Chapter 220. 041
The bird was massive, and every part of it emitted a dim glow—including its crown, wings, and even its beak.
It was curled up as tightly as possible, and its chest heaved gently, seemingly in deep sleep.
The eyeless dolphins orbited it quietly. It was such a picturesque sight that Charles wondered if he were dreaming.
The abyss-like depths of the boundless ocean had contained nothing but disgusting monsters so far, so it was his first time seeing such an incredible sight.
Charles felt at ease, the same familiar feeling he felt previously as he stared at the unfolding scene. It dawned on him at this point. The island never existed. Everything Charles had seen was a dream realm constructed by 041.
Staying for too long in its illusionary realm meant becoming a permanent resident of its world and transforming into an eyeless dolphin.
Aaron's words finally made sense when he said that it was already too late for him to leave.
"Since it was all a dream, then..." Charles looked around before examining himself. His injuries had vanished, and the papers he had obtained from Aaron had disappeared as well. "No, I think everything is still in my head.
"Aaron definitely knows everything there is to know about 041. He was a member of the Foundation, after all. There must be a reason why he told me to take those papers out with me."
Just then, Charles remembered Aaron's words earlier.
"??Head over to the Foundation's main island. 319 must be there. It will be able to extract all this information from your brain."
Charles fell into deep contemplation over his next course of action when he noticed something off about the Narwhale. He couldn't see any thick, black smoke coming out of her smokestack, but she was sailing away from 041.
"Is that you, buddy?" Charles called out. However, the mooring ropes remained stationary, still seemingly trapped in 041's world.
Charles rushed to the bow and saw a rusty chain pulling the Narwhale away. The other end of the chain was submerged in the jet-black waters.
041's control over him had weakened somehow while he was rushing over to the docks earlier. Charles deduced that this movement had to be related to it.
Charles' prosthetic arm transformed into a chainsaw. Sparks flew as he hacked at the chain, and it was easily severed.
Soon, the thing that was pulling the ship floated up to the surface.
It was just a fish's head, but Charles recognized the identity of the creature upon seeing the familiar golden earring on the left ear. It was none other than his former boatswain, Dipp.
"You saved me? Were you the one who lured the skeletal ship here back then?" Charles asked the young man who had completely assumed the appearance of a Deep Dweller.
Dipp's fish-like eyes blinked rapidly as he said, "Dipp will never betray you, Captain."
With that, his figure covered in green scales vanished into the depths.
Charles' face darkened. He clenched his fists and headed for the engine room. They were in a dangerous place, and they had to get out of here before anything else.
***
Hope Island was as sunny as always, and the former Second Mate of the Narwhale, current Hope Island's Minister of Finance, opened his eyes to another day. Conor took a moment to compose himself before turning and seeing his wife sleeping soundly next to him.
He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before picking up the bell on the bedside table and shaking it lightly.
Soon, women dressed in maid uniforms rushed into the room with toiletries in hand. Conor then washed up and changed out of his pajamas before heading for the dining room.
The cooks had already been waiting for Conor, and they brought out the many different delicacies, including specialty foods of Hope Island.
Conor used a fork to pierce a slice of apple drenched in milk. He took a bite and nodded in delight as the flavors of both apple and milk pervaded his tongue.
"Here is today's newspaper, sir," a maid said and opened the newspaper for Conor to read.
Conor proceeded to enjoy his breakfast while reading today's news.
As always, the front page article was that the island's esteemed Governor had yet to return and lamented how the islanders were missing their Governor.
The media outlet even dedicated the entire bottom half of the page to praising Charles' fearlessness and bravery.
Conor paid nothing but a mere glance at it before moving on. Actually, he knew that Charles had never really been the type to read newspapers, and he had also told the island's media outlet so.
Yet, they seemed to always be walking on eggshells when it came to matters concerning the Governor; they did the same thing every single day and were afraid that the Governor would find even a single fault with them.
Everyone's reaction was understandable, however, as Dipp's recent actions had scared everyone out of their wits. He had accurately singled out the dissenters and skewered them all using steel spears before hanging their mangled corpses at the docks.
Incredibly, Dipp had been so precise with his skewering that his targets didn't die on the spot. They survived for quite a while, and their miserable wails would haunt the dreams of those who had heard them for a while.
Charles' decisive and thunderous decision proved that he was the true master of Hope Island.
Of course, some found Charles' ruthlessness and the cruel and unusual nature of his chosen punishment to be quite similar to the ways of the dreaded pirates.
However, none of those who thought so dared to express their opinion out loud, even up till the day Charles returned to the sea.
Conor skimmed the sycophantic articles and found a few informative articles.
An article from the Department of Agriculture said that they had discovered a new edible plant species, and Conor's mood improved drastically upon reading it. A new source of food meant another source of income that would fill up the coffers of Hope Island.
Hope Island was quite remote and distant from other islands, but many merchant ships had been painstakingly visiting the island because of its variety of food sources blessed by the Light God.
"This island is truly favored by the Light God," Conor remarked as he enjoyed his breakfast.
He was just halfway through his breakfast when the butler approached him and said, "Mr. Conor, Mr. Pete has returned. He's waiting for you in your study."
Conor dabbed his mouth clean with a napkin before walking away. Crisp noises echoed from his shiny leather shoes with every step he took toward his study.
After passing through the bright and spacious hallway, Conor soon arrived at his study where a red-headed young man was waiting for him. The red-headed young man was placing sugar cubes into his cup of coffee non-stop.
"That's enough. Are you trying to drink coffee or sugar water? Anyway, how was the voyage?" Conor said. He sat down from across the red-headed young man and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"No one is brave enough to offend Hope Island, so we're doing pretty well in the Northern Seas. Ah, right. Two creatures managed to hop on board, but the Battle Captain fought and made quick work of them. However, we lost three sailors."
"I see. Anyway, now that you have completed this voyage as a First Mate, you should have amassed enough experience. The next time, you can become the captain of your own ship and use the relatively safe shipping routes of Hope Island."
"Yes, Big Brother, I understand. And a few more years later, I will then become a Fleet Captain! By then, all of Hope Island's shipping routes will be under our Rothschild Family's banner."
Bang!
Conor slammed his hand on the table. His furious gaze landed on the red-headed young man. "What are you talking about?! This is all for the Governor's sake!"
"Yes, yes, yes..." the red-headed young man hurriedly nodded, and his expression changed as he said, "This is all for the Governor's sake. It was just a joke; don't be mad."
Conor took a sip of his hot coffee and said, "Go back and rest. I don't want to hear you say that again."
The red-headed young man nodded obediently and got up to leave.
Conor remained seated and savored his coffee. Eventually, he picked up a sugar cube and placed it in front of the mouse hole in the corner of the study.
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