There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34.
Of all the warnings Gisela Lott had given me, two stood out as most critical.
Never speak of the Raven, and don’t attract attention.
The first was obvious enough.
An organization that had made me one of the Nest’s members simply for discovering their existence—loose lips would earn me a quiet, unmarked death.
So I’d learned to keep my mouth shut about the Raven entirely.
The second part, though.
That was another matter.
‘Today’s a failure too.’
I dragged my fingers through my hair as if just brushing it back, and fixed Deccan Gold with a look of reproach.
Someone had called out my name loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear it in front of the Main Building, and more than a few pairs of eyes had since turned my way.
“Ah, goodness.”
I wanted to flick Deccan Gold’s smooth forehead—the way he looked at me was almost pitying.
But remembering that he bore chains on account of me, I simply let my head droop instead.
“Still, I’m grateful.”
“…… That I haven’t earned my superior’s approval?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just—when I heard a rookie was having these doubts, I thought perhaps you meant to stay in the Action Department after all.”
“Of course.”
Never mind that I already had another affiliation with the Nest; I kept up the pretense.
“I’d heard rumors you might transfer to the Information Department.”
“Ah, that rumor.”
From my perspective, it had been five days gone and mostly forgotten.
The gossip that “the Action Department’s small hero had been scouted by Information” had warmed the halls of Knox Castle for a day or two before fading away entirely.
The reason was simple: it turned out the one who’d taken notice of me was none other than Graf Müller.
Graf Müller, who barely held his own position in the Information Department despite being an Action Department veteran, and who possessed only two insignia!
The rumor collapsed in credibility just as quickly as it had spread.
Which meant the whispers that had followed my every step for those two days had mercifully died off.
“It’s just baseless gossip. I have no intention of leaving the Action Department—I’m quite satisfied with my current life.”
“Hmm, that’s both reassuring and a pity to hear.”
“Do you really think the Information Department would be better for me?”
Deccan practically jumped at my question.
“Better? Don’t say such frightening things!”
“Still, the Information Department is certainly a vital one to Knox. Someone like me would hardly be sufficient—”
“Quite the opposite!”
“Oh.”
This was the loudest Deccan Gold’s voice had been since he’d called out my name in the Plaza earlier.
“Ahem, I’m sorry. It was just such nonsense, such utter absurdity coming from you.”
“But there was nothing false in what I said.”
“No, you were wrong. Completely wrong.”
“You’re quite… firm on that point.”
“I am. First, you’re not insufficient. In fact, you’d be wasted on the incompetent fools of the Information Department. Second, the Information Department is not vital to Knox.”
He held up his long index and middle fingers to illustrate.
“By rights, it should be vital. But they lack the capability to be so. So you—don’t even glance toward the Information Department.”
“Understood.”
“And if they do actually approach you, run in the opposite direction without looking back. Agreed?”
Deccan Gold was repeating exactly what Gisela Lott had said.
At this point, it bordered on contagion.
“As for why I’m sorry—well, if you really did want to leave the Action Department, I was thinking of suggesting you come to the Finance Department or the Merchant Guild instead.”
“The Finance Department or the Guild?”
Departments I’d never once considered.
“Aren’t those places where people skilled with numbers work? And the Finance Department especially—I’ve heard it’s the hardest department in all of Knox to join.”
“Well, they do handle the money.”
And it was Deccan Gold who oversaw both of those departments.
Suddenly I grasped just how much power he truly held.
At that level, shouting in front of the Main Building would be the least of it—he might as well beat a drum.
“But making room for you would hardly be difficult.”
“That much is surely true.”
“So what do you say? The Finance Department has heavy work and strict rules, but I think the Merchant Guild’s more relaxed atmosphere would suit you better. Your rank could be… well, Senior Member, I think.”
“But I’m still just a Junior Member in the Action Department, with only one insignia.”
And below me, there were only Apprentice Members who hadn’t yet earned their full ranks.
A Senior Member would be two ranks above—someone bearing three insignia.
“An Exceptional Promotion through two ranks would be needed, certainly, but that’s no major obstacle. A rank too low and you’d be dragged into tedious work constantly.”
“That does sound appealing.”
“Doesn’t it? As someone from the Guild, working alongside me, eating good things—having a pleasant time—”
“Even so, I prefer the Action Department.”
“Ah, you’re so cruel.”
Deccan Gold drew his brows downward in a wounded expression.
Theatrical as it was, it suited his handsome face well.
Which made me feel like the world’s worst person.
Even two ranks of promotion and a freer life couldn’t sway me.
‘The Merchant Guild would be perfect for something like the Raven—an outfit using a secret organization.’
Merchants were people who could wander cities that ordinary citizens rarely glimpsed.
Since they traveled and earned by trade, they could avoid the unnecessary suspicion and surveillance that would otherwise follow.
One misstep, and I’d end up with a far more troublesome life than this.
“I could have kept you at my side legitimately every day.”
……My refusal had been the wise choice.
Fortunately, Deccan Gold didn’t push the transfer further.
“If you ever feel like changing departments, tell me anytime.”
That was all he added.
After several more cups of tea, the meeting finally ended.
If the Finance Department hadn’t rushed over with urgent documents to review, we might have even shared dinner together.
I parted ways with Deccan Gold, who couldn’t hide his regret even after hours of conversation, and was leaving his office when I paused.
There was something I needed to ask.
“Deccan, where can one find the finest candies in Knox Castle?”
***
Deccan Gold’s counsel hadn’t resolved Gisela Lott’s ambiguous attitude toward me.
But even indirectly airing out my frustrations seemed to lighten the weight somehow.
It was a new experience.
‘You never know what talking to someone is like until you try.’
I’d never had worries I could share with others, nor had I known anyone I could confide in without hesitation.
And the day after that holiday with Deccan Gold, the realization came to me of its own accord.
Or rather, it came walking toward me on its own feet.
‘That was it.’
I crunched into a cookie still warm from the kitchen, the thought crystallizing as I did.
“What do you think, rookie?”
“I used different ingredients this time.”
The kitchen maids appeared in my path as I was leaving my shift to head back to the Nest, hope bright in their voices.
Their eager eyes were burdensome, but they were right—
“It tastes much richer now.”
“Doesn’t it?!”
The maid with curly hair, the most outgoing of the three, nudged her friend and laughed.
“See? I told you the rookie would like it, didn’t I, Lene?”
“I’m glad it worked out.”
“She was so worried you might not like sweet things too much, and we all spent ages trying to figure it out!”
“Is that so?”
The maid called Lene nodded at my question, her cheeks flushed.
“I’ve tried changing the recipe each time, and your reactions were always a little different.”
“This one really, really likes you!”
“Elza!”
As the curly-haired maid spoke mischievously, Lene gasped and tried to cover her friend’s mouth.
The height difference was significant, so I’d thought she’d catch her easily.
But the maid named Elza was nimble as she dodged here and there.
“You think I’m going through that again?”
She must have been the one dragged away by her friends after saying that strange word “Lusamo” last time.
I took another cookie from the small bag they’d brought and spoke.
“Come to think of it, you’ve been giving me gifts like this all along, and I’ve never even asked your names.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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