Chapter 231. A Letter
August 7, 12th Year of Crossing Over
I've managed to return to my island. The voyage to the Southern Seas was a long journey. Laesto told me that most of the crew members were suffering from auditory hallucinations. They've received treatment, but they still needed plenty of rest.
I also need to rest. I don't want to hear those murmurs again, and I don't want to experience that feeling of unease ever again.
On the return trip back, I was planning on bringing Anna back to Hope Island, but I couldn't find her when we passed by World's Crown. She said she had some things she had to handle, so she's probably away to take care of those things.
I left her a letter, and it contained information I had recently acquired. I asked her to let me know that she's safe once she's back. I wonder what she's up to recently. For some reason, I feel like she's hiding something from me.
Is it perhaps related to those Haikors wearing triangular hats? I'm not sure, but the possibility was high, as their god is a monster.
After writing his entry, Charles allowed the ink to dry before closing the diary. He was using a new diary, as his old diary had run out of pages.
"Lily, tell your friends to visit the Divine Light Order. I want you to ask if the Pope finally has time," Charles said. He had been wanting to ask about his next destination, but he was told that the Pope was at the Divine Light Grand Cathedral, busy with many things.
Charles wondered just how busy a 120-year-old elderly man could be.
Lily nodded and put down her pen. She squealed twice at the mice next to her, and a few of them soon rushed out.
"Charles, my mom gave birth. What gift do you think I should give her?"
"Well, you can't go and see them, so how about you tell your mice friends to send some gold over to them?"
"But my dad's salary has increased, so I don't think they lack money. What if I give a toy gun as a gift? Boys like guns, after all," Lily asked.
Charles was no longer listening to Lily. He had just picked up a few documents on the table, and he was now reading them.
The documents were prepared by the financial department, and they contained detailed reports about the events that had transpired on the island during his absence.
Most of the reports were the usual affairs and figures such as revenue, the island's population, and the estimated resource requirement to achieve the next island's next development milestone.
Charles had to admit that he wasn't great when it came to numbers. His head soon started throbbing as he skimmed through the numbers. He forced himself to read every single document, as he was the Governor of the island.
When he was done, he stood up and walked over to the sunny balcony next to him. The only place that had a balcony with direct sunlight on Hope Island was the place where Charles lived, and it was made especially for him.
Charles took a deep breath and looked around. The dense, towering buildings ahead of him stood beneath custom-made canopies despite their heights.
The Subterranean Seascape's technology had finally reached the level of building towering skyscrapers. Unfortunately, the canopies that were necessary to block out the sun meant that Hope Island could only expand horizontally.
Charles continued looking around and realized that more houses had been constructed in his absence. None of the passersby noticed Charles' gaze from above, and they were all looking down, minding their own business.
There were quite a few people talking to each other in groups of three or five, each had a newspaper in hand.
Charles turned to the other streets and found that the security guards weren't chasing away those who were dressed humbly. It was all because of the law Charles had passed down; the city center was open to everyone.
Anyone could enter and exit the city center anytime they wished, but it wasn't like Charles was being kind. He had first-hand experience of being driven away, and he disliked the feeling; that was all.
Charles swept his gaze across the buildings and the passersby, and for the first time, Charles thought that he was indeed the master of this island.
Just then, Charles' eyes caught the figure of a man wearing a black suit. His clothes differed from the passersby, so he stuck out like a sore thumb. Charles recognized the man; only his vampire sailor Audric could do such a thing, after all.
The sunlight wouldn't reduce Audric to ashes so long as he avoided direct sunlight, but even the faintest ray of sunlight was enough to scorch the vampire and inflict excruciating pain.
Audric had to wear thick clothes that would cover every part of his body if he were to remain on Hope Island. Among the crew members, it was unfortunate, but Audric was the only one whose life hadn't improved that much.
Audric seemed to have sensed Charles' gaze. He looked up and gesticulated with his hands, indicating that he was about to go drink before walking into a tavern.
The door creaked behind Charles, and a man walked in. He was the governor's steward, and Charles had actually forgotten his name.
However, Charles remembered that the man was a professional whose job was to handle the Governor's Mansion's affairs in an orderly manner.
"What's wrong?" Charles asked.
"A letter from the Isle of Whereto arrived during your absence, Governor," the man said. He handed over a letter to Charles and quickly walked out of the sunlight after doing so.
Jack Cavendish? Cavendish? This surname sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. Charles emerged from his thoughts and opened the envelope. He took out the letter and started reading it.
To Mr. Charles Reed, the Governor of Hope Island.
My name is Jack, and I'm Margaret's brother. Perhaps you've forgotten her, so let me give you a hint that will help you remember her—you used her to extort five million Echo out of my father.
When you went mad, she found you in the midst of lunatics and took you home. It was my first time seeing my sister taking care of someone else; she fed you meals by hand, and she personally washed away the filth on your body. She took meticulous care of you, but you actually forgot her?
I despise you as a fellow man—I despise you a lot. Where have your manners as a gentleman gone? If you don't believe me, you can ask your crew members and the first person you saw upon waking up.
For the sake of winning over allies, my father is forcing Margaret to marry a seventy-year-old man. Are you really willing to let the young woman who had saved your life suffer and cry helplessly beneath the crotch of an old man?
If you still have even the tiniest vestiges of shame in your heart, then please come to the Isle of Whereto as soon as possible. Ah, bring Hope Island's navy fleet with you.
Jack Cavendish
There were a few photos that accompanied the letter, and they were shots taken surreptitiously. The photos depicted a beautiful young woman carefully feeding water to the bearded Charles, and her big, clear eyes were full of warmth and concern. A few photos also depicted the beautiful young woman smiling while helping Charles onto a wheelchair.
Charles' brows furrowed as he stared at the young woman. He finally remembered seeing her standing in front of him when he returned to Hope Island for the first time in years.
However, Charles found it hard to believe that the beautiful young woman in the photos was the same young woman he had met back then. The latter at the time was as timid as a little bunny, so the incongruity made Charles frown.
Why did Anna hide this from me? Wait, no, considering Anna's personality, she had already done Margaret an exceptional favor by not swallowing that young girl whole.
Charles turned to the mouse that had climbed onto his shoulder and was peeking at the letter in his hand.
"Lily, tell the crew members to come over here. I want to ask them something," he said.
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