Shrouded Seascape

"You guys go… I won't go..." Lily said to the mischief of mice before her.

Lily's ears were drooping as she stood on her own grave.

Without Lily, the mischief of mice wouldn't go anywhere. They huddled together, quietly staring at their king.

Every strand of Lily's fur glistened beneath the sunlight. The tips of her white fur were once again being eroded by a golden hue. It was probably only a matter of time before she became a golden mouse once again.

A new mound of earth the size of a fist was next to Lily's grave, and there was a crooked blade of grass sticking out of it.

It was Pope Lylejay's grave, and Lily had built it personally.

The grave was tiny, and it looked like she had just piled a bunch of mud for fun.

Lily herself had no idea why she had even bothered to do something like this, but she did.

Lylejay looked like a lovely blond boy on the surface, but he was actually a hundred-and-thirty-year-old fanatic of the Light God.

He was an extreme fanatic who had murdered countless people for the sake of the Light God, but he was finally dead. It was a very ironic death where he had ended up dying to save others.

Feeling a bit down, Lily walked up to the tiny grave and stared blankly at it.

Tears soon unwittingly flowed down her eyes.

"Why am I crying again? I clearly don't want to cry."

Lily wiped her tears away with her tiny paws and turned around, walking out of the cemetery. "Doctor Grandpa, I'm leaving now. I'll see you again next time."

The tears flowing down Lily's face finally stopped when she walked out of the cemetery, which was being illuminated by the sun. She walked back home while looking around at the giants minding their own business.

The people of Hope Island had long gotten used to the large mischief of colorful mice. Except for a few children pointing at Lily, everyone was minding their own business.

Although accompanied by a large mischief of mice, Lily's figure appeared a bit desolate for some reason. Her attention wasn't on the scenery of Hope Island but on her own thoughts.

"The mice I sent out back then must be nearing the V12 Containment Site by now, right?" Lily muttered to herself, but then her expression suddenly became conflicted. She was just reminded of Sparkle's words.

Sparkle had told her that bringing her parents from a parallel world to this world wasn't a great idea and that she'd be hurting them just to assuage her longing.

"I still have some time to recall the mice from their journey, but… I really miss them so much..."

Amidst the hodgepodge of emotions and an internal conflict, Lily unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the Governor's Mansion. Under the watchful eyes of the gun-toting guards, Lily stepped beyond the gates of the Governor's Mansion.

Lily soon arrived in a spacious hall, and a black cat jumped down from a wooden table on the side. The cat rushed toward Lily and licked her with its rough tongue.

The cat was none other than Blackie, one of the two kittens that Lily had decided to raise. Except for mealtimes, when it would visit the kitchen and meow at the chef, Blackie was always wandering around the Governor's Mansion.

It could be said that Blackie was living the best life throughout Hope Island. It had a place to eat and live for free. It could do whatever it wanted to do, and it could go wherever it desired.

Even the life of Hope Island's Governor couldn't compare to Blackie. After all, Blackie was a cat, so it didn't have to think about handling island affairs and how to handle any threats to the Subterranean Sea.

"Blackie, you're living the best life ever. You don't have to think about any issues at all. Why am I a mouse? It would be nice if I were a cat; at the very least, I'd definitely be bigger than I am now," Lily said, stroking Blackie's chin.

Blackie sprawled out next to Lily and purred while rubbing its head against hers.

Just as Lily was having a great time playing with the cat, she saw Anna clad in a tight silk dress walking down the corridor next to her.

Lily immediately stopped whatever she was doing and dove straight into Blackie's fur. She cast a vigilant eye at Anna while hiding inside Blackie's fur.

The corners of Anna's mouth curled up slightly in a faint smile. She didn't even glance at Lily as she walked straight out of the mansion.

It was only when Anna disappeared at the end of the corridor did Lily let out a sigh of relief.

"Monster Sister has become so scary now. Can Mr. Charles really stand being around her all day?" Lily muttered to herself, and then her eyes lit up afterward. "I know! Maybe I should talk to Mr. Charles about this conundrum? Perhaps he has a great solution to offer!"

The white mouse climbed onto the black cat's back and instructed it to make a beeline for Charles' study.

It took no time for Lily to find Charles. The latter was sitting with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and his eyes were closed tightly. He seemed to be pondering over something.

"Mr. Charles? Are you free right now?" Lily asked, poking half of her head into the room through the ajar door.

Charles opened his eye, and a tinge of tenderness fleeted across his eye upon seeing Lily. "Is something wrong?"

A mischief of colorful mice helped Lily up the table, and Lily quickly climbed up Charles' outstretched right hand.

"Mr. Charles, isn't the crisis over now? Why do you still look unhappy?" Lily asked, sounding curious.

"Over? It's far from over," Charles said. He didn't want to discuss such an extremely serious topic with Lily, so he closed his palm and stroked Lily's figure with one hand before asking, "Why did you come here?"

Lily leaned against Charles' fingers and told him her dilemma about her parents.

Lily's words reminded Charles of the V12 Containment Site that was holding an entirely different world in containment. Charles was also reminded of the parallel-world version of himself inside DE1344.

"It is true that it's a bad idea to bring your parents from that world into this world. They don't belong to this world, after all," Charles advised.

"But… I'm really missing them so much… If I hadn't visited my parents of this world, I would have forgotten what they looked like," Lily said coyly.

Charles put Lily down on the table in front of him and said, "Then, let me offer you another solution. Just go back there once everything is over."

Lily stared blankly at the huge face in front of her, and her large eyes welled up with tears. She sounded aggrieved as she asked, "Mr. Charles, do you not want me anymore? Am I useless now?"

Charles gently lifted Lily off the table and held her in his arms. He stroked her gently and said, "Of course, you're not useless. I understand your feelings, as I've lost my home, too.

"It's been a long time since then, but I can still remember its warmth. Your home is on that side, and you can definitely go back home."

Lily spread her forelimbs open and herself onto Charles. The tears dripping down her furry cheek stained Charles' clothes as she said, "B-but… I can't bear to part with you, either."

Charles felt a pang in his heart. He lowered his head and kissed Lily's head.

"Everything will be fine. Leave everything to me, and don't worry about it."

"Mmhm." Lily nestled in his embrace and looked up.

"Mr. Charles, do you still remember what I looked like when I was still human?"

Charles instantly recalled the appearance of a little girl whose appearance was reminiscent of a green apple. "Mmhm."