The beautiful morning on the Lost Home began with a loud shout from the captain on the deck.
Duncan stood outside the captain's cabin, pointing at a puppet head hanging from a nearby beam. After a moment of squinting, he finally saw a puppet body dressed in a dark purple gothic dress hurriedly stand up from the side and take down the head that was dangling in the air.
With a crisp "pop" sound in the air, the puppet lady put her head back on and jogged over, saying, "Hehe..."
"What do you mean 'hehe'? Why did you hang your head at my door so early in the morning?" Duncan glared at this cursed puppet who often caused trouble. Honestly, who wouldn’t be startled to see a head floating at their door first thing in the morning? Luckily, he had been on this ship long enough that his nerves were tougher than before; otherwise, he might have fainted. "Don't tell me you were on lookout duty—there are pigeons for that!"
"I washed my hair this morning..." Alice said, shrinking her neck and answering carefully. "My hair never dries, so I thought I'd hang it up high to let it blow in the wind..."
Duncan: "..."
Alice cautiously glanced at Duncan: "Captain... are you angry?"
"You... make sense." After holding back for a while, Duncan could only squeeze out this response. He had to admit that, at least from Alice's perspective as "Abnormal 099," hanging her head up to dry was not unreasonable. On this ship, even the winches took naps as a habit, and the buckets used for mopping the deck rolled to the back of the ship every afternoon to sunbathe. Life on this ship required a relaxed attitude.
In that sense, Alice had indeed adapted well to life on the ship...
"I'm glad you're not angry, Captain!" Alice immediately smiled. It seemed she had not only adapted to life on the ship but also understood the captain's temperament. She still respected this powerful ghost captain but was no longer just afraid of him like she was at first. She seemed much more relaxed now, even daring to bargain with him, "So can I hang my head up again in the future...?"
"No—anywhere but at the captain's cabin door. Find another place," Duncan said, glancing at the puppet. "I don’t want to push the door open and see a crew member's head hanging there or a headless body swaying in front of me."
Alice could only obediently lower her head: "Oh, okay."
Duncan continued to look at her, his expression thoughtful.
"Captain?" Alice felt a bit uneasy under his gaze. "Why are you staring at me...?"
"I just suddenly thought of a question," Duncan said while pondering. "You lose hair, right? Do you lose any when you wash it? Then... can you grow hair?"
Alice froze, her expression resembling a pigeon caught in a sudden freeze.
After a long time, her eyes widened in shock as she looked at Duncan: "I... I... I never thought about that! Captain, you..."
The last part of her sentence almost came out as a cry, and she didn’t dare finish it. She actually wanted to ask, "Captain, are you a devil?" but was afraid that if she said it, Mr. Goathead would scold her for underestimating the captain's power and overly romanticizing the image of the greatest disaster at sea...
Duncan didn’t care about what Alice swallowed back. His thoughts had already wandered off: "You see, even though you can walk, jump, and talk, your body is still like a real puppet. You don’t need to eat or drink, and if a joint falls off, you can just push it back on. So can I understand that your hair is a non-renewable resource? If you wash it too much, it goes bald... and if you comb it too much, does it also...?"
Alice was on the verge of tears: "Captain, why do you think of such scary things...?"
Duncan replied, "Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask since you made that fish head soup."
Despite her sadness, Alice was momentarily stunned by his words: "But I only made fish soup..."
Duncan said confidently, "Of course, it has fish, heads, and soup—why isn’t it fish head soup?"
Alice: "…You make sense, Captain."
The beautiful morning on the Lost Home began with everyone acknowledging reason.
The puppet lady left in a daze, as if she suddenly had something important about her future to think about. Duncan felt cheerful. He took a breath of the sea air and then had a simple breakfast—some fish slices that Alice had baked yesterday, chopped cheese, and strong liquor from the city of Prand. It wasn’t the tastiest meal, but it was the best food on the Lost Home for now.
In the chart room of the captain’s cabin, Goathead looked at the cheerful Duncan with curiosity: "Captain, what happened to Miss Alice? I noticed she went back to her cabin absentmindedly and even bumped into the door twice... She seems troubled?"
"She’s facing a major life challenge. I think you won’t have to worry about her fighting with the strange things on the ship for a long time," Duncan said, shaking his wine glass with a mischievous smile. "But I am indeed curious about one thing..."
"Huh? What are you curious about?"
"If a cursed puppet loses all its hair, does it really turn into a bald puppet?" Duncan seriously discussed with Goathead. "For such extraordinary beings, shouldn’t there be some extraordinary power to ensure... well, to maintain a certain state? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to discuss this with Alice before she ran off."
Goathead: "…"
Duncan curiously glanced at this usually noisy guy: "Why are you silent?"
Goathead held back for a long time before finally saying, "You truly deserve to be the most terrifying disaster on the boundless sea... I could never ask such a question."
Duncan shrugged and stood up from the navigation table.
"I need to leave again," he told Goathead, snapping his fingers. A burst of green flames erupted, and the ghostly pigeon, Ai Yi, descended from the flames and landed on his shoulder. "As usual, you’re in charge of steering."
"Yes, Captain! Your loyal servant will not disappoint you!" Goathead immediately replied enthusiastically, then curiously asked, "Captain, you seem to be very interested in walking in the spirit world lately? Is there something on land that has caught your interest?"
Duncan didn’t answer immediately. After a moment of thought, he said, "I recently noticed that after a century of development, this world has become a bit more interesting."
This was his measured response: it didn’t reveal any specific information and didn’t expose his lack of knowledge. At the same time, it reasonably set the stage for his future interest in the land world, which could also serve as a "reasonable motive" for the Lost Home to return to the civilized world.
And this answer should not go against the image of "Captain Duncan."
The greatest disaster on the boundless sea could also be a fun-loving person—because a fun-loving person can embrace everything.
Goathead showed no unusual reaction, as if everything Captain Duncan did was completely natural in his eyes: "Oh, you’re right. After all these years, those weak city-states should have produced something interesting for you. It’s normal for you to want to relieve your boredom... So should the Lost Home prepare? Which one are you planning to invade? Prand? Lensa? Or the colder Frostland to the north?"
Duncan nodded at the first half of Goathead's words, thinking this top lackey really knew how to read the room. But when he heard the second half, he felt a chill run down his spine—this guy’s cooperation had turned into fanning the flames. He quickly interrupted, "When did I say I wanted to invade the city-states? If something interesting just appeared, wouldn’t it be a shame to destroy it?"
"Ah... yes, you’re right. My suggestion was too reckless," Goathead immediately changed his tune. "I actually thought you were planning to take the ship for a little tour... Of course, since you have no such intention, that suggestion should be discarded. It’s good, after all, the big city-states still have some strength; approaching them carelessly is a bit risky..."
"Don’t casually mention invading city-states in the future," Duncan warned Goathead with a glance, adding another layer of caution. "We’ve been out of touch with the world for a hundred years. Now I need to understand the changes in civilized society, which may involve many long-term changes—until I give a clear order, don’t make any unnecessary plans."
"Understood, Captain."
(End of Chapter)