Chapter 156: Chapter 160: The Most Outstanding Puppeteer
Onboard the Homeloss, the brilliant sunlight was shining on the freshly scrubbed upper deck, where a spiraling green flame was gradually dissipating above the deck. Alice stood by an open space, staring dumbfounded at the large pile of items that had appeared.
“This… this… what is this?!”
The doll lady cried out in astonishment, and just as her words ended, Duncan’s voice came from not far away, “Stuttering as if your brain’s fallen out—haven’t you ever seen pots, pans, ladles, fruits, and vegetables?”
Alice turned her head somewhat stiffly, gave Duncan a look, and then took another serious look at the pile of supplies that had suddenly appeared on the deck. She put her hands on her hips, justifying herself, “I haven’t seen them!”
Duncan: “…?”
“I really haven’t,” Alice continued assertively, “I’ve been in a box for so many years, where would I have seen these things?”
Duncan immediately paused, then slapped his forehead, “…I forgot. Alright, you make a good point. In some ways, you’re even more ignorant than Sherry.”
Just as Alice was about to step forward to study the pile of things that Ai Yi had suddenly teleported over, she turned her head with puzzlement upon hearing Duncan’s words, “Sherry? Who’s that?”
“Someone I met in the City-State; maybe one day you’ll have the chance to meet her,” Duncan pondered, “I think you might have a lot in common with her.”
“Oh.” Alice acknowledged and quickly cast the thought aside. Then she approached the pile of supplies on the deck, circling around it curiously.
“So this is flour… this is meat? It’s different from the dried meat on board… these are vegetable leaves? They seem so fragile, and they’re cool to the touch… what’s this round thing… oh, it broke…”
“Don’t mess with the eggs!” Duncan saw the naive doll was about to create a mess and hurriedly stepped forward to swat away her wandering hands, “These are for improving conditions on board.”
“Hehe…” Alice let out her signature giggle, a bit embarrassed as she withdrew her hand, “I’m just a bit curious—I’ve only heard of many of these things.”
Duncan looked at the doll helplessly, yet he also felt a bit of understanding for her.
In Alice’s mind (if such an organ truly existed in her head), there was a wealth of “innate knowledge.” She knew how to communicate with people, was aware of many things in the world, and even accumulated her initial impressions of the world by “listening” to the sounds outside her box. But ultimately, she had always been under seal, and strictly speaking, her true contact with the world was only a recent affair. Moreover, her first encounter upon emerging was with the Homeloss, a place absolutely unsuitable as a “starting village” for beginners.
She lacked a real understanding of the actual world.
For a while, she could only interact with the things on the Homeloss, and the ship’s limited space and objects had been relatively easy for her to get accustomed to. But now, Duncan had brought a whole load of fresh items from the human City-State right to the doll’s presence.
Even a piece of green vegetable or a bag of flour was an incredible item to Alice.
“Human City-States really are incredible places…” the doll lady remarked sincerely while gazing at the pile on the deck and at the colorful packaging, “It must be much, much bigger than the ship, right?”
“…It’s big, but much smaller than the Endless Sea,” Duncan replied offhandedly, observing the wonder and anticipation in Alice’s eyes, and was reminded once again of the promise he had made to her.
He had said he would take Alice to see the City-State.
“I’ll deal with the troubles in the City-State soon and figure out the secrets about you,” he told the doll in front of him earnestly, “Just be patient for a while.”
Alice immediately showed a beaming smile, “Okay!”
As always, blissfully oblivious.
But just watching this carefree doll, Duncan felt the anxiety he had accumulated in Plunder City-State begin to fade bit by bit. He breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the items on deck, “Let’s move them to the kitchen together—And these miscellaneous items over here, take them to the captain’s cabin.”
“Oh, alright!” Alice immediately agreed, and then while stepping forward to help, she asked, “Will we use these for dinner tonight?”
Duncan gave her a skeptical look, “We could… but do you know how?”
