Chapter 46: Spying
Behind the stone door, there stood another figure. It was an elderly woman with snow-white hair, dressed in a blue-green fur robe, trembling as she stood behind the door.
"Ah, it's Your Majesty, the King."
When the elderly woman saw the fat man walk in, she hurriedly stepped forward and bowed in greeting.
"Aunt Atam, didn't I already tell you? There's no need to bow when you see me ." The fat man hurriedly helped the old woman up, looking very uncomfortable with others bowing to him.
After some introductions, Kado and the others learned about the elderly woman's identity. Her name was Atam, and she was already 60 years old. She had once been a member of the guard team. After losing her husband and child while hunting sea kings, she became homeless in her old age and voluntarily became a servant to the governor, helping with cleaning and escorting guests.
After explaining her intentions, the elderly woman placed her hand on the stone door, effortlessly closing the heavy door, which weighed tens of thousands of pounds. She then led the four of them deeper into the cave.
Like the cave in the Naga Palace, the ceiling of the queen's cave was also adorned with large, glowing night pearls, illuminating the entire space brightly.
After walking a few steps forward, a small but warm-looking space appeared before Kado's eyes. In the center of the space stood a house made of white jade marble. The house, about 100 square meters in size, had only three rooms, which seemed to be the queen's residence.
"Miss, His Majesty the King has come to visit," the elderly woman stopped in front of the door and announced.
"How did Little Mao Mao think of coming here? Just in time, I have something to discuss with him," before the person appeared, a fragrant breeze swept in, followed by a playful voice that startled everyone. This voice was full of teasing, completely different from the cold tone the queen had used when speaking to Kado earlier.
Click
The door of the stone house opened, and a long, slender leg emerged. It was at this moment that the queen realized there were others accompanying Fatty, one of whom was the pirate who had previously said he wanted to conquer her.
"Why are there others?" The queen's face flushed slightly, nearly gasping in surprise. She was dressed in sleepwear, and had just been teasing Fatty with the nickname "Little Mao Mao." That affectionate tone was a far cry from her usual dignified demeanor. Now, seeing strangers present, she suddenly felt her image crumbling, especially in front of the person who had once said he wanted to conquer her.
The queen's body trembled slightly for a moment. She forcefully closed the stone door, retreating into the room, leaving the four outside exchanging glances.
After a long wait, the queen opened the door again, now dressed in her usual black tight-fitting outfit. Her expression was cold as she invited Fatty and the others inside.
"Sister, I heard someone proposed to you. I came to see what he looks like," Fatty said casually, sitting down on a stone chair and picking up a pink crystal vine from the stone table, tasting it like a snack.
The queen glared at him fiercely and replied, "I had grandma Atam send him away. I don't even know what he looks like."
"Hey, at this rate, how long will it take for you to get married?" Fatty sighed dramatically, striking a pitiful pose, but his image was completely ruined by the juice dripping from the crystal vine in his hand.
Slap!
A whip lashed out, and Fatty's chubby right hand trembled, causing the crystal vine to fall to the ground. The queen, with a fierce expression, said, "Pick it up and eat it again."
"Hehe, I heard you wanted to talk to me about something, sister," Fatty quickly changed the subject.
The queen glanced at Kado, Sanchi, and Fite, then thought for a moment, her expression becoming serious. She said, "Today, when the guards planned to slaughter all the tamed Sea Kings, they found that more than a dozen of them were missing."
"More than a dozen? That many! Has my appetite really increased?" Fatty was startled. Due to food shortages, Naga only had a few dozen tamed Sea Kings. Normally, they only slaughtered one on special occasions for celebrations. Now, more than a dozen were suddenly missing. Could it be that when he sneaked a bite, he accidentally lost control and ate more than he should have?
"Hmph." The queen snorted coldly and said, "Every time you steal Sea Kings, Captain Gula reports it to me. So far, out of the fifty-eight Sea Kings, you've stolen three. There should have been fifty-five left, but now there are only forty-one. That's a loss of fourteen in total. I've checked, and there are no gaps in the security measures. They couldn't have escaped on their own."
