"Did you find any problem?" Charles asked the doctor.
"I'm not sure. At the moment, it seems that there is nothing abnormal with your body."
"But my head still hurts."
"Don't bother me with this kind of trouble. You asked for it. With so many trips to the sea, headaches are considered minor. If that happens again, notify me immediately. I can't see any abnormal problems at the moment. I'm leaving now. Your new tattoo looks great."
The doctor stood up and started to walk towards the door.
The doctor's last words made Charles shudder. "I have a tattoo? Where?"
Seeing that Charles was not pretending to look at him, the doctor pointed to the junction of his neck and collarbone. "Is this really not a new tattoo?"
Charles quickly took out a mirror from the drawer next to him. Looking at the mirror, he quickly discovered something that had suddenly appeared on his body.
The thing was black and looked like a curled-up dead spider, but the legs of this "spider" had spiral patterns on them and were a little twisted.
It's called a tattoo, but it feels more like a mark of corrosion by something, and it feels like fine gauze paper with bumps and pits.
"Really? You didn't do this tattoo?" The doctor took out a small dagger and scraped it. He found that the black color seemed to be the skin itself, and no black color fell off.
"Why would I get this tattoo if I have nothing to do? Could it be some kind of skin disease?"
"It doesn't look like it. Does it itch or hurt?"
"No, I just have a headache."
"The Great... Powerful One... has noticed you...."
Charles and the doctor looked towards the door at the same time. A man covered in wet bandages stood there, looking straight into the cabin.
"Do you know this thing? Why are you wet?" Charles, who had regained some strength, sat up.
Bandage nodded silently and walked in slowly.
"This is... the mark of the Almighty... I just... noticed that He was looking this way... I... thought He was coming to pick me up, so I went to find Him... But He was not... He was attracted to you..."
"God Futan? Why do I have its mark on my body? Has someone cursed me?" Looking at the strange thing in the mirror, Charles' face looked a little ugly.
"No... this is... a blessing... Captain... do you also believe in the Almighty?"
"How is this possible?" Charles never thought that one day he would be associated with such a disgusting cult.
"Then why... you will receive... this blessing... In my religion... this ceremony is... a great... honor... and only... those who have received the initiation have the opportunity... to receive this blessing."
"What's the use of this thing?" Charles stroked the scar on his neck. Since this is a blessing, it should have some benefits, right
"Your soul... already belongs to the god Ftan..."
"How is this a good thing? Can you be more specific?" Facing Charles' questioning, Bandage did not speak and stood there motionless.
Charles thought of something, reached out and pulled off the bandage on his neck, only to find that he didn't have anything like that on him.
"This blessing... is very precious. I haven't... experienced it, but I have seen the ceremony. The officiating priest... not only has to sacrifice... a large part of his own body, but also has to offer many... sacrifices to please our God..."
"Do you know someone in the cult? Why would someone add this stuff to your body for no reason?" The doctor raised his head and took a sip.
Charles shook his head. "That's impossible. I have nothing to do with them. The only connection I have with them is that I found a piece of… for them from a very strange island a long time ago..."
"What's wrong? Did you think of something?" asked the doctor.
"It's nothing, you guys go out."
Charles' sudden change surprised both of them, but they didn't say anything and turned away.
The light from the oil lamp next to him swayed left and right with the ups and downs of the ship, making Charles' face flicker.
"Mr. Charles, what's wrong with you?" Lily jumped onto his knees and looked up and asked.
Charles didn't say anything. He touched Lily's hair with his hand, took out the portrait of Anna from the diary and stared at it blankly.
"Mr. Charles, do you miss this monster sister?"
"yes."
"Then why don't you go find her? Be with her?"
"Because I can't."
"Why not? My sister likes you too. Why can't two people who like each other be together? Is it because she is a monster? Does Mr. Charles only want to be with humans?"
"Yeah, why not?" Charles put Lily on the table next to him, lifted the bed sheet and walked towards the deck.
The cool sea breeze blowing on his face made Charles feel much more refreshed.
"Is it you? You still care about me, right?" Charles asked in a low voice towards the darkness with a complicated expression.
Of course, no one in the environment in front of him answered Charles' words. The only response he got was the sound of the waves breaking through by the bow of the ship.
Touching the tattoo on his neck, many images flashed through his mind, and finally Charles' eyes gradually became firm.
"Why not? Maybe. Wait for me. I'll come back and pick you up when I find the exit!"
As soon as this decision was made, Charles felt instantly relieved. The troubles that had troubled him for a long time finally disappeared.
What Lily said was right. Since they cared about each other, there was no need to worry about anything. Her journey in the Earthsea was about to end, and she didn't want to leave with any regrets.
As for Anna's health problem, Charles decided to think of a solution together after they got out. Even if he couldn't find a solution, as long as he could change the diet, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Thinking about the bright future, Charles' mood gradually improved. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he even wanted to hum a song.
"Click~" A strange sound from under the bow of the ship prompted Charles to quickly take out the revolver from his waist.
"Mr. Charles, it's me, the captain of the Wave Razor behind you."
A wet figure climbed up the hull with a black object in his mouth. Charles looked carefully and found that it was a turtle.
The most striking thing about this guy who just crawled out of the sea is his dark green hair that looks like seaweed. Combined with his shriveled facial features, he is not good-looking at all.
"Hello, my name is Feuerbach. I've introduced myself to you before. I'm very happy to be able to join this voyage. Are you our leader? You look very young."
As soon as Feuerbach finished speaking, without waiting for Charles to reply, he took out a dagger and began to clean the barnacles that had sunk into the turtle's flesh on its back shell.
(End of this chapter)