"You are Angel Granger, the 'Assassin' from the Tingen City squad?"
The man standing before her looked about 40 years old, with short pale red hair, a height over 1.8 meters, and broad shoulders that stretched his shirt taut. The most striking feature was the burn scars covering roughly one-third of his square-shaped face, spanning from his chin to most of his left cheek. The pale, newly healed tissue bruised over, making his already unremarkable features appear even more distorted.
After placing her luggage in her temporary lodging earlier, Angel had followed Daly back to the hall, continuing to wait for the arrival of the other members.
Before setting out this morning, she had only eaten a piece of bread in Tingen as breakfast. By now, it had been digested more thoroughly than even the "Assassin" potion; her empty stomach twisted and cramped, expressing its dissatisfaction.
But seeing how the other Nighthawks seemed utterly unfazed by hunger, she felt too embarrassed to suggest going for a meal first. She could only help herself to a cup of tea from the hot water kettle in the corner, using the hot tea to slightly soothe her stomach.
Fortunately, not long after, this red-haired man arrived back at the "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" with another team member whom Angel had previously met. After greeting Daly, he came over to Angel and initiated this conversation.
Her gaze swept over the red-haired man's burned face before quickly pulling back to avoid causing offense. Hearing his question, she gave a small nod and answered,
"Yes, Angel Granger, Tingen City Night Watcher Squad member, Sequence 9 Assassin, reporting to you."
"Good, at least it's not another 'Sleepless' or 'Corpse Collector.'"
The red-haired man nodded and sat on the sofa across from Angel. His burly body made the sofa creak under the weight, making one worry about its sturdiness.
"You've probably already heard about me from Dunn Smith. I'm Bell Clement, same as Smith, also a 'Nightmare.' You can call me Captain Clement or just Clement."
So he's also from the Sleepless pathway… why am I not the least bit surprised… The whole Night Watcher team feels like it's oversaturated with Sleepless…
With some slightly irreverent thoughts toward the Goddess of the Night flashing through her mind, Angel casually replied, "Alright, Captain Clement."
Clement gave a small nod, his gaze sweeping over the others in the room.
The two Nighthawks from Pritz Harbor were still sitting on the sofa, though they had stopped chatting. The dark-skinned man was brewing coffee, a rich aroma filling the room.
The other man Clement had brought back to the base was surprisingly the chatterbox Angel had met on the steam train to Enmat Harbor. He was now standing by a window in the hall, pushing it open and lighting a cigarette — the one he hadn't been able to smoke on the train — enjoying its pleasing taste.
Including Angel from the Tingen squad, the "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" had now gathered Nighthawks from all the major southeastern cities of the Loen Kingdom.
Of course, the Backlund squad was an exception.
"The Backlund Night Watcher squad got delayed by other matters before departure; they won't make it today, and probably not even tomorrow," Clement called out loudly, drawing everyone's attention in the room.
"Some of you have met me; some have only heard of me — and I'm the same with you. So, let's go around now: name, squad, and potion sequence."
Following the format he gave, Clement reintroduced himself, then turned his gaze to Angel sitting across from him.
"Angel Granger, Tingen City squad, Sequence 9… Assassin."
Feeling the other Nighthawks' gazes follow toward her, Angel stood up and gave her brief introduction.
As soon as she spoke the potion sequence name, she sensed several of their gazes carrying surprise and astonishment.
At first, she didn't understand the meaning behind those looks, but as everyone began introducing themselves one after another, she quickly realized why.
The dark-skinned, black-haired man calmly seated on the sofa with a coffee cup set it down, stood up, and said in a booming voice:
"Morrow, from the Pritz Harbor Night Watcher squad, 'Sleepless.'"
He pointed to the man beside him, who had hung his coat over the back of the sofa. That man gave a nod as a greeting.
"This is Brandon Polo, also from Pritz Harbor, Sequence 8 'Midnight Poet.'"
The last one to arrive at the scene, but the first Angel had encountered — the talkative man from the train — stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, walked over from the window, and sat on another empty chair. In a tone as if reciting poetry, he slowly said:
"Rupert Norman, from the Stone City squad, 'Midnight Poet.' This young lady has already met me on the train."
He gave Angel a friendly smile. She originally wanted to pretend not to see it but worried about straining relations with her temporary teammate, so she nodded back politely.
"Daly Simone, Enmat Harbor's 'Spirit Medium,' Sequence 7."
Last came Daly's lazy voice.
As the introductions wrapped up, just as she had expected, aside from herself and Daly, everyone in the hall was an Extraordinary on the Sleepless pathway.