“No way!” Alice said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “But I can always ask Mr. Goat Head for some tips. He claims his culinary skills are astonishing and that he hold over ninety percent of the world’s cooking secrets…”
“You believe that too easily!” Duncan’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Don’t ruin the food ingredients I’ve managed to get with great difficulty. I will cook dinner. If you really want to seriously learn how to make something edible, just watch how I do it. Don’t learn from that goat head—he doesn’t even have a digestive system.”
“Oh…” Alice nodded, and then glanced at Ai Yi pacing on the deck nearby. Her eyes shifted curiously, “Will Ai Yi be going ‘over there’ later?”
“Of course, it has more things to deliver later.”
“You’re still buying things?” Alice asked curiously, “What else are you buying?”
Duncan turned to look into the Puppeteer Miss’s eyes and, after a moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.
“I’m buying something for you.”
Alice: “…?”
…
In the Plunder City-State, within the “Rose Doll House”.
Duncan felt that the kind elf matriarch might have misunderstood him, but he had no intention of explaining.
Mainly because there was no way to explain—what could he say? Could he say that he actually had a doll with a soul, capable of joy and sorrow, and that this doll was recently troubled by its thinning hair? Putting it optimistically, the old lady would probably run off to the church to report him…
In the eyes of the “Rose Doll House” proprietor, Duncan had become a true connoisseur who loved dolls and was willing to pour considerable effort into this hobby—in the upper echelons of Plunder society, there were many who bought dolls, and not a few who were enthusiastic collectors, but rarely did someone show such a heartfelt concern for dolls as this gentleman did today. It gave her the impression that when the gentleman talked about his “doll”, he was referring not to an item but to a living person, perhaps even to a friend about whom he cared deeply.
Not even many Puppeteers would feel as he did.
The two chatted enjoyably, and Duncan finally learned much about dolls from a professional (although he didn’t know how much of this knowledge could be applied to Alice), while the proprietor of the doll house, clearly not having encountered such a kindred customer in a long while, couldn’t help but laugh and sigh after their conversation, “I’ve lived in this city for three or four hundred years, outlasted seventeen Governors, and met countless humans— and yet hardly any of them truly understood ‘dolls’… Ah, I know this might be uncomfortable for you to hear, but in my view, humans are certainly a much colder species than Elves.”
“I’m not very familiar with elf society,” Duncan chimed in, hoping to encourage her to share more about elves, “But I’ve heard… In the Elven City-State of Light Breeze Harbor, there gathers the world’s most outstanding craftsmen? The Elves’ unique handicrafts are famous around the world…”
“Elves are indeed adept at delicate crafts, as we are naturally sensitive to both mathematics and art—the world’s famous Puppeteers are mostly Elves,” the old woman said matter-of-factly with a tone of taken-for-granted pride. However, she quickly changed the subject, “But speaking of the profession of Puppeteers, many of my peers from other races have a certain prejudice against Elves… They often say that Elves don’t truly possess such exceptional talent for crafts and the reason we have so many master Puppeteers is simply because we live long enough to learn by continual practice…”
Duncan was a bit at a loss for how to continue the topic, “Well, I suppose professional rivalry is the same everywhere. What is your opinion on these comments?”
The old woman chuckled, “Me? I think they’re right!”
Duncan: “…?”
“I do think they’re right,” the old woman emphasized again, her face bright with amusement, “Anyway, every year on the Day of the Dead I go to a few of my old colleagues’ graves and greet them by saying, ‘You were right’—if they have the guts, they should come back and hit me!”
Duncan: “…”
Are all Elves in this world like this? Why does he feel something is off about this picture?!
“Ah… just kidding,” seeing the expression on Duncan’s face, the old woman then shook her head, “In truth, there aren’t so many enemies. We’ve just been fellow travelers during such brief periods, and if we’re talking about the profession of Puppeteers… I’ve always believed that the most outstanding Puppeteer in the world is not some ‘master’ among the Elves, but a human.”
“A human?” Duncan asked offhandedly.
“Yes, your average human these days probably doesn’t know this name anymore…” the old woman said somewhat wistfully, “Her name is Lucresia Abnormal, the famous ‘Captain Duncan’s’ daughter. She was the most outstanding Puppeteer I have ever seen…”
Duncan: “?!”