Chapter 1
Sherry was clinging to the railing on the front deck of the Radiant Star, her face full of excitement as she watched the coastline gradually become clearer on the distant horizon. She shouted excitedly, "Oh, oh, oh! I see the port! I can see the port!"

"Don't get too excited and fall in," A'gou's voice came from beside her, "And don't just stand there grinning like an idiot. Don't forget what you promised the captain before you left, that even when you're out having fun..."

Sherry waved her hand before he could finish. "Oh, I know, I know. A'gou, you're so long-winded, like an old mother..."

The Deep Sea Embers hound lying on the deck next to them immediately became dissatisfied and began a new round of nagging. Lucretia, standing not far away, watched the activity on the deck with a complex and subtle expression, her eyes flashing as she wondered what they were all thinking.

Nina stood beside Lucretia, looking nervously at this "Sea Witch" with her elegant, mysterious aura, beautiful face, and unsettling coldness and aloofness. She whispered, "You don't think Sherry is too noisy, do you? She's always like this..."

"No," Lucretia said faintly, turning her face slightly.

"This ship is always noisy. My puppets make even more commotion."

"Oh..." Nina said, then smiled shyly. "Um... thank you for letting us ride on this ship."

"Father asked me to take you to Light Breeze Harbor, so of course I will," Lucretia said, glancing at Nina. She didn't seem used to interacting with people, but her discomfort and awkwardness always turned into a kind of indifference and arrogance in the eyes of others, so she tried to adjust her expression, wanting to look more gentle. "I remember your name is Nina, right?"

"Yes." Nina nodded immediately, a faint smile on her face.

"...You call my father 'Uncle Duncan'," Lucretia said, a hint of curiosity in her expression. "Are you... afraid?"

Nina thought for a moment and nodded, "Oh, I guess so..."

"...Hasn't your father explained the dietary culture of the elves to you in detail?"

Nina nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

Lucretia's lips curled up. She looked at the girl in front of her, who was essentially a fragment of the sun, but whose words and actions were just those of a normal girl. Then, she glanced at the "demon summoner" not far away, who was eagerly waiting to enter the city for sightseeing.

"Interesting, you have similarities," a series of cheerful gears whirred from inside Nielu's body. She seemed to be happy. "This is the first time I've seen someone similar to myself. Mistress and Old Master both said that you could become friends, and it seems they were right."

"I'm not afraid. Uncle Duncan is very nice," Nina said with a smile. Then she paused, her bright smile turning into a gentle one. She looked into the eyes of the "witch" sister in front of her. "I know what happened. You don't need to worry... But I think it's good this way now."

As she spoke, the clockwork doll turned around, showing Cresi the clockwork handle that looked like a large bow on her lower back.

"Boop-" With a sound, Cresi pulled off her head in front of Nielu, and held it up with both hands to show off: "You, you, you look, look, easy to take, take off!"

"Right? Captain is awesome!" Cresi said happily. "And look, our joints seem to be very similar too, although your arms are a bit harder than mine..."

But they were completely different from what Lucretia had initially imagined.

"My father is your 'Uncle Duncan'," Lucretia looked at Nina, and there was finally some real warmth in her smile. "On that premise, he always uses honorifics, and I feel very awkward."

"Why do you ask that?"

"No," Nina said with a blank expression, seemingly vaguely aware of the subtlety in the other's tone. "Um, did I misunderstand something?"

"After we dock, I'll arrange a place for you to stay," Lucretia reined in her wandering thoughts. "I have a few bases in Light Breeze Harbor that are kept fairly clean. Do you have any goals after entering the city? I can give you some recommendations."

But then, she heard the girl named Nina curiously ask, "Sister Lucretia, are you... not on good terms with Uncle Duncan?"

Nielu tilted her head, and a slight sound of gears grinding came from somewhere in her body.

"We did once walk different paths," Lucretia didn't care, and just shook her head. "But that was in the past. As for now, the relationship between me and my father might not be described as good or bad. I think... we just haven't seen each other for too long."

Cresi curiously sized up the unfamiliar "doll" in front of her, who looked even more "doll-like" than herself. After thinking for a long time, she suddenly turned her head, "Captain! How do you make friends with strangers?"

