Chapter 286: Welcome to the New Year

Chapter 286 Orientation
To Vanna, it seemed as if the events of the past two days had always carried a filter of not being real enough; her life had changed drastically, a change so big that it seemed like an absurd dream, so much so that she often wondered if she was already too deep in the illusion to realize it – and at this moment, her doubts about her self had finally arrived at the peak.

She actually saw Mr. Morris standing before her with a smile on his face.

The young inquisitor snapped her eyes shut, struck her forehead vigorously, and when she opened them again she found that Maurice was still there – and there was a taller figure beside the old gentleman.

It was the brooding, majestic-looking Captain Ghost.

“Welcome aboard, Vanna,” Morris spoke, “I know you have many questions ……”

Vanna opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she suddenly heard a thud beside her, a sound she didn’t feel threatened by, but was startled nonetheless, and subconsciously turned her head to see a large cloud of floral paper and ribbons coming at her – a woman with long, silver-white hair and waist-length hair. -A beautiful lady with long silver-white hair down to her waist was staring blankly at this side, a little smoke from the burning gunpowder still coming out of the paper tube in her hand.

Vanna: “……?”

Before she could react, she saw the silver-haired lady take a second paper tube from the side with gusto, fiddle with it in front of her face, lift it up and pull the thin string on it.

Vanna saw this and hurriedly warned, “Ah! You’re holding it backwards ……”

Her warning was a step too late.

The tiny amount of gunpowder preloaded in the paper tube exploded, and the silver-haired woman was directly smeared by the ribbons and confetti spewing out of the tube, and she subconsciously threw herself back, and then she heard a weird “boing” sound, and a head rolled down on the deck under the watchful eye of Vanna.

Vanna’s eyes instantly widened, and even with her strength, she almost jumped out of her skin, and then she heard a cry of alarm coming from behind her: “Ahh! Uncle Duncan! Alice’s head fell off again!”

In the next second, a girl who looked like a high school student or so rushed over from the side, chasing the head that was rolling on the deck with her hands and feet, followed by another girl with a huge black dog in her hands running out from the other direction, helping to chase it while yelling, “I told you it wouldn’t be a good idea to let her hold it!”

“Let you hold it and you don’t dare!”

“That also can not let Alice alone get …… ah head fell to the bottom of the stairs!”

“Hooks, where are the hooks …… find a stick will do ……”

“I found the rope, throw it down throw it down …… Miss Alice you bite yourself ah, I pull you up!”

The deck was instantly lively, two girls chasing a head that was rolling around jumping up and down, while the silver haired woman who had lost her head was walking around in place hand and foot, and Mr. Morris, who had just spoken halfway through the conversation, was at this time covering his head and couldn’t stop sighing, and the air was still filled with the special smell of the remnants of the ribbon tube after it had been fired.

Vanna’s entire body was in a state of confusion rarely seen in her life, she stared blankly at the scene of chicken flying on the deck, a few colorful paper ribbons drooping in her hair and shoulders, she seemed to vaguely understand what had just happened, but felt that she might as well not understand.

It was a welcoming ceremony – but anything that didn’t take place on the Lost Country was quite a sight to behold.

“You see, I told you I had a very heady crew,” the brooding, imposing Captain Duncan finally spoke, his voice finally snapping Vanna out of her daze, “this ship is always such a mess- -but on the other hand, your life here shouldn’t be very boring.”

Vanna’s face was expressionless – despite the fact that it seemed as if a million disparate thoughts were roaring and exploding inside her, her face really didn’t know what to make of the reaction.

She looked up at the scene on the deck and saw that Nina and Shirley had already “fished” the head out of the crack in the staircase and were busy “returning it to its rightful place”, while a fat pigeon had flown in from somewhere and was shouting “Little man! A fat pigeon flew over from somewhere, and shouted the inexplicable phrase “Forty hammers, forty hammers, forty hammers,” and she finally recognized the silver-haired woman’s face, and remembered where she had seen such a face before.

It was in an antique store in the lower city.

At that time, the other party had blonde hair – now that she thought about it, that would have been a disguise.

She looked at Sherry, at Nina, and then at old Mr. Morris, who was spreading his hands in a helpless look at her, and finally understood everything.

The whole world had changed quietly a long time ago, she just hadn’t known it until now.

