Walking out from the house was a middle-aged man with a kind face.
Seeing this man, Josh frowned slightly, because he had a vague impression of him...but it was likely a memory from the body's original owner.
"You are...Josh? Josh Kane?" As Josh was pondering, the other man gave him a once-over and then called out Josh's name.
"That's right, it's me...You're Uncle Randolph?" Being called like that, Josh also recalled—this man was his father's friend, once a hunter living at the foot of the Alps outside the town. He and Josh's father were friends, and he had even held Josh as a child. So, his father had sold this place to him.
"Oh, my! You've grown so much over these few years. You've come back from America? And your parents?...And these people are?" Seeing the now grown-up Josh, the man referred to as Uncle Randolph was delighted, immediately asking a series of questions.
"Oh, they're my subordinates. The war is over, and since I happened to come to Europe on some business, I thought I'd drop by for a visit... As for my parents... it's a long story!" Josh shrugged.
"I see...Oh right, let's not stand out here. Come on in and have a seat, I just brewed some tea!" Hearing Josh's words, Randolph seemed to sense something and quickly changed the subject, inviting Josh inside.
Josh didn't decline—since he had already come, not going in would seem rude.
So he entered the house with Ophelia and Vito, while the others remained outside to stand guard.
The interior of the house was decorated in a very typical European style: sofas, a fireplace, a radio, and so on.
Following his memory, Josh noticed that almost nothing had changed about the furnishings. Near the fireplace, there was even a dog bed where a Saint Bernard lay, along with four puppies.
The Saint Bernard that had barked at them earlier followed them in and stood guard beside the other Saint Bernard and the puppies—clearly, the two dogs were a pair.
"You must have noticed, the furnishings here are exactly as they were when you left, because I always thought that maybe, once the war ended, you all might come back one day. See? I was right!" Randolph said as he invited them to sit while preparing tea.
Josh and Ophelia sat on the sofa, while Vito dutifully stood five paces behind Josh.
Seeing Vito's behavior, Randolph looked a little surprised but quickly understood—clearly, Josh's status now was far from ordinary.
"You're too kind, Uncle Randolph. There really was no need for all this!" Josh was quite surprised that Randolph hadn't changed a thing over the years. From this alone, it was clear Randolph was a friend worth having. His father had made a good friend—unfortunately, one he would never see again.
"It's nothing. I live alone and don't have any special preferences. Whether things changed or not didn't matter to me. Come on, try this—I went through a lot to get this premium green tea from the Far East. They say it used to be reserved for emperors. I wonder if it suits your tastes!" Randolph placed two porcelain cups in front of Josh and Ophelia, then poured in the clear tea from the pot.
"Of course it does!" Josh wasn't too surprised. After coming to Austria, he discovered that unlike the English and Americans' love for black tea, Austrians had a more eclectic taste: fruit teas, herbal teas, green tea, black tea, rooibos (a type of shrub from South Africa), and even white tea.
Among them, green tea was actually more popular than black tea.
The only difference was that Austrians didn't steep their tea—they boiled it.
Mainly because, like many other Europeans, they didn't have the habit of drinking hot water, so they never boiled plain water separately.
Josh picked up the cup and took a gentle sip. The familiar fragrance of green tea lingered in his mouth, making him pause slightly.
"This is Longjing?" Josh asked in surprise.
Although boiling the tea had slightly damaged its flavor, as a tea enthusiast from Zhejiang in his past life, he could still recognize the familiar taste—and it seemed to be of high grade.
"Oh? You've been to that Eastern country? Your Chinese is very good!" Randolph was also surprised because Josh had said "Longjing" in precise Mandarin.
"No, not really. But I live in Chicago—there's a Chinatown there. I learned from some Chinese friends," Josh casually deflected.
"I see." Randolph didn't question further, nodding and then asking, "So, what about your parents?"
"Food poisoning. They passed away two years ago." Josh wasn't really sad, but he pretended to be somber.
"I see. That's truly unfortunate. But it seems you're doing well now—your parents must be very proud of you in heaven!"
Although Randolph had already suspected that the Kane couple had met some misfortune, hearing it confirmed still made him sigh.
"By the way, how long do you plan to stay this time? If you'd like, I can sell this house back to you at the original price."
"Sell it back to me? Why?" Josh asked, puzzled.
"Well, before the war, I was planning to travel and see more of the world, maybe live somewhere else. But then the war broke out. Your father didn't want to serve the little mustache man and had to leave quickly, but couldn't find a buyer in time—so I took it over temporarily. Now that you're back, I think returning the house to you is the right thing to do. Besides, I don't think you're short on money!" Randolph explained, ending with a slight tease.
Such a luxurious motorcade, a beautiful female assistant, and bodyguards—if he couldn't afford a countryside house, that would be strange.
"I see. Of course—I'd be happy to buy it back!" Josh nodded. Although he hadn't planned on reclaiming the house, since the offer was made, there was no reason to refuse. It wouldn't cost much anyway. He could hire someone to take care of it, and once he became more well-known, this place could be considered a childhood residence or something.
As for living in it? No need—Neuschwanstein Castle wasn't far. Why stay here when he had such a great place?
So the two of them finalized the deal in just a few words. Josh wasn't short on cash and offered a price well above market value, which Randolph agreed to immediately.
But both Josh and Ophelia could tell that Randolph's quick agreement wasn't because of the high price—rather, he didn't care much about money at all.
This naturally piqued their curiosity.
"So, Uncle Randolph, where do you plan to go next?" Knowing Randolph intended to leave Austria, Josh asked.
"I plan to go to Norway and have a look!" Randolph replied.
"Norway, huh? That's a great place!" Josh nodded... Unlike his original world, in this one, even the God-King praised Norway and chose to fall there.
In the future, Thor would lead the surviving Asgardians to establish New Asgard on Earth—in Norway.
How could it not be a good place?
"By the way, what about these puppies? Are you taking them too?" Josh looked at the four puppies playing beside their mother and asked, a bit tempted.
"Haha, so you've taken a liking to these little fellows? I was planning to take them with me, but if you like them, they're yours. Just be sure to treat them well—they are all of the purest Saint Bernard bloodline!" Randolph laughed at Josh's expression, and pointedly mentioned the purity of the bloodline.
But Josh clearly didn't pay attention to that part, nor did he realize that truly purebred Saint Bernards had basically gone extinct in the 19th century. The Saint Bernards that came after were all crossbreeds with large dogs like Newfoundlands and Great Danes.
His knowledge of Saint Bernards was limited to the name and a few legendary stories.
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