Chapter 98: Chapter 102: Nemesis of the Goat Head
Alice accepted very openly that her box had been remodeled into a part of the Homeloss, then quickly dismissed the matter of the Frost Queen, Lei Nora, from her mind—the extent of her open-mindedness left Duncan trailing in the dust.
According to the doll-like lady herself, she was so composed because all of this was “extraneous” to her.
“After all, I now reside on this ship and have no plans to leave, so it’s no big deal that my box has become part of the Homeloss. The matter of the Frost Queen is even simpler—I don’t even know her,” Alice reassumed her seat on her wooden box cover, wearing a pleasant smile, “I don’t know if I am her or what kind of person she once was. After all, that was half a century ago… Let history be history.”
“It’s good you’re at ease,” Duncan merely watched Alice’s light purple eyes and nodded slowly after a long while.
In the end, he chose not to bring up the “details” echoed in the reverberations nor mentioned the words the Frost Queen, Lei Nora, uttered unexpectedly before her execution.
After all, even if he had mentioned it, the doll-like lady surely would not know anything… Her worry-free state was rather pleasant.
“That will do for now. We now have a preliminary understanding and control over your ‘spiritual coffin,’ but whether the beheading effect of ‘anomaly 099’ can also be controlled requires more tests in the future,” Duncan sighed softly, “I’ll take my leave now.”
“Hey, Captain, take care~~”.
Leaving Alice’s room, Duncan returned to the deck, pondering the issues he had encountered as he slowly walked toward the captain’s quarters.
He had intended to confirm whether the beheading power of anomaly 099 was controllable, but in the end, he did not resolve this issue. Instead, he inadvertently stumbled upon a half-century-old chapter of history… The Frost Queen, executed by the rebels, the charges of her collusion with Homeloss, and some mysterious “Abyssal Plan” kept swirling in his mind, refusing to fade away.
And aside from those, there was another matter that bothered him.
Duncan reached into his chest and took out something.
It was a small hairpin, resembling a silver-white feather surrounded by waves.
In any case, it didn’t seem like something a rugged male sailor would own.
As he looked at it, he felt a distant and blurry sense of nostalgia. This hairpin… seemed to hold a special significance for the “real Captain Duncan”.
With many questions in his mind, Duncan knew that he couldn’t directly ask Goat Head about this.
He kept the hairpin and returned to the captain’s quarters heavy-hearted. Goat Head was still diligently controlling the ship there. To Duncan’s surprise, Dove Ai Yi, who was supposed to stay in the bedroom, was also with him.
The bird was arrogantly perched on Goat Head’s horn, proudly rubbing its beak on Goat Head’s forehead.
As Duncan opened the door and saw this scene, he curiously asked, “When did you two get so chummy?”
The Dove flapped its wings arrogantly without saying a word, while the Goat Head creaked and turned its head around, its eyes made of Obsidian staring straight at Duncan: “Great Captain… Next time you walk with Ai Yi in the Spirit Realm, could you bring back some fries?”
Duncan was taken aback, “…why are you also starting with this ‘fries’ thing?”
Goat Head’s voice trembled slightly, “Please, get some fries… consider it for silencing your Dove…”
Duncan stared dumbfounded at the bird and goat duo, guessing what might have happened, and couldn’t help but laugh, “So, you’ve finally met your nemesis, huh?”
“I’ve changed the subject seventy-six times! Seventy-six! I’ve exhausted all my knowledge, reviewed a thousand years of history, discussed everything from poetry to cooking, from divine sacrifices to pig breeding! But all I get back is ‘get some fries’,” Goat Head’s voice sounded almost desperate, “How do you usually deal with this Dove?”
“Simple, just talk less with it. If you don’t talk to it, it will quiet down soon enough,” Duncan shrugged, “I guess you can’t do that.”
Goat Head thought for a moment and sighed, “…then please, get some fries next time.”
Duncan neither agreed nor disagreed but just waved at Ai Yi. The Dove immediately fluttered over and landed on his shoulder. Then he sat down in his chair and turned to Goat Head, seemingly casually, “The ruler of Frost City-State half a century ago, Frost Queen Lei Nora—do you know anything about her?”
