Golden Dream

The so-called Stone Platform was actually the collective name for a stretch of deep waters off Damir's west coast, named for a naturally flat slab of rock nearby.

With deep waters, few reefs, and a fairly hidden location, it had naturally become a private harbor for many adventurers.

Abner and Xio had not waited long before a two-masted square-rigged sailing ship, roughly twenty meters long, appeared in sight. Miss Gwen was already standing at the bow, waving at them.

Without waiting for the other side to send a small boat to pick them up, Abner adjusted his hat. A gale rose beneath his feet, carrying him and Xio onto the sailing ship's deck.

"So you're a Wind-blessed!" Seeing this, Gwen's eyes filled with even greater reverence. Although she had seen Abner make a move that night, it had been too dark, and she lacked Night Vision, so she had learned very little. But the moment she saw this blatant ability to "fly," she immediately formed a guess.

Abner did not correct her. He actually hoped everyone would misunderstand it that way. Wasn't the reason he had displayed this trick to intimidate the rest of the crew and avoid any unnecessary complications?

Miss Gwen was wearing a white shirt, dark trousers, and a black vest today, giving her a somewhat androgynous appearance. But that was normal. If a beautiful lady serving as captain dressed too flamboyantly, she would probably have to guard against her crew like thieves every day. After all, Miss Gwen was only Sequence 9 and did not possess the strength of the future Vice Admiral of Ailment to suppress all dissent within her fleet.

After briefly greeting her, Abner went to one of the ship's guest rooms, leaving Xio behind to continue exchanging pleasantries with Gwen.

He did so because he needed a quiet place to sort through his thoughts. On the day after the harbor town had been attacked, while secretly investigating, he had found a few clues in a room at the town inn. Though he had not been able to use Rewind to see many scenes, he had at least learned some things.

"So, people from the Aurora Order wanted to find something important in the northern forest, which was why they broke the seal? But they apparently found nothing... No matter how I look at it, this seems like a conspiracy to make Aurora Order lunatics take the blame. And people from Vice Admiral Dusk's crew also landed in Damir Town that night!"

Thinking of this, Abner recalled the original novel's description of that Pirate Admiral. He found that aside from inexplicably clashing with the Admiral of Blood's fleet, the Pirate Admiral had an extremely low presence, almost like a background character.

"Vice Admiral Dusk... Twilight... Heh, is this the 'Twilight' of the Twilight Giant, or the 'Twilight' of some indescribable organization? Perhaps... it's not impossible that it's both! It would be perfectly normal for that organization to have spies among the upper echelons of the major churches."

As Abner made guesses based on the various clues, he suddenly realized that the digestion progress of Detective had advanced by another large chunk!

"What's going on? Could it be because my deductions involved high-level existences, so the feedback is substantial?"

Abner rose in surprise. When he advanced to Sequence 8, he had used a Beyonder Characteristic, which meant he had an extra Sequence 9 potion's worth of digestion to work through. Yet now, he estimated that he would completely digest it in about another week.

"It's not enough to merely involve high-level existences. The deductions must reasonably involve Them based on evidence and clues for there to be feedback. This... an ordinary Detective probably wouldn't have either the opportunity or ability to do that. Only with the Pure White Eye's help can I see the faint traces left behind by high-level existences, and only under the Pure White Eye's concealment can I think about information involving high-level existences..."

After figuring this out, Abner sat down again. This was another benefit brought by his cheat. Compared with Klein, who had dared to perform Divination on the Eternal Blazing Sun at Sequence 9, this was merely basic practice for him.

On a hidden island northwest of Damir Island, Mr. D, an Oracle of the Aurora Order, stared coldly at the pirate before him. His expression was normal, but his tone was chilling as he said, "You're saying you got it wrong?"

The pirate trembled like a sieve. It took tremendous willpower for him not to flee immediately, yet he still stammered, "We got it wrong... It's not Damir... It's on an island southeast of Damir... I know the exact coordinates..."

"I hope that little girl from the Einhorn Family did not deceive me this time! Otherwise, even if she is a noble of an Angel family, even if there is a Demigod behind her, our Aurora Order will definitely retaliate!" Only after leaving those words behind did Mr. D turn to the other members behind him.

