Chapter 231: Busy
"Have you finished buying?"
"Yeah, I've finished shopping."
“The chef in that pastry shop is still as enthusiastic as ever, and his skills are better than before.”
Levi reached into the basket and handed Bud a piece of the snack he thought was the best.
"How about the latest snack developed by the chef?"
“Pretty good.”
Bud couldn't help nodding and raising his eyebrows as he ate.
You can tell that he really likes it.
"Eat more if you like. There's plenty anyway."
"You still need to exercise some moderation."
After eating one, Bud didn't eat any more.
"It's almost time for dinner, I have to save some room for dinner."
"All right."
Levi put away the basket and the bread and snacks in his hand, followed Bud to find a tavern, and had a simple and balanced meal of barbecue with vegetables and a piece of bread.
This combination can be said to be a classic pub set menu, and most people who plan to have a full meal will choose this combination.
If that is not enough, add another bowl of thick soup and soak a piece of hard bread in it so that the hard and crispy bread crust can absorb a little bit of the soup. This is also a very representative way of eating it.
"Hello, give me a glass of mead."
After finishing the food on his plate, Levi stopped a passing maid and ordered some drinks.
"Okay... Oh! It's the Lord..."
The maid covered her mouth and exclaimed, then trotted to the counter, got a wooden cup, and filled it with fresh, foamy honey beer.
Ever since Levi took two bees away from Beorn, honey was no longer something that needed to be imported. Whether it was the roadside fort or the river valley, there were more places dedicated to beekeeping, and these places usually had cherry trees planted.
At the beginning, the residents in charge of beekeeping were frightened by the square bees that were almost as big as human heads. But after confirming that the bees would never swing out the stingers on their tails as long as they were not attacked, the residents became bolder and sometimes even touched them when they saw them on the roadside.
After all, this big fat bee is really cute just from the appearance.
Gulp... Gulp...
"ha--"
“This feels really good.”
Putting down the empty cup in his hand, Levi sighed.
It's really refreshing to have a little honey beer after the meal.
"Another one."
He couldn't help but drink a little more.
"Would you like some?"
As he drank, Levi asked about Bud, who was sitting opposite him and ordered another bowl of soup and a loaf of bread.
"Well... still no, I have a lot of things to do this afternoon, and I need to stay awake."
As always, Bud is self-disciplined and knows how to control himself.
"All right."
Levi put down his wine glass and did not force it. He just ate a carrot while waiting for Bard to eat.
Crunchy.
After confirming that Levi really just wanted to stroll around, Bard stopped looking at him and called a carriage in River Valley City and returned to Long Lake Town to continue dealing with his endless affairs.
Watching Bard leave, Levi stood there and thought for a while, then turned around and left Riverdale City, walking towards the gate of Lonely Mountain.
The guard near the gate stepped aside and saluted slightly.
This is the same level of treatment as the King under the Mountain.
I haven't been here for a few years, but Erebor is still as glorious and bustling as ever. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the tinkling sounds echoing in the mountains.
The dwarves continued to dig deeper as before, starting from Erebor and continuing to develop the vast mountains behind.
Although Lonely Mountain seems to be a small place, it is actually just an entrance. The space and development potential inside are no smaller than the human and elven kingdoms outside.
After all, behind the Lonely Mountain is an entire huge gray mountain range, and so far the dwarves have only developed a small corner of that mountain range.
The wealth accumulated from developing this corner alone has attracted dragons many times, both those that can breathe fire and those that cannot.
We crossed the bustling market and the magnificent bridge and arrived at the conference hall. As expected, Thorin was there.
"It's been a while."
When Thorin caught a glimpse of Levi, he immediately turned around and greeted him with a smile. The subordinate who was discussing something with him next to him was also stunned, then turned around and greeted him with a little helplessness.
No matter what is being discussed or how important it is, it is not as high a priority as this one.
If someone else came to visit, Thorin might even say "sorry" and ask him to wait for a while, and then come to receive him after he finished his business.
But this is the current situation. No matter what you are doing, just put it aside and deal with it later.
"It's been a while since we last met. How have you been?"
The two shook hands.
"As usual, there are a lot of things to do and it's very busy, but I am happy to be so busy every day because everything is moving in a good direction."
"That couldn't be better."
"Have you eaten?" Levi asked habitually.
Thorin was stunned.
"Oh, I don't have that."
"There are so many things going on that I always forget about this. Now that you mentioned this, my stomach has realized that it is indeed a little hungry."
"And you?"
Thorin suggested: "Would you like to go eat something together?"
"I've eaten, but I wouldn't mind having more."
Soon, the two moved to a table.
Soon, a large plate of fragrant roasted meat with bones, which was quite dwarven, was served, along with a few pieces of bread.
No vegetables, no fruit.
“Try dipping it in this sauce.”
