The heretics and deformed freaks executed in the spirit world have now turned into debris in the real dimension. The serious pollution suffered by the sewage treatment center has been temporarily purified, but for the shadow shrouding the entire city-state, this is probably just the tip of the curtain.

The black-clad guards returned to the gatekeeper. Agatha simply counted and confirmed the status of her subordinates, and then her eyes fell on the slightly balding manager not far away.

"Has his condition been confirmed?"

"It has been confirmed that he is indeed a normal human being," a black-clad guard whispered, "but he was severely frightened, and we cannot rule out the possibility that he has been mentally contaminated. He needs some psychological counseling and observation."

"Let the local church handle it," Agatha nodded gently. "Also inform them that the condition of this sewage treatment center is very bad. The entire facility needs a thorough purification and inspection. It can be restarted after all hidden dangers are eliminated."

"Yes, gatekeeper," the subordinate nodded and looked up at Agatha with some concern, "You...are you not in any trouble?"

Agatha frowned. "Hmm? Why do you ask?"

"You stayed 'over there' for longer than usual," the subordinate explained, "Did you find any clues from the spiritual world's perspective?"

Agatha still frowned slightly, with a thoughtful expression on her face. For some reason, she always felt as if she had overlooked something, but when she thought about it carefully, she did not find any suspicious points - was it a sequelae caused by staying in the spirit world for a long time?

She shook her head and reached into her coat pocket to pull out her usual eye drops, but hesitated after a moment and put it away.

There was no discomfort in his eyes, as if he had already used the medicine before returning to reality.

"Nothing happened," she told her subordinates, "It's just that those heretics appeared strangely, so we spent a little more time on the 'interrogation'."

It's a pity that nothing was found out during the interrogation - those heretics were so stubborn and fanatical that simple death couldn't even shake their hardened hearts.

But...what on earth have I overlooked?

Agatha felt vaguely doubtful again, but she showed nothing in front of her subordinates.

"Are we going back to the cathedral next?" a black-clad guard asked nearby.

"Let's go back to the cathedral," Agatha nodded. "We must immediately organize personnel to search all underground facilities in the city. The situation may be more serious than we thought."

※※※

It was getting close to dusk, and the edge of the sun was gradually approaching the horizon. The brilliant double rune rings were emitting magnificent light near the sea. The city-state buildings in the distance were gradually being dyed by the setting sun, and the whole city seemed to be gradually melting in the sunset.

Duncan stood in front of the narrow window at the end of the second-floor corridor. His burly body almost blocked all the light coming in from the window. Through the gaps between the bandages, he quietly gazed at the afterglow of the setting sun in the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

The sound of a dog's stealthy footsteps came from the side. Duncan didn't turn around, but he already knew who was coming.

"Have you finished your homework?" he asked casually.

Shirley, who had just opened the door and was about to sneak down to the kitchen to find some snacks, suddenly stopped in her tracks. Agou's trembling head popped up from the shadows beside her, and he muttered in a low voice, "I told you that you would definitely be discovered..."

"I... I have finished answering the oral arithmetic questions," Shirley ignored Agou's afterthought and just lowered her head to look carefully at Duncan, who was as majestic as an iron tower at the window. "There is only one more word left, but I'm hungry..."

Duncan could sense the tension and grievance in the girl's tone, which made him turn around and look at Shirley with a bit of a smile: "Did I ever say that you can't eat if you don't finish your homework?"

Shirley shrank her neck and didn't dare to respond.

Duncan sighed, smiled, turned around, and pressed Shirley on the head.

"You really don't like studying?" He said helplessly, "You look like you've been bullied."

"I... I feel sleepy as soon as I read..." Shirley said nervously. She was still not used to talking to Duncan in his current body. In her opinion, the bandages and gloomy black clothes made him even more frightening than the captain on the Lost Homeland. "I... I'll go back to my room to do my homework!"

Duncan gently pressed Shirley's shoulder, and the latter's movement to turn back to the house was instantly interrupted.

“Take a break if you’re tired,” Duncan shook his head, “Don’t study out of fear.”

Shirley looked at Duncan in disbelief, but then nodded quickly, as if she was afraid that the captain would go back on his word.

After a few seconds, she looked at Duncan carefully and couldn't help asking, "Why do you insist on making me learn to read and write? I... I don't have to go to college like Nina, and I can't be a scholar like Mr. Morris..."

