Chapter 22 Crew Code of Conduct

Alice stopped at the captain's quarters door.

The doll lady lifted her head, looking at the dark oak door before her, noticing a line of words written in beautiful cursive on the door frame: The Door of The Displaced.

It wasn't strange for such words to appear on the door frame of the captain's quarters of Homeloss, but Alice still instinctively furrowed her brows—not at the door itself, but wondering why she could recognize "writing."

She had no memory of learning to read; in fact, she had no memory of any "learning," nor could she recall ever having acquired experience in moving around outside or conversing with people. And yet, such knowledge naturally existed in her mind.

She could understand the letters on the captain's quarters door frame and could also understand the purpose of various items in the room, but these were things she couldn't possibly have learned by merely lying in a wooden box listening to people talk outside—so where did this knowledge come from?

Before today, Alice had never considered this question, but somehow, after talking to that "Captain Duncan," the concept of "curiosity" suddenly emerged in the doll's mind, which should have always operated calmly.

She carefully recalled the recent past, and it seemed that the change occurred after Duncan inquired about the origin of the name "Alice"... In that moment, she began to question certain things in her mind that seemed natural and started to try to recall the origin of her name, and then, something in her mind became unsettled.

Alice didn't know whether this instability was good or bad, but she didn't like the feeling of confusion, so she quickly shook her head, tossing aside this bit of doubt. She then adjusted her attitude at the door of the captain's quarters and finally placed her hand on the oak door handle, giving it a gentle push forward.

The door didn't budge.

Alice was taken aback for a moment, tried to push again, but felt that the wooden door was as immovable as if it were solid steel.

Just when she wanted to try once more, a voice suddenly came from inside the captain's quarters—an abrasive, deep voice, as if emanating from a piece of rotting wood: "The door opens outward, Miss."

That wasn't Captain Duncan's voice, and Alice was startled, but she quickly reacted, hurriedly saying "Oh" before pulling the door outward—this time, the door opened effortlessly.

Only then did she remember that the captain had indeed pulled the door outward when he had brought her here before.

It seemed that the "living knowledge" that appeared out of thin air in her mind was just knowledge, after all; herself, who had been sleeping in a wooden box for years, still lacked true living experience—Alice reflected on this for a moment, then cautiously peeked her head into the captain's quarters.

There was no one in the captain's quarters; the conspicuous navigation table quietly stood under the light, with a thin mist hovering over the surface of the sea charts, and the gloomy wooden carving of a mountain goat's head was turning its gaze from the edge of the table, its eyes, carved from obsidian, staring emptily at her.

"Please come in, Miss; the Captain is busy. You can wait for him here," the goat head spoke, more politely than Alice had imagined, "Also, try to avoid such peeping, as it tends to upset certain overly-sensitive entities aboard Homeloss—it's a hassle to appease them—and besides, if your head falls off again it's going to be a problem. I don't have hands, and I can't help you pick it up..."

It really spoke! The carving was really speaking!

Even though Captain Duncan had mentioned that the goat's head on the navigation table could talk, Alice was still stunned to hear a wooden carving suddenly rattle off so much. It took her a moment to collect herself and reply, "Ah, okay, but my head isn't that easy to fall off, and last time I had it installed I made sure... Wait, you said some overly-sensitive... could it be that on this ship there are..."

Alice belatedly realized the information hinted at by the goat head's words. She suddenly looked around with astonishment and tension. At that moment, it felt as if every object in the captain's quarters, and perhaps everything aboard Homeloss, was swaying in the dim light, turning into an oddity like the strange goat head, while the voice of the goat head followed, "Is that so strange? It takes many hands to operate such a large vessel. Did you think the great Captain Duncan would scrub the deck himself?"

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The goat-headed figure actually made some sense, and although Alice, with her freshly awakened but not yet fully lucid mind, felt there was something not quite right about this, after pondering for a while she could only nod, "You're right... So there are many like you on the Homeloss..."

"There is only one loyal first mate to the captain, the rest are a bunch of dimwitted folk you don't need to bother communicating with—they're not interested in interacting with people either," the goat-headed figure interrupted before Alice could finish, "But considering you're new on board, it's normal not to understand many of the reasons and rules. As Captain Duncan's most loyal first officer, and acting second mate, and..., I need to tell you some common knowledge essential for survival on this ship. After all, the captain would never condescend to explain such things to a newcomer... Are you ready, madam?"

Alice listened in a daze, having forgotten the original purpose of her visit to the captain's quarters. She felt completely lost in the conversation's pace, especially after the sudden barrage of titles from the other party, which made her head buzz. When the goat-headed figure finished talking, she could only nod subconsciously, "Ah, yes… okay?"

"Excellent, the following are several laws that are essential for every crew member on the Homeloss to know, which will help newcomers adapt more quickly and fully embrace the protection from the Homeloss and the great Captain Duncan on the perilous Endless Sea..." The goat-headed figure was clearly pleased with Alice's answer, swaying his wooden head as he spoke with evident pride—

"First, Captain Duncan is the absolute ruler of the Homeloss, and Captain Duncan is always right. Even if reality conflicts with Captain Duncan's words, his judgment should always be followed.

"Second, all crew members may only move within the areas permitted by Captain Duncan. Any area not declared open by the captain must not be entered, because those areas do not exist.

"Third, if you enter an unauthorized area and somehow still manage to survive, you must stay where you are, waiting for Captain Duncan to bring you back, or wait calmly for death—it is absolutely forbidden to return on your own, as what you return to will not be the Homeloss.

"Fourth, the Homeloss is always sailing on the correct course. Do not question the captain's navigation plan. If you find that the scenery around the Homeloss is different from what you expected, or the ship has entered a 'deeper' part of the sea, then that is a normal part of the sailing plan.

"Fifth, the captain may occasionally leave the ship, but he will surely return. While the captain is away, the Homeloss will continue on its regular course, but all crew members must refrain from approaching the steering platform at the stern—the helm system will feel insecure without the captain, and the ropes at the stern will strangle any fool who exhibits 'mutinous' behaviour.

"Sixth, there are exactly six basic regulations for the crew members on the Homeloss.

"Seventh, the door to the captain's quarters opens outward."

It seemed that the goat-headed figure had reiterated these "basics" to new crew members more than once, as he recited the rules smoothly and naturally. However, Alice immediately sensed something amiss upon hearing the last two, "Wait, Mr. Goat-Head, you just said in the sixth..."

"Sixth, on the Homeloss, there are exactly six basic regulations for the crew members," the goat-headed figure cut in promptly, speaking plainly without beating around the bush.

Alice was briefly unsure whether the problem was with herself or with the supposed "first officer" in front of her, "But you just mentioned a seventh..."

"Seventh, the door to the captain's quarters opens outward," the goat-headed figure replied very naturally.

Alice stared blankly at the dark, goat-head woodcarving on the table. After doubting her own ears, she began to doubt her mind—but she quickly realized that she had no mind, prompting her to confirm again, "Aren't these two... contradictory?"

"Not at all."

Hearing the goat-headed figure's confident response and seeing those empty, obsidian eyes, Alice opened her mouth but then swallowed back all her questions.

(Goodness gracious!)

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