In the stretch of sea where the passenger ship had met with disaster earlier.
Alger, who moonlighted as a pirate, was leading his men in a search of the area, mainly checking for unusual traces of Beyonder activity and looking for survivors along the way.
On the surface, of course, they were pirates here to plunder in the wake of the disaster.
"Boss, we haven't found anything but wreckage. We've barely even seen any bodies..."
A sailor reported dejectedly, "There's nothing worth anything."
Listening to his sailor's report, Alger showed little reaction. He merely waved to indicate that he understood.
"Honestly, coming here was a waste of time..." the sailor grumbled before leaving.
Alger merely shook his head when he heard that... He was only here to investigate anyway. Since there was nothing to find, he might as well cruise around the area and earn the salary the Church paid him.
Before long, another knock came at the door.
Alger composed his expression and asked sternly, "What is it now?"
"Boss, we fished out a leather suitcase."
"A suitcase?"
"Yes. It's the only intact thing we've found today."
As he spoke, the sailor eagerly brought in a leather suitcase.
"Probably luggage from the passenger ship." Alger stood and gave it a quick once-over.
It was neatly squared and quite well made. Even after soaking in seawater for so long, it showed no signs of damage.
Probably belonged to some wealthy merchant... he reasoned.
Then he opened the suitcase in front of his subordinate. To his surprise, it had been waterproofed to some extent, and the interior was not particularly damp.
The contents were ordinary: a few shirts and pairs of trousers, with a small silver knife, a gold-inlaid pocket watch, and a gold coin bearing an unusual design tucked beneath