Communication Was Difficult

The pigeon tilted its head. Perhaps sensing that Duncan had not heard clearly, it quickly repeated itself, even louder than before: "Ai!"

Duncan finally understood what the bird meant. "You mean your name is Ai?"

The pigeon nodded proudly and paced back and forth across the desk. "Coo coo!"

Duncan could not help rubbing his brow. Communicating with this bird felt even stranger than communicating with Goat Head, mainly because of the pigeon's utterly unpredictable way of speaking. "Do you know how you came into being? Or rather... how did you appear here?"

The pigeon thought for a moment, its two eyes drifting off in different directions at once. "Oh no, the page is gone. Try refreshing it?"

Duncan: "..."

He realized that he could not understand what was going on inside the bird's head at all. He did not even dare confirm whether the random sentences it blurted out had anything to do with the current topic.

Yet he could be absolutely certain that the bird was thinking, and that it was communicating with him very... seriously.

It simply had its own understanding of what "communication" meant.

Duncan exchanged a few more words with the pigeon that called itself "Ai," but their conversation remained like two parallel lines. They were basically talking past each other. If it was related, he could not see where the lines intersected; if it was unrelated, the pigeon answered every question... and every now and then, one or two of its remarks actually seemed to answer Duncan's questions.

By the end, there had been little progress. Duncan could only frown and mutter, "What kind of cursed thing is this..."

He felt it would take a long time to establish normal communication with this bird, perhaps even longer than it had taken to adapt to Goat Head's chatter.

The pigeon, meanwhile, crouched on the table across from him, blinking its tiny eyes innocently and occasionally muttering that he should send it fifty.

Duncan ignored the bird's babbling. Instead, he curled his fingers and rubbed them lightly together, watching green flames dance at his fingertips. At least one thing was certain—the Brass Compass had fused with the pigeon before him, but in essence, it was still an "anomalous item" he could control.

Dim green Spirit Body Fire rose up, and green flames rose almost simultaneously from between Ai's feathers. The Brass Compass hanging from its chest snapped open. Beneath the transparent glass cover, the slightly illusory needle gradually stabilized according to Duncan's will, while the dial marked with countless mysterious symbols slowly filled with flames.

Ai showed little reaction throughout the process. It simply basked naturally in the Spirit Body Fire, as if waiting for Duncan's command.

Before the Brass Compass could be fully activated, Duncan dispersed the flames himself.

As he tested it, Duncan silently summarized his findings.

The compass still works... it just has an odd "medium" now. I can't yet determine what effect this pigeon will have. Perhaps it will provide some sort of assistance...

I still don't know the compass's true nature. It would be best not to make a second "crossing" before I'm prepared... During the next test, I need to keep watch for changes in both the compass and the pigeon.

There is a connection between the pigeon and me. When Spirit Body Fire is activated, that connection becomes more obvious. I can even directly control, to a certain extent, where the pigeon appears... but that is as far as the control goes...

"Ai" clearly has a will of its own. It acts according to its own ideas, and not every command given to it will be carried out. In that respect, it differs from the other "items" aboard the Lost Homeland.

It can speak, possesses some capacity for thought, and can independently judge situations... Compared with ordinary anomalous objects, this pigeon seems more like Goat Head...

After reviewing the information he had gathered so far, Duncan finally turned his attention to the Obsidian Dagger.

Its blade was like a dried, twisted finger, black and reflective.

This was the object once held by the black-robed priest who wore a golden Sun Mask and presided over the evil sacrificial ritual in the sewer gathering site. Judging by its purpose, it ought to have been a "ritual blade."

Duncan had reached that gathering site, suspected to lie beneath Pland City-State, through spiritual projection. He had returned spiritually as well. He had assumed the entire process took place purely on the level of mind or soul, yet this ritual dagger now lay tangibly before him.

After a moment's thought, Duncan reached out and picked up the dagger.

Its cold, hard texture was unmistakably real. This was an object that truly existed.

Duncan released a little Spirit Body Fire and let the flames coil around the blade. From the hollow, empty feedback he received, the extraordinary power that had once resided within this ritual dagger had indeed completely dissipated.

Just as he had judged at the sacrificial site, this was not a true "anomalous item." It was likely an extension of some extraordinary power, or a temporary object artificially "infused" with such power.

Duncan did not know what system governed the anomalous items of this world, but he guessed that this dagger could not be particularly rare. At the very least... it looked mass-produced.

"Is this something you brought back?" He raised his head and looked at Ai, which was resting on the table, waving the Obsidian Dagger in his hand. "And was it specifically for me?"

The pigeon stared fixedly at Duncan with its red eyes, its entire body motionless and completely unresponsive to the question.

Duncan: "...?"

He asked again, but the pigeon still did not move. It was as though it had suddenly become a lifeless statue.

The sudden abnormality made Duncan frown slightly. Just as he was about to use Spirit Body Fire to stimulate Ai and see if he could forcibly wake it, the bird abruptly came "alive" again. It hopped twice in place and shouted, "Take this solar-powered battle axe, take this solar-powered battle axe, take this..."

"Alright, alright, I understand. You don't need to answer every single question I just asked," Duncan said quickly, waving his hand. As he forced the pigeon to quiet down, he reorganized his phrasing. "Then do you know how you brought this dagger over? Or rather, can you carry physical objects while crossing over?"

The pigeon pondered for a moment, then lowered its head and pecked at Duncan's finger. "Storewide discounts, free shipping on every item."

Duncan said, "I... will just pretend I understood that."

He sighed, feeling that this was the limit of how much he could communicate with the bird.

He then rose from beside the desk and looked toward the Chart Room.

Goat Head and Alice were still outside, their warm and friendly exchange continuing.

Miss Doll had not made a sound for quite some time, while Goat Head had just begun explaining the seventeenth method for making kelp stew.

Duncan felt it was necessary to rescue his only crew member so far—and, astonishingly, the one with the most normal demeanor.

On the other hand, he had been in the bedroom for too long, and there had been some unusual disturbances in the meantime. He felt he ought to show himself outside and put Goat Head's mind at ease.

Before leaving, however, he hesitantly glanced at Ai, which was running around on the table.

Should he bring this pigeon out too? And if he did, how would he explain it?

Duncan hesitated for only two seconds before decisively grabbing the pigeon and placing it on his shoulder.

He would be active aboard the Lost Homeland for a long time, and this pigeon would certainly remain by his side for the foreseeable future. He still did not know what habits the bird had, but as an "anomalous item" capable of thought and communication, it would probably be difficult to hide it somewhere like an inanimate object.

The ship had gained a "passenger." That was not something he could conceal. And if he hid it now, then it was exposed in the future, it would instead cause serious damage to the image of "Captain Duncan."

So he might as well bring the pigeon out openly and call it his new "trophy"—he did not need to explain anything to Goat Head. A captain did not need to explain himself to his first mate.

The first mate would fill in the blanks on his own.

As for the strange nonsense the pigeon occasionally blurted out—nonsense that the locals of this world would surely find incomprehensible—that did not need explaining either.

Goat Head and Alice could figure out their own explanations.

With the plump pigeon perched on his shoulder, Duncan stood, straightened his appearance, and calmly walked toward the Chart Room.

The pigeon proudly puffed out its chest and shouted as if making an announcement, "Authentic herbal tea, authentic good voice, welcome to this program brought to you by..."