Carlotta's Daily Report

Carlotta and Amelia hauled the Black Goat's corpse out of the water and began searching for spoils. As a Weaver, Black Goat's treasures were naturally quite impressive.

A spatial artifact shaped like bracers fell into their hands. The internal space of this spatial item was enormous-so vast it even contained a mountain, which left Carlotta somewhat puzzled.

"Why would he keep an entire mountain inside a spatial item?"

Carlotta had never seen such a thing before.

Amelia thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps for combat use."

"Combat?"

"Mm. For example, during battle, suddenly throwing out this mountain."

"...When your spatial item is big enough, you really can do whatever you want."

Carlotta couldn't help but sighed in admiration.

Still, they had no use for the mountain. With a wave of her hand, Carlotta released it, letting the mountain sink back into the sea.

Afterwards, they took inventory: a large sum of money, alchemical materials, finished alchemical items, several books recording magic and knight path, and a few miscellaneous books on general knowledge.

Whatever was suitable for the Stellar Workshop was fed into it. Aside from that, only a few books and money were worth keeping-the rest of the clutter would just have to be discarded.

Unaware, time had almost already midnight.

The two continued sailing the New Moon across the ocean, testing its functions, while Carlotta summoned her information panel and glanced at it.

[1: As the tenth-ranked fugitive on the wanted list, Black Goat holds extremely high value. Turning him in for the bounty would grant alchemical materials equivalent to roughly 20% progress toward upgrading to a second-rank ship.]

Carlotta took a deep breath.

'Hold back!'

'I must hold back.'

She hadn't expected the first piece of information to hit her with such a bombshell. She had to admit-it was truly tempting.

Black Goat's corpse was still aboard the New Moon, preserved in ice. Carlotta had considered turning it in for the bounty before, but hesitated.

After all, this was a Weaver.

No matter who you were, bringing in someone of this level would draw a massive amount of attention.

Who could say what kind of trouble might arise then? Everything will be unpredictable.

'Still, I should turn him in eventually-but there's no rush. I can wait for the right opportunity.'

Carlotta thought quietly to herself.

[2: The list of wanted criminals is as follows: ...]

Carlotta looked at the second piece of information and fell silent in disbelief.

What was the point of giving her this kind of intel? Was she supposed to go hunting these wanted criminals specifically? Without even thinking, she knew that would be extremely dangerous.

Besides, these wanted criminals weren't easy to find. The fact they could remain on the wanted list for so long without getting caught meant either they were very strong, or very good at hiding.

'Without a map, how am I supposed to act on this information?'

Carlotta grumbled inwardly.

[3: The Mechanical Fortress has detected Dale Castro's death. Within a short time, it has pinpointed the location of his demise and is now lying in wait nearby.]

Carlotta narrowed her eyes.

She was truly growing impatient with the Mechanical Fortress organization. Originally, there had been no conflict between them, yet the group kept causing her trouble repeatedly.

In any case, this piece of information was useful. When returning to Island No.1, it will be best to land at a different location.

[4: The Shirley Sisters Support Association has been established. It was founded by admirers of Layla Shirley and Mary Shirley. As fans, they are actively recruiting members to provide public support for the famous sister duo.]

Carlotta wanted to say something but held back.

This was... a fan club? In this world, such organizations actually exist? For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

She rechecked the information. Seeing that the group was merely offering vocal support in their name and wasn't misusing her or Amelia's reputation, she decided not to intervene.

She'd just remember this for now. No need to deal with it at the moment.

[5: Mermaid Princess Helen particularly loves shiny, glittering things.]

Upon seeing this, Carlotta fell into thought.

She had already received an invitation to Mermaid Princess Helen's birthday banquet. Attending such an event without bringing a gift would clearly be inappropriate. But choosing the right gift requires some consideration.

This information came at just the right time. As long as she brought something sufficiently shiny and glittering, it should please Helen Ramirez, right?

But what exactly would be shiny enough?

A lightbulb?

Surely no one would be happy receiving a lightbulb as a gift. Besides, such things were far too common.

Carlotta suddenly thought of the flash grenades she'd used before, but quickly shook her head. She definitely couldn't fire a flash grenade at someone else's birthday party-that would undoubtedly cause trouble.

'I just need to give a gift that isn't embarrassing. It doesn't have to stand out too much. No need to be the center of attention. So I don't need to overthink this birthday gift.

Carlotta thought to herself.

Later, once she returned to Island No.1, she could simply stroll through the market and find something shiny.

[6: Valerie Graham has been injured.]

The final piece of information was brief, yet clearly important, causing Carlotta's eyes to light up slightly.

She naturally hadn't forgotten who Valerie Graham was. This name had been mentioned in previous intel-she was the last remaining elf left in the Bass Archipelago!

Why had she been injured?

Regardless of the reason, she'd certainly need to recover quickly, right? Since the intel mentioned this, perhaps Valerie's injuries couldn't be healed through conventional means?

Could the Source of Life prove effective?

Carlotta pondered, already looking forward to the mermaid princess's birthday banquet in the afternoon tomorrow.

Later, Carlotta and Amelia circled the dark ocean several times before deciding to return.

Under Carlotta's deliberate control, their return point was slightly offset, avoiding the Mechanical Fortress personnel.

After landing on the island, Carlotta said she needed to prepare a birthday gift for the mermaid princess tomorrow, so she and Amelia headed to the market once more.

There were many things that could be described as "shiny." After searching around, Carlotta finally bought a massive pearl. It was extremely bright, shimmering with luster, and carried a faintly warm, smooth sensation.

Carlotta couldn't say whether this counted as an especially good birthday gift, but at least it wasn't a bad one.

