"We'll be waiting for you in the restaurant."
Joe Butran said to the young security guard Robert II.
So Jobtran was about to turn around and leave, but Sif was still immersed in her own fantasy world.
"Hey, Sif, gone?"
Joe Butran said gently.
"Oh, okay. I was distracted just now. Sorry."
Sif blushed and answered shyly.
"Have you decided what to eat?"
Jobtran tried to talk about family matters to make the conversation more natural. Judging from Sif's reaction, Jobtran could guess what was in the little girl's mind with his butt.
"Ah. Maybe a bowl of oatmeal would be a good option."
Sif replied.
“Let’s go, then.
I need a cup of black coffee now to relax my tired brain. "
Joe Butran said mischievously.
"I think you are amazing. Watching your reasoning is like watching a magician perform, so surprising and pleasing to the eye.
If I hadn't known you were a fairly professional student of archaeology, I would have thought you were a professional detective."
Sif said with emotion.
"Ha, you know, life is not easy, archaeology can't make me a living, but being a private investigator can.
The reward for the last case was 200 gold marks, which was enough for me to live on for a month. "
Joe Butron said half-seriously.
The two of them walked and talked, and the restaurant was already open.
Many guests were dining in the restaurant. The atmosphere in the restaurant in the early morning was completely different from that in the evening. It was quiet and elegant at night, but quite lively during the day.
Self-service drinks, cereals and some fruits are placed on the long tables on both sides of the restaurant.
The two of them found a small square table and sat down. Jobtran got a cup of black coffee and called the waiter to take his order.
To outsiders, this man and woman with strange clothing combinations looked like a close couple.
The two chatted for a while, and then the security guard Robert came to the door of the restaurant and looked around.
Seeing this, Joe Butran waved to the security guard, who walked happily to Joe Butran's table and found a chair to sit down.
"Detective, I'll take you to see the letter right after breakfast."
The young security guard Robert said.
"Take your time, there's no rush, we have plenty of time."
Joe Butran smiled slightly.
"If possible, could you teach me some self-defense techniques, Mr. Detective? The legend of mermaids always scares me."
The young security guard spoke incoherently while taking big bites of his ham and cheese sandwich.
"Oh? Why are you scared?"
asked Joe Butran.
The young security guard acted mysterious and leaned over to whisper in Joe Butran's ear.
"I seemed to see a female ghost in white wandering on the deck last night."
"Oh? About what time?"
asked Joe Butran curiously.
"I didn't pay attention to the time, but it was not long after you came to me."
The young security guard Robert II replied.
As soon as Jobtran thought about it, he understood who the female ghost was that the security guard Robert was talking about. He glanced at Sif, the culprit of this little misunderstanding, and then patted the security guard on the shoulder.
“Don’t think too much, the so-called legend is just a legend after all.
I will do my best to find out the truth.”
Joe Butran consoled.
——
The area next to the water tank on the right side of the deck was hastily fenced off with a few railings.
First mate Aldridge used the ship's voice system to call a few trusted confidants in the early morning.
When Aldrich mentioned the death of the captain and the security captain to his summoned subordinates, everyone expressed shock, but old Gary stood beside Aldrich and persuaded everyone to calm down and deal with the problems at hand.
There are a total of five people present who are aware of the situation, and they are responsible for different positions under the coordination of the first mate.
"Hey, Aldrich, do you really believe what that detective said?"
The person asking the questions was a middle-aged man smoking a rough corn pipe. He had a long scar on his face and looked ferocious, not someone you would easily mess with.
The man was the second mate of the Cyclops, a retired pirate known as Paul.
"I can't help but believe it. This man can see through me with just one look. I believe no one on this ship can hide any secrets behind his eyes."
Aldridge sighed, then answered.
After witnessing Joe Butran's skills, Aldridge admired this bathrobe-wearing detective from the bottom of his heart.
