Chapter 188 - If You Don't Roast, Are You Even Friends?
"Hohoho, not before you do, f*cker," Old Seymour chuckled back.
The Xiao family and Seymour family stood behind the two old men with wry expressions, uncertain whether they were friends or enemies.
"Hah, who knew that your family was also connected to Emperor Polemos in some way," Old Xiao spoke with a soft sigh before saying, "It seems that I will see your old face a lot more often."
"Same here, same here… This old man is also surprised," Old Seymour stroked his beard before commenting, "You've reaped quite the benefits from the Dimension Rift, huh? Old Xiao? Must have added another 100 years to your old life."
"I could say the same for you, old mate."
"Hohoho…"
The two old men continued to chat with friendly gestures while making hidden jabs at each other like long-time rivals.
"We will likely be allies in the future," Klein Seymour smiled wryly while extending his hand to Xiao Pipi for a handshake and said, "I pray for the success and prosperity of our two families, Mr. Pipi."
"Likewise, Mr. Klein."
Xiao Pipi accepted the handshake with a smile.
For the trip to Damocles, Old Seymour brought along his son, Klein Seymour, and his three grandchildren, Eleanor, Anya, and Darien.
As for the Xiao family, everyone was brought along.
"How about a little chat by the bar while we wait for the ship's arrival at Damocles, Mr. Pipi?" Klein Seymour suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Xiao Pipi nodded before turning his wife, "Can you keep father company while I talk with Mr. Klein here, Lan-er?"
"Of course," Xiao Lan smiled.
"Thank you."
Shortly after, Klein Seymour turned to his daughters and nephew before saying, "You guys can go play, but at least one of you have to keep your grandpa company—"
"Shot not!"
Anya Seymour immediately pressed her nose with her index finger before bolting off to explore the luxurious Cruiser-class starship.
Klein Seymour immediately felt blood surged to his head before he coughed abruptly, followed by a sigh afterward.
"Haiz… this girl…" Klein Seymour shook his head helplessly.
"It seems like Mr. Klein's daughter is a bit unruly and free-spirited," Xiao Pipi chuckled slightly before saying, "I supposed each household has its own troublemaker, huh?"
Xiao Pipi thought about his own youngest daughter before feeling a headache.
They say that the more one ages, the more mature and sensible one becomes—but why does the opposite seem to apply to his youngest daughter instead?
"Eleanor, you can go. It is fine if I stay behind to look after grandpa," Darien Seymour took the initiative to volunteer for the job.
"Are you sure?"
Eleanor Seymour glanced at her cousin with surprise before Darien Seymour confirmed by giving her a nod.
"Yeah, I am sure," he stated.
"Alright, thanks," Eleanor nodded back before she said, "The trip is said to be extended to 2 hours so that the guests could enjoy the starship's entertainment facilities. I'll come back in half an hour to switch over with you, cousin."
"That's fine with me," Darien nodded.
…
Over at the bar, Klein Seymour ordered two cocktails before they were served by the bartender-droid.
"It appears that apart from the guests who boarded from Silvercove city, the entire starship is fully automated and operated by robots," Xiao Pipi commented.
"So it seems."
Klein Seymour agreed as he watched the droids work.
Suddenly, Klein Seymour spotted a familiar person amongst the other guests before his eyes lit immediately.
"Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Pipi. I found a friend. Let me bring him over to join us."
"Sure."
Shortly after, Klein Seymour immediately made his way over to his friend, Quinn Richmond, who was busy studying a droid, before patting him on the shoulder.
"Quinn! My friend! I didn't expect you to be here as well! What a surprise it is to find you outside of your lab!" Klein Seymour said heartily.
"Shhh!" Quinn Richmond shrugged before saying, "It's great to see you too, Klein. Now, stop bothering me. These robots are incredibly advanced and almost intelligent like real people. I need to study them!"
"C'mon, man. Save it for later. Come over and have a drink with me," Klein Seymour persuaded.
However, Quinn Richmond snorted, "There is no later. Time is limited. I make use of all the time I have to understand how these robots work! It'll be great if I can build one later to be my assistant."
"Also, there is nothing good about drinking. It only makes me feel sluggish and kills my precious brain cells."
After giving his statement, Quinn Richmond no longer paid attention to Klein Seymour and followed after the droid with eyes that wanted to dissect it.
At the same time, the droid seemed to have increased its pace as if it was trying to get away from Quinn Richmond.
"Haiz…"
Klein Seymour sighed and returned to the bar in defeat before Xiao Pipi casually commented, "Seems like your friend isn't coming."
"Nah, that cunt is too busy studying robots," Klein Seymour sighed before adding, "Still, it's a good change compared to dragon-chasing and turd-sniffing all day."
Xiao Pipi immediately gawked.
After a moment, he recovered with a wry smile and said, "It seems like you two also share a really good friendship."
"I mean, if we don't even roast each other, are we even friends? Right?" Klein Seymour casually shrugged before downing his cocktail glass in one go.
Xiao Pipi smiled wryly.
Perhaps, it was a difference in culture, but he could not understand Mr. Klein's logic. Was it truly alright to be rude to your friends?
"Nevermind that. Tell me about yourself, Mr. Pipi," Klein Seymour shifted the topic and mentioned, "I heard that the Xiao family used to live in a big provincial city. Why move to a small city like Silvercove?"
At his words, Xiao Pipi quickly let out a long sigh.
"I'm not sure if you are aware of this, Mr. Klein, but when your family is big and powerful, your distant relatives are no different to strangers—strangers that can turn on you at any time for inheritance rights."
"I had a younger brother who moved away with his family to get from all that infighting, but unfortunately, we never heard from him again. It's uncertain whether they are still alive or not, but after years of searching, we have pretty much given up all hopes," Xiao Pipi sighed.
Klein Seymour's eyes flickered before he said, "Then the reason you to moved to Silvercove city is because…"
"It was the last known location before my younger brother and his family disappeared," Xiao Pipi nodded.