There’s Something Special About Her Chapter 40

Ironically, the most decisive clue had been Noah Benton’s slip of the tongue.

“Isn’t Rookie the first person to get a perfect score on one of Senior’s tests?”

Noah Benton had said that he was the youngest among the Crows.

And he had been there long enough to get so excited and happy about it, despite his timid personality.

Then where had all the people who had taken Gisela Lott’s tests before gone?

If they had been unable to remain in this organization for some reason, were they still alive?

There was no way.

Only the Crows knew about the existence of the Crows.

Anyway, because of these various clues, I had already guessed that I had not been completely accepted yet.

‘But I never expected her to put medicine in the cookies.’

Remembering the taste of the cookies, which had suited my preferences perfectly, I let out a dry laugh.

So my taste was “cookies that taste like medicine.”

And I had eaten five of them at once, even while fighting off sleep.

……Hopefully, no one saw me like that.

I suddenly sat up in embarrassment, but my vision spun.

‘Looks like I overdosed.’

They probably never expected me to eat all five of those cookies.

“You must be sensitive to the medicine. We’ve never had anyone have trouble breathing before.”

Noah Benton’s guess was wrong.

If anything, I was the type who was resistant to medicine.

It had become that way after I built up a resistance to poison.

‘The proper dose is one cookie? Or maybe two?’

Even after realizing from the iron bars of the underground prison that it was not a real situation, how embarrassed I had been when my true feelings slipped out from time to time.

Especially that part…….

“I wish they’d forget about it.”

They probably wouldn’t.

It seemed to have stuck in their memories so deeply that a Crow named Dimark Shuren had even brought it up again.

“Sigh.”

So embarrassing.

Still, my first impression of Dimark Shuren was not bad.

“No matter what you become, you will still be a member of the Nest.”

Those were the words he had said to me while lightly tapping my head.

I knew he had not said them because he knew my circumstances, and that those words would become meaningless if it were discovered that I was not Runelk Eins but Helena Morton.

But still.

Still, they were not unpleasant words to hear.

“I’m back!”

Just then, Noah Benton’s voice could be heard from outside the door.

It seemed he had returned after buying food.

I had already woken up completely, and there was no point in continuing to lie around in bed, so I was about to put my hand on the headboard and get up when I heard a rattling sound.

Rattle.

There was something round lying beside my pillow, along with a small note.

“A pocket watch?”

It wasn’t mine.

Tilting my head, I unfolded the note and found a short message written on it.

It was Gisela Lott’s rough, hastily scribbled handwriting.

[There are no holidays for Crows.

From tomorrow, don’t be late for work.]

“Ha.”

For some reason, all the strength suddenly left my shoulders.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and played with the pocket watch in my hand.

And when the hard surface of the watch had warmed from my body heat, I slowly stood up.

“A sandwich someone else buys tastes the best.”

Click.

The weight of the pocket watch I slipped into my inner pocket made my chest feel heavy.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

 

The next day.

I was walking through the annex.

Of course, to avoid the misfortune of running into Deacon Gold again, I had taken a long detour far away from the main road in front of the plaza.

“You’re not late.”

I took out the pocket watch and checked it. I still had about an hour before work started.

Click.

With a cheerful sound, I closed the cover of the pocket watch and carefully put it away again.

But I did not head straight to the storage room with the fireplace.

There was somewhere I needed to stop by first today.

The main kitchen on the first floor of the annex.

Unlike the barracks cafeteria, it was responsible for preparing meals for the people who worked in the main building.

Because of that, I thought it would be a little calmer and quieter…….

“Celery! We’re short on celery! Hurry up and bring more!”

“Who’s in charge of the fire?! Are you planning to burn all the bread?! Can’t you control the heat properly?!”

“Who’s the idiot who picked seafood that takes this much work for today’s main dish?! I challenge you to a duel!”

……but apparently not.

As expected, kitchens were battlefields everywhere.