Although Joe Butron appeared to be very casual in front of others, it was precisely this attitude that made Aldridge think he could handle the matter with ease.
On the other hand, Odric had no one else to rely on at this time.
The captain, the backbone of the ship, had died in the living room. For the first time, Aldridge felt that his abilities were far from enough to support the ship.
“Tsk tsk, I’d like to see how capable this great detective you mentioned is.
However, a man who can hold back from vomiting after seeing such a tragic scene is indeed something.”
Second mate Paul nodded towards the water tank and said.
"Paul, how do you think the security captain died?"
Aldridge asked Paul, the second mate who had experience in fighting.
“With my body in this state, it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on, but I’m sure of one thing.
The enemy the security captain encountered was very strong, so strong that he was killed before he could even call for help, or even killed in an unexpected blow. "
Paul replied with emotion.
"You know, I can only fight the captain to a draw at best when I'm unarmed. If it were an ordinary person, I wouldn't be able to do anything to him even with a sneak attack."
“Hey, we’re the only ones who know about this, let’s clean it up quickly.
According to the detective, if it were revealed it would cause panic."
Aldridge said with a gloomy face.
"We can deal with it, just scoop it out and drain the water into the sea, but what about the fresh water supply?"
Paul said, stroking the stubble on his face.
"Take a detour? Go to a nearby town to temporarily resupply?"
Aldridge suggested.
“If we do this normally, it’s fine, but if we suddenly dock, it will cause dissatisfaction among the passengers, right
Are you going to lie to hide it
To cover up a lie, you need to cover it up with more lies, and eventually the truth will come out.”
Paul exhaled and shook the ashes from his pipe.
"Oh, damn it, I shouldn't have bought a corn bucket on the cheap and burned it out again."
After a while, Jobtran changed his clothes and came to the cordoned off area outside the water tank.
After finishing breakfast, he used sweet words to temporarily trick the security guard Robert into giving him the letter of recommendation, and then found the housekeeping department to get the spare key.
The housekeeping department did not make things difficult for Jobtran. After all, Jobtran's status at the time was quite special and he could receive some preferential treatment.
He changed into a striking outfit: a pure black leather coat, a pure white shirt, a pair of khaki twill trousers, and a pair of carefully polished calfskin shoes, and held a leather bag in his hand.
Jobtran asked Sif to go back and rest for a while. After all, the delicate little girl didn't have much energy after staying up all night.
Jobtran waved to Aldrich who was standing on top of the water tank, then stood there waiting for Aldrich to come and greet him.
"Mr. Detective, you are here."
Aldridge called out a greeting to Jobtran and climbed down the escalator.
"Is there anything you want to talk to me about? I remember you said the first priority should be to get rid of the water tank."
Aldridge asked.
"I'm going back to get some equipment. I need to go to the captain's room again. Do you want to accompany me? Or you can give the key to old Gary and let him accompany me."
This is what Joe Butran replied.
"Old Gary is cleaning out the tank. I'll go with you."
Aldridge said.
"Hey, are you the detective? You don't look that great."
At this time, Second Mate Paul looked Joe Boutrang up and down.
Joe Butran sensed that the second mate had a different aura from the others, an aura as if he had fought on the battlefield.
"You are the second mate, I suppose. A pirate? Interesting."
Joe Butran reached out to tidy up his hair that was messed up by the sea breeze, and responded to the provocation from Second Mate Paul in a teasing tone.
Paul's face changed. This man actually saw through his former identity in just one sentence.
"How do you know? Did you investigate our crew before you came aboard?"
“I don’t have to do that, Mr. Pirate from the Mediterranean.
From your scar and your little movements, I can tell that you once served the Skull and Rose Pirates."
"Tell me, how did you know that?"
"I have heard about the Skull Rose Pirates' resignation ceremony and the ceremony of reforming their ways.
