On the rear deck of the Visha, three men were huddled together, each peering through a telescope. One was seated in an ornate chair, one was standing solemnly with one arm behind his back, and the last one had his back hunched over his telescope as if it wasn’t working properly.

Standing most dignified among them, the man in the middle spoke first to his left and then to his right.

“Did you see it?”

“Hmm.”

“And you?”

“Uhmm.”

– Tak! –

Sagastar hit Captain Long on the head with his telescope, making the captain jump up while holding the back of his head.

“I see you finally lost it.”

“Commodore?!”

“Did you begin to have this absurd delusion of becoming an Admiral yourself since you’re sticking close to Sir Edgar all this time? You dare to ‘Uhm’ me?”

Ed hung his arms over the railing, leaving behind the two men who started fighting. Two of his fingers went up his chin and then fiddled with his ear lobe.

“That’s strange… I think it’s anchored.”

“…”

‘The storm already passed and the day has been calm for a long time now, so there’s no reason for the Bell Rock to remain stationary…’

Ed picked up the telescope again. Because of the sea fog that drifted around like a cloud, the Bell Rock swung between being visible and invisible. It seemed to be motionless at first glance, but he wasn’t sure. 

Ed gestured to the waiting aspirant.

“Raise the red flag.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

Sagastar, who was still in a small scuffle with the captain on the deck, turned to Ed.

“Are we going to conduct an unannounced inspection?”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll switch to combat positions then.”

“We don’t need armaments. Just have our guns ready and go.”

“But… isn’t that the pirate ship you’ve been trapped in?”

“It’s a merchant ship.”

“…A merchant ship?”

Ed understood what Sagastar truly wanted to say. 

‘You probably want to ask me why this merchant ship beats people like mere dogs.’

“There was a misunderstanding.”

Ed smiled crookedly with a face that implied there was more to it than just a simple misunderstanding. 

The tingling feeling of anticipation stirred his stomach. He felt like a predator who had locked his prey in a corner and was ready for the catch. As his heart beat wildly, Ed massaged his chest. He couldn’t possibly stay calm and licked his lips with his parched tongue.

Misunderstanding his Admiral’s gesture, an aspirant standing to the side, eventually handed him some wine-flavored water. Ed accepted the glass, took a sip of the sweet water and gave the order to advance…

The touch of the pure white mist stuck close to all the men on deck like a curious child. In addition, it was almost as if they could hear the giggling of a ghost from somewhere. The Visha, which hadn’t dried up from the heavy rain the night before, was still damp and gave off the smell of a forest. As the ship cut through the mist, it moved heavily as though it was wearing a damp shirt that slowed it down. The officers clasped their collars in frustration. They weren’t allowed to take their uniforms off and because the sea, where the sun couldn’t reach, was extremely cold, they were left with no other choice than to endure the fog while suffering from a strange sense of strangulation. It wasn’t just them who were soaked in tension. Sailors were reminded of various ghost stories. There were those who shook their shoulders, saying that it was because they had entered the skirt of the Ghost of Mist, whereas others spoke of the fragrant cigarette smoke of Mother Ocean. Having his thoughts lingering on it, Ed suddenly covered his nose, wondering if he was being possessed by the smell as well…

After a few hours had passed, the Bell Rock was nowhere in sight. That fact alone made Ed laugh broadly enough to show his teeth.

“She ran away.”

Sagastar hit the railing with his fist.

“Didn’t they run away after seeing the naval flag? As expected, it’s definitely a pirate ship.”

“That rat…”

Cesar came to mind. Knowing Lil, there was no way she would evade a naval inspection, so it was clear to Ed that Cesar had the final say in this matter. Ed pulled out the telescope covered with water droplets and checked the front again. However, all he could see was a thick blanket of fog.

With the support of this cane, Ed stood up. 

– Thud! Thud! –

The sound of his cane making its way down the stairs was deafening. 

Sagastar and Captain Long had followed him to the admiral’s office. The naïve captain, unable to read the room, asked cheerfully.

“Is it true that we’re looking for a sword? The sword of the Admiral, which is said to be one of the national treasures of the Empire?”

“…”

As expected, nobody answered.

“But the other day, you said you would capture them alive… So, will you retrieve the sword without killing anyone?”

“Captain. Call a senior officer from Legardon.”

“Ah yes, Commodore.”

