Aiden returned to the bridge, where Tyrian was waiting for him.

"The unloading process is going smoothly. It'll take about another hour to transfer everything from the cargo hold to the port warehouse," the bald first mate reported, looking energetic, with every fold of his clothes still emanating the strong smell of tobacco. "The sailors who stayed on the island really liked the 'local specialties' you brought back."

"There's going to be a gathering tonight. Join if you're interested," Tyrian said casually, then couldn't help but give Aiden another look, wrinkling his nose and shrugging.

"Did you set yourself on fire with your smoking?"

"...Maybe a little too much," Aiden said, a little embarrassed, touching the tip of his nose. "The tobacco from Pland is always so... hard to put down."

"Just be a little more careful. You smell like a piece of bacon right now," Tyrian said, shaking his head, offering a casual reminder before changing the subject. "I've been hearing the sailors talk about Frost lately."

"The news has indeed spread," Aiden said, his expression immediately turning serious upon hearing the captain's words. "The dead are returning to life. Regardless of the source of the rumor, its content is enough to spark discussion among the sailors—after all, they are all Undying."

"Undying, huh..." Tyrian repeated softly. "What, is everyone expecting to truly come back to life?"

"Honestly, anyone with a bit of sense knows it's impossible," Aiden said, shrugging. "Ordinary people might still entertain fantasies about such things, but the more Undying you are, the more you know that true resurrection is just a rumor—the god of death, Bartok, exists, and that door is a one-way trip. Those people are stuck in the mortal world because their souls have been twisted and changed, preventing them from passing through that door, turning them into the so-called 'Undying.' Everyone is very clear about the boundary between life and death, after all, everyone lingered before that door when they were on the verge of death."

Tyrian nodded gently, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke again, "Then why is this topic causing so much discussion?"

"True resurrection won't happen, so everyone is guessing if these so-called resurrected people are actually... living dead," Lezko grinned. "You know, most city-states loathe the living dead, and Jäpon especially hates them. They even regard it as the 'Curse of the Inland Sea.' Although it's not right to hold the current Aiden people accountable for the debts of half a century ago, everyone is happy to see the authorities of that city-state in a mess."

"...Ran out of materials."

All in all, life aboard the *Missing Ship* wasn't actually bad.

A slightly fishy and salty sea breeze blew in, carrying a chill that wasn't present in the central sea area.

Nina was stunned, then leaned over to take a look inside the wooden bucket and continued to stare blankly.

"Should we ask Aiyi to bring some more?"

Tyrian didn't speak. For some reason, he suddenly thought of another young person who demonstrated formidable strength and was even able to negotiate calmly with his terrifying father on multiple occasions—a high-ranking cleric.

Life on the *Missing Ship* was a thousand times better than she had initially imagined. None of those terrifying or bizarre things had happened. They had their routines, decent meals, clean and separate living spaces, and noisy but interesting fellow crew members. In some ways, life on the *Missing Ship* was even better than on ordinary ocean-going vessels—

On the *Missing Ship*, they cautiously discussed the affairs of the sub-dimension. They cautiously read any book, and Maurice asked Aiyi to bring a pile of folklore and history books from Jäpon, spending most of the day reading them. And the captain, in order to hurry on their journey, would sometimes directly submerge the *Missing Ship* into the spirit world, sailing wildly through that dark and terrifying anomalous sea.

It sounded like something was moving beneath the surface of the water, rapidly rising and carrying a large number of bubbles.

"Miss Frost, aren't you sleepy?"

Frost, the Inquisitor of Pland.

After a moment, she looked up and looked at the Inquisitor before her.

This was a ship.

Because there was Aiyi as a "messenger," the ship was always able to replenish fresh ingredients.

Because there were a large number of "living" ship facilities, the *Missing Ship* almost never experienced inconveniences caused by facility failures, and the greatest advantage of this ship was not even this; its greatest advantage... was that it was normal.

Frost sat on a wooden bucket near the ship's rail, looked up at the endless sea in the distance, and saw faint mist lingering at the end of her vision, as if distant and hazy icebergs were hidden deep in the mist.

Tyrian looked at Lezko silently, and after a long while, he waved his hand helplessly.

