Chapter 1 Open-Mindedness

Alice very calmly accepted the fact that her trunk had been transformed into a component of the *Deep Sea Embers*, and then quickly threw the matter of the Frost Queen Lenore to the back of her mind—her magnanimity left Duncan far behind. According to the doll lady herself, the reason she was so calm was because all of this was "external matters" to her.

"Anyway, I live on this ship now, and I don't plan to leave in the future, so it doesn't matter if the trunk becomes part of the *Deep Sea Embers*. The matter of the Frost Queen is even simpler—I don't even know her," Alice said, sitting back on the lid of her wooden trunk with a cheerful smile on her face. "I don't know if I am her, and I don't know what kind of person she used to be. Anyway, it all happened half a century ago… History is history."

"It's good that you're so open-minded." Duncan simply looked at Alice's pale purple eyes, and after a long while, he nodded gently.

In the end, he still didn't mention the "details" in the echo to her, didn't mention what the Frost Queen Lenore had suddenly said to him before she was executed. After all, even if he did, this doll certainly wouldn't know anything… It was good that she was so carefree now.

"Let's leave it at that. We now have a preliminary understanding and control of your 'coffin,' but whether the 'severing' effect of 'Anomaly 099' has also been inherited requires some testing later when we have the opportunity," Duncan said softly, letting out a breath. "I'll be going now."

"Okay, goodbye, Captain~"

Leaving Alice's room, Duncan returned to the deck. He walked slowly towards the captain's cabin, his mind full of thoughts, sorting out the problems he was currently encountering as he walked.

He had originally wanted to determine whether the "severing" power of Anomaly 099 was controllable, but in the end, he couldn't solve the problem. Instead, he unexpectedly touched on an old incident from half a century ago… The Frost Queen who was executed by the New Army, the accusations of collusion with the *Deep Sea Embers*, and a mysterious "Submersion" plan. These things swirled in his mind, lingering for a long time.

And besides these, there was something else that bothered him.

Duncan reached into his pocket and took out something.

It was a small hairpin, shaped like a silver-white feather surrounded by waves. In any case, it didn't seem like something a rough male sailor would own.

When he looked at it, he felt a distant and vague sense of nostalgia. This hairpin… seemed to have special significance for the real "Captain Duncan" of the past. Duncan's mind was full of questions, but he knew that he couldn't ask the goat-headed man directly about this.

He put away the hairpin and returned to the captain's cabin, his heart heavy with thoughts. The goat-headed man was still diligently controlling the ship, and to Duncan's surprise, the pigeon, Ai, who was supposed to be waiting in the cabin, was also with him.

The bird was standing proudly on the corner of the goat-headed man's chair, arrogantly rubbing its beak against the goat-headed man's forehead.

Duncan opened the door and saw this scene, and immediately asked curiously, "When did you two get so close?"

The pigeon flapped its wings and remained aloof, not saying a word. The goat-headed man creaked as he turned his head, his obsidian eyes staring straight at Duncan: "Great Captain… next time you take Ai to the spirit world, could you please bring back some fries?"

Duncan was stunned: "...How did you start with the 'get some fries' routine too?"

The goat-headed man's voice was almost trembling: "Please, get some fries… just to shut your pigeon up…"

Duncan stared blankly at the bird and goat combination, and after a long while, he vaguely guessed what had happened, and immediately chuckled: "You've finally met your nemesis, huh?"

"I've changed seventy-six topics! Seventy-six! Exhausting everything I've learned in my life, spanning a thousand years of history, from poetry to stir-frying, from divine sacrifices to pig farming! But all the responses I get are 'get some fries'!" The goat-headed man's voice sounded a little broken. "How do you usually deal with this pigeon?"

"Simple, just talk to it less. If you don't talk to it, it will quiet down quickly," Duncan said, spreading his hands. "I guess you can't do that." The goat-headed man thought for a moment, and sighed: "...Then please get some fries when you get a chance."

Duncan remained noncommittal, but waved to Ai, and the pigeon immediately fluttered over and landed on his shoulder. Then he sat down in his chair and turned to the goat-headed man, seemingly casually saying, "The ruler of the Frost City-State half a century ago, the Frost Queen Lenore—do you know anything about her?"

