Deep Sea Embers

Using this knowledge, Duncan carried a few coins in his arms and bought a local newspaper at the newsstand. The owner was a middle-aged man currently immersed in reading, and he waved his hand to signal the newspaper as a self-service without looking up.

This roused Duncan to probe at what the other party was looking at – it was an analysis article of the previous lottery. Another one of those wishful players who had unrealistic fantasies of a colorful life.

Then he glanced down at the newspaper he had just bought. The paper’s front page had a title he was most interested in: A large number of believers got captured while a number of citizens were rescued…

The photograph of the “Inquisitor” printed on the side of the front page was, to Duncan’s surprise, a fairly young woman with a striking scar on her left eye. Still, the beautiful contour couldn’t be ignored among her subordinates when her height was a notch above the average man.

The inquisitor wore a tight-fitting lightweight armored battle dress and a two-handed sword that seemed to have come out of the era of cold weapons. It’s the look of a sassy female knight in the style of medieval paintings, but contradicting this image was the huge steam robotic machinery behind her subordinates. It’s both intimating and wonderful with those cannons mounted to the side….

Duncan couldn’t stop staring at this picture.

The news of the cult’s rally site being wiped out was good news for him. Without the fear of exposing himself, he could watch the villains who performed the sacrifice of the living being arrested and brought to justice without psychological pressure on his part. On top of this, he’s also gained some new information

Female inquisitors who specialize in dealing with cultists, heavily armed steam-armored robots, church armed forces with both cold and hot weapons…

The information that’s extremely difficult to obtain on the Vanished had been displayed here for him to read after spending a measly twelve peso.

As Duncan had thought, times had changed during the period where the Vanished was drifting aimlessly during the past century.

Even if not from the superficial point of view of “who is better than whom”, the mortal civilized society represented by the City-State of Pland has developed into a kind of… golden era.

But the intersection of the street was no place to read the newspaper. Casually rolling up the prize in his arm, he hadn’t forgotten there was still a “niece” by the name of Nina waiting for him at the antique shop.

Compared with wandering the city aimlessly by himself, a local born with a trust bonus was obviously a better source of intelligence.

As for the Vanished, Duncan didn’t worry. Even in the state of Spirit Walking, he could still clearly perceive the situation on the ship, perceive the state of his other body, perceive how the goat head’s steering the vessel at the helm, and how Alice was behaving herself in her room.

Besides, the original crew code of conduct had the express rule of “not to bother the captain while he’s in her private personal room”. It shouldn’t be an issue if he goes missing for a few days due to Spirit Walking, right?”

And as the duration continued, Duncan quickly noticed his control over this special “mental projection” becoming more and more proficient. Perhaps, sooner or later, he could even actively control both bodies at the same time without worry.

A sweet smell suddenly drifted from the side and caught him by the nose. Stopping to look, he found himself staring at the newly opened pastry shop across the street.

This was the lower side of the city where the poor lived, so there were no high-end dessert shops. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean there aren’t sweets suitable for those at the bottom of society. As it so happens, Duncan still had a few coins in his pocket to spend, which added up to twenty pesos, more than enough to buy a piece of cake.

After a little hesitation, he went to the cake shop and paid for a piece of the most ordinary bee honey cake—the packaging material the store used was some kind of thick paper of poor texture, which was rough to the touch.

Unexpectedly, Duncan’s mood was surprisingly happy today as she headed back to the antique shop.

Walking the streets, talking to people, buying things, and returning to your accommodation.

Such a simple thing finally gave him a sense of being alive again in another world. It’s ordinary and simple, yet a daily routine he’s been deprived of in recent days.

Life on the Vanished was actually OK, the goat head could get annoying at times, and Alice was a fun individual to have around. But this experience on land side was different—a totally refreshing experience.

It didn’t take long for Duncan to return to the antique shop, and before entering the store, he glanced upwards at the signboard again to confirm—a row of letters telling it’s Duncan’s Antique Shop remained.

The door chimed as he pushed open the wooden slab of wood he called a door, signaling his entry and drawing a rush of steps from the stairs.

The long brown-haired girl had a nervous and worried expression after braking.

“Uncle Duncan, where have you been?” She said quickly, “You said you were going to check the front door, but you were gone in a blink of an eye… I thought you had gone to the tavern or gambling house again….”

?

Duncan was surprised by the other side’s level of care. She’s genuinely worried about him, the kind of dependence of a relative looking out for someone you loved from the bottom of their heart. Even if said person was a drunken gambler contaminated with the sun cult’s bloody deeds, it didn’t matter here.

“I just went out for a walk and bought something on the way.” As he spoke, he readily placed the cake and newspaper on the counter to show he was not lying, which seemingly put the girl at ease.

“Uncle, hold on a bit, I will bring breakfast down here. You didn’t eat yet, right? I cooked corn beet soup…” Before Duncan could speak, Nina’s figure had disappeared up into the second floor until she returned with a large tray filled with a modest array of food for two.

Duncan watched the girl smoothly arrange the table for him. He wanted to give a hand, but the level of diligence from Nina left no room for the guy to butt in. In the end, it left him with a bitter taste on his tongue because he knew what this indicated: a girl, the age of a high school student, must’ve been forced to adapt to an environment beyond her age due to the “uncle’s” lack of care….

“Let’s eat,” Nina had everything ready at this point, and she glanced at Duncan as if she had said it countless times, “Dr. Albert said that if you can eat breakfast regularly and keep a good mood, it will be better than spirits in the long run… Better than painkillers too.”

Duncan did not add anything to that comment, only staring quietly at Nina, who showed a suppressed and strained face. It’s pretty clear the girl wanted this breakfast to work out, which he gladly obliged by pushing the cake box over.

“This is…” Nina widens her eyes in surprise and confusion.

“Cake bought from the newly opened shop around the corner,” Duncan said casually, “you’re growing and should eat something more nutritious for breakfast.”

Nina showed a stunned face. Eventually, she started to murmur skeptically, “Uncle, are you sure you’re OK?”

“Of course I’m all right,” Duncan said with a relatively natural expression, “I just remembered I haven’t bought you a cake in a long time.”

“Indeed, it’s been more than a year…” Nina muttered before bursting out into a giggle. Then, grabbing a kitchen knife, “Then we can both share half. Dr. Albert said you also need something nutritious.”

Duncan felt strange about the interaction, but after a moment of silence, he nodded: “OK….”