Charles' abnormality has attracted the attention of others. A man with a group of mice is so eye-catching no matter where he is. More and more people started pointing fingers at him.
"Don't be in a hurry." Charles frowned and took Lily to the street next to him.
"Are you sure that's your home and that little girl is the original you?"
"Of course I'm sure, that's exactly what I look like. That's obviously my mother." Lily's voice was filled with sadness.
"Tell your friends to disperse first, it will be difficult to fight like this."
Lily squeaked twice, and the mice around her quickly scattered, startled by female screams.
Charles took Lily for a walk on the street and then returned to the small villa.
At this time in the small courtyard, Lily's mother had left, leaving only "Lily" sitting there reading a book.
"Don't talk for a while, let me test everything."
After looking around and finding nothing unusual, Charles pushed open the wooden door and walked straight towards her, "Lily?"
The little girl who was reading a book looked up in confusion. When she saw Charles, her expression changed. She put down the book with both hands and ran into the house in panic.
"Hmm?" Charles raised his left hand, and three invisible tentacles instantly wrapped around her.
Just when Charles thought the little girl in front of him would reveal her true colors, this "Lily" just struggled desperately and shouted loudly. "Mom! Mom! Help!!"
Seeing this scene, Charles' face showed a hint of doubt. He had seen many abnormal monsters that could transform, but this was the first time he had seen such a reaction.
He brought "Lily" in front of him, took out a black knife and slashed it hard, and scarlet blood oozed out on the little girl's arm.
After licking the cut, Charles was surprised to find that it was actually human blood.
At this moment, the door of the next room opened, and Lily's mother came out, holding a flintlock in her trembling hands. "Let my daughter go! I've called the police!"
Ignoring the harmless weapon in the woman's hand, Charles calmly looked at the little girl in front of him and asked, "Why did you run away when you saw me?"
The little girl looked very frightened, but she still spoke quickly. "Because you smell like the sea, and Daddy said that people who smell like the sea are bad people."
"Liar! That's my dad!" The white mouse Lily was about to pounce on the little girl.
Charles grabbed the mouse, let go of the little girl and walked outside.
Everything that "Lily" showed was so normal, not like a disguise at all, which made Charles feel a little confused.
"Don't worry, let's investigate it first." Charles held down the white mouse's restless head.
Charles took Lily back to the port area, and after turning left and right, they came to a remote door.
After looking around to see if there was anyone else, he knocked on it and whispered, "Looking for your boss's big ears."
The door opened silently, and Charles walked straight in with Lily.
Inside was a messy warehouse where a group of men with various tattoos on their faces were playing cards.
A thin man with a scar on his face stood up when he saw Charles coming in with a group of rats.
"Captain Charles, long time no see. Do you want to bring goods again? I heard that you got a big ship and can carry a lot of goods."
Charles didn't bother to be polite with him and took out a stack of echo coins and handed them over. "I need some information about Dr. Oliver."
Since we can't see the situation from the front, we can ask some local people. Maybe they have other clues.
Not long after, a piece of paper covered with words was pushed in through the crack of Charles's door. He took it and read it carefully, then looked at the white mouse on the ground with a complicated expression.
"Lily, you turned into a rat after being sucked into the whirlpool when you went to visit your grandfather?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"But... from what those guys found out, your parents have been staying on the island in recent years and haven't been out to sea."
There was a sudden deathly silence in the room.
After three full seconds, Lily said with disbelief in her eyes: "That... that means..."
"That is to say, that Lily is real. She is the real daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver, not someone else pretending to be her."
Since Dr. Oliver had never been to sea, he would not have encountered a shipwreck, and it was certainly impossible for their daughter to fall into the whirlpool.
"If she is real, then who am I?" Tears kept dripping from the white rat's eyes.
Charles considered his words and said, "Lily, although it is a little hard to accept, what you remember may not be true."
"Impossible!! I am Lily!! I am not a mouse!! I am the real Lily!!" the white mouse screamed hysterically.
Hearing Lily's cry, the brown mice quickly gathered around, squeaking in concern.
"Get away from me! I'm not one of your kind! I'm a human! I'm a human!!" The brown rats dispersed a little, but still surrounded the crying white rat.
Charles didn't know what to say at this time. He had thought of many possible outcomes, but he never imagined that the situation would be like this.
But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense. The world of Earthsea is so despairing.
Half an hour later, Lily, surrounded by mice, lay motionless on the ground, as if she had lost her soul. "Mr. Charles, are you saying that I am really a mouse?"
Charles, sitting on the stool, remained silent. He didn't know how to answer this question.
The white mouse, not getting an answer, slowly got up and walked towards the door in a daze, followed by the brown mice.
"Where are you going?"
Lily's voice was full of grievance and pity. "I don't know either... But since it's a rat, maybe it should live in the sewer. Mr. Charles, thank you for taking care of me these days. You are a good person."
The rats swarmed up quickly, the door handle was easily opened by them, and they followed the white rat into the dim corridor outside.
Charles looked at the mice going away, and a trace of annoyance appeared on his face. "Are you planning to give up? Are you planning to go to the sewer and eat garbage for the rest of your life?"
Lily, with droopy ears, turned around and looked at Charles blankly.
"Since you think you are a human being and it was the Earth Sea that made you like this, you should go to the sea and get everything back! Instead of running away!" His voice rose.
"People cannot decide our fate, but we can decide our attitude towards difficulties. Come back! I need a gunner on my ship."
Lily's eyes were soaked with tears again, and the choked white mouse nodded continuously. "Mr. Charles, thank you, why did you help me so much?"
Charles was not a kind-hearted person, but when he saw the desperate Lily walking out, he instinctively felt resistance. He was afraid that he would be a poor person in the future who could not go home.
(End of this chapter)