Welcome to the Blue Hawk
“So, to summarize, it’s about analyzing the information gathered by the field agents to uncover irregularities like slush funds or tax evasion.”
It was fair to say the work was similar to what I’d been doing back at the Treasury Department.
“It falls within the range I expected.”
And it aligned fairly well with the conditions I wanted.
‘I’ll be working inside the imperial palace and gaining access to internal information.’
It seemed like something I could handle.
The only real difference was that the documents I needed to review would change from those voluntarily submitted by the territories to ones the field agents had extracted by force.
“But for work like that, wouldn’t the Inspectorate be better suited than me?”
“There are occasionally cases that are difficult even for the Inspectorate to investigate.”
It meant matters that required unofficial inquiries.
“I understand why secrecy is necessary. And why you chose me.”
“Thank you for understanding. The mere fact that this kind of work exists is information in itself.”
Kyle smiled and joked that this was exactly why recruitment was so difficult.
‘So the corruption files on Duke Camelot that I handed over served as a kind of portfolio.’
Working conditions, the reason I’d been selected—every piece fit together perfectly, like a completed puzzle.
As if it had all been prepared specifically for me.
This was the final step before I walked into the Blue Hawk.
Kyle sipped his jasmine tea, as though giving me time to think it over.
Just then, as he lifted his teacup, the wrist he’d partially exposed began to sparkle as if on cue.
The source of the light was the clock-shaped artifact that had appeared several times in the original story.
‘Wasn’t that for emergencies?’
The matching artifact belonged to the Emperor; the pair was designed to send signals to each other in urgent situations.
I remembered it clearly because of the later scene where the Emperor gifts the female lead something similar.
‘It had a coordinate stone embedded so you could instantly teleport to wherever the paired artifact was located.’
The way it kept flashing without pause suggested this was no ordinary matter.
“Oh dear.”
After checking the artifact, Kyle frowned as if genuinely troubled.
“If I drag this out any longer, my precious café is going to collapse.”
He tugged his sleeve down to cover the artifact.
A single layer of cloth couldn’t hide the light completely, but at least it was less blinding.
After that makeshift solution, Kyle immediately slid the contract toward me.
It was the type of magic contract commonly used for important agreements.
“I’m sorry, but it’s time to make your choice.”
Having placed the contract in front of me, Kyle politely offered the pen.
“You may refuse, of course, but I would be terribly sad.”
The subtle way he urged me to sign made me think he and Connie would get along wonderfully.
‘It’s a contract that’s nearly impossible to break anyway. I was only hesitating; I always intended to do it.’
I accepted the quill from Kyle and wrote my name in the designated space.
Kyle’s face brightened the moment he confirmed the signature.
Welcome to the Blue Hawk
Then he held out a silver needle.
“Have you ever used a magic contract before?”
“Yes, I have.”
Just before I could reach out, Kyle explained the needle’s purpose.
“It’s for checking whether the contract is poisoned, but this is a brand-new one that’s never been used.”
“You really didn’t have to tell me that.”
Now it just felt weird.
Muttering to myself that it was unused, I accepted the silver needle with careful fingers.
Since I was an ordinary person without mana, I pricked my fingertip and let a few drops of blood fall onto the contract. Kyle then infused it with green mana.
Even throughout the process, the artifact on his wrist continued to shine.
‘It almost looks brighter now.’
Once the contract’s formation was confirmed, Kyle stored the document with great care.
And then promptly issued an eviction order.
“Shall we send you home now? It’s gotten quite late.”
His voice was so refreshingly bright as he told me to leave quickly now that business was concluded.
The way his attitude flipped the moment the ink dried left me feeling outright betrayed.
“Is this how employee welfare works here? Catch the fish and then toss it aside?”
When I grumbled openly, Kyle lifted his wrist to show the artifact that refused to stop glowing even for a second and offered an excuse.
“If I don’t leave immediately, there will be serious trouble. I hope you can understand.”
