Chapter 11: "The Golden Temptation"

Evelina ate a bowl of soup and a bowl of porridge. However, she was still not satisfied and kept asking for more. Eleanor was busy feeding Evelina, while the tavern owner ran between the room and the kitchen, bringing one tray of food after another.

Eventually, after the sixth bowl of porridge and the sixth bowl of soup, the tavern owner couldn't take it anymore and simply brought an entire pot of soup and a pot of porridge.

Evelina continued eating, and gradually the food in the two large pots was consumed.

"Would you like more?" Eleanor asked.

Evelina looked around and saw that the pots were empty. Her face turned red with embarrassment. Uncomfortably smiling, she said:

"That's enough, I'm not hungry anymore," Evelina said.

However, from the corner of her eye, she was still looking at the pots. It was clear that she was still a little hungry.

Eleanor was horrified at how the petite Evelina could eat so much food. However, she quickly attributed this oddity to her fusion with the Life Crystal.

After the meal, Evelina's condition returned to its previous state. Her emaciated appearance disappeared, and the childlike fat returned to her face.

"Can you explain what happened to you? How do you feel?" Eleanor asked.

"I feel better than ever. My body feels as light as a feather," Evelina said.

"And you say this after eating two huge pots of food?!" Eleanor thought.

"Just this? What about the disappearance of the golden crystal from my hand?" Eleanor asked.

Evelina blinked. Eleanor didn't remember that she had sealed the woman's soul in golden dress and the golden crystal in her body and consciousness?! Had she forgotten?! Without much thought, Evelina began recounting everything from the beginning when Eleanor grabbed the golden crystal.

"The crystal is located in the space within my heart…"

"After the soul of the woman in the golden dress suddenly dispersed in my sea of consciousness…"

"I had to cover the golden crystal with the fire of life to regain control of my body."

Eleanor delved into deep thought; there were too many strange elements. How could she have placed the Life Crystal and the soul of the woman in the golden dress into Evelina's body and consciousness? She didn't have such abilities.

Moreover, her hair turned golden just from touching the crystal, and Evelina's transformation continued for several days. This indicated that the crystal had a higher compatibility with her, and she could have easily gained a magical bloodline with it. This high compatibility also suggested that in a past life she was indeed the strongest warrior of the human race, the Great Golden Magus. It was a pity that the crystal had already fused with Evelina. There was a chance that with the crystal, she could become the Great Magus again.

Suddenly, Eleanor slapped her cheeks with her hands.

Evelina, who was still looking at the empty pots, was surprised by Eleanor's sudden action.

"No, the Golden Mage was able to reach the pinnacle of humanity only due to the sacrifices made by the All-Seer throughout his entire life. However, in the end, she too fell because of it. This only means that her path was not the right one. If I were to merge with the crystal, my fate would be no better than hers. In this life, I have sworn that I will not be bound by any shackles. I will surpass the Great Mage and achieve absolute freedom."

As this last thought crossed Eleanor's mind, the pain between her brows that had troubled her for the past few days suddenly ceased, and then an inexplicable sense of comfort appeared in her consciousness. Eleanor began to feel and see the entire room; moments later, she could see the entire tavern. All the clients, the tavern owner, and all the rooms of the tavern mind.

"What is this?!"

This feeling was akin to her consciousness and will expanding beyond her body and covering the entire tavern. Eleanor also gained access to her sea of consciousness, which she had only visited once thanks to the woman in the golden dress. In the next moment, she felt another will that also covered the tavern after her. The source of this will was Evelina next to her.

Evelina also sensed Eleanor's will. They looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them understood what was happening.

At that moment, among the scattered fragments of memories left by the woman in the golden dress in Evelina's consciousness, one fragment illuminated.

"Magic sense," Evelina said.

"Magic sense?" Eleanor repeated.

"When the power of the soul breaks beyond the body and consciousness, it is called a magical sense," Evelina explained.

"This information is from the memories of the woman in the golden dress?" Eleanor asked.

"Of course," Evelina answered.

Stars appeared in Eleanor's eyes. Evelina had already said that her head was filled with countless memories. But she hadn't fully believed it. Now she did. To her, Evelina was like a human encyclopedia. She no longer needed to read or search through books; she just needed to ask Evelina.

"I wonder if we will make it to the ship in time?" Eleanor suddenly said, remembering that today a ship was departing for the Misty Island.

"Is there a ship to the Misty Island today?" Evelina asked.

"If it hasn't already left, it should be," Eleanor replied.

Now, the ship to the Misty Island was no longer too important to her. There was a good chance that among the memories in Evelina's mind, there was a simpler and more accessible way to restore her magical bloodline.

