Standing on the deck of the White Agate, Abner waved goodbye to Mr. Gaston, Miss Gwen, and the others who had come to see him off.
Once the whistle sounded and the motor-sailing passenger ship slowly pulled away from the dock, he returned to his cabin, erected a Wall of Spirituality to seal the room, then took out the necessary materials and arranged a Spirit Descent Ritual to contact Vice Admiral Iceberg, Edwina.
Abner had several reasons for heading to Bayam. First, he needed to take possession of the estate Karen had given him and pay its management fees. Otherwise, the estate, which produced a fair number of cash crops, would soon fall into disrepair.
Second, he wanted to sever any apparent connection between his identities as the Hero Detective and Doctor Strange. So far, their areas of activity had overlapped considerably. That did not matter much while Doctor Strange's exploits remained modest, but as his fame grew, someone was bound to notice the inconsistencies.
So his public identity, Abner Brain, needed to stay in Bayam, while Doctor Strange stirred up trouble on the North Continent to aid his Acting.
To pull that off, he had to "develop" a Travel or Teleportation Secret Art usable at Sequence 6. Only then could he truly carry out his Acting in both places without being found out.
Working alone, Abner feared it would take him a year or more, even with the knowledge of space he had gained through the Pure White Eye's Analysis. Fortunately, Roselle had studied the subject extensively, and Roselle Golden Armor Technique: Aries recorded some of his insights in detail. That would spare Abner many wrong turns.
And with Vice Admiral Iceberg helping him, Abner thought they might be able to "simplify" a Secret Art in a short time.