"Damn Gula, every time I sneak a bite, I even share a little with him. Who would've thought this guy would secretly report me," Fatty cursed inwardly, but on the outside, he put on a serious expression and said, "Could it be the guards are stealing them?"
"You think the guards are as greedy as you?" The queen replied, "I sent members of the guard team to investigate. They didn't find anyone stealing, nor did they find any Sea King carcasses on the island. The person who took the Sea Kings managed to do it quietly and cleanly. They must have considerable skill. I suspect there is some force on the island that we're unaware of."
"Could it be the invaders?" Fatty suddenly thought of their encounter on the beach mountain yesterday. The three figures had vanished without a trace. Could this be related to them? But why would they steal Sea Kings? Fourteen Sea Kings, each over several dozen meters tall, would be enough to feed thousands of people for a day. What would they need so much meat for?
"Could someone be using the Sea Kings you've raised to feed other Sea Kings?" Fite, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up, offering a bold hypothesis.
The queen paused for a moment and gave Fite an appreciative look. "Sea Kings don't just disappear without leaving any trace. So, there are only two possibilities. One, they threw the Sea Kings into the sea. Two, they are using the Sea Kings to feed other Sea Kings. Only in this way could they dispose of the massive Sea Kings cleanly. The first possibility is almost impossible. No one would go through the trouble of doing something so thankless. So, the second possibility stands—there are people on this island who are secretly raising Sea Kings we don't know about!"
"Impossible. There's not enough space on this island to hide such massive creatures like the Sea Kings. Besides, they managed to steal more than a dozen Sea Kings—there's no way they'd be lacking for meat. Why would they bother raising Sea Kings? To admire them?" Fatty directly dismissed the second possibility. No one would be bored enough to raise a difficult-to-care-for Sea King.
The queen nodded and said, "The only remaining mystery is the destination of these Sea Kings. Once we figure that out, we'll understand the invaders' purpose."
Just as they were discussing, Grandma Atam suddenly walked in and said, "I know who the invaders are!"
"The man who proposed to the lady before—he's the invader," Atam's words shocked everyone. That ordinary-looking man was the invader!
"I've lived on this island for sixty years, and I know every resident of Naga, but I've never seen him before. Even though he dressed in a very ordinary manner, his aura told me that he's not from Naga," Atam explained directly when she saw the skeptical looks from the group. Naga is a small country with only a few thousand residents, like a large village. Anyone who has lived here for decades can recognize every person in their village, and the man they encountered earlier was definitely not from Naga.
"But why are you only telling us this now? When you sent that man away before, why didn't you tell me immediately?" The queen still had some doubts. Why did Atam wait until now to reveal this secret? Was there something more to this?
"The man is very strong; I detected the aura of Haki on him, just like these two young men," Atam said, pointing to Kado and Fite. "For the safety of the queen, I had no choice but to send him away. Anyone capable of silently stealing the Sea Kings must also have the ability to move in and out of here without making a sound. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid he would overhear our conversation. Now, since there has been no further activity, the man should have left."
Hearing Atam directly mention that both he and Fite possessed Haki, Kado was surprised. When he wasn't using Haki, he felt just like an ordinary person. He hadn't expected this old woman to be able to detect it so easily.
Seeing Kado's surprise, the fat man explained, "Grandma Atam used to be the captain of the Naga Guard, and she's a master of Haki herself. It's not strange that she can sense who possesses Haki."
Kado nodded. As the saying goes, "The older, the wiser." This old woman had once been the captain of the Naga Guard and could also use Haki. It wasn't surprising that decades of experience might have allowed her to grasp some deeper understanding of Haki's usage, enabling her to recognize it in others.
"Now that you mention it, I do feel like we've been eavesdropped on," Fite suddenly spoke up. Since entering the cave, he had felt like someone had been watching them. At first, he thought it was just the Naga guards, so he hadn't mentioned it. But now, after hearing the old woman's words, he wondered if it wasn't the guards, but rather someone with ill intent.