4. Zimmerman Axel Robin

Charles couldn't have imagined that he would be sent on official business to Kilmainham Prison and even gain the appreciation of his senior Ms. Menilman, resulting in an unexpected promotion and salary increase.

Yet, no perfect start could ease the pressure deep in his heart.

The room gradually darkened, and Charles didn't turn on the light, nor was there any light to turn on. There were no streetlights outside the window, and after nightfall, it was pitch black, starkly different from the world he had come from.

In every city, there were streetlights, and after nightfall, they shone bright, even outshining the stars above. That world was now a thing of the past.

After a while, Charles clenched his fists lightly and swung them slightly, whispering, "Mr. Yellow Sea Life, you've done very well today."

"Please continue to work hard and keep it up tomorrow."

He gave himself encouragement, took out a kerosene lighter, gently flicked the wheel to strike the flint, and lit an oil lamp in the room.

There was no light to turn on, but there was a light to be lit.

Although dim and dull, the oil lamp was still a lamp.

Charles looked around at the room that belonged to him. The savings association apartment provided only to single young people, so all of the apartments were one-room units.

It had a separate bathroom, indicating that this era already had sewage systems in place, but no separate kitchen. He could only use a kerosene stove to make some coffee, soup, or simple oatmeal.

The layout inside the room was a combination of bedroom and study, with a desk—not too large but sufficient for writing—a cabinet for clothes, and a single sofa.

When Charles saw the gas stove, he couldn't help but feel hungry; he hadn't eaten anything all day.

Ms. Menilman seemed to have forgotten this fact, and since she hadn't eaten anything herself, she naturally did not prepare any food for Charles.

Charles stood up and, by the faint kerosene lamp, started the kerosene stove. He found a few potatoes, some vegetables that looked like peas, a bottle of seasoning that appeared to be curry and smelled like it too, and half a loaf of bread that was hard and black.

There was no electricity in this era, but the apartment had running water. Charles filled a pot halfway with clear water, peeled and diced the potatoes, threw in a handful of peas, added two spoonfuls of seasoning, and after the water boiled, broke up the black bread and tossed it in.

A few minutes later, he served his dinner on a plate.

Honestly, it tasted terrible.

But after going hungry all day, Charles was not concerned about the flavor. He quickly finished the pot of food and even boiled another half pot of water for some tea.

The tea was also from storage, had a strong flavor, and was very different from the taste of tea on Earth. It had a peculiar and stimulative taste, as though spiced with peppercorns and chilies.

Charles frowned as he took a sip, then sat back in the wicker chair, took out his journal and hesitated, but didn't open it.

Since returning from Senis, he had handed his luggage over to the Imperial Post for shipment, carrying only this journal with him. Charles had only hastily skimmed the last few pages before leaving, confirming the previous owner had died summoning the Evil God, without having fully perused it.

The light from the oil lamp was weak, and under such lighting conditions, he didn't want to read anything, as it was bad for his eyesight.

His bigger worry was the journal being tainted with the aura of the Evil God; the former owner died from summoning the Evil God, and there might be some "unclean" things in it.

Sipping on the tea, Charles slowly recalled the documents he had seen during the day, using the memories to pass the time.

Frankly, he had not expected to see so many sensational secrets.

Most of these documents were related to one person.

Zimmerman Axel Robin!

This man was of noble origin, originally named: Zimmerman Robin!

Five eras ago, Saroses Robin assisted King Axel, ascending to the throne from being a commoner, and became the Fars Empire's highest hereditary noble with his loyalty and bravery, his iron blood and achievements.

Even before the meteoric rise of Saroses, the Robin Family was the oldest nobility within the Inglima Empire, producing countless scholars, military strategists, adventurers, as well as unparalleled warriors and swordsmen who were unrivaled in their audacity!

In the newly born Fars Empire, the power, prestige, and status of the Robin Family even surpassed what it had been during the Inglima Empire era.

From a young age, Zimmerman showed a monstrous talent; he entered Habsburg Public School at six and graduated at the top of his class in the third year, subsequently gaining admission to the National Academy.

All the public schools in the Empire operated on a credit system, with an average completion time of six and a half years.

Habsburg Public School, ranked first in the Empire, had particularly stringent academics, with many students taking more than eight years to graduate, and it wasn't rare to see students who spent more than ten years there.

Zimmerman's ability to finish his studies in three years, securing the top spot upon graduation, was enough to make all his peers look up to him, to say he was a future star of the Empire was hardly a compliment—it was a fact.

Charles graduated in five years but ranked only eighty-ninth in his exam results, and his Lemann Public School was far inferior to Habsburg, merely a second-rate institution.

Zimmerman Robin's resume didn't end there; at thirteen, he breezed through his coursework at the National Academy, once again with dazzling results, he was admitted to the Royal Hogwarts University and, as a rare genius who comes once in a century, he completed his studies there before turning twenty.

After graduation, he declined numerous attractive job offers, choosing instead to join the Imperial Navy, where within one year, he rose from captain of a third-level ship to commanding officer of a naval fleet with five warships, leading his fleet to sweep away eight pirate fleets consecutively and subdued East Li Nation, a persistent headache for the Empire, turning it into an overseas territory of the Empire.

Logically, he should have become the governor of East Li Nation, but he turned down the appointment and... led his troops in mutiny!

He joined the largest pirate group.

This favored son of heaven immediately became the Empire's number one on the most-wanted list, with an unprecedented bounty of five hundred thousand Gold Eglus!

Before he made the list, the renowned Pirate King who was ranked number one had a bounty of only one hundred and sixteen thousand Gold Eglus, and the combined bounties for the top ten outlaws were only four hundred and eighty-six thousand Gold Eglus.

At that time, the Empire was swept up in an indescribable frenzy, as no one could guess why he would abandon such a promising future and willingly degrade himself.

The King was extremely enraged and publicly humiliated the head of the Robin Family several times.

Unable to contain his fury, the family head announced the disownment of his surname and declared in the newspapers, "The Robin Family will never again associate with an Empire traitor."

No one could have imagined that this brash individual would go on to do even more earth-shattering things!

Less than half a year after Zimmerman Axel joined the Pirate King's fleet, he boldly challenged the Pirate King and, in a well-planned public confrontation, killed the ruler of the Seven Seas who had reigned for over fifty years and even posed a subtler threat to the Empire's navy—the Pirate King.

It took him three years to unify the sixteen pirate fleets of the Seven Seas and, with his lofty prestige, he became the newly crowned Pirate King.

Then, Zimmerman Axel made an astounding decision that shocked the world—he led the joint pirate fleet back to the Empire.