Shrouded Seascape

Charles was about to stand up when 005 tilted Her head slightly; instantly, the nervousness and disbelief in his heart inexplicably vanished. Then, they were replaced by curiosity.

"Why are you here?" Charles said, then turned to look at the surveillance camera in the corner of the wall. The Foundation had no reaction to 005's arrival.

"Out of a simple emotion—curiosity. Do you really think that you can deal with the Foundation? Their strength far exceeds your imagination." 005 wasn't using her mouth to speak; her voice echoed directly in Charles' mind.

The cogs in Charles' mind turned as he desperately recalled every single piece of information that he had about 005 in an effort to guess the reason behind her visit. Charles also couldn't help but think that this might be his chance to escape.

"I heard you don't hold any malice toward humans and have a good impression of us. Dealing with the Foundation is going to be very difficult, so did you… come here to help me?" Charles asked hesitantly.

"This is a battle between humans. If I were to help you, wouldn't that be unfair to the other humans?" 005 replied. Then, she added, "I can't intervene, but it doesn't mean that I can't place a bet. How about this? If you achieve victory against the Foundation, I'll grant you two conditional wishes."

Conditional wishes? What exactly does this Divinity want to do? Charles furrowed his brows, trying to guess the other party's motive, but it was impossible for him to make any deductions because he lacked the information to do so.

"Don't overthink it. I'm an outsider. I'm not that involved with the local gods here. I'm just a curious spectator of this chess game, and I know better than to meddle."

With that, 005 abruptly disappeared, leaving Charles all alone. Having been interrupted by 005's sudden visit, Charles no longer had any appetite. He couldn't stop thinking about the reason behind 005's sudden visit.

It was also his first time communicating with a Divinity, and his gut was telling him that 005's reason for her sudden visit was more complex than it appeared.

***

Nene drank a mouthful of the fish soup. She was all smiles and was in a great mood, overall. Her mood was great because her mother was in a great mood, while her mother was in a great mood because the darkness had finally returned.

"Eat quickly, or you'll be late for school. You're already old, so why is it that I still have to wake you up?" Donna grumbled while brushing her daughter's hair with a comb.

Nene's head would tilt back slightly with each brush. Donna's head then tied her smooth hair up, but it was so tight that Nene grumbled, "Mommy, this is too tight for me. Let me just do it myself."

"I'll do it, so just eat quickly," Donna said, gently pushing her daughter's hand away before asking, "Do you want to be late on the first day of school?"

"Mommy, it's fine. Yesterday was the final day of celebrating the return of the darkness. Everyone went crazy last night. I even saw Teacher Jennie getting dead drunk. I'm sure she won't be able to teach us today," Nene said in an attempt to justify herself waking up late today.

"Let's go, let's go. It's almost time. Just put that bread in your pocket and eat it when you get to school," Donna said. She then picked up her daughter as if she were carrying a sack and rushed out of the door.

Upon opening the front door, Donna was greeted by a messy road.

Last night's celebration had left a mess in its wake, but the islanders were all smiles. They didn't mind the mess and were even greeting their neighbors enthusiastically while cleaning up the streets.

The survivors of the recent world-ending crisis truly cherished the hard-earned peace. It seemed that everyone on the island had agreed to set aside their differences, becoming extremely friendly to each other.

Donna hopped on her bicycle, responding to her neighbors' greetings while pedaling as hard as she could. Donna pedaled desperately, and her efforts paid off, as they reached the school before the school bell could ring.

The desolate school was lively once more; the older students, who were sent to work in the factories, were allowed to attend school once more.

When Nene stepped into the classroom, she found it to be a mess. The students were animatedly discussing the awards ceremony held just a few days ago. It couldn't be helped, as it was their first time witnessing so many people in one place.

"As I said, my dad was up there, too! He's a hero who decided to serve on the surface! He's a train driver! You haven't seen a train, right? A train is way cooler than a ship!"

The words of a chubby boy with brown hair drew exclamations from everyone around here. However, Nene didn't really like the chubby boy. Before the classes were postponed, the chubby boy always liked to bully her by tugging at her hair in the middle of class.

The chubby boy's expression became smug at the gasps of amazement around him; it seemed that the reactions of the people nearby had greatly satisfied the little boy's vanity.

"My dad got an iron medal from the Governor's Mansion! And he was also rewarded with a five hundred square meter plot of land on another island!"

Nene hated the smug look on the chubby boy's face, so she couldn't help but remark, "What's so great about that? Michiel's uncle is a crew member of an exploration ship! He's way cooler than your daddy."

Nene's words were like a lightning bolt from out of nowhere, prompting everyone to turn toward a skinny boy with messy hair. The skinny little boy was sporting round glasses and was sitting at a corner desk.

There was a swoosh, and his classmates surrounded him in the proverbial blink of an eye.

"Michiel, is your uncle really a crew member of an exploration ship?! Is he as awesome as those people in the movies?"

"Yeah, Michiel, did your uncle ever defeat any monsters on the surface? Like those legendary man-eating monsters!"

"Michiel, what stories did you hear from your uncle? Can you tell us his stories, too?!"

Michiel seemed incredibly nervous in the face of his classmates' questions. He had always been invisible at school and had never received so much attention until now.

"I don't know. Uncle has been drinking at home ever since he came back. Whenever he gets drunk, he cries and shouts like he's crazy. Mommy and Daddy actually took him to see a doctor today."

The look of anticipation on the children's faces was replaced by doubt in the face of Michiel's honest reply. Michiel's depiction of his uncle was completely different from the explorers depicted in those famous movies and books.

The chubby brown-haired boy walked over and squeezed between Nene and Michiel. Then, he made sure to seem dignified before yelling, "Liar! Your uncle must've been a fake explorer! If he's a real explorer, then let me ask you—what are the rewards that your uncle received at the awards ceremony?"

"H-h-he received a small island and a gold medal."

Everyone gasped in awe and disbelief at Michiel's reply. However, the chubby boy felt he had been outdone, and his face turned red in anger. "No way! How can your uncle possibly receive an island?!"

Michiel became anxious at the chubby boy's words. He truly didn't want everyone to treat him as a liar. "I wasn't lying! He really received an island! There are only three survivors on their ship—the captain, the second mate, and him, so they decided to equally split an island among themselves!

"And my uncle also told me that there are plenty of ownerless islands out there, so it's not surprising for the Esteemed Governor to give away an island in the Southern Seas."

The chubby boy and Michiel ended up arguing with each other, but their argument quickly came to an end when someone leaning by the window exclaimed, "Go back to your seats! Teacher Jennie is coming!"

Everyone rushed back to their seats, and the noisy classroom gradually became silent.

Just as the silence became deafening, a female teacher with messy hair and an agonized look staggered into the classroom with a hand on her head. "Class, class… turn to page fifty-three. Today, we're going to talk about the heroes who decided to explore the surface."

"Teacher, we've already discussed this page!"

"Really? We've already discussed this page? Hmm... wait, my head is hazy. Give me a moment..." Jennie trailed off. Then, she slumped over the podium to sober up, but she eventually started snoring and only woke up when her class was over.

When the school bell rang to signal the end of the final class in the afternoon, the students immediately dispersed, going home in groups of three to five.

The moment Nene stepped out of the school gate, she saw Sparkle standing by the street. Her appearance made everyone do a double take, and some even wept and knelt down before her.

Sparkle ignored the crying people and teleported to Nene's side.

"Where's your coat?" Sparkle asked.

"It's on Teacher Jennie. I was afraid she'd catch a cold by sleeping with her stomach exposed. Anyway, did you come here to play with me, Sparkle?"