Ashes Of Deep Sea - Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Lack of Common Sense

From a certain point of view, the starless and moonless night sky with a crack across had a more significant impact on Duncan than the “sun” that was sealed by two rings.

No matter how abnormal the sun was, it could still light the land that he was at. As an Earthling with scientific knowledge, the “sun” was no more than a star among billions of stars.

All the warped abnormalities were limited under the ray of the sun. In the sky, outside of the sun’s reach, were countless stars. Although, for a being that was trapped by gravity, the place where the sun reached was their entire world. At the very least, Duncan could still understand and accept that concept.

However, high up in the night sky, Duncan did not see anything that could be referred to as a “star.” There were no stars or moons and no galaxies.

Only a crack dimly lit the sky, with even fainter white fog-like light spreading from it. It was a mechanic that he could not understand.

It was as if the boundless sea was covered by a snow-white night.

The phenomenon was further away than the sun in the faraway void. It was a bigger abnormality.

Duncan remained quiet as he stared at the sky. A lot of questions and presumptions filled his head.

“Where are the other planets? Do those not exist here? Or… is the world I’m standing on in the galaxy’s no-man’s land? Could it be that the other planets are too far away? Then, what is the white crack that spans over the entire sky? Is it a crack in space or a structure that can be touched? Or, is it just an illusion that floats in the sky of the dangerous boundless sea?”

“Captain?”

Finally, a voice pulled Duncan back from his thought. Alice, the puppet, anxiously looked at the captain, who had suddenly stopped walking. She noticed that his expression had darkened, and it scared her. “Are you alright? Could it be that the weather is changing? Is a storm approaching? I did hear from the sailors when I was in the case that…”

“No… It’s nothing.”

Duncan replied gently. He pulled his attention back from the sky and calmly looked at Alice. “There’s nothing wrong,” he answered as if to himself and Alice.

“Then, are we…”

Duncan strode forward as if nothing had happened. “Let’s go. You can clean yourself there if you ever want to or need to.”

The world had shown the outsider once again how weird it was. It seemed as if the world had an unlimited stock of strange things.

Not knowing how many surprising events or objects the world still had to offer, Duncan realized that if he were to get shocked by every occurrence, he would have to live his life like that forever.

Having lived more than 20 years on Earth, there was one experience that he had obtained that would suit his current situation the most.

If a problem exists, try to solve it. The problem would not disappear because of denial, just like the sky would not become a starry one just because he decided to ignore it.

There had to be a logical explanation behind everything. No matter how strange or absurd a phenomenon was, he could not deny its existence. Unable to understand the phenomenon was his problem, not the world’s problem.

As the captain of Lost Home, Duncan felt he had a lot of time to learn about his new world.

Alice had no idea why the captain remained silent throughout the short journey down the deck. She could tell that he was slightly depressed, but that atmosphere that he gave off disappeared once they arrived at the cabin.

Duncan had led the puppet to where she could shower. It was a bathroom that was prepared for the crew. For an old full-rigged ship, having a toilet was a “luxury.” Under normal circumstances, such a facility would not be open to regular crews.

The survival condition for such a ship in old times was terrible. Little fresh water, rotten food, lousy health care, and mental illness from long voyages had troubled every explorer who challenged the sea. Even on Earth, most problems still existed before the industrial era.

According to Duncan, some of the oldest sailing ships didn’t even have toilets prepared for average sailors. They would empty their bladders and rectums on the edge of the ship into the ocean, a process where the wind direction had to be taken into account. Cleaning one’s body was an even bigger challenge. They would use spare sails as buckets, and washing their bodies with sea water was the norm among the sailors. More would even go weeks, and even months, without cleaning themselves.

In the end, a little hygiene problem was nothing compared to scurvy, plague, and mental pressure.

However, ironically, onboard the ghost ship everyone feared, those survival problems were solved.

The fresh water on the Lost Home could be replenished automatically. The food stored in the storage showed no signs of rotting. The ghost captain could not get sick. The sea voyage did not cause Alice’s spine problem.

Other than the sudden spike in blood pressure from conversing with the goat head, the living condition on the ship was perfect.

“The pipe next to the bathtub is connected to the water tank. You can get water from that. The plug for the tub is hung over there. Don’t lose that. Also, we are currently only limited to using cold water, but I don’t think that would be a problem for you.”

Duncan swiftly explained the facility inside the bathroom. Those were things that he had learned from exploring the ship for the past few days.

“I just want to wash my body. The seawater inside my joints is making me uncomfortable.” Alice didn’t even mind showering with cold water. Instead, she showed excitement as she listened to Duncan’s introduction. “I’m just a puppet. I don’t need hot water.”

Duncan nodded, but his expression quickly changed. After a short hesitation, he glanced at Alice and asked, “Umm… Do you know how to shower? Have you experienced these… life experiences?”

Alice was surprised by the question. A few seconds of pondering later, she replied with a serious expression, “I… should be fine, I guess? I just have to take my limbs off and wash them. I can attach them back after that.”

Duncan’s eyes widened.

He stared at Alice as she looked back at him innocently.

“Have you ever thought of how you will attach them back?” Duncan was glad that his question let him know that the puppet that had lived inside a wooden case her whole life had no such experiences. “There’s no way I can help you with that.

“You’re right…”

“Also, I’d advice against you detaching your limbs all the time.” Duncan reminded in a serious tone. “Not even when you can do that.”

“Why so?” Alice was confused.

“The more you remove them, the easier it would be for them to come off.” Duncan was utterly speechless. He had never expected that he would have to pay so much attention to detail when he allowed the cursed puppet to stay on the ship. It was something that neither dramas nor novels had mentioned before. “I don’t want to see you suddenly break into pieces from just walking around. There’s no one onboard who knows how to repair a puppet.”

He paused and added. “Your spine problem is already serious enough as it is.”

Alice pictured the scene of that happening and shrunk a little. “I see… I understand. I think I know what to do now.”

“I hope so.” Duncan looked at the puppet with almost no life experience before turning to leave. “I still have a lot to do. Don’t cause me too many troubles.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Alice happily nodded. Just as Duncan was about to leave through the door, she suddenly said, “Ah! That’s right. Captain…”

Duncan stopped and slightly turned his head back. “Hmm?”

“I don’t know why, but you don’t seem that scary.” Alice looked at Duncan’s back and thought for a while before saying the following. “The goat head said that you’re the scariest captain in the boundless sea, that you’re the disaster to all voyages, but…”

“But?”

“But, listening to how you speak, you sound more like a worrying parent…”

Duncan did not turn around. A few seconds of silence later, he suddenly asked, “How did you even know the concept of parents? Do… do you have a family?”

Alice paused before slowly shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then, let’s drop it. If you don’t cause any trouble, I’ll make sure you live a comfortable life on this ship.”

“I will, Captain.”