The moment Lucrecia took the small hairpin, Duncan felt that something deep in his heart suddenly relaxed.

It was an imperceptible corner, a feeling that could not be described in words, as if a mission that had been delayed for a long time was finally completed. Even if this body had forgotten what the mission was, the thoughts engraved in the soul still let out a sigh.

"I hope you like it," Duncan said softly after a moment of silence, "I don't remember a lot of things, but I remember this hairpin is for you."

"I heard from Tyrian," Lucretia nodded. She didn't know when, she felt that the hesitation and anxiety that had been entangled with her for many days had dissipated completely. Although she had contacted her father through the crystal ball before, it turned out that only seeing her father in person in the real world could dispel those worries. "Anyway, I hope you can return to 'this side'."

Duncan nodded, and then turned his gaze to the elf scholar who was standing not far away and had been trying hard to reduce his presence since then.

"Master Taran El," he said with a faint smile on his face, trying to make his tone more approachable, "Now we meet again in reality - I am glad to see that you are safe and sound. I have a lot to talk to you about."

"Don't... don't say Master, you are too polite," Taran El waved his hand quickly, "Just call me by my name. I have admired you for a long time, the great explorer Captain Duncan, um, I mean when you were still alive... when you were alive... when you were still a human being... I would..."

Duncan looked at the elven scholar silently, while Lucretia silently pulled out a "short staff" that looked like a magic wand and pointed it at Taran Eyre's nose.

"Frog, or snake?" She spoke the dangerous content in a calm tone.

Taran El raised his hands instantly and looked at Duncan with a sad face: "I want to say that a century ago, I admired your reputation, but unfortunately I never had the chance to meet you..."

Duncan didn't expect the elf scholar to have such an interesting personality. He couldn't help laughing: "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Taran El said seriously, "As a scholar who is very interested in borders, I have always hoped to make more friends with real explorers and learn about things outside the civilized borders from them. I even longed to sail away myself to explore the magnificent fog barrier - unfortunately, I am destined to be unable to complete such a great journey..."

"It doesn't matter. Now you have a chance to make friends with me," Duncan nodded. Then he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to Lucrecia and said, "Oh, by the way, there is one more thing for you."

Lucrecia didn't react at first, and then she saw Duncan raise his hand and wave - the flaming door that had appeared out of thin air on the deck had not disappeared, but now it suddenly expanded with Duncan's movement, and a cavity seemed to form in the rotating flames. After a moment of explosion and disappearance, a huge wooden box appeared on the deck.

There was also a fat pigeon with white feathers and a fluffy body standing on the box.

Ai tilted his head, one eye looking at Lucrecia, the other eye glancing somewhere else: "Dear, please receive the package and give it a five-star rating."

Lucrecia stared at the scene in amazement, wondering what was going on with the pigeon, and then she noticed a metal plate on the side of the wooden box.

"The spirit lens that Tirian prepared for you—of the highest quality," Duncan pointed to the box. "You haven't forgotten it, have you?"

"Ah, I...didn't forget," Lucrecia said with a guilty look, looking away for a moment. She then changed the subject abruptly, pointing at the pigeon that was striding on the box. "Is this the 'Aiyi' my brother mentioned? What is the 'five-star review' it just mentioned?"

"Don't worry about it. Most people can't understand the way this pigeon speaks." Duncan waved his hand and asked Ai to land on his shoulder. He then signaled Lucrecia to lead the way. "Put the lens on the deck first. You can deal with it later. Let's find a place where we can talk first."

"good."

Led by Lucrecia, Duncan and Taran Eyre came to a "reception room" somewhere on the middle deck.

This is an upper cabin with a spacious window near the side of the ship. Through the window, visitors can see the power structure on the side of the Brilliant Star, as well as the shadowy stern structure of the ship, which seems to be always shrouded in fog.

Duncan came to the window and looked at the "scenery" outside with some curiosity. He observed this "cursed ship" which, although different in style from the Lost Homeland, also had a strange atmosphere. He paid particular attention to its stern which looked like a ghost kingdom. After a long while, he sighed, "This ship is completely different from the Sea Mist."