"The Frost Queen who was executed by the rebels half a century ago?" The goat-headed man was taken aback. "I've heard of it. Speaking of which, we seemed to have fought a battle near there decades ago… but we didn't have much contact beyond that. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

Duncan calmly gazed into the goat-headed man's eyes. He knew that this "first mate" was not lying.

The goat-headed man really didn't know about the Frost Queen. The *Deep Sea Embers* had no connection with that Frost City-State.

Not only was there no connection, but the *Deep Sea Embers* had even clashed with the city-state's defense forces in the past—just like it had clashed with other city-states and ships on other routes.

Since, in the goat-headed man's memory, the *Deep Sea Embers* had never been an ally of the Frost City-State, it meant that the crimes the rebels had pinned on the Frost Queen half a century ago were completely fabricated.

Of course, it might be too early to draw this conclusion now. After all, it was an event from half a century ago, and there might be many twists and turns hidden in the buried history. He only had the goat-headed man's word for it, and while this first mate might be telling the truth, what he knew might not be the whole truth—but none of that mattered.

Duncan had no intention of exonerating the Frost Queen from half a century ago now. He only wanted to know things related to the *Deep Sea Embers* and Alice.

"Did you know? Alice's appearance is exactly the same as the Frost Queen from half a century ago—the so-called Anomaly 099 is most likely the result of the executed Frost Queen being cursed by the boundless sea," he said casually, teasing the pigeon on his shoulder with his finger. "And the main 'crime' for which the Frost Queen was executed by the rebels back then was collusion with the *Deep Sea Embers*."

The goat-headed man was stunned.

Duncan rarely saw this guy stunned.

"Collusion with the *Deep Sea Embers*? Those stupid humans in the city-states even have to fabricate such a ridiculous reason to betray their monarch?" After several seconds, the goat-headed man finally laughed loudly. He obviously found this matter extremely laughable. "Don't blame me for laughing so loudly. It's just that those humans are too stupid and weak. They're probably even going to blame the curse of the *Deep Sea Embers* for tripping and falling! This 'crime' is just too outrageous!"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "But you said that Miss Alice looks very similar to that Frost Queen? That's really… incredible. If Miss Alice really is transformed from that Frost Queen… then this matter is full of irony."

"Yes, if there really is such a connection between them, it's really full of irony," Duncan leaned back, resting comfortably in his chair. "The Frost Queen never had any contact with the *Deep Sea Embers* during her lifetime, but she was accused by the rebels of colluding with the *Deep Sea Embers*. Half a century later, Alice has really become a crew member of the *Deep Sea Embers*—the crime that the rebels forced on her back then has come true across time and space."

"No wonder you rushed to see Miss Alice as soon as you came back. It turns out you found key information about Anomaly 099," the goat-headed man immediately began to flatter him. "You truly are the great Captain Duncan. Every trip of yours is bound to be fruitful! This reminds me of a saying by a navigator, or maybe it was a…"

Duncan immediately glared at the goat-headed man and casually took the pigeon off his shoulder and placed it in front of the goat-headed man: "You two chat." The goat-headed man: "...!"

……

Xiland City-State, inside the central cathedral, Vanna handed a newly signed document to her attendant: "Send this document to the western church—this is the last search warrant."

The young Guardian warrior took the document: "Yes, Inquisitor."

Vanna breathed a sigh of relief, stretching her neck, which was slightly stiff from processing paperwork. She felt that dealing with pens was more tiring than wielding a greatsword and fighting heretics.

At the edge of the table, an oil lamp was burning quietly, and wisps of green smoke were rising from a bronze incense burner. These two things were essential protective measures when processing documents at night—even in the holy cathedral, necessary protection was still needed. "I hope there won't be any more trouble tonight."

The young Inquisitor couldn't help but mutter as she stretched.

As if in response to her murmur, no sooner had Vanna finished speaking than a slightly hurried and sharp bell rang suddenly from the direction of the church's main building!

The Guardian warrior, who had just picked up the document and hadn't had time to leave the room, stopped when he heard the bell. He looked suspiciously at the window and then at his superior, who was halfway through her stretch: "The night alarm bell is ringing… What happened?" "It's the bell to summon listeners," Vanna quickly discerned the information conveyed by the bell, her expression becoming serious. "Seven consecutive short rings, from the 'Tomb of the Nameless King'… Has a new anomaly or phenomenon been discovered?"