Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 528. Feast

In the end, Tobba failed to recover, and his previous words seemed to have been just a bunch of nonsense. However, it could be a sign of his recovery, so Charles considered it a good thing.

As for Lily, Charles had spent a long time researching what was going on with her to no avail. In the end, he decided to temporarily put the matter aside. Inside the first-class cabin of a ship, Lily used all her strength to close the book in front of her.

The large circle of colorful mice beside her quickly brought over another book, but Lily remained dissatisfied. Romance books had created a tiny hill on the large bed, but Lily still couldn't figure out what exactly she wanted to read.

"How much longer until our return? I've already read all these novels twice. Life on the ship is so boring. I really should have brought more books with me."

The golden, shiny mouse turned to look at the deserted room. After tilting her head and pondering briefly, she ran toward the kitchen. It was just in time, as she was feeling a bit hungry. The mischief of mice quickly followed behind her.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, a heat wave pushed Lily back a few steps. A kitchen would always be so hot for Lily that even the floor felt warm to her touch.

The number of cooks required to prepare meals for over a thousand people on the ship was astounding. The cooks moved like a collective unit as they neatly prepared the ingredients necessary for the cooking process.

It was a spectacular sight in Lily's eyes, and she felt like she was in an adult's world as she walked down slowly through the kitchen. Her sensitive nose allowed her to make out the variety of aromatics and scents in the air.

Shrimp, canned meat, mushrooms, and even the rarely seen pickled fruits—the many different scents made Lily drool.

Just as Lily was about to climb up a table leg, a large hand grabbed her and placed her on the table. Immediately afterward, a tiny, sugar-pickled red fruit was stuffed into her little paws.

"Lily, don't explore the kitchen while we're busy. Who knows? Maybe you'll fall into a pot of soup and become one with the dish?" Cook Planck said, his hands stopping not even for a second.

Now that Lily was on a table, she obtained a great vantage point for viewing the entire kitchen. She looked around and saw a variety of delicacies on the table; the variety was definitely not the usual one for lunch.

"Wow, why are you making all this delicious food today? Have you decided to take out everything and cook them?"

"Yes, everything's been taken out. We're almost at the port, so it's meaningless to hold back on using those ingredients. The captain also said that we should hold a feast to celebrate our return. It's a feast, so we have to eat something good."

Taking a small bite of the sugar-pickled fruit, a smile surfaced on Lily's face as she said, "Chef, you look really happy."

"Hahaha, of course, I'm happy. Good days are coming soon, after all. I'll have you know, Lil' Lily, exchanging my leg for a prosthetic one was really worth it," Planck said, patting his prosthetic leg with enough force that his double chin trembled.

"What do you plan to do after returning to the island, Chef?" Lily asked, taking another small bite of the fruit.

"I'm going to use the land that the Governor has bestowed upon me to open my own restaurant. Opening my own restaurant has always been my dream, and the restaurant will only serve dishes that I've created myself!

"Afterward, my next goal is to become the best chef in the entire Subterranean Sea!"

Lily didn't react that much in the face of Planck's declaration, but the cooks nearby revealed envious looks at his remark. They were cooks from the other ships, yet they did not share the same fate. After all, all cooks had the same dream: owning their own restaurant.

"Mmhm!" Lily nodded vigorously and said," When the time comes, Mr. Charles and I will definitely come to your restaurant to try out your dishes!"

"Haha, thank you, Lil' Lily. Just remember that you can't bring your mice friends along. Otherwise, I'm afraid no one will dare to visit my restaurant."

"My mice friends are cute and clean. They take a bath every day, so why can't they go along with me?" Lily asked.

Lily and Planck exchanged small talk while the latter continued to busy himself with preparing food alongside the other cooks.

When Lily was finally done with her tiny sugar-pickled fruit, the cooks finally started serving dishes in the mess hall.

The crew members of both the Narwhale and this ship called Victory soon arrived at the mess hall in groups of three or two, and their faces were filled with excitement.

They were about to go home, so the rules had loosened. In fact, everyone could drink as much alcohol as they wanted today.

Charles raised his glass and downed it in one gulp in front of everyone signaling the start of the feast.

At first, everyone was a bit restrained. After their governor was present.

However, the crew of the Narwhale took the lead, and everyone eventually loosened up, creating a lively atmosphere. Everyone drank heartily, ate meat with gusto, and chatted with each other enthusiastically. The din was so loud that it was reminiscent of the liveliest bar in Hope Island's harbor district rather than the mess hall of a ship.

The racket became even more noisy as people whipped out musical instruments and began playing beneath the cheers of the crew. The atmosphere soon reached its peak, and a few drunk men stood on the tables, dancing and singing silly songs.

The blushing Charles had on a silly grin as well as he raised a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, thrusting them into the air to the beat.

Charles knew that he had never really been the type to partake in something like this. Moreover, he had always been using alcohol to suppress his pain rather than amplify it, but today was his first time doing the latter.

A jovial mood filled the entire cabin. They were about to reach their destination, and the days that felt like years on the ship were finally coming to an end.

Anna sat next to Charles in her long silk dress. She propped her chin with her hand as she gazed at Charles and asked, "Are you happy?"

Charles extended his right hand and wrapped it around Anna's slender waist. Then, he pulled Anna gently into his embrace before kissing her alluring red lips.

"I'm happy! I've never been so happy. My crew has recovered, and I've found my home, so of course, I'm happy!" Charles exclaimed. It was already late, but Charles was too excited, and he gave Anna another passionate kiss.

After a while, Anna slowly retracted her tongue as she wrapped her arms around Charles' neck. Her entire weight was on Charles, and she looked like she was clinging to him.

"I'm happy as long as you're happy," Anna remarked.

"Anna, I love you," Charles replied.

"Mm, I know. I'm tired of hearing that. Tell me something new."

"We still have some time. Shall we try to have another child? This time, I promise to be by your side until you give birth," Charles said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Goodness, have mercy on me..."

As the two whispered more and more sweet nothings to each other, a shrill whistle abruptly echoed from outside the cabin door.

"Guys, come out here and look! We can already see Hope Island! Wow! What is that?!"

Everyone in the cabin staggered their way out and onto the deck with their arms around each other's shoulders. Upon reaching the deck, they were surprised to see a tall tower standing in the middle of Hope Island.

The tower was extremely tall, and it seemed to have reached the rock layer up above the dome. Everyone craned their necks to look up and saw hanging baskets with people inside of them. They seemed to be constructing something.

Charles' exceptional eyesight allowed him to see tracks at the top of the tower. A glance was enough for Charles to deduce its identity. It was a suspended railway; Gordon had built it successfully.