The Homeless was large, unusually large—almost beyond what was necessary for a sail-powered ship, in Duncan's opinion.
Such a large scale means larger cargo holds, more guns, a stronger structure, and a more stable posture in the face of wind and waves - all of which means it is capable of facing the most difficult long-distance sailing challenges.
But Duncan currently has no plans for the so-called voyage. This incredibly large ghost ship only brings him a sense of loneliness, so it would not be a bad thing if there could be one more "crew member" who could talk on the ship.
Anyway, there are plenty of idle "guest rooms" on this big ship.
The sound of footsteps broke the silence in the corridor. Duncan led the Gothic doll down the wooden stairs and came to the cabin on the lower level of the stern deck. It was located directly below the captain's room. From a structural point of view, it should be regarded as the "superior living area" in this big ship. Compared with the dark and gloomy areas on the lower levels with a hint of weirdness, this place was more or less bright and tidy.
Duncan stopped in front of a crew cabin, then casually pushed open the half-open wooden door.
Inside was a single room with simple furnishings.
There were several single cabins like this on the ship, but they had been unused for a long time and showed no signs of ever being used.
After initially exploring the upper areas of the Lost Hometown, Duncan noticed the existence of these empty rooms, but he did not think much of it at the time. But now that he is in charge of this ghost ship himself and knows the secret of how this ship can sail on its own, a doubt arises in his mind.
Since this ship doesn't need any crew at all... then who are these crew cabins on the ship for
The single rooms in the upper cabins are obviously prepared for upper-level seafarers such as the first mate, second mate, and boatswain, while in the lower area there are cabins with bunks for ordinary crew members. In addition, there are restaurants and chess and card rooms that are obviously for multiple people on board - unlike sails and cables that do not require manual operation, the existence of these facilities themselves is prepared for "people".
But the ship needed no crew at all.
Duncan frowned slightly. He had realized that this ghost ship, which was now sailing alone on the sea, must have had a crew at some point in its history.
At least when the ship was first built, it was designed with reasonable passenger facilities for seafarers to use.
So what happened to cause the ship to become what it is now? Where did the original crew members go? Was the real "Captain Duncan" the owner of the ship from beginning to end? What inside information does that strange goat head know
"Captain?" A doubtful voice suddenly came from behind.
Duncan's thoughts were interrupted instantly and he was startled at the same time. Then he realized that it was the voice made by the puppet lady - he actually forgot about Alice's existence for a moment.
Over the past few days, Duncan had gotten used to the fact that he was the only living person on the ship, and he was also accustomed to the voice of the noisy goat-head. But when Alice suddenly showed up, he was a little uncomfortable.
"My name is Duncan. You can call me Captain Duncan. Of course, you are free to call me Captain directly." Duncan quickly adjusted his expression and turned to look at the doll lady following behind him. "This empty room will be yours from now on. Come in and take a look."
"Oh, okay!" Alice nodded, first leaning over Duncan's shoulder to take a look at the situation in the room, then turning around and grabbing the wooden box that had been floating behind her, she put it on her shoulder, and carefully carried it into the room.
Seeing Alice's inseparable "coffin", Duncan couldn't help but tremble. He watched Miss Doll carefully place the "coffin" next to the bed, and then carefully checked the velvet lining inside the coffin. Then he began to look around the furnishings in the room, and finally couldn't help but say: "You want to carry this box with you all the time, right?"
"Yes," said Alice matter-of-factly, "where else should I put it?"
"This box was once your seal. I thought you would care about this," Duncan frowned, "but now it seems that you can't live without it."
"It was those people who sealed me, not the box's fault," Alice sat on the box and patted the lid of the wooden box while speaking, "Would you like to come in and sit with us?"
Duncan shook his head. "No need. How do you feel about this room?"
"Oh, very good." Alice looked very happy. She looked around the simple furnishings in the room, but it seemed as if she was in a magnificent palace. "Is that a wardrobe? I don't have many replacement clothes, so I probably won't need it... but it's good to have a cabinet. Oh, and there's a table. I can put things on it in the future, but I don't think I can put anything on it... Maybe I can use it to put my hair? It will be more convenient when I comb my hair..."
"I'm glad you're satisfied." It was a very strange sight to see a Gothic doll sitting on a coffin and planning its life, especially since there were some very suspicious contents in the plan, but Duncan slowly showed a smile on his face, then he took a half step back, his expression returned to normal, "You can rest here for a while and adapt to the environment here.
“Except for the stairs leading to the lower floor, you can move freely on this floor and the deck. The structure here is not complicated, and you should be able to master the location of all the rooms quickly.
"I'm in the captain's room. If you need anything, you can come find me there. If I'm not here, there's a talking goat head on the navigation table. He's my first mate."
Alice was still nodding while listening, but when she heard the last two sentences, her eyes widened: "Goat head?! That black wooden sculpture?!"
"It seems you've noticed it."
"I noticed it... but you said it could talk?! And it was your first mate?" Alice was surprised. "I thought it was just... It's incredible!"
"…You are a puppet that can talk and walk," Duncan looked at Alice expressionlessly, "and you still think a talking goat head is incredible?"
Alice was stunned for a moment, then looked down at her hands, and muttered as if she had just realized something: "Ah... seems so?"
Duncan shook his head and turned away: "That's it, you rest here, come to me if you need anything."
Alice's voice came from behind him: "Yes, Captain."
After leaving, Duncan did not go anywhere else, but went straight back to his captain's room. He sat down at the large navigation table. The wooden goat head on the table immediately moved, creaking and turning its head towards Duncan:
"Ah! The captain is back! It seems that you have settled the lady. You see, as I said, she is a gentle and harmless lady. She will not be a hindrance to your voyage and can also chat with you to entertain you. I see that you have decided to keep her on the ship. Do you plan to arrange something for her? The Lost Homeland does not need many people. The decks will be cleaned, the guns will be cleaned, and the water tanks will be maintained... Maybe she can be responsible for managing the kitchen? You seem to have been dissatisfied with the food on the ship... Ah, speaking of food, it seems that we need to replenish some ingredients first. The bacon and hard cheese in the warehouse may be a bit old. Although the rude seafarers will not be picky about the food at sea, the great Captain Duncan will definitely..."
Duncan felt his brain was about to boil. At this moment, he was once again certain of one thing: with this noisy goat-head around, he really needed a "normal conversation partner" like Alice!
"Shut up," he glared at the goat-headed man fiercely, and only continued after the latter shut up, "You were very honest when Alice was here just now. I thought you finally learned to keep quiet."
"Captain, you can't interrupt when you are interviewing new crew members. This is the rule at sea. Even if I am your loyal first mate, second mate, boatswain, and..."
Duncan didn't wait for the goat-head to finish (in fact, if he didn't interrupt, the goat-head would never finish): "Pay attention to the movements of the puppet these days."
"Ah...ah? Keep an eye on that lady? Are you still worried about her? Oh, that's right, as a captain, I have to be cautious..."
"She has a lot of secrets, and she hasn't told them all, maybe because she really doesn't know them herself, or maybe... she's deliberately hiding them for some purpose. Anyway, no matter what, she is a 'cursed doll' after all, and she has the name 'Anomaly 099'," Duncan said lightly, "The people on the previous ship used many seals to prevent Alice from leaving the wooden box, but now the sealed doll is moving around openly on my ship. I need to spend a little time to confirm that Alice is really a harmless doll... Even if she is only harmless on the Lost Homeland."
(Oh my god!)