Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 707 - Chapter 707 Chapter 704 Puppets and Puppets and Puppets

Chapter 707: Chapter 704: Puppets and Puppets and Puppets Chapter 707: Chapter 704: Puppets and Puppets and Puppets In the upper deck’s dining area, Duncan and Lucretia sat side by side, each wearing a stern expression, while two recently head-swapped puppet masters sat opposite them–Luny appeared slightly nervous and uneasy, whereas Alice was as radiant as ever, even looking a bit like she hadn’t had enough fun.

After holding back for a few seconds, Duncan eventually broke the silence, “Having fun?”

Luny immediately began fidgeting with her fingers, head bowed awkwardly, but Alice immediately bobbed her head enthusiastically, “It was fun, Captain! You wouldn’t believe it, but our interface sizes are identical…”

Duncan’s eyes twitched at the corner, and he then noticed Luny’s little finger fidgeting gesture. He felt oddly familiar with the motion and after a moment of contemplation, he turned thoughtfully towards the “Witch of the Sea” beside him, “When you were little and did something wrong, did you also pick at your fingers?”

“Uh… that was when I was very small…” Lucretia hadn’t expected the topic to abruptly fall on her. She first froze, then her expression became slightly unusual, “You… You still remember that?”

“…I don’t remember, but it feels somewhat familiar,” Duncan shook his head lightly, then cleared his throat twice and shifted his gaze back onto the two puppets, “Who came up with the idea first?”

This time the two puppets spoke in unison: “Sherry!”

Duncan: “…?”

Shortly thereafter, Duncan and Lucretia were still sitting stern-faced on the dining room’s long bench, but this time sitting opposite them, in addition to the two puppet masters, was Sherry.

Ah Dog lay on the floor next to Sherry, trying hard to grab his own head while muttering quietly, “Don’t look at me, it’s not my fault, I tried to stop them but couldn’t hold on…”

Duncan glanced at the mumbling Ah Dog and then fixed his gaze on Sherry, recalling how she had once tempted Alice to pour super glue down her neck, and he couldn’t help feeling a bit of lamentation–indeed, it seemed necessary to keep a closer eye on this agent of chaos…

“What are you doing giving them such bad ideas when you’ve got nothing else to do?” Duncan sighed, looking helplessly at Sherry, “We’re navigating through the Spirit Realm, and this is not like being on land–if they really got disoriented and fell into the sea, would you take responsibility for fishing them out?”

Sherry, who had been shrinking her neck in preparation to accept criticism, suddenly brightened up at the captain’s words, “So does that mean we can do this on land?!”

Duncan: “…Do you even hear what you’re saying?”

Sherry laughed awkwardly, but then her smile began to turn sly, leaning forward while cheekily murmuring, “You can’t blame me, Captain, think about it, when you saw the two of them, didn’t you get the idea, huh? Two puppets that can take off their heads, and they use the same kind of joint, as the old man would say… it’s all about the spirit of exploration, right? Don’t you want to give it a try…?”

Sherry’s words, to the curious at heart, were almost as tempting as the beeps of Subspace. Duncan’s eyebrows involuntarily jumped, but before he could speak, he heard an almost inaudible mutter beside him: “There seems to be some logic to it…”

Duncan’s expression became slightly complicated, turning his head towards the direction of the muttering–Lucretia lifted her head embarrassedly, realizing only after what she had said and quickly backpedaled, “Of course, such actions are not to be encouraged, experiments must be conducted with caution and safety in mind…”

It took quite an effort for Duncan to maintain his composure, pretending to overlook Lucretia’s recent muttering. Then, with a sigh, his gaze fell back on the two puppet masters opposite him, “Don’t play like this in the future, at least not on board–it’s not safe. Got it?”

“Aiyo, got it, Captain!” “Yes, old master.”

“You, go back to your room and stay there; if you really don’t want to do your homework, then read a book, even picture books will do,” Duncan motioned to Sherry, “We’re about to leave the Spirit Realm and soon enter the Eternal Veil, so stop causing trouble everywhere before that.”

Sherry, with head bowed, obediently agreed, “Oh, all right, Captain…”

The dining area finally quieted down; Sherry left with Ah Dog, and Alice dragged Luny over to a corner of the restaurant, muttering who-knows-what to each other–at least they were each carrying their own heads.

Looking in the direction they each departed, Duncan shook his head and sighed. But for some reason, he felt a bit relieved and pleased at heart.

It seemed that since the incident at Light Breeze Harbor, it had been a long time since he had breathed so easily.

However, Lucretia’s slightly anxious voice suddenly came from beside him: “Are… you angry?”

