Alka’s room was at the rear of the captain’s cabin aboard the ’Treasure Harvest’.
He had just opened his eyes, having been in bed. He wasn’t actually sleeping. Judging by his sweat-drenched forehead, it was evident he had been engaged in rapid Meditation.
With the Dream Catcher, Meditation became more efficient, providing an acceleration effect even before reaching the Three Spirals. Rapid Meditation placed a certain strain on his constitution, but fortunately, it only resulted in increased fatigue.
He could feel he was making progress. In another two or three days, he should reach the Three Spirals and achieve First Stage Perfection.
After freshening up, Alka went up to the deck.
On deck, Chadite was fervently rubbing his face against the cheeks of a gothic doll with a two-head body proportion.
"AAAHHH, Lucilia, you’re so cute!"
"Is that so? Is that so?" Lucilia, showing no disdain, asked happily. Her voice was child-like and sweet.
Hearing this, Alka couldn’t help but scratch his head. He couldn’t figure out why her voice sounded like that.
Using the Hand of Precision, he had crafted a brand-new doll for Lucilia, meticulously designing and constructing it. Now, the doll not only allowed Lucilia’s soul to interact with reality but also enabled her to speak using the doll’s body. Additionally, it protected Lucilia’s soul, utilizing some techniques Alka had acquired from the Soul-Trapping Demon Mirror.
Alka had even tried to create a custom Soul-Trapping Demon Mirror to make Lucilia more comfortable while she lived in the mirror, but this research was still ongoing.
The combination of these enhancements allowed Lucilia to inhabit the doll for longer, extending her playtime from one hour to two—effectively doubling it. And even after two hours of play, Lucilia’s soul wouldn’t feel unusually fatigued.
In the next stage, Alka planned to research functions for multi-session play and rapid recovery. This would allow Lucilia to use the doll for activities throughout the day, only requiring breaks in between. It would be similar to an adult needing sleep, except Lucilia would require segmented sleep for longer total durations. At least it would allow Lucilia to interact more with reality, preventing her from feeling lonely.
But why does Lucilia’s voice sound like that when she speaks through the doll? Did I calibrate something incorrectly?
As Alka arrived on the deck, Lucilia leaped from Chadite’s shoulder, clearing a distance of over two meters, and landed steadily on Alka’s shoulder. She then scrambled for a moment to get her balance before settling comfortably.
"Thank you, Alka. I really doll body," Lucilia said.
Hearing the child-like, sweet voice by his ear, combined with Lucilia’s doll appearance, was indeed quite adorable.
"Why does your voice sound when you use the doll?" Alka asked.
The doll shook its head. "I don’t know either. Once I entered this body, my voice changed back to how it was when I was a child."
Alka rubbed his chin, making a mental note of this.
The mysteries of the soul are truly fascinating.
Looking at Chadite, he asked, "How is it? Have you tracked any Church vessels or Pirate Ships?"
Chadite shook his head and said somewhat helplessly, "No, this area of the sea is too empty. For some reason, even when we stay put, no pirates come towards us."
They hadn’t encountered any Church ships in half a year. They had only learned from some pirates that the Church was attacking them and causing significant losses. They had initially wanted to capture some pirates to ask if they had encountered any Church ships, but now, not even pirates were showing up.
It was as if the pirates had abandoned their pursuit; even when the ’Treasure Harvest’ remained stationary, no pirate ships appeared to search the surrounding waters. This was vastly different from before, when pirates had pursued them as relentlessly as hunting dogs. Previously, if they dared to stay in one place for more than a day, numerous Pirate Ships would have converged to search for them. That was why they had been forced to keep moving, even without a clear destination.
Hearing this, Alka furrowed his brows in contemplation before saying, "My father must have confirmed that I received his message, so now he’s fully retreating to Elcott Island, awaiting my arrival."
Given the degree of control his father had over his followers, he would surely know of their deaths. Moreover, there were likely survivors from the ship that was previously burned. There were too many ways for his father to learn that Alka had received the information he wanted to convey.
Suddenly, Pororo, who was at the helm, tilted his head, listening intently. "Careful," he said, "a ship is approaching our position."
Upon hearing Pororo’s warning, everyone on the ship immediately became alert. Even Lucilia, on Alka’s shoulder, pulled out a miniature Treasure Sword from somewhere. Of course, this Treasure Sword was proportionate to her small body, looking much like a toy. However, judging by Lucilia’s expression, she seemed quite satisfied with it.
She struck a stylish pose on Alka’s shoulder.
Alka went to the stern, raising a monocular telescope to observe.