"Blackthorn Security Company."
At the sight of the sign, Klein stood stunned for quite a while. It was unexpected, yet somehow made sense.
This really is... I don't even know what to say... He shook his head with a chuckle, climbed the steps, and raised his right hand to knock lightly on the half-open door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The slow, rhythmic knocking echoed, but there was no response from inside, only a faint tapping.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Klein tried again, with exactly the same result.
Instead of knocking, he pushed the door farther open and looked inside. He saw a set of classical sofas, upholstered armchairs, and a natural-wood-colored coffee table, though he did not know whether they were meant for receiving visitors. Directly opposite stood a desk, and behind it sat a brown-haired girl whose lowered head kept nodding.
Even if the "security company" sign is only a cover, isn't this a little too... unprofessional? How long has it been since they last had a customer? All right, you don't actually need customers... Grumbling inwardly, Klein approached and knocked twice more on the desk, right beside the girl's ear.
Knock! Knock!
The brown-haired girl jerked upright, snatched up the newspaper spread before her with both hands, and hid her face behind it.
Tingen City Honest Paper... Nice name... Klein silently read the masthead on the side facing him.
"The Flying steam train, running directly to the City of Constant, begins service today... Honestly, when will there be a direct line to Desi Bay? I don't want to go by ship again. It's too uncomfortable, absolutely dreadful... Huh, who are you?" The brown-haired girl made a show of reading aloud and offering her opinion. As she spoke, she lowered the newspaper, revealing a smooth forehead and light brown eyes. Her ingratiating look turned to surprise as she looked at Klein.
"Hello, I'm Klein Moretti. I'm here at Mr. Dunn Smith's invitation." Klein removed his top hat, held it to his chest, and bowed slightly.
The brown-haired girl looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a light green, Loen-style casual dress, with pretty lace at the cuffs, collar, and chest that made her face look all the lovelier.
"Captain... All right, wait here a moment. I'll go ask him." The girl hurried to her feet and went through a nearby door into the rooms beyond.
Not even an offer of water... Their customer service is worrying... Klein smiled faintly and waited where he was instead of going over to the sofas and chairs.
Two or three minutes later, the brown-haired girl opened the door and came out, saying with a sweet smile,
"Mr. Moretti, please follow me. The captain is guarding Chanis Gate today and can't leave."
"All right." Klein followed amiably, though a question arose in his mind.
Chanis Gate? What's that?
Once he passed through the partition, the first thing he saw was a short corridor, with what looked like three offices on either side.
Some of the offices were locked, while others stood open, revealing people tapping away on heavy mechanical typewriters.
Glancing around, Klein actually spotted a familiar face: the young police officer who had searched his home that day, the black-haired, green-eyed one with a poet's romantic air.
He was not dressed formally, and his white shirt hung untucked, giving him an unrestrained appearance.
Perhaps he really is a poet... Klein nodded in greeting, and the man smiled back.
The brown-haired girl turned the handle of the office on the left at the end of the corridor, pushed the door open, and pointed inside with a smile.
"We still have a few flights of stairs to go down."
The office contained no furnishings, only a flight of grayish-white stone stairs leading downward.
Elegantly fashioned gas lamps burned on the walls flanking the stairs. Their steady light dispelled the darkness and brought a sense of peace.
The brown-haired girl walked ahead, watching her feet and stepping carefully.
"Even though I come this way often, I'm still scared. I keep worrying I'll fall and go tumbling down. You don't know this, but Leonard once did something that stupid. On his first day as a Sleepless, before he'd fully mastered his strength, he tried sprinting down here. Then, then he turned into a wheel. Haha, just thinking about it makes me laugh. Yes, he's the fellow who greeted you just now. That was three years ago. Come to think of it, I've been with the Nighthawks for five years already. I was only seventeen then..."
The girl chatted with easy familiarity as she watched her step. Suddenly, she discreetly tapped her forehead.
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rozanne. My father was a full member of the Nighthawks. He died in an accident five years ago. We should be colleagues from now on. Uh, 'colleagues' is the right word, isn't it... We can't really call ourselves teammates, since neither of us is a Beyonder."
"I hope I'll have that honor, but ultimately, that depends on what Mr. Smith says." Klein surveyed their enclosed surroundings and felt that they were beginning to pass underground-the stone walls exuded a cold dampness that drove away the summer heat.
"Don't worry. If you were allowed to come straight here, that means the captain has agreed. I've always been a little afraid of him. He's very kind and takes good care of people, and he feels like a father to me, but for some reason, I'm still scared." Rozanne's voice sounded as though she had a piece of candy in her mouth.
Klein replied humorously,
"Isn't it normal to be afraid of your father?"
"That makes sense." Rozanne reached out to steady herself against the wall at a turn.
As they spoke, they finished descending the winding staircase and reached level ground paved with stone slabs.
A long passage stretched ahead. Here, too, gas lamps enclosed in metal grilles were set into the walls on either side. Their light spilled down, stretching Klein's and Rozanne's shadows.
Klein keenly noticed a Sacred Emblem of Darkness at regular intervals along the walls. It was the symbol of the Evernight Goddess-"a deep black background dotted with brilliant lights, clustered around exactly half a crimson moon."
There seemed to be nothing special about these sacred emblems, but as Klein walked between them, his mind gradually grew peaceful. Rozanne also fell silent, no longer chatting as she had before.
