Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 197 “Sunny Day”

The sun shone brightly outside the window, and the previous horrible weather seemed like a distant dream now. The only traces of that rainstorm would be the water left on the windowsill and the wet ground out on the streets. It’s a good day to take an afternoon nap. But Shirley had slept enough. In fact, she had never slept for so long in one sitting, and her stomach was growling a little, the signal to get up.

Unlike a normal child, Shirley had some pretty unpleasant memories of lying in bed with a hungry stomach. It was when she was still extremely young after losing her parents, the first winter of that year. She had no one to help but Dog. The weather was cold and snowing outside, and the tiny hut she found to cuddle in for the night leaked. As a hungry child desperately needing sleep, she would’ve died from the frost without help. Thankfully Dog was there, keeping her company and awake. Falling asleep while hungry during such a cold winter night would’ve left her dead.

“Shirley! Are you awake? I heard movement!” It was Nina’s voice that came from the hallway after Shirley had just finished changing out of her clothes.

“I-I’m awake…” Shirley stammered for a reply to the voice.

The door got pushed open, and Nina, wearing a white shirt and light brown skirt, came waltzing inside with a smile: “You slept for so long! How are you feeling now? Does your back still hurt? What happened to the wound… Let me see, let me see…”

“I expended a lot of energy, so I slept for a bit longer than usual… I’m okay, really,” Shirley tried to dodge the overly enthusiastic Nina to no avail. In front of this infinitely energetic girl, it’s better to submit than to resist. “It’s just a small injury. I… am very resilient, and… ah, you’re tickling me, don’t be… Itchy, haha…”

“It’s really healed!” Nina finally let go of Shirley, who had jumped to the side with a look of fleeing a predator. “It was still such a big wound last night, and now it’s not only gone but not even a scar is left… How did you do it?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? I live in symbiosis with a shadow demon. The characteristics of Dog are a strong body and regenerative ability,” Shirley straightened her dress – the one she wore yesterday had been destroyed in the battle – so the one she had on was a different one rescued from the rubbles. “Actually, my regenerative ability can be a little stronger, but Dog said I am malnourished, so my regenerative ability is reduced…”

“Then you have to eat plenty here. Uncle’s cooking is excellent,” Nina said immediately. Then making a curious face, “Umm… are you all like this… I mean, is everyone with a shadow demon so powerful?”

“Specifically, it depends on what kind of demon symbiosis they have. The powers of a dark hound are strength and regeneration, as well as a certain increase in perception. We’re also more resistant to spiritual pollution… Anyways, there are many types of shadow demons with different abilities. I don’t know all of them, just that they’re all unique in their own ways…”

Shirley suddenly paused at the mention, her expression growing more severe while meeting Nina’s gaze: “Speaking of which, I suggest you don’t get too involved in this field… You should already know that under normal circumstances, those who coexist with the shadow demons are the madmen of the Annihilation Sect. They are different from me, and their demons are not the same as Dog.”

“I know, I know, I’m not a child,” Nina waved her hand quickly, still unable to hide her curiosity, “but have you seen any other demon symbiotes? I mean those annihilation believers…”

“I haven’t seen any, and I don’t want to see meet any. It’s disgusting enough to listen to the description given to me by Dog, and if I do meet them, I will definitely bea… I will report them to the authorities,” Shirley said with a frown. “Nina, you have a lot of questions today… You didn’t ask so much when you met Dog before, so why did you suddenly change your heart? What happened at school today?”

“You will live in my house from now on. Of course, I must know more about you. Uncle said your home was destroyed by a gas explosion, so you don’t have anywhere else to go…” Nina said with a serious face. Then snatching Shirley’s hand to bring her out: “In addition, school is on holiday. I have two months of vacation time now, didn’t you know?”

“How do I know. I haven’t been to school before…” Shirley muttered subconsciously while already being dragged out the door. Even from their distance, the girls could smell the intoxicating scent of food wafting through the air. “Isn’t Mr. Duncan there?”

“Uncle went down to the first floor. He said he needed to entertain someone first, so let’s eat on the second floor first,” Nina explained while pulling Shirley toward the kitchen door. But then she quickly turned towards the bathroom after remembering something, “Ah right, wash your hands and face before eating; otherwise, Uncle will nag again.”

“Oh… Oh.” Shirley literally became a doll at this point, being dragged around left and right without a say in her choosing. It’s borderline abusive if one watches their antics. Nevertheless, it’s a good type of abuse, the kind that’s only found in a warm bodily home with people around.

At the same time, next to the counter on the first floor of the antique shop, Duncan was explaining something to the person opposite of himself. It’s a young lady wearing a delicate and elegant long dress. She had long blonde hair with a dignified and beautiful appearance.

Dignified and beautiful blonde lady (No)

Alice in a wig (Yes)

“…… That’s pretty much it. There is a lot of common sense that you need to know about in human society, but the most basic part is what I’ve told you. With your current scope of activities, it should be enough. Just get familiar with the store and its occupants first. Like cleaning and greeting the customers when they come in.” Duncan finally finished explaining what to pay attention to but still looked uneasy at the smiling blonde girl sitting across from him. “… Do you remember what I taught you on the ship before?”

“Remember, I remember!” Alice nodded vigorously. Then just as quickly, she reduced the speed of her nod to portray an elegant lady, “Don’t worry, I remember it clearly!”

“Yes, the nod should be small. It seems that you remember this part at least.” Duncan exhaled and reviewed Alice’s appearance to confirm the last few details.

The original long silver hair had been covered with a golden wig, slight makeup applied to adjust the details in her appearance, and the lower half of the face covered with a veil to keep others from recognizing her. As for the joints, she also had a neck ring to cover that area while wearing long white gloves to hide the arms. That effectively camouflaged any joints that could possibly show up.

Of course, it’s still possible for someone to notice the oddity in Alice’s appearance if they knew the Frost Queen personally, but the odds of that happening was negligible. Ray Nora was a queen from half a century ago. For the odds of someone from Frost visiting Pland, then coming to the lower city and visiting Duncan’s antique shop, that’s effectively impossible in terms of odds.

Duncan couldn’t help but sigh at his own ingenuity.

Truthfully, he had initially planned to wait a little longer to let Alice come aboard the city and see the “world”. But when he last checked up on this doll, he had seen her constantly mourning along the deck of the Vanished, peering out into the distance like a bored child with nothing to do. No matter how firm he was on staying safe, forcing someone to do nothing was equivalent to torture. Duncan was no monster.

So, taking the opening while Nina and Shirley were still eating upstairs, he grabbed Ai and had her transport Alice over from the ship for the first time. And just as quickly, he regretted the decision right away. The doll had instantly jumped to the shop window and pressed her face against the glass like a buffoon, constantly asking this and asking that over whatever she saw moving about outside. Even now, while conversing, Alice fidgeted and turned side to side without meeting his eyes like a nosy kid.