Ashes Of Deep Sea - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Returns

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The sunlight was bright.

If the object that shone high up in the sky was the sun, then its “sunlight” was indeed bright.

Duncan had no idea how much time had passed since he started staring at the sky. He kept staring until his eyes began to feel tired, finally pulling his gaze back from the edge of the clouds. Yet, the image of the “sun” remained in his sight and his mind. Even if he closed his eyes, he could vividly remember its appearance. An enormous ball object radiated a faint golden light, the twisted luminous flux around it and the rings that slowly orbited around the thing.

That was not a Sun. That wasn’t what a Sun was supposed to look like. Back in the world he was familiar with, even if he were on another planet, the star that hung high above the sky would never look like that.

However, he knew that he had to accept the new reality.

He was far from his home, far further away than he had imagined.

It was so far away that the sun’s appearance was something that his mind could not process.

Duncan instinctively turned around and looked at the door that led to the captain’s cabin.

If he pushed the door, he could return to the room he had stayed in for a long time, to the studio apartment room.

However, the outside of that room was entirely covered by the thick fog. The 30 square meters room was the only thing that remained from the home he was familiar with.

The “home” he could return to with a single push of the door was like a lonely boat drifting on the endless sea.

After a long silence, the goat head suddenly talked inside his head. “Captain, where are we heading next? Do you have a destination in mind?”

“A destination?” Duncan thought. There was no such thing in his mind. Even though he wanted to immediately create a perfect plan to explore the world and decide on the next destination, he had no chart that worked. He did not know what continents there were in this world, what powers controlled the lands, or if there was an end to this seemingly endless ocean.

It wasn’t only until a few hours ago that he had learned how to navigate the Lost Home.

He pondered in silence. A few minutes later, he talked to the goat head through his mind. “The ship we ran into not long ago, where did it come from?”

“Are you thinking of heading to that city-state?” The goat head sounded a little surprised, and it quickly dissuaded Duncan. “Captain, I suggest we avoid the routes managed by the city-states… At least, for now. You’re the great Captain Duncan, but the condition of the Lost Home is… not as good as it was. The nay’s garrison and the church’s guard would do everything they can to stop your… advance.”

Duncan was rendered speechless for a while. He suddenly wanted to know what the real “Captain Duncan” had done in the past to anger so many people. It was as if his appearance was enough to scare the entire nation suddenly.

Hearing the real meaning of the goat head’s words, Duncan realized that the Lost Home and its “captain” were not in their best states. There might even be a chance that the ghost ship and the captain had decided to roam the vast ocean because they were afraid to return to the port of civilization.

A journey to the end of the world was just another way to say they were exiled.

Duncan was facing a few problems now. He was in dire need of a way to understand the world he was in. He needed to find a way to get in touch with the “civilized society.” whether it was for him to survive in the new world for a lifetime or for him to solve the mystery and find a way back to the “home” that he was familiar with, he was at least sure that he couldn’t keep wandering through the vast ocean. Yet, there was one other problem.

It seemed like the “civilized societies” in the world wouldn’t welcome him.

“Captain Duncan” was like the final boss of a game roaming outside the cities to the citizens of this world. When he appeared in front of them, they would form a 25-man raid party to take him down.

Duncan let out a sigh. He wouldn’t be on the passive if he had a book to read, but the only method for him to get information was the annoying goat head. The only problem was that he didn’t have enough confidence to overexpose his real identity to the wooden head.

That was when he found it weird that there was not a single book on such a huge ship.

A long and lonely journey was an extremely stressful environment for a seaman. Everyone had to have a way to relieve that stress. It might be hard for a regular sailor to find time to read, but for “Captain Duncan,” it shouldn’t be a problem. “Unless he’s illiterate?” he thought.

He believed that it shouldn’t be the case. A captain was a technical position that required a lot of knowledge. Even barbarians like the pirates would need a captain that could understand charts, able to navigate through the stars, and know how to plan a route.

With those questions in his mind, Duncan randomly asked the goat head. He was cautious with his attitude, making it seem like a random question suddenly coming to his mind. The goat head’s reply wasn’t as hesitant as he thought it would be.

“Books? Reading on the ship is a dangerous thing to do. Those residing in the Silent Dead Sea and the Subspace are always waiting for a hole in the mortal’s sanity. The only safe reading material is the ‘bible’ distributed by the church. That thing is safe, but it’s pretty boring. I’d rather wash the deck… I thought nothing from the church has ever interested you?”

