On the Lost Homeland, the bright sunshine was shining on the freshly scrubbed upper deck, and a swirling green flame was gradually dissipating above the deck. Alice stood beside the open space, staring in amazement at the large number of things that appeared on the deck.

“What…what…what is this?!”

Miss Doll screamed in shock, and just as she finished her words, Duncan's voice came from not far away: "You stutter as if your head has fallen off - have you never seen pots and pans, fruits and vegetables?"

Alice turned her head with a stiff neck, glanced at Duncan, then looked at the pile of supplies that suddenly appeared on the deck, thought carefully for a while, and then put her hands on her hips with confidence: "I haven't seen it!"

Duncan: “……?”

"I haven't seen any," Alice continued confidently, "I've been in the box for so many years, where can I see these things?"

Duncan was stunned for a moment, then he slapped his forehead and said, "...I forgot. Well, you are right. In some ways, you are even more illiterate than Shirley."

Alice was about to go forward to study what the large number of things that were suddenly sent over by Ai were used for. After hearing Duncan's words, she immediately turned her head suspiciously: "Shirley? Who is that?"

"She's someone I met in the city-state. Maybe you'll have a chance to meet her one day in the future," Duncan thought for a moment, "I think I have a connection with her."

"Oh." Alice said "Oh" and quickly put the matter behind her. Then she went to the pile of supplies on the deck and walked around in circles.

"This is flour... This is meat? It's really different from the dried meat on the boat... This is vegetable leaves? They feel so fragile and cold... What is this round thing... Ah, it's broken..."

"Don't mess with the eggs!" Duncan saw that this puppet lacking common sense was about to cause trouble again, so he quickly stepped forward and slapped away the other's hands that were rubbing everywhere, "These are all for me to use to improve the conditions on the ship."

“Hehe…” Alice laughed her signature laugh and withdrew her hand awkwardly. “I’m just a little curious—I’ve only heard of many things.”

Duncan looked at the puppet helplessly, but he also understood this guy a little bit in his heart.

Alice has a lot of "innate knowledge" in her brain (if she really has such an organ in her head). She knows how to communicate with people, knows many things in the world, and even accumulated her initial impression of this world by "listening" to the sounds outside the box. But she has always been in a sealed state. Strictly speaking, she really came into contact with this world not long ago, and the first thing she came into contact with was the Lost Hometown, which is definitely not suitable as the "opening stage" of a novice village.

She lacks any understanding of the real world.

For a period of time before, the only things she could come into contact with were those on the Lost Homeland. The limited space and objects on the ship were relatively easy for her to adapt to, but now, Duncan brought a lot of new things from the human city-state to the puppet.

Even a piece of vegetable or a bag of flour is an incredible object to Alice.

"The human city-state is such an incredible place..." Miss Doll looked at the pile of things on the deck and the colorful packaging, and sighed sincerely, "It must be much bigger than the ship, right?"

"...very big, but much smaller than the Infinite Ocean." Duncan answered casually. He looked into Alice's eyes filled with surprise and expectation, and once again remembered what he had promised her.

He said he would take Alice to visit the city-state.

"I will solve the trouble in the city-state as soon as possible, and figure out the secret about you," he said seriously to the puppet in front of him, "Just wait patiently during this time."

Alice immediately showed a bright smile: "Okay."

As heartless as ever.

But just by looking at this heartless puppet, Duncan's anxiety accumulated in the Plunder City-State was gradually calmed down. He breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at the things on the deck: "Come with me and move them all to the kitchen - and send this pile of miscellaneous items next to it to the captain's room."

"Oh, OK!" Alice agreed immediately, and then she stepped forward to help and said, "Shall we use them to make dinner tonight?"

Duncan turned his head suspiciously: "Yes, I can...but can you?"

"No!" Alice said as a matter of course, "But I can ask Mr. Goat Head for advice. He said that his cooking skills are amazing and he knows more than 90% of the world's cooking secrets..."

