NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Wayne the Drunkard? Wayne the Strong?
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just by looking at Wayne’s expression, Alan knew what he was thinking.
He watched the last bit of sunlight outside gradually disappear and the light in the tavern dimmed. Alan didn’t want to disturb Wayne’s thoughts, so he went to light the candlesticks first.
The dim candlelight illuminated the room into a warm yellow hue. When he returned to the bar counter, he found Wayne still in a dilemma. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “This man is tall and strong. How can he be so indecisive?”
“Mister Wayne, are you interested in my wine?” Alan couldn’t help but remind him.
“Hmmm…” after being reminded, Wayne also realized that he had been thinking for a long time.
“Does the magic Lafite really contain magic power?” Wayne couldn’t help but ask suspiciously.
There was no trace of impatience on Alan’s face. He smiled and replied, “Of course. What I said in the elven tavern before still counts. You can order whatever you want. If you say that the wine is bad, I won’t charge you.”
Looking at the young man’s confident face, Wayne once again remembered the confidence Alan had when tricked the female elf to come to his tavern to drink.
Wayne smiled and thought to himself, ‘This kid looks almost like me when I was young. Hmmm, since he’s so confident, I’ll try a bottle just so that his business won’t be too bad and he won’t end up with no food.’
“Then give me a bottle of magic Lafite. Let me see what the so-called magic wine tastes like. Hahaha…” After thinking it through, Wayne laughed heartily and ordered his wine.
“Okay, customer, please wait a moment. I’ll prepare it for you right away.” Alan gave a noble salute, looking very formal.
Wayne was momentarily stunned, but he quickly smiled and shook his head. His gaze softened as if he was watching his naughty child teasing the elders.
Alan realized that he understood his little humor and developed a little favorable impression of the rugged man in front of him. His mind was not like his appearance. He was an attentive person.
The wine was displayed in the wine cabinet behind him, so all he needed to do was allow the wine to breathe after opening the bottle.
Other than a portion of Alan’s Lafite that he planned to brew longer for storage, the rest could be sold once it was aged for 30 years.
The moment the glass wine set was brought out, it once again became the focus of attention.
“This… This is… crys…” Wayne stammered as he pointed at Alan’s wine set on the bar counter. He didn’t say a complete sentence for a long time.
“Oh, don’t make a fuss, mister. This is just glass. Although it’s a rare item to you, it’s just an ordinary drinking container here,” Alan said indifferently.
He didn’t care how shocked Wayne was and continued to open the wine.
30-year-old Lafite was already very mellow, and it won’t take long for it to breathe. At most, it would take about 10 minutes for the taste to be at its best.
“Mister, let me tell you, there are a few steps to drink this wine of mine,” Alan explained the rules of drinking Lafite to Wayne while gently shaking the wine decanter, speeding up the breathing process.
He listened to Alan’s constant indoctrination of “When drinking Lafite, one must savor it, not gulp it, only with drinking it with elegance will one appear classy.”
“Use your index and middle fingers to clamp the corner of the glass. When drinking, bring your hands close to the body of the glass, the temperature of your hand will help the red wine release its fragrance.”
“The most suitable drinking temperature of red wine is 12 to 18 ° C, you must pay special attention to the way you hold the wine glass. You can also use your hand to hold the bottom of the glass to prevent it from breathing too quickly.”
2
Wayne was initially shocked when he saw the glass, but he also became a little reserved. Immediately after, Alan’s instructions almost made him dizzy. He was taught a bunch of drinking rules that he had never heard of before and his brain was buzzing. Just as he was about to pass out, Alan finally let him drink.
“Mister, the wine is ready. You can try it. A friendly reminder, be mentally prepared. The impact of the magic power will be very strong,” Alan reminded him with a mischievous smile.
“Okay!” Wayne responded with a smile, but in his heart, he didn’t care.
Alan looked at the rugged Wayne in front of him carefully tasting the wine using the steps he taught him. He was both satisfied and amused. The elegant red wine was indeed not suitable for a rough man like Wayne to drink. No matter how he looked at it, it looked a little out of place.
He immediately thought of the whiskey in the wine cellar that would be ready tomorrow at the earliest. Maybe Mister Wayne could come again tomorrow. He would like the taste of the whiskey more. He was just thinking about how to invite him.
Wayne only drank a mouthful of low-level magic Lafite.
Boom… an invisible storm suddenly formed around Wayne’s body, knocking the goblet on the bar counter to the ground. If it wasn’t for Alan’s quick hands, the decanter and half a bottle of wine would have shattered.
Then, from this unkempt middle-aged man, a strong pressure emitted from him. This kind of pressure Alan had only felt from Orina, and the pressure Mister Wayne was giving off was even stronger than Orina’s.
Fortunately, this pressure came and went quickly. In just a moment, it receded like a tide. The tavern returned to its usual calmness as if everything that happened was an illusion.
When Wayne opened his eyes, the light in them made Alan almost think that the person in front of him was a different person. His expression was completely different from the usual decadent drunkard.
Alan was still holding the decanter and half a bottle of magic Lafite in his arms. He looked at the man sitting at the bar in shock.
Wayne recovered slightly. That moment just now made him feel the peak of his magic power from ten years ago. Although it was only for a moment, it also made him hopeful.
His gaze fell on Alan. This young man’s confidence was indeed not without reason. The more he looked at him, the more he felt that Alan was very similar to when he was young. He was just as confident, bold, and capable.
Wayne’s gaze softened as he looked at him. Ever since he left Rock City and became a mercenary for many years, his heart had long become cold and hard. However, ever since he met the young man, he had been shocked by him more than once.
1
Alan saw Wayne’s strange gaze, he could not help but wail in his heart, ‘Why do all the big guys in this foreign world like to look at me like this… Stanton that big ice cube was like this, this mister after drinking was like this… I’m straight! The kind of straight where I only like pretty girls!’
1
‘I’ve heard that Mister Wayne hasn’t been married for many years, and he only drinks with those drunkards every day. Could it really be… although I know that I’m so handsome that all the adjectives used to praise me pale in comparison, it doesn’t mean that I’m gay…’ Alan seemed to have thought of something that made him afraid, he suddenly shivered.
His body shrank back slightly. The warm candlelight of the tavern could not bring him any warmth…
Wayne would never have thought that his kind gaze would be distorted by the young man’s imagination to such an extent. Gay? That was impossible.. Wayne, who thought of himself as a free and unruly prodigal, had quite an interesting love history when he was young.