The captain, finally feeling the unusual atmosphere, quickly escaped from the admiral’s office. Left alone, Sagastar looked at Ed, who was staring down at models around the Hangyang Islands.

“…Once their ship reaches Serlio, I’ll lose them…”

“..?”

Hearing him muttering to himself, Sagastar became convinced that the Admiral was looking for someone. 

‘Even though it’s true that he lost his sword, it feels like he has a much more important purpose than just that. He instructed us to capture them alive, that we don’t need to be armed, and above all, he keeps talking about Alvenis and the fisherman… Is he, perhaps, searching for a woman? Now that I think about it, that can be a very plausible assumption.’

Somewhere along the line, Sagastar started to depict an adventure novel in his mind. He often thought about what the admiral would do during his outings, and his idle time during the training in the Gulf of Gardel aggravated that. 

‘Yes, a beautiful woman kidnapped by pirates. She’s so beautiful that even the Admiral couldn’t help but fall in love with her. When he went to rescue her, did he witness a pirate and the woman being happy together? Was he caught sneaking in and then beaten? Sir Edgar… and the woman? Could it really be like that?’

Sagastar continued to glance at Ed. Ed was still so haggard, that the aspirant standing next to him had to wipe his cold sweat from his forehead every now and then. The whole sight made him look human and downright pitiful.

“The sloops will move along with the flow of the current around the border of the mist. If a ship comes out, it should be reported immediately. Have the Baor, the Simon, and the Clida turn around the border and join us here, then push it from there.”*

Sagastar frowned and nodded his head.

“Yes, I understand.”

“And…”

“Yes?”

“Call the carpenter.”

“Yes?”

“Wrap the mast with a white cloth.”

Sagastar looked at Ed with hesitant eyes. When the admiral glanced at him and realized how clueless his commodore was to his intentions, Ed stared at him with familiar eyes. Eyes that were clearly saying, ‘what a pitiful sight’.

“We’re going to play the part of ghost.”

“Hence… the white mast?”

“White mast and white bow.”

Sagastar suddenly remembered the days of the Western Sea battles. The man in front of him managed time and time again to stealthily approach the pirate ships due to various outlandish camouflage techniques and then defeated them without mercy. So, he knew Ed was being serious. It was his intention to cover the Visha with a cloth and hide in the fog as if it were performing as a ghost in a children’s play.

“Mhmm… isn’t it great?”

“…”

“It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

“…”

Ed hummed his next words like they were part of a song, but Sagastar had no idea for whom they were meant for.

“…You better hide…”

***

With all of its sails swelling tightly, a ship cut through the sea fog at full speed. On its central deck, everyone was aiming their guns or knives at each other. Dozens of weapons crossed and threatened their opponents. But among all of them was a clear sense of uneasiness. 

– Kriik, Drrrreuk, kkik! – 

The sound of the keel being scraped rang constantly. It was because they ignored the rocky bottom of the reefs and continued to advance. 

– Kung! – 

The bow of the ship rattled downward. As they caught the sea floor again, foam splashed from both sides and hit the deck.

Alain, seized by two pairs of hands, shouted.

“You little brat. What are you doing!”

“Shut up!”

Julio, who was holding the wheel, responded nervously with shaking legs. The young man, who had refrained from moving until he caught sight of the Mondovi warship, had now found himself in an impasse.

“These men are all sailors of the same League. What you’re doing isn’t for Captain Valtano, nor is it helpful to the League. It’s nothing more than a tantrum of a four-year-old! Lower the sails now!”

“So, what? You crazy old man, are you suggesting for us to crawl into the mouths of those Navy bastards then?”

“Nothing like that is going to happen. There hasn’t been any conflict between the Mondovi Navy and the League for over two months. They must’ve stood by, gnawing at nothing else but their two months’ worth of food because they had other purposes besides us! Running away is far more dangerous, you damn bastard!”

“What side are you even on, Grandpa?”

“…What?”

– – – – –

Footnote:

“The sloops will move along with the flow of sea around the border of the mist. If there comes a ship out, it should be reported immediately. Have the Baor, the Simon, and the Clida turn around the border and join us here, then push it from there.”

Battle tactic: What we understood from this tactic is that the smaller Legardon Sloops will sail along the border of the mist, and the Baor, the Simon and the Clida, will also sail along the border but with a higher speed than the sloops. They will overtake them, turn into the mist eventually and sail back. This way the Bell Rock will be locked in. See the picture below.