In a sense, the impact of that starless, moonless sky, with nothing but a single scar across it, was even greater on Duncan than the "sun" imprisoned within the Rune Ring.
Because no matter how abnormal the sun might be, it only shone upon the world beneath Duncan's feet. In Duncan's understanding as an Earthling, a "sun" was nothing more than one celestial body among billions.
All warped phenomena were confined beneath the sunlight. Beyond the sunlit sky, there could still be stars containing infinite possibilities—though to a creature bound by gravity, the region beneath the sunlight was effectively the entire world. At the very least, Duncan could understand and accept the scale of such an anomaly.
Yet in the night sky before him, Duncan saw no celestial body that could be called a "star." No stars, no moon, no distant river of galaxies.
There was only a torn scar, spread across the heavens in a form of light and shadow he could not comprehend, continuously releasing pale luminous mist.
The entire Boundless Sea lay shrouded in night as pale as snow.
Beyond the sun lay distant nothingness, and anomalies even greater.
Duncan said nothing. He merely stared fixedly at the sky as countless questions and conjectures swirled through his mind.
Where were the other planets? Had they never existed in the first place? Or was the world beneath his feet a celestial body located in a vacuum of space, too far from other stars for any to be visible in the black night sky? And what was that Pale Scar spanning the heavens? A tear in space? A tangible celestial structure? Or merely an illusion floating above the perilous Boundless Sea?
"Captain?"
At last, a voice roused Duncan from his silence. The doll Alice watched the Ghost Captain, who had suddenly stopped walking, with some nervousness. His expression had abruptly become even darker and more solemn than before, frightening her. "Are you all right? Is the weather changing? Is there going to be a huge storm? I heard sailors outside the box talk about this before..."
"...There's nothing."
Duncan spoke softly, then suddenly withdrew his gaze from the sky. He looked calmly at Alice, repeating himself as though answering her, yet also speaking to himself. "There's nothing."
"Then we..."
Duncan stepped forward, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened. "Come on. I'll take you to the cabins—you can wash up there from now on, if you need to wash up."
This world had once again revealed its bizarre absurdity to the foreigner, and that absurdity seemed far from endless.
Duncan had realized that he did not know how many astonishing anomalies awaited him in the future. If he made a fuss over every one of them, then making a fuss would probably be all he did for the rest of his life.
If his decades of life on Earth had taught him anything, one lesson was now the most useful:
If a problem truly existed, then he needed to find a way to solve it. A problem would not disappear simply because he denied it, just as the bizarre sky before him would not become filled with stars simply because he questioned it.
There had to be a reason this world took such a form. Since all things could exist here, that was an irrefutable fact. No matter how absurd or strange a phenomenon was, it still existed objectively—if he could not understand it for the moment, that was his problem, not the world's.
As the current captain of the Lost Homeland, Duncan felt that he would have plenty of time to slowly understand this world.
Alice did not know why the captain had been silent along the way. She only knew that the atmosphere around Duncan had suddenly become somewhat oppressive. Yet after they reached their destination cabin, that oppressive feeling abruptly vanished.
Duncan brought Miss Doll to a place where she could bathe. It was a bathroom prepared for senior sailors—for a classical sailing ship, such a bathroom counted as a luxurious facility, and under normal circumstances it certainly would not have been meant for ordinary sailors.
The living conditions aboard sailing ships in ancient times were actually quite terrible during long ocean voyages. Limited fresh water, spoiled food, poor medical care, and psychological problems brought on by prolonged travel plagued every explorer who challenged the sea. On Earth, many of these issues had not been fully resolved even by the early Industrial Age.
As far as Duncan knew, early ocean-going sailing ships on Earth did not even have toilets for ordinary crewmen. Sailors generally dealt with their personal needs on grates facing the sea—while paying attention to the wind direction. Bathing was even more difficult. Using spare sails as tubs and rinsing themselves with seawater was the solution for many less particular sailors, while even more sailors of the age simply chose not to bathe for weeks or even months.
After all, compared with scurvy, plague, and mass hysteria caused by immense psychological strain, a few hygiene problems were the least important concern.
Yet perhaps ironically, these awful problems of survival had been solved aboard a ghost ship feared by everyone.
The fresh water tanks aboard the Lost Homeland replenished themselves, the food stored in the hold showed no signs of spoilage, the Ghost Captain would not fall ill, and Alice's cervical spine problem had not been caused by seafaring.
Other than his blood pressure often rising whenever he dealt with Goat Head, this ship was actually quite livable...
"The pipe beside the tub leads to the fresh water tank. Just draw water directly from it. The plug for the tub is hanging over there, so don't lose it. Conditions are limited at the moment, and there's no hot water aboard, but you probably don't mind."
Duncan introduced the cabin's facilities to Alice. This unremarkable knowledge was the result of his exploration over the past several days.
"Being able to rinse my body is enough. It's really uncomfortable when saltwater gets into my joints," Alice said without being picky in the slightest. She looked at the various objects in the cabin with curiosity and excitement, nodding as she listened to Duncan's introduction. "I'm just a doll. I don't particularly care about hot baths."
Duncan nodded, but then his expression became a little strange. He glanced at Alice, his tone somewhat hesitant. "Come to think of it, do you know how to bathe? Do you have that kind of... 'life experience'?"
Alice actually froze for a moment. Then, while thinking it over, she answered very seriously, "I should... be able to? Just take my joints apart and rinse them, then put them back on after washing..."
Duncan: "...?"
He looked at Alice, and Alice looked back at him with an innocent expression.
"Have you considered how you're supposed to put yourself back together 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: "...That does seem right."
"And I strongly advise against frequently taking your joints apart," Duncan added earnestly. "Even if your body structure allows it."
Alice was somewhat confused. "Why?"
"If you take them apart too often, they'll come loose," Duncan finally said helplessly. He had never imagined there would be so many "detail problems" involved in sharing a ship with a Cursed Doll. Novels, movies, and television dramas had never mentioned this. "I don't want you to suddenly fall apart all over the deck right in front of me someday. No one on this ship knows how to maintain doll joints."
He paused, then added, "Your cervical spine problem is serious enough already."
Alice imagined the scene and immediately shrank her neck. "Ah, all right, all right, I understand... I know what to do now..."
"It'd better be," Duncan said. Still somewhat worried, he gave the doll with insufficient life experience another look before preparing to turn and leave. "I have a lot to do—don't cause too much trouble."
"All right, Captain. Thank you, Captain," Alice said cheerfully. But just as Duncan was about to leave the cabin, she suddenly spoke again. "Oh, right, Captain..."
Duncan stopped and slightly turned his head. "What is it?"
"Captain... I suddenly feel like you're not as frightening as you seem," Alice said as she looked at Duncan's back, carefully choosing her words. "That Goat Head said you were the most terrifying captain on the Boundless Sea, the most unpredictable disaster on every route, but..."
"But what?"
"But you seem pretty easy to talk to. You're even a bit like a worrying parent..."
Duncan did not turn around. After two seconds of silence, he suddenly asked, "Where did you get the concept of family from... Do you have family?"
Alice hesitated, then slowly shook her head. "It seems like I don't."
"Then don't talk about parents. Stay on the ship and behave yourself. I'll arrange your life aboard this ship."
"Oh, all right, Captain."
Before you continue