to show up all the time... Although there is an employee position of "purchaser" here, it is just for the convenience of picking up her father to and from get off work, and Boss Xue doesn't expect her to do anything; She drinks and eats like a normal guest, and chats about what's happened lately, that's all.

On the contrary, she herself was very embarrassed about this, and would visit the tavern when she had nothing to do, and help with some work.

Recently, due to the increase in guests and equipment, both Daig and Cheetos are a little bit overwhelmed.In particular, they also shoulder the task of taking care of Newt and sending her to school in St. Paul; after Xue Li's tea set is in place, occasionally customers will ask for a cup of hot tea, a cup of coffee, a cup of milk tea, etc. And so on, adding the bishop's daily refurbished food made several people very busy.

So, besides the buyer, Kate also worked part-time as a waiter, and occasionally helped to mop the floor and tidy up the tables and chairs.

As soon as she entered the door today, she saw that Boss Xue, who was sitting behind the bar too lazy to move, was facing the other side of the terrace, tinkering with Max.

Taking a closer look, I found that there was a large space over there. A platform was erected on the wooden steps, and there were two stereos on both sides of the platform. Xue and Max were arranging cables on the platform, putting them Attached to the console behind one side of the screen.

There is also a microphone stand in the middle of the platform, on which is a silver microphone with a spherical grille and a few rings of crystals.

Speaking of which... isn't this just a stage?

"Hey! Boss!" She greeted, and jumped onto the stage, intending to help the two men tidy up, but found a man huddled behind the curtain.

Take a closer look, isn't that Santa Nicole Chaos who once gave everyone an audio-visual shock in another bar?

"No way, since this tavern has suddenly created such a facility, it's obvious what it means." When asked, Boss Xue said, "There is only one person in the tavern who is qualified to perform, and that is She's gone. Since there aren't many guests now, let her try to sing a song first."

At the side of the tavern, a man who was looking drunk suddenly stood up, raised his orchid fingers, and walked over unsteadily.

"...That's great. Let me just say that this tavern has been lacking something. It turns out to be an artistic atmosphere."

While talking, Captain Jack Sparrow jumped onto the stage and picked up a guitar next to the stage under everyone's gaze: "What kind of equipment, I'll talk about it later, it doesn't take so much trouble to just sing a song." Row."

He stood on the stage casually, and with a wave of his hands, the passionate melody flowed from the strings of the guitar.

As the son of the captain of the Bard, he still inherited some musical genes.

Many people may think of the guitar as a modern instrument, but the history of this instrument can even be traced back to the beginning of human history.As early as the 78th century, there was a musical instrument name similar to modern guitars called "Latin guitar" in Spanish. In the [-]s, the six-string shape of the guitar was basically determined.

Although the guitar in his hand has a larger body, and the string spacing and headstock length are slightly different from those he has seen before, Jack just fiddled with it a few times before he fully mastered the playing method, and he simply played the well-known Caribbean song. A ditty in Spanish.

Santa Nicole knows this song. In the hundreds of years of her existence, besides preying on passing men, of course she also needs other hobbies to pass the time...and she happens to like singing and dancing.

Holding the idea of ​​"Why do humans in this different world know the song in my memory", she walked to the middle of the stage, twisted her waist, squinted her eyes and hummed to the bottom.

She's a prisoner in this tavern...but once she's in the mood, she quickly becomes a great performer, throwing herself into the song's emotion, her hands stretched forward, singing like an aria:

"I, who is drifting at sea, when will I return to my hometown?

"The colorful sun shines, the good harbor where the waterfowls fly on the sea.

"Thousands of sail shadows on the horizon, returning loaded with exotic gold.

"But there was no figure of me on it, and my lover returned disappointed again.

"I, who is drifting at sea, when will I return to my hometown?"

The tune is very warm, but the content of the lyrics is very sad.Santa Nicole's expressiveness as a singer is very sufficient, plus her dance performance proven by the guests of this world, it is more than enough to be a resident performer in Xue Li's tavern... After all, the people here There are not many guests.

