Arrival in the Velocia Kingdom

The large ship sailed at sea for three days before finally reaching the archipelago waters of the Velocia Kingdom.

The ship docked at the harbor, and Amira and Amina were the first to leap onto the stone pavement of the pier.

Amira took a deep breath and said wistfully, "It's been so long since I last set foot on solid ground. The air here is so fresh."

Charlos walked slowly off the ship and spoke blandly.

"What, was the air not fresh at all when you were on the ship with me?"

Amina covered her mouth and giggled.

"Of course not. The air is freshest when I'm with you. My sister was the one who said that just now."

Amira's face instantly darkened.

"Hey, you! Little sister, how could you do that?"

Amina looked around and asked curiously, "Where are we?"

Amira immediately answered, "The Velocia Kingdom. This is its port."

Charlos walked over and gently pinched Amira's cheek.

"You sure know a lot."

Amira lowered her head and nervously rubbed her fingers together.

"Not really. I just learned about it from reading these past two days."

Charlos strode forward, with Amira and Amina hurriedly following behind him.

Amira turned her head toward Amina.

"Little sister."

"What is it, Sister?"

"Read more books from now on, or you won't be able to help Charlos at all later."

Amina rolled her eyes and said indignantly, "How could that be? I'll definitely be able to help him."

Without looking back, Charlos casually asked, "How can you help me?"

Amina replied brightly, "I can give you massages, wash your feet, and even warm your bed."

Charlos kept walking and replied blandly, "Your sister can do all that too."

Just as the three of them moved forward, a thin little girl rushed out from the street in a panic. Unable to stop in time, she crashed straight into Charlos.

Charlos steadied himself, lowered his head, and asked gently, "What happened? Are you okay?"

The little girl did not dare linger at all and hurriedly glanced behind her.

Immediately afterward, noisy shouts of pursuit rang out.

"Catch her! Don't let her get away!"

The little girl gritted her teeth, used the momentum to dodge aside, and darted into the depths of an alley in a flash, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Amina puffed out her cheeks and said helplessly, "Hey, what was that about? Honestly, she ran into someone and didn't even apologize."

As soon as she finished speaking, four or five burly men quickly surrounded them, their eyes openly roaming over the three of them.

One of them stared at Amira and Amina and grinned wickedly. "Hey, there are two little girls here."

The bearded man at the head stroked his chin, his gaze sinister. "Oh, the one who ran away doesn't matter. We'll just use these two instead."

Charlos stopped short. The warmth in his eyes instantly vanished, and his gaze turned icy. "What did you say?"

The bearded man sneered, his face full of mockery. "Oh? The little brat's angry?"

Charlos raised his eyes calmly and said softly, "Amira, Amina, teach them a lesson."

The bearded man froze for a moment, then tilted his head with a mocking look. "Huh? What did you say? Just those two little girls?"

Behind a house not far away, the ragged little girl from before pressed herself tightly against the wall, clutching the hem of her clothes and gasping for breath. She cautiously turned to look over, her eyes filled with shock.

Amina sat on one of the men's backs, swinging her legs as she said in a light but thoroughly mocking tone, "You uncles really aren't much, are you? So weak."

As she spoke, she lifted her leg and stomped hard on the bearded man's cheek. The force was neither too heavy nor too light, just enough to keep him from moving.

"You're this weak," Amina said, lowering her head slightly, pride in her eyes. "How do you have the nerve to talk so big and target us?"

The bearded man pinned beneath the pile of men was rubbed into a miserable state by the sole of her shoe.

The ragged little girl slowly walked over timidly.

Amina looked at her and frowned. "Hey, you ran away after bumping into someone. You still dared to come back?"

The little girl kept her head lowered, her small hands clutching the frayed hem of her clothes. Her voice was tiny and full of fear.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to. They kept trying to catch me."

Charlos asked softly, "Why were they trying to catch you?"

She clenched her fists, her voice trembling with uncontrollable fear.

"They're human traffickers. They took a liking to me and wanted to capture me and sell me. I could only run for my life."

The bearded man, pinned beneath the others, was filled with terror as he hurriedly begged, "Y-Yes, sorry! We just wanted to trade for some alcohol."

Charlos crouched in front of him, his gaze cold.

"Trafficking people just to trade for alcohol? You've got some nerve."

The bearded man struggled and roared fiercely despite his inner fear, "Don't mess with me! Earl Baron is backing me!"

"Yeah, that's right, don't mess with me! Earl Baron is backing me!"

Charlos laughed softly.

"Is Earl Baron that impressive?"

Upon hearing that name, the little girl beside them suddenly trembled. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground, her face full of terror.

Amina, sitting atop the pile of men, raised her shoe-clad leg again and stomped down hard with a dull thud.

"Speak. Who is Earl Baron?"

The bearded man trembled all over and hurriedly said, "Earl Baron is the most prestigious and powerful person in this area."

Charlos pressed on blandly, "How powerful?"

"Anyone who crosses him comes to no good end. At best, they lose an arm or a leg. At worst, their whole family is destroyed."

Charlos's gaze darkened. "Oh? Then if Earl Baron found out you were doing this sort of thing, what would he do to you?"

The bearded man hurriedly shook his head, panic in his voice. "N-No, he wouldn't! He tacitly approves of all this!"

Bang—!

A gunshot suddenly tore through the bustle of the harbor.

The bullet pierced straight through the bearded man's skull. Blood splattered as his body stiffened abruptly, and he made no sound again.

Charlos suddenly turned toward the nearby house and saw a black shadow swiftly put away a firearm before disappearing into the shadows of the alley in an instant.

Charlos raised his hand and pointed toward the alley where the black shadow had vanished, shouting in a deep voice, "Chase!"

Amira immediately spread her white wings, her body transforming into a streak of light as she shot into the dark alley and rapidly pursued the shadow that had fired the shot.

The little girl beside them was completely stunned. She stared blankly at the empty alley entrance and stammered, "A-a person with wings..."

Charlos turned to Amina at his side and said evenly, "Change her clothes."

Amina froze, her face full of astonishment. "Huh, me?"

Charlos raised an eyebrow at her. "Who else? Me?"

Amina quietly tried to refuse. "I don't know how to change a stranger's clothes."

Charlos asked blandly, "Don't you change my clothes every morning?"

Amina nervously clasped her hands and argued, "You're different from her!"

"How are we different?"

"When I change your clothes, I get to take advantage of you."

Charlos extended his hand.

Bonk—

He flicked Amina on the head.

"Ah! That hurt."

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

At that moment, Amira flew back, slowly landing in front of Charlos and retracting her white wings.

The little girl poked her head out for a look and muttered, "There's nothing on her back."

Amira said, "I didn't catch them."

Charlos stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Looks like they came prepared."