After locking the door, Silas descended the steps.
Next door, the entrance to 2 Narcissus Street swung open, and a scholarly-looking young man with brown eyes and black hair stepped out. Spotting Silas, he broke into a friendly smile.
"Good morning, Silas."
"Morning, Klein."
This young man was his colleague Klein Moretti, who had started the job a few weeks before him.
When this friendly coworker learned that Silas urgently needed to find lodging, he'd offered advice and recommended that Silas come to Narcissus Street to be his neighbor.
Klein's older brother Benson had been especially helpful, taking care of all sorts of paperwork and even haggling with the landlord until he'd managed to bring the rent down to 12 soli per week. Silas was deeply grateful.
"Did you get everything sorted out at home?"
"Yeah, I'm heading to report to the captain now," Silas said with a smile.
"I've really got to thank you for helping me find this place. I never would've gotten everything done so quickly otherwise."
"You should thank Benson instead. He's the one who handled everything."
Klein said.
"The housing here on Narcissus Street really is quite nice. My sister loves it. It's the first time she's ever had her own room, and she was so excited she couldn't even sleep."
"Same with my sister. The moment she laid eyes on the place, she didn't want to leave."
The two guys with younger sisters exchanged a round of bragging, both wearing knowing smiles.
They chatted as they walked and boarded a public carriage. Along the way, women kept glancing at Silas.
He pretended not to notice, though Klein seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention. Fortunately, they soon arrived at Zouteland Street. They got off together and walked to the entrance of the Blackthorn Security Company.
Come to think of it, the last time I was here was... well, the last time. Ahem, that was at night.
Silas looked at the sign, half-nostalgic in his thoughts, and followed Klein through the door.
The lobby, which had been completely wrecked before, had been freshly renovated. New furniture, new partitions, and even the floor were brand new. It was a sight that lifted the spirits.
Rozanne, the brown-haired girl he'd met before, was making coffee at the front desk.
Hearing someone come in, she looked up. She recognized Klein and was about to greet him when she spotted Silas behind him. Her eyes lit up.
"Good morning, Rozanne."
"Morning, Klein. And this is..."
She stared at Silas with obvious interest.
"Silas Londor. We've met before."
Silas gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, the graceful gesture making Rozanne's gaze turn dreamy.
"Hello, Silas. I'm Rozanne... Wait, Silas Londor?!"
She answered instinctively, then suddenly seemed to remember something and cried out, "You're... you're the one from that night...!"
"That's me."
Silas said.
"Oh..."
Rozanne's shoulders shrank.
The smile on her face vanished quickly, replaced by a touch of fear and unease, as if she were recalling something she'd been through.
"The captain... he's in his office. It's the first room on the right past the partition. He told me that when you arrived, you could go straight to him."
She said carefully.
"Got it. Thank you, Miss Rozanne."
Silas seemed completely unbothered by Rozanne's change in demeanor.
He thanked her casually and headed toward the partition.
Once Rozanne caught sight of Silas disappearing behind the partition, she immediately sidled up to Klein and lowered her voice.
"Klein, Klein, is he really joining the Nighthawk squad?"
"Yeah, why? Are you afraid of him?"
Klein couldn't help but want to laugh.
"To be honest, a little."
Rozanne said with a pained expression. "Just seeing Hanass that night was scary enough, and he even killed Hanass.
Good Lord, when I saw that puddle of blood and flesh on the floor with my own eyes, I nearly fainted. I had nightmares for several nights afterward..."
"Don't worry, Silas is a good guy."
Klein could only offer reassurance. "Besides, think about it. If he were really that dangerous, would the captain have let him stay?"
With his explanation, Rozanne relaxed her guard somewhat.
---
Knock knock.
Silas stopped outside the office and rapped his knuckles on the door.
"Come in."
Dunn's low, gentle voice came from inside.
Pushing the door open, Silas saw him sitting behind the desk, his gray eyes deep and calm.
His usual black overcoat and top hat hung on the coat rack; he wore only a shirt and vest.
Compared to their encounters on those two nights, the nightmare-like, deeply terrifying aura about him had receded considerably. He seemed warmer now.
"Captain."
Silas greeted Dunn. Now that he'd officially joined the team, it was only natural to change how he addressed him.
"The telegram from the Holy Cathedral came back. It's good news," Dunn said, setting down the document in his hand.
"The higher-ups have cautiously approved your application to join, but they've required that I keep a close eye on you."
"That's definitely good news. I'll cooperate fully."
Silas smiled.
Dunn gave a "Hmm" and looked Silas over. "You used to experience hallucinations all the time.
Since that night, have you fallen into any more hallucinations?"
"I haven't gone crazy again."
Silas's heart stirred, but he played dumb. "Captain, why do you think that is?"
He knew the reason, of course, but in a situation like this, retreating to advance would make him seem less suspicious.
"I've given it some thought, and this might be the reason."
Dunn analyzed slowly. "Through a stroke of luck, some people might be born with Beyonder characteristics already inside them, essentially solidifying half a starting sequence.
There's an orphan in Tingen named Admisore who's like that. He was naturally suited for the 'Monster' pathway."
(/n: aka Wheel of Fortune Pathway)
"As for you, my guess is that you were naturally suited for the Secret Supplicant pathway.
That's why your spiritual intuition was innately high, making you vulnerable to harm from evil gods and causing you to frequently experience hallucinations.
The Aurora Order probably captured you for sacrifice based on this very reason.
But now, you've consumed the Secret Supplicant potion and successfully solidified your sequence.
Your previously unstable spiritual intuition has been brought under control, so naturally, you no longer have hallucinations."
Dunn concluded.
Silas was genuinely surprised for a moment.
That... actually sounds pretty reasonable?
If I didn't know the phantom tide was taking effect, I might actually believe it.
No, wait. It'd be better if I pretended to believe it!
"Oh, I see! Captain, that makes so much sense."
Silas said immediately, his face lighting up with a happy smile. "So that means I never have to worry about falling into hallucinations again? That's wonderful!"
"This is only my speculation. Take it as a reference."
Dunn gave a slight nod.
With a swift motion, he pulled open his desk drawer and took out two copies of a document.
"This is the contract for joining the team. Take a look, and if there are no issues, sign it."
Silas took the papers and read through the clauses carefully. Various confidentiality agreements and obligations filled the pages in dense text.
Even though he was mentally prepared, his head still spun a little.
Oh well, I already took the advance on my salary. It's too late to back out now.
He smiled resignedly, picked up the fountain pen from Dunn's desk, and signed his name on both documents, adding his fingerprint.
Dunn took the contracts from him, stamped them with the seal, put one away for safekeeping, and returned the other to Silas.
"Very good, Mr. Silas Londor. From this moment on, you are officially a member of the Nighthawks."
"It's an honor."
Silas smiled.
But Dunn didn't smile. Instead, he grew even more serious.
"However, before anything else, there are several important matters I must inform you of in advance."
"Uh, go ahead?"
"First, and most importantly: under no circumstances are you to seek advancement!"
---
Of course, the protagonist will advance eventually, or there'd be no story to write. Dunn's statement here is simply his reasonable reaction based on what he knows about the Secret Supplicant pathway.