Homeloss was massive, surprisingly so—for a sail-powered vessel, it seemed to Captain Duncan to have far exceeded the necessary limits.
Such magnitude meant larger cargo holds, more cannons, a sturdier structure, and a more stable comportment in the face of wind and waves—all of which suggested that it was more than capable of facing the harshest of long-distance sailing challenges.
But the present Duncan had no plans for any distant voyages, and this unusually large Ghost Ship only served to deepen his sense of solitude. Having an additional "crew member" who could talk wouldn't be a bad thing after all.
After all, the large ship was full of spare "guest rooms".
Footsteps broke the silence in the corridor as Duncan descended the wooden staircase with the Gothic automaton, heading down to the lower deck cabins just beneath the captain's quarters. Structurally, this would be considered the "first-class residential area" of the large ship, which, compared to the lower levels that were dark, gloomy, and slightly eerie, was somewhat bright and clean.
Duncan stopped in front of a crewman's cabin and then casually pushed open the wooden door that was ajar.
Inside was a sparsely furnished single room.
There were several of these single cabins on the ship, all long since idle, showing no signs of having been used.
After his initial exploration of Homeloss's upper regions, Duncan had noticed the existence of these empty rooms but hadn't thought much of it. Now that he had taken charge of the Ghost Ship and learned the secret of its autonomous sailing, a question naturally arose.
If the ship didn't require a crew... then who were these crew quarters intended for?
The single rooms in the upper deck cabins were obviously meant for the first mate, second mate, boatswain, and other senior seamen, while in the lower levels there were communal sleeping quarters prepared for common sailors. In addition, there were dining rooms and card rooms on the ship clearly designed for multiple people—unlike the sails and ropes that didn't require manual operation, the existence of these facilities was intended for "people".
But this ship did not need a crew.
Duncan furrowed his brows slightly. He was beginning to realize that this Ghost Ship, now sailing alone on the sea, must have had a crew at some point in its history.
At least when it was first built, it was designed with reasonable crew facilities for seafarers' use.
So what exactly had happened that turned the ship into what it was now? Where had the original crew of the ship gone? Was the real "Captain Duncan" the owner of the ship from the beginning to the end? And what did that peculiar goat head know about the inside story?
"Captain?" A puzzled voice suddenly came from behind.
Duncan's train of thought was immediately interrupted, and he jumped in surprise before realizing it was the automaton girl's voice— he had forgotten about Alice's presence for a moment.
Over the past few days, Duncan had become accustomed to being the only living person on the ship, and even the goat head's noisy voice had become familiar. Now, suddenly having Alice around, he felt a bit unaccustomed.
"I am Duncan, you can call me Captain Duncan—or of course, Captain, if you prefer," Duncan quickly recomposed his expression before turning to look at the automaton girl who followed him, "This empty room will be yours from now on, go ahead and take a look."
"Ah, okay!" Alice nodded, leaned over Duncan's shoulder to peek into the room, then turned to grab the wooden chest that had been floating behind her, hoisted it onto her shoulder, and carefully carried it inside.
Seeing the "coffin" that was always with Alice, Duncan could hardly suppress the twitch at the corner of his mouth as he watched the automaton girl place the "coffin" next to the bed with extra care and then meticulously check the velvet lining inside. Only then did he start to look around the room's furnishings and couldn't help but speak, "So, you intend to keep this chest with you at all times, do you?"
"Yes," Alice responded matter-of-factly, "Where else would I put it?"
"The chest was once your Curse; I thought you would care about that," Duncan frowned, "It seems now you can't do without it."
"It wasn't the box that sealed me in; it was those people," Alice said as she sat on the box, patting its lid, "Would you like to come in and sit as well?"
Duncan shook his head, "No need, how do you find this room?"
"Ah, it's very nice," Alice seemed quite pleased as she looked around the shabby furnishings of the room, as though she were in a grand palace, "Is that a wardrobe? I don't have any clothes to change into, so I probably won't need it... But it's nice to have a cupboard. Oh, and there's a table, I could put things on it in the future, but I don't seem to have anything to put there... Perhaps it could be used for my head? It would make it more convenient when combing my hair..."
"As long as you're satisfied," it was a strange sight to see a gothic doll planning her life while sitting on a coffin, especially when some rather dubious items were included in her plans. However, a slight smile slowly appeared on Duncan's face as he took half a step back, his expression returning to normal, "You can rest here for a while and get used to the environment.
"Apart from the stairs leading to the lower levels, you may move freely on this deck and the main deck; the layout here is not complex, and you should be able to grasp the locations of all the rooms quickly.
"I'll be in the captain's cabin, you can come find me there if you need anything—if I'm not there, there's a talking goat head on the navigation desk, he's my first mate."
Alice had been listening and nodding up to this point, but her eyes widened at the last two sentences, "A goat head?! That dark wooden carving?!"
"It seems you've already noticed it."
"I did notice... but you're saying it can talk?! And it's your first mate?" Alice was full of amazement, "I thought it was just a... That's just too unbelievable!"
"... You are a talking and walking doll," Duncan looked at Alice expressionlessly, "And yet you find a talking goat head unbelievable?"
Alice paused, looked down at her hands as if just coming to a realization, and murmured, "Ah... I suppose not?"
Duncan shook his head and walked away, "That's all for now, you rest here; come find me if you need anything."
Alice's voice followed from behind, "Alright, Captain."
After leaving, Duncan didn't go anywhere else, but went straight back to his captain's cabin. He sat down by the large navigation desk where the wooden goat head immediately came to life, creaking and turning its head to face Duncan:
"Ah! The captain's back! It looks like you've settled that lady in—You see, just like I said, she's a gentle and harmless lady, no threat to your voyage at all, and she can even keep you company and relieve your boredom. I see you've decided to keep her on board, do you plan to assign her any duties? The Homeloss doesn't really need people, the decks clean themselves, the cannons polish themselves, and the bilge maintains itself... Perhaps she can manage the kitchen? You seem to be always dissatisfied with the ship's food... Ah, speaking of food, we should probably restock some provisions first, those dry salted meats and hard cheeses might be a bit old, although the rugged sailors won't fuss over sea food, but the great Captain Duncan surely..."
Duncan felt as if his brain were boiling, in that moment he became even more certain of one thing: with this noisy goat head around, he truly needed a "normal conversational partner" like Alice!
"Shut up," he glared fiercely at the goat head, and only after it had quieted down did he continue, "You were rather well-behaved when Alice was here, I thought you had finally learned to keep quiet."
"A captain can't be interrupted when interviewing new crew members, that's the rule at sea, even if I am your loyal first mate and also the second mate and boatswain and..."
Duncan didn't let the goat head finish (in fact, if he hadn't interrupted, this goat head would never finish), "Keep an eye on that doll's movements these days."
"Ah... ah? Keep an eye on that lady? You still don't trust her? Oh yes, necessary caution is a part of being a captain..."
"She has many secrets, and she hasn't told us everything, perhaps because she herself truly doesn't know, or maybe... she's deliberately hiding something for some reason. Regardless, she is ultimately a 'Cursed Doll' with the title 'Anomaly 099'," Duncan spoke flatly, "The people on that ship used multiple seals to keep Alice from leaving the wooden box, but now the sealed doll is freely moving about my ship. I need a little time to confirm that Alice really is a harmless doll... even if it's only harmless on board the Homeloss."
(Holy mother!)