บท 14: Chapter 14: Farewell

"This is... a gift from a friend!" Charles said with an embarrassed smile.

Charles felt that his image had completely collapsed in front of Lily.

Although he had never been a saint, he certainly wasn't a pervert either. Now, he feared he might never be able to face Lily again...

He now wanted to give his friend Daniel, who had given him this 'birthday present', a good beating.

At the time, worried his parents would discover it, he had hastily hidden it in the bathroom cabinet. He never imagined it would be discovered by Lily under such circumstances.

"From a friend?" Lily looked at Charles skeptically, her eyes clearly suggesting: Are you sure this friend isn't actually you?

"Alright, alright, I'm not blaming you. You've just come of age, and it's normal to be curious about these things..." Seeing Charles's mortified expression, Lily found it particularly amusing:

"Being curious is good, but that thing is harmful to your health. If you really need something, you can come to me, you know!"

Charles's face turned beet red, feeling that Lily was quite enjoying teasing him.

She said he could come to her if he had needs...

What did Lily mean by that?

Images from that day in the office flashed through Charles's mind, making his throat dry and fearing he might lose control and do something rash. Panicking, he left the bathroom.

Glug—

After gulping down some cola, Charles managed to calm down a bit. Deciding to stop thinking about the mess, he picked up a random book from the shelf to distract himself.

It seemed to be a geography book.

"This world is much larger than I imagined..." Charles marveled as he looked at the map on the back cover of the book.

He lived in Genosha, a country covering ten thousand square kilometers, and it was just one of the seven nations within the Abyssal Depths. Beyond the Abyssal Depths lay three equally vast regions, collectively known as the Ethereal Grove alongside the Haunted Marsh.

What lay beyond the Ethereal Grove was unknown due to its vast expanse, and it was dotted with mysterious little worlds.

Conservatively, the Ethereal Grove alone was ten times the size of Earth, and that was only the areas that had been explored so far... Just the thought of it filled Charles with awe.

"Right, tomorrow I need to head to the Ferocious Beast Mountains..."

Charles flipped through the pages, searching for a while before finding the section on the Ferocious Beast Mountains: located at the tripoint of Genosha, Celestial City, and Stellar, it was a lawless region, a haven for fugitives and criminals.

Naturally, its perilous terrain also made it a paradise for ferocious beasts, with legends of sixth-tier beasts having been spotted there.

To the west of the Ferocious Beast Mountains lay Celestial City and the Infinity Isles; to the east, the Stellar Atacama Desert; and the first city to the north was Isengard, where he resided.

"The women of Celestial City and the Infinity Isles are fair-skinned, beautiful, and gentle as water; those from the Stellar Atacama Desert are fiery, straightforward, and loyal..."

Charles was engrossed in the "Local History" of the areas around the Ferocious Beast Mountains when suddenly a splash came from the bathroom.

The bathroom door was long overdue for repairs, occasionally letting glimpses of light through its cracks. Charles tried hard to focus on his book, but he couldn't help but imagine Lily naked.

Although they had been intimate, it wasn't what Charles had intended—it had all happened because he thought he was dreaming.

Charles didn't consider himself a saint, but he was not a philanderer either. Continuing this unclear relationship without any emotional foundation would only harm them both.

"Charles, could you grab a towel for me? I'm done washing."

Lily's voice floated out from the bathroom, utterly disrupting the calm Charles had just managed to achieve.

The mere thought of Lily's appearance in the office made Charles feel a sudden heat below, something uncontrollably rising.

Charles pinched himself hard on the thigh to suppress the restless heat:

"Okay, just a moment!"

Soaking in the bathtub, Lily felt a wave of comfort and pleasure. She was somewhat puzzled; she had dropped enough hints, yet Charles seemed utterly unmoved.

Seeing Charles carefully slip the towel through the door crack with his back turned, she found it both exasperating and amusing. After all they had done that day, why did Charles still act like an innocent young man?

She summoned her pet graceful cat and gave it a knowing look. The little creature immediately understood.

"I've left the towel at the door for you, come and get it yourself." No sooner had Charles spoken than he felt as if tripped by something, tumbling uncontrollably into the bathroom...

Splash!

Without time to think, Charles found himself soaked, coming into zero distance contact with that flawless body.