Jäpon looked up and saw Nina curiously looking at the amulet he was half-finished carving, as well as several other amulets that hadn't been carved yet on another wooden bucket next to him.

"Oh."

Because of the existence of Captain Duncan, even the invaders from the sub-dimension dared not make trouble on this ship...

"Miss Frost... are you bored on the ship?"

"Oh!" Nina nodded suddenly, looking at the wooden bucket with amazement at the amulets that had not yet been carved. "She seemed to have heard of that in school before, but this is the first time she's seen it! You've made so many!"

Frost put down a new wave amulet and silently put away her small knife.

She didn't know what he was thinking.

A raised flag pole, a rusty bow and chimney, a tattered and damaged deck...

There would be no deep shadows coming out at all—even if something really popped up, it would only become a daily pastime for the crew.

Footsteps approached from behind, and a very energetic voice suddenly sounded beside her: "Miss Frost, what are you doing?"

The small knife cut across the wooden piece, carving deep grooves, and the wood shavings fell off little by little, gradually intensifying the slightly restless mood.

Frost looked in the direction Nina was pointing.

"It depends on how the local Tranquility Cathedral reacts," Lezko said. "I heard that the current gatekeeper of the cathedral is a newcomer named Agatha, a young girl with no experience. I don't know if she can handle that kind of trouble."

She saw a large expanse of rising sea foam, and irregular, chaotic currents rose like hills in the distance, while a huge shadow gradually floated to the surface in the currents and foam.

If it was the words of this powerful and somewhat terrifying Inquisitor... dealing with a few minor troubles caused by the resurrected dead would be no problem, presumably.

Yes, danger, that was incredible, but after living here for a few days, Frost finally confirmed this unbelievable reality: no ship could be safer than this dreaded ghost ship.

"You're right, and I understand that, but most of the sailors' view is to just have fun for now. Anyway, the first ones to suffer are the Jäpon people, and we'll talk about the rest when Jäpon is too big," Lezko said, spreading his hands. "Can't help it, that's the mentality of the Undying, especially since this matter is related to Jäpon."

Nina ran to the ship's rail, widened her eyes, and looked at the sea in the distance, suddenly raising her finger and shouting here: "Look, look! Miss Frost! Something's coming out!"

"...True resurrection requires passing through Bartok's gate and returning, and Aiden's current mainstream belief is not the god of death. In theory, in Aiden, the rules of life and death should be stricter and more stable. Now there are rumors of the dead returning here, that's very wrong," he did not continue to dwell on the problem of "do they need to be more troublesome" with his first mate, but instead straightened his face and made the topic serious again, "He tends to think that some other transcendent power is at work."

He was carving a new wave amulet with sea-breath wood.

The young Inquisitor lowered her head and continued to carve the wood with a small knife.

"Actually..." Jäpon opened his mouth hesitantly, then he strengthened his resolve, looked at Nina's sparkling eyes, and slowly opened the lid of the wooden bucket, "It's not just these few."

Nina nodded, came to the wooden bucket again, squatted down, and began to ponder thoughtfully.

"Or it's a must..." Frost waved her hand with an embarrassed expression, but just as she was about to say something, a strange, low rumble suddenly came from

The strange low roar coming from the sea interrupted what she was about to say.

Or an extra meal.

A creaking sound came almost simultaneously from the direction of the Missing Ship's mast. The next second, Frost saw the ethereal sails above the ghost ship slightly adjusting their angle at the same time, and the huge hull adjusted its posture and course accordingly.

The *Missing Ship* had not yet entered the Frigid Sea, and it was still very, very far from Pland.

"This is an amulet dedicated to Gomona, the goddess of storms," Frost smiled. She knew what an amazing identity the seemingly ordinary boy in front of her had, but after spending a few days together, she was no longer surprised by the identity of any of the crew members on board. "Putting the sea-breath wood amulet into the sea is equivalent to completing a dedication to the goddess."

But she still needed some time to adapt.

"Not really," Frost said with a slightly embarrassed expression. She also felt that it was a bit exaggerated to have carved a bucket of amulets in a few days. "It's just... maybe I still need a little bit of getting used to."

Tyrian raised his eyebrows: "See Vanna? If this matter is really related to the Deep Dive Project back then, then this is more than just a Vanna."