"Ah!" Evelina exclaimed, "Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Evelina knew that the Misty Island was very important to Eleanor. She had mentioned the Misty Island everywhere—in the carriage, at the tavern, and at the port.

Evelina got out of bed and quickly started dressing. She dressed like a soldier, and in moments, she had put on her cloak.

"Let's go," Evelina said.

Eleanor took a deep breath and said:

"Alright."

She stood up and put on her cloak. She decided not to rely solely on Evelina's memories. She could also ask Evelina along the way. Maybe before they reached the Misty Island, she would indeed restore her magical bloodline; if not, she could still do it on the Misty Island.

They went down to the lower floor and sat at a table. Even though Evelina had eaten two pots of food, Eleanor had not eaten anything. The tavern owner immediately brought them six bowls of fish soup.

Evelina ate one bowl of soup, and the remaining five were consumed by Evelina. Evelina ate very quickly, and before Eleanor could finish one bowl of soup, Evelina had already eaten the fifth bowl.

"Next time, I'll ask them to bring you a pot directly," Eleanor thought.

Eleanor finished eating and looked at the satisfied Evelina. This time, it seemed she was truly full.

Eleanor and Evelina stood up and left the tavern.

The tavern owner came to clear their table. Under the bowl, there were five gold coins. The tavern owner glanced left and right, then quietly pocketed the coins.

…

Fifteen minutes later

Eleanor and Evelina arrived at Dock Seven.

Eleanor saw a ship with a wooden crane mounted on the bow. The wooden crane was graceful and spread its wooden wings wide as if preparing to fly off the ship.

However, it was not the beauty of the crane that attracted Eleanor. The boy said that the captain of the ship going to the Misty Island was named Crane. The wooden crane and the captain's name were definitely related.

Eleanor led Evelina to the ship. Next to the gangway stood a tanned young man.

"May I ask if this is Captain Crane's ship?" Eleanor inquired.

Seeing the beautiful Eleanor, the young man was momentarily stunned. For sailors who are constantly at sea, it is rare to see women, especially such beautiful women as Eleanor.

Eleanor, noticing the young man's stunned reaction, immediately understood his thoughts. Although he did not say anything or move, his eyes roamed up and down her body. Her eyes instantly turned cold.

"Is this ship going to the Misty Island?" Eleanor asked another question, but this time her voice lacked any politeness.

"Yes, of course," the young man replied.

"The fare is fifteen silver per person, which includes both food and water," the young man said.

"When do we depart?" Eleanor asked.

"There are still six passenger spots available. Once they are filled, we will depart," the young man replied.

"Evelina, you know what to do," Eleanor said.

"Certainly," Evelina took out a gold coin from the inner pocket of her cloak and handed it to the young man.

"We will depart now," Eleanor said and began walking up the gangway to the ship's deck.

The young man stared at the gold coin in astonishment for a moment, then suddenly remembered something frightening and shuddered. He turned to Eleanor and shouted.

"Sorry, miss, but the ship won't depart until three more people arrive. If you want, I can give you change."

Eleanor sighed.

"Evelina, give him more, but make it more."

Evelina took out three more coins and handed them to the young man.

The young man held the additional three coins and swallowed. Three gold coins or three hundred silver coins fell straight into his pocket. For a moment, he couldn't decide; on one hand, it was a huge bonus, but on the other hand, a big fear. In the end, greed won over fear.

"Now can we finally depart?" Evelina asked instead of Eleanor.

"Yes, little miss, you're right. We will depart immediately."

Eleanor and Evelina went up to the deck, and the young man led them to a large room. There were already more than twenty people there. Some were sitting on the floor and chatting, while others were lying in hammocks.

"Make yourselves comfortable," the young man said and left the room.

…

On the deck, the young man approached another crew member. He was a middle-aged man.

"Duke, it's time to set sail," the young man said.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you think I'm blind? I've been counting; we're still short three passengers. The captain will kill us if we set sail with an insufficient number of passengers. Do you remember what happened last time we made this mistake?" Duke said.

"What about this?" the young man showed Duke the gold coin.

"Gold?" Duke was surprised, but then he sighed deeply and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "My life is still precious to me."

"What about two?" the young man took out the second gold coin.

Duke did not open his eyes for five seconds, then he opened them, took the two coins from the young man's hand, and asked:

"Is there more?"

"There were three, I gave you two," the young man said, showing the last coin.

"Alright, we'll set sail. But know that if the captain gets angry, you'll bear the full brunt of his wrath, Sinbad," Duke said.

Sinbad replied, thumping his chest with his right hand, "All responsibility is of course on me."