Chapter 438: Follow-up
Charles stood frowning in the reception room of the Governor's Mansion. His gaze was on the hunchbacked old woman right in front of him. The hunchbacked old woman's face was covered in blue tattoos, looking utterly bizarre.
However, the hunchbacked old woman's actions were more bizarre and terrifying than her appearance.
Tobba, staring out into space, sat frozen in front of the hunchbacked old woman as saliva dripped down the corner of his lips.
He remained unmoving as the hunchbacked old woman inserted a long needle between his fingernail and nail bed. Moments later, the hunchbacked old woman spat a mouthful of foul-smelling blue smoke.
The smoke wrapped around Tobba, and the blood dripping down Tobba's finger blackened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Sitting next to Charles, Bandages leaned over and whispered something into the latter's ear. He was no longer covered in bandages, and was once again clad in the distinct green uniform of Hope Island's mail carriers.
Charles frowned upon hearing Bandages' words, and he would nod quietly from time to time as Bandages whispered more words into his ears.
Just then, the blue smoke around Tobba retracted rapidly into the hunchbacked old woman's mouth.
"My apologies, Governor. I'm afraid I can't do anything about his condition," the hunchbacked old woman said respectfully toward Charles.
Charles didn't seem surprised at the remark. The hunchbacked old woman wasn't the first one, after all. Charles waved his hand lightly, and the hunchbacked old woman retreated.
We've tried everything, but it seems that they can't resolve what Anna can't resolve either, Charles thought. He walked up to Tobba and yanked the old man off the ground.
Even Anna and Linda couldn't do anything about Tobba's condition. Bandages was always eager to try other methods, but the results weren't exactly satisfactory.
"What about the Fhtagn Covenant?" Charles asked his First Mate. "Is there anything there that can resolve Tobba's condition?"
Bandages silently shook his head. Then, he walked up to Tobba and supported the latter along with Charles. After helping Tobba up, the two then sat down and stared at the drooling Tobba in front of them.
"I've had the steward prepare a house for Tobba and a group of servants to take care of him. If we truly can't cure him, then let's just let him retire on Hope Island," Charles said, sighing at Tobba's fate.
Charles had never really used Tobba's special ability as the Narwhale's Navigator, but Tobba was still a companion with whom he had gone through many life-and-death situations with.
"Captain what exactly happened back then?" Bandages asked.
Charles didn't feel any need to hide anything from his First Mate. He recounted everything that happened to him inside another perspective.
"The Tobba over there he might have been taken away by that 'chalkboard eraser,'" Bandages said.
"I thought so, too, but don't you think this is a bit strange?" Charles said, reaching out to flip Tobba's eyelids with his prosthetic hand. Tobba's eyeballs rotated in response to Charles' actions.
"If that were truly the case, how come Tobba is still alive? At the very least, Tobba should be in a vegetative state. How come he can still take care of himself?" Charles pointed out.
"Perhaps it has something to do with him being a living relic"
"Maybe, but that fact isn't really going to help Tobba right now."
"How about we contact the 'King' of Sottom? They lived together for a long time so perhaps the 'King' may know something."
Bandages' words reminded Charles of 134 from the City of Chaos. 134's creepy smile flashed through Charles' mind. "Forget it. I'm not going to make any deals with them unless necessary."
Charles had stolen their resources and occupied their island. He was also the reason Sottom was forced to roam after losing their headquarters on Skywater Island.
Considering what Charles had done, he didn't even need to think twice about their attitude toward him. To make matters worse, one of their people had lost his mind under Charles' watch.
"Come to think of it, where did Sottom go? Last time I heard about them was that they were somewhere in the Western Seas," Charles stood up from the stool and sat down on a nearby sofa.
Bandages looked up at Charles and replied, "Docked at the Isle of Whereto I think they struck up a deal with Governor Margaret helping her reclaim Wheretoand they succeeded"
"Margaret" Charles muttered. The image of a pure and lovely young woman flashed through his mind.
"Did something happen between the two of you?" Bandages asked.
"No, I'm not that promiscuous Anna is jealous by nature," Charles replied as he shook his head. Then, he stood up from the sofa and turned to look at Bandages. "It's almost noon. How about you stay here and have lunch with me?"
To Charles' surprise, Bandages shook his head. "No, Mother is at home waiting for me with food that she cooked"
Bandages directly turned around and left, ignoring Charles' awkward expression.
Fortunately, Charles didn't end up having a lonely lunch. Tobba ate lunch with Charles, and the former ate with relish.
On the same afternoon, Charles accompanied Tobba to a luxurious mansion not too far away from the Governor's Mansion.
A steward with six maids and six manservants stood in the massive front courtyard, waiting for Charles. They were the best in their industry, and Charles had hired them to take care of Tobba.
"He's my navigator. Take care of him and make sure that he's not going to suffer even the slightest grievance. If you notice any abnormalities, report it to me immediately," Charles said to the young steward before him.
"Rest assured, Governor. I'm a professional," the young steward lowered his head to avoid Charles' sharp gaze. He felt the implied threat in the Governor's words.
It was true that serving a master with intellectual issues was easy. Moreover, they could even bully their master a bit; it wouldn't be a big deal, as the master in question had an intellectual issue, after all.
However, the Governor of Hope Island had hired them personally. If the Governor found out that they had been bullying his navigator, the punishment they'd receive wouldn't be just getting fired.
Charles watched as the maids guided and supported Tobba through the front door of the luxurious mansion. When they disappeared from sight, Charles got into the back seat of his car.
"To the Relic Research Institute."
The car set off toward its destination. Charles looked out the window and noticed a gradual change in the atmosphere as they approached their destination. The number of islanders on the streets outside decreased gradually while Charles saw more and more navy soldiers carrying weapons.
When Charles alighted from the car, the navy soldiers standing in front of the Relic Research Institute's building straightened their backs and gripped their weapons tightly.
Charles didn't mind the tension and looked up. The construction site next to him was almost done with construction. They were working faster than Charles had imagined.
This is still a bit too small. A factory complex like what I saw on the Albion Isles is going to eat up half of Hope Island, Charles thought. The current Relic Research Institute and its auxiliary facilities occupied the southeastern corner of Hope Island.
It was heavily guarded, and it appeared to be a military base at first impression.
The people inside the facility responded quickly to Charles' arrival, and their speed exceeded his expectations. Charles turned a corner and found a line of people standing on both sides of the corridor to greet him.
Charles swept his gaze across them and saw that there were all new faces.
Clad in a white coat, Linda appeared at the end of the corridor. "Captain, why are you here?"
"I'm here to see if there's any progress. Any breakthroughs over the past few months?" Charles asked. He walked up to Linda, and the two walked down the corridor, leaving behind the long line of people at the entrance.
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