CHAPTER 694: REPORT AND INVITATION

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"He led you to the Heart of the Sea God?"

The captain of the cruise exclaimed rather uncharacteristically after hearing what the acting captain of the entourage reported about their mission.

Nobody blamed him, though. Even the members of the entourage themselves were still recovering from that reveal. They never thought that they would see such a historical wonder that easily, even more so that easily.

"He called it ’The Heart of the Weeping Sea God.’" The acting captain corrected, "But yes, he did do that."

"How did he even know where it was? Did you run into somebody who hinted at its location or something?"

"No, sir. Nobody could even get close to our submarine due to the strong currents," the acting captain replied. "All he did, at one point in our journey, was to step out of the submarine without any assisting gear, stand still with his eyes closed, and then return to the ship, handing me a new route to follow and telling me that there was something he wanted to see along the way."

"Since the request wasn’t too excessive, I obviously followed his request. I never thought that the route would end up at that place."

The captain of the cruise didn’t speak for a bit. He studied the faces of the members of the entourage and saw that none of them seemed to be lying.

"Do you still have the route map he drew?"

"Yes, Sir. Here." The acting captain readily presented the route map Cedric gave to him earlier.

The captain of the cruise studied the route map and was inwardly surprised. He wasn’t expecting this VIP of theirs to know nautical navigation. What’s even more surprising is that the route was accurate in a way unique to the Howling Depths.

You see, the captain of the cruise had also visited the Heart of the Weeping Sea God back in the day. He’s been there numerous times and has led VIPs there himself.

The route to reach that place was never static. The Weeping Sea God never hid herself; it’s just that the flow of the water could often be misleading. In fact, to actually reach her, one must first sense the true current flow, not the obvious one that everybody else felt.

If the captain of the cruise wanted to reach that place, he would need the assistance of machines to do so. He unfortunately doesn’t have the ability to go there with nothing but his own abilities.

This client, on the other hand? Does.

The route map on his hand was exactly the kind of confusing and twisting path one would end up following to truly reach the heart due to the fickle movement of the Howling Depth’s true current flow.

This proves that the senses of this VIP were truly out of this world.

"And what exactly did he do there upon arrival?" The captain of the cruise asked.

"He approached the heart, sir, and I think it welcomed him?"

The captain of the cruise raised a brow and asked, "Oh? How so?"

"When we arrived there, the heart was protected by a whirlpool. It looked gentle, but I don’t doubt, even for a second, that crossing that will be suicide, regardless of the client’s strength."

The acting captain’s words were resolute, affirming his belief. And the captain of the cruise nodded, confirming this because this was indeed the case.

That seemingly docile whirlpool is the thing protecting the heart of the Sea God, and the Sea God was an absolute being within the Howling Depths, so how could it be simple? The captain himself had seen fools testing the temper of the Sea God despite his warnings; none of them lived long enough to see the next day, and some of these people were way stronger than he is. But even they couldn’t muster up any power to resist the sheer dominance of the Sea God.

That’s how powerful she truly was, and why everybody must respect her in her domain.

Nobody knows how the council negotiated with her, and frankly, the captain wasn’t that interested to know.

"That whirlpool dissipated on its own, sir," the acting captain reported. "The waters calmed down as he approached. And he touched the heart itself, seemingly communing with it."

The captain’s eyes widened for a bit.

"He touched? Really?"

"Yes, Sir. We weren’t under any illusions or anything...at least none that I know of. If there ever were any fallacies in what we saw, then it must be beyond our senses. But if there weren’t any, then our client has indeed touched that gigantic heart."

"Ah! He also shared the story with us." The acting captain nodded.

"Huh." The captain of the cruise was surprised.

How many times had he seen and watched people attempting to do the same thing? Honestly, he had already forgotten. He saw it happen way too many times in his tenure.

How many managed to actually do it? If his memory still serves him right, then there were only three people who did. And all of them had to risk an arm and a leg to do so.

None of them had it as easily as this new client of theirs had. Even the captain wished that he was there to see it in person.

The Sea God was kind to her people and indifferent to the tourists. She was biased, but that’s to be expected.

So, for her to graciously grant audience to an outsider was a heaven-defying feat, simply because she doesn’t do that.

He wondered how exactly this client of theirs managed to do that. But then, he reminded himself that it was none of his business.

As for the lore of the Sea God, the captain already knew it.

While it might be a well-kept secret by the natives of the Howling Depths, it’s only because they wanted to protect their god from the judgement of others. It wasn’t some world-ending secret outside.

Hell, if one was really curious about it, they could exchange this information through some Information Exchange Centers out there to do so. It’s quite expensive, but VIPs could easily afford it. Therefore, it wasn’t really as valuable as one would think.

The only reason why it’s a little expensive is because it’s the story of the Sea God; that’s it.

"And after that?"

"After that, we returned," the acting captain stated. "The client wasn’t even interested in the so-called ’core depths’ of the Howling Depths. He ordered us to return here, and that’s what we did. Now, we’re here. The client had already been handed over to his bodyguards and had returned to his residence, safe and sound."

"I see." The captain wasn’t surprised. "Great work. You guys can have three days off."

The members of the entourage saluted politely before dispersing. They didn’t complain about only having three days off because frankly, it’s already generous. The tour this time wasn’t nearly as stressful as the others they experienced.

Even if they were asked to return to their usual duties right away, none of them would complain, simply because they weren’t tired at all.

The captain only had a few moments of silence and loneliness before another presence announced itself in the same room.

He knew who this was, so he immediately put on a respectful expression.

"Very intriguing, isn’t he?" The man in the suit, the real boss behind the cruise, spoke in a rather amused voice. The captain kept his mouth shut.

"That childish and foolish sea god actually took a liking to him, not in an affectionate way, but through mutual respect. This client of ours expressed goodwill and showed good manners first, something that many tourists disdained to express due to their privileged backgrounds."

"And yet it’s this very simple gesture that allowed him to do what others before him couldn’t do. He didn’t even need to try."

The captain kept his face still and his body language subservient. From the way his boss spoke, it seems that he followed the entourage and saw the events that took place there in person. He sounded so sure of himself that the captain’s doubt also vanished.

This boss of his doesn’t have any reason to lie to him, after all.

"He’s a good guy, likeable and strong. He’d be a good replacement for the one I just fired. What do you think? Will he join or not?"

"..."

"..."

"I believe there is a great chance that he will, Sir. There’s nothing for him to lose, only to gain, so I don’t see why he’d reject. But of course, I can’t say this for sure. After all, I couldn’t firmly grasp the thoughts of this client."

"Is that so?"

The boss seemed pleased, causing the captain to breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.

"Very well, arrange a meeting between him and me soon. I’d like to make an offer to him in person. I’m sure he’d like to see some sincerity, after all."

And just like that, the boss left as abruptly as he appeared, leaving the acting captain grumbling inwardly for giving him another complicated task.