Surviving as the Captain of a Mad Cthulhu Deep Sea - Chapter 18

chapter 18

Elizabeth

Chapter 18: Elizabeth

Chapter 18: Elizabeth

Left alone, Charles headed to the Explorers’ Association, leaving Lily at the inn. The girl remained dejected, but he could only hope that time would heal her wounds.

As soon as he entered the Association, Charles’s gaze unconsciously drifted to the sofa in the corner.

This time, only four captains were present, and among them was the towering beauty Elizabeth.

“Dear Charles, I’m over here!” Elizabeth waved vigorously.

Charles ignored her, pointing toward the counter and walking over to it first.

“Here’s the information about the island,” Charles said, handing the written record to the staff member behind the counter.

“Did… did you really go there?”

The woman behind the counter looked somewhat incredulous.

“Hurry it up. I don’t have time to waste,” Charles said, slightly irritated, to the unfamiliar staff member in front of him.

“S-sorry. I just started today. Please wait a moment while I check with my supervisor.”

After a moment, a middle-aged man in a suit and round glasses approached. He smiled at Charles, took the paper, and read it carefully. He then pulled out several books and seemed to be cross-referencing something.

After a long while, he sighed and said politely, “Thank you for your significant contribution to the Association. The mysteries of the Subterranean Sea have been partially illuminated thanks to you.”

“How much is the reward this time?”

“Including detailed information on the Rank 5 Island Exploration, the total reward comes to 1.6 million Echo. After deducting the Governor’s tax, you’ll receive a final payment of 1.45 million Echo.”

To be honest, Charles was stunned by this amount. he never imagined that exploring a single island could be so lucrative. This sum was enough to buy a small two-story house with a front yard on Coral Island.

But considering the multiple life-or-death situations he’d faced on the island, Charles felt this money was only fair compensation for risking his life.

“Mr. Charles, you provided your bank account details on the application. Would it be alright if we transferred the reward directly to that account?”

“Do that.”

Charles turned and walked toward the sofa. He had other business to attend to today.

“What happened to your eye?” Charles asked, pointing to the black eye patch Elizabeth wore like a pirate.

“I lost one of my eyes. Whew, that island was truly too dangerous. I’m just grateful I survived. It was absolutely terrifying.” Elizabeth pressed herself against him naturally, without a hint of fear.

“Why are there so few people here today?” Charles looked at the three other strangers.

“Captains who returned on Saturday afternoons have their own gathering time. Usually, it’s just three or four of us. Hmm? Why are you wearing a ring on your ring finger? Are you married? My heart is breaking.” Elizabeth stroked the ring on Charles’s finger.

Charles raised his left hand and waved it. “It’s just a relic. Elizabeth, how do explorers usually trade relics?”

At Charles’s words, the curiosity of the other three people turned to him.

“We usually trade on Saturday afternoons, but I can show you now. If it’s particularly useful, I can offer a fair price.”

The speaker was a young man holding a bottle, his expression slumped. His clothes were stained with alcohol, and even from two meters away, Charles could smell a sour odor wafting from him.

Charles took out the remaining two relics and placed them on the table.

The four of them, including Elizabeth, examined the relics closely. After a moment, the drunken youth spoke.

“Unappraised relics usually don’t have a fixed price, but as a favor to a friend, groan, I’ll sell you both for 300,000 each.”

This was a big gamble. If these two relics turned out to be useless or had severe side effects, Charles would have just bought himself a troublesome burden.

“The price is fair,” Elizabeth said, pressing her red lips against Charles’s ear and breathing into it.

“Alright, deal.”

Charles shifted slightly to the side.

Even if the other party made a small profit, carrying two unknown relics was always a headache. Some relics could have widespread or delayed side effects. He couldn’t set sail with these two time bombs. Converting them to Echo Notes was the wiser choice.

It wasn’t Charles’s concern how the other party would test the relic’s effects.

“My name is William. If you have other relics later, let’s keep trading.”

As he spoke, the young man pulled out a bag of red powder, poured it into a liquor bottle, tilted his head back, and drank.

Watching William begin to convulse, Charles shot Elizabeth a puzzled look.

“He’s fine. It’s just Fruit of Joy Powder. He’s been taking this for over half a year.”

Addictive substance? As Charles watched William’s nose run and tears stream down his face, suspicion arose in his mind.

Ignoring the other captains’ affairs, Charles turned to the toweringly beautiful woman beside him.

“That jelly that used to cure my hallucinations—do you have any left? I’d like to buy some.”

The hallucinations weren’t frequent, but their occasional appearance was still bothersome.

“Stay a while. But this substance… it’s truly addictive. If you stop later, you might die a miserable death.”

