"Mr. Watson, I never imagined cider could taste like this."
Raising his glass, Mr. Bernhardt took a sip of the drink, then narrowed his eyes in enjoyment.
"Excellent, truly excellent. Mr. Watson, may I ask which winery produced this fruit wine? I must pay them a visit."
"That cannot be disclosed, but I guarantee that this bottle of wine is just as delicious as this bottle of cider."
Shade was quite satisfied with this outcome.
"Send this bottle to that princess. Say it is a gift from a friend, red wine produced at a winery in the New Continent. Compared to the products of White River Valley Vineyard, this bottle should be more suitable as a gift."
He reached into his pocket and rummaged around, then took out two more bottles.
"Three bottles should be enough."
"You have helped me again, Mr. Watson. Please be sure to dine at my estate tonight."
Mr. Bernhardt said, then rose to his feet, instructed a servant to take the bottles, and left the dining room once more.
This time, Mr. Bernhardt was gone for a full forty minutes. Lunch had ended during that time, and Shade sat at the table with a teacup in hand, reading today's newspaper. Although his Kartherian Language was terrible, Text Comprehension allowed him to read the words in the paper without any difficulty.
The front-page headline of the local newspaper concerned the princess's visit to Huntington. The following pages covered fiscal reforms announced by City Hall, which supposedly planned to cut civil service positions and replace them with temporary workers. The third page carried news of the local winter horse-racing competition. As for the advertising section, just like newspapers in the Northern Kingdom, it featured strange inventions such as the "Human Body Stretcher" and "Steam Powered Telescopic Clothes