After listening to a song, Boss Xue applauded first, and then decided to say: "Max, in addition to purchasing, you will also be responsible for finding some songs for Santa Nicole and teaching her to learn them. In addition, you also learn to play the piano." What, you can't always use a fixed accompaniment."

Max didn't say anything, but Jack over there raised his hand to object: "No, didn't I play very well just now? Why can't I be the accompaniment?"

"This guest...you either don't see anyone for ten days and half a month, or you lie down drunk in a tavern all night. It's not very suitable for resident performances."

Xue Li replied.

Jack thought about it, and only agreed... Anyway, he doesn't come every day, so it's good for now, at worst, he can go on stage and play a song later when he is interested.

He shrugged and handed the guitar in his arms to Max.

As night fell and the number of guests increased, Santa Nicole, who finally found her place in this tavern, performed the barefoot snake dance she once performed in "Milk Whirlwind", but this time she did not use her feet stuffed into someone's mouth.

Naturally, the guests were pleasantly surprised by the new stage area and performers, and Santa Nicole's performance was met with rapturous applause.

At this moment, Kate, who helped Xue Li and Max organize the stage equipment, was sitting in front of the bar in a somewhat decadent manner, fiddling with the glass of juice in front of her, wondering what she was thinking.

Feeling strange, Boss Xue asked her, only to hear the girl answer:

"Santa Nicole also became a performer here. Seth went to Chichen Itza, Rich became the messenger of 'Rope Girl', father he preached in another world, Scott all went to missionary school , there is a feeling that all the stories are over...but I still don't know what I want, what I should do."

"Don't be so anxious, how old are you... don't you just go through every day step by step?" Xue Li blinked at the little girl who was worried about gains and losses, and brought her a glass of beer.

Anyway, since the adults aren't here, it's not a bad thing to have a drink and relax.

To a certain extent, Xue Li can understand her... When people have no clear purpose, they will feel confused, feel that they are surrounded by life, and don't know what is waiting for them in the front, back, left, and right. Often I can only tell myself that I will work hard first, and finish the work that is piled up in my hand first.

But after a long time like this, I will feel why I seem to have become a walking dead, doing similar things every day, and losing faith and passion.

If you go a step further, you will wonder whether you are just placed in the current position. If you are asked to complete other things, will you be completely unable to do it and become a complete failure?

I don’t know which big shot sighed when looking in the mirror: "Everyone on the street outside has enough ability to stand here instead of me."

Life is spent in such tearing.

The same goes for his latest retrieved memory.

[109. No. 109]

It was someone who should be a good friend, and told him earnestly, what kind of self-media era is now, and how the live broadcast industry makes money.From what angle should we enter this market, and how to cultivate our own private domain traffic...

At that time, he had no concept of what he was going to do, just like Kate now; so he was simply brainwashed after hearing what his friends said, thinking that maybe it was true, and decided to try it.

At the end of that memory, he had already seen that he was stepping on the gas pedal on the road to failure, but unfortunately, this was only after the fact... At that time in the memory, he who was once confused did not know.

People who have no dreams and no beliefs will be like this, and they don't know what to do next.

Fortunately, my friend was talking about starting a business. If he said he was going abroad to carry out assassination, maybe he would really do it according to what he believed.

What troubled him even more was, did he find what he wanted to accomplish in his later life?Or are you still going with the flow?

Look at Father Jacob Fowler, this old pastor who has entered the second half of his life suddenly burst out with a strong enthusiasm for work, and he lives every day to the fullest, and he will never feel that he is wasting time .

Unlike myself, all the memory fragments retrieved so far seem to be failing repeatedly.

Thinking of this, he also decided to help Jacob persuade the girl in front of him, so he said again: "If you really feel lost, why don't you try while you have time and in the direction you are interested in? Even if you want to If you want to become a school idol, we will also support you as a guest... We can also lend you a brand new stage to practice. If you can find something you really want to fight for in the experiment, isn't that also the solution to your current situation? question?"

Even if you can't find such a thing, trying itself is a good task, which can keep this girl busy... As we all know, busy people don't have time to think about it.