“How many more ‘secrets’ are there?” The corners of Vanna’s mouth finally quivered a bit, regaining her ability to speak, she looked towards Morris, this respected scholar was an elder she had known since childhood, the other party’s appearance on this ghost ship was the most unbelievable scene of the day for her, yet at this moment, this elder was also the only person she could think of to ask, “From when did you… …”

“Not long, actually – just a little before you,” Morris smiled gently, nodding his head gently, “Heidi doesn’t know about it.”

“Ah, she certainly didn’t seem to know – she was complaining to me today that you had gone out on an errand all of a sudden, without even explaining the situation to her,” Vanna said in a complicated tone, “Who would have thought that …… you’d just show up before my eyes, on this ‘Lost Country’ ship.”

“Looks like I left in a bit of a hurry,” Morris nodded, “I should have brought her some northern souvenirs as a gift later.” Vanna pursed her lips and turned her head again to the ship’s owner.

“What’s the next ‘surprise’?” She spoke up full of helplessness, what had happened after going through that flaming gate had completely disrupted the mental buildup she’d been doing since this morning, she’d never felt so overwhelmed and flustered in her life, “Let me know ahead of time, so I can be mentally prepared.”

Before Duncan could say anything, Nina had already rushed over and said happily to Vanna, “There’s a potluck tonight! A potluck to welcome the new crew!”

“There’s very good fish soup!” Shirley yelled next to her, “The captain caught the fish himself.”

“And then there’s a deck barbecue!” Nina added right after, “There’s fish, beef, and wheat juice!”

“No alcohol,” Duncan’s voice immediately came from behind Nina, “Even if you call it ‘wheat juice’.”

Nina’s expression dropped, “Can’t …… a little?”

“The last sweet fruit punch was the limit,” Duncan scowled, “Beer is too soon for you.”

“Oh.”

Vanna looked at Nina and then at Duncan for a long moment before sighing softly, “So there really is something wrong with that antique store – and I didn’t notice anything.”

“We’ve always operated legally, the goods aren’t real but they’re worth the price,” Duncan said with a wry smile, “and as for you not finding anything …… it’s actually a good thing, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, the Pope Coronet reminded me to curb the urge to snoop when I’m around you,” Vanna sighed again and looked over to the ugly skeleton hound beside Shirley, “If I’m not mistaken, it’s a Phantom Hound? This little girl is a summoner who is symbiotic with a spectral demon?”

Dog instantly shook his head, “Ah yes yes yes.”

Vanna was taken aback, “…… This demon can talk?!”

“Not only can it talk, it can even spell its own name now as well as pencil in addition and subtraction within a hundred,” Duncan said casually, “It’s considered to be relatively well educated among the crew of the Lost Country.”

Vanna froze, and then looked at Alice who was moving her neck not far away, she had noticed the details on the other’s joints just now, and was now thinking, “A mannequin, does that mean ……”

“Anomaly 099, once the name was Doll Hearse, now you guys seem to directly change to call her ‘doll’, but she has her own real name, you should already know it, just call her Alice here,” Duncan said faintly, immediately after that, he added a, “Don’t worry, she’s safe now.”

“Hello!” Alice smiled and waved, a harmless smile on her face, “I didn’t scare you just now, did I?”

Vanna subconsciously touched her neck before smiling slightly stiffly in response to this cursed mannequin’s greeting.

Shirley then ran aside again and found a paper tube with a flowery wrapping from a barrel and ran over to her, holding it up gleefully, “Alice Alice! Here’s another one! Do you want it ……”

“Stop fiddling with that!” Duncan glared at Shirley, “So who bought this stuff anyway? Why isn’t it on the purchase list?”

“I ……” Nina scowled at once and spoke carefully, “I bought it with my own pocket money.”

Duncan was silent for a moment and turned his head to look at Alice, “In the future, if they give you strange things to fiddle with, you tell me first.”

Alice nodded as she plucked small pieces of colored paper from her hair, “Oh.”

Vanna sighed deeply once again.

She came to Maurice and lowered her voice, “Is it always like this here ……?”

“From what I know, always,” Maurice said in the same low voice, “Sometimes even more lively – especially when Miss Alice has some new ideas.”

Vanna: “……”

(end of chapter)