"Blackthorn Security Company."
Seeing the sign, Klein hesitated for a long time. It felt both unexpected and reasonable.
*Really… I don't even know what to say…* He shook his head with a wry smile, climbed the steps, and raised his right hand to lightly knock on the half-open door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The slow, rhythmic knocking echoed, but there was no response from inside, only the faint sound of a "clack-clack-clack" from a typewriter.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Klein repeated the action, but the result was the same.
Instead of knocking, he pushed the door open a little wider, peering inside. He saw a set of classical sofas, soft armchairs, and a wooden coffee table, probably for visitors. Directly opposite was a desk, behind which sat a brown-haired girl, her head drooping, nodding off one little nod at a time.
Although the "Security Company" sign was just a cover, this was way too unprofessional. Just how long had it been since they last had a customer? Well, you guys don't really need business anyway… Klein grumbled inwardly as he approached. He knocked twice on the desk, right by the girl's ear.
Knock! Knock!
The brown-haired girl instantly sat up straight and, with a sudden movement, grabbed the open newspaper in front of her, covering her face with it.
*Tingen City Honest Citizen*… What a fine name… Klein silently read the masthead facing him.
"The steam express 'Flying Arrow' to Constance City officially opens today… Honestly, when are they going to open a direct line to the Dici Bay? I never want to take a boat there again. It's so awful, absolutely awful… Huh? Who are you?" The girl carried on her affected reading and commentary. But as she spoke, she lowered the newspaper, revealing a smooth forehead and light brown eyes. She looked at Klein, first with a fawning expression, then with surprise.
"Hello, I'm Klein Moretti. I'm here at the invitation of Mr. Dunn Smith." Klein took off his hat, held it over his chest, and gave a slight bow.
The brown-haired girl looked to be a little over twenty. She was wearing a light green, Loen-style summer dress, with beautiful lace at the cuffs, collar, and bodice that made her lovely face look even more delicate.
"Captain… Alright, just wait here. I'll go ask him." The girl hastily got up and entered the inner room through a side door.
*Not even offering a glass of water… Her sense of service is terrible…* Klein smiled lightly and waited where he was, not moving to the sofas or chairs.
Two or three minutes later, the brown-haired girl pushed the door open and came out, saying with a sweet smile: "Mr. Moretti, please follow me. The Captain is on duty at the 'Chanis Gate' today and can't leave."
"Alright." Klein took a step forward in agreement, but a question stirred in his heart.
*Chanis Gate, what's that?*
Passing through the partition, the first thing that met his eyes was a short corridor, with about three offices on each side.
Some of these offices were locked, while others were open, revealing people inside tapping away on heavy mechanical typewriters with a steady clatter.
Glancing over them, Klein actually spotted a familiar face: the young police officer who had come to search his house the other day, the one with black hair and green eyes who had the romantic temperament of a poet.
He wasn't wearing formal clothes; his white shirt wasn't even tucked into his trousers, giving him a rather unconstrained and bohemian look.
*Maybe he really is a poet…* Klein nodded in greeting, and the other man smiled back.
The brown-haired girl twisted the handle of the office on the left at the very end of the corridor, pushed the door open, and pointed inside, saying: "We still have to go down a few flights of stairs."
The office held no furniture, only a greyish-white stone staircase extending downward.
Elegantly styled gas lamps were lit on the walls on both sides of the stairs, their steady light driving away the darkness and bringing a sense of peace.
The brown-haired girl walked in front, carefully watching her feet as she went: "Even though I come here often, I'm still scared. I'm always afraid I'll trip and go tumbling down the stairs. You know, Leonard once did something that stupid. On his first day as a Sleepless, the first day he hadn't fully mastered his abilities, he tried to sprint down them. And then, he turned into a rolling wheel. Haha, it's so funny just thinking about it. Mm, that's the guy who just greeted you. This was three years ago. Come to think of it, it's been five years since I joined the Nighthawks, and I was only seventeen back then…"
The girl chatted away familiarly as she watched the path. Then, unexpectedly, she discreetly slapped her forehead and said: "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rozanne. My father was a full-fledged Nighthawk, and he died in an accident five years ago. From now on, we should be colleagues… Uh, is 'colleagues' the right word? We can't really be called teammates, since we're not Beyonders."
"I hope I'll have that honor, but in the end, it depends on what Mr. Smith says." Klein looked around the enclosed surroundings, feeling as if they were descending into the depths of the earth. The cold dampness of the stone walls seeped out, dispelling the summer heat.
"Don't worry. The fact that you were allowed to come straight here means the Captain has already agreed. I've always been a bit afraid of the Captain. Although he's very kind and caring, and gives me the feeling of a father, for some reason, I'm scared of him." Rozanne's voice sounded as if she had something stuck in her throat.
Klein responded humorously, "Isn't it normal to be afraid of your father?"
"That makes sense." Rozanne reached out and steadied herself against the wall at a turn.
Speaking as they walked, the two finished descending the spiral staircase and arrived at a flat, paved stone ground.
This was a long passageway. Gas lamps enclosed in metal grilles were set into the walls on both sides, casting the long shadows of Klein and Rozanne far behind them.
Klein keenly noticed that at regular intervals along the walls hung "Dark Sacred Emblems," the symbol of the Evernight Goddess: "A deep black background, studded with brilliant stars, clustering around a perfect half-crimson moon."
These emblems didn't seem to have any special qualities, but as he walked between them, Klein's mind gradually became serene. Rozanne also fell silent, no longer chattering away as she had been before.