Chapter 16 An Unexpected Reunion

The instant Lucretia took the small hairpin, Duncan felt something deep inside him suddenly relax.

It was a barely perceptible corner of his being, an indescribable sensation, like a long-delayed mission finally completed. Even though his body had forgotten the specifics of that mission, the thought etched into his soul still let out a soft sigh.

"I hope you like it," Duncan said softly after a moment of silence. "There's a lot I don't remember, but I remember this hairpin was for you."

"Tirion told me," Lucretia nodded. Sometime in the past, she had felt that the hesitation and anxiety that had been plaguing her for many days had disappeared – although she had contacted her father through the crystal ball before, it turned out that only seeing him in the real world could dispel those worries. "Anyway, it's good that you were able to return to 'this side'."

Duncan nodded and then turned his gaze to the elven scholar standing not far away, who had been trying to minimize his presence since earlier.

"Master Talan Eyl," he said, a faint smile on his face, trying to make his tone more approachable. "Now we meet again in reality—I'm glad to see you safe and sound. I have many things to discuss with you."

"Don't... don't call me Master, you're too polite," Talan Eyl quickly waved his hands. "Just call me by my name. I've long admired you, the great explorer Captain Duncan. Uh, you said you were still alive... After your death... When you were still human... You were..."

Duncan silently watched the elven scholar, while Lucretia silently pulled out a "short staff" that looked like a magic wand and pointed it at Talan Eyl's nose.

"Frog or snake?" she said in a fierce tone.

Talan Eyl instantly raised his hands, looking at Duncan with a distressed expression, "What I meant to say was that after a century, I have admired your reputation, but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to meet you..."

"Isn't she Lunie?" Duncan couldn't help but take a few more glances at the strange doll. "I found her 'sister' Neelu in a Pland doll shop—frankly, the differences between them are quite significant."

"Reliable," Duncan said with confidence. "I used some very effective investigative techniques—oh, do you want to know the specific process?"

The door to the room opened. To Duncan's slightly curious gaze, a clockwork doll with a face somewhat similar to Lucretia's, but whose body was made entirely of metal, porcelain, and leather, pushed in a cart filled with drinks and snacks.

Talan Eyl was stunned when he heard this, "The Dream of the Renowned?"

"Good."

Duncan gave a definitive answer, and then he told the two people in front of him all the information he had "obtained through some means" from a group of cultists, including the possible role of these Doomsday Preachers in the shadows, as well as some of his own rough guesses and previous discussions with Agatha, without reservation.

"Never mind, most people can't understand the way this pigeon speaks," Duncan waved his hand, beckoning Ayi to land on his shoulder, and then signaled Lucretia to lead the way. "Let's put the lens on the deck first. I'll take care of it myself later. Let's find a place where we can talk business first."

"Convenient? Convenient?" Duncan waved his hand, "The most convenient thing about the entire Vanishing Sea is me. Even a bucket is more capable than me..."

Then, he suddenly reacted, "Are you referring to the dream I fell into before? Are you saying...

... that dream has a name, called the 'Dream of the Renowned'?"

For a scholar who is obsessed with research, the information obtained from the mouths of the heretics sounds dangerous but also attractive. It may be closely related to those evil heretical doctrines, but behind them... it seems to vaguely point to certain knowledge and secrets.

Accompanied by the powerful sound of gears turning, the clockwork doll came to the conference table and bowed slightly to Duncan, "It is a pleasure to see you, old master."

"... Okay," Duncan felt a little regretful. "So what are your thoughts now? Mr. Talan Eyl, do you have any guesses about this so-called 'Dream of the Renowned'?"

Lucretia looked at the scene in a daze, wondering what was going on with the pigeon, and then noticed a metal nameplate on the side of the wooden box.

"If the information is correct, that's the name."

Lucretia did not react for a moment. Then, she saw Duncan raise his hand—the flame door that had appeared out of thin air on the deck had not disappeared. At this moment, it suddenly expanded with Duncan's movements. A cavity seemed to form in the rotating flames. After a moment of explosion and dissipation, a huge wooden box appeared on the deck.

Lucretia was in a trance for a while, perhaps recalling distant pasts, or perhaps thinking of her brother, who had boarded the Brilliant Star several times and still contacted and frightened her every now and then.