Her exquisite, slender figure was beyond perfection, the only word Charles could find to describe it. Her soft, full breasts were irresistibly alluring, drops of water tracing down those perfect curves.

"Sorry..." In his fluster, Charles tried to rise from the bathtub, but Lily's slender arms wrapped around his neck like water snakes.

"I want you." Her soft breath whispered in Charles's ear, a mix of nervousness, shyness, and anticipation.

Nothing could match the allure those three words held for a man, especially one who was an 18-year-old full of youthful vigor.

All pretense, shyness, and taboos, along with Charles's clothes, shattered in that moment.

Charles extended his arms, embracing Lily's slender waist, then kissed her.

He greedily sought everything a woman could offer, from her delicate collarbone down to her full, enticing breasts and smooth, flat belly...

Charles felt like a fish and Lily like water, and in that moment, the two merged perfectly together.

As the fish entered the water, stirring up waves, Lily could no longer contain herself and began to moan softly.

Charles glanced at the slightly drafty window next to them, aware that the soundproofing must be abysmal. "Could you... keep it down a bit?"

"No, I won't..." Lily's face flushed a delicate pink, her eyes hazy, "Let them listen..."

...

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight streamed in, Charles stretched comfortably.

Today was the day he would leave Isengard, the small city where he had lived for 18 years to venture out into the world.

"Right, Lily... are you there?" As if remembering something, Charles reached out beside him, but the bed was empty, leaving only a beautifully curved impression.

Getting dressed, Charles found that the previously messy floor of the house had been tidied, and breakfast was already prepared, steaming on the table.

Lily had left at some unknown hour.

He checked his phone and found a voice message from Lily: "Breakfast is on the kitchen table, I won't see you off. Oh, and if you find yourself in Atacama and meet my sister, please give her the item on the table."

After listening to the message, Charles noticed a wooden box on the table, a photograph underneath it.

"Your sister was under ten when this photo was taken, and now you want me to find her based on this?"

Looking at the photo on his phone—a young girl in a white dress and a brown sun hat, clearly still a child—Charles felt a headache coming on.

Searching for someone with a decade-old photo felt like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Turning off the water and electricity, and double-locking the front door, Charles looked back at the old neighborhood with a hint of reluctance. No matter how rundown, it was still his home, his first foothold in this different world.

Charles hailed a cab, and two hours later, he arrived at a checkpoint on the south side of Isengard.

Outside the checkpoint, fully armed guards watched cautiously over the area beyond the city.

Inside the checkpoint, it was crowded with people, occasionally joined by groups coming to bid farewell. Their expressions varied—youths looking hopeful, elders showing concern or even tears, but all wore a look of pride.

They were likely the families of new Beast Masters from Isengard, come to send off their loved ones.

Heading to the Ferocious Beast Mountains for such a significant rite of passage, seeing others bid farewell by their parents, Charles felt an unexplained pang of sadness.

Beep beep—

[Hello, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later!]

His parents' phone was still unreachable. Charles checked his call history; it seemed they had been out of contact for a month now.

In his previous life, Charles had been an orphan, growing up alone and destitute. Upon transmigrating to a different world and discovering he had parents, he initially felt joy.

But it seemed fate always enjoyed its cruel jokes.

"Mom, Dad, I'm leaving Isengard. The key is under the third flowerpot to the left of the front door. I hope you return safely."

After leaving a voice message, Charles gathered his emotions and strode towards the checkpoint.

In less than two months, the three major academies from the Imperial Capital would come to Isengard for recruitment. Time was not on his side.

Ideally, he would hunt more first-tier ferocious beasts to find the two beast cores needed for the Ice and Fire Supreme Spear.

Of course, if there was a chance to go to the Atacama Desert, he hoped to find Lily's sister.

Rumbling—

As Charles was about to leave the city, he suddenly heard a deafening roar of an engine behind him. The noise abruptly stopped, followed by a chorus of women's cries:

"Young master! Are you really going out of the city? It's very dangerous out there!"

"Young master! What will we do if something happens to you?"

"Young master! Can't you stay in Isengard? Please, don't go..."

Charles turned around to see a throng of fair-skinned, slender young women dressed in black silk stocking maid outfits rushing towards him...

Seeing this spectacle, Charles was utterly dumbfounded:

"Could it be... my real identity isn't a loser, but a scion of a noble family?"