The ship, Lost Homeland, was huge—surprisingly large. As a sailing ship, its size seemed almost excessive to Duncan. Such a large scale meant bigger cargo holds, more cannons, a sturdier structure, and greater stability against wind and waves—all of which indicated it was ready to face the toughest challenges of long voyages.
But Duncan had no plans for a long voyage at the moment. This strangely large ghost ship only made him feel lonely, and having one more “crew member” to talk to wouldn’t be a bad thing. After all, there were plenty of empty “guest rooms” on this big ship.
Footsteps broke the silence of the corridor. Duncan walked down the wooden stairs with the Gothic doll and arrived at the cabin below the stern deck, right beneath the captain's quarters. From the structure, it could be considered an “upper living area” on this big ship. Compared to the darker, eerier areas below, this place was relatively bright and tidy.
Duncan stopped in front of a crew cabin and casually pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door. Inside was a simple single room. There were several such cabins on the ship, but they had been unused for a long time, showing no signs of anyone having lived in them.
After exploring the upper areas of Lost Homeland, Duncan had noticed these empty rooms. At the time, he hadn’t thought much about them, but now that he was in charge of this ghost ship and knew its secret of sailing alone, a question arose in his mind. Since this ship didn’t need a crew… who were these crew cabins meant for?
The single rooms in the upper cabins were clearly prepared for the first mate, second mate, and the chief sailor, while the lower areas had shared cabins for regular crew members. Additionally, there were facilities like a dining room and a game room, which were clearly meant for “people.” Unlike the sails and ropes that didn’t require human control, these facilities existed for the purpose of accommodating “humans.”
But this ship didn’t need a crew.
Duncan frowned slightly. He realized that this ghost ship, now sailing alone on the sea, must have had crew members at some point in its history. At least when the ship was first built, it had proper accommodations designed for sailors.
So what had happened to turn the ship into what it was now? Where had the original crew gone? Was the real “Captain Duncan” the ship’s owner from the very beginning? What did that strange goat head know about all this?
“Captain?” A puzzled voice suddenly came from behind him.
Duncan’s thoughts were interrupted, and he jumped in surprise, quickly realizing it was the doll, Alice, who had spoken—he had momentarily forgotten she was there.
Over the past few days, Duncan had gotten used to being the only living person on the ship, and he had grown accustomed to the noisy goat head’s voice. Now, with Alice suddenly appearing, he felt a bit out of place.
“My name is Duncan. You can call me Captain Duncan—or just Captain, if you prefer,” Duncan quickly adjusted his expression and turned to look at the doll following him. “This empty room will be yours from now on. Go take a look.”
“Ah, okay!” Alice nodded, peeking over Duncan’s shoulder to see the room. Then she turned around and grabbed the wooden box that had been floating behind her, carefully carrying it into the room.
Seeing Alice with her ever-present “coffin,” Duncan couldn’t help but feel a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He watched as she carefully placed the “coffin” beside the bed, checking the velvet lining inside it with great care before starting to look around the room. Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, “You plan to carry that box with you all the time, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Alice replied matter-of-factly. “Where else would I put it?”
“That box used to be your seal, and I thought you might care about that,” Duncan frowned. “But it seems you can’t live without it.”
“It was those people who sealed me, not the box’s fault,” Alice said as she sat on the box, patting its lid. “Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
Duncan shook his head. “No need. How do you like this room?”
“Ah, it’s very nice,” Alice seemed quite happy. She looked around the simple furnishings as if she were in a grand palace. “Is that a wardrobe? I don’t have any clothes to change into, so I probably won’t use it… but having a cabinet is nice. Oh, and there’s a table where I can put things in the future, though I don’t have anything to put on it… maybe I could use it for my head? It would be more convenient when combing my hair…”
“As long as you’re happy,” it was a strange sight to see a Gothic doll planning her life while sitting on a coffin, especially with some rather suspicious ideas in her plans. Yet a slight smile crept onto Duncan’s face. He took a step back and returned to his usual expression. “You can rest here for a while and get used to the environment.
“Besides the stairs leading down, you can move freely on this level and the deck. The layout isn’t complicated, and you should quickly learn where everything is.
“I’ll be in the captain’s quarters. If you need anything, you can come find me—if I’m not there, there’s a talking goat head at the navigation table. He’s my first mate.”
Alice nodded along as she listened, but her eyes widened when she heard the last two sentences. “A goat head?! That dark wooden carving?!”
“Looks like you’ve noticed it.”
“I did notice… but you say it can talk?! And it’s your first mate?” Alice looked astonished. “I thought it was just a… this is too unbelievable!”
“…You’re a talking, walking doll,” Duncan said, looking at Alice with a straight face. “Do you really find a talking goat head so unbelievable?”
Alice paused for a moment, looking down at her hands, as if she had just realized something. “Ah… I guess that’s true?”
Duncan shook his head and turned to leave. “Just relax here. If you need anything, find me.”
From behind him, Alice’s voice called out, “Okay, Captain.”
After leaving, Duncan didn’t go anywhere else but headed straight back to his captain’s quarters. He sat down at the large navigation table, and the wooden goat head immediately came to life, creaking as it turned its head toward Duncan.
“Ah!
The captain is back! It looks like you’ve settled that lady in well—just like I said, she’s a gentle and harmless lady who won’t interfere with your voyage and can keep you company. I see you’ve decided to keep her on board.
What do you plan to have her do? Lost Homeland doesn’t really need a crew. The deck will clean itself, the cannons will polish themselves, the water tanks will maintain themselves… perhaps she could manage the kitchen?
You seem to have been unhappy with the food on board… ah, speaking of food, we might need to restock some ingredients. Those salted meats and hard cheeses in the storage might be a bit old. While rough sailors won’t complain about food at sea, the great Captain Duncan surely…”
Duncan felt his head almost boiling. At that moment, he was once again sure of one thing: with this noisy goat head around, he truly needed a “normal conversation partner” like Alice!
“Shut up,” he glared at the goat head. Only after it fell silent did he continue, “You were quite well-behaved when Alice was here. I thought you finally learned to keep quiet.”
“A captain can’t interrupt when interviewing new crew members; that’s the rule at sea, even if I’m your loyal first mate, second mate, chief sailor, and…”
Duncan didn’t wait for the goat head to finish (in fact, if he didn’t interrupt, the goat head would never stop): “Keep an eye on that doll’s movements for the next few days.”
“Ah… huh? You want me to watch that lady? Are you still not at ease with her? Oh, right, necessary caution is part of being a captain…”
“She has many secrets and hasn’t revealed them all. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t know herself, or perhaps… she’s deliberately hiding something for a reason. In any case, she’s ultimately a ‘cursed doll’ and has the title of ‘Anomaly 099,’” Duncan said calmly. “The people on the previous ship used heavy seals to prevent Alice from leaving that wooden box, but now the sealed doll is walking around freely on my ship. I need a little time to confirm that Alice is truly a harmless doll… even if it’s just harmless on Lost Homeland.”
(End of Chapter)