The Golden Dream.
"So Brando has gone missing."
In the captain's cabin, Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina looked at her former classmate across from her, her tone calm.
"More or less." Anderson slumped on the sofa and sighed.
"Have you tried divination?" Edwina asked.
"I tried. No luck." Anderson spread his hands. "Just like I wrote in my letter, that storm sank the whole ship. I couldn't even find a decent-sized plank.
"The old fellows at the Church told me to find him, but where am I supposed to look? I barely escaped myself!"
Anderson gesticulated wildly for a while before smiling again.
"That's why I came to you."
"Come on, we're old classmates. You wouldn't refuse to help me out of a jam, would you?" Anderson appealed to their old friendship.
Anderson appealed to their old friendship, evidently forgetting that he had pulled Edwina's braids back in their school days.
Edwina gave him a cold glance. "I haven't received any orders from the Church. Besides, this is your assignment."
"Hey, hey, no need to be so heartless. Wasn't Brando on your ship before?"
"Strictly speaking, he was a guest, not a member of my crew."
"But-" Thinking of that key and their earlier time studying the notebook together, Edwina parted her lips.
"As someone who has been something of a teacher to Brando, I also have a duty to ensure his safety."
She paused, then added, "To that end, I've already hired a professional."
"Already?" Anderson was rather bewildered.
A moment later, someone knocked on the captain's cabin door. A man entered, wearing a finely tailored black trench coat and a formal hat, with a silver badge pinned to his chest.
"Victor?" Anderson froze briefly at the sight of him.
As a bounty hunter who roamed the seas, he was