Chapter 223

Chapter 223: Deepening Understanding

To be fair, Duncan was truly sincere at this moment. He admired this Inquisitor’s firm will and blunt nature. He admired how she had acted in the disaster. Even aside from that, he valued Vanna as a special Node very highly.

If not for a string of coincidences, it would have been very hard to plant such a Node among the Church’s top people. Building even the most basic “connection” with such a person was harder still.

Vanna was very straightforward. Because of that, she would not deny Duncan’s merit in protecting Pland. No matter how awkward she felt, she would treat this favor from a Lord fairly.

But Duncan’s sincere attitude would sound more or less terrifying to anyone else.

A bond that could not be cut, like The curse. Subspace Shadows that could invade her thoughts at any time. A higher being so powerful it could reverse a corruption in history, yet with unknown aims—if not for Vanna’s iron will, anyone else would have failed their sanity check several times over by now.

Vanna steadied herself and met Duncan’s gaze without flinching, though her heart stayed tense. Rationally, she still did not dare to believe every word this ghost captain said. Even if he truly had protected Pland, there might be some more terrible scheme behind it—history was full of such schemes. But emotionally…

Her feelings kept telling her not to trust reason too much.

“…What do you really want?” Vanna drew a slow breath. She was questioning him again, but this time there was more than defiance and wariness in her tone. There was seriousness. She wanted to talk properly with this legendary captain and listen carefully to what he had to say. Even if they could not be Friends, they did not have to be enemies for the moment.

After she said this, she paused, then added quickly: “And don’t say something like ‘get some fries’ again… I want to hear something serious.”

“…‘Get some fries’ was serious,” Duncan said helplessly. “With lots of ketchup, if possible.”

Vanna: “…?”

“I’m trying to improve the food on my ship. Isn’t that obvious?” Duncan suddenly laughed. None of Vanna’s reactions surprised him. He moved a little in the mirror, as if sitting down on something, and continued in a very relaxed posture: “Vanna, what do you think a captain like me does most of the time?”

“What you do most of the time?” Vanna blinked. She did not notice that their tense conversation had already turned… calmer. Once the figure in the mirror sat down, the talk that followed felt almost like two Friends chatting. “I… never really thought about that…”

“Exactly. You haven’t. No one ever thinks about that. A terrifying ghost captain only has to be ‘terrifying’. I’m supposed to spend twenty-four hours a day plotting world-shaking schemes. That would fit the story people tell about me. But in reality?”

Duncan spread his hands as he spoke.

“I have a very, very large ship to manage, and a lot of troublesome people on that ship. My Crew Members are always causing a commotion, turning the deck upside down every now and then. The food on the Vanished is another headache. But the biggest problem is hot water. I’m thinking about installing a boiler on board. Do you have any recommendations?”

“I don’t know much about boilers… Wait, no, that’s not the point,” Vanna answered without thinking. Halfway through, she realized something was wrong. She stared wide-eyed at the ghost captain in the mirror, whose half-smile seemed full of teasing… and amusement at her. “Why are you suddenly telling me all this? And… um… are you serious?”

Duncan shifted his posture. He looked into Vanna’s eyes, and his expression slowly grew serious. “Vanna, have you noticed? I’m not as frightening as you imagine. The unknown is the source of fear. Now you know a little more about me.”

Vanna did not speak for a moment. She could no longer keep up with this captain’s pacing and had no idea how to respond.

But after a short silence, she let out a slow breath and tried to change the subject. “…You took away the fragment of the Sun. That also removed another great danger in Pland. I should thank you for that as well.”

The corner of Duncan’s mouth twitched almost invisibly. “…It was nothing. I have a hobby of collecting things.”

But in truth, he wanted to say that he had already sent the fragment of the Sun back to Pland. Nina had first been excited to spend the night on the ship, but then she found she could not sleep anywhere but her own bed…

Duncan was afraid that if he said that out loud, Vanna would leap in swinging again on the spot…

Vanna did not notice the tiny change in his expression. She only nodded lightly and went on: “Order in the city-state is gradually returning. The lingering corruption caused by the Ender has fully faded. And those cultists who tried to summon the Black Sun… have become, just as they wished, fuel for the flames. I hope you are satisfied with that outcome.”