Duncan raised a brow.

“It’s dangerous to read while sailing through the ocean? Only the ‘bible’ from the church is safe to read? What the heck is wrong with this endless ocean?” he thought.

He felt he had learned something new about the world, but that new knowledge gave him more questions. Duncan could only force himself to not think of those things. He arrived at the edge of the starboard and looked far out into the sea and the sky.

The golden “sun” showered its ray, and its reflection on the waves made the water look like a piece of crinkled aluminum foil. If not for the weird appearance of the sun, it would’ve been a spectacular scene to watch.

“I want to hear your opinion on something…” After a moment of hesitation, Duncan finally carefully asked the goat head. “I’m tired of this aimless voyage. Maybe…”

He was interrupted by a certain strange “feeling” from his heart. It came from his connection with the Lost Home. It felt like the ship had come in contact with something. He then heard a loud thud that sounded like something heavy had fallen onto the deck.

With a deep frown, Duncan pulled out the loaded flintlock pistol from his waist and the one-handed sword with his other hand before running toward the direction of the sound.

He arrived at the poop deck, and the object he saw lying there made him drop his jaw.

It was a fancy wooden case that looked like a coffin.

It was that strange puppet.

A shiver ran down Duncan’s spine as he stared at the case that was still wet outside. It was as if the lid would suddenly throw itself open. He had also noticed the nails that he had used to seal the lid shut were nowhere to be seen.

He had ensured that the nails were perfectly nailed in before he threw the case back into the ocean.

After a few minutes of silence between him and the coffin, Duncan finally decided. With one hand gripping the pistol tightly, he poked the tip of his sword into the gap of the lid and tipped it open.

With a light creak, the lid opened. The lifeless gothic puppet still lay silently inside the case, covered by a layer of red goose feather inner liner. She looked like a sleeping princess.

Duncan stared at the puppet for a few seconds and opened his mouth to speak in a deep tone (in which he believed he had shown enough confidence and dignity). “If you are alive, I would like to have a conversation with you.”

After repeating the same thing once again, the puppet remained still.

Duncan glared at her and finally said, “Fine. Guess I’ll have to throw you back then.”

He didn’t even hesitate to cover the lid right away. He then found the tools to nail the lid shut. He grabbed a metal chain and wrapped it around the case, using the hooks to seal it even tighter.

After doing all that, Duncan stood up while clapping his hands in satisfaction. He nodded as he looked at the “coffin” tied with the chain. “Let’s see you get out of that.”

He then kicked the case back into the ocean without any pause.

He watched the case hit the water and float up and drift away. Duncan let out a sigh and turned to leave the poop deck.

Halfway down, he suddenly turned to look around and saw the case was still on the water.

Duncan nodded, turned his head back, and suddenly turned toward the ship’s rear again.

The case was still floating and moving further away from him.

“Maybe I should tie a few things like the cannonballs onto it so it would sink…”

Duncan gulped and slowly turned back to head toward the captain’s cabin.

“You’re treating that lady way too harshly.” The goat head’s voice appeared in his head.

“Shut it! Did you just call the cursed puppet a ‘lady?”

“That sure looked like a cursed puppet… However, there’s no curse on this vast ocean that can harm our great Captain Duncan. Captain, that lady is very kind and harmless…”

Duncan was speechless.

He did not understand why the goat head was so proud when it mentioned the curse of Captain Duncan and the Lost Home and their bad reputation.

Perhaps it had noticed Duncan’s silence and wavered emotion. The goat head quickly changed the topic. “Captain, you wanted my opinion, aye? I have an idea…”

“Let’s talk about this next time. I need to get some rest. Navigating the Lost Home was exhausting. Just shut up for the time being.”

“Aye, captain.”

The goat head turned silent, and Duncan returned to the captain’s cabin. He stood in front of the map table and randomly scanned the chart.

His sight was suddenly focused on one point.

There was a slight change to the chart. A part of the grey and white matter that floated above the chart had disappeared. The area around the Lost Home had become clearer.

“Could it be… that this thing can track the Lost Home’s route and update its surroundings in real-time?” he thought.

He was now completely focused on the slight changes.

However, that focus was interrupted.

Deep inside his mind, the Lost Home sent another signal that it had come into contact with something to him. Duncan heard a loud thud from the deck behind the captain’s cabin.