The wind chi hanging before the window emitted a crisp sound, while the ocean rose and fell, waves crashing rhythmically.
Carlotta stood by the inn’s window, glancing outside. The scenery seed pleasant enough, so she closed the window and drew the curtains, plunging the room into dimness.
Ti to sleep.
Carlotta removed her Illusion Mask, letting her red hair cascade down, then began shedding her clothes one piece at a ti.
Alia was already seated on the bed, her true form restored, silver hair flowing smoothly, her beauty so exquisite that when motionless, she resembled the most magnificent painting in the world.
After removing her outer garnts, Carlotta walked over, caught sight of Alia’s stunning face, and couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheek, finding it hard to restrain herself.
Alia, refusing to be outdone, imdiately raised her hand and pinched Carlotta’s cheek, pulling it sideways.
"Mmm, Alia, you actually have a retaliatory streak."
Carlotta mumbled indistinctly.
"Let you pinch my face every day."
Alia replied with mild reproach, though she wasn’t truly angry at Carlotta, it was simply the kind of playful interaction shared between lovers.
Then Carlotta suddenly pushed Alia down onto the bed, pinning her beneath her body, gazing at that face whose unparalleled beauty defied description no matter what words one might use.
"Alia, how can you be this beautiful? It’s almost unbelievable."
Carlotta said unconsciously.
Every girl enjoys being complinted on her beauty, and Alia was no exception.
She pursed her lips into a slight smile and said, "Aren’t you also a very sweet girl? Hmm, you could even be called a ’sweetie’."
"So do you like sweeties?"
"I do."
Alia nodded slightly, her face tinged with red.
Carlotta giggled, then slowly lowered her head, drawing nearer and nearer to Alia’s face.
Finally, their lips t, drawing in each other’s scent.
...
Nightti on Island Nine was no less lively than dayti. Streetlamps and shop lights interwove, illuminating many areas as brightly as daylight.
Carlotta awoke, still holding Alia in her arms. She took out her Clock Card and checked, it was currently six in the evening. Having woken early today, it was probably related to having gone to sleep earlier in the morning.
She glanced at Alia, still asleep, couldn’t resist planting a loud kiss on her smooth cheek, then got up, put on her Illusion Mask, and transford into Reilahira.
"Just arrived at the Bass Archipelago, tonight’s intelligence gathering should yield plenty of valuable information. How exciting."
Carlotta murmured softly.
After using a Cleaning Card to freshen up, she stepped out of the inn and wandered around the nearby streets, eventually picking up two takeout als from a restaurant not far away before returning.
By then, Alia had also woken up.
Carlotta used a Cleaning Card to help Alia freshen up, and the two began eating their al, whether it counted as dinner or breakfast, they weren’t sure.
"So, what are your plans next? The follow-up to the Elven Knight Path isn’t sothing easily inquired about."
Alia asked.
She understood Carlotta’s goal and knew this matter wouldn’t be easy to handle.
Carlotta smiled faintly. "I’m not in too much of a hurry. We can first wander around various places on the Bass Archipelago, getting to know the situation here. Hmm, let’s treat it like a date."
Hearing the word "date", so full of romantic implication, Alia felt slightly embarrassed, yet deep down, she looked forward to it.
After finishing their al, the two walked hand-in-hand out onto the streets.
Island Nine had an intensely comrcial atmosphere. With crowds constantly moving about, browsing shop after shop, it was easy for newcors to beco imrsed in its energy.
Carlotta and Alia strolled hand-in-hand from shop to shop, purchasing a few local specialties.
Soon, at a street corner, Carlotta suddenly stopped, turning her head with a puzzled expression.
"What’s wrong?"
Alia asked.
"I thought I saw soone familiar, maybe it was just my imagination."
Carlotta’s eyes were clouded with confusion.
"So uncertain?"
"Mmm... because it really was soone from a distant mory."
Carlotta fell into thought.
She had never forgotten that really Carlotta had been actually the daughter of a rchant guild, a guild called the White rchant Guild, nad after her family’s surna.