“The Frost Queen? The one executed by the rebels half a century ago?” Goat Head was momentarily stunned. “I have indeed heard of this matter. It seems that decades ago we even fought a battle near there with them… But aside from that, we haven’t had more dealings. Why do you suddenly bring this up?”
Duncan calmly gazed into Goat Head’s eyes; he knew this “first mate” was not lying.
Goat Head was truly unaware of the affairs of the Frost Queen, as the Homeloss had never made contact with the Frost City-State.
Not only had there been no contact, but the Homeloss had even clashed with that city-state’s guard troops in the past—as it had with other city-states and ships on different routes.
Since in Goat Head’s memory the Homeloss had never been an ally of the Frost City-State, it indicated that the charges the rebels pinned on the Frost Queen half a century ago were completely fabricated.
Of course, to conclude this now might still be a bit premature after all; it’s an old story from half a century ago, and buried history might still hold many twists and details. He is here with only the first mate’s side of the story; this first mate might just be telling the truth as he knows it, but his knowledge might not necessarily be the whole truth—though none of this really mattered.
Duncan wasn’t intent on exonerating the Frost Queen from half a century ago right now; he merely wanted to know about matters related to the Homeloss and Alice.
“Did you know? Alice’s appearance is identical to that of the Frost Queen from half a century ago—the so-called Anomaly 099, very likely born from the Endless Sea curse after the executed Frost Queen,” he casually spoke while playing with a pigeon perched on his shoulder, “and the main ‘charge’ the Frost Queen faced back then was her collusion with the Homeloss.”
Goat Head suddenly froze.
It was rare for Duncan to see this fellow caught off-guard.
“Collusion with the Homeloss?!” After several seconds, Goat Head finally burst out laughing uproariously; he found the situation utterly ridiculous, “Don’t mind my loud laughter, but those human beings from the city-states are so foolish and weak, they probably blame the Homeloss’s curse even if they trip while walking out the door! Such a ‘charge’ is ridiculously fabricated!”
He paused, then continued: “But you say Miss Alice looks a lot like that Frost Queen? That really is… incredible. If Miss Alice truly is a transformation of that Frost Queen… then this matter is filled with irony.”
“Yes, if there truly is such a connection, it is indeed filled with irony,” Duncan leaned back, resting comfortably against the back of his chair, “The Frost Queen never had contact with the Homeloss during her lifetime, yet the rebels framed her with a charge of conspiring with the Homeloss. Now, half a century later, Alice has indeed become a crew member of the Homeloss—the crime those rebels forcefully pinned on her has transcendentally become a reality across time.”
“No wonder you rushed to find Miss Alice as soon as you returned; you found crucial information about Anomaly 099,” Goat Head immediately started to flatter, “Truly worthy of the great Captain Duncan, each of your voyages always yields results! This reminds me of a saying by a navigator, or perhaps it was a…”
Duncan quickly shot Goat Head a stern look and casually removed the pigeon from his shoulder, placing it in front of Goat Head: “You two chat.”
Goat Head: “…!?”
…
Inside the central cathedral of Plunder City-State, Fenna handed a document she had just signed to her attendant: “Deliver this document to the western church—this is the last search warrant.”
The young guardian warrior took the document: “Yes, Judge.”
Fenna sighed softly, moving her slightly stiff neck from handling paperwork. It felt more tiring than dealing with pens than swinging a greatsword and battling heretics.
At the edge of the desk, an oil lamp was quietly burning, and bluish smoke was curling up from a brass incense burner—two essential protective measures for handling paperwork at night—even within the sacred cathedral.
“Hope no more troubles arise tonight.”
The young miss Judge stretched and couldn’t help murmuring.
As if in response to her murmur, just as Fenna’s words fell, a slightly frantic and sharp bell sound suddenly came from the direction of the main building of the cathedral!
The guardian warrior, who had just taken the document and hadn’t yet left the room, stopped in his tracks upon hearing the bell. He looked out the window in confusion, then back to his superior, who had only half stretched: “The night bell tolls… What’s happened?”
“It’s the summoning bell,” Fenna quickly discerned the message conveyed by the bell, her expression turning serious, “Seven consecutive short rings, from the ‘Tomb of the Nameless King’… Could it be that a new anomaly or apparition has been discovered?”