Chapter 23

Chatper 23 Bird

Alice wasn’t well-versed in the norms of the world.

However, from the hints of fear and anxiousness that she could hear from the small talks between the nervous sailors tasked with shipping abnormalities when she was lying inside the coffin, she still had a basic understanding of “things that were out of the norm.”

If something that wasn’t normal still happened, ensuring one was safe and maintaining a safe distance before studying and analyzing the situation was the way of survival.

Alice was still confused as to why she was labeled “Abnormality 099,” as she didn’t know what she was actually capable of or what she had done in the past to make the humans so wary of her. She had no idea what a typical mindset for an “abnormality” with sentience was, but at that moment, she was thinking like a human.

Since the goat head said there were six rules, it meant there were six. However, it did mention the seventh rule, and all Alice did was just memorized that as well.

But, there was still a question lingering in her head, and she couldn’t help but ask, “I tried to push the door from outside earlier and can confirm that the door only opens with a pull, but why is that a part of the rules?”

The wooden goat head silently looked into Alice’s eyes. After two seconds of silence, it spoke in a short and simple sentence for the first time. “Sometimes, it can be pushed open.”

“Then…”

“If ye see the door is opened towards the inside, never go into it. Only the cap’n has the right to walk through that door.”

That was the first time the goat head had used such a serious tone with a hint of warning in his voice. It wasn’t even that serious when he talked about the rules.

Alice was a little shocked by the goat head’s sudden seriousness.

Yet, its tone returned to the normal lively one as if the last few seconds did not happen. “Alrighty. That’s the end of the introduction for newcomers. Let’s talk about something else… That’s right. Miss, why are ye here in the captain’s cabin? If ye are asking about some installations that ye don’t know how to use, then there’s no need to trouble the cap’n. If ye want someone to talk to, ye can come to me. I’m good at talking, and I know a lot about the achievements of the Lost Home… You aren’t interested in that? Then I can introduce you to the famous foods of the boundless sea. I’m also quite well-versed in cooking…”

The goat head went into its talkative mode again. Alice didn’t even have the chance to interrupt it. It was too late for her to get out when she finally realized she was already stuck in it.

The Abnormality 099, the puppet Alice, had run into the most terrifying thing after Captain Duncan.

At the same time, in the bed chamber next to the cabin, Duncan silently listened to the conversation through the wall.

He had just woken up. His soul had just returned from a faraway empty body to the Lost Home. He did not hear the initial conversation between the goat head and Alice, but he did overhear the rules that his first mate had mentioned and the talk about opening the door to the captain’s cabin. It was a piece of important information that he did not expect to receive.

Before Duncan could even digest the information he had received from the cultist, he got another one from the conversation between Alice and the goat head. Everything was essential to him, whether it was the weird rules or the hidden meaning in the goat head’s words.

Just as he had thought, the goat head knew about him returning to the “other side” when he pushed the door in. To him, he was just returning to the studio apartment room, but to the Lost Home, it meant that the captain had “temporarily” left the ship.

The goat head wasn’t even suspicious of that action and even treated it as something that Captain Duncan usually did.

That only meant that the “real Captain Duncan” used to push the door inwards and headed toward another mysterious “world.” Not only that, but it had happened many times to the point where the goat head was used to it and even became part of the rules for the crews of the Lost Home.

It was great news for Duncan as he didn’t have to worry much when he returned to the “other side”. Even if the ship had a new member, he could still openly disappear with that method and did not need to worry about others following him and discovering his secret.

On the other side, a new worry appeared for him. It had something to do with the 6+1 rules that the goat head had mentioned.

“What do the rules mean? What’s the reason for making such weird, dangerous, and conflicting rules? Why do a few of them sound like they are made to emphasize the captain’s authority? Then, again, those strict restrictions sound more like they are meant for the crews to survive in a certain dangerous situation. Those established rules are to help the crews avoid unwanted and hidden dangers,” he thought.

Duncan frowned as he pondered the danger that was mentioned in the rules. From the content of the rules, he could tell that the “captain” was most likely the only person with complete freedom and all access to the ship. It seemed like he didn’t have to worry about the “hidden dangers” on the ship. It also looked like he was the one who established where the danger areas were, but the only problem was that it could only apply to the real “Captain Duncan”.

That was the most worrying part for him.

However, he reminded himself of his exploration of the Lost Home and that he could move freely about the entire ship.

The goat head had never reminded him of the ship’s rules and had always treated him as the real Captain Duncan. He had never run into any “weird danger” before, and it was impossible that a second “captain” would suddenly appear out of nowhere to limit him.

From that, it was clear that the dangers mentioned in the “rules” did not apply to him, and he didn’t have to worry about it.

Duncan let out a sigh of relief and continued to eavesdrop on the conversation in the next room.

Half a minute later, he cursed at himself for not having the ability to make himself deaf for a while.

The trash-talking puppet and the talkative goat head had started their conversation and it was clear that the latter had the upper hand. Its endless words were like the waves from the boundless sea hitting the ship’s side where even the one who wasn’t in the conversation couldn’t bear to hear it talking any longer.

His first reaction was to think he had to find a way to save the puppet. Alice, who lacked social experience, could not face the goat head. Yet, after a moment of hesitation, Duncan decided not to do that.

He had just completed a magical “soul journey” and there was too much information and experience that he needed to sort. He needed to know what really happened to him and find out if he could control the process or not. From the current situation, projecting his mind to other places would be the best option for him to collect information on the lands.

Under normal circumstances, he needed to worry whether the goat head would pay too much attention to him when he tried to research his new power inside the bed chamber. However, Alice was there to stall it; that was the best thing he could ever ask for.

Duncan silently apologized to the puppet and looked at his right hand. His expression stiffened up right away.

The brass compass that was a little bigger than a pocket watch was gone.

He still clearly remembered himself holding it tightly in his hand not long ago.

Duncan was in awe as he didn’t realize the changes that had happened in his hand. Such a careless mistake was the first for him ever since he arrived on the weird ghost ship.

The next second, he imagined grabbing something in his right hand and green flames began to appear in the gap between his fingers. He then stood up from the chair and was ready to use the connection between his spirit flame to the supernatural objects to check if there were any signs of abnormality in the bed chamber.

However, the moment he got up, he suddenly froze. A slight connection had appeared deep down in his heart and he subconsciously turned to look at where it came from. In the corner of his eyes, he caught an illusion-like feather floating down.

Duncan looked at where the feather landed. A phantom quickly appeared and manifested in front of him. It only took the phantom two to three seconds to gather and become snow-white…

A snow-white dove.

The lost brass compass was hung on its neck and a familiar obsidian dagger lay next to its leg.