Horatio continued to chat with his new superior, discussing other related matters of the Navy Department.
Overall, this new leader possessed a resolute and decisive demeanor, much like Vice Admiral Hood.
However, his thoughts were even more elusive; his perpetually unreadable smile was like an incredibly thick Void Shield, blocking any attempt to peer into his mind, making him inscrutable.
Horatio could sense his meticulousness and familiarity with intelligence work during their conversation.
His brain seemed to be a classified library; whenever a person or faction was mentioned, he could always, without hesitation, provide a brief summary of the target in a few words, incidentally pointing out certain secrets that Horatio was completely unaware of.
He even knew about Horatio's cooperation with the Inquisitor.
Regarding this, he merely reminded Horatio simply that his primary duty was to fulfill his responsibilities as an Imperial Navy Officer, and only then to serve the Inquisitor.
He said nothing more.
"Just now, I sent a mission brief to the thinker array in your office. It mentions a large newspaper printing factory that is mass-producing slanderous rumors detrimental to our Gothic Fleet. I hope you will lead the Navy Guard to deal with it today and see if you can uncover any clues."
"Yes, Baron."
After receiving his instructions, Horatio left the office.
He leaned against the wall at the spot Lina had mentioned, as per his agreement with the maiden.
Indeed, ten minutes later, the door to the Fleet Security Committee Main Officer's office clicked open again.
Horatio poked his head out and met the maiden's gaze.
Her expression was normal, and she walked over with her usual quiet steps.
"So, you know everything?" After two seconds of silent staring, Horatio was the first to break, looking at the girl in front of him and asking.
"Not only do I know about this, I also know what happened between you two before this."
"Ah...?" Horatio's eyes suddenly widened, and his gaze flickered with guilt.
[Did she hear the commotion that night? No, wasn't she not there that day?]
Lina's calm, unruffled eyes looked at the surprised and embarrassed Horatio:
"I received the news the night Vice Admiral Hood had her accident and immediately requested a leave of absence from my father. I originally wanted to go comfort and care for her, but as soon as I entered..."
The maiden lowered her head and coughed lightly, using the action to cover up the details that were inconvenient to mention:
"I thought it wasn't suitable for me to appear at that time, so I planned to come over the next day. But when I went yesterday morning, I couldn't find her either.
I suppose you also discovered she was gone around that time—if you still have even a shred of conscience driving you to visit the sorrowful maiden whose treasure you took."
"I did go, and because of that, I learned she had been taken away. Miss Elphinstone, do you know where Farida is now?"
"I do have some leads on this. That's also why I called you out." The maiden stared into Horatio's eyes, her slender brows furrowing again like autumn waters:
"She must be very upset and downcast right now.
Her father's disappearance, the terrible curse, and the necessity of keeping a distance from you and me—all these things have added to her psychological burden. But she still chose to exile herself because she fears that the last few people close to her will be harmed. But!"
The girl's tone deepened:
"No matter what she thinks, she is still my best friend, and I want to help her. But given her current situation, only you can lead her out of the gloom."
The maiden sighed helplessly:
"So, how about we help her together?"
"Please speak plainly, Miss Elphinstone. For her, I will do whatever I can."
Lina stared into the young man's blue eyes and said earnestly:
"Please listen carefully.
There's a small lake called Swan Lake near the landscape hill next to the Gothic Capital Grammar School.
Not far from the lake is a flower field, and on the slope to the right of the flower field, there's a row of hedge trees. Their roots intertwine to form a beautiful, elf-garden-like long corridor, from which you can directly see the shimmering lake surface.
That was her and my secret base when we were children. Whenever she was in a bad mood or bullied by classmates at school, she would hide there to be alone.
If you have time, you can try your luck there. Additionally, thanks to my father's current position, I now have access to a lot of information, and I will do my best to help you find Farida's whereabouts.
No matter what, you two must meet and talk through some of the things in her heart."
The sincere and pure friendship between the two maidens deeply moved Horatio.
With so many people helping him, what difficulty could be insurmountable?
"Thank you, Miss Elphinstone." Horatio bowed solemnly to the maiden.
"Keep it up, Mr. Horatio. I never expected you to transform from a death row inmate in the Lower Hive when we first met to your current self.
Perhaps you truly carry miracles, don't you? Maybe only you can save her."
"Leave it to me.
Oh, speaking of which, that tube of blood used to verify my identity... was it you who sent it to the Navy Department?"
"Oh, did you hear something?"
