"Work Meal"

After using up every bullet they had, the two of them left the Zouteland Shooting Club.

Returning from the smoke-filled shooting range to the sunlit streets of Zoteland, Angel took a deep breath of fresh air and slowly let it out. Only then did she feel the fatigue drain from her body.

Klein wore the same expression of rebirth. He looked around, pulled a silver-white pocket watch from his coat pocket, flipped it open for a glance, then snapped it shut.

"Exactly twelve. If we head back to the company now, we can still make it in time for the work meal."

He muttered to himself.

"Work meal?" Angel repeated curiously, then understood. "Oh, you mean Old Veil Restaurant."

Blackthorn Security Company had no kitchen of its own, but the nature of its work meant that staff needed to eat lunch and dinner at the company every day. Thus, the nearby Old Veil Restaurant had taken on the task of providing meals.

Every morning at ten-thirty, a waiter came to the security company to ask who needed to order food, then delivered it at noon. Three in the afternoon was the time to order dinner.

Angel still remembered the lunch that the white-haired Seeka Tron had brought her when she first arrived at Blackthorn Security Company. It had probably been ordered from Old Veil Restaurant. The portion had not been large, but it had meat and vegetables, barely enough to fill her up.

"Do you eat lunch at the company every day? I remember you don't live alone. Why don't you eat at home?"

Angel asked curiously. She knew that Klein had an older brother and a younger sister, both currently living with him at 2 Daffodil Street.

She had only seen the siblings once, when Dunn and the others brought her back to Blackthorn Security Company. In her memory, they were a tall, thin, somewhat prematurely aged man with short hair and a youthful, beautiful girl. Both had black hair, making the family resemblance obvious.

"My sister, Melissa, studies at Tingen Technical School. She has classes six days a week, and her lunch break is short, so she eats at school. Benson works overtime every day. Sometimes he doesn't even come back for dinner. If I'm eating alone, making lunch at home is too troublesome."

"Besides, the captain gave me a special assignment. I have to patrol nearby every afternoon, so I might as well eat lunch at the company. They order lunch for me directly now."

Klein explained.

Angel felt the same way. "Cooking for one person really is troublesome. Make too much, and it spoils easily in this weather. Make too little, and it isn't worth the effort."

She often ate out as well. Occasionally, she bought some bread and made thick soup and salad to go with it. In summer, without a refrigerator, unless she finished everything that day, the food would definitely spoil by the next.

By then, the two had walked to the other end of the street. Across the road stood Blackthorn Security Company.

Since she had not ordered lunch, the Old Veil Restaurant delivery arriving shortly definitely would not include a portion for her. Angel did not intend to stay at the company, instead planning to follow her original plan and find some restaurant on Iron Cross Street for a quick meal.

Over the past few days, she had practically visited every restaurant on Daffodil Street. Her search for food had already expanded to Iron Cross Street.

Fortunately, while Tingen City had no particularly distinctive cuisine, restaurants offering flavors from all over could be found on every street. As long as she looked carefully, she could always find something to satisfy her.

But before taking a Public Carriage back, Angel planned to return to Blackthorn Security Company first and replenish some of the bullets she had used up at the shooting range.

"Mm, they're consumables."

Remembering Old Neil's earnest teachings, she found herself a perfectly valid excuse for using too much ammunition.

Walking up the stairs to the second floor, she pushed open the reception room door. Rozanne and Bredt, seated on the newly purchased sofa, swept their gazes over the two people entering, undisguised disappointment on their faces.

"I thought Old Veil's lunch had arrived." Rozanne, dressed in a breathable white gown, complained, "Why are they late today?"

"Don't worry, Rozanne. Maybe they're too busy. You know, the Police Station across the street has been working overtime frequently these past few days. Old Veil Restaurant's delivery business is much busier than before."

Bredt, with his thick beard, comforted Rozanne. He was also one of Blackthorn Security Company's clerks. Angel had met him yesterday when she came in for her routine report.

Klein hung his top hat on the coat rack, walked over to the sofa, found an empty seat, and sat down. He teased Rozanne as well. "Maybe we should write the restaurant a letter of complaint. How can they starve our beautiful lady thin just to feed those rough men at the Police Station?"

"Have I really gotten thinner?"

Hearing Klein's words, Rozanne instinctively touched her lower belly. Her expression immediately turned bitter, and she moved her arm away.

Her envious gaze swept over Angel. "Sigh, Angel, how did you get a figure like that? Can you teach me?"

For ease of movement, and to avoid hurting the male pride she still retained, Angel rarely wore feminine clothing. She wore a neutral outfit instead: a white shirt, a fitted vest, trousers, and a light trench coat that concealed the impressive figure shaped by the Witch Potion. When the topic suddenly turned to her, she froze, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

"Um... dieting and exercise?"

