Chapter 35 - Calm and Normal

Chapter 35 Calm and Normal

The ocean had calmed down.

Alice stared at the tentacle lying on the deck. Viscous flesh and blood containing an enormous power also fell beside the captain’s feet. They soon lost their vitality. At the same time, the gigantic creature lingering beneath the Lost Home dived deeper into the ocean. After sacrificing one of its tentacles, the creature swiftly left the region where the Lost Home was. It seemed to be fleeing in a hurry.

While the gigantic shadow descended into the depths, the ocean quickly regained its tranquility. The dark cloud looming over the sky also cleared up instantly.

Perhaps that was not a dark cloud after all.

Alice took a glance at the sky. She remembered the shape of the dark cloud. Based on how it dissipated, she slowly realized that the dark cloud was connected to the shadow underwater.

The dark cloud was a shadow cast onto the sky by the gigantic creature in the ocean.

The sound of fire crackling could be heard coming from the side of the deck. It put a halt to Alice’s wandering thoughts. She quickly looked for the captain. He had regained his usual composure. The burly man had a big grin on his face. After noticing Alice, he waved his hand, signaling her to get closer.

When Alice approached him, Duncan kicked the big fish on the deck and said with a happy tone, “Look! I caught a big fish!”

“A…big fish?” Alice had a blank expression as she repeated his words. She took a look at the lump of flesh beside Duncan’s feet. It was still wiggling. Countless, half-opened eyes stared adamantly at the sky even though they had exploded into a bloody mess. The razor-sharp teeth glistened with a cold light in between the eyes.

Following Duncan’s kick, half the eyes on the severed tentacle blinked. They then all closed completely.

“Yes, it is a big fish,” said Duncan happily. “Take a look. It took quite an effort for me to drag this out of the ocean.”

Even though she was just a doll, Alice felt the corner of her eye twitch as though she had muscles. She tried to say something but did not know where to start correcting him on this topic.

She looked at the “fish” at Duncan’s feet.

A big, ugly fish was lying there. It was black with pitted skin. It had strange gray-white patterns near its fins. Bone spurs extended from its head, and a pair of lifeless fish eyes looked back at her.

There were also many small fish scattered across the surrounding deck.

Alice suddenly lost all her expressions and words. Wide-eyed, she stared at the scene before her. There were fish on the deck. She was sure that they were not fish just a second ago.

The doll who lacked life experiences had never experienced a moment of doubt in her life before. Yet, at this very instant, she questioned everything in life. She was even wondering whether she was dreaming. The tentacle, the lumps of blood and flesh, where had they all gone?

Perhaps her momentary bewilderment was too apparent; Duncan immediately noticed Alice’s abnormal behavior. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at the doll and asked, “What is the matter? Is something wrong?”

“I…” Alice opened her mouth to speak. However, just as she was planning to correct him, the code the goat head told her before suddenly surfaced in her mind.

On the Lost Home, Captain Duncan was the absolute authority. His words were the absolute reality. If the real world contradicted Captain Duncan’s words, they were to follow the captain’s judgment.

“It’s nothing,” Alice quickly said. Next, as though to cover up her overly tense tone, she hastily changed topics. She said, “Captain, the storm just now was really frightening.”

“Storm? Did you mean the waves?” Duncan asked as he looked doubtfully at the doll. “The waves just now were indeed big, but they are far from being called a storm. That being said, you have not seen a real storm.”

Alice said, “You are right.”

Since Captain Duncan categorized the storm, which almost covered the entire sea area, as “waves”, then waves they would be. Since Captain Duncan believed that the things he caught were fish, fish they would be.

“I can sense that you are somewhat nervous. Are you okay?” Duncan acutely detected that there was something off with Alice’s tone. With a look of concern, he stared at his first crew member and asked, “Could it be that you’re seasick? Can you get seasick?”

