Chapter 219: Chapter 223: Deepening Understanding
Fair to say, Duncan was truly sincere at this time—he greatly admired the tenacity and straightforwardness of this Judge. He appreciated her performance in the disaster, and even without this esteem, he deeply valued Fenna as a special “node.”
If not for a sufficient coincidence, placing such a “node” among the church’s top hierarchy wouldn’t have been easy, and to establish even the most basic “acquaintance” would have been even more difficult.
Fenna was incredibly straightforward, and this straightforwardness ensured she would not deny Duncan’s credit in sheltering Plunder City-State, deciding that even if personally inconvenienced, she would treat this “great favor” fairly.
However, Duncan’s sincerity might come off as rather frightening to others.
A connection like a curse that cannot be severed, a Subspace Shadow that could invade one’s thoughts at any time, a powerful, transcendent existence capable of altering history with unclear intentions—it was only Fenna’s resolve that kept her steady; anyone else might’ve failed their sanity checks multiple rounds ago.
Fenna steadied her mind and met Duncan’s gaze unwaveringly, still full of vigilance. Rationally, she dared not believe every word said by this “Ghost Ship Captain.” Even though he indeed sheltered Plunder, his act of protection might hide a more terrifying plot—after all, such schemes were not uncommon in history. But emotionally…
Her emotions urged her not to trust her rationality too much.
“…What exactly do you want?” Fenna breathed in softly, once again expressing skepticism, but this time, there was not just pure defiance and caution in her question, but also seriousness—she wanted to have a genuine conversation with this legendary captain, hear what he had to say, even if not as friends, then temporarily not as enemies.
And after she spoke, she paused, then quickly added, “Don’t mention ‘getting some fries’ again… I want to hear something serious.”
“…Actually, ‘getting some fries’ is serious,” Duncan said with a helpless look, “if possible, along with a lot of ketchup.”
Fenna: “…?”
“I am improving the food aboard my ship, isn’t that obvious?” Duncan suddenly laughed, Fenna’s reactions had not exceeded his expectations. Then he seemed to sit on something in the mirror, continuing in a very relaxed posture, “Fenna, what do you think a captain like me does normally?”
“What do you do normally?” Fenna was startled, not noticing that the conversation had shifted from a tense atmosphere to a more tranquil one. After the figure in the mirror sat down, the subsequent conversation seemed like casual chat between friends, “I… never thought about it…”
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“That’s it, you haven’t thought about it, and nobody does, because a fearsome Ghost Ship Captain only needs to be ‘fearsome.’ I am supposed to be plotting world-overturning conspiracies 24/7, to fit the character— but in reality?”
Duncan said, spreading his hands.
“I have an incredibly large ship to manage, and there are plenty of troublesome people on it. My ‘crew’ frequently causes chaos, making a mess on the deck. Homeloss’s food is another headache, but an even greater problem is providing hot water; I have been considering installing a boiler system on the ship, do you have any recommendations?”
“I am not well-versed in boilers… wait, that’s not the point,” Fenna responded instinctively, halfway through her reply when she realized something was amiss, her eyes widened as she looked at the Ghost Ship Captain in the mirror with a bitingly sarcastic smile, feeling as though his smile was mocking and… teasing her, “Why are you suddenly telling me this? And… err… are you serious?”
Duncan adjusted his position, looking into Fenna’s eyes as his expression became more serious, “Fenna, have you noticed—I am not as frightening as you imagined. Unknown is the source of fear, but now, you have some understanding of me.”
Fenna was silent for a moment, completely unable to follow the captain’s pace, and at a loss for words.
But after a brief silence, she exhaled softly, trying to change the subject, “…You took away the Sun Shard, thereby removing another major hazard within the Plunder City-State, for which I should express my gratitude.”
The corner of Duncan’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, “…A mere trifle, I have a hobby of collecting.”
But what he actually wanted to say was that he had already returned the Sun Shard to Plunder—although Nina was initially excited to spend the night on the ship, she later realized she was not comfortable sleeping anywhere but her own bed…
Duncan feared that if he spoke these words, he might be met with a leap and a slash…
Unaware of the brief change in his expression, Fenna just nodded lightly and continued, “Now the order within the City-State is gradually being restored, the contamination left by the Doomsday Preachers has completely dissipated, and those Black Sun Heretics summoning have… as they wished, become nothing but burnt up kindling. I hope you are satisfied with this outcome.”
