The answer was honest and direct.

However, the two did not fall into a long awkward silence.

"Do you like the climate here?"

"Yes, I heard from you that the climate here is the same all year round."

"That's right."

"It must be comfortable to live here. When I get older, I can come here to retire."

"You belong here."

"Then I will take this opportunity to try my best and hope to find a sense of belonging here."

"The elders want to see you. They will send representatives."

"When?"

"The specific time has not been determined yet."

"Well, the island will definitely be busy recently."

"It's not because of that, but because my uncle is about to return. He didn't come back for the negotiations between the two sects, but specifically to see you."

"Your uncle?"

"Taufman, the naval commander of our Dark Moon Island, stationed in the open sea all year round."

"He came back to see me?"

"Yes."

"It's my honor."

Ophelia turned around and faced Karun.

There was a faint fragrance on her body, not from spices, very natural and refreshing.

Somehow, Karun remembered the first time he saw her, when she was wearing that huge armor and holding the Sword of Achilles.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I thought of the scene when I first saw you."

"Is it funny?"

"Yeah."

"But this meeting is not as impressive as the first time we met at the York Port. It feels a bit plain."

"That's normal, because if accidents happen every time, it would be too deliberate."

Ophelia nodded and looked at Karun, saying:

"You've lost weight."

"You've gained weight."

"Hehehe..."

Ophelia laughed.

"Take a walk with me."

Karun looked around. Although the residential area was relatively spacious, this was still a hotel with people coming and going.

Ophelia walked along the river by herself, and Karun glanced at Richard and the others standing in the distance before following her.

"How have you been recently?" Karun asked.

"Pretty good. Everything has been going smoothly. The Order of the Gods shocked us all from the declaration of war to the end of the war with the Reincarnation Sect. Especially the surrender document was announced before the Order of the Gods declared war."

"Yeah, I was shocked too."

Ophelia spread out her hand, revealing a dark red gem. The gem emitted a faint red light, enveloping the two of them. This was a fragile isolation barrier. Its purpose was that because it was extremely fragile, anyone who tried to eavesdrop with magic would pierce it and trigger an alarm.

"The island now has a new understanding of the power of the Order of the Gods. Some things can only be truly understood by reading about them in books and experiencing them in reality. We used to know that the Order of the Gods was powerful, but we didn't expect it to be this powerful.

The most important thing is that the First Knight Order of the Order of the Gods did not even participate in the war against the Reincarnation Sect."

"There must be tactical reasons. Anyway, this was a surprise attack."

"But the Order of the Gods didn't use all their strength. Is it only half of their strength? Or one-third? The role of the First Knight Order cannot be measured. No one can predict how terrifying the scale of the First Knight Order of the Order of the Gods is after so many years of peace."

"But the First Knight Order is purely a drain on resources."

"But who would willingly consume it?"

"True."

"I think this negotiation between the Order and the Reincarnation Sect should be an opportunity for the Order to reset some rules and influence the entire religious community."

"I don't have any information about this for now. My position is still too low."

"Your position... I'm curious. When I found your name on the list for this trip to the island, I was surprised because the negotiator sent by the York City District was Bishop Wofflen."

"I was also surprised."

"Someone is behind you, or rather, behind your captain, right?"

"Probably. My captain is very mysterious."

"What is your relationship with him?"

"We get along well."

"The elders mean that they don't expect you to climb up quickly, but they hope you can spread your influence as much as possible, that is, your network."

"I understand."

"Take it slow, don't feel pressured. We treat you as one of us, but we won't ask you to dedicate yourself to the island purely as one of us. We want a win-win situation."

"I know."

"If you encounter any difficulties, you can contact me through the Allen Manor. We wanted to set up a communication magic array at the Allen Manor, but it seems a bit difficult to arrange."

"After I go back, I will find someone to arrange it."

"Okay, that's all I need to say. There's nothing else. If there is anything else, I will talk to you again when my uncle comes back with the representatives of the elders."

"Okay."

Karun cooperated with the arrangements of Dark Moon Island because Allen Manor had shown him the trade list. The benefits of the direct route from Dark Moon Island to York Port were undoubtedly significant, although a large portion of the profits would have to be shared. However, the remaining part was already considerable.

So, no matter what, he had to give face to the benefactor.

Ophelia stopped walking, and Karun stopped as well. The two stood there for a while without saying a word.

"This is for the convenience of future contact. After all, we need some excuses for you to come out."

"Actually, I am very free. The captain will basically fulfill any of my requests."

"But we need to tie up loose ends."

"Loose ends?"

"Yeah, today's, the present. Leon and the others are still standing there, and many eyes are watching. We need to tie up loose ends."

"Okay."

