Morris left, with a strange look on his face, holding a century-old cannonball.

Duncan stood at the counter and watched the old man leave with a happy smile.

"...You really gave the shells to Mr. Morris." Alice muttered to the side.

"I really gave the cannonball to Teacher Morris..." Nina muttered.

'I don't like cannonballs,' Alice whispered; 'I don't like them very much.'

Nina asked curiously, "Why?"

Alice said seriously: "Because the captain once gave me eight shells..."

"Stop nagging," Duncan's voice suddenly came from the side. He looked helplessly at Alice who was full of resentment and Nina who was obviously curious beside him, "Where is Shirley?"

"She said she was dizzy from memorizing the alphabet and wanted to go out for some fresh air," Nina stuck out her tongue, "but I guess she's already run to the next block by now."

"It's as expected," Duncan sighed. "Given Shirley's education level and personal cultivation, it's already remarkable that she can stick to not swearing in front of me every day..."

Sighing, he turned his head to look out the window. Through the clear window, the daily and peaceful street scene of Plande came into view.

The streets are bustling with people, citizens are busy with their lives, and nothing has happened in the lower city today - the brief malfunction of Anomaly 001, the almost invisible defect on the Sun Rune Ring, the forgotten deep dive operation in the far north, a mysterious symbol left by the ancient Kingdom of Crete... All of this seems to be very far away from this sunny neighborhood.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a long while, he murmured softly as if talking to himself: "Tirian really has to go back early..."

※※※

In the southeast port of the city-state, the huge steel battleship Sea Mist is ready to set sail.

This warship, which had been severely damaged by the Lost Homeland, has now recovered to a large extent after just a few days of "self-repair". The many wounds and cracks on its armor belt and deck have now been completely healed, and there is not even a trace of damage. The undead sailors are busy traveling between the pier and the warship, carrying on board the supplies and parting gifts generously provided by Pland.

The tall Vanna came to the dock and personally saw off the captain of the Sea Mist.

"We didn't expect you to leave so soon," Vanna said, "The Archbishop is prepared to stay on the Sea Mist for at least two weeks."

"I originally thought I would stay here for a long time, but something unexpected happened," Tirian rubbed his forehead gently, "something happened in the north, I have to go back and deal with it."

This seemed to be just an excuse, but Vanna had no interest in hearing what others did not want to say. She just looked at Tirian with some concern, frowning slightly: "Excuse me... Captain, is your face swollen?"

"Just a small accident, just a small accident." Tirian immediately waved his hands, thinking that it was fortunate that he had recovered for another day. If he had been seen by the Inquisitor yesterday, he really didn't know how to explain his enlarged head.

Then, as if to prevent the embarrassment from continuing, he quickly changed the subject: "I had a great time as a guest in Plande, and thank you for your gift."

"I'm glad you like it," Vanna nodded with a smile, and then raised her head with some curiosity, looking at the towering side of the Sea Mist and the main gun turret that could be seen from the side. "Although I've heard about it before, it's still incredible to see it with my own eyes... This ship can really 'heal' itself like this, and even the main guns that had been completely wiped out have... 'grown back'?"

Tirian looked back at his warship, his eyes fell on the three new main guns that had obviously just been restored and seemed to be slightly smaller than the other main guns. He smiled with pride: "The Sea Mist knows what it should look like, and it always tends to put itself in the best condition - but those main guns are not very useful now. They are still small, and they need to grow a few more days before they can fire full-charge standard caliber shells like other main guns."

Fanna was stunned. She felt that there was something wrong with the smile on the other party's face and the tone of his voice when he was looking at the main gun on her ship, but she couldn't tell what it was...

Fortunately, she is not someone who would worry about such details.

At 3:20 in the afternoon, accompanied by a melodious whistle, the steel battleship with a towering bow slowly accelerated and left the city-state.