“I’m fine. It’s just that the ship was rocking too hard just now…” Alice gazed at the captain, who seemed genuinely worried about her and was unsure whether she should feel at ease or even more afraid. She changed the topic of conversation and asked, “Oh, right. What do you plan to do with these…fish?”

“That goes without saying,” said Duncan as he immediately smiled. “Of course, we will eat them!”

Alice was instantly dumbfounded. She said, “Eat them?”

“What else can I do with them? Didn’t you notice? The food on the Lost Home is too monotonous.” Duncan was clearly in a great mood as he continued, “I plan to cut this big fish into smaller portions. I will make half into a stew and roast the remaining half. I will cure the smaller fish with salt and make them into dried fish.”

He disclosed his plan with great delight. Even though he sounded confident, he had no idea whether he would succeed. His cooking skill was average at most. Besides that, he had never processed such a huge fish before. As for dried fish, he knew how to make them in theory, but he had never done so in real life.

However, he would never know his skill if he had never tried.

The only risk was food poisoning.

Duncan still retained some reason despite his joy at the bountiful harvest. He carefully inspected the big fish at his feet, trying to guess whether this gift from nature was poisonous.

The most reliable method, to be sure, was to find an unlucky soul to try it out first.

He first thought of the goat head in the captain’s quarters but immediately eliminated it as an option. He then glanced at the cursed doll before him. She wouldn’t do as well.

Alice did not have a stomach at all.

Finally, he looked at the pigeon on his shoulder.

The pigeon also tilted its head and looked back at him.

Ai did not appear like an ordinary creature. However, if Duncan wanted to find a living creature of flesh and blood on this ship, he was only left with this pigeon.

After a short while, Duncan brought his spoils and left the deck. It was almost lunchtime, and he could not wait to improve the rations on the Lost Home.

Alice stood in a daze where she was for a while and then came before the door to the captain’s quarters.

She initially did not want to see the goat head. Ever since she experienced this first mate’s ability to nag, she even developed a sense of reverence for the entire captain’s quarters.

If possible, she would avoid the place.

However, today’s incident was too bizarre. She felt that she had to consult the more experienced goat head about whether this was normal on the Lost Home.

She had not gone against the crew member’s code. Finding out more about the situation should not violate taboos.

After hesitating for a short while, Alice finally gathered the courage to open the door to the captain’s quarters.

She was surprised to see that the goat head was already turned towards the door and was staring straight at her. It was as though it had been expecting her arrival.

“What happened outside?” the goat head asked succinctly. This was a stark contrast from its usual self.

Judging from its abnormal behavior, Alice sensed that something was indeed off. She immediately closed the door, went to the nautical table, and told the goat head everything she had witnessed.

After she finished her narration, the goat head sank into silence, which was not a usual occurrence. For a whole minute, it did not speak a word.

The wooden goat head was incapable of making any facial expressions. However, Alice could sense that what happened just now was beyond the comprehension of this first mate.

Alice panicked. She subconsciously leaned forward, asking, “Is this abnormal for the Lost Home? Could it be that the captain is truly…”

“Everything on the Lost Home is normal.” The goat head was finally awakened from its silence. It quickly interrupted Alice’s speculation as though it was trying to fix a flaw. It said, “Listen. Everything on the Lost Home is normal. It will forever be so. The great Captain Duncan is being his usual self as well.”

Alice protested, saying, “But…judging from your response…”

“Things have exceeded my expectations, but that is because I have insufficient imagination and knowledge,” the goat head’s words slowly become eloquent. It was returning to normal from its shock. After that, its mood began to improve. Its tone became more excited and energetic as it said, “Yes, great Captain Duncan. He should be even greater and more powerful! There is nothing out of the ordinary, Miss Alice. Listen here. Everything is standard on the Lost Home. Let the captain do what he thinks is right. Do not discuss this matter any further. You only need to remember this:

There is fish in the kitchen of the Lost Home, and fish is delicious food.”