This was the first time Duncan heard this question from Shirley, but it was obvious that this question had been lingering in her mind for who knows how long - this orphan who had never been to school since childhood and had only depended on a Deep Hound for life obviously could not understand the captain's intentions.

"Because knowledge is useful," Duncan was silent for a while, then looked at Shirley seriously and said, "The knowledge that makes you resist and headache supports the operation of the entire civilized world. Looking at the cars driving on the streets outside, the roaring machines in the factories, and the boundless sea outside the city-state, haven't you ever wondered how those things work? Haven't you ever wondered what the city-state in the distance looks like?"

Shirley thought about it, she seemed to know what the "correct answer" was, but in the end she shook her head hesitantly: "No, I... I always thought that being able to fill my stomach was enough, I didn't think too much about it."

"But you need more than just a meal now, Shirley." Duncan bent down and looked into her eyes seriously. "Maybe you don't understand it now, but I want your life to be more complete. You have missed a lot of things, but now that you are a member of the Lost Homeland, those things you have missed will definitely be made up for."

Shirley stared at Duncan blankly. She still didn't quite understand what the captain was saying, but from his serious and solemn tone, she seemed to vaguely sense some... warmth.

This temperature seems vaguely familiar.

So she nodded half-heartedly and said in a somewhat elongated voice: "Oh..."

"Very good," Duncan laughed and slowly straightened up. "Now that you understand, go downstairs and have something to eat and then continue with your homework. I..."

He suddenly stopped.

Shirley was shrinking her neck waiting for the next instruction. At this time, she raised her head with some regret: "Ah? What's wrong with you?"

Duncan did not answer her, but just waved his hand gently, while his eyes were already cast into the distance - it seemed that he was looking across the corridor, but deep in his eyes, he seemed to be reflecting a light and shadow somewhere very far away.

He blinked, and in one eye he saw the corridor and roof of the house, while in the other eye he seemed to see a ship burning with faint green flames, wandering in the mist and shadows.

Off the Frost Sea, in the captain's room of the Lost Homeland, which was slowly patrolling on the vast ocean, Duncan suddenly looked up from the chart table.

His sudden action immediately made the goat head on the edge of the table react. The latter turned its neck with a squeak: "Ah, Captain, what do you want? Are you ready for dinner? Although there is no manpower available on the ship now, I am still willing to provide you with dining services within my ability. What would you like to eat? We can start with southern cuisine, fried meat rolls, fried pork chops, fried fish cakes, fried meatballs, roasted bird eggs, steamed bird eggs, boiled bird eggs, stewed bird eggs, pickled bird eggs, smoked bird eggs..."

"Shut up. I didn't look up to listen to your order." Duncan glared at the noisy goat-head with a serious expression. He raised his head and looked out the window of the captain's room - that was the direction of the Frost City-State. He said thoughtfully, "White Oak?"

"White Oak?" The goat-head was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Ah, you mean the steamship, the one Alice was on before? Why did you suddenly think of it? Do you want to retrieve the trophy? I can provide you with a complete set of recruitment plans - do you plan to replace the sailors on the ship with new ones? The captain should be able to stay..."

"It's nearby," Duncan didn't pay any attention to what the goat-head was talking about. He just slowly stood up from behind the table, frowning slightly as he spoke, carefully sensing the weak but real connection, "near...Frost?"

"White Oak is near Frostbite?" Goat Head finally stopped chattering, with astonishment in his tone, "That's impossible... Isn't Frostbite blocking it now? And Tirion's fleet is still blocking the route. If there is a foreign ship approaching, he can't possibly not report it to you, right?"

"…something is not right. I can definitely sense the presence of the White Oak," Duncan said thoughtfully, "but its location…is vague, and seems to be constantly changing…"

He narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of Frost City, trying to determine the location of the aura that suddenly became stronger in his perception.

The aura of the White Oak appeared suddenly and became stronger in a short period of time, just like a ball of fire suddenly lit up in the darkness, attracting his attention. This feeling... had never appeared before.

And he didn't know if it was an illusion, but Duncan also felt that the aura of the ship had several large fluctuations, just like... a light that flickered.

While thinking, he lowered his head and looked at the goat head wooden sculpture on the table: "Do you know what's going on?"

The goat head thought for a moment and shook his head: "How about I tell you the name of the dish..."

"It's useless at the critical moment." Duncan curled his lips, stood up, walked around the navigation table, and walked towards the captain's room.