Duncan, who was walking into the captain's room, suddenly stopped and turned to look behind him.

There seemed to be some movement from the bow deck, and from the subtle perception coming from the Lost Hometown, the movement was caused by Shirley and Agou.

But there was no problem there.

"It's so hard to do a homework." Duncan muttered, shook his head, and walked towards the direction of the nautical chart.

The goat head that was steering the ship carefully at the edge of the navigation table suddenly made a creaking sound of wood friction. It turned its head to look at Duncan, and its two dark obsidian eyes seemed to brighten up: "Ah! The great Captain Duncan has come to his loyal first mate - your harvest today..."

"No fish today," Duncan glanced at the goat head, "Based on the movement before the frost, I'm afraid there won't be any fish to catch here for some time."

The flattery that Goat Head had just prepared was immediately held back. The wooden neck creaked and shook left and right twice, and after a long while, it finally uttered: "Ah... Then at least you have a leisure morning. Today the sea breeze is comfortable and the sun is bright. It's a good day for roaming on the sea. If you are interested, we can go to the vicinity of Cold Harbor..."

"Not interested. I don't plan to let the Lost Homeland get close to any city-state for the time being." Duncan interrupted the Goat Head who was about to nag, and his eyes casually fell on the nautical chart in front of him.

The hazy fog was slowly rising and falling on the nautical chart. Amidst the fog, a clear route was marked out. That was the route marked for the Homeless Ship heading north. Around the shadow of the ship symbolizing the Homeless Ship, one could see the projection of Frost and the Sea Mist Ship emitting a faint green flame.

The latter is currently docked at the edge of the Frost City-State.

"It looks pretty quiet over there on the Sea Mist..." Duncan's eyes fell on the projection of the Sea Mist, and the corners of his mouth suddenly curled up a little, as if he was thinking of something pleasant, "It looks like it's going well."

"Smoothly? Ah, Captain, I feel like you seem to have a great plan again?" The Goat-Headed Man immediately perked up upon hearing this, stretching his neck towards the sea chart while chattering, "What is your plan? Do you want to overthrow the weakening city-state? Or do you want to take advantage of the opportunity to completely recapture the Sea Mist that had left the fleet? As expected of you, you have more than just a plan..."

Duncan glanced at Goat Head silently. "Are these the only ideas of robbery and subversion that you have in mind? Aren't there some positive possibilities?"

The goat-head thought for a moment and changed the question: "Do you want to personally help Frost restore order to overcome this crisis? Or do you want to guide Tirian to get rid of his current disgraceful identity as a rebel and return him to the right and great path?"

Duncan immediately looked at this guy with a strange look: "How did you come up with these ideas?"

"Captain, perhaps you haven't noticed, but I still have some observation skills, and after spending some time with you, I'm getting to know you better," the goat head slowly turned its neck, its dark eyes unable to reveal any emotion, but its tone clearly carried a hint of pride and relaxation, "You won't just leave Frost alone now - unlike Plande, Frost has suffered more serious damage in this disaster. If you really leave it alone, something terrible will happen, and you..."

It suddenly stopped here, as if it was looking for the right words. After a moment, it continued slowly: "And you are full of humanity."

Duncan didn't say anything for a while, but just calmly stared at the goat-head's eyes that were so dark that they seemed to swallow up the light. After a long time, he broke the silence softly: "You have a keen observation ability."

The goat-head hesitated for a moment, and suddenly there was a cracking sound in his neck: "This, this, this... It sounds like they are trying to silence me..."

Duncan laughed and shook his head slightly: "See, you still don't know me well enough - I don't mind guys with keen observation skills, it can save me a lot of trouble."

After saying this, he waved his hand, not caring about the goat head's subsequent reaction, and stood up and looked at the ancient round mirror not far away.

A faint flame rose quietly in his eyes, and the mirror surface became deep and dark. In the calm spreading light and shadow, Tirian's hurried figure gradually became clear.

"Good morning, Tirian. I hope I didn't disturb your rest." Duncan calmly looked at the "big pirate" in the mirror who was obviously jogging all the way, with a smile on his face. "How was your rest last night?"

Tirian in the mirror was obviously a little nervous. He took several deep breaths before calming down, with a stiff smile on his face: "Father...Father, good morning. I was just about to look for you - Oh, I had a good rest last night. Thank you for your concern."

