"Whoa—!" Hattie turned her head and saw that Charles's speed underwater was almost faster than hers, immediately unable to suppress her surprise. "Master, you..."
"I just suddenly felt like I could try 'Tasha's Otherworldly Guise' underwater," Charles said, stopping and squinting to protect his eyes from the current, smiling. "Didn't think it'd actually work. Uh, just not sure how flying will go."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and, amidst Hattie's startled cry, his twin fins beat once, propelling his body straight upward, breaking through the water's surface and rising into the air—
Splash—
A great curtain of water erupted, and once in the air, the pair of massive, ethereal pale blue fish fins behind Charles naturally transformed, becoming enormous bat-like pale blue wings radiating magnificent magic power, supporting his body.
Hovering in midair, Charles held Hattie in a princess carry, barely maintaining his balance, the smile at the corners of his mouth growing even more brilliant. "We did it, darling!"
Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, this 6th-level spell—on this day, he had officially mastered it completely!
"Congratulations, Master." Hattie took several deep breaths, calming her excited emotions, then spoke softly, her voice slightly weak.
She felt as though her flesh and soul had just been washed over by an incredibly magnificent force. Though that power had now disappeared, she still felt her body was somewhat weak.
She didn't know the source of that power, so she naturally assumed it was Charles's doing, and felt happy that she could help him.
Charles lowered his head, gently kissing her forehead, and said tenderly, "Thank you for your hard work, darling."
During their recent intimacy, he'd also felt a vast and profound power transmitting to him from the depths of Hattie's soul.
He didn't know what it was, but undoubtedly, that power had given him the final push, helping him pierce through the last layer of the window paper for this spell, allowing him to truly master it.
He also didn't know how Hattie had done it, but without question, this had been a tremendous help, allowing him to be more confident in his upcoming final battle with Sulpharlo.
The surface of the Darklake was calm and still, but it wasn't suitable to linger. Maintaining the spell's duration, Charles looked down and said softly, "Let's go back. We shouldn't make them wait too long."
During their intimacy in the Darklake just now, they'd drifted quite far without knowing it, and now they could no longer see their boat.
Hattie nodded gently. Having just been immersed in lovemaking, unaware of time passing, now suddenly coming to her senses, she also realized they'd been outside for far too long.
She then took out folded clothes from her Bag of Holding and, right there in his embrace, carefully helped him dress. After that, Charles beat his wings once and rushed toward the boat's direction.
Though the distance was considerable, Charles could still sense the general direction where Theresa, Sophia, and the others were located.
The flight speed provided by Nymeria's otherworldly form was extremely high, and besides, on this calm Darklake they couldn't have drifted too far, so within a few minutes, the boat's silhouette came into his vision—they'd already returned near the boat.
As soon as he returned, he saw that the group on the boat was now almost all on deck, seemingly searching for something. Even Willo and her daughter, who'd rarely left their cabin and had been drawing maps with Sophia, had now come out, looking around in all directions.
Only the beholder Lotuen, who needed rest, and the consistently solitary Shapiro weren't currently on deck—presumably both were resting in their rooms.
Realizing what they were searching for, Charles felt somewhat guilty for a moment. He forcibly pretended to be perfectly justified, not hiding his form, and landed openly on the stern deck, setting down Hattie from his arms, then smiled. "What's everyone looking for?"
His voice rang out, and immediately, everyone on deck turned their gazes. Some breathed sighs of relief, while others had even more complaints and grievances that urgently needed venting.
"Geez, where did you two go? Why did it take so long to come back!" Nymeria was the first to walk up to him, complaining with anxious and worried tones. "We couldn't find you two anywhere—we were worried sick just now!"
Behind her, the others also came to the stern deck. Hanni glanced at the satisfied afterglow on Charles's face, then looked at the lingering flush of passion on Hattie's face, and immediately understood about seventy to eighty percent of what had happened.
Thinking about what they'd been secretly doing just now, her face also turned slightly red, then the corners of her mouth curved up, revealing a faint smile.
Willo was the same. Looking at Charles's spirited mental state at this moment, she thought he probably still had some reserves left—perhaps she could find him for a round herself later.
And Adele, eyeing Charles's state, her eyes rolling, couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. In her view, Charles releasing his desire on other nuns meant her mother would have to endure fewer encounters.
Just thinking about this, her mood couldn't help but fill with satisfaction.
"I was just learning magic and had an insight. Couldn't help but take Hattie out for a spin to celebrate," Charles explained, his voice frank, as if there wasn't the slightest hint of guilt in it. "Sorry for making everyone worry."
Nymeria hummed softly but didn't pursue it further. "If you're that excited, then go push the boat and help share Miss Hattie's burden! We were grilling ripple-flesh just now when we suddenly noticed the boat had stopped."
"I thought Miss Hattie was tired and was about to call her to eat something, but then we couldn't find either of you anywhere. We thought you two had been ambushed or something happened—nearly worried us to death."
Charles smiled. "Then we really need to pick up the pace. We'll have to trouble Hattie a bit more and try to reach Sulpharlo's lair within seven days!"
Beside him, Hattie nodded gently, her energy already mostly recovered. After experiencing the lovemaking just now, she now felt her body was once again brimming with a kind of magnificent energy, as if it could never be exhausted.
Moreover, this power was continuously growing, giving her a bloated feeling before long, very much in need of finding an appropriate way to release it.
Using magic power to accelerate the boat again seemed just perfectly suitable.
"Oh right, Priest, there's one more thing," Nymeria suddenly said. "Just now, an empty boat suddenly appeared, and it seems to be following us!"
Charles froze, his expression suddenly serious. "An empty boat? Are you certain it was empty?"
~~~
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