That guild had eventually run into trouble. The guild’s leaders, her parents, had died in an accident while traveling, causing the entire guild to lose its leadership overnight.
In theory, without a leader, the White rchant Guild should have been inherited by Carlotta, and her claim was perfectly legitimate. Yet in reality, Carlotta inherited nothing but an empty shell; the entire White rchant Guild could be said to have collapsed at that mont.
Greed always blinds the eyes. Everything belonging to the White rchant Guild had been divided among its managers at the ti. In her mory, those managers had all been kind uncles and aunts, yet they had done this, leaving Carlotta with nothing.
There was no doubt that real Carlotta’s death was closely tied to these so-called "uncles and aunts."
Carlotta hesitated because the figure she’d just glimpsed seed strikingly similar to one of those "uncles" buried deep in her mory.
Could soone from back then have co to the Bass Archipelago?
Carlotta could never ignore the fall of the White rchant Guild, it concerned everything real Carlotta had once owned. Having Transmigrated and fully rged with real Carlotta, she naturally inherited this hatred.
Long ago, Carlotta had considered settling this score, but at the ti, having just transmigrated and still at a low strength, she lacked the strength to do anything, and could only put it off.
But now, she felt her power was sufficient. Aside from Weavers, who could claim to defeat her for certain?
And now, having just encountered a "familiar face," there was no way she could let it pass.
"I’m going to go check the situation."
Carlotta said to Alia.
"What exactly happened?"
Alia asked.
Even as she asked, Alia had already followed Carlotta, walking back along the path they’d co.
Carlotta kept her eyes fixed on a certain figure, then leaned close to Alia’s ear and quietly recounted the story of the White rchant Guild.
Her voice was soft, the words simple, and her tone devoid of any overt emotion.
Yet as Alia listened, her expression changed several tis.
Parents dead, the rchant guild plundered, left to wander the streets... Alia had truly never known Carlotta had such a past.
She couldn’t help but silently bla herself for failing to learn about this earlier, while intense anger brewed within her chest, she could never forgive those who had hard Carlotta.
Though Carlotta spoke calmly, fury burned in her heart as well. Having fully rged with her mories, she naturally felt every past event as if it had happened to her.
Those were events from deep within her mories, already sowhat blurred, but no matter how hazy the scenes beca, they couldn’t be treated as if they’d never happened.
This was sothing she had to face.
Carlotta quietly followed the man ahead of her, and information about him surfaced in her mind.
Winnie Vera, that was the middle-aged man’s na.
In the forr White rchant Guild, aside from her parents, there were five managers. These five individuals had, imdiately after her parents’ incident, divided everything the White rchant Guild owned among themselves, turning what had once been a thriving enterprise into an empty shell overnight.
Winnie was one of those five.
After following him for a while, Carlotta noticed he entered a shop. He wasn’t arriving as a custor, she saw staff greeting him, and Winnie walked directly into the shop’s restricted back area.
She looked up. It was a store called Dunkinson’s, belonging to the Dunkinson rchant Guild.
"...Dunkinson, huh?"
Carlotta murmured softly.
Among the original five managers, there was indeed one whose surna was Dunkinson, the most capable among the five.
Were these five still working together?
"With my parents gone, how comfortably you’ve managed the guild. But if I’m not mistaken, around these Bass Archipelago, my parents had already been establishing connections, almost ready to finalize things. You must’ve used my parents’ established routes to co here. Enjoying the fruits my parents cultivated, yet leaving nothing for ..."
Carlotta Whispered.
She was controlling her emotions. Fragnts of mory surged within her like waves, stirring overwhelming negative emotions, almost driving her to draw her sword, charge in, and slaughter every wretched one of them.
But she restrained herself. She needed to learn more. Besides, the Bass Archipelago wasn’t without laws; accidentally killing people in broad daylight was unacceptable. Even for revenge, doing so would only ruin her current identity.
"Carlotta..."
Alia looked at Carlotta, saying nothing more, just silently staying by her side.