“It’s alright; sooner or later they will reemerge,” Duncan said offhandedly, “Heresy worshipers are the Evil God’s breath, and as long as their ‘roots’ are not destroyed, the Heretics cannot be entirely eradicated—just cleanse them the next time they appear.”
Fenna pondered over each word Duncan spoke, her face only showing mild curiosity, “It sounds… like you have a terrible relationship with those heresy worshipers.”
“You want to gauge some information,” Duncan smiled, “because this is a rare opportunity in nearly a century, to directly understand ‘Captain Duncan’ and the Homeloss—you could ask directly though.”
Fenna momentarily found herself at a loss for words, her expression turning awkward, but soon she heard the Ghost Ship Captain’s candid response from the mirror, “I do not like those Heretics, neither the Sun Cultists nor the Doomsday Preachers, and as for the Annihilation Priests who worship the dark Saint… I am not too familiar with them, but most of them are likely to be the madmen I loathe.
“So you can report this back, saying Homeloss is an enemy to the three major heresies. Under permissible conditions, Captain Duncan would be glad to eradicate any Heretic that appears before him—this information should be useful.”
“`
“Thank you for your answer,” Fenna hesitated for a moment, but still nodded earnestly.
“Is there anything else you want to know?” Duncan asked again.
Fenna pursed her lips.
Of course, there was more she wanted to know, but she didn’t know whether asking this ghost captain about issues that could shake her faith and were related to Subspace was the right choice.
In the end, she didn’t discuss her current confusion and hesitation. Instead, she asked a question somewhat indirectly related to herself: “I want to know if Subspace will respond to the desires of mortals—and what kind of price must be paid for the answer to this question.”
Fenna specifically mentioned “price” because she was well aware that this question was completely different from the conversation she had just had with him.
Their prior conversation did not involve knowledge of the transcendent realm, while this question was seeking forbidden knowledge from a shadow returned from Subspace—a dangerous move.
She was not afraid to pay a price, but she wanted to know what it was.
“There’s no need to be so nervous; there’s no price,” Duncan in the mirror chuckled, “because I’m really not familiar with them.”
Fenna: “…Ah?”
“Why does everyone think I would know so many secrets about Subspace,” Duncan rubbed his forehead with a hint of resignation, “I’ve been there, true, but it’s not like I was conducting a census in Subspace—do you know every single person in your neighborhood simply because you live there?”
Fenna nodded: “Yes, I do.”
Duncan: “…”
Fenna suddenly realized her response, and, feeling a bit embarrassed and slow on the uptake, added, “Of course, there might be some I’m not so familiar with… Alright, I understand what you mean.”
“I can’t answer your question, but I can see it’s related to the miserable state you were in just now,” Duncan said, returning to his serious and earnest demeanor, “Have you been entangled with something from Subspace?”
Fenna looked at Duncan in the mirror with a strange expression.
After a pause, Duncan added, “I mean, besides me…”
“I don’t know.” Fenna shook her head. Then she opened her mouth as if to say something else but ultimately chose not to speak.
“Well, it seems you still have some reservations, and I understand,” Duncan appeared unbothered, “but if it’s really something from Subspace causing you trouble, you can ask me for help—at least in this area, I can be of assistance.”
Fenna fell silent. After almost a dozen seconds, she suddenly broke the silence, “Why?”
“Are you asking why I’m willing to help you?” Duncan’s voice came from the mirror, still authoritative and even somewhat somber, but now it seemed to carry a touch of gentleness and sincerity, “Perhaps it’s because we fought side by side in Plunder—Fenna, I admire your determination and bravery.”
The image in the mirror rose to its feet.
The ghost captain seemed ready to leave.
Fenna felt a slight relief; she couldn’t quite articulate whether it was caution or simply a sense of nervousness that affected her, but his intent to depart did indeed make her relax a bit.
However, just as Duncan’s figure was about to completely vanish from the mirror, she seemed to remember something and abruptly spoke up, “Wait, there’s one more thing.”
Duncan slightly turned his face, “Hmm?”
“Afterward…” Fenna stumbled a bit, organizing her words before beginning hesitantly, “I mean, if you plan to ‘appear’ again, could you not do so quite so suddenly…”
Duncan did not respond, his face shrouded in the shadows deep within the mirror, revealing no discernible expression.
A few seconds passed before Fenna heard his voice in her ear, “Next time I’ll knock.”
“`