“It’s fine. They’ll show up again sooner or later anyway,” Duncan said offhandedly. “Heretic worshipers are the breath of an Eldritch God. As long as those ‘sources’ are not destroyed, you can never wipe out the cultists completely—just keep cleaning them up the next time you see them.”

Vanna listened thoughtfully to every word, her expression only slightly curious. “It sounds like… you have a very bad relationship with those heretic worshipers.”

“You’re trying to gather intelligence,” Duncan said with a smile. “This is a rare chance in a hundred years to learn directly about ‘Captain Duncan’ and the Vanished—but you can just ask.”

Vanna was speechless for a moment, her face a little awkward. But soon she heard the ghost captain’s frank answer from the mirror: “I don’t like those cultists. I don’t like the Suntists or the Ender. As for the Annihilators who worship the Abyssal Lord… I don’t know them well, but most of them are probably the sort of madmen who annoy me.

“So you can report that straight up the chain. Say that the Vanished is an enemy of all three major cults, and that, whenever conditions allow, Captain Duncan will gladly destroy any cultist who appears before him. That bit of information should be useful.”

“…Thank you for your answer.” Vanna hesitated for a moment, then still nodded very earnestly.

“Anything else you want to know?” Duncan asked again.

Vanna pressed her lips together.

Of course she did. But when it came to the wavering of her own faith and the matter of Subspace, she did not know if asking this ghost captain was the right choice.

In the end, she still did not mention her present confusion and doubt. Instead she asked a question related to herself in a roundabout way: “…I want to know whether Subspace responds to Mortal wishes—and what price is needed for the answer to that question.”

Vanna deliberately stressed the word “price” at the end. She knew this question was completely different from their earlier talk.

Their earlier conversation had not touched on any knowledge in the supernatural realm. But this question… was an attempt to seek forbidden knowledge from a Shadow that had returned from Subspace. That was already a dangerous move.

She was not afraid to pay a price. She only wanted to know what that price would be.

“No need to be so tense. There is no price,” Duncan said with a laugh in the mirror. “Because I’m really not close to them.”

Vanna: “…Huh?”

“Why does everyone think I know all kinds of secrets about Subspace?” Duncan rubbed his forehead, a little helpless. “It’s true that I’ve been there, but I wasn’t doing a population survey in Subspace. You live in a neighborhood—does that mean you know every single person on the street?”

Vanna nodded. “I do.”

Duncan: “…”

Vanna realized at once what she had just said. A little embarrassed and a little slow on the uptake, she added: “Of course, there might be people I don’t know so well… All right, I get your point.”

“I can’t answer your question, but I can see it’s tied to how bad you felt just now,” Duncan said, his expression turning serious again. “Has something from Subspace latched onto you?”

Vanna gave Duncan in the mirror a strange look.

Duncan thought for a moment, then added: “I mean besides me…”

“I don’t know.” Vanna shook her head. She opened her mouth as if to say more, but in the end said nothing.

“All right. It seems you still have some concerns. I understand,” Duncan said, not at all offended. “But if something from Subspace really is giving you trouble, you can ask me for help—at least in that realm, I can do something for you.”

Vanna fell silent. After more than ten seconds, she suddenly broke the silence. “Why?”

“You’re asking why I’m willing to help you?” Duncan’s voice came from the mirror. To Vanna it still sounded stern and a little gloomy, but now there was a touch of warmth and sincerity in it. “Maybe because we once fought side by side in Pland—Vanna, I admire your resolve and your courage.”

The figure in the mirror stood up.

The ghost captain seemed ready to leave.

Vanna let out a small breath of relief. She could not even say whether it was caution or simple nervousness at work right now, but his intent to leave did make her relax a little.

But just as Duncan’s figure was about to fade completely from the mirror, she seemed to recall something and suddenly spoke: “Wait, one more thing.”

Duncan turned his head slightly. “Hm?”

“In the future…” Vanna stumbled over her words, took a moment to gather them, then spoke with some hesitation. “I mean, if you plan to ‘appear’ again, could you maybe not do it so suddenly…”

Duncan did not answer at once. His face was wrapped in the Shadows deep in the mirror, and she could not see his expression.

After a few seconds, Vanna finally heard his voice reach her ears: “Next time, I’ll knock.”