Angor suddenly remembered to take what Torras “told” the skull before he died into account. At first, those seemed to be the desperate yearnings of a dying man. But since Lucas’ skull kept flashing beside Torras, the item must have “remembered” Torras’ wishes.
“So... ships often went missing at Gearwheel Grave just because you asked for it to happen?” Angor muttered.
People thought that it was a strange phenomenon typical in that part, but it was Torras who did it!
Torras removed his helmet and scratched the back of his head. “I dunno. Never wanted that for real.”
Angor checked Torras’ young look again carefully. Torras’ black hair was arranged in a pretty wild spiky style, but his immature face kinda ruined it.
“The skull granted everything you asked for. You could teleport at will, and you are now immortal as a soul...” Angor shook his head as he imagined what would happen if people knew that Torras was the culprit that dragged many ships into the “Ship’s Grave”.
They would probably get so angry that they would seek out Torras’ grave and spit on it.
What Torras told Angor today had helped him comprehend the mystery revolving around Lucas. It was all caused by Lucas’ skull, which was a mystery item that suddenly showed up inside Lucas.
Angor sighed again. Understanding the backstory wouldn’t help him retrieve the item.
A little bit irritated, he told Torras to read the book he prepared and learn something about the current world, before he stuffed the Church of the Deceased into his bracelet.
Anyone would feel greatly disturbed if they missed a Mystery item that was well within reach, and Angor wasn’t an exception. The annoyance was made worse when he just learned that the skull was a very powerful item that could control the future.
He spent the night while being tortured by his regret.
When Tulu woke up and saw Angor’s grim look the next morning, he felt too scared to make any sound because he thought Angor was furious at him.
“Kumur’s mother left some fish soup for you on the table. I give you half an hour to finish it and pack up. Then we’ll leave,” Angor said in a cold tone.
Tulu checked the steaming bowl and showed a hesitant look.
Angor gave him another cold glare. “What, afraid that she’ll poison you to death?”
“No no no.” Tulu waved his hands quickly. “I just—”
“Then get on with it. And remember to bring rations. I won’t feed you on our way.” Angor humphed and stepped out of the house.
Tulu looked at the slammed door with a confused look. Why did Mister Padt change so much overnight?
Outside the door, Angor saw a big group of villagers waiting outside. When they saw him, they stepped back in fear.
But when they saw that Angor wasn’t doing anything particular to them, they moved back and glanced into the yard curiously, where a couple—Kumur’s parents—as well as Kumur himself, were kneeling on the ground.
The black circles around their eyes suggested that they had a rough night.
“Sir Wizard, we’re a failure as his family. Please punish us and forgive Kumur...”
When Angor came, Kumur’s mother hit her head on the dirt while weeping badly.
Kumur’s father was an elderly fisherman who was smoking a pipe on the ground but wasn’t following the example of his wife.
Little Kumur was terrified by what his parents were doing. The boy was crying, but at the same time, he was trying not to be too loud.
Angor already saw such a sight using his spirit feelers earlier. The only difference was that the villagers would occasionally mumble opinions about what they saw, but they all fell quiet when he was here.
The reason for the drama was rather simple. Yesterday night, Kumur would dream of the ferocious beast eating him alive every time he closed his eyes. He cried all night without getting any sleep at all.
That was when Kumur’s mother realized what Angor meant by “giving Kumur eternal nightmare as a punishment”. They came to Angor and pleaded for mercy in the early morning.
Angor wasn’t in a good mood right now after losing that Mystery item, and the display just worsened his feelings. However, he still remained quiet without venting out his rage on the mortal couple just to be peaceful.
From the crying woman, he learned that Kumur grew a little spoiled because his mother tended to coddle him too much, while Kumur’s father spent most of his time on the sea and rarely spent much time with his family.
All these factors contributed to Kumur’s rowdy nature.
This wasn’t a serious problem since many families tended to have similar problems with their education. It was just that nobody thought Kumur would cause such a big disaster.
Angor glanced around at the villagers and noticed that all of these folks were in a similar condition because they couldn’t send their children to proper schools. These people seemed kind in nature, but at the same time, they were too blind.
But this couldn’t be helped. The remote village was their home.
Kumur’s mother spent the whole morning pleading without earning any response from Angor. Tulu finished his preparation for travel and stepped into everyone’s view.
Kumur’s father had not witnessed the terrible outcome caused by his son because he returned too late yesterday. When he saw half of Tulu’s face was covered by bloody bandages, the old man finally lost it and burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, Tulu... I’m fuc*ing sorry! Your grandmother asked me to keep an eye on you, but I... I’m such a loser to her!”
Tulu was a bit confused at what he saw until Ralph explained the situation to him.
Kumur’s mother saw it and thought that Tulu would help her persuade Angor.
But it didn’t happen.
Tulu didn’t pay them much attention and simply joined Angor. “Shall we go now, Mister Padt?”
Angor smirked. It seemed Tulu remembered his lesson.
He then spoke to Kumur’s family, “Like I said, it will go away the moment he understands his mistake.”
Without minding Kumur’s mother, who was almost screaming in despair, Angor brought Tulu away. The villagers around the house quickly stepped aside to give way to them.
At the entrance of the village, they saw the mayor and his father waiting for them.
“You’re taking Tulu with you, sir?” the old man asked.
“As a traveler, I need to look for all the beautiful things this world has to offer.” Angor smiled.
The mayor looked at Tulu’s bandage and the big package, which was bigger than Tulu himself. “Maybe you should at least wait until you recover?”
Tulu shook his head. “I’m leaving to do something about my wound faster.”
By this, Tulu meant to become a supernatural individual to heal his ear. However, the mayor thought that Tulu wanted to get away from this sickening place as fast as possible.
“I see... Be well. And remember that your home is always waiting for you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Tulu nodded. “Look after my grandmother, please.”
“Rest assured. I’ll keep her resting place tidied as much as I can.”
“Let’s go.” Angor finished exchanging courtesy with the old man and walked away while Tulu bade farewell to the villagers, gave Ralph a friendly hug, and followed behind Angor.
Tulu didn’t know what awaited him ahead, but he felt excited to find out.
When Angor and Tulu left toward the sky on Gondola, a young man in a blue robe, who had been reading a cantrip book under the sea, stretched his arms and showed an impatient expression.
“Man... guess I’ll follow them. It’s my job anyway.”
He shook his head and melted into a stream of bubbles that followed the currents.