TSSAH 35

Chapter 35

“I’m Elza, Elza Weiden.”

“I’m Mina Köhler!”

“I’m Li—Line Berg.”

Elza, Mina, Line.

I rolled their names around in my mouth for a moment, then bowed my head.

“Thank you every time. I’m enjoying them well.”

It was just a simple greeting of gratitude, but they burst into cheerful laughter as if something delighted them.

Their lively laughter was pleasant to hear, and a smile naturally spread across my lips as well.

“But I keep receiving like this every time, so I feel too sorry. I have no talent for cooking at all…”

As I scratched my cheek and spoke, the three waved their hands.

“Aw, just seeing Rookie eat them with enjoyment is enough for us!”

“That’s right. Especially Line—she thinks about Rookie all day long. A few days ago, she even went looking for Rookie on her own without telling us! So sneaky, going alone!”

“You came looking for me?”

It was something I had no memory of at all.

When I tilted my head and looked at her, Line seemed slightly flustered and explained.

“I had a little free time in the morning… It wasn’t anything important! I just got some delicious chocolate and went to the dormitory to see if you might like it. But it seemed like no one was in the room, so I came back.”

“I see.”

“Rookie must be busy with action squad work these days.”

“Not particularly…”

When I stared at her intently, Line hurriedly averted her gaze.

Watching us, Elza asked with suspicious eyes.

“Rookie, you haven’t gotten a girlfriend by any chance, have you?”

At Elza’s words, Mina and Line made sulky faces.

“A girlfriend?! No! I mean, it’s not that it shouldn’t happen, but still…”

“We, we should wish for Rookie’s happiness…”

I hadn’t even answered yet, but the three were already wishing for my happiness with troubled expressions.

If this continued, rumors might spread that ‘the little hero is dating!’

After all, nothing is as interesting as gossip about other people’s love lives.

“No, not at all. I don’t have a girlfriend or anything.”

“Then where were you?”

It was a sharp question from Line.

Since she only said ‘a few days ago,’ I couldn’t tell exactly when she had come.

And if it was in the morning, that was the time when I would have finished my night shift with the action squad and been holed up in the nest’s storage room.

I answered with a face full of injustice.

“I probably would have been in my room.”

“But when I knocked, there was no answer…”

“I’m a heavy sleeper. Once I fall asleep, I’m out cold and hardly ever wake up. So I often get scolded by my seniors too.”

At my excuse, Elza and Mina got all excited and whispered among themselves.

“…Being a heavy sleeper is such a cute point…”

“…We need to tell the Rusamo general meeting…”

Even though I could hear all their whispers—not just when I was asleep, but usually too, since I have sharp ears—I pretended not to notice.

Partly because it was their private lives, but mostly because I had no idea what they were even talking about.

“Anyway, Rookie.”

Line, who had been standing apart from her friends’ conversation, spoke to me.

“If I come to the dormitory next time, will I be able to see you then?”

“Oh my, oh my.”

“She’s gone crazy.”

Elza and Mina stared at Line with wide eyes but didn’t stop her. Rather, they seemed to be cheering on their friend who had mustered her courage.

“Hmm.”

I paused for a moment, then shook my head.

“That would be a bit difficult.”

“I won’t come often! Rookie needs rest too.”

Line looked quite hurt but didn’t back down.

Her attitude was so earnest that even the other two were starting to feel sorry for her.

“Still, if you could just open the door for a moment…”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t come into the action squad dormitory, Miss Line.”

“…So Rookie finds me annoying.”

Line mumbled, completely deflated.

She looked pitiful enough that I almost thought, ‘Should I just tell her to come?’

Especially since I was the one who had been receiving cookies from her all this time.

However, in a calm but sincere tone, I said,

“The action squad dormitory isn’t safe for someone like you to come and go. I hate to say this about my own squad, but…”

I trailed off, cleared my throat once, and continued.

“Right now, there are no female members in the action squad. So the dormitory is full of men… Anyway, I wouldn’t want people I’m grateful to, because of me, to face any trouble.”

“Rookie…”

“I’m moved…”

Elza and Mina covered their mouths, deeply moved.

It was exactly the reaction I had intended.

Looking embarrassed, I ruffled my hair wildly and met Line’s brown eyes directly.

“You understand, Miss Line?”

“…Yes.”

“The same goes for you two. Let’s meet at a wide-open, bright place at shift-change time like this, from now on too.”

Finally, Line nodded.

Only then could I smile with satisfaction.

After parting ways with the three women, I immediately went to my second shift.

“I’m back.”

The words that other crows said whenever they entered the nest had now become habitual for me as well.

“Is no one here?”

Today, the nest was unusually quiet.

Wondering if someone might be lying down somewhere like last time, I walked around the office space and checked every corner.

“Really no one.”

I hadn’t seen the man named Konrad since the first day.

He always disappeared by the time I came out of the storage room after studying, so I still didn’t know what he looked like.

Noah Benton, on the other hand, was always at his post—so much so that I wondered if he was the nest’s resident ghost—but today his seat was empty.

“Meaning I’m alone.”

I confirmed that the door connecting to the reception room was still tightly shut, then quickly moved to Gisela Loth’s desk.

Unlike Noah Benton’s cluttered space with used teacups and scattered writing tools, her area was well-organized.

A neatly bound stack of documents placed on the shiny desk caught my eye.

I thought, what a stroke of luck.

I’d been getting bored just poring over books filled with basic knowledge every day, so this was good.

But before I could even touch the file, I got bored again.

“…Of course.”

I couldn’t even read the title.

Because the documents were written in code, not Imperial script.

No wonder they were left out in plain sight where anyone could see them.

I looked a little closer just in case, but it wasn’t a code I knew.

It was even different from the code used by the Knox Intelligence Division.

It seemed the crows had created their own.

If I invested time and effort, I might be able to interpret at least a little, but unfortunately, I had neither.

Clicking my tongue in disappointment, I quietly withdrew.

Then I headed to a nearby window and looked outside.

“This is a prime spot.”

The plaza in front of the main building was visible at a glance.

I had been hoping to catch a glimpse of Gisela Loth, but coincidentally, Deacon Gold and Dufon Klancher came into view.

It seemed part of their routine to be out in the plaza around this time.

“Are they receiving a report?”

Besides the two of them and their adjutants, a man was standing and speaking, and even from a distance, the atmosphere was clearly not good.

Dufon Klancher and Deacon Gold’s expressions were ice-cold.

After staring down at the man, who had lowered his head, without any reply, Deacon Gold turned his back.

Then, as Dufon Klancher gestured with his chin, figures wearing uniforms distinctive to the Execution Department—with a hint of red—appeared and mercilessly dragged the man away.

“P-Please spare me…!”

The man’s cry rang out for a moment, but was soon muffled by a gag placed over his mouth.

‘Foolish.’

He should have tried to escape while he had the chance.

Once the gag was on, escape became even more difficult.

Tsk, I clicked my tongue and was pulling back from the window when—

“What are you doing there?”

Gisela Loth, who had just entered the nest, spotted me and asked.

Then, as she approached with quick steps, her face was tense.

*Thump—!*

The first thing she did was put the documents on her desk into a drawer.

Even though they were written in a code I couldn’t read anyway.

“Something interesting happened in the plaza, so I was watching.”

“Is that so?”

After closing the drawer, she finally regained some composure and let out a hollow laugh.

“Are you idle enough to watch some guy being dragged to the dungeon?”

“Not at all. I was waiting for you, Miss Loth.”

“For me? Why.”

Why else.

Meeting her brown eyes, which still held a hint of wariness, I answered.

“I want to take a test.”