Deep Sea Embers

The jump was over, and the Lost Home and the Brilliant Star sailed out of the uniform gray-white "background color", and with a slight shaking and trembling, the two ships sailed into the calm, mirror-like water.

After such a long journey to the end of the world, the two ships finally returned to the beginning of everything, to the node where they first arrived - the resting place of Queen Leviathan.

Compared with when we left, nothing seems to have changed here. The sea is still calm, and the dark islands floating on the endless sea are still hidden in the mist. In the deepest part of the mist, the largest island is revealed. The outline looks a bit dreamy.

It's just much quieter here than before - because even the tiniest ripples have disappeared on the water, and the low murmur that was always absent in the mist has now dissipated, and even the wind blowing across the deck has At this time, the sound of wind coming into my ears also seemed vague and distant.

Everyone came to the deck. They gathered near the side of the front deck and looked at the long-lost islands and sea in the distance. After a long time, Nina was the first to break the silence: "Unknowingly, we are already here. It’s been so long since I sailed to the end of the world—

'Yeah, it's been so long that I almost forgot that this journey is limited.' Morris stood quietly next to Nina, the ruby ​​lens set in his eyes adjusting the focus, 'I think I will always remember this. What I saw and heard on the road. "

Fanna looked back at the old gentleman: "That will surely become another series of great discoveries and corresponding academic papers that can shock the world."

Morris was silent for two or three seconds: "No one is writing or reading papers now - the world has begun to cool down, and there will be no discoveries that can shock the cold gray rot."

Vanna shook her head: "Then leave it to the longer future - when the flames are rekindled and people start thinking again and begin to seek knowledge and wisdom."

Shirley was lying next to the guardrail, looking into the distance for a long time, and then finally whispered softly to herself:

The account settings are still back. "

Duncan, the accounting center, stood behind everyone. Now, he felt one after another eyes finally falling on him: his crew members were waiting for his orders.

Recharge Duncan had already prepared for this moment - when it really came, he just took a gentle breath and calmly commanded:

The exiters docked next to the island where the temple is located, and then everyone transferred to the Brilliant Star to leave. We could then be protected by the flames. "

Lucretia opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't speak.

'Before that,' Duncan continued, 'let's go to the restaurant and have another dinner together. "

The sound of footsteps came from not far away. It was Alice walking onto the deck. Miss Doll had finished her work at the helm and came here to look for the captain and his companions.

"Alice, it's time to show off your skills," Duncan turned his head and looked at the walking puppet with a smile on his face, "We are going to have a dinner together. "

Alice was stunned for a moment when she heard this, but soon a bright smile broke out on her face, she held her head and nodded happily: "Hey!

good! "

"I'll bring Luni and Nero here," Lucretia said immediately. "They'll be helpful in the kitchen - and they'll also have the fine wine from the Glorious Star's collection."

"I'm going to help too!" Nina said quickly, her smile brimming with enthusiasm and warmth like the sun, "If I help, the cooking will be faster!"

Alice looked at the scene with some confusion, and waved her hands subconsciously: "Hey, you don't need so many people, I can do it alone."

The puppet suddenly stopped, thought about it seriously, and sighed helplessly: "Okay, then come if you are willing to help.

In this way, preparations for a special dinner were quickly completed. When the Lost Home sailed through the islands, passed through the fog, and slowly approached the black island with a huge temple standing on it, Duncan and his followers Gathered in the restaurant on the ship.

The long table that had hosted many dinner parties and received every visitor on board was once again placed in the center of the restaurant. Nina lit every lantern on the pillar next to it with a flame as bright as the sun. Luni and Alice put sumptuous food and wine on the long table. At the end of all things, light and warmth briefly reappeared - it even seemed to make people forget about the romantic night on the endless sea, and outside the cabin. The biting cold that pervades the entire world.

Then in the accounting center, Duncan sat in the middle of the dining table, Nina sat on his left hand side, and Alice sat on his right hand, next to the writer's area, followed by Morris, Shirley, Agou, Sailor, Rune, Nelu, and even the pigeon Aye and Agatha who are in phantom form and recharge for meals also have their own places.

After exiting, there were three more vacant chairs at the ends of both sides of the long table - Duncan ordered these three positions to be prepared, but he did not say who these three positions were reserved for.