Vanna stood on the dock, watching the battleship gradually turn into an inconspicuous black shadow on the sea level. Then she let out a sigh of relief, turned around and got on the black steam car that had been waiting for a long time.

The subordinate in charge of driving raised his head and glanced at the tired-looking Inquisitor through the rearview mirror: "You seem very tired?"

"Things happen one after another. Paperwork is much more laborious than carrying a greatsword to fight heretics." Vanna stretched her shoulders and neck, leaning back in the back seat in an unpresentable manner. "And I've been suffering from insomnia recently."

The steam core vibrated and rang softly, and the gears and connecting rods began to move briskly. The subordinates listened to their superiors' complaints and couldn't help but smile. "But at least the city-state has been peaceful recently - there are no heretics, no monsters, no unlucky people trapped in the night, and the night watchmen haven't encountered any distortions in the night for several days... There is always sunshine after the storm, isn't it?"

Fanna listened to her subordinates' sighs, and after a while she slowly said, "Indeed, the nights recently have been calmer than ever before. Even in the lower city and sewers, where darkness is most common, there is no more noise."

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

"...Of course, it's a good thing," Vanna said softly, then adjusted her position in the chair and closed her eyes, "I'll take a nap first, wake me up when you get to the cathedral."

"yes."

While her subordinates were responding, Vanna already felt herself falling into a drowsy light sleep. The mechanical sounds of the car and the noises outside the window were gradually fading away.

She was indeed very sleepy; she hadn't had a good rest for many days.

The order of the city-state has been completely restored, all the follow-up work has been completed in an orderly manner, the paperwork has been processed, and there have been no problems with the reports to the cathedral and various contacts with the city hall - but behind this "everything is going well" is the fatigue of the past few days.

After seeing off this special "visitor" of the Sea Mist, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At least I should be able to rest for a few days before arriving in Plande at the Storm Cathedral and receiving His Holiness the Pope.

A gentle night breeze suddenly blew across my cheek, bringing with it a cool and refreshing breath, along with the sound of waves hitting the hull of the boat.

Vanna suddenly opened her eyes.

I was in a strange room.

What comes into view is classical and exquisite furnishings. On the walls are hung gorgeous tapestries that seem to be from the last century. In the corners are dark-colored shelves and wine cabinets. In the middle of the room is a thick woven carpet, on the carpet is a reception table and armchairs with carvings. At this moment, I am sitting in one of the armchairs.

Fanna stood up suddenly, and then slightly bent her body like a beast about to fight, alert to everything around her.

The next second, she saw the window not far away - the window was open. Although it was still daytime when she fell asleep, the view outside the window was now night. The cold night wind blew into the house through the window, and the cold and bright light filled the windowsill. In the light, she could vaguely see the undulating sea in the distance, as well as the sparkling light on the sea.

The light was as fine as mercury.

Vanna's gaze involuntarily fell outside the window. Then, she seemed to suddenly discover something, rushed to the window, and looked up at the sky outside.

Something...something that she couldn't understand appeared there.

It was a glowing round object that looked like the main body in the middle of the sun, but it was neither dazzling nor scorching. Instead, it was like a cool glowing disk hanging quietly in the sky, and certain textures could be vaguely seen on its surface - the entire luminous body seemed to exude a wonderful atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

Fanna stared blankly at the strange light. At that moment, she felt that her mind seemed to have fallen into a state of silence along with the clear light. This blank state of mind lasted for an unknown amount of time before she slowly thought - what was that?

Is that the cooling sun?

Where did the creation of the world go?

Then she looked away and looked at the strange room again.

Where is this place?

Outside is the choppy sea, beside me is a strange room, outside the window is a strange sky and strange celestial bodies... Thinking about my experiences in the past few days, the answer does not seem difficult to guess.

But this time seemed different from before. This time... she did not see the scary ghost captain.

Vanna thought so, but as if in response to her thought, the next second, she suddenly felt a breath approaching.

"Boom boom boom."

Someone knocked on the door.