Linda reached out and brushed off a speck of dust from her adopted son's body.
"What's good about it? If we really let him go, he will just starve to death. It's better to keep him like this. What else can you expect from someone who was raised by island natives?"
"But--" Before James could finish his but, he was interrupted by the other party. "No buts, this is my family matter, you don't have to worry about it, and class is about to start, so hurry up and get your daughter into school."
James raised his wrist to check the time and realized that they were indeed going to be late as Linda said. He quickly took his daughter's hand and walked her to the school gate.
James watched his daughter walk into the school with the tall Salin, a relieved smile on his face, "I still remember how she looked when she was just born, I didn't expect that she has grown so big in just a short while."
But Linda obviously didn't want to answer this question, so she changed the subject. "Where are you going later?"
"Where are you going? Of course, I'm going to work at the headquarters. Don't you have to work? I heard that you are now responsible for handling some of the things Anna left behind."
"You can put your work aside for now. I suggest you go to the Governor's Mansion to see the captain."
James showed a trace of worry in his heart, "Go check on him? What happened to the captain?"
"You have a better relationship with him than I do. You'd better go and ask the captain what he is going to do. Some of his recent actions have made me worried." Linda said in a flat tone.
Hearing Linda's words, James' mind flashed back to what his wife had said to him, "Okay, I'll go see him. In fact, this matter should be asked to the first mate. Bandage has the best relationship with the captain."
"I will inform him as well." After Linda said that, she immediately turned around and walked towards the tram passing by. Her body went straight through the outer wall of the tram and went straight inside.
James raised his head and looked towards the vague Governor's Mansion in the distance, "Ike, drive over there."
"Chief, where are we going?"
"Go to the Governor."
"Crunch~" The rolling car tires stopped in front of the Governor's Mansion. James pushed open the car door and strode towards the gate guarded by guards.
Under the guidance of the butler, James quickly found his captain, who was in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, throwing some papers into the small fire. The golden Lily slowly circled around him.
"Mr. Charles! The big guy is coming!" Lily reminded in time.
The hunched figure turned slightly, and Charles saw his first mate. "Why are you here?"
James strode forward and raised the bottle in his hand. "We are going to sail away tomorrow. I came here specially to help you."
"Please sit down." As Charles finished his words, a set of tables and stools flew out of the window behind him and landed steadily in front of him.
The yellow-brown liquid rolled in the transparent wine glass, and the glasses made a crisp sound when they collided with each other. James took a sip and looked at the small fire in front of him with some curiosity. "Captain, what are you burning?"
"Nothing. When I was exploring, I was afraid that I would die suddenly, so I left a few suicide notes under the bed. Now that I'm not exploring anymore, these things are of no use," Charles said, looking at the small bubbles in the wine attached to the glass wall.
Lily flew over and wanted to drink, but was gently grabbed by him.
"No." Charles answered decisively, "This time I'm going to the place where I lost my arm. As you know, it's a part of the god's body. There's no need to drag them down with me."
"But Captain, they are your crew members. It is their duty to fight and explore with you. Although they don't say it, everyone feels that you are alienating them."
Seeing that Charles did not answer, James continued to ask: "Captain, what is your purpose this time? Can you tell us? Although as a subordinate, I should not interfere with your judgment, but your behavior during this period is really strange."
Charles raised his glass and tapped it gently on his cup, "First of all, James, you are not my subordinate, you are my friend and my companion."
James was touched when he heard this, and he recalled the days when he and the captain exchanged their lives for money on the sea.
"Secondly, James, do you remember what wish I asked you about? You said Anna was a threat to Hope Island, but now the threat has been resolved."
"So you're going to--"
"I plan to give an answer that will satisfy everyone." Charles put down the cup, grabbed Lily in the air and stroked her gently.
"Anna is really going too far. If I was the first one, I wouldn't care. No matter what she does, I will go with her. But I can't go to Hope Island because you are still there."
"You are my companions and my friends. Enough crew members of the Narwhal have died. I don't want any more accidents."
James listened silently. He had never heard such words from the captain before. In fact, during the exploration, in order to maintain his prestige, he always gave strict orders to the crew.
"Over the years, we have spent much more time on that dozens of meters long ship than on the ground. To me, you are really no different from my family."
As Charles said this, he looked down at the smooth floor.
"Many people died along the way, and my heart aches, but in order to find the Land of Light, to save Earthsea, and to defeat the Foundation, we have to persevere."
"But it's different now. There is no threat forcing us to leave. You can live well without taking risks anymore. I'm really relieved for this. All these years of hard work have finally paid off." Charles said a lot, which was rare. The two of them sat there in silence with their wine glasses.
At this moment, a familiar voice came from behind, "What about you?"
Bandage led the others to Charles' side from the back door of the Governor's Mansion, "We are all very satisfied now. What about you? As the captain of the Narwhal, have you got what you wanted now?"
Charles took a deep breath and sighed slowly, continuing to look at the ground in silence.
Somewhat excitedly, Dipper knelt on one knee beside Charles and shook Charles' arm with his webbed hand, "Captain, let us go this time! No matter what you want to do, let us help you! We know it's dangerous there, but we are not afraid of death."
(End of this chapter)