Chapter 338. Sailing Preparations
Charles' gaze seemed transfixed on the ants as they crawled in and out of the nest. "Are humans destined to be nothing more than ants in their eyes?"
"No, of course not! The great Light God is different. He is a great being, a merciful—"
"Enough!" Charles interrupted the Pope just as the latter was about to start preaching about the Divine Light Order.
"If you don't know a solution, then just tell me. Why bother with this nonsense?" Charles asked with a look of annoyance.
"No, there's a solution. Your issue will be resolved once you find the exit to the surface world. As I told you, the almighty Light God would break free of His restraints once the exit to the surface world is found.
"By then, a snap of His fingers would be enough to remove Edikth's gaze on you."
Charles briefly revealed a contemptuous look toward the Pope. In the end, the Pope's tirade was all for the sake of making Charles set sail once more as soon as possible. Realizing that, Charles turned around and walked away without looking back.
"Hurry up, my child. Don't make me urge you on!" the Pope yelled. He stared as Charles walked out of the banana plantation. Once Charles was out of his sight, he put his hands behind his back and started walking toward the cathedral, looking like an ordinary old man.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the cathedral, he saw a follower reading a newspaper released internally by the Divine Light Order to its congregation.
My dear brothers and fellow devotees! The evil crimes of the Fhtagn Covenant have been revealed to the world, and their numbers are shrinking rapidly, even in their major dioceses! Their desolate dioceses have been taken over by our hard-working fellow evangelists!
Of course, the majority of the credit belongs to none other than His Holiness the Pope. Our cameras have captured the moment His Holiness pierced Ronker with the great spires. The prestige of our congregation has increased greatly, all thanks to the publicity that those photos have brought upon us.
It is with great joy that I inform you of the rapid increase in our congregation's population! Our inventory of blessing needles has proven insufficient, so our artisans are working around the clock to produce more!
At this rate, our congregation will exceed ten million people in just three months. Long live the Light God!
The follower reading the newspaper couldn't hold back his excitement. His hands quivered violently, and when his eyes landed on the last line, he threw his head back and roared, "Long live the Light God!"
Just then, the follower noticed the Pope standing behind him. He immediately looked down and held out the newspaper with trembling hands.
The Pope smiled and patted the man's head gently without taking away the newspaper. He sidestepped and walked into the cathedral, making a beeline for the prayer hall.
The Pope walked with a spring in his steps, and he seemed unable to conceal the joy on his face. In the end, he started humming a tune as he continued walking toward the prayer hall.
Meanwhile, Charles' mood was completely opposite to that of the Pope's mood. He seemed to be in deep contemplation as he entered the quiet Governor's Mansion.
He was thinking about the Pope's words. The Pope's ant theory couldn't be taken at face value. After all, the Fhtagn Covenant and the Divine Light Order were mortal enemies, so it wouldn't be strange for the Pope to disparage the former.
If the Divinities truly didn't care about mankind, why did Bandages' sacrificial ritual result in him getting cursed after running out of offerings? And why had a Divinity come to the Albion Isles after Swann had sacrificed the entire island?
Humans aren't ants, and even if I were an ant, attacking them with my pinchers is still going to hurt! Charles thought but was quickly astonished by the fact that the thought had even come to him. Had Anna truly led him astray?
Charles revealed a faint smile. He took two quick steps to reach the door to his bedroom. He then reached out for the doorknob and twisted it lightly while saying, "Anna, I almost let you—"
Charles couldn't finish his sentence, as the bedroom was empty. He put his hand down and exhaled at length. He finally walked into the bedroom and cleaned it up. For some reason, he could hear Anna's melodious voice along with Sparkle's shouts.
Perhaps settling down with her here in the Subterranean Seascape isn't that bad of a choice. Charles thought.
Just then, a cacophony of footsteps echoed behind him. Charles turned around and saw James, Lily, Audric, Weister, Feuerbach, and the remaining crew members of the Narwhale.
The group of people squeezed in through the door and packed the bedroom to the brim.
"Captain! We've made a unanimous decision, and we all agreed that we couldn't let things be—that woman is just too dangerous for us to ignore! Didn't you say that she has never altered your memories? Let's make Mr. Finn test that out.
"He's quite skilled in that field as well, so we'll all know whether she has truly altered your memories or not!" James exclaimed with a grave look.
"My dear, my subordinates told me that you're treating a sphere of floating eyeballs as your daughter. I'm not saying this because I want to monopolize you, but that woman must have altered your memories," someone said. Charles instantly recognized the voice, and it belonged to Elizabeth.
Charles tilted his head slightly to see Elizabeth standing behind his crew members, along with the old mage, Finn Gunther. Charles smiled wryly and was convinced that if Anna were still here, things would have gotten quite violent.
"I'm sorry, but you guys came here for nothing. Anna has already left," Charles said.
"No way! I announced a lockdown and made sure that not even a fishing boat can leave the docks!"
Charles placed the folded bedsheet in his hand on the bed and said, "All right, all right. Don't waste your energy on something unnecessary. Anyway, I'm sure you guys have gotten enough rest, so we're going to set sail in five days.
"Chief Engineer, prepare the necessary fuel for our next voyage. Boatswain, replace the mooring ropes and inspect the condition of the ship. Cook, prepare our food supplies. Second Mate, get ready to plot our route with me."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" the Chief Engineer, the Boatswain, the Cook, and the Second Mate exclaimed. The crew members then exchanged glances before turning around and rushing outside to perform their duties.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth walked up to Charles, and her wide shoulder grazed Charles' shoulder as she looked down at Charles and asked, "Is she really no longer here?"
"What's the point of lying to you? I told you that she's left, so she's no longer here," Charles replied.
"Is that so?" Elizabeth's soft figure leaned on Charles as she muttered, "Does that mean we have five days to spend together?"
The air between them was starting to become inappropriate, so Charles hurriedly said, "Come on now, we're not alone here."
"Ahem!" Finn standing at the door cleared his throat to make his presence known before attempting to slip away.
"Ah, Mr. Finn. Stay here, I need your help on something," Charles said.
"You're too polite, Governor Charles. Please do not hesitate to tell me if you need anything. We're allies, after all, so I will lend you a helping hand to the best of my abilities," Finn replied.
"Do you have the ingredients necessary to make a Soul Congealing Potion?" Charles asked.
***
The damp prison cells of Hope Island were all empty; every single prisoner had been taken out for the sake of manual labor, so Charles' footsteps were slightly louder than normal as they echoed throughout the desolate underground prison.
An audible click echoed as the prison guard standing next to the innermost steel door opened it for Charles.
"Stand up!" Charles roared, startling the prison guard.
The prison guard retreated whilst trembling.
"You're finally here, Captain!" Dipp exclaimed. He put down the book in his hand and stared calmly at the crowd before him. "I thought you were going to lock me up for the rest of my life."
Charles' expression was complex as he stared at his former boatswain. After a while, Charles asked, "Remember the plan to turn me into a Deep Dweller? Which one of your personas proposed it?"
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