"It should have changed a little. Change is a good thing," Duncan smiled. "The Vanishing Sea has also changed a lot. If you go up and take a look, you will be very surprised by its internal state."

"Of course," Talan Eyl said with a serious face, "As a scholar who is very interested in the borderlands, I have always hoped to make more friends with those real explorers, to learn about the things beyond the boundaries of civilization from them, and even yearn to personally sail far away to explore the magnificent fog barrier—unfortunately, I am destined to be unable to complete such a small journey..."

Under the elven scholar's uneasy gaze, he adjusted his sitting posture and asked with a serious face, "In your elven legends or traditional belief systems, is there the term 'Dream of the Renowned'?"

"It doesn't matter, now you have the opportunity to 'befriend' me," Duncan nodded, then he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to Lucretia and said, "Oh, by the way, there's one more thing for you."

Talan Eyl thought carefully for a few seconds before cautiously opening his mouth: "There is no such term in elven legends and traditional beliefs. At least I can be sure that this term is not from the elven language family, but if we are simply discussing the concept of 'dream'... our race does have many stories related to it."

Hearing Duncan's casual "evaluation," Lucretia's expression was a little uneasy: "It has been a long time since then, whether it's the Sea Fog or the Brilliant Star... they are very different from your original design. In order to survive in the 'borderlands,' I have made many bold modifications to this ship. You shouldn't be angry, right?"

Ayi tilted its head, one eye looking at Lucretia, and the other eye not knowing where it was glancing, "Dear, please sign for the express delivery and give a five-star review."

Then she raised her head again and said slightly louder to the door, "Lunie, you can come in."

"Tirion prepared a spiritual lens for you—the highest quality," Duncan pointed to the box. "You wouldn't have forgotten, would you?"

This was an upper-level cabin with narrow windows near the side of the ship. Through the window, visitors could see the power structure on the side of the Brilliant Star and the ship's ghost-like, shadowy stern structure, which seemed to be forever shrouded in mist.

Talan immediately became interested, "Oh?"

Duncan then finally focused his attention on Talan Eyl.

"Ah, I... haven't forgotten," Lucretia's eyes drifted to the side, and she said a little guiltily, then changed the subject stiffly, pointing to the pigeon striding proudly on the box, "Is that the 'Ayi' that my brother mentioned? What is this 'five-star review' it just said?"

Lucretia and Talan Eyl were stunned for a moment and shook their heads at the same time without thinking.

Duncan didn't expect the elven scholar's personality to be so interesting and couldn't help but laugh, "Is that the truth?"

Duncan came to the window and curiously looked at the "scenery" outside the window, observing the "cursed ship," which had a different style from the Vanishing Sea but also had a strange atmosphere, especially focusing on its stern part, which was like a ghost kingdom. After a long time, he sighed, "This ship is completely different from the Sea Fog."

Board the Vanishing Sea?

"When you first saw me, I was just an eight-point doll," Lunie lowered her head very politely, with faint ticking and clicking sounds constantly coming from inside her body. "Of course, I couldn't think or speak at that time. It was the mistress who gave me life."

Under Lucretia's guidance, Duncan and Talan Eyl came to a certain "reception room" located on the middle deck.

By the time Duncan finally finished speaking, the room became very quiet for a while. The two scholars on the scene fell into thinking by agreement. After an unknown amount of time, Lucretia was the first to break the silence: "Is this information reliable? Ah, I don't disbelieve you, but these cultists are usually very cunning. Even heresy experts like church inquisitors often have to spend a lot of effort to pry something out of these guys' mouths..."

"Have you heard of... the Great Demon God Sasroka?"

However, she quickly came back to her senses and nodded to Duncan, "I... will go."

"I know, brother told me about Convenient 099," Lucretia nodded and said, "Lunie is also very curious about this 'Alice' sister, but... is it really safe?"

A fat pigeon with black feathers and fluffy feathers was standing on the box.

Lucretia: "..."

During Duncan's narration, Talan Eyl had unconsciously forgotten his initial nervousness and restraint, and gradually became completely absorbed. Even Lucretia next to him leaned forward slightly, with a contemplative look on her face from time to time.

"... Incredible technology," Duncan looked at Lucretia. "However, there is also a 'doll' on my ship now who can talk and think. Perhaps Lunie and she can be friends."

The witch sister finally vaguely began to realize what her father meant when he said "The Vanishing Sea has also changed a lot" just now...