Nature itself resolved the situation.

"Ooh..." You groaned as you're getting up from the bed inside of your cabin. You then looked around and found that the members of the Moore family and the young women who are part of your harem are all staying inside of your cabin and their faces said it all. They clearly are concerned about your condition.

"What happened?" You asked them hoping one of them can answer.

"That octopus was about to destroy the remaining ships but then, a pod of whales with teeth arrived and start attacking it!" Brittany said as she quickly rushed to your side.

"They are called sperm whales actually. And yes, they are to be called as such despite looking somewhat different from I saw them in the old books." Eva said with the clear attempt to hide that she is from the ancient world when the United States was a thing.

"So we survived. What now?" You asked them, again hoping one of them will give you an answer.

But before anyone say anything, your stomach growled very loudly!

"New question! How long was I out?" You asked them again.

"For days." Elijah said as he turned to look at you with his wife.

"I'll go get something for you to eat from the cafeteria!" Xinying said and she immediately leaves your cabin for the cafeteria to get you something to eat.

"I'll go with you!" Valeria said and she quickly runs after the busty Chinese-American young woman.

"Do you needed anything else?" Rain asked with concern in her eyes.

"Now? Just rest..." You said as you can feel your head is not fully recovered from the scream of the giant octopus.

And so you and the others waited for Miss Wang and Miss Stella to return from the cafeteria and that should be long.

And waiting...

And waiting...

And waiting...

"What took them so long?!" Brittany asked no ones in particular loudly!

It has been almost 30 minutes and they are yet to come back with foods! The cafeteria is not that far and while there more people onboard now, it should not take this long!

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Come in!" Elijah said in your place and then, Miss Wang and Miss Stella entered the cabin with Doctor Lavarien's daughter following them inside. And yes, they brought foods back with them.

"What took you two so long? And why is Doctor Lavarien's daughter here?" Brittany said as she approached them.

"There was a fight happened in the cafeteria!" Valeria said as she looked at Brittany with concern in her eyes.

"A fight?! Who were fighting?!" You asked as you turned to look at them while also getting up from your bed.

"Those who believed my mother and those who opposed her. A conversation between the Rear Admiral and my mother escalated into a fight when the people who supported Director Ratcliffe's expansionist policy heard what she said about him and calling my mother a fool for believing in isolationism while the world keeps moving forward." Heather said as she looked at everyone in the cabin.

"They are kind of right, though. After all, Korea and China paid dearly for choosing isolationism and failing to modernize in time back then while Japan prospered after they ended their isolationist policy after knowing that isolationism is no longer an option after the expeditions to **** Japan to open by Commodore Perry happened." - You think as you looked at the young woman of mixed heritages.

"And how are your mother and everyone who were involved in the fight now?" You asked out of concern.

"Everyone who were injured are now in the infirmary and no ones were punished. However, the Rear Admiral gave everyone in the cafeteria the very stern warning that there will be consequences if this happened again." Heather said as she turned to look at you.

Then, Xinying approached you with a dish of johnnycakes and a glass of water for you.

"Here, I got them for you." Xinying said as she's giving them the johnnycakes and the water.

"Thanks, Xinying. By the way, do you happened to-" You said but Miss Wang interrupted you.

"Wang is a common Chinese surname, Anton. So the possibility of me being related to whoever that you encountered that sharing my surname is 50/50 at best." Xinying said as she placed her hands on her hips and because of what she just said, you immediately dropped the idea of asking her about the possible relations between her and Giselle Wang, the leader of the Lightning Spears gang on the mainland.

"... I was going to ask that which one is your surname since Chinese people tended to say their surnames first before their last names but I guess I know that now." You said with a smile on your face as you looked at her.

"Ooh..." Xinying said as she blushed a little due to the feeling to embarrassment for seemingly guessing your question wrong.

"By the way, Heather. Can you tell us a bit of the Republic of Florida? Like why the need for expansion now or something like that." You said to Heather and hope that she will replied back.

"Well, Director Ratcliffe won the votes because he used to be one of the generals in the latest of the series of wars to pacify our island called the Wilderness Wars that had been raging on for centuries until recently. And after multiple victories to reclaim certain settlements and fortify certain strategic locations, he became a politician and won the votes from many of the young people who believed in the need to expand the borders for Florida's survival and the fellow veterans of the wars who believed in him because of his leadership that led them to victories." Heather said as she's rubbing the back of her head.

"Anything else?" You asked her for more information.

"Well, there are..." Heather said and she begins to tell you and the others more and more about the Republic of Florida. And judging from Elijah's face, he appeared to be quite happy about what Heather said about her homeland, thus proving to him that what he was seeking is in fact real all along.

And so, the crisis has passed and after a few more days of smooth sailing along the ocean, the two remaining ships are finally arrived at the port of Richloam, one of the cities of the Republic of Florida!