Duncan did not turn around: “Why do you say that?”

“…We’re about to head to the border to investigate the sanctum of the Heretics, a dangerous and serious matter, yet Luny chose this time to cause you trouble…”

She had only gotten halfway through her sentence when Duncan suddenly interrupted, “Is that you as a child?”

Lucretia didn’t quite catch on: “…Huh?”

“Luny,” Duncan raised a hand, pointing at the clockwork puppet in the distance who was quietly murmuring with Alice and occasionally flashing a happy smile, “Is that your childhood self? I mean, in terms of personality.”

Lucresia was silent for a moment, merely pursing her lips. After a while, she spoke softly, “…Luny was the first doll I made. I sealed some parts of my soul that tend to lead me to make mistakes inside her body. Although most of the time these sealed souls don’t affect her operation, occasionally they make her act in strange ways.”

“So most of the time, Luny appears calm and reliable, but she becomes lively when she’s with Alice?”

“…Yes, it seems that leads her to make mistakes–at least, it increases the probability of making them.”

Duncan looked back at Lucresia, “Is such a level of ‘mistake’ really a problem?”

Lucresia was silent for a few seconds before answering softly, “At the border, mistakes can easily lead to death.”

Duncan said nothing for a moment, thoughtfully watching the two dolls who were joyfully chatting about something in the distance. After a bit, he said calmly, “When she’s with me, it’s okay to make mistakes.”

For a moment, Lucresia seemed a bit stunned. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. Her gaze then followed the direction her father was looking:

Alice seemed to be introducing Luny to some amusing incidents on the ship, at least things she found amusing, while Luny was listening with keen interest–Alice rarely talked with anyone other than the captain with such accord, and Luny… as the Brilliant Starship’s “first mate” and the “sea witch’s” servant, she probably had never encountered a kindred spirit like Alice with whom she could communicate so freely.

The two dolls seemed to be getting along very happily.

It was then that Duncan seemed to suddenly remember something, “Oh right, there’s something I’ve been putting off…”

As he spoke, he gestured into the air, and Ai Yi, who was eating fries at a nearby table, disappeared on the spot. The next second, a swirling green flame appeared beside Duncan. He reached into the flame and pulled out an item, placing it on the dining table before them.

Lucresia was somewhat surprised by the object–it was a finely crafted wooden box about seventy centimeters in length, which, besides its exquisite and simple construction, didn’t seem to have anything peculiar about it.

But gradually, she felt a long-lost sense of familiarity and warmth emanating from this wooden box.

“This is Niru,” Duncan opened the wooden box to reveal a delicate quarter-sized doll before Lucresia. “I said a long time ago that I would give her to you, but I’ve been delayed by many things recently. Now that I see Alice and Luny together… take it. Consider it a reunion of ‘sisters.'”

Lucresia looked a bit odd as she took the wooden box, carefully cradled the quarter-sized doll called “Niru” out of the box, and set her on the table to lean against the box. Her thoughts seemed to drift far away–

In that distant afternoon, accompanied by the clear sound of wind chimes, she and her brother walked hand in hand into the doll shop. Luny and Niru sat quietly in the display window, bathed in warm sunlight that shone on their delicate hair and dresses like a hazy veil.

Back then, she could only take one of them.

But that was one of the few warm memories of her childhood–during those warm days, the “sun” was something that was destined to rise the next day.

The “witch” was slightly out of sorts, and in the midst of this reverie, the little doll sitting by the wooden box on the table slowly turned her head, revealing a hollow smile to her.

Lucresia snapped out of her daze, seeing the little doll still sitting quietly on the table, her head tilted to one side, the soulless shell empty and echoing.

She reached out a finger to touch the doll’s forehead, “Go back to sleep.”

The doll’s body suddenly shook, as if a momentary life was breathed into it, then she stiffly got up, scrambling into the exquisite wooden box, and grabbed at the lid beside it, trying to cover herself.

But she was too weak.

Duncan casually pushed it closed for her, helping her to cover the box.

“Thank you,” a tiny voice came from inside the box, then fell silent again.

“It’s amazing,” Duncan raised his head, looking somewhat surprised at Lucresia.

“We’re entering the border; many things are coming to life,” Lucresia said, “Infusing some objects with souls in advance can prevent the uninvited ‘stowaways’–Luny woke up for the first time like this many years ago.”

“…It’s time to surface for some air,” Duncan nodded, saying so as he slowly rose from behind the table.

With his movements, the Homeloss started to slowly ascend from the depths of the Spirit Realm. The windows of the restaurant revealed the Sky Light gradually brightening outside.

The shadows lurking in the Spirit Realm receded from all around.