Ophelia leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Karun's chest.

Karun knew that Her Highness in front of him didn't know how to express intimacy towards the opposite sex.

But when her forehead pressed against him, it was indeed with force, causing his chest to ache.

Karun slowly raised his hand and grabbed Ophelia's shoulders on both sides.

It wasn't very intimate, but the meaning should be clear.

After a long time,

Ophelia stood up straight, without saying a word, turned around and walked forward, waving her hand at the same time.Her carriage and guards caught up immediately, while Karun stayed in place and watched as she got on the carriage and turned back.

Richard took off his mask, a exaggerated smile on his face. This smile made Karun feel warm, and he wanted to remind his father to spend more time with his son.

Leon crossed his arms and smiled at Karun when he returned, a smile tinged with contempt, expressing a small anger perfectly. Then he turned around, sighed, and walked into the courtyard.

Richard approached Karun proactively, "Karun, why don't you stay on Dark Moon Island, Princess, ah!"

"You stay."

"I want to stay, but I have to consider what she wants. Dark Moon Island is great, you see, it's bigger than I imagined, and the population is larger than I imagined. It would be really comfortable to live here with the princess."

"Between her and me..."

Karun originally wanted to habitually say that he had nothing to do with her, but now this sentence seemed a bit meaningless.

"Between her and me, we haven't reached that stage yet."

"Amazing!" Richard gave Karun a thumbs up. "What you mean is, you want to marry the princess and bring her back to Wien?"

"Pay more attention to your work, can you?"

"But the problem is, we don't have any serious work. I asked the captain, usually we leave half of the people in the yard on standby. Even if the formal negotiations start the day after tomorrow, we only need to follow the Archbishop's carriage to the venue, and the two of us can go in with the Archbishop and the secretary. The rest of the people can move freely.

If the lunch at the venue is arranged internally, most of us only need to send the Archbishop there in the morning and line up to pick up the Archbishop in the evening. In the meantime, there is no work at all."

"Is that so? That's really idle."

"Yes."

"You can take Mr. Memphis to the Mermaid Theater to see the world. You know, he is a bit introverted. Take him out to play more, and he will definitely appreciate you when we return to York City."

"I also think so. Ah, I just can't stand introverted people."

"Hehe."

Shortly after returning to the courtyard, someone from the hotel came to deliver food. The dishes were not very rich, but there was a large quantity, and you could choose and order in advance. The food was delivered in five antique jars, and the tableware was placed under the dining car for self-service. Someone would come to collect and clean them at the appointed time every day.

Mainly because everyone lived too scattered, it would take a lot of time to gather for meals, which was too troublesome.

Karun carried two plates of food back to the room and handed one to the captain. The two sat face to face on the edge of the bed and ate.

"I think she came to see you today."

"Yeah." Karun responded.

"Hey?" The captain was a little surprised. "The wind has changed."

"I have a fiancee, you know, captain."

"So, do you feel morally guilty?"

Karun shook his head and said, "Morality is a restraint for oneself."

"It doesn't matter. Dark Moon Island is not a monogamous society. Do you know why Bellna is so famous on Dark Moon Island? The hotel we are staying in is named after him.

Because he, as the patriarch, only married one wife in his life."

"Captain, let's change the topic."

"Okay, okay, let's change the topic. What topic should we change to? After finishing the meal, when it gets completely dark, go out with me."

"Where to?"

"To steal things."

"Steal things?"

"Yes, otherwise why would I arrange for you to share a room with me? It's convenient for the two of us to act together."

"Is it something important?" Karun hesitated. "There is a hot spring pool here, and I was planning to go there at night."

The hot spring pool is not in the courtyard. There is a hot spring valley in the hotel, and you have to go there first.

"I don't know what it is, but in my mind, there is a memory of its location. It's like the last time we went to the photo studio. I triggered a certain location memory, and then I could recall the memory of 'it' after entering there."

"That person has been to Dark Moon Island?"

"He has been here, definitely. He should have left behind some property here, but I think it should not be vacant now.

Dark Moon Island used to refuse the influence of the church, but if you want to come in incognito without preaching or propagating, it's not a problem. After all, the maritime trade here is still prosperous."

"Could it be another small teleportation array?"

"It shouldn't be. I can understand teleporting from York City to outside the city, but teleporting from Dark Moon Island to Dark Moon Island, isn't there something wrong with my brain?"

"Only you know the answer to this question, Captain."

"I asked the waiter and inquired about the direction. The people who live in that place are the privileged class of Dark Moon Island. So, it's most suitable for two people to go to such a place to steal things, and one person should be responsible for creating a diversion."

"Captain, on the first day we arrived as a delegation, are we going to steal things?"

