After the four sat down, they bowed their heads slightly for a pre-meal prayer, even Becky was serious.
Henry was just going through the motions; he didn't silently recite a single prayer.
In less than a minute, at Linda's signal, everyone officially began to taste the food.
After a while, before Henry could ask, Linda proactively brought up her arrangements.
"Henry, I plan to pack my necessities tomorrow, which might take two days. I can leave the day after tomorrow."
"I have fully entrusted Attorney Benjamin with handling the house matters. The Steinway piano is for you, and Paul is also entrusted to you, is that alright?"
Henry nodded and said, "Of course, I also like Paul very much. Thank you for your gift, Linda. I will take good care of this piano."
Linda secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She truly cared about the piano and Paul; the former was a token of her love with Brian, and the latter was family.
However, with two children and so much luggage, she simply couldn't manage everything.
Henry immediately followed up, "Linda, it's too tiring and unsafe for you to travel alone with two children. I'll arrange for Pete and Mary to take you to New York."
Linda asked in surprise, "Can you really do that?"
Henry nodded, confirming, "Of course. Besides, Pete has always said he owes Mary a honeymoon trip, so it kills two birds with one stone."
Linda was overjoyed and said, "That's wonderful, thank you, Henry."
Henry said gently, "It's my pleasure. If I weren't so tied up, I would personally escort you for more safety."
Linda gazed at Henry, touched, and softly said, "Henry, I'm lucky to have you."
Henry smiled slightly and said, "Linda, I read in the newspaper that New York is a place where heaven and hell coexist. You must be careful not to go to dangerous neighborhoods. If you encounter any unavoidable trouble, telegraph me immediately."
Linda's eyes visibly reddened, and she nodded silently.
"I'll tell Attorney Benjamin about this piano; I'll move it when I have time later. It will also take some time for him to handle the house matters."
Linda still nodded vigorously.
Henry said no more, focusing on his meal, but in his mind, he was planning his actions for the next few days.
After dinner, Henry played with Becky and Andre for a while until the two patrolling police officers arrived, and then he left.
Henry re-checked the dried leaves caught in his front door before carefully opening the door and entering.
He went directly to the training room, put on his boxing gloves, and practiced boxing for a while.
He used a 100-pound, about 45-kilogram, sandbag, which vibrated with explosive force from his powerful punches.
Then Henry practiced with his Swift Sword for a while.
Regarding the Swift Sword, Europe has two major schools: the Spanish school and the Italian school, each with its strengths.
Spanish swordsmanship is known as the "Dance of Death" and "Mysterious Circle" — they call themselves the "Supreme Art." Its foundation is a technique called the "Marischeski Circle," which precisely calculates the trajectory of each attack, aiming to strike the opponent at the most ingenious angle and fastest speed without being struck.
Henry's Swift Sword, which had been upgraded to LV4, was part of the Spanish system, using a Swift Sword in his right hand and a parrying dagger in his left.
After practicing for over an hour, Henry stopped and went to shower.
His most perplexing question now was the extent of his physical fitness after two upgrades to LV3.
His home training room only had two 25-kilogram dumbbells, which were too light for him now and couldn't accurately measure his changes.
The only thing he could confirm was that his standing long jump was 4.22 meters and his vertical jump was about 1.2 meters, with a height of 1.86 meters.
But the problem was, he didn't know what the world record for this was in his former timeline, and it was also unknown in this world; it seemed there were no records yet.
However, he estimated that his current level should be that of a top athlete.
By analogy, his speed, reaction time, and strength should also be at this level.
After taking Linda to Denver this time, he planned to explore fitness equipment there thoroughly, hoping to gain a preliminary understanding of his physical limits.
After showering, he checked the time; it was almost 9 PM. Henry left for the Phoenix Bar—he had no choice, the food at Linda's place was barely enough to fill him one-third.
As Henry pushed open the narrow double-swing louvered doors and entered the Phoenix Bar, the bar's clamor suddenly hushed, then erupted into an even louder din.
Henry looked around and found the bar was full, with men standing densely packed even by the bar counter.
This made him very satisfied; good business meant more dividends, and information would certainly be more readily available.
"Sheriff Henry, over here!" Thor, by the window, stood up and called out.
Henry saw him with Hank, another newly hired temporary police officer; they must have just finished their patrol and come here to eat.
So Henry stopped his steps towards his private room on the second floor and turned to walk towards Thor.
Upon arriving, Henry took the lead, sitting down first before saying, "Sit down. How was your patrol today? Are you getting used to it?"
After sitting down, Thor said enthusiastically, "It was excellent! Before, I only occasionally followed along, but today I discovered so many newly opened stores."
Hank, who was German, had a full beard like Henry used to, making a 25-year-old look like a middle-aged man in his thirties.
Because he wasn't yet familiar with Henry, Hank was slightly awkward.
Henry didn't mind, expertly rattling off a list of dishes to the waitress, Streisand.
A tavern or bar only had a few signature dishes, so it was still deer steak, beef steak, and bread.
After taking the order, Streisand swept past with a fragrant breeze, walking like a cat toward the kitchen, making Thor and Hank's eyes involuntarily follow her prominent features.
Henry had already noticed that European and American men's aesthetics were truly different from his own. Just as he was about to tease the two, he detected a sharp gaze flash from a card table ten meters away.
It was a weathered middle-aged man, about forty or fifty, with salt-and-pepper hair, but his beard was neatly trimmed, and his clothes were very clean and tidy.
He wore a blue wide-brimmed hat, a similarly loose, drooping woolen shirt, and a black vest, but he looked more like a lawyer than a cowboy.
This was mainly because his face was square, giving a strong impression of seriousness and uprightness.
The tall stack of coins and banknotes in front of him indicated that he was at least a highly skilled veteran at cards.
This was a very charismatic mature man.
Even far more than that.
Because Henry felt that the other person should be an expert with a gun; it was an inexplicable feeling, he couldn't say why.
But he didn't sense any killing intent from the other party, so he ignored it and began to focus on the delicious food that had been served.
Barrett withdrew his gaze from Henry—the other party was indeed very sharp—and continued to focus on playing cards.
Thanks to the book friends Wufa Ziran, Lietu Fenghou, Tiao Dun Da Tuan Zhang, Dushi Guxian, and Chuyi de Yue Liang for their recommendation votes.