After everyone sat down, Nilu, a small doll that was only a few dozen centimeters tall, climbed from her chair to the table. She held a huge wine bottle and began to run around filling the wine glasses in front of everyone. The fine wines—from the private collection of the hostess of the Brilliant Star—exuded a strange fragrance, and the dark red blood-like wine reflected the brilliance of the sun in the glass.

Duncan picked up the wine glass, but suddenly remembered something, stood up and looked around, his expression seemed a little subtle.

After a while, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he silently moved his chair around to the opposite side of the long table.

Upon seeing this, Alice followed without hesitation her own chair, and continued to sit on Duncan's right hand as a matter of course. The pigeon Ay followed closely and flew over. Others on the other side of the long table watched. Seeing the captain's inexplicable behavior, his expression looked a little confused.

"That position was unlucky just now," Duncan tugged at the corner of his lips, not knowing how to explain to the others the unreasonable association in his mind just now, and then waved his hand to the people across the table, "Just don't move. It's good to sit like this - it's auspicious. "

The "people" on the opposite side listened to Duncan's explanation in a daze, and no one could follow the captain's train of thought. Morris realized that this seemed to be some long-lost "subspace joke" that only the captain could understand. Ni Na Ze blinked a few times and then burst into laughter.

Duncan glared: "What do you enjoy?"

"It's nothing, I just feel relieved suddenly," Nina looked at Uncle Duncan across the table with a smile, "The fact that you said the word 'unlucky' so seriously at this time is more disturbing than anything you said to me before. rest assured. "

Duncan's eyes trembled, and he already understood the implication of Nina's words, but he didn't say much, just coughed twice: "Ahem, as I told you before, this is on the ship for this trip. After the last dinner, we will dock on Queen Leviathan’s sleeping island and then split up, do you understand?”

"Yes, I understand, Uncle Duncan," Nina looked at Duncan across the dining table with bright eyes. Then she raised the cup in her hand with a little expectation on her face, "Then I can drink some fermented grapes today. Juice or wheat juice?"

Duncan felt as if he hadn't heard Nina say this to him for a long time.

A smile appeared on his face and he nodded slightly: "It's okay today, Shirley, and you can too - you don't have to drink secretly today."

Shirley was swinging the wine glass in her hand. When she heard the captain's words, she was shocked and raised her neck subconsciously: "I haven't drank secretly!"

Duncan looked at Shirley with a half-smile: "Didn't you notice when you were secretly drinking the wine stored on the ship that the wine bottles, wine glasses and wine liquids were all made of various 'mirrors'?"

Shirley was stunned:

+ + = +

Duncan smiled and shook his head, raising his glass of wine: "Here's to this journey."

So, everyone who had hands raised a glass, everyone who had a mouth and throat drank, and those who couldn't drink spilled their wine on the floor of the Lost Home to toast the ship.

Even Ai put his mouth into the cup seriously, looking more solemn than ever.

Alice then stood up and began to distribute soup and cakes to everyone around the long table - she opened the soup pot in the center of the table, which contained rich fish soup, which everyone on the ship must have after boarding the ship. For the first meal, there were sweet pancakes baked until golden brown on a large plate next to the soup pot. They were delicacies from Pland and were the captain's favorite food.

After Alice had divided the food, Nelu ran to the table again, holding up soup bowls and plates with noodles and delivering them to everyone. A small doll as tall as an adult's arm moved flexibly on the table. She was running around. Her newborn mind didn't seem to understand what "this journey" meant, but she looked happy.

"I didn't expect such a little thing to be able to do things now," Shirley looked at the little doll running around on the table curiously, with a tone of disbelief in her voice, "I remember she didn't even think about it when I first saw her. It can move and lie in a wooden box. It is said that it was Luni's sister a long time ago. It has been lying in the doll shop for a hundred years.

Nelu's awakening was very successful, and the subsequent process of injecting reason and humanity into her was incredibly smooth," Lucretia said casually, "Perhaps it is because of the special environment at the border and the influence of Nelu. This little one has been troubled from the beginning. Very 'activating' tendency."

Nelu ran up to Lucretia, happily put down the soup bowl, opened her hands, and made a small voice: "Tendency!"

Duncan looked at this scene with a gentle smile. After a while, he suddenly said: "Have you ever thought about the new world?

Nina confirmed it, but seemed not to understand: "What about the new world?"

"What do you want in the new world? Or rather," Duncan thought for a moment and looked at everyone across the long table seriously, "What does the new world in your imagination look like?"