Chapter 338. Sailing Preparations
Charles' gaze seemed transfixed on the ants as they crawled in and out of the nest. "Are humans destined to be nothing more than ants in their eyes?"
"No, of course not! The great Light God is different. He is a great being, a merciful—"
"Enough!" Charles interrupted the Pope just as the latter was about to start preaching about the Divine Light Order.
"If you don't know a solution, then just tell me. Why bother with this nonsense?" Charles asked with a look of annoyance.
"No, there's a solution. Your issue will be resolved once you find the exit to the surface world. As I told you, the almighty Light God would break free of His restraints once the exit to the surface world is found.
"By then, a snap of His fingers would be enough to remove Edikth's gaze on you."
Charles briefly revealed a contemptuous look toward the Pope. In the end, the Pope's tirade was all for the sake of making Charles set sail once more as soon as possible. Realizing that, Charles turned around and walked away without looking back.
"Hurry up, my child. Don't make me urge you on!" the Pope yelled. He stared as Charles walked out of the banana plantation. Once Charles was out of his sight, he put his hands behind his back and started walking toward the cathedral, looking like an ordinary old man.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the cathedral, he saw a follower reading a newspaper released internally by the Divine Light Order to its congregation.
My dear brothers and fellow devotees! The evil crimes of the Fhtagn Covenant have been revealed to the world, and their numbers are shrinking rapidly, even in their major dioceses! Their desolate dioceses have been taken over by our hard-working fellow evangelists!
Of course, the majority of the credit belongs to none other than His Holiness the Pope. Our cameras have captured the moment His Holiness pierced Ronker with the great spires. The prestige of our congregation has increased greatly, all thanks to the publicity that those photos have brought upon us.
It is with great joy that I inform you of the rapid increase in our congregation's population! Our inventory of blessing needles has proven insufficient, so our artisans are working around the clock to produce more!
At this rate, our congregation will exceed ten million people in just three months. Long live the Light God!
The follower reading the newspaper couldn't hold back his excitement. His hands quivered violently, and when his eyes landed on the last line, he threw his head back and roared, "Long live the Light God!"
Just then, the follower noticed the Pope standing behind him. He immediately looked down and held out the newspaper with trembling hands.
"Chief Engineer, prepare the necessary fuel for our next voyage. Boatswain, replace the mooring ropes and inspect the condition of the ship. Cook, prepare our food supplies. Second Mate, get ready to plot our route with me."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" the Chief Engineer, the Boatswain, the Cook, and the Second Mate exclaimed. The crew members then exchanged glances before turning around and rushing outside to perform their duties.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth walked up to Charles, and her wide shoulder grazed Charles' shoulder as she looked down at Charles and asked, "Is she really no longer here?"
"What's the point of lying to you? I told you that she's left, so she's no longer here," Charles replied.
"Is that so?" Elizabeth's soft figure leaned on Charles as she muttered, "Does that mean we have five days to spend together?"
The air between them was starting to become inappropriate, so Charles hurriedly said, "Come on now, we're not alone here."
"Ahem!" Finn standing at the door cleared his throat to make his presence known before attempting to slip away.
"Ah, Mr. Finn. Stay here, I need your help on something," Charles said.
"You're too polite, Governor Charles. Please do not hesitate to tell me if you need anything. We're allies, after all, so I will lend you a helping hand to the best of my abilities," Finn replied.
"Do you have the ingredients necessary to make a Soul Congealing Potion?" Charles asked.
***
The damp prison cells of Hope Island were all empty; every single prisoner had been taken out for the sake of manual labor, so Charles' footsteps were slightly louder than normal as they echoed throughout the desolate underground prison.
An audible click echoed as the prison guard standing next to the innermost steel door opened it for Charles.
"Stand up!" Charles roared, startling the prison guard.
The prison guard retreated whilst trembling.
"You're finally here, Captain!" Dipp exclaimed. He put down the book in his hand and stared calmly at the crowd before him. "I thought you were going to lock me up for the rest of my life."
Charles' expression was complex as he stared at his former boatswain. After a while, Charles asked, "Remember the plan to turn me into a Deep Dweller? Which one of your personas proposed it?"