Shrouded Seascape

"Sparkle, where in the Western Seas is this Lighthouse Island?" Charles asked. The father and daughter pair were walking down the bustling streets again.

"I think it's in the middle of the sea region," Sparkle replied while munching on the thin, crispy pastry in her hands.

In stark contrast to Hope Island's rapid development, the Western Seas' development has been really slow. Are they really planning on staying conservative forever until they become an outlier?

I really have to talk to the representative of the Western Seas in the next Subterranean Sea Council meeting. Charles mused. The Western Seas had always been slow when it came to accepting and taking advantage of new technologies, especially when compared to Charles' Northern Seas and Julio's Eastern Seas.

The Western Seas were so slow that they were like a whole new world when compared to the rest of the sea regions.

"You're with me, aren't you? Can't you pay a bit more attention to what we're doing?" Sparkle asked, frowning slightly. She was clearly dissatisfied by Charles' distracted look.

Just then, Charles stopped with Sparkle in the middle of the busy street and looked around. "I don't think it's good for us to just wander around aimlessly like this. We should go and find a local who knows the way."

"Where can we find someone like that?"

"Don't we know someone from the Western Seas? She's on Hope Island right now."

There was a flash of white light, and Grace appeared before Charles.

Grace was holding a book, and she looked bewildered as she looked around.

"Want some?" Sparkle asked, offering the crisp pastry in her hand to Grace.

"Captain, are we… in Lighthouse Island?" Grace looked around with a stupefied look.

"You're familiar with this place? That's great. Give me and Daddy a tour of this place. What's so special about this island?" Sparkle asked, staring at the young woman before her.

Grace's face changed slightly at the confirmation. She looked reluctant at the idea, but she knew that she had no choice but to oblige. "All right. This way, Captain. Let's go and find a coach first."

The father and daughter exchanged a puzzled glance before following closely behind Grace. Having a local guide while sightseeing was truly great. It took them no time to find a coach, and they slowly headed toward the heart of the island.

There were no horses on Lighthouse Island, so the coach was being pulled by six burly men. The burly men were biting on what looked like a horse's bit, and they dragged the coach forward as the coachman's whip crackled above them.

Charles soon learned from Grace that the Western Seas had a caste system, dividing people into different social classes according to their jobs.

Of course, the mage families were at the top of the caste system, and those with enough talent to barely become assistants to the mages were second only to the mages. Then, there were the commoners, but even commoners had their own social stratification.

The burly men pulling Charles' coach were coach pullers, and they were at the bottom of the commoners' social stratification. They had no human rights at all and were considered as nothing but tools.

The treatment that an individual could enjoy varied depending on which class category they belonged to. For example, a lower class individual could become incredibly rich throughout the Western Seas, but without magical affinity, they would never be able to ascend to a higher caste.

The pie vendor was an example of a lower class individual. Someone in his class wasn't allowed to purchase a pocket watch, much less own one. If the pie vendor wanted to escape his class, he'd need an extraordinary magical affinity.

Whenever a commoner with stunning magical affinity was discovered, they'd be sent to the Magic Tower to study. Upon graduation, they'd be allowed to marry someone of the mage class, which would relieve them of their commoner status.

Charles immediately realized that Grace was a commoner with magical affinity.

No wonder she didn't want to go back to the Western Seas. The Western Seas was just too backward, even when compared to Charles and Julio's authoritarian rule or to the theocracy of the Fhtagn Covenant.

"What's up with that look when we're visiting your hometown? Do you have any enemies here? Want me to help deal with them?" Charles asked Grace, who looked downtrodden.

"No, no, no. I used to live here, so coming back here has just reminded me of the past," Grace remarked. Her expression was complex as she stared at the pointed roofs beyond the coach window.

"Oh." Charles nodded. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to Peter's Opera House located in the heart of the island. It's the best opera house in the entire Subterranean Sea. The actors there are all mages."

Charles immediately understood why Peter's Opera House was the best opera house in the entire Subterranean Sea. The majority of opera houses would use props for their performances, while Peter's Opera House opted for the real deal.

When the surroundings became brighter and crowded with more coaches, Charles realized that they had entered the island's central district.

Soon, they found themselves before the ornately designed Peter's Opera House surrounded by magic orbs.

A group of men and women in formal attire got off the nearby coaches and walked into the opera house.

There were also people wearing mage robes, and their arrogant demeanors told Charles that they were the mages working here.

The disfigured Grace and Charles' barely human appearance stood out among the crowd. Fortunately, Sparkle's outstanding appearance had made up for their grotesque looks, or they wouldn't have been allowed entry.

It seemed that Grace wasn't lying when she said that Peter's Opera House was the best in the entire Subterranean Sea. The waves on the stage looked just like the real thing, and the sailboat on stage was swaying left and right with the waves.

Unfortunately, Charles had never really liked this form of entertainment, and he began to feel a bit bored as he watched them sing a bizarre melody.

In the end, Charles chose to close his eye to sort out his thoughts, but the startled gasps of the people nearby forced him to open his eye.

Up ahead, the sailboat on stage had been split in two, and a monstrous jet-black fish covered in eyes was riding the waves, roaring madly at the sailboat.

Something's wrong. This fishy smell… that monster is real! And it hasn't been that long since it was pulled out of the sea. Charles unconsciously sat up straight at the sight.

Before the audience could react, the protagonist with white powder on his face raised his wand and fought the monstrous fish.

Bright flames manifested, illuminating the faces of the audience members.

Seeing the relaxed look of the protagonist, Charles relaxed as well and thought, the people of the Western Seas truly know how to have fun. They're even daring enough to put something like that to work on the stage. Are they not afraid of something going wrong?

Meanwhile, the show went on, and it soon reached a crescendo. In the grand finale, the protagonist killed the monstrous fish and landed on the sailboat. Then, he pulled the heroine out of the water and onto the sailboat.

The lights all over the opera house came to light. When Charles thought that it was all over, the carcass of the monstrous fish suddenly split open, and a spray of liquid struck the protagonist in the face.

A sizzling noise echoed afterward, and the protagonist screamed in agony. Then, before everyone's eyes, the protagonist's figure was corroded into a pile of rotten flesh.

Everyone present was silent, and they stared dumbfounded at the protagonist, who was eventually reduced to a pool of blood.

Just then, the heroine crawled toward the puddle of blood and sang in a beautiful voice while crying her heart out.

The curtain fell amidst her singing, signaling the end of the show.

An intense round of applause pervaded the opera house. Some of the audience members even stood up with excitement in their eyes, animatedly discussing the show with their companions.

It couldn't be helped. The show was just too wonderful.

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