Captain – Chapter 471 – Ship and Anchor Point

“Anchor point?”

Repeating this not unfamiliar term, Caine glanced at the ancient books gradually piling up on the desk and the scholar still searching the bookshelf, then asked with furrowed brows: “Admiral Isaac, what does this term represent?”

“As the name suggests, it’s the position where a ship anchors, or it can be a mark made to determine one’s own location.”

After much effort, the scholar finally found a tattered booklet with yellowed, curling pages from that disorganized sea of books. When he sat back down and opened it, his expression became extremely solemn: “You can think of it as a code name.”

“In fact, it has never been systematically named, because even throughout the entirety of human history, this phenomenon has only occurred once…”

He paused, then raised his head, looking at Caine with particularly complex eyes, before smiling after a moment: “No, now we should say twice.”

“Admiral, what ‘phenomenon’ are you referring to?”

Catching the key word in the other’s speech, the first mate asked without hesitation, feeling it must be the source of all the strange events happening to the captain. He wanted to know the truth.

“This is very difficult to explain clearly.”

Hearing this, even the seemingly all-knowing scholar couldn’t help but show a troubled expression, then glanced at the cat: “Before bringing you to see me, didn’t it explain the situation to you?”

Feeling both their gazes upon it, the Siamese cat turned its back, lay down, and pretended not to hear.

Seeing this, the scholar, who understood the cat’s temperament well, knew it found the task bothersome and had simply pushed all this “work” onto him. He shook his head helplessly and turned to explain to Caine: “Put simply, think of your captain as a ship.”

“A ship?”

Hearing this nonsensical metaphor, the first mate repeated it with confusion.

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“Yes, a ship.”

The scholar nodded slightly, adding: “And the dream she’s in is a sea that closely resembles reality. In pursuit of… the Pirate King’s treasure, she’s drifting involuntarily.”

Seeing a hint of understanding appear on the first mate’s face, the scholar was satisfied with his accurate metaphor for that path and continued to refine his explanation: “On that sea, there are no landmarks, like islands, to determine direction, so from the beginning, she will lose her way.”

“If she remains in this state, in the end, she will only have two paths.”

Following the scholar’s words, Caine spoke at the appropriate moment: “Which two?”

“First, knowing she will be lost in that sea, she still refuses to turn back and continues forward.”

“And because that dream has already been written, even without knowing the direction, she will eventually reach the destination and find the treasure. But you should know, there is a price…”

“During that journey, she will gradually forget everything.”

Hearing this, the first mate’s gaze suddenly focused, involuntarily recalling the captain’s cold question.

Who are you?

Was that the beginning of forgetting?

The scholar stopped here until Caine had digested the information and came back to himself, asking, “What about the second path?” Only then did he continue: “The second path is much more straightforward. She only needs a slight thought to turn the bow, and she can leave that sea.”

“This way, she will remember everything again.”

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Not dwelling on the positive aspect, the first mate thought briefly and found the problem within: “But this also means she would completely lose… the opportunity to obtain the treasure.”

Gain and loss always walk side by side.

She was still in the dream now, unable, or perhaps even knowing the price to be paid, still unwilling to wake up. This indicated that in her eyes, the treasure was equally indispensable.

But… what exactly was it?

Seeming to guess the young man’s confusion, the scholar remained silent for a moment before giving an ambiguous answer.

“It’s power, child.”

Power enough to ignore all rules, near-divine magic, or perhaps precisely to resist this transcendent might.

“I understand, Admiral.”

After bowing his head in thought for a moment, Caine looked back at him, his blue eyes now without a trace of confusion, as if at the moment he heard that word, he had already understood the girl’s intentions.

Understood that unwillingness.

Like a stubborn child facing parental authority, determined to prove herself right.

“According to you, the captain is the ship, and I am the anchor point in that sea, guiding her direction, determining where she is. With this, she won’t get lost on the journey.”

Won’t forget me.

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Thinking silently, the first mate knew this was just the most superficial appearance, with extremely complex secrets within, but he had no interest in them at all. He didn’t even want to know why he was that anchor point, only asking in a deep voice: “If that’s the case…”

“How do I find her, or rather, how do I enter her dream, Admiral Isaac?”

Since he was her anchor point, he naturally needed to appear in that sea.

“This is tricky, child.”

Hearing this question, the scholar sighed deeply, lowered his head to flip through the booklet in his hand, looking at those aged writings, his eyes showing a hint of reminiscence: “To be honest, the reason I know so much about this is because I was once someone’s anchor point too.”

“That person was Captain Edward?”

His gaze slightly flickering, Caine seemed to be asking tentatively, but in reality, he was stating a fact.

In his view, the captain falling into that dream must have the inescapable connection to that lingering devil, and they shared a common trait: both had forbidden blood flowing in their veins.

After meeting the Lady and leaving the lonely island at the world’s end, Roy had mentioned this to him, telling him about things like “the power within” and “truly awakening.”

Combined with her current state and Admiral Isaac’s narration, this possibility wasn’t hard to guess.

“Correct.”

The scholar had no intention of concealing anything. He said in a low voice: “Edward also experienced that dream, and the reason he could preserve his nature, not becoming an existence without likes or dislikes, approaching non-self, was because a guide led him to find his anchor point.”

“And that guide…”

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“Meow.”

With the conversation reaching this point, the cat naturally couldn’t pretend not to hear anymore. It reluctantly turned around and called out to the young man.

Clearly, that devil’s guide was also a cat.

“I think, actually, as early as when he rescued me from the church dungeon, Edward had already anticipated everything. That’s why he chose me to be his first mate, and his future anchor point.”

“Because I remember clearly, it was you who brought him to find me.”

Feeling the scholar’s nostalgic gaze, the Siamese cat responded with a low call, not denying it.

Some things are destined even before they happen, just like how that child who gave it dried fish would become the greatest pirate, would let go of everything to chase after a vague other shore.

This is fate, which the cat can symbolize but cannot change.

That’s why before parting, it told him, you no longer need to follow fate, you are fate.

Soon, the scholar withdrew from his reminiscence and said to Caine: “Your situation is different from ours back then, because at that time, I entered his dream in a daze, and he came to find me.”

“But now…”

Looking at the Siamese cat, the scholar smiled bitterly: “You’ve brought the anchor point before me, asking me to find a way to locate that ship with an undetermined course in a completely unknown sea.”

“Forgive my frankness, but the possibility is almost non-existent.”