Shrouded Seascape

This bookstore in the outpost was selling most of the Subterranean Sea's published books. The bookstore's four walls were also covered in books of a variety of sizes.

However, it was deserted compared to the other shops throughout the outpost, and it was all because the majority of the explorers didn't really care about the knowledge that they contained.

The newly arrived books with white covers didn't attract any attention except for the attention of explorers with "special interests" searching for pornographic books.

"Ugh, it stinks… it's so smelly," Lily said with her face scrunched and her nose covered by her tiny paw as she moved away from the new pile of books.

"That's the smell of money—the smell of the expensive purple-ringed octopus ink. It's a scent unique to new books, as this smell will gradually fade and become a fragrance from a stench," Grace said, picking up a book and flipping through it.

"I don't believe you. You must be lying to me. How can a stench become a fragrance?" Lily said, sticking out her tiny tongue at Grace.

However, it seemed like Grace didn't hear Lily, as she was completely engrossed in the book in her hands. After a few minutes of reading, she tossed the book aside and quickly dove into the pile of books, searching for something.

"Found it! I knew there'd be an original version of this!" Grace exclaimed and excitedly flipped through the book with her gaze unwittingly transfixed on its pages.

Lily walked up to her and cast a bewildered gaze at the text on the book cover in Grace's hands.

"Elementary Physics? What's that?" Lily asked, but she soon sighed helplessly upon seeing that Grace was not listening to her at all. It seemed that their plan to visit the newly opened cinema was now completely off the table.

Lily turned and ran over to the bookstore owner, asking, "Mister, where are the romance novels?"

With that, the two stayed in the bookstore until the owner told them that it was time to close up shop. The entranced Grace finally snapped back to reality.

"I want all of these books! The legend is true! This is so awesome! So this was how the Eye of Truth created the entire world!!" Grace exclaimed.

Hugging a stack of books, Grace enthusiastically shared the knowledge that she had discovered from the strange books with Lily. She was delighted and excited upon seemingly discovering a new world.

Grace felt like her worldview had changed drastically.

"Lily, let me tell you—this… this is just the first of many! Apparently, the combined weight of the Foundation's knowledge is several tons, at the very least! I really think that it will take a lifetime to understand the content of these books."

While Grace was talking nonstop, she collided with someone, and the books in her arms scattered all over the ground.

"S-sorry! I should have watched where I was going..." Grace apologized and crouched to pick up the scattered books when a mechanical arm reached down from above her, picking up one of the books.

Grace looked up and was astonished to see a figure towering two meters tall. The surface world's climate wasn't cold, but the figure was completely wrapped in a black cloth.

His form was uneven; he had a large, muscular frame but with a small head, which made Grace think of a little giant upon seeing him.

The little giant used his steel palm to flip through the pages of a book titled—Introduction to Mechanical Drawings. He examined it page by page, and by the time Grace and Lily had picked up all the scattered books, the little giant was still engrossed in reading.

"Sir, do you also enjoy reading and learning many things from books?" Grace asked, not minding the other party's bizarre appearance. She simply thought that she had found a kindred spirit upon seeing how engrossed he was in the book.

The little giant looked up, glancing at Lily on the ground through the black cloth covering his face before his gaze settled on Grace.

"You're a woman, but… you're interested in machinery?" The little giant spoke in a deep and hoarse voice that sounded similar to what a typical middle-aged man would sound.

"Yes! I'm interested in machinery, too. Actually, I love reading all kinds of books! The knowledge they contain is all fascinating to me," Grace replied.

The little giant sized up Grace from top to bottom before returning the book in his hand back to her.

"You look like you're from the Western Seas? I've dealt with them before, and they're quite rigid in thinking. It's rare for someone like you to be interested in machinery."

Grace blushed slightly, shyly accepting the book upon hearing the approval in the other party's voice. "I don't think so. If we had ways to connect with the outside world, I'm sure everyone there would be as excited and as curious as me.

"Besides, the world didn't really have books like this until now."

Hearing that, the little giant became agitated, and he exclaimed, "No! These books didn't come from what Foundation or Charles. These books contain knowledge that has existed in the Subterranean Sea for a long time now.

"Otherwise, where do you think electricity and advanced steamships came from?!"

Realizing that Grace seemed to have become a bit afraid of him, the little giant softened his voice as he asked, "Child, have you heard of the Island of Machinery, the Albion Isles?"

Grace was stunned by the question. She pondered briefly over it before timidly saying, "Sorry, I haven't heard of that island before. I think it's not an island in the Western Seas. I'm sorry, I don't know much about islands outside the Western Seas. This is my first time leaving the lighthouse where I lived…"

"It's fine. Come with me and let me buy you a drink. I'll tell you more about the Albion Isles, which was an island covered in machinery; many wonderful stories had taken place on that fascinating island." The little giant turned his covered face away and started walking toward a bustling bar nearby.

He didn't even bother waiting for Grace's response.

Grace hesitated. She turned to Lily, asking for the latter's opinion, only to see her looking around nervously.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"I don't know… I just feel like someone's staring at me," Lily said, her furry head turned as she looked around with a confused look.

"Um, would it be dangerous for us to go to a bar? I read in a book that the bars in any island's harbor district are full of bad people.

Lily's ears perked up at Grace's words, and she nodded hurriedly, saying, "Sure, sure, let's go to a bar! I've never been to a bar, and I've never had alcohol, either!"

Under Lily's persuasion, the young girl eventually walked over to the bar where the little giant had disappeared. As soon as they entered the bar, they immediately attracted the gaze of everyone inside.

Coincidentally, Cook Planck of the Narwhale was in the same bar, and he immediately retracted his hand, which was inside a hostess' clothes, upon seeing Lily and Grace.

"What is Lily doing here?"

Before he could figure out the answer to his question, he saw Grace and Lily sitting down at the bar at the invitation of a man with features that made him resemble a little giant.

Planck pondered briefly over his next course of action. Moments later, he picked up a foaming mug of beer from the hostess tray and walked over to Lily and Grace.

"Albion Isles was an industrial city and was also famous for being the Island of Machinery. It was a huge part of the world's shipbuilding industry, as a massive chunk of the processed materials required from the industry are processed on Albion Isles.

"In addition, today's core of navigation—the turbine engines—was invented on the Albion Isles," the little giant said, sounding a bit emotional.

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