She knew words wouldn’t help right now. Carlotta had to sort through this herself.
As her partner, simply being there for her was enough.
Next, Carlotta clicked the shop to look around.
The shop wasn’t large nor small. Upon asking, Carlotta learned it was part of a chain, Dunkinson rchant Guild had shops across many islands in the Bass Archipelago.
Carlotta carefully inquired about the locations of shops on other islands, and purchased several moderately priced items, prompting the staff to enthusiastically provide details, including the positions of their branches elsewhere.
After gathering sufficient information, Carlotta and Alia stepped back outside.
"What a nuisance, it really spoiled our date. But let’s continue with our plans and ignore them for now."
Carlotta smiled at Alia.
"Are you sure that’s alright?"
Alia asked.
"It’s fine."
Carlotta felt her involvent had already been clear enough. Relevant intelligence should appear by midnight, so there was no need to investigate further at the mont.
Besides, she’d just obtained the locations of all Dunkinson rchant Guild’s shops. Those shops weren’t going anywhere. Even if the intelligence she received wasn’t satisfactory, setting out later wouldn’t be too late.
"Let’s go."
Carlotta eagerly anticipated midnight, but until then, she refused to let her mood be wasted.
Holding Alia’s hand, she felt much more at peace.
No matter what hardships lay in her past, at least currently, she lived comfortably, and was quite satisfied with her life.
Of course, she didn’t think that living in hiding, drifting from place to place, was ideal. But if she were to score her current life out of a hundred points, Alia alone would account for ninety-nine. The remaining one point didn’t matter at all.
Next, she leisurely strolled around Island No. 9. There were no formal cities here, every habitable area on the island had been developed. One might even say each island was a city in itself, bustling with prosperity everywhere.
The islands of the Bass Archipelago were ranked by size, and Island No. 9 wasn’t even the largest.
At one point, Carlotta and Alia reached the seaside, gazing toward the other nearby islands, so close together they ford an archipelago.
On those distant islands, lights twinkled brightly, shimring with intoxicating radiation.
Before they knew it, midnight was approaching.
Carlotta and Alia arrived at the beachside park. There were fewer people here at night, though not completely empty, creating a relatively serene atmosphere.
They sat on a bench, gazing at the sea and at the illuminated islands across the water, whispering to each other, blushing from ti to ti.
"You’re...really a bit bold."
Alia said softly.
Carlotta, coming from a past life in the information age, had seen and experienced far more. Compared to her, Alia was much more reserved, easily flustered by Carlotta’s "daring" words.
"Actually, I could be even bolder."
Carlotta pulled Alia close, then blew gently against her ear.
Alia’s ears turned completely red, her eyes flickering, too embarrassed to lift her head.
Alia’s shyness stirred Carlotta deeply. She held the girl tightly, reluctant to let go.
Still, she rembered to glance at the intelligence report.
[ 1: On Island No. 9, the first stop where the Northern Continent connects with the Bass Archipelago, there are countless delicious foods and cold drinks. You should definitely take the chance to try a few...]
Following that sentence, the report listed several stores and their signature dishes or beverages.
Seeing this, Carlotta couldn’t help but smile inwardly. Now she had even more places to go on dates, she was quite satisfied with this information.
[ 2: Due to rumors spreading about the imminent opening of the Tower to Babel, large numbers of people from both the Northern and Southern Continents will be arriving in the near future. Although the Tower’s actual opening is still a long way off, this will only intensify the region’s liveliness.]
More information about the Tower to Babel?
Carlotta changed at it briefly before moving her eyes to the next line.
[ 3: Near Island No. 72, multiple Treasure-seeking Turtles have been spotted recently, leading people to suspect a hidden treasure has appeared. Many investigators have co, but found nothing. In truth, the Treasure-seeking Turtles are searching for a fruit called the erald-patterned Fruit. This fruit has already been taken by the peak tier Resonator Red Fox, but residual traces of its aura remain, which is why the turtles are still there.]
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