“Then there’s no other way to solve this?”

“There is.” Elizabeth answered quickly.

“If you settle on land, this problem will resolve itself soon.”

Charles immediately dismissed this idea. No matter what happened, he would never settle on land.

After chatting briefly with the other captains, Charles checked his watch and stood up.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but could you bring it on Saturday? I’ll buy it all. It’s too late today, so let’s talk later.”

As Charles was about to leave, Elizabeth also rose, a mysterious smile on her face, and followed him out.

Standing on the dock and watching the workers busily transport cargo in the distance, Charles stood for a moment, unsure of what to do.

“Right, I should buy a pocket watch.”

By the time Charles reached the door of his inn, a golden pocket watch was already tucked away in his coat pocket.

He pushed open the door and found his room swarming with rats scurrying in every direction.

“Mr. Charles, you’re back…” Lily, once so bright and cheerful, lay weakly on the bed.

After stroking her hair, Charles went to his table and began writing in his diary.

Meanwhile, Lily approached out of curiosity but soon turned away, bored. The squiggly, square characters (Chinese characters) on the page were utterly unintelligible to her.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking echoed in the small room.

Charles glanced at Lily, and the swarm of mice in the room scattered to their corners in an instant. In just a few seconds, Charles was alone in the room.

When Charles opened the door, a buxom chest nearly collided with his face. He looked up and saw Elizabeth, the voluptuous beauty.

“Sweetie, why are you staying in a place like this? The soundproofing here must be terrible.”

Charles, seemingly oblivious to the hidden meaning in her words, casually sat back down.

“Elizabeth, what brings you here?”

“You said you needed jelly, and you seemed quite desperate, so I brought it myself~”

Elizabeth pulled a small box from behind her back.

“Thank you. How much is it?”

She pressed the box into Charles’s chest with both hands.

“Why are you so shy? It’s not expensive, I’ll just give it to you.”

As she spoke, Elizabeth stepped into the room and surveyed the dimly lit space.

“Honey, don’t you ever look for someone to keep you company? It must be so lonely being alone.”

Before Charles could respond, Elizabeth closed the door behind her and walked over to the bedside, settling down.

Seeing her actions, Charles’s heart sank. He glanced at the numerous eyes beneath the bed, then cleared his throat and walked to the table, setting down the item in his hand.

“Just tell me the price. I don’t like being indebted to others.”

Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile, a blush rising on her cheeks, the desire in her eyes laid bare.

“Then give me you.”

“Wh… What?”

Before Charles could speak, Elizabeth raised the short wooden staff in her hand and pointed it at the oil lamp on the table. The lamp immediately exploded, plunging the entire room into darkness.

In the next moment, Charles caught the scent of a fragrant breeze and felt a soft body press against him, face to face.

“Relax, darling. You need to learn how to let go. The sea is oppressive enough as it is.”

Charles’s breathing grew ragged. Before he could finish his sentence, something soft in the darkness pressed against his lips.

Though he didn’t understand the situation, Charles knew he wouldn’t be a man if he didn’t react. A wicked flame ignited in his heart, and he responded swiftly.

The suffocating softness finally broke away, leaving only the sound of ragged breathing in his ears.

Just as Charles was about to lose his composure, he heard a squeak from under the bed. The sound was like a bucket of cold water drenching his body, chilling him to the bone.

If it were anything else, it might have been manageable. But the room was still filled with countless “eyes.”

When Charles raised his left hand, a transparent tentacle swiftly wrapped around Elizabeth and pushed her away.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well tonight.”

In the darkness, her face hardened. Being so decisively rejected made her doubt her own allure.

She spoke with a somewhat cold voice. “Charles, isn’t this a bit much? I’m not uncomfortable at all. Why are you the one who is?”

Charles took a deep breath, opened the door, and let the hallway light flood in.

“I’m sorry. I’m really not in the mood today.”

“I’ve helped you so many times at the Association, and you can’t even show a little gratitude? How heartless.”

Elizabeth straightened her disheveled clothes and walked calmly toward the corridor.

As the towering beauty departed, she left one last remark:

“You don’t… you don’t happen to like men like Governor Nico, do you?”

Charles smiled bitterly. He worried that the friend he’d barely made might become a stranger again. Even if this friend had somewhat impure motives.

But Lily was still in the room. Though she was a mouse, she was fundamentally an eleven-year-old girl, and he couldn’t do something like that in front of her.

In the darkness, Charles found a candle, lit it, and after a moment’s thought, spoke.

“Lily, I was just about to—”

A voice came from under the bed.

“I know what you two are about to do. My dad’s a doctor, and he taught me about these things. Mr. Charles, did I interrupt you?”

“Uh…”