Insufficient Daily Life Knowledge

In a sense, this sky, devoid of stars and moon, marked only by a single scar, impacted Duncan even more profoundly than the "Sun" that had been trapped within the rune circle.

Because no matter how anomalous the sun was, it only illuminated the world beneath Duncan's feet. In Duncan's understanding as an Earthling, the so-called "Sun" was merely one among billions of celestial bodies.

All distortions and strange phenomena were confined within the reach of sunlight. Beyond the sunlight, the sky could still hold stars, brimming with infinite possibilities. Although for a creature bound by gravity, the area under sunlight was essentially the entire world, at least Duncan could understand and accept the scale of the anomalies this way.

However, in the night sky at this moment, Duncan saw no celestial bodies that could be called "stars." There were no stars, no moon, no distant galaxies.

There was only a scar, a tear across the heavens in a form of light and shadow he couldn't comprehend, constantly emitting a pale, misty glow.

The entire Boundless Sea was enveloped in this snow-white night.

Further than the sun lay a distant void, and greater anomalies.

Duncan said nothing, merely staring intently at the sky, countless questions and speculations swirling in his mind.

Where were the other planets? Had they never existed? Or was it... was the world beneath his feet a celestial body located in a vacuum of the universe, so distant from other stars that the night sky here was pitch black and starless? What was that pale scar stretching across the firmament? A rift in space? A tangible celestial structure? Or merely an illusion, floating above the treacherous Boundless Sea?

"Captain?"

Finally, a voice broke Duncan's silence. The doll Alice looked at the Ghost Captain, who had suddenly stopped, with a hint of nervousness. She saw his expression turn even more somber and serious than before, which frightened her. "Are you alright? Is the celestial phenomenon about to change? Is there a big storm coming? I heard some sailors outside the box mention this..."

"...There's nothing."

Duncan said softly, then suddenly averted his gaze from the sky. He looked at Alice with a placid expression, as if answering her, or perhaps repeating it to himself: "There's nothing."

"Then we..."

Duncan stepped forward, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened. "Let's go. I'll take you to your cabin—you can wash up there from now on, if you need to."

This world had once again shown its strangeness and grotesqueness to the foreigner, and this strangeness and grotesqueness seemed far from over.

Duncan realized that he didn't know how many more astonishing anomalies awaited him in the future. If he were to be surprised by every single one, he would likely spend his entire life in a state of constant astonishment.

If his life experiences on Earth over the past few decades had taught him anything, one piece of wisdom was most useful now:

If a problem truly exists, find a way to solve it. Problems wouldn't disappear just because one denied them, just as the bizarre sky before him wouldn't turn into a starry expanse because he questioned it.

There must be a reason why this world presented itself in such a manner. Since everything could exist here, it was an irrefutable fact. No matter how absurd or strange a phenomenon, it was still an objective reality—if he couldn't understand it for a moment, that was his problem, not the world's.

As the current captain of the Lost Homeland, Duncan felt he might have a long time to slowly understand this world.

Alice didn't know why the captain had been silent all this way. She only knew that the atmosphere around Duncan had suddenly become a bit oppressive, but this oppressive feeling vanished as soon as they reached the target cabin.

Duncan led the doll Miss to the place where she could bathe. This was a bathroom prepared for the upper-tier sailors. For a classical sailing ship, such a bathroom was a kind of "luxury" facility, and normally it wouldn't be prepared for ordinary sailors.

The living conditions on ancient sailing ships during long voyages were actually quite harsh. Limited fresh water, spoiled food, poor medical care, and psychological issues arising from long voyages plagued every explorer who dared to challenge the sea. On Earth, many of these problems weren't fully resolved even in the early industrial era.

As far as Duncan knew, early Earth sailing ships didn't even have toilets for ordinary crew members. Common sailors usually relieved themselves on grate boards facing the sea (while paying attention to the wind direction), and bathing was an even more difficult issue—using spare sails as bathtubs and rinsing with seawater was the solution for many unfastidious sailors, while many more sailors of the sailing era simply chose not to bathe for weeks or even months.

After all, compared to scurvy, plague, and mass hysteria caused by immense psychological stress, minor hygiene issues were the least important.

But perhaps ironically, on a ghost ship feared by all, these dire survival problems were actually solved.

The fresh water tanks on the Lost Homeland replenished themselves, the food stored in the warehouse showed no signs of spoilage, the Ghost Captain didn't get sick, and Alice's cervical spine problem wasn't caused by sailing.

Except for the frequent rise in blood pressure when interacting with the Goat Head, the ship was actually quite habitable...

"The pipe next to the bathtub leads to the fresh water tank. You can take water directly. The plug for the bathtub is hanging over there, don't lose it—conditions are limited at the moment, and the ship doesn't supply hot water, but you probably don't mind that."

Duncan explained the facilities in the cabin to Alice. These seemingly ordinary pieces of knowledge were the results of his exploration over the past few days.

"Just being able to rinse off is fine. It's really uncomfortable for my joints to get saltwater in them," Alice wasn't picky at all. She looked at the various items in the cabin with a bit of curiosity and excitement, nodding as she listened to Duncan's explanation. "I'm just a doll, I don't have any particular desire for a hot bath."

Duncan nodded, but then his expression became a bit strange. He glanced at Alice and said with slight hesitation, "Speaking of which, do you know how to bathe? Do you have this kind of... 'life experience'?"

Alice actually froze for a moment, then thought about it and said very seriously, "I should... be able to? Just take apart my joints, rinse them, and put them back together after washing..."

Duncan: "...?"

He looked at Alice, and Alice looked back at him with an innocent expression.

"Have you considered how you'll reassemble yourself after taking everything apart?" Duncan knew his casual question had hit the mark. This doll, who had never left her box, truly had no experience in this area. "I can't help you with that."

Alice: "...I guess that's true."

"And I strongly advise you not to disassemble your joints frequently," Duncan reminded her earnestly, "even if your body structure allows it."

Alice looked a bit confused: "Why?"

"If you take them apart too much, they'll fall off easily," Duncan finally sighed in exasperation. He hadn't expected so many "detailed issues" when sharing a ship with a cursed doll. Novels, movies, and TV shows never mentioned this. "I don't want you to suddenly fall apart in front of me one day while walking on deck. There's no one on this ship who knows how to maintain a doll's joints."

He paused at this point and added, "Your cervical spine problem is already serious enough."

Alice imagined that scene and immediately flinched: "Ah, okay, okay, I understand... I know what to do now..."

"It's best if you do," Duncan said, then glanced at the doll with insufficient life experience again with a bit of unease before preparing to turn and leave. "I still have a lot to do—don't cause too much trouble."

"Okay, Captain, thank you, Captain," Alice said cheerfully. But just as Duncan was about to leave the cabin, she suddenly spoke again. "Ah, right, Captain..."

Duncan stopped and turned his head slightly. "Is there something else?"

"Captain... I suddenly feel like you're not that scary after all," Alice looked at Duncan's retreating back, carefully choosing her words. "That Goat Head said you're the most terrifying captain on the Boundless Sea, the most unpredictable disaster on all routes, but..."

"But what?"

"But I think you're quite approachable, and a bit like a worrying parent..."

Duncan didn't turn around. After a two-second silence, he suddenly asked, "Where did you get the concept of family... Do you have a family?"

Alice hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Then let's not talk about parents. Stay on the ship and behave yourself. I'll arrange your life on this ship."

"Oh, okay, Captain."