Nina was stunned for a moment: "But you..."

At the same time, in the crew rest area of the Radiant Star, Duncan found a place to sit down and watched the scene from afar with great interest while taking a break.

Nina: ".....?"

Two dolls were standing there, both looking a bit dazed.

Nielu lowered her head and observed her arm: "Yes, we have similar joint structures."

"Hey, clockwork, I have that too!" Cresi suddenly became excited and turned around to show her new friend, "See this spot? There's a clockwork hole under the clothes too, but I can't reach it myself, so the clockwork key is in the captain's hands..."

"Recommendation?" Nina's eyes lit up at the word. "Then, do you... know where there's a lot of good food in Light Breeze Harbor? I heard that this city-state has the most varieties of food in the entire Endless Sea. That's what I came for!"

As for the living doll named "Cresi," she was probably still with her father—Father had said he wanted to introduce her to Nielu as soon as they got off the ship, and then he left with her.

At the same time, the scholar Morais was in the cabin, reminiscing with Talan, whom he hadn't seen for decades. The two seemed to be planning to visit the city-state's primary school in Light Breeze Harbor.

"What are the lines? What's that?"

Cresi became even more distressed, then reached out and cupped her head: "That's right, can your head be pulled off? Mine can! Look-"

"......The hospital is nearby."

In a sense, these people were indeed very strong, each with unique skills, definitely worthy of a place in the Forsaken Fleet, but from another perspective...

"Hello, I'm Nielu," the clockwork doll standing opposite Cresi also bowed, politely introducing herself, "I am the servant of Mistress Lucretia, are you the servant of Old Master?"

Nielu looked at the amazing action of her new friend in surprise, and also cupped her head with her hands and pulled down.

"Everyone has them, floating out of their bodies, the captain said only I can see them," Cresi gestured. "He said it might be 'Soul Threads,' I don't understand what that means either, anyway, as soon as I grab it, people stop moving..."

"Introduce yourself first," Duncan took out a few french fries from somewhere and casually threw them to Aiyi, who was leisurely pacing on the small table next to him. "Start with your name."

This was not a group of "subspace kin" that inspired terror and oppression. On the contrary, they were very interesting and easy to get along with. Father had gathered these people together... seemingly not because of any deep and long-term plan, but just gathered these companions by chance.

Cresi continued to curiously size up her new friend: "You don't have lines on your head!"

"Oh," Cresi nodded and turned to look at Nielu standing in front of her. "Hello, my name is Cresi, also known as Anomaly 099."

"......It can't be considered wrong either, you need to experience it yourself to understand," Lucretia thought for a moment and said with a serious face, "I'll take you to the Crown District later."

Lucretia's expression became subtle for a moment: "......Light Breeze Harbor's 'food'?"

"......That's good." Lucretia silently looked at Nina for a while and nodded lightly.

Nina blinked as she listened. She seemed to sense the subtle regret and sadness in the "witch" sister's tone, and hesitated for a moment: "You're not as I imagined... I feel quite relaxed after actually meeting you."

They were the new "leaders" under Father—while countless intelligent people in the world were racking their brains to guess the purpose of the reorganized Forsaken Fleet, these people seemed to be on vacation.

"People always speculate about things they don't understand, and are never responsible for their guesses," Lucretia smiled. "Also, don't use honorifics when addressing me, Nina, you can call me by my name directly."

"I heard someone say that the Radiant Star broke away from the Forsaken Starship a century ago, and when Uncle Duncan brought us over just now, I saw you always intentionally or unintentionally avoiding his eyes," Nina said, her voice gradually decreasing, "Sorry, did I say something wrong? That seems a bit impolite..."

"I'm not, I'm the captain's doll! I'm in charge of cooking and cleaning on the ship!"

Nina looked expectant: "Are there a lot of good things to eat there?"

Nielu tilted her head and a quiet grinding sound came from a certain part of her body.

"It's something everyone has, floating out of their bodies, the captain said only I can see it," Cresi gesticulated. "He said it might be 'Soul Threads,' I don't understand what that means either, anyway, as soon as I grab it, people stop moving..."