I see that your shoulder is slightly tilted to the left. I guess that must be the scar left by the cleansing ceremony
The scar on his face was not deep, only less than one centimeter, but its length was from the forehead to the chin. Apart from some academic surgical experts, I think only the crazy ship doctor of the Skull Rose could do this.
Is this difficult to guess your identity? "
Jobtran replied confidently.
"Then how do you explain your knowledge that I'm the second mate?"
“The only one who dared to interrupt Aldridge was the second mate.
Even a three-year-old child can understand such simple logic.
Instead of wasting time talking to me, you should clean up the water tank as soon as possible. There is still a lot of work to be done later."
Joe Butran waved his hand and said.
"Let's go, Mate Aldridge."
The two men walked towards the captain's cabin without looking back, leaving the second mate standing on the water tank in shock.
"Second mate, don't mess with that great detective. He's very scary."
While Old Gary was fishing out the wreckage in the water, he teased Second Officer Paul, who was sitting on the water tank with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Mr. Detective, I wonder if you have received the reward I sent over?"
Aldridge asked sincerely.
"Yes, I received it. I took two marks and sent the rest back."
Jobtran replied nonchalantly.
"Ah? How can this be so embarrassing?"
"It's just a formality. I enjoy the process of solving the case more."
“Click, click.”
Aldridge used the key to open the locked captain's room, and Jobtran went straight to the work area after entering.
He placed the small leather bag in his hand on the long table and motioned for Aldridge to lock the door.
Jobtran took out a magnifying glass from his small leather bag and took out a few documents from the pile on the long table.
"Aldrich, come and take a look. Which are the captain's handwriting and which are yours? I believe you should be able to tell them apart."
"The captain's handwriting is more elegant, after all, he has received formal education, while my handwriting is rough and casual. The square words you see are written by the security captain, and the second mate Paul's handwriting is very sloppy.
The handwriting in these documents is very legible.”
Aldridge pointed at several documents and pointed out the differences in the handwriting of the four people.
Jobtran took out a magnifying glass and pretended to look at it carefully.
In fact, in his mind he was comparing the handwriting on the documents on the desk with the handwriting on the recommendation letter for Robert, the young security guard.
He has made a groundbreaking discovery, but now is not the right time to reveal the truth.
While Jobtran was rejoicing, Aldridge involuntarily glanced at the captain's body in the living room.
Before leaving last time, Aldridge had laid the captain's body flat, not in a kneeling position.
Aldridge remembered this incident very clearly, but at this moment, with the help of the sunlight coming in through the window, he discovered that the captain's body had changed its position.
The captain's body was placed in a kneeling position like in the oil painting, with even his neck still tied to a rope.
"Mr. Detective, do you think... the body will move on its own?"
Aldridge asked with a trembling voice, feeling somewhat panicked.
"Normally it's impossible, unless..."
Jobutran answered hesitantly, feeling fortunate that he reacted quickly, otherwise he would have revealed some secrets that should not be told.
"But the captain's body is in the wrong position."
Aldridge pointed to the captain's body in the living room and said.
After hearing this, Jobtran turned around suddenly and found that the captain's body seemed to have been moved. Even the painting that Jobtran had taken down had been hung up again. Obviously, this was not an accident, but someone did it on purpose.
When Jobtran walked to the door of the living room, he found a piece of paper on the bed. The paper was pressed under the captain's knees and a corner was exposed. On it was written in curvy words:
"On the mountain lies a reflection of reality, and in the reflection lies the truth of reality, but only crazy people can understand it.
At the bottom of the abyss there is a deep-sea city, in which lives the king of the deep sea, but he can only wake up when the stars return to their positions.
Praise Him, support Him, and become Him, only in this way can you be eternal."
The words on the note looked like a child's limerick to Aldridge, but it bothered Jobtran.
The content involved is so complicated that it is difficult to digest at once.
Although the sentence was written in German, Jobtran understood in his mind that this text should be read in the ancient R'lyeh language. It was a passage of sacrificial scripture.