"I heard that your father handled it urgently through his intelligence network that night, which is why they found me so quickly."
Horatio thought for a moment. That night, Hood, who was then a Rear Admiral, was in a meeting.
If the girl's father was also reporting for duty at the Navy Department, she would certainly give the blood sample to the person she was most familiar with.
Then what he heard should be correct.
Considering the efficiency with which things were done—from the blood test results coming out to the Navy Department picking him up in such a short time—it certainly matched the pragmatic style of this Lieutenant Commander.
If so, he would have to formally visit and thank Baron Keith next time.
If the Navy Department hadn't promptly sent someone from the Adeptus Arbites Special Police to take him away, he would probably have suffered a serious crime in the Adeptus Arbites.
Whether he would even be alive today would be an unknown.
"Fulfill your duties well, sir. After this matter is over, I will tell you what happened then."
The girl merely smiled mysteriously, lightly adjusted the golden monocle on her eye frame, straightened her posture, and then, maintaining the dignified and proper smile from their first meeting, returned the way she came, her figure disappearing behind the opening and closing door of the Main Officer's office.
Subsequently, Horatio once again passed through the heavily guarded corridors and checkpoints and returned to his own office.
As soon as he entered, an enticing aroma of ribs wafted over, indicating that Louise had clearly started breakfast.
[At least the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in terms of logistics, never dragged its feet like their administrative efficiency.] he thought.
After yesterday's day and night of hard work, Louise now looked extremely hungry, eating with a slightly wild manner.
Her cheeks puffed out, her mouth glistening with oil, she happily chewed on the delicious food, eating with great relish.
This highly infectious scene, just by looking at it, conveyed the vitality and satisfaction of life eating; Horatio even felt his stomach rumble a bit uncooperatively.
"The Navy Department's grilled ribs are delicious, thank you, would you like some too?"
Seeing Horatio return, she quickly swallowed the meat in her mouth, her happy face radiating praise for the food and an invitation to Horatio.
"It can wait until I get back.
Hmm, later, when you get on a ship, every ship has its own unique cuisine, all different but incredibly delicious. Isn't that appealing, like opening a blind box?"
"Really? What's the Incessant's specialty?" Louise asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"I think the open-faced sandwiches and cream of mushroom soup are very good, and there's also a kind of super large crocodilian alien barbecue, but I've forgotten the name."
"That's Kolo Tarid, sir." Thei walked out, smiling.
"Kolo Tarid?" Louise hadn't seen it before, so she could only imagine it based on Horatio's description.
"If you're interested, tomorrow I can have my chef prepare half a portion and bring it over for everyone to try. The taste is indeed unique."
"That would be too much trouble for you."
"It's fine. We're already colleagues, Mr. Coccolen, and sharing bento with colleagues is normal, right?"
"Then I'll thank the generous Miss Peru in advance for her indelible contribution to the Special Operations Division's lavish lunch tomorrow."
"Oh, Louise, Miss Peru, the Special Operations Division just received a mission, Archie! Archie!"
Horatio took off his hat and raised his voice towards the opposite door.
"I'm here, Horatio. What is it?" Archie ran over from the opposite side; his hands and face were covered in dust and ink stains from files, clearly having just put down his work.
"Today, the Fleet Security Committee issued us a mission, requiring us to lead the Navy Guard to seal off a newspaper printing factory and then see if we can find anything."
"Find anything?" Louise was a bit confused.
"I think the Security Committee is worried if this might be an enemy plot, using rumors to slander the Gothic Fleet, distracting the Fleet's energy, interfering with our investigation, and pushing us into an unfavorable public opinion position."
Thei's delicate white index finger rested on her exquisite chin, she tilted her head in thought, and then, hitting the nail on the head, articulated the deeper considerations of the superior department, almost exactly like the Lieutenant Commander's instructions to Horatio.
"As expected of the Throne Proxy, you're right. We are currently racing against time and efficiency, but our enemies clearly don't want us to find them so smoothly.
Out of the most cautious consideration, I choose you three to carry out this mission."
Horatio's considerations were:
Louise is a versatile all-rounder with good overall characteristics, and a reliable personal bodyguard.
Thei is quick-witted and intelligent; with her present, on-site reasoning and analysis would be much easier, thus helping him make judgments.
Archie, on the other hand, has keen intuition and pays close attention to easily overlooked details, filling in gaps for them, and perhaps discovering some clues they might have missed.
"We are always ready." Archie and Louise stood tall, chests out, resuming their standard military posture, saluting in response.