The Backlund squad hadn't arrived yet, but based on what she knew about Loreta and Borgia, Angel guessed they likely included — or were entirely made up of — Sleepless-pathway Extraordinaries too.
No wonder Dunn hadn't sent other veteran Extraordinaries, but instead had her, this fledgling rookie, represent the Tingen squad to support them.
Otherwise, this team, despite its numbers, might have ended up in an awkward situation of "overly uniform abilities."
After introductions, the Nighthawks drifted back into idleness. Clement didn't reveal the specific reason they'd been gathered, perhaps to avoid leaking the plan early, or perhaps because he himself was just an executor.
But before the Backlund squad arrived, everyone was free to move around, though they were told not to leave Enmat Harbor's urban area, and if they were going to be away from the base for more than four hours, they needed to report to Clement in advance.
Angel had planned to find an excuse to slip away even before arriving at Enmat Harbor. She hadn't expected the management here to be so relaxed — it suited her perfectly.
She turned to Daly, who had been sitting silently beside her, and asked about the Extraordinary materials market in Enmat Harbor.
"Extraordinary materials? Are you planning to craft your own charms?"
Daly raised her eyebrows, painted with blue eyeshadow, and asked curiously.
"Not charms. I'm preparing to make more of the special bullets I used last time, and I also want to see how this market differs from Tingen's. Maybe I can buy some useful Extraordinary items."
"Extraordinary items aren't that easy to buy. Most of the time, they get snatched up before they even hit the market."
"You can go to Pitts Street in the harbor district. There's a bar called 'Carrion Bird.' Tell the bartender you want to visit the underground market, and he'll tell you what to do."
"Just say it directly? No passcode or hidden door or anything?"
Angel asked curiously. This was a bit different from the "underground trade markets" she knew about.
Daly's lips curled slightly, and she narrowed her eyes, answering with a touch of disdain,
"We don't have as many rules here as you do in Tingen. Besides, the official Extraordinaries in Enmat Harbor are chronically short-staffed. They basically let these activities slide as long as they don't involve Extraordinary matters. For example, secret gatherings like the 'Divination Truth-Seeking Club' or the 'Tarot Club,' where people exchange bits of folk occult knowledge. If they were in Tingen, they'd probably be forcibly disbanded by the Nighthawks or other official Extraordinaries. But here in Enmat, no one has the manpower to care, unless they actually stir up trouble."
Ta… Tarot Club?
Angel felt her heart skip half a beat.
She feigned calm, patiently listening. Only when Daly finished and lifted her glass to drink did she casually ask,
"Tarot Club? Sounds like a Tarot card enthusiasts' gathering. What do they do?"
"I don't know too much. Clement went to investigate them last week — mm, using the method you're familiar with — and after confirming they weren't conducting any evil rituals or involved in major crimes, he stopped following up. I heard they refer to each other internally by Tarot card names, like 'The Fool,' 'The Hanged Man,' things like that."
The club name matches, the code names match, and "on the surface, there's nothing wrong"...
Angel was almost certain that the Tarot Club Daly was talking about was the very one she'd participated in multiple times.
Could it be that "The Hanged Man" lives in Enmat Harbor and was accidentally noticed by the Nighthawks?
Thinking back on how his discussions in the Tarot Club often revolved around Pritz Harbor, the Storm Sea, and the "Artisan" location he provided was also in Enmat Harbor, Angel concluded that the "Hanged Man" Daly mentioned must be the one she knew.
Luckily, the Tarot Club only gathered once a week and did so through Mr Fool's mysterious means — outsiders probably couldn't detect anything.
But as a member of the Tarot Club, she couldn't just sit by and let the official Extraordinaries monitor them. She had an obligation to prevent exposure or even the risk of the entire group being wiped out.
"Sounds pretty interesting. I've recently been curious about Tarot divination too. Where could I find them?"
Suppressing her inner anxiety, she casually asked while raising her tea cup.
Daly gave her a surprised look.
"Didn't expect you'd be interested in that kind of group. Doesn't Old Neil in your squad know a lot about divination? And I heard that Klein who barely escaped death has already drunk the potion and become a 'Seer.' He should be able to teach you, right?"
"But if you really want to find them, just go to the 'Carrion Bird' market. One of the Tarot Club members frequently buys all sorts of amulets and ritual materials there — a young girl who calls herself 'Justice,' another Tarot card. The people at the market probably all know her; just ask anyone, and they'll point her out to you."
Now, aside from Mr Fool, the entire Tarot Club's members were gathered in Enmat Harbor…
Angel wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.