The thank-you gift Silas ultimately received was an extraordinary item—the white bone whistle that Azik wore.
"Infuse it with spirituality and blow it, and you'll be able to summon a random undead creature to command," Azik explained.
"It contains my blood, so you can use it freely for the first three times.
But after the third use, the spirituality in the blood will be depleted. After that, any undead summoned will likely not obey your commands unless your strength surpasses theirs."
"How strong would I need to be to use it freely?"
Silas asked curiously.
"You'd need to reach mid-sequence at least."
Azik said, handing him the bone whistle.
Silas thanked him and reached out to take it. The bone whistle felt extremely cold to the touch.
Its entire surface was a lustrous, gleaming white, though a hint of crimson flowed within it—likely Azik's blood.
After chatting idly with Azik for a few more moments, Silas stood to take his leave.
He'd come out under the pretext of practicing at the shooting range, and if he delayed too long and was discovered slacking off during work hours, that wouldn't be good.
---
Silas took a public carriage back to Zotland Street. He got off early at the street corner and walked the extra distance to air out the cigar smell from his clothes.
When he stepped into the Blackthorn Security Company, he found everyone present, and each person's face was beaming with joy.
What's going on?
"Did something good happen?"
He asked Rozanne at the front desk curiously.
"It's payday today!"
Rozanne said to Silas incredulously. "I can't believe it! Silas, you actually forgot about this day.
Hurry and go collect your share from the accountant, Mrs. Orianna."
Oh, weekly pay.
Silas had a sudden realization. Today was Friday, the day when Nighthawks collectively received their weekly pay.
He hadn't collected wages for the past two weeks because he'd needed money for settling in when joining the team and had received a two-week advance on his salary.
This meant this was his first time officially collecting his pay.
"I'll head over then."
He said with a smile and quickly walked behind the partition.
The team accountant, Mrs. Orianna, was in the first office on the right.
She was a fashionable woman around thirty years old, wearing an intellectual and elegant green ruffled dress that perfectly matched her gentle temperament.
When she looked toward Silas, her emerald-green eyes showed a friendly smile.
"Good afternoon, ma'am."
Silas had already met her when he received his advance. "I'm here to collect this week's pay."
"Alright, you and Dunn are the only two left now."
She took out a pay confirmation form. Sure enough, everyone else's positions had already been stamped, leaving only his and Captain Dunn's.
"The captain isn't here?"
Silas took his stamp from his wallet, dipped it in the ink pad, and stamped it while asking casually.
"He seems to have gone to the church. The Archbishop wanted to discuss something with him."
Mrs. Orianna said. She took out a copper key, opened the safe in the room, and retrieved two banknotes.
"Silas, I've heard from others that you've accomplished many significant things lately. At this rate, your salary might increase soon."
"May the Goddess bless us. I hope your blessing comes true."
Silas said with a smile.
The Nighthawks had an internal salary increase mechanism that recorded merit based on a Nighthawk's contributions.
Once accumulated to a certain amount, there would be a raise, along with priority for advancement opportunities.
Additionally, the higher a Nighthawk's sequence, the higher their base salary.
Although Silas currently received the most basic 6 pounds, his excellent recent performances meant a raise was likely already on the agenda.
Especially since he wasn't allowed to advance, as compensation, his raise would be even larger.
Silas took the pay from Mrs. Orianna—two notes in total, one for 5 pounds and one for 1 pound.
The 5-pound note bore a portrait of Henry I, while the 1-pound note showed William VI. Both had similar features with serious expressions and heavy beards.
Well, I've seen them several times now. No excitement left.
Silas put both banknotes in his wallet while thinking to himself.
The wages for Tingen's Nighthawks were split equally between the Evernight Goddess Church and the Ahova County Police Department.
At the same time, the police department also provided them with corresponding police identities.
Silas now had a probationary inspector's uniform that he could wear out when investigating cases, making it easier to question civilians.
Moreover, there was an even more wonderful aspect of being a Nighthawk: their wages were tax-free. What they received was exactly what they got.
Silas put away his pay and glanced at his wallet.
The salary he'd received in advance had been almost entirely spent on renting, buying formal clothing for himself and his sister, paying tuition fees, and such.
Fortunately, he'd later received the house Old Neil had gifted him, which not only covered his weekly rent but also left a surplus of 6 soli.
Later, with the Lanervus case, he'd directly received 50 pounds, greatly improving his financial situation.
Of that sum, Silas had saved half. The rest he kept on hand, and he'd given his sister about 3 pounds for pocket money.
That little girl didn't know how to spend money and seemed conflicted just looking at the banknotes.
However, from chatting with colleagues, it seems Sequence 8 potions might cost upward of 400 pounds.
I'd have to sell the house to afford it... Oh, right, I now have two mystical items.
That bell isn't very useful—if I really need to buy a potion, I could consider selling it.
While calculating his assets, Silas walked out from behind the partition.
Just as he emerged, he heard a cheerful female voice.
"Well done! You've helped me vent the anger in my heart!"
Following the voice, he saw the plump Mrs. Pond sitting in the hall, praising the Blackthorn Security Company's outstanding abilities with animated expressions.
Sitting across from her, Leonard smiled awkwardly while casually humoring her.
"Alright, I won't disturb your work any longer. Here, this is the remainder of your commission, plus my extra tip."
Mrs. Pond generously slapped down 7 pounds in final payment from her purse, along with a full 5-pound note.
"Madam, your generosity is impressive."
Leonard praised, his tone becoming much more sincere.
Hearing him say this, Mrs. Pond couldn't help but show an even brighter smile on her face.
"Hahahaha! That's because I suddenly received a large sum of money.
That idiot husband of mine felt so ashamed that he committed suicide in prison!
Not only did I get the entire inheritance, but I also received a large pension from the company. This little tip for you all is nothing!"
She laughed a few more times, then suddenly felt something was off, because both Leonard's and Silas's expressions were far too serious.
"Are you saying that Mr. Pond... is dead?"
Leonard asked with difficulty, forcing a smile.
"That's right. The police told me that the idiot made a rope from his bed sheets and hanged himself in prison."
Mrs. Pond had absolutely no sympathy for her husband. "Serves him right! I'm going to spend all his money lavishly, use his money to keep a young lover..."
After seeing Mrs. Pond out of the security company, Leonard and Silas exchanged glances.
"Do you believe Mr. Pond committed suicide?"
"Not a chance."
No matter how he thought about it, the man had been silenced.
Just then, the company door opened again, and Dunn Smith hurried inside.
"Captain."
The two went to meet him. Leonard said, "Mr. Pond has been silenced."
"I already know."
Dunn nodded. "Not just him. Other executives in the company who knew about it also 'committed suicide' on the same night."
Just as the two were shocked by how brazenly the other party was acting, Silas saw Dunn shift his gaze to him.
"Silas, are you interested in a business trip?"
He asked.