Chapter 27 āInsufficient Reserves of Common Sense of lifeā
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In a sense, this starless, moonless sky with only a scar had more of an impact on Duncan than the imprisoned āsunā with those rune rings around it.
Because no matter how abnormal the sun was, it only shone down on the world under his feet. A star out of billions of stars in the galaxy. As long as this remains true, it means the world was somehow connected to the Earth, his home world. But this though, thereās no celestial body at all. He couldnāt even discern if there was a distance from here to Earth anymore.
Duncan didnāt say anything over his own woes and just stared up at the glowing crack. He had a lot of questions that had no answers.
Where are the other planets? Do they even exist over here? Or is it⦠the world beneath my feet is a celestial body located in a cosmic vacuum, and its distance from other stars is so far away that the night sky here is pitch black and starless? What is the pale scar that stretches across the sky? Is it a torn gap in space? Is it a touchable celestial structure? Or is it just an illusion floating above this treacherous expanse of the sea?
āCaptain?ā Finally, a voice awakened Duncan from the side. Alice with his stammering and nervous voice, āAre you okay? Is the weather about to change? Is a big storm coming? Iāve heard seafarers mention this outside my boxā¦.ā
āā¦ā¦ Itās nothing.ā Duncan said softly and then withdrew his gaze from the sky while repeating the phrase, āitās nothing at all.ā
āThen weā¦ā
Duncan stepped forward, his expression calm as if nothing had happened: āLetās go. Iāll take you to the cabin. You can wash up there later if you need to.ā
Once again, the world has shown outsiders its weirdness with no seeming end to this either.
Duncan had realized that he didnāt know how many more shocking visions awaited him in the future, and if he made a fuss every time, he would probably only be left with astonishment in his life.
If there was any experience he has accumulated over the past few decades of life on Earth, thereās one that was most useful today:
If a problem exists, find a way to solve it since it wouldnāt disappear on its own because of oneās denial, just as the grotesque sky in front of you would not become a starry appearance because of his doubts.
No matter how absurd and strange the phenomenon was, this was an irrefutable objective fact since everything existed here. Not understanding why was his problem, not this world. Nevertheless, what he has now is time, and thereās plenty of it as the captain of the Vanished.
Alice didnāt know the reason for the captainās silence along the way, only that the atmosphere around Duncan had suddenly become somewhat depressed. But after reaching the targeted cabin, this oppressive feeling abruptly disappeared again.
The place arrived at was a place one could bath, a bathroom specially prepared for upper seafarers on this classical ship. Under no circumstances are normal sailors permitted inside due to the harsh living conditions on this vessel. After all, sail-powered ships from the ancient era were not well equipped due to their limits. Often seeing spoiled food and poor medical treatments on board. If not for the industrial age, such harsh challenges would continue to this day as a plague on seafarers.
But ironically, on this ghost ship whom everyone fears, such poor living conditions had been resolved entirely by the freshwater tanks automatically refreshing themselves. As for the food in the warehouse, there are no signs of spoilage either. That leaves only the health conditions of the crew. A ghost captain could never get sick, and Aliceās spinal problem had nothing to do with the ship so thatās unrelated.
āThe pipe next to the bath leads to the freshwater tank. You can fill the bin over there with it to wash. But thereās no hot water due to the shipās limited condition. Keep this in mind.ā
Duncan went ahead and introduced Alice to the other facilities and even took the chance to go over the mundane stuff he had experienced over the past few days.
āIām fine as long as I can rinse some of my joints.ā Alice was not picky at all. She examined all of the things inside the bathroom with curiosity and nodded: āIām just a puppet, I donāt have any desire for hot baths.ā
Duncan nodded in understanding. Then with a hesitant voice: āSpeaking of which, do you know how to take a bath? Do you have this⦠ālife experienceā?ā
Alice paused for a moment, then said in a heavy voice, āIt should be⦠Okay? Iām only removing my joints to rinse them. Iāll put them back right afterwardā¦.ā
Duncan: āā¦?ā
The two stared at each other like they were both lost on what to make of this.
āHave you considered how to put yourself back together after dismantling?ā Duncan took the lead in breaking this awkwardness. He knew Alice had never done this before, so he needed to remind her of this fact. āI canāt help you regarding this.ā
Alice: āNow that you mention itā¦ā
āI strongly recommend against disassembling your joints often,ā Duncan reminded in a serious tone, āeven if your body structure allows you to do so.ā
Alice was a little confused: āWhy?ā
āItās easy to lose them if theyāre dismantled.ā Duncan finally said what he worried about the most. Unlike in the movies, where a cursed doll never needs to worry about losing its body parts, a real moving doll must. Like a toy he had as a child. If heās careless for even a day, the likely chance of him finding the part will fall dramatically due to forgetting its placement.
Speaking of this, he paused and added: āYour cervical spine problem is serious enough.ā
Alice imagined the picture for a moment and shrunk her neck in the next: āAh, okay, I understand⦠I think I know what to doā¦.ā
āThatās for the best,ā said Duncan with a worried expression. Then before taking his leave, āI have a lot of things to do so try not to get into too much trouble.ā
āOkay Captain, thank you Captain,ā Alice said happily. But just as Duncan was about to walk out of the cabin, she suddenly spoke again, āOh right, Captainā¦ā
Duncan stopped and tilted his head slightly, āWhat else?ā
āCaptain⦠I suddenly feel like youāre not so scary either.ā Alice looked at Duncanās back and carefully considered her words, āMr. Goathead said you are the most terrible captain on the Boundless Sea, the elusive scourge of all the shipping routes, butā¦ā
āBut what?ā
āBut I find that youāre a good talker and a bit of a caring parentā¦ā
Duncan didnāt look back when he suddenly asked, āWhere did you get the concept of family from? Do you have a family?ā
Alice hesitated for a moment as she slowly shook her head: āIt seems there is not.ā
āThen donāt bring up the topic of parents anymore. Stay on the ship honestly, and I will make arrangements for your living standards.ā