Shrouded Seascape

Night fell over Hope Island...

Holding a square glass of whiskey in his hand, Charles stood on the balcony of the Governor's Mansion. His sight was on the sea waters that had seemed to encroach farther inland since the last time he saw it.

Sleep eluded him as his mind was consumed by thoughts of the mother and child he had encountered earlier today. Charles turned around to see his daughter seated on the bed and engrossed in her book.

Sparkle never seemed to need sleep. Every night, she would read until dawn.

Just then, vines adorned with black leaves climbed up the balcony and coiled around the ledge. Bandages scaled the vines and stepped onto the balcony.

"Captain… you… are hesitating…?"

Charles took a brief glance at Bandages before retrieving a glass from the table beside and filling it with whiskey. He handed it over to his first mate and asked, "How do you know?"

Accepting the drink, Bandages answered, "The respite… has been too long… something's not right…"

Charles lowered his head and let out a dry chuckle. "You sure know me well. Actually, when Lily was once again taken away by the Pope, I started thinking if I had made a mistake.

"I no longer have a home. All of you are my family now, but I keep putting my own family in danger. I'm too selfish."

Bandages shook his head. "We joined the crew… not because of… your orders… nor for… ourselves… It's for… our families… the rising sea levels… threatens everyone…

"Everyone… wants to save… their loved ones… their families in the… Subterranean Sea."

Charles tightened his grip on the whiskey glass. A hint of melancholy underlined his voice as he remarked, "It's not the first time Anna has told me to stop exploring the surface. Our relationship has been strained lately because of it. Even my daughter, Sparkle, has been pleading with me to stay.

"Although I have yet to say anything, I'm actually wavering a bit. However, something happened today that made me realize a certain fact.

"If I have been asking others to leave their families behind and risk their lives on the surface to save the Subterranean Sea, then I have no right to hide in their shadows and command them from the rear.

"This is important because I'm the leader. Only by going up there and being there in person with the others would everyone work together as heroes in saving the Subterranean Sea.

"If I stay down below, they'll just be cannon fodders being sent to their deaths!"

A look of resolve reignited in Charles' gaze. "If saving the Subterranean Sea requires everyone to make some sacrifices, then I should be part of that as well!"

Bandages raised his glass toward Charles' glass. A stiff smile appeared on his otherwise expressionless face.

"To… Hope Island's… Governor… Charles."

"To Hope Island's Admiral, Weister!"

Their glasses clinked softly in the night air before both men downed the contents in their respective cups.

Bandages walked over to the nearby table, picked up the bottle, and poured more whiskey into his glass. "Linda… said… you've lost your humanity…I disagree… I know you… Your humanity…won't be easily gone…just because… of a simple change…in appearance."

"Humanity or not, I don't care. I just want this to end as soon as possible," Charles replied.

The conversation between the two men didn't go unheard by Sparkle in the room. A hint of sadness crossed her delicate face. She closed her book with a heavy thud and threw it forcefully onto the pillow beside her

Meanwhile, Charles and Bandages drank glass after glass on the balcony. Moments of leisure when they could allow themselves to converse freely about anything and everything were rare.

It didn't take long before the bottle was empty. Despite feeling a little tipsy, Charles wanted more. He poked his head into the room and called out, "Sparkle, get me a bottle of hard liquor from the cellar!"

"No! It's late! Your teeth will rot if you drink more!" Sparkle grumbled

"Come on, good girl. Your Uncle Bandages is here, too. Don't embarrass me, just one bottle. Please!"

Before Sparkle could vanish to fetch the alcohol, a dirty hand suddenly grasped the edge of the balcony. The two men instinctively reached for their weapons.

"Don't just freeze there! Help pull me up!" A familiar voice sounded.

Charles' heart leaped with joy upon recognizing the voice. He and Bandages grabbed an arm each, and with a collective heave, they pulled the person up onto the balcony.

The man had a bed of messy white hair, coupled with a bushy white beard and a face full of wrinkles. He was no doubt Tobba, the former Navigator of the Narwhale, whom Charles had retired upon going mad.

"Tobba! It's been so long; you finally found your way back from the other perspective?" Charles asked.

A look of despondence appeared on Tobba's face as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a bunch of crumpled newspaper rabbits. "So many of them… they're all worn out. I'm soooo exhausted."

Hearing the eccentric reply from Tobba, Charles couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle. After a long stretch of bad news, there was finally something positive.

The return of an old member of the Narwhale was indeed a rare and welcoming event.

"Alright, since you're now back, come back aboard. I hope your sometimes accurate, sometimes misleading foresight will be useful in the surface world that is even more bizarre than the Subterranean Sea." Charles reached out and brushed the breadcrumbs away from Tobba's face.

Charles was about to retract his hand when Tobba grabbed it tightly. The sense of urgency on Tobba's face was unmistakable as he said, "Hurry! Get to the deck! You're the captain, and you must be the captain! The old captain is dead, and the new captain has to be you!"

"Huh?" Charles' brows knitted together as he stared at the old man. "Do you mean to tell me to continue exploring? What did you see in the future?"

Tobba suddenly let go of Charles' hand and headed into the room. At the same time, he slipped back into his erratic behavior.

Charles knew Tobba's words couldn't be taken literally. His words sounded mad and incomprehensible because they had been twisted after being refracted from another perspective. From past experiences, he knew that Tobba's predictions carried hidden meanings.

Catching Tobba as he was thrown out by Sparkles' tentacles, Charles said, "I was going to continue regardless, but can you explain a little more clearly? When you say 'deck,' do you mean the literal deck, or is that some sort of metaphor?"

However, Tobba ignored Charles' question. He turned to look at Charles with a gaze that made him look pitiful and asked, "Do you have any food? I'm hungry."

Charles let out a soft sigh. Tobba's prophecies were always so vague and cryptic. Even knowing they contained important information, deciphering them was a daunting task.

It would be ideal to find someone capable of deciphering Tobba's ramblings. Previously, 068 had the ability to interpret them, but the mobile city had been completely contaminated on the surface.

While Charles and Bandages watched Tobba devour his food voraciously, they suddenly noticed a group of people standing on the balcony.

Julio stood at the forefront of the group. Judging from their demeanor, they were clearly not to be trifled with.

"You're finally here!" Charles rose to his feet.

"You called me here to deal with the Pope and rescue your crew member?" Julio asked with a strange expression.

"Yes."

"But your crew member has already returned. She's now at the Colossal Hole Fortress."

"What?! Lily has been resurrected?! I haven't seen her in so long!" Tobba exclaimed excitedly with his mouth stuffed full of bread.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

And my favorite comical relief is back!!!

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