To be fair, Duncan was truly sincere at this time - he admired this strong-willed and straightforward judge, and her performance in that disaster. Even apart from this appreciation, he also cherished Vanna as this special "node".

If it weren't for enough coincidences, it would not be easy to place such a "node" among the top staff of the church, and it would be even more difficult to establish the most basic "friendship" with them.

Vanna is very straightforward, and this straightforwardness determines that she will not deny Duncan's contribution in protecting Plande, and determines that no matter how uncomfortable she is personally, she will treat this "favor" fairly.

But Duncan's sincerity is a bit scary to others.

A connection that cannot be severed like a curse, a subspace shadow that can invade one's mind at any time, a superior existence that is powerful enough to reverse the pollution of history but has an unknown purpose - that is, Vanna is determined. If it were someone else, he would have passed several rounds of san checks.

Vanna calmed herself down and met Duncan's gaze without avoiding it. She was still alert. Rationally, she still didn't dare to believe every word this "ghost captain" said to her. Even if he did protect Plande, there might be a more terrible conspiracy behind this act of protection - because similar conspiracies are everywhere in history. But emotionally...

Her emotions were telling her not to trust rationality too much.

"...What exactly do you want?" Vanna took a deep breath and expressed her doubts once again. However, this time, her doubts were not just pure resistance and vigilance, but also more serious. She wanted to have a serious talk with this legendary captain and listen carefully to what he wanted to say. Even if not as a friend, then not as an enemy for the time being.

After saying this, she paused and added: "Stop talking about 'ordering French fries'... I want to hear something serious."

"...actually, 'a whole lot of fries' means serious business," Duncan said helplessly, "and lots of ketchup if possible."

Vanna: “……?”

"I'm improving the food on my ship. Isn't that obvious?" Duncan suddenly laughed. All of Vanna's reactions were within his expectations. Then he moved in the mirror, as if he was sitting on something, and continued in a very relaxed manner, "Vanna, what do you think a captain like me usually does?"

"What do you usually do?" Vanna was stunned. She didn't notice that the conversation had gone from tense to... peaceful. After the figure in the mirror sat down, the subsequent topic seemed like two friends chatting. "I... never thought about this question..."

"Yeah, you haven't thought about it. No one else would think about these questions, because a scary ghost captain only needs to be scary. It would be better for me to be constantly thinking up some conspiracy to subvert the world 24 hours a day, so that it is more in line with my character setting - but what is it actually like?"

Duncan said, spreading his hands.

"I have a very, very large ship to take care of, and there are quite a few troublesome guys on that ship. My 'crew' often cause trouble, and every time it causes chaos on the deck for a long time. The food on the Lost Hometown is another troublesome problem, but the bigger problem is the supply of hot water. I'm thinking about installing a boiler on the ship recently. Do you have any recommendations?"

"I don't know much about boilers...wait, no, that's not it," Vanna started talking subconsciously. Halfway through her sentence, she felt something was wrong. She widened her eyes and looked at the ghost captain in the mirror, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling. She always felt that the other's smile contained a mockery and... teasing towards her. "Why are you suddenly telling me this? And...uh...are you serious?"

Duncan adjusted his posture and looked into Vanna's eyes. His expression gradually became serious. "Vanna, have you noticed? I'm not as scary as you think. The unknown is the source of fear. Now, you have a certain understanding of me."

Vanna was silent for a moment, because she could no longer keep up with the captain's pace and had no idea how to respond.

But after a moment of silence, she exhaled softly and tried to change the subject: "...You took away the sun fragments, which also eliminated another major hidden danger in the Plande city-state. I should also express my gratitude for this."

Duncan's mouth trembled slightly: "...It's just a piece of cake. I have a hobby of collecting."

But what he actually wanted to say was that he had just sent the sun fragment back to Plande. Although Nina was excited to spend the night on the boat at first, she later found that she was not used to her bed and could not sleep well if she did not go home...

Duncan was afraid that if he said this, the opponent would jump and attack him the moment he said it...

Fanna did not notice the sudden change in the other person's expression. She just nodded slightly and continued, "Now the order in the city-state has gradually been restored. The pollution caused by the End Preacher has completely subsided, and those cultists who summoned the black sun... have become burnt firewood as they wished. I hope you are satisfied with this result."

