Chapter 372: Setting Sail

Chapter 372: Setting Sail

The Narwhale prepared to set sail. The mice seemed to have sensed the departure of their boss, and their morale was at an all-time low as they bit each other's tail and crawled onto the deck with drooping ears.

"Mother, you don't have to send me off. Go back home. The ship has a brand-new telegram machine, and I'll send you telegraphs while I'm out at sea," Weister said with an awkward smile toward his mother.

Weister felt embarrassed, knowing that the other crew members on deck could see his mother tugging at the hem of his clothes.

"Son, will you really not consider working as a mail carrier? The sea is really too dangerous," Elena said, trying her best to dissuade her son.

"Mother, I'm really going to be fine. I mean, come on. It's not like this is my first voyage. I'm really going to be perfectly fine," Weister replied.

"Once I come back, we can sell our basement home and buy a house close to school. My siblings won't have to work so far away just to get to school by then," Weister added.

Bandages stared quietly at Weister arguing with his mother down below. His eyes seemed to radiate confusion as he stared deeply at the two.

"Jealous? Why don't you just retire and find a woman to start a family with? It's better to have someone than no one, you know?" Feuerbach said as he walked up to Bandages from behind.

"No, it's not that" Bandages replied, "This sceneis familiar to me I think I've had a similar experiencelong ago."

"Then, you should really write that down, man. Who knows? You might be able to recover your memories by piecing together fragments of your memories? I don't think you should keep on doing nothing. You have to do something," Feuerbach said.

Bandages nodded quietly. He turned to the sailors engaging in idle banter and asked, "The Captain where is he?"

"He went into the Captain's Cabin as soon as he came on board. I guess Lily's death was a bit too heavy of a blow for him to recover quickly. Among us, that little mouse was the closest to him, after all.

"In contrast to him, Tobba right here doesn't seem sad at all. I guess lunatics will always be lunatics."

Tobba didn't seem to be sad even in the slightest, as he was laughing with the mice on deck. However, the mice were no longer as kind to him as before. They bit back fiercely in response to Tobba's playful provocation.

"The Pope is with us we have to be cautious around him," Bandages muttered before turning around and walking toward the bridge.

At Bandages' words, Feuerbach turned to the side and found a massive ivory-colored ship three times the size of the Narwhale.

"Yeah, we're going on a voyage with that guy. This is going to be annoying," Feuerbach muttered.

The Narwhale's steam whistle fleeted across Hope Island, attracting the gaze of every single islander. They all watched as the two ships departed the harbor area of Hope Island.

Charles smashed his fists on the Narwhale's steel plates, but the tremors didn't slow down at all.

The rumbling of a steam whistle interrupted Charles' thoughts. He turned and saw blinking lights at the pitch-black stern of the Divine Light Order's ship to his left. Someone was signaling to him using two flashlights. Charles jumped down the Narwhale and rode the waves bouncing off the Narwhale to reach the blinking lights.

As soon as Charles came on board, he instantly noticed the stark difference between the Narwhale and this ship. He had expected it, but he was still surprised to learn that the crewmen were all followers of the Divine Light Order.

In addition, they were more organized than the average crew of an average exploration vessel. Every single movement they made seemed to adhere to a rigid procedure and regulations, so much so that they made Charles feel as if he were staring at a group of robots.

A sailor led Charles to the cafeteria. The Pope was eating in the cafeteria, and he was focused on eating his meal, which consisted of nothing but green beans.

Charles couldn't even bother to call attention to himself by speaking; he simply sat down on a nearby stool.

Meanwhile, the Pope stuffed the last remaining green bean into his mouth using a fork, and he licked the plate clean afterward. Then, he wiped his mouth clean with a napkin before finally turning to look at Charles.

"My child, I heard you've installed a brand-new telegram machine in your ship."

"So?"

"I need you to remove that telegram machine and install it in my ship instead."

"What do you mean? Are you implying that there could be spies on my ship?"

"I'm not implying. I'm saying it because I'm certain that there are spies on your ship. The exit to the surface world is also important to them, so they'll definitely come with us in order to stop us from finding it.

"Actually, I'd prefer to thoroughly examine your crew members, but you'd never agree to that, so I decided to choose another method," the Pope said.

"Who are 'they'? Who are you talking about? And why do they want to stop us from finding the exit to the surface world?" Charles asked.

"Will there be any difference even if I tell you? Since they want to stop us, then they're our enemies. And we must eliminate our enemies," the Pope replied.

Charles pondered briefly over it before eventually nodding in agreement. They had been navigating the vast open sea without a telegram machine so far, so Charles was confident that they would have no issues without it.

"Is that it?" Charles asked.

"No, there's one more thing. The great Light God wants to know about your life on the surface as well as what the surface looks like."

Charles' wariness level instantly shot through the roof. "What? Your Light God wants to chit-chat with me?"