With the gift in hand, Carlotta and Amelia returned to the hotel and immediately went to sleep.

Due to the previous gathering of celebrities, they hadn't slept at all during the day. Although their spirits were fine, it was still best to rest when possible.

This sleep lasted straight until noon.

When Carlotta woke up, she inhaled the scent of Amelia beside her, immediately hugged her and lay still for a while longer, only getting up together after Amelia also woke up.

The midday sunlight was especially intense, especially in a place like the Islands, making it feel even hotter.

In the Northern Continent, the weather had already turned cooler, and further north one might even feel a slight chill.

But here in the Islands, it remains scorching.

Judging from past records, the Bass Archipelago has no autumn or winter, sunlight always shone directly overhead, and the hot climate was the dominant tone.

After getting up, Carlotta and Amelia finished their morning routines, had a light lunch, then began meditating and training inside the hotel.

Several hours passed before the two changed into elegant yet not overly extravagant dresses, and headed together toward the adjacent hotel hall.

The mermaid princess's banquet hadn't spread widely like the previous celebrity gathering, most people didn't even know about it.

When Carlotta and Amelia arrived and presented their invitation letters from before, they were allowed into the hall.

They had arrived relatively early, there weren't many people in the hall yet, but the mermaid princess Helen was already here.

She was a girl with long, sky-blue hair, wearing an exquisite dress, her face fair and delicate, with two small fangs that made her look quite adorable.

Some early guests had already come forward to give Helen their gifts and blessings. They chatted happily, and Carlotta even recognized the person, more accurately, she'd seen them before, since they were also on the celebrity ranking list.

When Carlotta and Amelia clicked, several eyes turned toward them.

"Isn't that Layla Shirley, ranked fifteenth?"

Someone whispered, but the words were audible to many.

Carlotta couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, her rank had gone up?

She hadn't checked the newspaper today and only now learned this news. Still, given her performance at the celebrity gathering, rising to fifteenth wasn't surprising.

Fortunately, the Bass Conference didn't know she had later slain Dale; otherwise, she'd have to compete with her other identity, Moon, for the number one spot. Of course, they might also discover she was Moon.

Seeing Helen glance in their direction, Carlotta stepped forward and, on behalf of herself and Amelia, presented the prepared birthday gift.

"Miss Helen, congratulations on growing another year older. I believe the world will reveal even more wonderful aspects to you in the days ahead."

Carlotta said with a smile.

"For me? Hehe, thank you!"

Helen happily accepted the birthday gift.

But she didn't open it on the spot, instead, she handed the box to someone nearby to set aside. Although she appeared childlike, she wasn't childish.

Carlotta and Helen then chatted a bit. Mostly, Helen was curious, asking her questions, like whether card magic was comfortable to use, and about her relationship with Amelia, even expressing envy at how freely they could live.

Soon after, Carlotta and Amelia moved to a corner.

More and more people kept arriving, and each one wanted to exchange a few words with Helen. As Helen grew busier, she naturally had no time for Carlotta and Amelia.

Sitting in the corner, Carlotta swept her gaze around, but didn't see anyone resembling the elf, Valerie Graham.

'She probably wouldn't hide her identity, right? If she didn't hide it, she'd be easy to spot, the elf traits are too obvious. Clearly, she hasn't arrived yet.'

Carlotta didn't rush, simply waiting patiently.

Not long passed before the hall grew lively, person after person appearing and gathering around Helen to chat.

Just before Helen's birthday banquet was about to truly begin, the arrival of a figure caught Carlotta's attention.

More accurately, this person drew nearly everyone's attention, her features were simply too distinctive: pointed ears, and thin, translucent wings behind her back, clearly marking her identity, the elf.

Valerie Graham wore a green dress in elven style, her long white-green hair flowing naturally. Her entire presence exuded a refreshing aura, as if she were an embodiment of nature, or like a breeze carrying longing for boundless freedom.

"Madam Graham."

Many people immediately stood up and walked towards Valerie, politely greeting her.

On the Islands, Valerie was undoubtedly a highly renowned figure. Although no one knew what had happened in Elven Home, it had caused many elves to return, yet Valerie remained behind to represent the elves and handle affairs here, this alone proved how high her status was. An ordinary person wouldn't have the qualification to take on such a role.

In response to the greetings, Valerie said directly, "If you have important matters to discuss with me, then speak. If it's just a casual greeting, don't bother me further."

She was straightforward and blunt, showing no intention of sparing anyone's feelings.

But given her status, such behavior poses no issue at all. The people around her immediately backed off, and no one dared disturb her.

Valerie then approached Helen, gave her a gift, offered a few words of encouragement, and left.

To her, Helen was a junior. She had good relations with Helen's previous generation, which was why she specifically came. But since they weren't peers, they actually shared little common ground, so naturally she didn't stay to talk much.

After Valerie left, Helen was once again surrounded by many people exchanging greetings.

Valerie had clearly shown her "keep away" attitude. Now seated in a corner, no one approached her, leaving the space around her cold and desolate.

Carlotta found it interesting, because the corner where Valerie sat was very close to where she herself was sitting.

"What now?"

Amelia quietly asked Carlotta.

She hadn't known an elf would appear at this birthday banquet, but she knew Carlotta had been searching for elves to obtain the follow-up content of the Elven Knight Path.

Now, an elf has appeared. In Amelia's eyes, this was naturally an extremely rare opportunity.

Carlotta smiled faintly. "I'll go talk to her later. No rush. Let me think about what to say."

Although she already knew the elf would appear, and even that she carried some injuries, she still intended to carefully consider her words.