"It's okay. They will show up again sooner or later anyway," Duncan said casually. "Heretical worshippers are the breath of evil gods, and as long as those 'roots' are not eliminated, the cultists cannot be completely eliminated. We will just continue to clean them up next time we see them."

Vanna listened thoughtfully to every word Duncan said, with a slightly curious expression on her face: "It sounds like... you have a bad relationship with those heretical worshippers."

"You want to get some information," Duncan smiled, "because this is a rare opportunity in the past hundred years to directly understand Captain Duncan and the Lost Homeland - but you can ask directly."

Vanna was a little speechless for a moment, and her expression became awkward, but soon, she heard the ghost captain's frank answer from the mirror: "I don't like those cultists, neither the Sun Cultists nor the End Preachers. As for the Annihilation Cultists who worship the Lord of the Deep... I don't know much about them, but most of them should be crazy people who annoy me.

"So you can just report this matter directly, saying that the Lost Homeland and the three major cults are all enemies, and if conditions permit, Captain Duncan will be happy to eliminate any cultist who appears before him - this information should be useful."

"...Thank you for your answer." Vanna hesitated for a moment, but still nodded seriously.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Duncan asked again.

Vanna pursed her lips.

Of course there was, but she didn't know whether it was the right choice to ask the ghost captain across from her when it came to the shaking of her own faith and the issue of the subspace.

In the end, she still did not talk about her confusion and hesitation at the moment, but asked a question about herself in a roundabout way: "...I want to know whether the warp will respond to the wishes of mortals - and what price the answer to this question will cost."

Vanna specifically mentioned the word "price" at the end because she knew very well that this issue was completely different from the conversation she had just had with the other party.

The conversation just now did not involve knowledge in the supernatural realm, but the current question... is seeking forbidden knowledge from a shadow who returned from the warp, which is already a dangerous move.

She was not afraid to pay the price, but she wanted to know what it was.

"Don't be so nervous, it doesn't cost anything," Duncan in the mirror laughed, "because I'm really not familiar with them."

Vanna: “…Ah?”

"Why does everyone think that I know so many secrets about the Warp?" Duncan rubbed his forehead helplessly. "It's true that I've been to that place, but I'm not doing a population survey in the Warp - you live in a block, do you know everyone on the block?"

Vanna nodded: "Yes, I know her."

Duncan: “…”

Vanna reacted immediately, and added somewhat awkwardly and belatedly: "Of course, there may be some who are not so familiar...Okay, I understand what you mean."

"Although I can't answer your question, I can see that this question is related to your terrible condition just now," Duncan returned to his serious look, "Are you entangled by something in the subspace?"

Vanna looked at Duncan in the mirror with a strange expression.

Duncan thought for a moment and added, "I mean, besides me..."

"I don't know." Vanna shook her head, then she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say it at the last moment.

"Well, it seems you still have some concerns, I understand." Duncan didn't care. "But if it is really something in the subspace that is causing you trouble, you can ask me for help - at least in this area, I can help you."

Vanna was silent for nearly ten seconds before she suddenly broke the silence: "Why?"

"Are you asking me why I am willing to help you?" Duncan's voice sounded from the mirror. To Vanna, it was still majestic and even a little gloomy, but now it seemed to be more gentle and sincere. "Perhaps it's because we fought side by side in Plande. Vanna, I admire your perseverance and courage."

The figure in the mirror stood up.

The ghost captain seemed ready to leave.

Fanna heaved a sigh of relief. She couldn't really tell whether she was being cautious or simply nervous at the moment, but the other party's intention to leave did make her relax a little.

But just when Duncan's figure was about to disappear completely from the mirror, she seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Wait, there's one more thing."

Duncan turned his head slightly: "Hmm?"

"After that..." Vanna was a little stuck, and she organized her words before speaking hesitantly, "I mean, if you still plan to 'show up', can you not be so sudden all the time..."

Duncan did not respond. His face was shrouded in shadow deep in the mirror, and his expression could not be seen.

After a few seconds, Vanna heard the other party's voice: "I'll knock on the door next time."