"You dare to believe what he said!" Duncan's eyes widened. "You'd better not ruin the ingredients I got with great difficulty. I'll make dinner. If you really want to learn how to cook something edible, just watch how I do it. Don't learn from that goat-headed guy - he doesn't even have a digestive tract."

"Oh..." Alice nodded, and then glanced at Ai who was pacing on the deck next to her, and asked, "Is Ai going to 'over there' later?"

"Of course, there will be something else for it to deliver later."

"Are you still shopping?" Alice asked curiously, "What else do you want to buy?"

Duncan turned his head and looked into Miss Doll's eyes, and after a moment, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Buying you something."

Alice: “……?”

※※※

In the "Rose Doll House" in the Pland City-State.

Duncan felt that this kind old elf lady might have some misunderstandings about him, but he had no intention of explaining.

The main thing is that I can't explain it - how can I tell people? Tell them that I really have a doll with a soul and emotions at home, and that this doll is recently troubled by the problem of thinning hair? If I say this, I'm optimistic that the old lady will go to the church to report it...

In the eyes of the owner of the "Rose Doll House", Duncan has become a "connoisseur" who truly loves dolls and is willing to devote a lot of energy to this aspect - in Plande's upper class society, there are many people who buy dolls, and there are also many people who are truly keen on collecting, but there are few people who show such heartfelt concern for dolls like this gentleman today. This gave her a feeling, as if when the other party mentioned his "doll", he was not talking about an "object", but a living person, or even a "friend" that this gentleman cared about very much.

Many puppeteers don’t necessarily have this attitude.

The two had a pleasant conversation. Duncan finally learned a lot of knowledge about puppets from a professional (although he didn't know how much of this knowledge could be used on Alice). The owner of the puppet shop had obviously not met such a congenial customer for a long time. After a long conversation, the old lady couldn't help but smile and sighed: "I have lived in this city for three or four hundred years. Seventeen archons have died, and I have met countless humans - but almost no one can really understand 'puppets'... Alas, you may not feel comfortable listening to what I say, but in my opinion, humans are indeed a much more indifferent species than elves."

"I don't know much about elven society," Duncan said, trying to guide the other party to talk more about elves. "But I heard that... the elven city-state of Breeze Harbor gathers the most outstanding craftsmen in the world? The unique handicrafts skills of the elves are world-famous..."

"Elves are indeed good at delicate crafts. We are a race that is naturally sensitive to mathematics and art - so most of the famous puppeteers in the world are also elves," the old woman said frankly, with a sense of pride in her tone. But then she changed the subject, "But when it comes to the profession of puppeteer, many colleagues from other races are actually prejudiced against elves... It is often said that elves do not actually have such superb craftsmanship talent. The reason why there are so many puppet masters among us is entirely because we have a long lifespan and have been 'honed' bit by bit..."

Duncan didn't know how to respond to this question. "Well... well, competitors are enemies. It seems to be the same everywhere. So what do you think of these comments?"

The old woman laughed. "Me? I think they're right!"

Duncan: “……?”

"I think they are right," the old woman emphasized again with a happy smile on her face. "Anyway, every year on the Day of the Dead, I go to the graves of several old colleagues to say hello and tell them, 'You are right' - if you have the guts, get up and hit me!"

Duncan: “…”

Are all the elves in this world like this? Why does he feel that there is something wrong with this style of painting?!

"Ah... just joking." Perhaps noticing the expression on Duncan's face, the old woman shook her head. "In fact, there are not so many enemies. We have just been each other's travel companions for such a short period of time. And if we really talk about the profession of puppeteer... I have always felt that the most outstanding puppeteer in the world is definitely not a 'master' among the elves, but a human."

"A human?" Duncan asked casually.

"Yes, there are probably not many ordinary humans who know this name now..." The old woman said slowly with a little emotion, "Her name is Lucrecia Abnomer, the daughter of the famous Captain Duncan. She is the most outstanding puppeteer I have ever seen..."

Duncan: “?!”