Hearing Duncan's unintentional "evaluation", Lucrecia looked a little uneasy: "It's been a long time. Both the Sea Mist and the Brilliant Star... are very different from your original design. In order to survive in the 'Border', I made many bold modifications to this ship. You won't be angry, right?"

"It's time for some changes. Change is a good thing," Duncan laughed. "The Lost Homeland has also changed a lot. If you go up and take a look, you will be surprised by the state of its interior."

Embarking on the Lost Homeland?

Lucrecia was a little dazed for a moment, perhaps she was recalling the distant past, or perhaps she thought of her brother who had boarded the Lost Homeland several times and contacted her every now and then to scare her.

But she quickly came to her senses and nodded to Duncan: "I... will go."

Then she raised her head again and said to the outside of the door with a slightly raised voice: "Luni, you can come in."

The door of the room opened, and under Duncan's slightly curious gaze, a clockwork puppet that looked about 60% similar to Lucrecia but was made entirely of metal, ceramic, and leather walked in pushing a cart filled with drinks and snacks.

With the faint sound of gears turning, the clockwork puppet came to the reception table and bowed slightly to Duncan: "Nice to meet you, old master."

"You are Luni?" Duncan couldn't help but take a closer look at this wonderful doll. "I found your 'sister' Nilu in Plande's doll shop. Frankly speaking, you two are very different."

"When you first met me, I was just a three-point doll," Luni lowered her head politely, with slight dripping and clicking sounds coming from her body. "Of course, I couldn't think or speak at that time. It was the mistress who gave me life."

"...Incredible technology," Duncan looked at Lucrecia, "But I also have a 'doll' on my ship that can talk and think. Maybe Luni can be friends with her."

"I know. My brother told me about Abnormal 099," Lucrecia nodded and said, "Luni is indeed very curious about Miss Alice, but... is she really safe?"

"It's very safe," Duncan waved his hand. "She is the safest ship on the Lost Homeland. Even a bucket can beat her better in that place..."

Lucrecia: “……?”

The witch finally began to vaguely realize what her father meant when he said that "the Lost Hometown has also changed a lot"...

Duncan finally turned his attention to Taran Eyre at this time.

Under the uneasy gaze of the elf scholar, he adjusted his sitting posture and asked seriously: "In your elf legends or traditional belief system, is there a term called 'Dream of the Nameless'?"

Taran El was startled when he heard this: "The dream of the nameless one?"

Then, he suddenly realized: "You mean the dream I fell into before? You mean... that dream has a name, called 'Dream of the Nameless'?"

"If the intelligence is correct, that's the name."

Duncan gave an affirmative answer, and then he told the two people in front of him all the information he had obtained from a group of cultists through "a little trickery", including the possible role that the group of End of Days preachers might play in the dark, as well as some of his own superficial guesses and previous discussions with Agatha, without reservation.

During Duncan's narration, Taran El had unknowingly forgotten his initial nervousness and embarrassment, and gradually became fully focused. Even Lucrecia beside him leaned forward slightly, with a thoughtful look on her face from time to time.

To scholars devoted to research, the information obtained from heretical sources sounds dangerous yet powerful. They may be closely related to those evil heresies, but behind them... they seem to point to certain knowledge and mysteries.

When Duncan finally finished speaking, the room became very quiet for a while. The two scholars on the scene fell into thought at the same time. After an unknown amount of time, Lucrecia was the first to break the silence: "Is this information reliable? Ah, I don't doubt you, but those cultists are usually very cunning. Even experts in dealing with heretics such as the church inquisitors often have to spend a lot of effort to pry something out of those guys..."

"Reliable," Duncan said confidently, "I used some very effective investigative techniques - ah, you want to know the specific process?"

Lucrecia and Taran El were stunned for a moment, and shook their heads at the same time without thinking.

"...Okay," Duncan felt a little regretful, "So what do you think now? Mr. Taran El, do you have any guesses about this so-called 'Dream of the Nameless'?"

Taran El thought carefully, and after a few seconds he spoke carefully: "There is no such word in the various legends and traditional beliefs of the elves. At least I can be sure that this word is not in the elven language. But if we simply discuss the concept of 'dream'... our race does have many stories related to it."

Duncan immediately became interested: "Oh?"

"Have you heard of... the Great Demon God Sasloka?"