Shrouded Seascape

Charles was alone on his way to the Explorers Association. He had left Lily behind at the tavern. The young girl was still in low spirits and he hoped that time would alleviate her pains.

The moment Charles entered the Association, his gaze instinctively fell upon the corner sofa. This time, there were fewer captains present, four to be exact. And one of them was the beautiful giantess, Elizabeth.

"My dear Charles, I'm here." Elizabeth waved enthusiastically.

Charles didn't approach her, but pointed to the counter instead. He wanted to settle some administrative matters first.

"Here's the information about that island." Charles handed over his written records to the staff behind the counter.

"Did you… Did you really go there?" the female staff behind the counter asked in disbelief.

"Hurry up, I don't have time to waste," Charles impatiently urged the unfamiliar staff before him.

"So-Sorry! It's my first day at work. Please wait a moment while I consult my supervisor."

Soon enough, a middle-age man wearing round glasses and a suit approached. He flashed a smile at Charles before picking up the piece of document and carefully examined the contents. He even retrieved a few books in his possession and compared the document with them.

After a while, he left out a sigh of relief and said respectfully, "Thank you for your tremendous contribution to the Association. We have managed to disperse the fog over a portion of the unknown mysteries of the Subterranean Sea."

"How much is my compensation this time?"

"For the exploration of a Danger Level 5 island, along with the detailed report you have written, your total compensation is 1.6 million Echos. After deducting the taxes imposed by the Governor, you will receive a final amount of 1.45 million Echo."

Honestly speaking, Charles was astonished by the figure the man gave. He had never expected that exploring an island would be so lucrative. With that amount, he could easily buy a two-story house with a front yard on the Coral Archipelago.

However, at the thought of the numerous life-and-death crises he had faced on the island, he felt that he truly deserved such a large amount of money. After all, he had risked his life for it.

"Mr. Charles, you provided us with your bank account information when you previously filled up our application form. We will directly deposit the amount into your bank account, would that be alright with you?"

"Alright," Charles replied and turned toward the direction of the sofa. He had other matters to attend to today.

"What happened to your eye?" Charles asked as he pointed at a black eyepatch that was over Elizabeth's left eye. It made her look like a pirate.

"I lost an eye. Phew. That island is too dangerous. It's already fortunate enough that I managed to come back. It was terrifying." Elizabeth naturally leaned closer to Charles. Despite her words, there was no sign of her fear on her visage.

"Why are there so few people here today?" Charles glanced at the other three unfamiliar faces.

"The captains usually dock on Saturday afternoon and would gather here after. During other times, it's mostly just a few of us. Hmm? Why are you wearing a ring on your ring finger? Did you get married? Oh, my heart is breaking." Elizabeth playfully traced her finger over Charles's ring.

Charles raised his left hand and waved it before Elizabeth's face. "It's just a piece of relic. Elizabeth, how are relics traded among Explorers?"

Hearing Charles' words, the other three captains immediately turned their curious gazes toward him.

"Usually, the trading takes place on Saturday afternoons, when everyone is gathered. But you can take them out now for us to have a look. If they are valuable, I can offer an appropriate price," said the disheveled young man. He held a bottle of hard liquor in his hand and had a gloomy expression. His clothes were stained with spilled liquor, and even from two meters away, Charles could detect the acrid stench emanating from him.

Charles took out the remaining two relics and placed them on the table.

The group of four, including Elizabeth, carefully examined the relics. After a while, the intoxicated young man spoke up.

"Unappraised relics usually don't have a fixed price, but let's be friends, hic~ Three hundred thousand Echo for each relic. I want them both."

It was a huge gamble of sorts. After all, no one knew the uses or drawbacks of both relics. If the price to pay for using the relic was too huge, it was equivalent to spending money to buy trouble home.

"The price is reasonable," Elizabeth whispered into Charles' ear. Her red lips were almost touching his earlobe and Charles could feel her breath.

"Alright, deal." Charles shifted aside.

"My name's William. We can deal again next time. When you have more relics." The intoxicated young chap then took out a packet of red power and poured it into the bottle before tilting his head back to consume it.

William then started convulsing, much to Charles' puzzlement. He turned to look at Elizabeth.

"Don't worry. It's just Joyfruit power. He has been taking that thing for half a year."

Is that some kind of drug? A suspicion flashed through Charles' mind when he saw William's nose and eyes stream with tears and mucus.

However, he didn't concern himself too much with the affairs of other captains. He turned to the towering beauty next to him.

"Do you still have some of the jelly to eliminate auditory hallucinations? I need to buy some," Charles asked.

Though the occurrence of his auditory hallucinations was not frequent, they were still bothersome when they happened.

"I still have some, but eating that stuff can be addictive. If you stop eating it, you will die a terrible death," Elizabeth warned.

"Do you have any other way to alleviate this nuisance?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth responded swiftly. "As long as you stay on land, the problem will be resolved."

Charles immediately dismissed this solution from his mind. No matter what, he would never resort to staying on an island forever.

After conversing with the other captains for a while, Charles glanced at the clock and stood up. "Miss Elizabeth, please bring some on Saturday. I will purchase it from you. It's getting late, we can chat next time."

The moment Charles stepped out of the door, Elizabeth stood up and followed him. An enigmatic smile appeared on her visage.

Standing at the pier and watching the laborers busily moving goods in the distance, Charles didn't know what to do next.

"Right, I need to buy a pocket watch."

By the time Charles returned to his room in the tavern, there was already a gleaming golden pocket watch nestled inside the inner pocket of his coat.

He pushed the door open to be welcomed by a chaotic swarm of mice scurrying about.

"Mr. Charles, you are back…" The once bright and lively Lily was now lying soullessly on the bed.

Charles gently patted Lily on the head before he walked to his desk and started writing his diary.

In her curiosity, Lily dragged herself over to take a peak, but she quickly grew disinterested. She couldn't decipher any of those circled and squared characters on the page.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of knocking echoed through the small room.

Charles threw a hinting glance at Lily, and the mice scattered in an instant and scurried into all corners of the room. In a mere few seconds, Charles was now alone in his room.

The moment Charles opened the door, he was greeted with a voluptuous bosom that bounced before him. He lifted his gaze and saw the towering beauty, Elizabeth.

"My love, why are you staying at a place like this? The soundproofing here is not that great," Elizabeth said, her tone carrying a hint of sexual suggestion.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

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