"Take him with us. We'll sail for the island he mentioned! Also, send this information back to Enmat Harbor. If we fail to send back any news afterward, then Vice Admiral Dusk must be behind it!"

"Yes, Oracle!"

On the afternoon of July 8, Miss Gwen's Arenheim had its sails fully raised and was fleeing at top speed in a panic! An hour earlier, a large three-masted pirate ship equipped for both steam and sail had set its sights on them.

The Arenheim was only an old-fashioned sailing vessel. With neither wind nor current in its favor, it could not outrun a Steam Engine. If not for the suspected Wind-blessed aboard, the sailors would have surrendered long ago.

"Where did these pirates come from? A lot of Mandated Punishers have arrived in the waters around Damir lately. Aren't they afraid of running into them?" Abner stood on the deck and asked with a frown. He was not particularly nervous. Even if the ship beneath his feet were sunk, he could escape underwater using the Sea Breeze Hat.

However, he had no good solutions at the moment. The Sea Breeze Hat did possess water-related spells, but the pirate ship was still too far away, beyond his casting range.

"Since they can use a steamship, they likely have ties to certain trading companies. Only those companies would spend money raising pirates to strike at their competitors." Miss Gwen felt that her luck had been utterly terrible lately. Nothing she did went smoothly.

Xio spoke up then. "Can we let them get closer and fight a boarding battle?"

"I don't dare gamble on that... If they open fire once they get close, the Arenheim will be finished!" Miss Gwen shook her head and said dejectedly, "All we can do now is hope that a church ship happens to pass by..."

Before she could finish, Abner keenly noticed that the pirate ship behind them seemed to be slowing down.

"What happened?"

Abner used a gale to support his feet and flew into the air, gazing into the distance. Then he saw a magnificent, pure pillar of blazing light shoot from the point where sea and sky met in the south, punching straight through the pirate ship and leaving a hole nearly five meters wide!

Then, while Gwen, Xio, and Abner were still staring in shock, a sailing ship dozens of meters long, clean and immaculate, reflecting golden light beneath the sun, approached rapidly from afar.

"The Golden Dream..." Miss Gwen murmured, gazing dreamily at the warship that seemed to have sailed out of fantasy. Vice Admiral Iceberg had always been her goal and dream.

"The Golden Dream? Was that the Purification Cannon? The novel said it could only be used ten times before six Light Priests had to conduct a ritual and pray to God to replenish its Spirituality... Vice Admiral Iceberg actually fired a shot just to save us?" Abner was somewhat surprised, but remembering that she also came from the Knowledge Church, he suddenly had an idea: perhaps the Knowledge Church devotee he usually invoked as a bluff was actually real?

However, the Golden Dream did not stop for them. It simply passed the Arenheim and continued sailing north!

Abner only vaguely sensed a curious gaze examining him.

On the Golden Dream, Danitz asked in confusion, "Captain, why did we specifically detour to help someone else take out pirates?"

Vice Admiral Iceberg did not answer. She merely replied meaningfully, "That is the true meaning of this return voyage... Besides, the Aurora Order's ship is several dozen miles ahead!"

Meanwhile, in Tingen City, Klein was in the Citrine Room of the Seer Association, preparing to perform Divination for a lady wearing a light blue long dress, whose mood was subdued and melancholic.

"Hello, Mr. Moretti." The woman in the light blue dress sat down.

"Good afternoon. How should I address you?" Klein asked politely, not particularly expecting an answer.

"You can call me Anna." The woman in the light blue dress set her veiled hat aside and looked at Klein with both anticipation and deep doubt. "I want to divine my fiancé's condition. He went to the Southern Continent in March for business. On the third of last month, he sent a telegram to me and his family saying that he was about to set sail for home. But twenty days have passed, and he still has not returned. At first, I thought it was because of the weather in the Berserk Sea, but now more than a month has gone by. The Clover he took did arrive at Enmat Harbor, but there has been no news whatsoever of the people aboard."

Klein looked at the first true client of his career as a Seer and cautiously asked:

"Which method of Divination would you like to use?"

(End of chapter)