The moment Tesoro spat out that single word, "Get lost," the air went dead quiet.
Stella covered her mouth and chuckled. She found the way those two interacted ridiculously entertaining.
Enel's face, on the other hand, instantly turned the color of liver. Pale blue arcs of electricity crackled over his body.
"Y-you stinking, money reeking mortal! How dare you, how dare you show such disrespect to the Supreme God's messenger! This is blasphemy against Lord Supreme God!" He was shaking with rage, even the finger pointing at Tesoro trembling.
"Blasphemy?" Tesoro leisurely set down the sugar tongs and took a sip of tea. "My gold is spoils I nearly died to take back from you, you fake god. Why should I hand it over so you can mess around with some nonsense?"
"That is not nonsense! It is a sacred undertaking meant to display the Supreme God's majesty!" Enel roared. "A man blinded by money like you could never understand the greatness of faith!"
"Faith?" Tesoro laughed. He lowered his cup, his eyes turning cold. "My faith is Lord Kael himself. I serve him, I work for him, I protect the peace he wants to protect. Not like you, playing at empty theatrics. That's not faith, that's you getting high on your own feelings."
"Y-you… you're talking nonsense!" Enel had been stabbed right where it hurt. For a moment, he couldn't even find a rebuttal.
"Enough. Stop acting unhinged in my face." Tesoro waved him off impatiently. "If you want gold, earn it yourself. Don't bother me. I'm spending time with Stella."
He ignored Enel after that and turned to Stella with a gentle smile, as if the sharp tongued man from a second ago wasn't even him.
Enel stood there, fuming, but helpless.
If he attacked, he'd be locked up again. If he argued, he couldn't win.
All he could do was glare at Tesoro's back, mutter "ignorant mortal," and storm off in indignation.
He decided he would go complain to the Supreme God directly!
At the time, Kael was down in the underground shipyard, inspecting the Ark's retrofit progress.
And honestly, Uncle Tom lived up to the title of world's number one shipwright.
In just a few days, he had completely understood the Ark's structure and produced a detailed overhaul plan.
And Enel, the "generator," turned out to be unexpectedly useful.
The electricity he supplied was stable, efficient, and practically limitless.
Uncle Tom even designed a dedicated system for energy conduction and storage so Enel could power the shipyard equipment while storing excess electricity for emergencies.
"Kael boy, where'd you find a treasure like this?" Uncle Tom laughed loud as he slapped Enel on the shoulder. "With him, this ship's power system jumps at least five levels!"
The slap made Enel stumble, but he wore a smug expression that said, you've got a good eye.
Contributing power to the Supreme God's chariot was his highest honor.
Just then, Kael walked in.
"Supreme God!" Enel's eyes lit up. He rushed over immediately, throwing the budding shipwright duo friendship behind him without a second thought.
"Supreme God, I lodge a complaint!" Enel looked utterly aggrieved. "That glittery mortal refused to contribute gold for Your holy statue! This is disrespect to You! Please deliver divine punishment and chastise that sinner whose soul has been corrupted by money!"
Kael's head started pounding.
Not this again. What is with this guy's obsession with statues?
He said irritably, "Enough. Stop bothering Tesoro. His gold is his own spoils, and he has the right to decide how to use it."
The moment Enel heard that, he deflated like a punctured balloon. His head drooped, even his long earlobes looking listless.
"Supreme God… do You truly not wish to have a magnificent statue for the world to worship?" he asked pitifully.
Kael was about to reject him outright.
But then, on second thought, a gigantic, pure gold statue of himself sitting in the villa courtyard… kind of… sounded pretty awesome?
"Ahem." He cleared his throat, forcing down his laughter and putting on a solemn, authoritative expression. "Since you're so sincere…"
Enel's eyes instantly shone again, brimming with anticipation.
"…Fine." Kael nodded as if he was making a reluctant concession. "But you are not allowed to harass Tesoro again. If you want gold, you bring something to trade for it."
He pointed at the various heavy machines running at full speed.
"Your real job is to be a good generator. Work with Uncle Tom and get this ship properly rebuilt. If you perform well and satisfy me…" Kael paused, then smiled like a devil. "I'll cover the statue materials for you."
"Really? Supreme God!" Enel almost couldn't believe his ears. Happiness had come too suddenly!
"I never lie."
"Yes! Supreme God, understood!" Enel was instantly overflowing with motivation. He ran back to Tom, patted his chest, and swore loudly.
"Old man! Don't worry! Starting today, forget twenty four hour power, I won't sleep at all if I have to! Every single screw here will be filled with my thunder! We will complete the retrofit of the Supreme God's chariot at the fastest possible speed!"
Uncle Tom blinked at the sudden surge of enthusiasm, then burst into laughter. "Good boy! That's spirit! Then today we'll finish the reinforced keel framework!"
Watching the old man and the young "tech nerd" throw themselves into work with blazing intensity, Kael nodded in satisfaction.
In the days that followed, Enel turned into a full blown workaholic.
He spent nearly all his time in the underground shipyard, like a tireless perpetual motion machine, pumping out electricity nonstop.
With his full cooperation, the Ark's retrofit advanced at an unbelievable pace.
Uncle Tom, too, was in his element. Countless wild ideas in his head, supported by near infinite energy and near infinite resources, turned into reality one after another.
And Enel, after exhausting days of high intensity work, would still use the passion of an artist to revise his "Supreme God statue" blueprint again and again.
It went from realistic style, to abstract style, to mythic style.
With every revision, it became more ridiculous and more grandiose.
Whenever Kael occasionally went to check, he'd end up amused by the exaggerated designs on the paper.
In one version, the statue held the sun in its left hand and the moon in its right, standing atop a thunder dragon made of lightning.
In another version, it had eighteen pairs of wings, each pair carved with a different natural disaster.
The newest draft was so over the top it bordered on insanity.
The background wasn't a pedestal anymore, it was an entire collapsing galaxy.
Kael figured if Enel kept designing like this, even all the gold on an island wouldn't be enough. Maybe not even all the gold in the world.
Still, seeing how seriously Enel took it, Kael didn't bother to crush his enthusiasm.