Chapter 127. Story
"Grandpa, how did you know I'm a girl? Everyone else thinks I'm a mouse," Lily asked as she tilted her chin and looked at the elderly man who handed her a doll.
Lily wasn't the only one pondering over this question; Charles was curious as well. How was the old man so certain that Lily was a human-turned-mouse and not a mouse with human memories?
"Then do you know how to turn me back to human?" Lily asked with apparent nervousness in her voice.
However, Tobba ignored her question and stuffed the doll into the group of mice before he continued rummaging through the rubbish heap.
"Here, this is for you," Tobba said as he pulled out half of a tattered book and dangled it before Feuerbach.
The green-haired youth, who had never displayed a single hint of anxiety before Charles, suddenly darted out of the room like a mouse that had seen a cat.
"Throw that thing away! NOW!!" Feuerbach's eyes widened in shock, and his lips went pale.
"What's wrong?" With his sharp vision, Charles noticed that the book didn't have a cover, and he could discern the content within.
Mushroom Soup (for 3 servings)
Ingredients A
Hard ham 1 stick
White silk mushrooms 200g
Ingredients B
Condensed milk 5g
Kelp 25g
Cooking oil 5ml
Chicken stock powder ...
Charles took the book from the old man and casually flipped through the pages. Food illustrations that were stained with grim appeared before his eyes.
"It's just a cookbook. What are you so nervous about?"
Feuerbach stared at the cookbook. A forced, wry smile appeared on his visibly tense visage.
"Heh, my bad. I thought it was...." Feuerbach trailed off and left his sentence unfinished.
Seeing that Charles had taken the cookbook away, Tobba thought that Charles was trying to snatch his gift meant for Feuerbach.
"Stay patient. Don't snatch his gift. I prepared one for you, too. Hmm? Where has it gone?"
"Stop searching for now." Charles grabbed Tobba over and straightened him up to look him in the eye. "Who are you? Why are the pirates afraid of you?"
"They are not afraid of me. I turned invisible. They just couldn't see us," Tobba answered proudly as he took out his cross and brandished it on his forehead once more.
Charles dismissed the answer. After all, he certainly felt all the piercing gazes on them just moments ago, so it was impossible that they had been invisible.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to have proper communication with the crazy old man before him, Charles didn't want to waste time continuing with his questions.
"No matter what, thank you. I owe you one. I'll repay the favor if I ever have the chance."
With that, Charles turned to leave. He didn't have the luxury of time to engage in meaningless chatter with a madman, even if the madman seemed more capable than what he portrayed himself to be.
His actions had already alerted the pirates of their presence. He had to find out where the fuel was being kept before the pirates regrouped and came after them once more.
"Are you looking for something on the island? I can help you! I've been on this island for a long while." Tobba flashed a silly smile, revealing his gum line with only a handful of teeth remaining.
Charles was just about to step out of the door when he turned around with a look of surprise. "You know where the fuel is stored on this island? You are not joking, are you?"
"I really know! Fuel, right? The thing that ships eat. I know where they come from. I can also let you know where to find them. But according to the standard steps, you have to pay me first."
Hearing that he wanted compensation, Charles felt a wave of relief washing over him. As long as he could get the information, a small price was nothing.
"How much Echo do you want?"
Tobba shook his head and hands vigorously. "No. No. No. I don't want money. I want a story. Tell me a story, a story that I've never heard before."
A story? What kind of weird request is this? Charles was feeling rather puzzled.
Just then, Richard wielded control over their body and exclaimed, "I'll do it! Let me. Practice makes perfect. Let a fellow madman speak to another."
"What story do you wanna hear? Have you ever heard the story of The Little Red Riding Hood?" Richard spoke as though he was trying to placate a child.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She's a pretty girl. On her birthday, her grandmother gave her a red riding hood made of velvet..."
Within minutes, Richard was done telling the brief bedtime tale. Sitting nearby, Lily had listened intently and enjoyed the story. However, squatting on a heap of trash, Tobba shook his head vigorously with a frown on his face.
"No. I don't want to hear this story. I've heard of this story. Not this story, tell another one."
"Then what do you want to hear? You can foresee the future, can't you? Since you could predict our arrival, weren't you able to predict the story that I would tell you? Just tell me which story it is, and I'll just repeat it to you," Richard proposed as he scratched his head in frustration.
"I don't know! I only know you will definitely tell me a story, and it is a really interesting one. I was very happy after I listened to it."
"Argh, this old man..." Richard's eyes narrowed with hostility as he sized up Tobba. He was mentally calculating the chances of successfully extracting the location of the fuel from him by using force.
However, he hesitated when he recalled how Tobba had intimidated the pirates earlier. He wasn't sure if Tobba was really crazy or just feigning it. He could actually be hiding his actual strength.
"I happen to have a story," Charles said as he snatched back the body's control. Taking in a deep breath, he spoke calmly. "A long time ago, there was a man who lived in his world. He was just a normal person living a normal life.
”One day, an incident, a disaster, fell upon him. The sea swallowed all his classmates but brought him to a strange world. In this new world, the sea was everywhere in sight, and light didn't exist...."
Charles' narration was calm and steady, without any ounce of emotion. However, squatting on a heap of trash, Tobba listened with his full focus.
Unbeknownst to them, Feuerbach, who had exited into the alley earlier, had entered the room again. Listening to the story, a thought emerged in his mind as he stared at Charles' back.
"After nine long years and enduring countless hardships, he finally found the way home. But now, the ship he needs to return home has run out of fuel. He needed fuel, and only an old man knew of the location. Whether he could return home or not was dependent on the old man's willingness to help."
"This story is great! So awesome!" Tobba clapped in excitement and jumped up and down like a monkey.
"Ah, this story is too good. I have to write it down somewhere, or I'll surely forget it again."
Tobba combed through the trash and dug out a yellowed notebook. He picked up a black rock and furiously scribbled away on the yellow pages.
Tobba didn't seem like he could actually write as he drew various lines in a chaotic manner across the pages. In a few seconds, the yellow pages were covered with random black lines.
"All right. I'm done recording! Let's go. I'll take you guys to go look for the fuel, and then you can go home," Tobba said with a satisfied grin and stuffed the notebook into his bosom. He then stood out and walked out of the room.
Receiving Lily and Feuerbach's questioning gazes, Charles offered no explanation. He motioned the two to follow along as he trailed after Tobba.
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