There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 42

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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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Episode 42.
“Benesa!”
“Welcome back!”
“Welcome home, Benesa!”
Everyone brightened at the sound of her voice from the entrance, rushing toward it in a cluster.
Now was my chance.
I rose quickly to my feet.
Fortunately, Gisela hadn’t noticed me stirring.
She was too caught up in the excitement of Benesa’s return.
“Ow, my head.”
I rubbed my abused scalp while studying this unfamiliar Crow.
‘Female, mid-to-late thirties, wears glasses, long auburn hair pulled back neatly with a grayish-green tint to her eyes. Plain features with no scars or distinctive marks, slight build with a delicate frame.’
In short, she was an utterly ordinary woman who drew no attention unless she did something to stand out.
For most people, such an assessment would be insulting. For me, it was high praise.
The most dangerous assassin isn’t the one with superior strength or flashy techniques.
It’s the one who approaches unguarded, completes the mission, and vanishes without a trace.
By that measure, Benesa was equipped with optimal conditions.
And she had surely recognized this advantage long ago.
‘Not a wasted movement anywhere.’
Regardless of her apparent build, she carried the subtle air of someone engaged in consistent training—restrained, economical.
‘A strong one.’
While I finished my assessment quietly, the other Crows exchanged warm greetings.
“Senior, how was your vacation?”
Noah asked, his nonexistent tail wagging enthusiastically.
“How’s the family? Everyone well?”
Dimart smiled so widely that creases formed at the corners of his eyes.
“Yes, thank you. Everyone’s doing well thanks to you.”
She answered his question with a respectful bow, making clear her sense of hierarchy.
After patting Noah’s head, she finally turned to Gisela with a question.
“You didn’t cause any trouble while I was gone, did you, Gisela?”
“Too busy to cause trouble, senior.”
See that?
The Gisela Rot who usually kept her guard up with me had completely softened—conceding not just one step but two to this newly arrived woman.
Even with Dimart Schren, who was much her senior, she was far more relaxed.
The cocky thug vanished, replaced by a gentle lamb fawning for attention.
That’s right!
Gisela Rot had a natural predator after all!
As I quietly savored this victory, the woman approached me.
The low heel of her shoe clicked crisply, befitting her composed demeanor.
“You’re the new one.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Runelk Aelns.”
“Benesa Carsten. During the day, I work as a clerk in the Administrative Department.”
The Administrative Department was responsible for Nox’s internal operations and the management of the Nox Duchy’s territories.
While Deacon Gold’s Finance Department manipulated and increased both tangible and intangible assets, the Administrative Department was what actually ran Nox.
For Benesa Carsten, a woman who seemed more suited to the smell of paper and ink than blood, it was a fitting department.
“Seems there was quite a commotion while I was on vacation.”
Benesa studied me through her glasses as she spoke.
“I hope you’re not another troublemaker like Gisela.”
With that, Benesa grouped me together with Gisela Rot in a single warning and walked back to her desk.
It was positioned by the window where sunlight streamed in—the foremost desk in the row.
No wonder it was the place where documents seemed to accumulate most as the days went on.
I was staring at Benesa’s back as she calmly organized her workspace when Gisela Rot noticed and growled.
“Who told you to get up?”
“You’re going to go bald at this rate.”
“Bald over twenty minutes? No way. Lie back down—”
“Runelk Aelns.”
A calm voice cut through Gisela’s words.
I quickly turned my head to see Benesa Carsten standing at a door I’d never entered before, her hand on the knob.
“Come with me.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Honestly, being called out wasn’t brutal enough to be unbearable.
I wasn’t weak enough to suffer that much.
It was a matter of dignity, that’s all.
Besides, my excuse was perfect.
And Gisela’s expression was worth seeing.
If it had been any other Crow, maybe—but since it was Benesa Carsten herself calling, Gisela couldn’t exactly stop me from leaving.
I stood and smiled all the wider.
“I’ll be right back!”
“Ugh!”
From behind me as I dashed away came the sound of Gisela’s frustration.
And Dimart offered her a comment.
“Hey, Gisela. Why are you pushing so hard?”
The Crow past forty wasn’t the type to hound his juniors without reason.
“I know this is your first time training someone, but being that strict won’t help. The Rookie’s adapting pretty well for a newcomer.”
“No, senior. I think you’re being fooled too.”
Gisela grumbled in exasperation.
“That kid’s incredibly sharp. But he plays dumb on purpose, which drives me crazy.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying the Rookie’s deliberately getting test questions wrong just to take a beating?”
“Well, maybe not that exactly… but it’s obvious he could do way better if he tried. Instead, he keeps cutting corners.”
“Sometimes you get kids like that. Just coax him along and see how well he does.”
“I shouldn’t have taken this training assignment. That kid’s incredibly lazy.”
I felt a pang hearing that from behind.
How would she know I’d already learned all those books?
Her instincts were frighteningly sharp either way.
I’d have to be far more careful about feigning ignorance going forward, I thought as I slipped into the room where Benesa had summoned me.
***
“Sit.”
The moment I closed the door, Benesa Carsten, already seated, spoke tersely.
With a tap of her heel, she sent the chair opposite her sliding smoothly across the floor with no wobble or sound.
Only someone who truly understood their own strength and how to apply it could do something like that.
“Thank you, senior.”
I obediently settled into the chair she’d pushed toward me.
Benesa laid several documents on the table—I’m not sure when she’d gathered them—and I scanned the room while she worked.
‘A document storage room?’
I couldn’t be certain.
Drawers lined every wall without gap or seam, but they were all closed, revealing nothing of their contents.
I guessed the deep, sturdy drawers held ‘documents’ only because of the old paper scent that hung in the air.
‘What kind of documents would she store so carefully?’
My fingers itched habitually.
Tap-tap.
Benesa Carsten aligned a stack of papers and slid them across the table to me.
“What is this?”
“The essential documents a Crow must sign.”
“Essential documents?”
So these were things that absolutely, definitely required my signature.
Wasn’t that rather late in coming?
As if reading my thoughts, she furrowed her brow slightly and explained.
“It is late. When I took my vacation, I delegated my duties to someone else, but unfortunately they also departed for a long-term mission.”
“I see.”
It seemed Benesa Carsten was indeed the manager of the Crows.
Every organization needed someone like her—an adhesive holding it together.
Even the most beautiful and valuable jewels scatter and fall without thread to string them.
“That’s fine. Though…”
Beyond the test books Gisela was making me study, here were documents I could read even as someone who hadn’t yet learned the ciphers used in the Nest.
As I read through the text with a strangely moved heart, something felt off.
I’d assumed that since I had to sign something, it would be a kind of contract.
“This looks like documents for opening a bank account and safe, doesn’t it? Are you sure you didn’t hand me the wrong thing?”
“I don’t make mistakes like that.”
Benesa answered curtly and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“And those are the documents that need your signature.”
“I don’t need a bank account or safe. Unless this is part of some employment contract?”
“An employment contract, you say.”
She shook her head.
“Didn’t you already sign a contract as an Action Member of the Nox Duchy?”

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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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