"Because it's our first day here, no one will suspect us, and of course, they won't dare to come and investigate. That's the decision. We will set off after dark.

Finish eating quickly and try to take a nap to replenish your energy."

"I already took a nap in the afternoon."

"You took a nap? Did you really go to sleep?"

"Yeah, I took a nap."

"Hehe, you can actually fall asleep when you go to such a place with them?"

"I fell asleep."

"Didn't you receive any services?"

"No."

"That's a bit unusual. I heard that the mermaid service on Dark Moon Island is a special feature. The place Lao Lei took you to is not cheap, right?"

"I don't know. Someone else paid the bill."

"Who? Lao Lei or Leon, or Richard?"

"Miss Ophelia paid for me."

"Tsk..."

Neo didn't know how to evaluate for a while,

In the end, he could only shake his head and smile:

"No wonder you can only take a nap."

...

Inside the carriage, Panmir looked at Ophelia sitting there, silent, and asked with some concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm fine."

"But your complexion..."

"Panmir, have I gained weight recently?""No, I didn't notice. Is it Mr. Karun's?"

"Yes, he has gained some weight."

"Perhaps, Mr. Karun's is in a different place?" Panmiel joked boldly. She had seen the action that her Highness had done to Mr. Karun earlier, where the two were almost hugging each other.

"He has a fiancée. He told me from the beginning that he has a fiancée."

"Is this what your Highness is concerned about?" Panmiel didn't think Mr. Karun's fiancée could compare to her Highness.

Most importantly, Dark Moon Island does not practice monogamy. Having grown up on Dark Moon Island, she naturally accepted this culture.

"He doesn't even want to touch a mermaid, would he want to touch me?"

"Your Highness, it's not appropriate to compare yourself to a mermaid."

"Do you know, if he was willing to touch that mermaid today, I might have been happier. It would mean that everything is still possible, that I still have a chance."

"But if Mr. Karun really let that mermaid serve him, he wouldn't be the Mr. Karun you admire, would he?"

"I just asked him where he went this afternoon. He told me he went to eat seafood. I asked him what he did after that. Do you know what he answered?"

"How did Mr. Karun answer you, Your Highness?"

"He told me, he went to a brothel."

"I wonder, could it be possible that Mr. Karun guessed that you were the one who placed the order for him? He could have easily asked his colleagues who went with him when he went downstairs."

"He probably guessed it. It should have been an unspoken understanding, but he chose the most direct way. This is not honesty, but in his heart, he doesn't see me in that position."

"So that's what it means..."

"Panmiel, have you ever liked someone?"

"I have not."

"Do you know what it feels like to like someone?"

"I... don't know."

"I don't know either. Before I see him, sometimes his polite smile would appear in my mind, and I would subconsciously want to smile;

But after seeing him today, looking at his still polite smile, I almost couldn't resist the urge to punch him.

I really wanted to beat him up and throw him into the river!"

Ophelia pursed her lips and continued, "Ancestor Berna's notes are very accurate:

When you truly like someone, you can't help but be humble in front of them.

It seems that I should sort out my emotions. There's no need to continue to embarrass myself and be humble. Ancestor Berna also proved that even without love, one can still be a great person."

Finished,

All other emotions in Ophelia's eyes disappeared, leaving only the purest luster.

At this moment, someone outside the carriage reported:

"Your Highness, General Tafman has returned to the island. He sent a message inviting you to join him for dinner."

"Where is my uncle? Didn't he return to the palace?"

"No, the general is staying at the Ginkgo Villa on the downhill highland."

"Alright, I got it. I'll go right away."

…

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

It was dark.

Karun and Neo walked out of the room. At this time, no one was in the courtyard.

They didn't turn into black fog and disperse, but walked out openly.

As they passed by the room where Richard and Memphis were staying, they heard Richard vividly describing his wonderful experience with the mermaid this afternoon. His passionate storytelling made it feel as if they were there.

The more passionately he spoke now, the more passionately he would probably be beaten when he got back.

After leaving the courtyard and continuing to walk out of the hotel gate, Neo hailed a commercial carriage waiting outside the hotel, just like a taxi waiting outside a city hotel.

Neo first gave the location of a coffee shop, and the carriage took them there. On the way, they changed out of their robes and into casual clothes.

After getting off the carriage, they didn't go into the coffee shop, but walked in another direction. Their destination should not be far from here.

"Captain, do you remember the exact location?"

"I don't remember very clearly." Neo pointed to a residential area located at the foot of the mountain, "It should be there."

"Then let's take our time to find it."

"It shouldn't be that troublesome. I should be able to recall it when we pass by the entrance. I remember it's a pretty big villa with a lot of ginkgo trees inside."

—

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