Shrouded Seascape

"If you go there, remember to never go near those islands. It's best if you avoid traversing the sea around them," the old man advised.

However, Charles didn't really think that the old man's additional information was important. After all, those Haikors, who have defected, would have no reason to approach those islands.

The old man then told Charles more about the Sea of Mist.

Charles learned a lot about the Foundation's territory through Elizabeth's grandfather. From the old man's words, Charles became convinced that the Haikor Tribe was like a smokescreen that the Foundation had unleashed to obscure the truth from everyone, or it could also be said that they were a front.

If one wanted to keep a secret, then one ought to go about it in a lax but measured way. If one wanted to hide a tree, one ought to hide it in a forest. One could then make the others believe that there wasn't anything special in the forest.

The Haikor Tribe had been living throughout the eight islands on the fringes of the Sea of Mist. They had lived there long enough that whenever people were talking about the Sea of Mist, they'd always talk about a group of eccentric giants worshiping bizarre-looking monsters as gods.

Anyone wouldn't think that the islands deep inside the Sea of Mist actually housed an organization as powerful as the Divinities of the Subterranean Sea, and they would also definitely not think that such an organization had been nurturing, guiding, and observing them like guinea pigs.

Charles was like that back then. He had been to the Sea of Mist, but he never once thought that the New Foundation's headquarters was somewhere within it.

Once the old man was done talking, Charles nodded and rolled up the nautical chart before turning around to leave.

He had achieved his goal, and he reckoned that the Fhtagn Covenant's spy plan would go smoother and faster, all thanks to the information that he had obtained today.

The old man looked at his departing figure and pried away his granddaughter's hand. "Go, Liz. No matter what he wants to do, provide him with as much help as possible. We're all in the same boat now, after all."

Elizabeth looked at her grandfather with a complex gaze. She nodded slightly before following closely behind Charles. She saw Charles standing outside while talking to his daughter Sparkle.

"Thank your grandfather for me. Anyway, I'm done here, so I'm leaving first," Charles said calmly, and he placed his prosthetic hand on his daughter's shoulder.

Elizabeth was immediately anxious, and she hurriedly said, "Are you really that busy? Can't you spare even a bit of time for a meal? Are you just going to leave after obtaining what you want? What are me and my grandfather in your eyes? Your tools?"

Noticing Charles' hesitation, Elizabeth rushed over and pulled him toward the Governor's Mansion.

"Sparkle, pick your up father tomorrow! He has something to do today!!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

In the end, Charles stayed to spend some quality time with Elizabeth. It had truly been quite a while since they last saw each other, and it was all due to the fact that Charles had to go to the surface world to look for the darkness.

"Try this. This is a specialty of Elizarles Shores. You won't be able to find this anywhere else," Elizabeth said, pushing a wooden tray across the water of the circular pool made out of white marble.

The wooden tray floated over to Charles, who was inside the pool as well. The wooden tray carried a plate containing what looked like fried chicken nuggets, but the "nuggets" were scorched black rather than golden in color.

At first glance, it seemed like the "nuggets" were fried just a bit longer than expected.

"When I was just exploring this island, I didn't really find anything special except for that thing capable of animating just about anything," Charles remarked.

He then picked up one of the "nuggets" and chewed on it. His eye reflected a hint of surprise after just a few bites. The "nuggets" were tender inside while crispy on the outside.

It was also incredibly juicy; it was unlike any other dish he had tasted throughout the Subterranean Sea.

"How is it? Don't you regret saying that you're going to leave so soon?" Elizabeth asked with a hint of pride on her face.

"What meat is this?" Charles said. He picked up another piece and chucked it into his mouth.

"Beef, but it's not your ordinary beef. It's animated beef tenderloin."

"Take two pieces of animated beef, sprinkle them with some seasoning, and then force them to move nonstop. Once their movement reaches a crescendo, immediately put a thin layer of ice between them and dredge them before frying them in some oil."

Charles' chin, which had stopped chewing to listen to Elizabeth, started moving once again. "I'm really surprised to learn that you guys have been using its ability to animate in cooking. You guys are amazing."

"When I first arrived on the island, I thought it was just a headache, but now, that chunk of meat might just be a treasure," Elizabeth said. She swirled the brown liquid in her glass before tilting her head back and chugging it down.

Just then, the bathroom door was pushed open, and eight young girls wearing clothes that were so thin they resembled gauze walked into the bathroom. They entered the pool and knelt next to the two, massaging them gently.

The girls' hands were incredibly soft, and their massage was superb. Charles felt so comfortable sitting in the hot water of the pool while being massaged by the girls that he felt like he was sprawled out in a cloud.

Charles swallowed the fried beef in his mouth and looked up at the bright ceiling.

"You sure know how to enjoy yourself," he remarked.

Elizabeth glanced at him and replied, "This is nothing. And you can enjoy this as well whenever you want to do so. You're a governor, after all."

Charles revealed a self-deprecating smile, saying, "Looks like I still need to give you guys a bit of pressure, otherwise, it's going to be too unfair."

"What did you say?" Elizabeth asked, sounding confused.

Charles wordlessly shook his head. He waved his hand, dismissing the girls around him.

"Don't like them? Want to change to a different batch of women? You can't touch my wives, but you can do as you wish with these women," Elizabeth said as she leaned on Charles.

Charles bent over slightly before standing up straight. The steaming hot water slid down his skin covered in burn marks, stab wounds, and holes of varying sizes. His sturdy muscles were pronounced, but they were covered in scars as well.

His body was strong enough to withstand bullets, but unfortunately, there were too many creatures stronger than mere bullets throughout the Subterranean Sea.

"I have to go. It's bad to become too comfortable in our current situation," Charles remarked.

"Wait, I have something to give you," Elizabeth said. She lifted the rose eye mask covering her eye, and a black and red spider crawled out from behind the eye mask before landing on the back of her hand.

"Charles, you must treat them well. The rising sea levels had caused the extinction of this species of spider, and unfortunately, I don't have that many of them left here," Elizabeth remarked.

Charles stared at the black and red spider and pondered briefly over something before reaching out to it and stuffing it into his empty eye socket.

From now on, Charles no longer had to to live with just one eye.

"Thanks," he said.

Elizabeth's gaze held a hint of reluctance as she stared at Charles' departing figure. "Come and see me whenever you have time. I can't help but keep missing you whenever you're not around!"

Charles laughed boisterously and replied, "How could you have enough time to even miss me when you have dozens of women to handle? I don't even think that I'm in the top ten of your harem.

"Anyway, go back home and wait for the announcement. The Explorers Association should announce something soon."

"Harem? What's a harem?"

In the end, Charles left Elizarles Shores without telling Elizabeth the meaning of the word "harem."

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

Anyone wanna enlighten Elizabeth? XD