Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 808: Whereto

"What do you mean it's not the same as Mommy wants? I think it's the same thing," Sparkle replied.

"Because overwhelming power and the power that 005's wish will grant are not the same at all," Charles patiently explained, "Overwhelming power may not necessarily lead to our doom, but the power that 005's wish will grant is different.

"If your mother obtains the power of a god through Her, she'll definitely provoke God Fhtagn and bring about our doom."

"Oh? So you have no plans of making a wish for me to become a god?" A gentle voice rang out from behind Charles.

Charles closed his eye helplessly and sighed.

Sparkle sized up her parents for a few seconds before she grabbed Grace's hand and vanished on the spot.

Charles turned around and cast a complex gaze at Anna's flawless face.

"Are you going to be mad at me if I don't do that?" Charles asked.

Anna smiled. She walked up to Charles and rested her cheek on his chest. "I'm not going to be angry. I'm just very confused. You clearly have the power to wish for whatever you want, so why are you still hesitating?

"Of course, I want those, but with great power comes a great price in exchange for that power. Take Bandages, Tobba, and Dipp for example. They basically have eternal life, but can you really say for sure that they are happy?

"In addition, I don't think this matter is that simple. To be honest, I still have no idea what 005 is trying to do here, and she seems to be guiding me toward somewhere.

"I'm convinced that she has her own goals to achieve. She's not the genie in Aladdin, and we're not living a fairy tale here, after all."

Anna leaning on Charles straightened up and stared calmly into his eye. "It's fine. Let me do it. If there is a price to pay for the wish, then let me pay for it first."

Charles was touched by Anna's remark. "You could die."

"I'm not afraid of dying. I'm more afraid of becoming an ant that others can easily trample beneath their feet!" Anna said fiercely with a solemn light in her eyes. Her gentle demeanor vanished in an instant.

"The Subterranean Sea has always been a world where the strong reigns. The weak are bound to get trampled beneath the feet of the strong! And I will never let the strong trample on me for as long as I'm still alive! I absolutely will never let anyone dominate me! It doesn't matter who they are!"

Anna's domineering words reverberated throughout the room, and the fierce light in her eyes seemed to illuminate the entire room as well.

Charles stared calmly at his wife. He was not surprised by her words at all, as he had long figured out the kind of person his wife was.

Realizing that the air had gotten a bit tense, Charles jokingly said, "That's a lie. Last night, didn't I dominate–"

Anna grabbed Charles' head with both hands and kissed him, interrupting his sentence. When their lips parted, Anna's gaze toward Charles was full of tenderness as she said, "Except you."

Charles was moved as he gazed at Anna in front of him. He opened his arms wide and gently embraced Anna's petite figure. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll be there to handle it."

"Tsk, you've always been unreliable, you scumbag. I think it's better if I relied on myself than rely on you," Anna remarked. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she took in a huge lungful of Charles' familiar scent.

***

Margaret snapped back to reality just then. Recalling everything in her daydream just now, she squeezed her legs together, and her cheeks gradually suffused with crimson.

However, her reverie lasted for only a few seconds before Margaret cast aside her useless emotions once again. She let go of the pen in her hand and picked up the report on the table.

A tinge of satisfaction flashed in Margaret's eyes as she stared at the rising curves on the report. The recovery act promulgated by the Administrative Department was finally showing some results.

Whereto's population and economy were recovering rapidly. Every single industry on the island was flourishing all thanks to Hope Island's advanced technology and the tariff exemption on Whereto.

However, Margaret knew that all these weren't Charles' compensation for her. She knew that Charles was trying to support the entire Northern Seas, or perhaps even the entire Subterranean Sea.

After handling some matters, Margaret looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was lunchtime. She then stood up and walked out of her office inside the Governor's Mansion.

With a fork in hand and a knife in the other, Margaret elegantly cut off a piece of rare steak in the brightly lit reception hall of the Governor's Mansion room. She then parted her blood-red lips and stuffed the bloody piece of meat into her mouth.

The Kings of Sottom were dining with her. Unlike Charles, Margaret didn't address them with their ID numbers.

Having gone through torture at the hands of the Foundation, the Kings of Sottom abhorred those numbers. They disliked others referring to them with those numbers when they all had proper names.

"Mithila, Gomma, Medeas, Japheth… there's something I want to discuss with you all."

Margaret's words attracted the attention of the sharp-toothed little girl, the human-shaped gray shadow, the chubby man in a wheelchair, and the green centipede-like creature with a long tail.

"Whereto's navy has recovered significantly, and it can now defend the island against attacks with the help of the cannons on the docks. In other words, there is no longer any reason for Sottom to stay docked at Whereto."

"What? Are you planning on driving us out now that you're riding on Charles' coattails? Are we useless in your eyes now?" Mithila's young face turned cold.

"That's not what I meant."

"There's no need to pretend that you want to take us in. The Subterranean Sea is massive; do you really think that there's no place for us pirates?" 134 said, but her expression betrayed her words.

Perhaps back then, they were just supporting each other—scratching each other's backs, but it had been quite a while since then, and they, including the pirates on Sottom, had long gotten used to the life on Whereto.

The expansion of the suspended railways on the rock layer up above was making livelihood harder for both dock workers and pirates.

To make matters worse, the governors of the Northern Seas were cracking down on pirates with the help of Hope Island.

In other words, the number of pirates out there was rapidly decreasing.

The crackdown was still ongoing as well, so if Sottom were to go out there and stir up trouble, Hope Island's navy would definitely make quick work of the ship-cum-island.

Margaret shook her head and stared at Mithila. "The Ebony Mist Island. It's the island closest to Whereto, and I just bought it back. I want you to go there and become the island's deputy governor."

Mithila's eyes widened to the size of saucers. The implied meaning in Margaret's words was unmistakable. The woman before her was trying to give them their own island.

They had their own island long ago—Skywater Island, but the Divine Light Order had robbed it from them. It had been a long time since then, and they were about to have their own island once again.

"Of course, I'm going to dispatch experienced administrators to assist you with managing the island. The people on that island aren't pirates, so the techniques you used to manage Skywater Island are not going to work at all."

Mithila's expression was complicated as she stared at the woman before her.

"Why?"

"It's simply because we're allies. We've experienced and overcome many hardships together. Did you really think that I'll drive you away after all we've been through?" Margaret asked. At this moment, even the scars on her face seemed to soften as she faced Mithila with a gentle look.