Riccioli Islands.
"The sea breeze is gentle and richly nourishing."
Phoebe felt the sea wind blowing against her face, hugging the flowerpot that had already sprouted small buds, looking left and right at the passersby around her.
"Strange, Noah hasn't come yet? Didn't we agree to go fishing together today?"
After patiently waiting a while longer, still seeing no sign of Noah, Phoebe took out her terminal. A communication was quickly connected, and she hurriedly spoke:
"Good morning, Noah. It's me, Phoebe. Where are you now?"
"Oh, Phoebe. I'm near Bennett's residence. I won't be fishing with you today—I have something to do with Carlotta."
"Okay... okay then."
Phoebe had no choice but to end the communication, letting out a long breath, feeling inexplicably disappointed.
She patted her cheeks, forcing herself to perk up.
Never mind. Even without Noah, she would find Cetus the Tidebreaker and check on its condition.
With that thought, she carried the flowerpot and jumped into the fishing gondola, fishing while trying to search for Cetus the Tidebreaker.
Time passed leisurely. Phoebe caught many mutated fish schools but couldn't find Cetus the Tidebreaker. She couldn't help feeling anxious and took out her terminal again:
"Good morning—no, good Afternoon, Noah. Has Miss Carlotta's matter been handled yet?"
"No, we're currently talking with a former old employee of the Montelli Family—Old Duncan."
"Okay... okay."
Hanging up the communication again, Phoebe bit her lip, gazing at the vast endless sea, her mind in chaos.
It would be great if Noah were here. That person always has direction in what he does, unlike her now, like a headless fly, not knowing where to go next.
Not far away, several sea fish leaped out of the water. The sudden scene snapped Phoebe back to attention. She picked up the paddle to part the water, and the small boat gently glided forward.
In the blink of an eye, the sun was high in the sky. Phoebe used her hand as a fan to shield against the midday heat while taking out her terminal:
"Um... good afternoon, Noah. Do you have time now?"
From what she knew of him, as long as the question included the word "have," that person would immediately reply, "Yes, brother, yes—there are nine of such-and-such."
Like some kind of fixed pairing.
But this time was different. The terminal delivered a ruthless rejection:
"No, brother, no. I'm gathering intelligence with Carlotta at an open-air bar in Ragunna. Do you need something?"
"No... nothing."
Ending the communication, Phoebe gently bit her lip, unable to stop thinking about how good Noah was.
She had been on this sea for a long time now. If he were here, he probably could find Cetus the Tidebreaker in just a few minutes.
Even if he couldn't find it, that person was always interesting. Though mostly teasing her, time always passed especially quickly with him around.
In the turn of an eye, the sun high in the sky sank westward. Fiery red clouds dyed the sea golden, quite brilliant, but at this moment, Phoebe had no mood to appreciate it.
Dusk had fallen. That person should finally be free now, right? If she invited him fishing now, by the time they found Cetus the Tidebreaker, it would definitely be very late.
Would that person, using the excuse of it being inconvenient to go home, invite her to stay overnight at a nearby hotel? Then, following common dramatic tropes, the hotel would have only one room left with a big bed...
Ahhh, why does she, a holy priest of the Order, always think about such lewd things?
While lost in wild thoughts, Phoebe took out her terminal:
"Good evening, Noah. Are you resting?"
"No, Carlotta and I are talking with the leader of a free group made up of Ragunna commoners—someone called Red Velvet."
"Okay, sorry for disturbing you."
Carlotta, Carlotta—why is it Carlotta again? He's been with Carlotta all day. Can't he spend time with me?
Looking at the somewhat wilted bud in her arms, Phoebe inexplicably felt a strong irritation rise in her heart.
She gripped her bird-head cane tightly and tapped the fishing gondola beneath her—not too lightly, not too heavily—as a small outburst.
Suddenly, the seawater under the boat was hit by a sharp undercurrent, beginning to rock violently. The fishing gondola let out panicked cries.
"Ah!"
The next moment, a colossal creature appeared before her eyes.
Wasn't it exactly the Cetus the Tidebreaker she had been desperately searching for?
"Finally found you, Cetus the Tidebreaker."
Phoebe joyfully emerged from the fishing boat cabin, a sense of accomplishment flooding her heart.
So what if Noah isn't here? She still successfully found Cetus the Tidebreaker.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, Phoebe shouted loudly:
"After the strange flower seeds on your body were erased, are you feeling okay now? Is there anywhere uncomfortable—ah!"
Before she finished speaking, Cetus the Tidebreaker spouted a huge mouthful of seawater, instantly drenching Phoebe from head to toe.
Watching the cheerfully departing Cetus the Tidebreaker, Phoebe looked down at her casual clothes, now wet and nearly transparent, her little mouth flattening:
"How... how could this happen!"
If only Noah were here—Cetus the Tidebreaker would definitely get a good beating.
===✧✦✧===
"The photo Bennett encrypted layer by layer—after decoding the three cryptic phrases inside, it can be translated into this code: MLCL190468."
In a concealed cave, Carlotta furrowed her brows, thinking seriously:
"This format is the numbering for goods stored in the vault, but with the highest access level. In the family, only I, my uncle, and my grandfather can open it."
"Goods of this level—Bennett shouldn't have been able to access them, right? At this point, we might as well organize the clues we've collected so far."
Noah sat properly in his seat, looking at the troubled Carlotta and unable to resist prompting:
"First, today we went to Bennett's residence and didn't find any vault goods, but we got information that the Montelli higher-ups don't seem particularly concerned about the vault theft."
"That's unreasonable." Carlotta followed Noah's train of thought and began pondering: "As the quasi-head, Uncle should be the most anxious about the vault being stolen."
"Very good. Next is the second clue: we met Old Duncan, and through his information, we went to the open-air bar and found Red Velvet."
"Right." Carlotta nodded: "According to Red Velvet, it was the family that unilaterally terminated cooperation with them and even reported to the Order that they purchased private terminals."
At this point, Carlotta's brows furrowed even more:
"But according to the information I knew before, it was clearly them who found a more favorable seller than the family and actively cut ties with the family."
"Exactly. Think about it—who in the family has such reach?"
Noah suddenly clapped his hands forcefully, guiding Carlotta step by step:
"Able to represent the family in cutting off cooperation with a large number of sellers, conceal the true reason for stopping cooperation from within the family, and conveniently frame a dead Montelli—who could that person be?"
So hard to guess!
Noah's gaze carried encouragement, expecting Carlotta to say the answer.
Carlotta's expression twisted in struggle, her fingers gesturing in the air for a long time before finally pointing at herself:
"This person... is me!"
Seeing this, Noah's eyes instantly widened. He reached out and firmly flicked Carlotta on the forehead.
"Ah, that hurts! Tall Chestnut, what are you doing?"
"You deserve it. What kind of knockout drug did the Montellis give you? You still want to take the blame for Capollo?"
Carlotta rubbed her head, her expression gradually becoming sad:
"Although I've already guessed the truth... emotionally, I still don't want to believe that Uncle would do such things."
"At this point, all deductions point to Uncle, and only Uncle could possibly do these things, but..."
"If... if it's him, the next head of the family yet the first to betray our creed—isn't that too ridiculous?"
Staring intently at the code written in her hand, Carlotta wrestled inwardly, holding onto one last shred of hope as she resolved:
"Now, we're only missing concrete evidence. The goods pointed to by this code will either dispel our doubts... or confirm this outcome!"