He took a short breath and added, “It’s His Majesty the Emperor.”
Kyle looked impatient, but not as though it were a true emergency.
At a glance, it didn’t seem critical.
‘A summons at this hour?’
When I’d checked the clock at home, it had already been past eight.
I decided the Emperor really was quite the tyrannical boss.
“You must be working late. That sounds exhausting.”
‘And His Majesty is certainly persistent.’
Having just witnessed the fierce loyalty of the Emperor’s inner circle, I offered Kyle nothing but encouragement.
Apparently my non-verbal cues about treating the Emperor like a wicked boss had been obvious.
Kyle, who had been staring at the artifact with eyes just as irreverent as mine, quickly smoothed out his expression and defended his liege.
“This is… a special situation, so…”
He trailed off when he saw my expression growing steadily colder.
“Ah, I see.”
But inside my head, the Blue Hawk had already been labeled a black company and the Emperor a heartless boss.
‘I can’t back out now, can I?’
Since he wasn’t a mind-reader just because he was a mage, Kyle tucked the contract deep into his inner pocket.
‘He looks like he thinks I’m about to snatch it away.’
It wasn’t as if the impulse was entirely absent, so I simply pursed my lips.
Kyle gave an awkward smile.
The man who had looked ready to sprint to the palace moments ago was now sighing as he glanced back and forth between me and the artifact.
‘Ah! Is he stuck here because of me?’
His behavior reminded me of someone scolding themselves for an awkward mistake, which felt burdensome, so I stood up and announced that I would take my leave.
Kyle rose to see me off, but after another glance out the window he quietly stepped back.
“I’ll contact you as soon as Miss Diaz’s position is ready. That should give you time to wrap up your duties at the Treasury Department.”
Kyle offered a handshake.
“Thank you.”
I exchanged a far more formal farewell with Kyle than last time and left the café behind.
‘I thought I hurried, but it seems quite a lot of time has passed.’
The café had been bright and a little chaotic, so I hadn’t noticed how late it had grown, but outside it was full night.
The few pedestrians who had been around earlier had all disappeared.
‘I didn’t think about how I’d get home. I should have come during the day tomorrow.’
It was near the security force station, so it wasn’t especially dangerous for a woman to walk alone, but dark paths were still frightening.
‘Is this some kind of post-traumatic stress?’
While I briefly regretted my hasty decision, Everett stepped out from the shadows of the alley.
He called my name carefully so as not to startle me.
“Miss Diaz.”
Everett walked straight to me and took my hand in a firm grip.
“Sir Rohas, I thought you had gone back?”
Just when the road home had felt daunting, Everett appeared.
The slightly awkward farewell from a few hours ago and my fumbling at the café instantly evaporated; I was that glad to see him.
Because of that, I failed to notice that his grip carried slightly more strength than usual or that his face looked somewhat sullen—perhaps because of the shadows.
“I went and came back.”
I wasn’t sure whether he meant “on the way” or “after going,” but the context suggested the latter.
“Are you going to walk me home?”
I asked in a voice brighter than usual and shook the hand he held.
“Yes.”
Everett nodded, letting me play with his hand as I wished.
“Perfect.”
When I smiled brightly while meeting his eyes, the previously expressionless Everett lifted the corners of his mouth and smiled back.
We walked slowly, using the moonlight as our streetlamp.
Everett had never been particularly talkative, but today he was especially quiet.
‘Did something go wrong at the palace?’
At first I assumed it was work-related, but my intuition gradually told me otherwise.
He kept looking up at the night sky, then at me, then parting his lips as though about to speak.
After several attempts, Everett gave up on saying anything to me; his eyes looked slightly dazed.
His steps had become strangely heavy and listless. It was obvious he had something to tell me but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
‘This is what happens when you’ve spent 2n years in your past life solely leveling up your ability to read the room.’
Almost unconsciously, I gave the arm of the listlessly walking Everett a light tug and came to a stop.