Deep Sea Embers

The gas street lamps on both sides of the road had long been lit, and the slightly yellowed lights illuminated the signs and gray walls in front of the door. By the glow from the windows inside, it’s clear that Nina was already inside and waiting.

Strictly speaking from Duncan’s point of view, he and Nina have just met. Still, for some reason, he got this inexplicable warm feeling in his heart knowing someone was waiting for him at home…. But also, a hint of regret….

Is this apologetic emotion because I haven’t returned on time after going out?

Duncan stepped forward and pushed open the door of the antique shop. With the crisp ringing of the bell, he immediately picked up on the rushing footsteps of someone running down the stairs.

“Uncle Duncan!” Nina stopped at the corner of the stairs like a gush of wind, her eyes full of surprise and joy, “I thought you were again today…”

“I went around the city and lost track of time until it was already getting dark.” Duncan shook his head, “I’m sorry, but I was actually going to pick you up from school at the Crossroad, but then I had an accident.”

“You went to the Crossroad?” Nina widened her eyes in surprise and bewilderment. Then eyeing her uncle up and down to confirm the man’s not drunk or under the effects of drugs, “Pick me up… from school?”

Her Uncle Duncan showed a strange and familiar side again, which left Nina unsure of how to react.

“I’m just a little curious about your current situation at school,” Duncan said casually. “Anyways, you don’t have to worry about me going out to drink or hang with ‘friends’ in the future. If I come back late, it’s because I have business to attend to, understand?”

Nina dumbly watched her Uncle Duncan enter the house and close the door behind himself. Even afterward, all the girl could do was nod unconsciously without uttering a single word.

“It’s getting late,” Duncan said to Nina, who was standing at the top of the stairs, “Have you eaten?”

“Uuhh… Not yet,” probably because she was still not adjusted to her uncle’s changes yet, Nina sounded hesitant and unsure. “When I came back, I saw that you weren’t home, so I didn’t know if you would come back tonight. That’s why I haven’t cooked yet…. But I bought some bread, I was going to…”

“Bread alone isn’t nutritious enough. Let’s go, there’s some good stuff in the kitchen,” Duncan was about to climb the stairs when he cocked a smirk, “I’ll cook today.”

Uncle is going to cook?!

Nina seemed to have heard something straight out of a novel, that’s how shocking the idea was. Then as the two crossed paths on the stairs, the young lady suddenly noticed Ai on Duncan’s shoulder. “Uncle, this dove has been with you?”

“Yes, it’s pretty clingy,” Duncan said casually, “I named it Ai.”

“Ai? What a strange name for a dove…” Nina scratched her hair as she followed up to the second floor. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her as the man closed in on the kitchen, “Did you buy anything?”

“Actually, it’s just a salted fish,” Duncan found the salted fish he put in the kitchen cupboard and showed it to Nina. His face couldn’t be prouder when doing so. “Don’t assume it’s bad based on its looks. The taste is superb inside a soup.”

“Fish?!” Nina’s eyes widened in surprise, “What day is it? Fish is so expensive, isn’t it normally…”

But as the girl exclaimed, her eyes suddenly caught sight of the fish’s appearance. It’s an ugly thing, which left the young lady bewildered and blinking. “What kind of fish is this? How have I not seen it before?”

Duncan knew that Nina would react this way.

Of course, it’s not that the city-state’s inhabitants haven’t seen fish before. Although the Boundless Sea was dangerous and full of shadowy creatures lurking under its depths, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t fish in the relatively safe shallows near the islands. On the contrary, it’s a valuable resource that’s highly prized among its citizens.

Under this premise, the profession of “fisherman” will of course also exist.

However, the world’s oceans are not like the earth, and even if there are safe waters, they are only “safe” compared with the deeper depths. So, even if it’s offshore fishing in this world, it is still a dangerous and thrilling job requiring the fishermen’s greatest wits.

In this case, Nina hadn’t eaten fish in years. Even before her uncle fell ill, a commoner like her had little chance of seeing fish served to the table.

“Don’t fret about its specie. Just wait and enjoy the catch.” Duncan didn’t want to dwell on the matter because he too didn’t know what kind of fish this was. Instead, it’s better to focus that energy on preparing tonight’s dinner.

This strange fish was not small. Even when dried, the sizable body could be sectioned off for several meals afterward. For example, the head could be turned into soup, with the rest of the body hanging on the cupboard for further air drying. This would create a more flavorful profile with time.

Uncle really started cooking.

Watching the familiar figure getting busy in the kitchen, Nina felt like she was in a dream.

The young lady didn’t really care what happened to the strange fish her uncle took out, nor did she care about tonight’s dinner. Compared with these trivial things, the changes that happened to her uncle are the strangest and most worthy of her attention.

The sound of knives clashing against cutting boards was heard, the gas stove was hissing, and the broth in the pot was bubbling.

Nina hadn’t heard these noises in how many years?

Then a hint of hesitation appeared on her face after recalling something. After several minutes of being troubled inside: “Uncle, tomorrow…. Mr. Morris is coming for a home visit.”

“Home visit?” Duncan looked stunned for a second, “Mr. Morris… as in your history teacher?”

Nina nodded: “Yes.”

“The teachers at that school even make home visits?” Duncan threw the processed fish into the pot and glanced back at Nina in surprise while he put the knife away, “I thought this was the ‘specialty’ of those schools in the upper sector only.”

“The school… indeed doesn’t have that requirement,” Nina said carefully while paying attention to Duncan’s attitude, “But Mr. Morris is special. He… pay extra attention to his students.”

Duncan didn’t speak for a while because this exceeded his expectations.

He had considered dealing with the church, the police, and even the city-state navy and military if the worse occurred. Still, he never envisaged in his plan that an old man teaching history would visit him from the public schools.

Why is reality always so unexpected?

“Uncle?” Nina grew a little worried after seeing Duncan didn’t respond, “Are you unwilling? Then I can tell Mr. Morris… In fact, I told him today. I told him your health is not very good, so I can’t accept a home visit this time. He didn’t say anything at that time…”

Duncan watched Nina’s somewhat nervous reaction and found a flood of emotions hidden behind that behavior.

From the looks of things, this is not the first time Mr. Morris requested a home visit. How many times has Nina refused using the same excuse?

“…… He’s teaching history, right?” Duncan suddenly asked again.

Although she didn’t know why her uncle asked this question again, Nina nodded: “Yes.”

“This is a good opportunity. I happen to want to meet a professional historian,” Duncan laughed, “when is he coming over tomorrow?”