It was something of an accepted fact in academia that the skill and personality of people who handled knives, whether doctors, chefs, or knights, were inversely proportional.

“Hmmm.”

I looked around, wondering who I should talk to so I could avoid the great disaster of being stabbed with a bread knife, when I happened to see someone running over from the pantry carrying a huge bundle of celery.

He was a kitchen apprentice who looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.

“Excuse me!”

“Ah, what do you want?! I’m busy enough to die here!”

He was still young, yet he already had such a terrible personality.

The future of the kitchen looked very bright indeed.

“I’m sorry. Could you call Rine Berg for me?”

“Rine noona? You mean her?”

The apprentice looked me up and down suspiciously before answering coldly.

“Then wait a minute, I guess!”

“Thank you…… That little brat?”

The apprentice disappeared into the kitchen without even waiting to hear my thanks.

Maybe I should put a few worms inside his apron later.

No, let’s not.

Judging by his temper, he looked like the type who would become an amazing chef when he grew up.

I was taking a deep breath to calm myself down when—

“Rookie?”

Rine Berg came out of the kitchen with quick little steps and opened her eyes wide when she saw me.

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to give you, Ms. Rine.”

“Something for me……?”

“Could you hold out your hand?”

Rine Berg looked confused, but she held out her hand as I asked.

Perhaps because she had come out while busy working, there were still round droplets of water clinging to her neatly held-together hands.

I took out what I had prepared from my coat pocket.

“It’s a thank-you for always baking such delicious cookies for me.”

A flat wooden box with rounded corners settled into her small palm.

“What is this?”

“Open it and see.”

When I said that with a smile, Rine Berg also gave me a faint smile.

Click.

I had gone to quite a bit of trouble looking for a lock that was easy to open but would not accidentally come undone.

Rine Berg stared for a moment at the small, bead-like things packed neatly inside the little box before asking,

“Candy……?”

“That’s right. You like candy, don’t you?”

“I do, but…….”

“As you know, I don’t really like things that are too sweet. But I bought these from a shop recommended by someone who really knows desserts, so they should taste good.”

The “person who really knows desserts” I mentioned was, of course, Deacon Gold.

He had asked if I wanted candy and offered to buy some for me and send it over, and it had taken quite a lot of effort to stop him.

“I didn’t bake the cookies expecting anything in return. But I’ll treasure these and eat them carefully. Thank you, Rookie.”

“I’m glad you like them. Then.”

I looked around once.

The hallway was empty, and the kitchen was still in complete chaos.

There did not seem to be anyone free enough to pay attention to us or listen in on our conversation.

I stepped close to Rine Berg and whispered into her ear.

“I’ll go to the Nest first.”

“……What?”

“I’ll make good use of the watch. Thanks to it, I don’t think I’ll ever be late again.”

“Rookie, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I said nothing and simply stood there, looking at Rine Berg.

She remained silent as well.

For a moment, silence passed between us.

How much time passed like that?

“Just a moment.”

After asking me to wait, she called over the boy who happened to be coming out of the kitchen carrying a large basket.

It was the little yellow sprout of the cooking world from earlier.

“Jimmy, can you tell them inside that I’m leaving thirty minutes early today?”

“Today’s a slow day, so I guess that’s okay. But where are you going with this guy?”

“Do me a favor.”

“Tch, fine.”

The apprentice went back into the kitchen.

“Want to come with me for a moment?”

“Yes. But was what that kid said earlier really true? That today is a slow day?”

I simply could not believe it.

Then what on earth did a busy day look like?

She led me to the most secluded room at the end of the hallway where the kitchen was located.

It seemed to be a place for storing cleaning tools such as brooms and wooden buckets.

After looking around for a moment, I turned around at the sound of a click.

She reached behind her and locked the door.

The smile disappeared from her face in an instant.

“When did you know?”

Her appearance was different, but the fierce expression and rough way of speaking were unmistakable.

At last, she was the Rine Berg I knew.

No, Gisela Lott.