The captain's cabin aboard the Golden Dream.
Danitz pushed the door open. Klein led the way, followed by Sifa, Anderson, and the others. They filed into the place where Iceberg Admiral Edwina had last been before her disappearance.
The room was filled almost entirely with bookshelves, stocked with books of all kinds. It resembled the Admiral of Stars' captain's cabin, but Edwina, who came from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, had collected and shelved even more books.
Sifa also noticed the clutter on the desk: white sheets of paper, a fountain pen with a rounded barrel, a bulging ink bottle, a small brass knife, and several untidy stacks of books.
When he had first joined the Golden Dream, Edwina had introduced this book during her first invitation to the collection room.
It was a book from over three thousand years ago!
Sifa's Hunter intuition told him that Edwina's disappearance might have something to do with this book. After all, it seemed to be the only thing on the desk worth studying.
"Why do you keep staring at it? Do you know what it is? Do you think Edwina's disappearance has something to do with it?"
Anderson, standing beside him, fired off several questions in a row.
Sifa had not forgotten how this fellow had redirected everyone's hostility earlier. He gave Anderson a cool glance. "You were rejected by the Iceberg Admiral."
His tone was not questioning, but declarative.
Anderson's expression visibly stiffened before softening again. He said nothing and looked elsewhere with a smile.
Finally, he shut up. This man was so noisy.
Sifa's gaze returned to the ancient book. He noticed Klein studying it too, seemingly aware of what it was. Then he heard Danitz say with a forced smile, "There's nothing wrong with it.