Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 235. James' Retirement

Charles leaned back in his chair with his eyes transfixed on the letter in his hand. What did she mean by loved ones? Was she talking about herself?

It wasn't the first time he felt this way, but he truly couldn't figure out Anna's thoughts. Charles knew that she wouldn't harm him, but Anna had always been an independent woman with her own thoughts and ideas.

Charles opened the drawer on the left and placed the photo inside of it.

The drawer was where he placed his valuable items like his cell phone and wallet. He picked up a piece of paper and started writing his reply to Anna.

After expressing how much he had been missing her, he immediately asked her to strengthen the World Crown's navy as much as possible.

The Subterranean Sea's current affairs had become ambiguous, so he told Anna to come to him and regroup if the defenses of the World's Crown were breached.

Naturally, Charles didn't encode his message as doing so would attract attention, and he was planning on sending someone to personally hand over his reply to Anna. Fortunately, Chinese characters were the best way to encrypt his messages here without using telegram codes.

Once everything was done and settled, Charles emptied his mind and focused on his tasks as the Governor of Hope Island.

He had already handled the documents that required only a customary peek. Now, it was time for him to deal with those unafraid to engage in clandestine, illegal dealings. Charles was in awe of those who thought that they could hide from mice so long as they were stealthy enough.

Did they also think that those dried-up corpses hanging from trees were fake?

Charles highlighted a few names and extended the paper in his hand to the mouse next to him. "Give this to Dipp. He knows what to do with it."

Charles' hand hung in mid-air for quite a while without anyone taking the piece of paper away. He turned and found colorful mice staring at him while tilting their heads in confusion.

"Mr. Charles, have you already forgotten?" Lily said, her ears drooping as she continued. "Dipp became a monster, and he's gone."

Charles froze and went silent. Eventually, he sighed softly and retracted his hand.

"Mr. Charles, are you sad?" Lily hopped over to Charles and asked, "Does your heart hurt a lot?"

Charles glanced at his gunner and said, "He's not my woman, so why would I be sad? I just think it's a shame. Anyway, who's in charge of the police department in Dipp's absence?"

"The two deputy chiefs of the police department are currently in charge; they're both Dipp's subordinates, but one of them is on the list you've made," Lily replied hesitantly.

Charles glanced at the piece of paper and found the name Lily had mentioned. This was a bad sign. He had to make sure that the police department and the navy weren't rife with internal issues and maintained absolute loyalty to him; that was his job as the Governor of the island.

The navy was fine, as it was filled with a bunch of ship captains who had gone through similar hardships as Charles, but Dipp's absence in the police department meant that Charles would now have to find someone as trustworthy as Dipp to take control of it.

However, Charles was thrown into a dilemma. He didn't have many people he could trust. That also meant that he hardly had any influence on the administration side of Hope Island.

"I have to find a suitable candidate soon," Charles muttered.

Lily hesitated briefly before suggesting, "How about the big guy? My friends said that the big guy and his wife had a fight. His wife doesn't want him to go out to sea anymore. I think he can stay here and become the chief of the police department."

Charles' eyes widened slightly in astonishment, but he quickly realized why James' wife no longer wanted him to go out to sea. It made sense; no wife would want their husband to live such a dangerous life.

The reason people would sign up to become crew members of exploration vessels was tantamount to a gamble. They had nothing, but they wanted to change their fate, so they decided to gamble with their lives.

They had seized ownership of a prosperous island, so Charles could understand his crew members' and their families' preference to stay here rather than to keep going out to sea and risking their lives.

Charles stared deeply at the list of names in his hand before saying, "Tell James to come over here."

The mice moved at once, and James soon appeared before Charles.

"You called me, Captain?"

The wide-brimmed hat on James' head caught Charles' attention.

"Where were you?" Charles asked.

"I had nothing to do today, so I decided to visit the Ministry of Agriculture to take a look. I also heard that they discovered a new plant," James replied.

Charles took a closer look at his chief engineer and noticed just how much the latter had changed. He sighed to himself and said, "Dipp's not coming back, and I want you to take over his job on the island."

James was startled, but he nodded and said, "Sure, I can try it while we're resting on land."

Charles shook his head and said, "I want you to retire and oversee the operations of Hope Island's police department."

James was instantly anxious at that instruction, and he hurriedly said, "Did Mosicca say something, Captain?"

"Your wife didn't tell me anything, and she's not involved here. Dipp is gone, and it has created a power vacuum in Hope Island's police department. I need you to take over his job," Charles explained.

Veins bulged in James' neck as he stepped forward and exclaimed, "I know why you're doing this, Captain! However, you've saved my life twice, so I absolutely won't leave your side when you need me the most."

"Calm down." Charles gestured with his hand and said, "Things are no longer the same as before."

"Nothing has changed! I'm still going to be the Chief Engineer of the Narwhale!" James insisted.

"Things are truly no longer the same; we're no longer desperate fugitives. You also have a child; are you sure you want your child to lose her father at such a young age?" Charles asked.

James went stiff and silent; a complicated look fleeted across his face.

Charles stood up and approached him to pat his shoulder. "Hope Island needs you. This is our home, and I want you to take good care of it when I'm out at sea."

"But..." James said hesitantly, "I don't know if I can handle being the police chief."

"Even that rash kid, Dipp, could handle the position. You can't possibly be worse at it them him. You've been great at your position as the Minister of Agriculture, the difference can't be that huge. I mean, it's just management," Charles replied.

James hesitated for a long time before he finally agreed and left the Governor's Mansion.

Charles felt despondent for some reason as he stared at James' departing figure. He hadn't been making it obvious, but the retirement of his long-time companions at sea had taken a toll on him.

Still, he acknowledged that everyone's situation would not remain the same forever.

The crew members of an exploration ship had signed up for the sake of finding a habitable island and living their lives as central islanders. The crew members of the Narwhale had already achieved their goals, so Charles couldn't force them to stay.

The same went for him—his journey would come to an end once he returned to the surface world.

Charles tapped his prosthetic fingers on the table as he recalled the faces of his remaining crew members.

First Mate Bandages' goal was to discover his true identity, while Laesto only wanted to have his tablet repaired to discover what his predecessors had tried so hard to preserve.

The vampire sailor Audric only wanted to have blood to drink, and he preferred staying on the ship rather than staying on the perpetually sunny Hope Island. Meanwhile, Linda seemed like she was still following the late Kord's orders.

Charles soon realized that he didn't have to replace his remaining crew members; they each had their own motive for staying on the ship.

However, James' retirement and Dipp's disappearance, along with those who had perished in the recent voyage, meant that the Narwhale had lost half of her crew members.

In other words, it was time for him to recruit new crew members.

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