Thorin tore off a piece of meat and handed it over, then pointed to a pile of original sauce next to it that looked to have a very high fat content. It was made by mixing butter, oil from the roast meat, and some other ingredients.
With the combination of the two, this piece of meat was directly eaten by Levi.
"That's enough, no need to give me any more, I'd rather have a glass of malt wine."
Levi felt a little better after drinking the cold beer.
Unlike the refreshing feeling of honey beer, dwarven ale has another feeling: "refreshing."
"I feel like I can eat a piece of meat again."
"Then eat more. After all, only when you are full can you have the strength to work."
After saying that, Thorin handed Levi another piece of meat, and then he busied himself with the food on his plate, eating it in big mouthfuls.
That look made Levi's appetite grow, except that it looked a bit dry.
"Why not some wine?"
"liquor?"
Thorin shook his head and said, "I'm afraid not now. As you can see, there are still many things waiting for me to do. I must finish eating quickly so that I can deal with what happened just now, otherwise they will chase me to my doorstep again next time."
“It’s really hard work.”
Levi shook his head and drank the rest of the beer in silence.
"By the way, what are you doing here this time?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to visit my friends."
"Well, thank you for your concern. I am glad to see you in my busy life day after day."
The short lunch break was over, and as soon as Thorin stood up, he was blocked by the dwarf he had just talked to, and continued to work on the thing that was interrupted by Levi's arrival.
Putting down the wine glass, Levi stretched his body, walked out of the gate of Lonely Mountain and took a deep breath.
Still feeling a little overwhelmed.
But to be honest, apart from being a bit greasy, the taste is really good.
This kind of stuff… the first bite is a treat, the second bite is satisfying, but after that it’s a bit of torture.
It's easy when the satiety is low, just eat as much as you can. Even pure fat meat can make Levi look like a starving ghost.
But after the satiety is full, forget it.
"well--"
Sighing for no reason, Levi returned to River Valley City again. He strolled around the square to see the statue commemorating the 'Dragon Slayer' and the 'Dragon Slayer Archer', then went to the palace at the top to look at Lonely Mountain and Raven Ridge from a high place.
After that, no one saw him in the city again.
call--
At night, when the warm yellow light from the street lanterns replaces the sunlight, the noise and bustle of the day are temporarily declared over, and people go home and chat about interesting stories in their warm homes.
Just at this moment, a gray figure walked into an alley, straightened his robe, and sat down on a step.
Just like a few years ago, he threw his cane against the wall and treated it like a clothesline.
"You look like you've been sitting here for a while."
Gandalf lit his pipe, and a faint light appeared, illuminating a statue-like figure standing beside him from the darkness.
"It's been a while."
Levi sighed and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"not yet."
A fresh-looking snack was handed over.
"That master made it."
"Oh, thank you, that's very good, I've made progress." Gandalf chewed and couldn't help nodding.
"So, why did our grey wizard come to visit?"
"A wizard is never late," Gandalf replied irrelevantly.
"be late?"
"I mean, when something happens or someone is in need."
“…Maybe.”
“The journey always has an end.”
Gandalf stared at the smoke rising from his pipe and said, "Death is a path that everyone must take. It is an inevitable path."
"But that doesn't mean people can't start their next journey."
"When life comes to an end, darkness will sweep over consciousness and all senses will become nothingness."
"But after that, you'll catch—"
"What?"
"The cry of a newborn baby and the light that reappears before our eyes."
Levi suddenly smiled.
As He is merciful, He grants freedom to humans. The souls of all humans who die in Middle-earth can break free from the constraints of the Arda universe, stay away from the hustle and bustle of the world, or go to other worlds.
Furthermore, humans are the only race that can determine their own destiny and are not restricted by the Great Music.
"I see."
He took a deep breath and stood up.
The faint light of the fire flickered.
"Let's go eat something, I'm a little hungry." Levi suggested.
"Me too."
Gandalf touched his belly and responded: "You don't know how much I have walked in the past month, and how many bad things I have encountered... I was scolded and driven away in Rohan, drank uncooked poisonous mushroom soup when I was a guest in Gondor, and was chased by Orcs all the way when I passed by the Brown Land. This world is simply crazy."
"That sounds really complicated. Why don't we find a place to have a drink and tell me about the interesting things you've experienced recently?"
"That's not possible," said old Gandalf, shaking his head.
Levi was really unhappy about this.
"Why don't you tell me what you are busy with?"
"Busy looking for you."
Gandalf pouted and complained, "Why do you think I'm here? Bard and Thorin kicked me out of the house so that I could use what they call 'the wizard's sense' to find you."
"Ah?" Levi was a little stunned.
"Don't treat people as fools. There are some things people can see at a glance."
Gandalf extinguished his pipe and hung it on his staff. "They came here today as soon as they had finished their work, but they couldn't find you," he said.
"Come back with me now, the protagonist of tonight's cocktail party cannot be absent."
(End of this chapter)
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