The expression of no surprise on Vanna's face certainly did not escape Heidi's notice. This "psychiatrist" who often cooperates with the church immediately guessed something from the inquisitor's reaction.

After a slight hesitation, she asked cautiously, "It seems... there is a big problem behind this incident?"

Vanna nodded: "It's a big problem."

Heidi thought for a moment, and while packing her medical kit, she said quickly, "I'm going to be on vacation tomorrow, so I might be out for a while..."

"Ms. Heidi, you may have made a connection with this incident," Vanna glanced at Heidi, "I'm sorry, but everyone who was at the scene at that time, including me, was exposed to some kind of cognitive pollution. The mental problems you found in these cultists have actually happened to each of us, but...thank Goddess's blessing, we were not deeply polluted, so we 'woke up' now."

"...Damn it, I knew that sooner or later I would run into something like this in this line of work." Heidi finally stopped packing the medical kit and covered her forehead with her hands. "I should have listened to my father's advice and inherited his business as an antique appraiser, or even listened to my mother's advice and became a history teacher at the public school in the Cross Street area... That would be much safer than dealing with cultists."

"Think positively. At least your current job is enough for you to maintain a decent life in the upper city," Vanna shook her head. In front of Heidi, who was of similar age and whom she had known for many years, her attitude seemed much more approachable than in front of her subordinates. "Why don't you tell me about your discovery? It may help the church and the city hall to grasp the situation."

"...It's actually very simple, an obvious inconsistency," Heidi sighed, talking about the clues she dug out from the subconscious of those cultists, "On the night of the sacrifice ceremony, a sacrifice lost control in front of the sun totem and sacrificed the priest who presided over the ceremony in reverse. According to the clues we found at the scene, the 'sacrifice' that caused the loss of control was actually a 'corpse' that had been sacrificed. He came back to life and walked to the platform, right?"

Vanna nodded: "Of course, I remember it very clearly."

"Then the question arises... Since this sacrifice has been sacrificed once, why didn't any of the cultists at the scene recognize him? Ordinary cultists would be fine, but why didn't even the priest himself recognize that the sacrifice in front of him had been sacrificed by his own hands not long ago?"

Fanna slowly frowned: "...The cultists at the scene watched helplessly as the sacrifice that had been sacrificed not long ago appeared before their eyes again, but no one noticed anything unusual...Their memories were tampered with, and their cognition was distorted."

"Even we didn't notice this obvious inconsistency at the time, did we?" Heidi smiled bitterly and spread her hands. "In fact, even until an hour ago, I didn't realize that I had overlooked this obvious thing. It was not until now that I learned from you that my own mind had been affected."

Fanna didn't say anything for a while, then turned and came to the cultist who was still in a daze.

The cultist, doubly hypnotized by a large dose of neuroleptic drugs and powerful incense, just shook his head slightly and looked blankly at the tall lady in front of him.

Fanna suddenly turned around and asked, "After the ritual went out of control, these cultists killed each other. Was it also because of cognitive confusion?"

"Yes, I 'saw' some flashing images in their memories," Heidi replied, "These images seemed to have left a very strong impression on them, making them firmly believe that the other people at the ceremony were possessed and controlled by evil spirits or something similar. They did not think that they were killing their compatriots, but that they were expelling the evil spirits from their compatriots..."

"This is probably their souls' instinctive warning - cultists are also believers, and there is a dark sun behind them that 'blesses' them. When a huge and strange danger appears, these blessed believers are very likely to sense something," Fanna analyzed based on her experience. "Their crazy hallucinations actually reveal the truth to some extent. Unfortunately, these untrained ordinary people do not know how to distinguish the meaning of these warnings, and instead fall into a state of collective frenzy."

Heidi looked at Vanna with a serious face. After hesitating for a few times, she finally spoke cautiously: "So... what is behind this matter? Is it more weird than the ancient sun?"

Vanna thought about it and shook her head gently: "Don't ask, Heidi, you are not deeply involved in this matter, but if you learn more, some unbreakable connections may be established."

"Well, since even you, the judge, say so, I'd better protect my life," Heidi said as she picked up the packed medical kit. "I really need to take a vacation... Don't worry, I'm not running away. There's an exhibition at the Maritime Museum in a couple of days, and I'm quite interested."

Vanna nodded: "Visiting the Ocean Museum is a good way to relax. The blessings of the goddess are also filled in those exhibits."

Heidi smiled, picked up the medical kit and walked towards the door, but just as she was about to push the door open, she suddenly stopped and looked back at Vanna with concern: "I say... has the pollution really subsided?"

"Don't worry, of course it has subsided," Vanna spread her hands helplessly, "We just caught up with some of the 'residues'. You have been in this quiet underground temple for so long, the goddess' blessing has already cleared away the influence you have been subjected to."

"Then I'm relieved," Heidi finally breathed a sigh of relief and pushed open the door. "See you next time, Judge Vanna."

Vanna watched Ms. Heidi leave the room.

Beside her, the sun cultist who was made dazed by the powerful incense and nerve drugs also half-opened his eyes and stared at Vanna blankly.

The potions made by modern civilization, the incense passed down from ancient times, the quiet environment of the temple, and the "blessing" of the sun deeply rooted in the soul, these chaotic forces are entangled and gathered, producing subtle influences on the bodies of the cultists.

Vanna's hazy figure was reflected in the cultist's eyes.

He saw the Inquisitor standing in front of him, his posture upright and firm.

He saw a blurry shadow standing behind Vanna. It was an almost transparent illusion with a faint green flame burning around it.

The tall illusion stood quietly behind Vanna, expressionless.

※※※

Duncan sat in the chart room with an expressionless face, watching the puppet Alice busying herself in front of him.

She brought a large tray with shiny tableware and a large bowl of steaming soup.

It smells like fish soup.

Apparently, after becoming more familiar with the environment on the Lost Homeland, the doll lady came up with a new idea to "do something for the captain in her own way."

"Dinner?" Duncan looked at the puppet curiously, watching it place the tableware and fish soup in front of him. "Why did you suddenly think of making this?"

"I finished cleaning the kitchen food storage, and then I saw the fish in the bucket," Alice smiled with pride, "I can't help with many tasks on the ship, but I can help with cooking. I'll cook for you from now on."

"It's a good thing that you have this intention." Duncan didn't know how to evaluate this strange puppet. However, facing Alice's sincere smile, no one would be embarrassed to refuse. He was just a little curious, "But as a puppet, can you cook?"

"I can learn it. It seems quite simple," Alice said as if it was a matter of course. "I just need to ask Mr. Goat Head about the most basic things. He told me a lot about cooking before..."

Duncan glanced expressionlessly at the goat head next to him, then at Alice.

A wooden sculpture and a puppet made of unknown material, the two together cannot even form a digestive system, yet they are put together to study cooking. One dares to teach, and the other really dares to listen?

He didn't know what to feel, he just picked up the spoon and stirred the fish soup in the bowl, thinking that at least it smelled right, but the next second, he froze.

After a moment's silence, he reached out and pulled out a long silver-white hair from the spoon.

"Your hair fell in there." Duncan said expressionlessly.

"Oh, it wasn't my hair that fell in there," Alice said, waving her hands at once. "It was my head that fell in there. But don't worry, I fished it out in a moment, and I didn't need any help!"

Duncan: “……?”