In the Tidal World, Angel had been on the run for nearly a week.
First, he arrived at the Malaya Ice Mountain, then travelled west along the Gentle Wave Sea, reaching the Green Plains.
During this journey, they met with Frost Iser, Softer Urans, and Prolific Glimmer by the Lake of Birth deep within the Green Plains. Aside from Prolific Glimmer, Angel had quite a good friendship with them, so when Rhein and they had a discussion, it generally went smoothly. There were some minor disagreements in the details, but with the "Witch’s Confession" there, the disagreements gradually diminished through mutual probing of each other’s bottom line.
As for the meeting with Prolific Glimmer, there was actually not much turmoil.
White Cloud Village is right above the Green Plains, and over years of interaction, the relationship between the Green Plains and White Cloud Village has always been good. They first met with Softer Urans and then went to the Lake of Birth. With Softer Urans as an escort, although Prolific Glimmer had some minor complaints, they were unimportant details, and eventually joined the mainstream named after the larger trend.
After dealing with Prolific Glimmer, they did not leave immediately but returned to Wind Island, where White Cloud Village is located.
Firstly, the schedule wasn’t tight, and it was already close to the Region of Fire, so they could rest on Wind Island for a day or two; secondly, Angel still had some subordinates on Wind Island, and this time going there, he could take the opportunity to bring them along.
Another important reason for their stay was that Nami Midori and Frost Iser rarely set foot on Wind Island, and this time, taking the opportunity of going to the Region of Fire, they finally came to Wind Island. They all wanted to see those oil paintings that Feng had left behind back then.
Those oil paintings, although Sanders and Rhein had seen them in the Wilderness of Dreams, were constructed by Angel using illusion techniques, and were still somewhat different from the real paintings, so they were also curious whether there were any secrets hidden in those paintings that Feng left on Wind Island.
Everyone was willing to stay on Wind Island to rest and recover, so returning to Wind Island was also in line with the general mood.
Once they returned to Wind Island, aside from Angel, everyone else went to the Forbidden Land and found Feng’s studio.
Rhein and Sanders soon came back from the studio. Those paintings were indeed done by Feng, but they did not find anything unusual. The most unusual thing in the studio was the mysterious aura left by Feng when he carved the magic pattern.
Rhein and Sanders’ shapeshifting techniques had reached an advanced stage, and they easily found the source of the mysterious aura, also discovering the mysterious magic pattern carved by Feng.
Sanders recognized at a glance that the mysterious magic pattern was from the "Mad Hatter’s Coronation," but he didn’t make a fuss, only lamenting in his heart: Feng’s magic pattern is really ugly; if Angel had drawn it, he would definitely not expose the essence of the mysterious magic pattern to be visible to the naked eye, nor would there be so many errors.
Rhein also noticed it, but he didn’t know the essence behind the mysterious magic pattern, guessing that Feng might have a mysterious level paintbrush, using it to draw the magic pattern that exudes a mysterious aura — after all, Feng is a painter, having a mysterious paintbrush seemed reasonable.
Since Feng was no longer there, Rhein didn’t pay much attention, and the matter passed quietly.
When they returned from the studio, they found Angel leaning against a pillar at the palace gate, gazing at the distant Cloud Sea.
"Didn’t you say you were going to White Sea Bay to meet your group of subordinates?" Rhein asked Angel with confusion.
When they went to the studio, Angel had refused to go along, citing his need to meet subordinates at White Sea Bay. But upon their return, they found Angel still at the temporary palace stay.
"I sent Lobal to White Sea Bay first, to chat with that group of air-type creatures. I’ll go over tomorrow," Angel replied.
Hearing this, Rhein understood Angel’s thoughts: "Are you worried they won’t submit to you?"
"With the vow in place, even if they’re defiant, they’ll need to comply with it," Angel said. "Letting Lobal go first is mainly to ease relations, avoiding future trouble."
After all, this group of subordinates would at least need to work for him for the next twenty years. Although he could mandate them, if he could have a more harmonious interaction, Angel naturally preferred the latter.
So, for the sake of twenty years of harmonious interaction, wasting a day now counted as nothing.
"Since you’ve already sent Lobal, what are you doing standing here?" With a good mood, Rhein followed Angel’s gaze.
This was the palace complex atop the highest mountain on Wind Island, arranged by Softer Urans as their residence. This palace complex, full of human style yet clearly non-human architecture, was also the most wondrous construction on Wind Island that evoked Rhein’s admiration.
Standing here, looking into the distance, what they could see was the silhouette of palaces on the mountain, and the eastern aspect of Wind Island enshrouded in a gentle morning mist.
"I’m waiting for Kamil the Sage," Angel said.
Since their return to Wind Island, beside the initial negotiations, Angel hadn’t had a private meeting with Kamil the Sage.
This time, it was Kamil the Sage who actively sought him out, hoping for a face-to-face meeting.
Angel figured that Kamil the Sage came regarding Cubic’s matter.
And indeed, Angel’s guess was accurate. Before long, Kamil arrived and had a private talk with Angel for about half an hour.
The discussion, apart from meaningless pleasantries, mostly revolved around Cubic’s issue.
Between the words, it was still hoped that Angel could continue to take Cubic along. — Angel let Cubic free just as he set foot on the island, so Cubic likely returned to Kamil the Sage’s side.
Throughout, Angel hadn’t given a response, but his attitude clearly carried refusal. Although during this period of interaction, Angel’s view on Cubic had changed significantly, he didn’t want to forcibly take Cubic away; a forced fruit never tastes sweet.
Moreover, Cubic himself preferred to stay by Kamil’s side.
Kamil probably understood where the issue lay and sighed deeply: "I’ll go back and talk with Cubic again. If it still doesn’t want to, I will respect its decision."
Then, Kamil left.
Angel originally wanted to ask whether Cubic was the will born from Kamil’s avatar, but thinking that this involved Kamil’s privacy, he decided to leave it for now.
After Kamil left, Angel returned to the palace.
Sanders and Rhein were discussing Wind Island, primarily because Angel had expressed before that a branch of the Barbarian Cave could be established on Wind Island.
The reason Angel considered this was partly because it suited air-type creatures to reside here, and he planned to station that group of subordinates; another reason was... the scenery of Wind Island. This enchanting landscape was unique within the entire Tidal World. Beautiful scenery was also why Feng chose to settle here initially.
Moreover, Wind Island’s geographical location was particularly special and relatively safe. So, at that time, Angel was struck by such a thought.
However, Angel realized that his earlier consideration was too simplistic, too idealistic, and self-centered.
Whenever a witcher organization establishes a branch, they wouldn’t typically consider "scenery," "livability," or even discuss "safety," because if they couldn’t handle safety, establishing a branch would be moot.
Establishing a branch or a station, for witcher organizations, only involves two conditions: alliances and interests.
Given this consideration, most witcher organizations’ branches are established either in each Wizard Market or right under the jurisdictions of other witcher organizations. For instance, Extraordinary City like Winsbills or Sky Mechanical City.
In Rhein’s eyes, Wind Island really doesn’t meet these conditions.
But since this was suggested by Angel, Rhein still considered it carefully. After all, Angel seemed to have received Heaven’s Mandate, so it’s possible his decision aligns with the grand scheme.
This is also why Rhein took this opportunity to discuss the issue of Wind Island with Sanders.