After racking her brains, she managed to squeeze out those few words.

"No, I mean... ah, forget it." Rozanne waved her hand with a blush, indicating that Angel had misunderstood her. But her eyes drifted toward the other two men present, and after hesitating for a moment, she dropped the subject.

"By the way, the captain just received a request for assistance from the Machinery Hivemind. He went to Khoy University to help investigate a case. Seeka Tron said she was looking for material for a novel recently, so she went with him." Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, Bredt pointed out the window toward the distant bell tower of Khoy University.

"So that means the lunch they ordered might go to waste. Why don't we..."

His gaze turned toward Angel.

"Ah, right. Before he left, the captain said they would eat out after they finished over at the Machinery Hivemind, so there was no need to save lunch for them. Angel, stay and have lunch. You can have both portions."

Rozanne picked up the thread.

It was already past noon. Even if the Public Carriage arrived soon, it would still be past one by the time she returned to Daffodil Street. Finding somewhere to eat lunch then would be rather late...

Angel estimated the time and nodded. "All right, then I'll help the captain solve his problem of wasting food."

Everyone burst out laughing.

Since she had decided to eat at the company, Angel was no longer in a hurry to go down to Old Neil in the basement for bullets. She sat on the sofa as well, and the four gathered around the coffee table in a circle, drinking the coffee Rozanne had brewed to soothe their empty stomachs as they chatted.

"A murder occurred at Khoy University last night. It's the Machinery Hivemind's jurisdiction, but they ran into some trouble questioning the witnesses, so they had no choice but to invite the captain over. Mm, a little Dream Invasion solved the problem."

"This kind of mutual aid between churches happens fairly often, but usually it's the captain who gets invited."

Khoy University... Listening to Rozanne, Angel turned to look at Klein beside her—hadn't he graduated from Khoy University?

"Did this murder involve Beyonder powers?" Klein did not notice Angel's gaze. He was more interested in the case itself.

"Not necessarily. There may have been some clues, or perhaps the police were simply overly nervous. Nine times out of ten, the cases they submit are false alarms and have nothing to do with mysticism. But every report still requires Nighthawks, or people from other churches responsible for the corresponding area, to go and take a look," Bredt answered.

"The police are on edge now as well. The number of murder cases during this period has far exceeded the citywide average from last year, and quite a few really did involve Beyonder powers, like the banker Magwin's son before and... ah, Klein, sorry."

Rozanne suddenly covered her mouth halfway through.

"It's all right." Klein forced a smile.

Angel listened to their cryptic exchange, recalling the reason Captain Dunn had previously mentioned for Klein Moretti joining the Nighthawks, and fell into deep thought.

The reception room sank into brief silence.

Knock, knock—

A knock sounded. Before anyone could respond, the half-closed door was pushed open. A young waiter in a server's uniform entered through the gap, carrying a stack of meal boxes in both arms.

Judging from the fact that both his hands were occupied, he had probably "knocked" with his foot just now.

Bredt rose from the sofa, familiarly took the meal boxes from the waiter, and placed them on the coffee table.

"I'm very sorry, the delivery was a little slower than usual." The waiter apologized, but his expression did not convey the slightest hint of regret. There was only sweat and the numbness of overwork on his face. "You can pay for the meals this afternoon when I come to collect the boxes. Please enjoy."

Watching the waiter hurry away, the others looked at one another.

"It seems Old Veil Restaurant really is quite busy." Bredt shook his head with a smile. "I'll take food to Kenley and Old Neil first. They must be getting anxious too. You all eat first, don't wait for me."

He separated the stack of meal boxes, took two of them, passed through the partition in the reception room, and headed for Blackthorn Security Company's Underground Area.

Old Neil was in the armory, so Kenley was guarding Chanis Gate today?

Angel recalled Kenley White, whom she had only met once—a Sleepless.

Klein and Rozanne had each already taken a meal box and lifted the lids. Inside were identical set meals: a palm-sized piece of oat bread, mushroom soup, diced mutton, and a small spoonful of cream.

A faint aroma of fat immediately filled the entire reception room.

"Aha, I feel like I'm hungry enough to eat two portions." Rozanne sniffed, a satisfied smile appearing on her face. She lifted the mushroom soup and took a large gulp, then skillfully used her spoon to spread cream onto the bread and quickly ate it with the mutton.

Appetite was contagious. Seeing Rozanne eat so enthusiastically, the other two also felt their stomachs churn. Klein handed Angel the slightly larger meal box that had originally belonged to Dunn. When she opened it, she found that her lunch was a little more substantial, with half a fried sausage added to the box, while the soup was a richer mixed stew.

Imitating Rozanne and spreading cream over her bread, Angel was just about to dig in when a knock suddenly came from the door behind her.