Chapter 50: Internal Transfer Within the Nighthawks
Klein almost instantly understood the importance of this final step—perhaps, in the eyes of the Church's Holy Cathedral, his contact with Mr. L must have hidden implications, and they intended to plant him as a mole inside the Aurora Order to supply the Church with intelligence.
From the Church of the Night's perspective, Klein felt this was entirely reasonable; in fact, he even believed the Church was showing him a special, almost overly lenient favor.
"All right."
Following Crestet's guidance, Klein somewhat awkwardly pressed his hand precisely onto the holy sword, feeling a unique chill and serenity.
But the next moment, Klein felt his heart lurch, as though some great being situated in an infinite height and distance had cast its gaze upon him.
"O Evernight Goddess, more sublime than the Cosmos, more eternal than time."
Crestet motioned for Klein to follow as he intoned:
"By my true name and my spirituality I swear to You."
"I, Klein, from this moment on, shall walk beneath Your gaze, treading the paths of night."
"Should I break this oath, let Your punishment befall me."
"I beseech You to witness my vow."
The instant Klein's voice fell, he sensed a faint crimson moonlight surface upon him, and under its shroud he felt an indescribable peace.
He exhaled softly and was about to raise his head and ask Crestet about the sensation, only to notice an envy Crestet could hardly conceal in his eyes.
Envy? The question had just flashed through Klein's mind when he saw Crestet clap his hands and say with a smile:
"All right, go bring in the two Nighthawks—Dunn Smith and Daly Simone. I have something to announce."
Hearing this, Klein breathed a quiet sigh of relief; his review had evidently passed smoothly.
With that, he nodded slowly and sketched the sigil of the Evernight Goddess over his chest.
"Understood."
Under Crestet's calm gaze, Klein led Dunn through the door and stood before Crestet.
Once Dunn and Daly had positioned themselves before Crestet, he called to Klein, who was about to close the door behind him:
"Stay. What comes next concerns you as well."
"Concerns me too?" Klein muttered under his breath, but said nothing more and simply nodded, taking his place to Dunn's left.
—Ms. Daly already occupied the right. Klein keenly noticed how close she stood to the captain, and couldn't help recalling the gossip about the two of them.
"—Daly Simone."
Crestet's tone turned stern and authoritative; if he had seemed approachable before, that impression vanished completely now.
"By decision of the Holy Cathedral, due to the scale of recent incidents in Tingen City, you are hereby transferred from Enmatt Harbor back to the Tingen Nighthawks, effective immediately."
At Crestet's words, Daly's expression did not change, yet Klein clearly caught a glimmer of joy in her eyes as she gave a slow nod.
"Understood."
Crestet nodded in satisfaction.
"Dunn Smith. Given the involvement of the Aurora Order and '0-08' among Tingen's Beyonders, the Holy Cathedral has decided not to pursue the loss of '2-049' reported in the Antigonus notebook incident, and instead assigns you a new task:"
"Using the newly promoted Nighthawk Klein Moretti as your entry point, make contact with the Aurora Order and prevent the True Creator's descent."
"The Holy Cathedral suspects the Order's unusual outreach is driven behind the scenes by the wanted archbishop, Ince Zangwill, in order to bring about the True Creator's incarnation."
Dunn nodded to show he understood Crestet's meaning.
After delivering the new assignments, Crestet continued slowly:
"That will be all. The Holy Cathedral takes Tingen very seriously. To prevent another case like Ince Zangwill, after Klein's future communications with 'Mr. L' you must assess his condition; if any deviation appears, inspect him at once."
With that, Crestet traced the sigil of the Evernight Goddess over his chest and intoned solemnly:
"Praise the Goddess."
Dunn, Daly, and Klein exchanged glances:
"Praise the Goddess!"
...After Crestet left, Klein followed Dunn back to his office. Along the way he noticed Ms. Daly's frequent glances at him and couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Once inside Dunn's office, Daly Simone seated herself as though thoroughly familiar with the place. Dunn nodded to Klein and said,
"Sit, Klein. Don't be nervous. The Holy Cathedral has approved your review and given you a very high rating."
As he spoke, Dunn tapped his brow in thought:
"Your assimilation of the potion is progressing quickly—fast enough to rival Daly back then."
At that, Daly chuckled softly.
"Klein's assimilation is far quicker than mine. He may not be fully done, but he's close—"
Klein saw Daly shoot Dunn a look that seemed to scold him for falling short.
At the sight, Klein's mouth twitched; he glanced at the oblivious Dunn and felt both incredulous and like a superfluous third wheel.
"—But if I recall correctly, after Mr. Neil was sent to the Holy Cathedral for convalescence, Klein hasn't had any systematic study of mysticism, has he?"
Daly shifted the topic and said to Dunn,
"Since I've apparently been transferred back to Tingen and we're not short-staffed for the moment, why not let me guide Klein through the gates of the mystical world?"
With that, she turned to Klein and teased,
"Hmm, surely it will give a young, green lad like you some brand-new experiences..."
"Ms. Daly, please—spare us remarks so easily misunderstood..." Her risqué words made Klein unable to meet her eyes; he struggled to stay calm and replied,
"All right."