As Kvedo uttered his concluding remark, the other three either nodded or softly assented, agreeing to his words. However, afterward, the four of them seemed to understand that this extended gathering was destined to end, and so they fell silent, clearly lamenting the difficulty of today's joy and worrying about whether such a joyful atmosphere could be replicated in the future.
Of course, leaving this matter to our mood-maker Kvedo was the right choice. Before long, Kvedo seemingly casually, with his perpetually excited tone, said, "The salon is over, the red wine and pipes are finished, and the matters are concluded. It is time for the four of us to part ways."
Karl, at this moment, also remembered his role as the initiator of the salon and gathering, and took over the conversation: "Time flies by quickly as we joyfully spend it together. We cannot pray to the God of Joy, if such a deity truly exists, to forever keep his gaze upon us. Our happiness today is enough to make it unforgettable for a lifetime. So, please allow my cruelty, this gathering is over."
Next to speak was Erich: "Time is a Magician; it cruelly prevents those who wish for it to stop from realizing their desires, yet makes our ordinary, painful moments so long. Ah, let our today pass; good things will always exist in the future."
Fulen paused, "Ah, this… do I have to recite a passage when the gathering ends? Is this about art or messing with people's minds? I can't possibly force out a 'me too,' can I? Though when Zhang Fei said 'me too,' he really did turn red from holding it in before it came out." Then he scratched his smooth forehead and said, "Yes, we really have it tough, parting at the most beautiful moment."
Kvedo added, "Yes, may the Red Moon forever shine upon us. Hmm, no, it should be, may the light of technology and the brightness of the Sun forever shine upon us?" Fulen's head throbbed when he heard "Red Moon." The Red Moon blessing people? He was almost blessed out of existence.
After Kvedo finished speaking, the four looked at each other and laughed, clearly happy to have made such pleasant friends. However, Fulen's laughter carried a hint of awkwardness, after all, everyone else was being eloquent, and he just blurted out "too tough," which had a destructive power comparable to "me too."
To be honest, this was the most decisive farewell Fulen had ever witnessed among friends. After exchanging their parting words, the four chatted about some random things, then headed towards the café exit. Seeing that the other three were not going his way, he casually hailed a carriage and then left.
The friends' farewell consisted of just two simple waves, their faces not showing the sadness of parting, but rather brimming with anticipation for their next meeting. Of course, this was limited to Kvedo; the other two's faces still showed no emotion. This made Fulen a bit unaccustomed, as before, no matter whose gathering ended, the remaining few, whether they knew each other or not, would put on an expression of seeing someone off a thousand miles away, and indeed they did so.
Because everyone was too polite before, even goodbyes had to involve seeing people off far away to express their sadness at parting. This somewhat uncomfortable politeness made Fulen, who disliked such etiquette, feel a bit annoyed. After all, he often forgot his manners, and over time, others might secretly gossip and call him impolite. Because of this, Fulen became a young man who liked to stay at home, awkwardly refusing all gatherings except those he absolutely had to attend.
"This isn't bad either," Fulen savored the memory of the gathering, as if he had drunk aged wine. In his recollection, the taste and aroma of the gathering grew richer and richer.
When Fulen returned home, the diligent maid had already left. Fulen didn't pay much attention to this; instead, he returned to his bedroom, lit a candle, read some mysticism books for a while, and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Fulen woke up early, fully awake around seven o'clock. Fulen didn't go out immediately; instead, he sat at his desk, contemplating his plans for the next few days.
No matter what, with a plan, everything would be much easier to solve, at least not to be caught off guard, or rather, to minimize such occurrences.
Fulen went into a study with a window, opened the curtains, and streaks of sunlight shone on Fulen's face, who had woken up so early for the first time. Fulen's body let out sounds of stretching and loosening. After fully adapting to the somewhat strong morning Sun, Fulen leaned back in the spacious chair, completely resting his body weight on the chair, and fell into deep thought.
"Hmm, Beyonder Gatherings. I have two Beyonder Gatherings. One was introduced by Kvedo, which might be lower-tier, as it's explicitly stated to only have one Sequence 7. As for the Flame-Axe's Beyonder Gathering, it's predictably higher-tier. Hmm, I'm currently in a critical period of digestion, so I'll play it safe for now and not go to that gathering. I'll go there after advancing to Sequence 8. Oh, right, I can also invite Kvedo and the others."
Fulen racked his brain, feeling that he only had one or two minor things to do right now. But Fulen subconsciously clenched his fists, and after hearing a couple of crisp cracking sounds from his bones, he thought: "Right, physical exercise! I must exercise now. I must master some combat techniques. If I encounter trouble at a Beyonder Gathering, I can use these techniques to escape."
After thinking about it, Fulen temporarily listed this as something that needed to be resolved as soon as possible. Even if he would definitely be a Mage-type Beyonder in the future, he couldn't take close combat lightly: "Heh heh, with my decades of experience watching anime and dramas, pure mages have no future. Only Master Gandalf's advancement plan is the bright future for us spellcasters."
After zoning out again for a while, Fulen walked towards the Trier National Library, facing the not-so-gentle morning Sun: "This is definitely not saving money; this is exercise. I must become a follower of Master Gandalf. Speaking of which, why are carriages so expensive now? Can travel expenses only become cheaper after steam-powered transportation becomes widespread? Can this world ever get better?"
As Fulen left deep psychological reflections, he took his free "Bus Route 11" to the Trier National Library, also taking the opportunity to observe the road conditions in Trier and have breakfast.
This time, Fulen didn't plan his entire journey in the rich district; instead, he took the shortest route, passing through a commoner district. What was quite unbearable was that although the ground in the commoner district was relatively clean, one could still occasionally see vomit and excrement, and a persistent, memorable smell of urine lingered.
Fulen had thought this was a slum, but after searching his memories, this area was indeed a commoner district, and even an upper-middle-class commoner district. Recalling this, Fulen couldn't help but fall silent.