One-Eyed Monster

Perkins and Igor continued discussing how to tell Perkins’s stories.

Those experiences belonged to Perkins, and he had to rely on his own effort to recall them. Igor couldn’t help him in this regard.

”If I were to really lay out all my experiences, I could talk for days without finishing,” Perkins expressed his difficulty, which was indeed the case since he had been wandering outside for about ten years, and each year’s experiences could be talked about for ages.

The stories are endless, and Perkins felt that he had to mention each of them; otherwise, he would feel like he was letting down the listeners. Anyone willing to listen to his stories was special to him, as he highly cherished those who were willing to hear him out, always feeling like these people genuinely wanted to listen to his sharing. He greatly valued this and treated these people as friends.

Like Igor right now.

Perkins considered Igor as a very good friend, willing to listen to his stories and enjoy the process of sharing with him.

So, when treating friends, one must be sincere, and one must share everything…

”I think this won’t work, Igor, because as you said, my experiences could take days to tell completely!”

”I know that too, but you surely can’t tell everything,” Igor thought Perkins was being a bit obsessive, wondering why everything had to be told, especially in such detail.

”That won’t do. I must treat my friends sincerely, I can’t let people feel I’m brushing them off, as that would be disrespectful to those listening to the stories, which is very bad.” Perkins immediately expressed his kind of anxiety, which was what he was most worried about.

”But you can’t say everything; mentioning every little thing like what you eat and drink will certainly take up a lot of time, and you should know that.

”But if I don’t mention these things, someone will doubt me!” Perkins felt the need to mention these details, or else many people would think he was lying.

Just like Hustace had just thought that he was making everything up. So he felt he must not neglect these details and had to express everything.

”While you do cover every detail, it becomes verbose, and such verbosity has significant downsides. You see how wandering bards sing even the most complex stories; that’s simplification!” Igor explained, as if he was a wandering bard himself.

”Simplification?” Perkins asked in confusion. How could a complete story be simplified?

”Haha, this requires learning to let go, to grasp the key points. We shouldn’t say everything,” Igor chuckled.

Their discussion continued ceaselessly, flowing like an unending stream, rustling, and rumbling without a pause.

Neither Igor nor Perkins felt tired, which was rather bizarre, while someone like Hustace was tired just listening…

The carriage continued to creak along, albeit a bit slower than before, as they were nearing the Imperial Capital, where the road had more carriages and pedestrians, requiring them to slow down.

The tail end of extreme winter had lost its previous sharpness, the cold was gradually receding, and a new year was about to arrive. People were preparing for the festivities.

Compared to the Bonfire Festival’s revelry, the Farewell to the Old Festival and Welcome the New Festival seemed more solemn. These festivals had no frenzy, no indulgence, more like a methodical plan.

People seemed ready to face the busy year ahead.

Inside the carriage, Igor and Perkins’s discussion had come to an end. After all, they were discussing matters seriously; seriousness leads to results, and seriousness leads to rewards. Although they hadn’t found a one-time solution, they had reached some conclusion.

”This way, we know what the key points are.” Igor rubbed his temples, having thought too much, used his mind excessively, always needing to recall; this task seemed easy but was mentally exhausting.

”Yes, you are truly a genius, Igor,” Perkins said, holding another parchment, which contained their discussions. He looked it over and over, convinced of Igor’s genius.

Igor felt embarrassed, as these were not his summaries. His mind was stubborn, and these things were organized by the Spirit Book.

Talking about it was strange; the Spirit Book had been in slumber but sometimes still gave him hints, as if it was a part of him. However, no matter how it looked, the Spirit Book was in a dormant state.

Since the last time the Spirit Book had shone brightly, it had remained this way.

Could the Spirit Book really be his secret weapon?

That couldn’t be possible as it was too unreliable, especially since that guy revealed it in front of so many people. Such exposure meant it couldn’t be a secret weapon.

Igor rubbed his eyes, dismissing these thoughts for the moment, focusing instead on what the Spirit Book had organized.

Although Igor had just written it on the parchment, the Spirit Book had been subtly narrating while he transcribed, and he hadn’t paid serious attention to it.

The parchment was neatly listed, very orderly, and very clear.

They all were about Perkins’s stories: fragmented, half-told stories that suddenly switched to another topic.

Igor scratched his head; the listed content was indeed very appropriate, precisely what Igor wanted to know.

Firstly, what kind of group were the Apothecarists, and who else besides Perkins belonged to it? This question was crucial and needed to be clarified.

Secondly, why did Perkins possess Queen Wensi’s Mask, and what was its relation to the Tree Spirit in the Vero Realm?

Thirdly, why did the Tree Spirit praise their apothecarists, and why did its praise become their protective garment?

Moreover, how did dwarves appear in the tavern…

Lastly, and most importantly, what was the chronicle of Perkins’s wandering journey, where did it start from, where did it go, and what did he gain, what did he encounter…

These questions were key, and once listed, Perkins felt a sudden clarity, no longer having the urge to share everything as before.

”I think you should first talk about your journey,” Igor said after finishing reading, which was when he truly went through what the Spirit Book organized. Compared to what Perkins had previously compiled, this was reliable information.