Before long, a crossroads appeared ahead. The brown-haired girl gave a brief introduction.
"The left leads to Saint Selena Cathedral. To the right are the armory and the materials and document archives. Straight ahead is Chanis Gate."
Saint Selena Cathedral? Is Zouteland Street right behind Red Moon Street? Klein was momentarily stunned.
Saint Selena Cathedral on Red Moon Street was the Tingen City headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, a sacred place that local devout believers longed to visit. Together with the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery's Holy Numerics Cathedral in the outskirts and the Church of the Lord of Storms' River and Sea Cathedral, also in Tingen's North Borough, it sustained religious life in Tingen City and its affiliated towns and villages.
Feeling that his present position did not warrant too many questions, Klein simply listened in silence.
They passed the crossroads and continued straight ahead. In less than a minute, a massive black iron double door engraved with seven sacred emblems appeared before them.
It stood there, conveying an immediate impression of weight, coldness, and looking down upon them, like a giant standing guard in the dark.
"Chanis Gate," Rozanne said, pointing to a room nearby. "The captain's inside. You can go in on your own."
"All right. Sorry for the trouble," Klein replied politely.
The room Rozanne indicated was a little way in front of Chanis Gate. Its window was open, and light shone out. Klein drew a breath and calmly raised his knuckles.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Come in." Dunn Smith's deep, warm voice came from within.
Klein gently pushed open the unlatched door. Inside, he saw only a desk and four chairs. Dunn Smith, with his high hairline, wore the same style of black trench coat as the night before and was leisurely reading a newspaper. A gold watch chain hung near the buttons on his chest.
"Have a seat. Have you thought it over? Are you sure you want to join us?" Dunn lowered his newspaper and asked with a smile.
Klein removed his hat, bowed, and sat beside the desk before nodding slowly.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Then take a look at this agreement. Heh, people prefer to call it a contract these days." Dunn opened a drawer and took out two copies of an agreement.
There were few clauses, and most covered what Dunn Smith had already told him. The emphasis was on confidentiality. Violators would no longer be tried in the kingdom's courts, but directly before the Church of the Evernight Goddess's tribunal, just as soldiers and officers faced courts-martial.
A five-year contract... A weekly wage of two pounds and ten soli, with ten soli in confidentiality and hazard allowances... Klein read through each provision, then answered solemnly,
"I have no objections."
"Then sign it." Dunn pointed to the dark red fountain pen and ink on the desk.
Klein first tested the pen on a sheet of scrap paper. Then, discreetly drawing a breath, he signed his full name in the appropriate place on both copies: Klein Moretti.
Since he did not yet have a personal seal, he could only finish by leaving his fingerprint.
Dunn took the agreements back, retrieved a seal from the drawer, and stamped the end of each copy and several key sections.
Once he had finished, he stood, handing back one copy of the contract with one hand and extending the other toward Klein.
"Welcome. From now on, you're one of us. Remember, the contract must also be kept confidential."
Klein stood as well. Accepting the contract, he shook Dunn's hand and smiled.
"Then should I call you Captain now?"
"Yes." Dunn's gray eyes looked exceptionally deep in the dim yellow light.
After shaking hands, they both sat down. Klein glanced at the seal on the contract and found that it read, "Tingen City Nighthawks Squad, Awwa County, Kingdom of Loen."
"I really didn't expect you to use Blackthorn Security Company as a cover," he remarked with a casual smile.
"Actually, we have another designation as well." Dunn took a sheet of paper from the drawer.
It bore the seals of both the municipal government and the police department. Its contents consisted of two lines of words.
"Seventh Team, Special Operations Department, Awwa County Police Department, Kingdom of Loen."
"The first four teams are ordinary police responsible for security, such as the dignitary protection team and the important sites protection team. Starting with the fifth team, however, we handle supernatural incidents in the county's various cities. Our seventh team is responsible for incidents involving the Goddess's believers in Tingen City. If people of different faiths are involved, responsibility is divided by area. We mainly cover the North Borough, West Borough, Golden Indus Borough, and a few other places."
Dunn gave a general explanation. "The sixth team, which belongs to the Church of the Lord of Storms' Mandated Punishers, is responsible for the dock area, East Borough, and South Borough. The university district and the outskirts fall to the fifth team, the Machinery Hivemind's squad in Tingen."
"Mm." Klein could think of no questions about that, so he smiled and changed the subject. "What if someone actually comes here to commission a job because of the Blackthorn Security Company sign?"
"We take it. Why wouldn't we? As long as it doesn't interfere with our regular duties." Dunn answered at an even pace, with a touch of humor. "Whatever we earn serves as an extra allowance. The members are quite happy with that. Besides, private detectives have already cornered the market on troublesome little errands like finding cats and dogs."
"How many people are there in our Nighthawks squad?" Klein asked, following the topic.
"There aren't many supernatural incidents, and there are even fewer Beyonders. There are only six full members of the Nighthawks in all of Tingen City, including me. Heh, counting you, we now have six civilian staff as well," Dunn answered unhurriedly.
Klein nodded and finally asked about what concerned him most.
"Captain, what did you mean when you spoke of Beyonders losing control? Why does that happen?"
PS: There's an extra update every Monday, with a chapter posted in the early hours. Also, the dog-catching-rats gambling activity in the previous chapter wasn't something I dreamed up. It was an innovation of the lower classes in Victorian Britain... I'll post the sources on my WeChat public account later.