During the time when the Lost Homeland was away, Alice's activity on the ship was a bit beyond Duncan's expectations. He always thought this Gothic doll was an elegant young lady—though she could be quite lively, surfing and chatting away, she usually behaved gracefully and quietly, being careful about what she did on the ship. In unfamiliar surroundings, she was honest and straightforward, and when there was nothing to do, she would lie quietly in her box like a regular doll, giving off a harmless vibe.
But now it seemed that she only acted this way when he was nearby?
The suddenly heavy atmosphere in the room made Alice feel a bit nervous. She cautiously glanced at Duncan, who had a blank expression. "Captain, you're not angry, are you? I can explain..."
"I know you were trying to help, but it didn’t work out," Duncan said, looking at the doll with a somewhat helpless tone. "But since you know that many things on this ship are 'alive', could you please check with me or my first mate next time before you do something?"
Alice immediately nodded vigorously, replying loudly, "Okay, Captain, no problem, Captain!"
Then she quickly turned to the goat-headed figure and muttered softly, "Is there such a thing as trying to help and failing?"
The goat head replied succinctly, "Now there is."
"Alright, if you really want to help, go check the dried fish hanging on the deck, or tidy up the storage room in the kitchen where we keep the ingredients. Make some space, as we might need to restock food on the Lost Homeland later," Duncan sighed, looking at Alice. "Just don’t mess with the cannons and the ammunition below deck—they aren’t as smart as the goat head. Those dangerous things only react instinctively to external stimuli. If the ammunition storage thinks it’s being damaged or invaded, I’ll have to rescue you with a broom and dustpan."
Hearing this, Alice shrank back and quickly agreed as she left the captain's cabin.
Watching her leave, Duncan couldn’t help but smile a little. She was indeed an interesting character—her small chaos was nothing serious, and this gloomy ghost ship had become lively because of her antics.
"It seems you’re in a good mood, Captain," the goat head's voice came from the side. "Ah, you have something in your hand... What is it? Is it something you found during your journey in the spirit world? Like that little knife last time?"
Duncan glanced at the sun emblem in his hand—he had left the liquor in his room and picked up the emblem to study when he was bored.
"It’s a trophy," he nodded. "Just like the ritual knife from last time."
"Oh! As expected of the great Captain Duncan! You always return with a full load, and it’s such an extraordinary item that looks like it has amazing power... Wait, is this a sun talisman?"
"You recognize it?" Duncan raised an eyebrow. "That’s right, a sun talisman. Some daring cultists shoved this thing at me—couldn’t refuse their hospitality."
"I... know a little about it..." The goat head seemed to study the emblem closely, his voice a bit hesitant. "The madmen who follow the ancient true sun regard this item as a sacred object. They believe that by casting it in metal to resemble the true sun and tempering it with human blood, they can infuse the power of the sun into the talisman. This way, they can mass-produce extraordinary items with weak powers... This talisman is a symbol of status among the sun followers, and it’s also a tool for identifying fellow believers and heretics..."
"Identifying believers and heretics, huh... It does have that function," Duncan said, understanding. "Though I personally feel that function isn’t very useful."
"What happened to those reckless cultists?" The goat head hesitated a bit while speaking. "They’re mostly delusional fools, and even the lowest pirates don’t want to deal with these madmen chasing ancient relics. If they dare to offend..."
"They’re no longer in this world," Duncan said, observing the goat head’s change in tone while controlling his own expression. "It seems you don’t have much fondness for these so-called 'sun followers'?"
After dealing with the goat head for a while, Duncan had a rough idea of this strange first mate’s nature. He could basically confirm that as long as he, the "Captain Duncan," was in charge of the ship, the goat head wouldn’t act out of line. With this foundation, he felt bolder in his conversations with it.
Now, he could cautiously ask the goat head for some information.
"Who would like those madmen chasing the ancient true sun? The 'light' and 'order' they long for are no longer accepted in this world," the goat head answered Duncan’s question as usual. "Even the Lost Homeland bathes in the sunlight of this era, and even the evil spirits wandering in the deep sea wouldn’t like the 'sun' from before the deep sea era—only those cultists would think it’s a good thing if the true sun were to resurrect..."
At this point, the goat head paused, then added with a hint of emotion, "But then again, ninety-nine percent of those cultists are just brainwashed fools. They don’t even know what they’re following or worshipping. They treat the so-called 'sun descendants' as prophets and saviors, and they yearn for the ancient world described by those descendants as a paradise. But to me, the sun descendants don’t see those fanatical believers as their subjects... They’re no different from the descendants in the deep sea."
Sun descendants? What does that mean? And what’s this about deep sea descendants?
Duncan's mind stirred with confusion as a new unfamiliar term popped up, and he casually fiddled with the sun emblem, asking, "Sun descendants? I haven’t encountered them."
"That’s normal. Sun descendants don’t dare to casually show themselves in the civilized world. Even if they disguise themselves as humans, the church's hounds can sniff out their heretical stench in an instant. After all, they are a type of 'descendant', remnants of ancient beings, and should stay quietly in the gutters of history... Sigh, among all kinds of 'descendants', they are the only ones who can act like this."
Duncan suddenly realized that the goat head’s tendency to ramble could actually be beneficial—though nine thousand out of ten thousand words might be nonsense, if luck was on his side, it could also provide useful information!
Since he hadn’t fully grasped the goat head’s background yet, Duncan’s inquiries had to be indirect, not wanting to be too blunt. Even so, through these indirect questions, he quickly gathered many clues that he hadn’t been able to obtain in the Prand city-state—
Descendants seemed to be quite important information. There were beings in this world called "descendants", and they were all unwelcome in the civilized world. The goat head referred to them as "remnants of ancient beings."
Although the followers of the "true sun god" were numerous, it seemed that most of them were just insignificant pawns, foolish and brainwashed "fanatics". Within their "church" structure, there were those of higher status, the true ruling class... those called "sun descendants".
These sun descendants didn’t often appear in the civilized world. They seemed to have a hidden place unknown to the world, influencing the sun god’s sects from afar, secretly collecting offerings and energy.
Lastly, and most importantly for Duncan at the moment:
The goat head held a deep disdain for those cultists and the "sun descendants" behind them.
This indicated that the Lost Homeland, or rather the "real Captain Duncan," was not on the same side as these so-called "descendants"... they should even be considered as enemies.
It seemed that telling the goat head about his dealings with the "sun cultists" during this journey in the spirit world was the right decision—otherwise, he wouldn’t know when he would have access to this useful information.
Such secret knowledge wouldn’t be found in Nina’s textbooks.
Duncan left the captain's cabin, holding the sun talisman, and walked thoughtfully on the deck of the Lost Homeland.
There are many kinds of descendants, and based on the information the goat head revealed—descendants are remnants of ancient beings, combined with the fact that the sun followers worship the "ancient true sun" from before the Great Cataclysm, he had reasonable grounds to suspect that these so-called descendants were very likely products of the Great Cataclysm, their origins tracing back to the "Era of Order" before the Great Cataclysm occurred.
There are "sun descendants" on the sea, and there are also "deep sea descendants" in the deep sea.
Duncan unknowingly walked to the side of the ship, peering into the deep blue sea outside, feeling a bit curious.
In the sea... it turns out there are more than just fish?
(End of Chapter)