"You were too distant when you spoke to me. There's no need to be so nervous." Duncan adjusted his sitting posture and looked at his figure in the mirror with a half-smile. "Why, did that attitude scare you?"

"No...no!" Tirian sat up straight, like a student who was suddenly called up in class, "I just have a little more respect for you..."

"It's okay. I just want you to relax a little. No matter what posture you are in, it shouldn't make you so nervous." Duncan shook his head. "You said you were looking for me? What's the matter?"

Tirian hesitated for a moment, as if he was organizing his thoughts and considering how to start. After a moment, he said hesitantly: "It's about the frost. I don't know how to explain it to you, but they seem to want to..."

The big pirate was a little stuck, as if he was unsure whether to say something, but at this moment, Duncan's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting his next words: "Let me guess, what will your position be next - a general of the Frost City-State? A senior official in the City Hall? Or... will they just make you the Archon?"

Tirian, who was struggling with how to choose words and form sentences, was stunned and looked up in surprise.

"How could you ..."

"It's simple, because that's my suggestion - let the Sea Mist Fleet enter the city," Duncan said calmly. "Otherwise, do you think there are other factors that can make the chaotic City Hall act so quickly and reach a consensus? You know their working procedures."

The expression on Tirian's face became visibly interesting, with an emotion of "I've been racking my brains all night thinking about my life and future, and now I'm surprised to hear that my father is a funny person" brewing in his eyes. However, he looked at the mirror in front of him and opened his mouth several times. In the end, he didn't dare to say out loud the disrespectful thoughts in his mind. He just looked at Duncan with a tangled and puzzled look: "Why did you do this..."

"It's simple, because Frost needs you, and you need Frost." Duncan put away the smile that belonged to a fun-loving person on the corner of his mouth, and turned to look at Tirian with a serious expression. "From the inside, the chaotic situation in that city needs a sufficiently strong force to calm and appease. From the outside, the Frost Navy has suffered a heavy blow, and the entire city-state is in urgent need of strong protection. So who else has both strong skills and management experience and a strong fleet?"

Duncan adjusted his position slightly, leaning forward and looking into Tirian's eyes.

"It looks like you've accepted their invitation. Like I said, Frostbite needs you—and you need it, too."

There seemed to be a hint of evasion in Tirian's eyes. "Fifty years, I've had enough of being a pirate. It seems like a good idea to change my lifestyle."

"Tell the truth."

"...After all, you personally protected that place, and I don't want to see your efforts go to waste..."

"Tell the truth."

"I admire the tenacity shown by the Frost People. They did not flinch in the face of disaster. Even when you did not help them, they never surrendered. I admit that I do not want these people to suffer in the days to come."

Duncan said nothing, but just looked at Tirian quietly.

Tirian shrugged. "On the other hand, I would hate to see the places Lady Lenore protected fall into a long and dark age."

Duncan still said nothing.

"Okay..." Tirian finally sighed, looking helpless, "All of the above."

"Very good, be an honest person, especially in front of me." Duncan retracted his gaze and relaxed his posture again. "So, who are you now?"

"They asked me to be the Archon," Tirian said with a complicated expression, "and even... brought out a lot of contingency plans that had been prepared long ago."

Duncan didn't speak for a while, as if he was lost in a brief thought. After a few seconds, he exhaled softly: "More courageous than I expected."

Tirian hesitated, his eyes probing: "Do you have any advice for me?"

"Why do you want to ask for my advice?" Duncan laughed. "You have followed the Frost Queen and commanded the Sea Mist Fleet for fifty years. You have dealt with every city-state on the Frigid Sea. I don't think I can give you any advice on the matter of 'serving as Archon'."

"I just wanted to hear your opinion."

Duncan paused for a moment, and after a brief thought, he spoke softly, "Then do your best. In this cold world, there are very few things people can rely on."

"……I see."

"Yeah," Duncan replied casually, then suddenly turned his head and glanced at the sea chart next to him, "Also, there is one more thing."

When Tirian heard this, his expression quickly changed: "Please give your orders."

Duncan looked at the nautical chart and saw that the shadow of the White Oak was quickly emerging at a position almost overlapping with the Sea Mist.

He turned his head and looked at Tirian with a smile: "Stand firm and hold on."

Tirian was stunned: "Huh?"

Duncan waved his hand and dispersed the flames in the mirror. At the moment the flames dissipated, a faint cry of surprise came from the other side of the mirror.

"Hey, what's going on?!"