The Coral Peacock headquarters' main hall was quiet in the early evening, most of the knights either on patrol, stationed at the border, or off-duty in their rooms. Kenji walked through the corridors with his hands in his pockets, still in his transformed X appearance, the pink cloak draped casually over his shoulders.
He'd teleported back to the capital proper after leaving the black market, changed back to his knight appearance, and leisurely made his way back to base. The paper with the two spies tucked safely in his inside jacket pocket felt heavier than it should—like it was pulling him toward something inevitable.
I should probably turn this in, he thought, though part of him wanted to just stash it somewhere and forget about the whole thing. But if this leads to more interesting missions, it might be worth the hassle.
He made his way to Vice-Captain Kirsch's office, raising his hand to knock on the ornate door.
"Enter!" came the melodious response before his knuckles even made contact.
Kenji pushed the door open to find Kirsch seated behind his desk, somehow managing to look perfectly composed despite the late hour. The vice-captain's blonde hair caught the lamplight, and those ever-present pink sparkles seemed to shimmer in the air around him.
"Ah! My beautiful junior knight returns!" Kirsch declared, striking a pose even while seated. "To what do you owe the pleasure of my company this fine evening?"
"Got something you might want to see," Kenji said, walking over and pulling out the folded paper. He unfolded it on the desk, revealing the cartoon-style drawings of the two unconscious men.
Kirsch leaned forward, his expression shifting from theatrical to genuinely curious. "And what, pray tell, is this artistic… disaster?"
"Diamond Kingdom spies," Kenji said simply. "Caught them in the black market discussing troop movements and supply shipments to our front lines. They're currently trapped in this paper. Figured you'd want to interrogate them or whatever it is we do with captured spies."
There was a moment of silence.
Kirsch's usual flamboyant demeanor vanished, replaced by something much sharper and more dangerous. His eyes studied the paper with intense focus before flicking up to meet Kenji's gaze.
"You caught Diamond Kingdom spies? In the black market?" His voice was level, but there was an edge to it. "And you're just now reporting this?"
Kenji shrugged. "I was off-duty. Technically still am, actually. Just figured I'd drop this off before heading to bed."
"Off-duty," Kirsch repeated slowly. "You were off-duty in the black market?"
"Yup."
"And you just happened to catch enemy spies while you were there?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
Another moment of silence.
Then Kirsch burst into laughter—genuine, unrestrained laughter that seemed completely at odds with the serious situation. "Oh, you magnificent disaster! Only you would stumble into something like this while supposedly relaxing!" He wiped tears from his eyes. "This is simultaneously the most irresponsible and impressive thing I've heard all month!"
Kenji couldn't help but grin. "So... should I release them or...?"
Kirsch's expression snapped back to serious. "No. Keep them contained exactly as they are." He stood up, suddenly all business. "I need to contact headquarters immediately. This information about supply shipments could be critical." He paused, studying Kenji again. "You're certain they were discussing legitimate intelligence? Not just market gossip?"
"They used code phrases and everything," Kenji said with a smirk. "Very dramatic. The crystal mines run deeper than the Spade' and all that."
Kirsch pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course they did." He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a communication crystal. "You'll need to give a full report. Every detail you can remember—what they looked like, what they said, where you found them, everything."
"Sure, sure," Kenji said, making himself comfortable in one of the chairs. "Though fair warning, I wasn't exactly taking notes at the time."
"Just do your best." Kirsch activated the crystal, which began to glow with a soft pink light. "And Kenji? This stays quiet until we figure out what to do with this information. Don't go bragging to your friends about catching spies."
"Wasn't planning on it."
"Good, because—" Kirsch stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly. "Wait. How exactly did you catch them? Your report said you've been on patrol duty all day."
"I caught him while patrolling,no need to say anything else right" Kenji replied shamelessly.
"That's not—" Kirsch started, then stopped again. "You know what? I don't want to know. Just... write down everything they said in as much detail as possible. I'll handle the rest."
As Kenji began writing out his report—conveniently leaving out several details about his gambling and the encounter with Yami—he couldn't help but feel a small surge of satisfaction.
This has to be worth something, he thought. Maybe they'll finally give me a mission that doesn't involve checking identification papers or hunting oversized rats.
_____
Three days later, Kenji found himself standing in a much more official-looking office than he was used to. This wasn't Vice-Captain Kirsch's decorated personal space—this was the Coral Peacock's official headquarters in the capital, a building he'd only seen from the outside during his patrol dutie
The room was austere and professional, with maps of the kingdom covering one wall and various documents scattered across a large desk. Behind that desk sat a woman he recognized from the exam—one of the senior knights who'd been helping coordinate things that day.
"Junior Knight Kenji," she said, her voice crisp and businesslike. "Do you know why you've been summoned here?"
"The spy thing?" he guessed.
"The spy thing," she confirmed, not looking amused. "Let me be clear—what you did was reckless, dangerous, and completely outside protocol. A junior knight wandering into the black market alone, engaging with potentially hostile forces without backup, and conducting an operation without clearance or supervision."
Kenji nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
"However," she continued, her expression softening slightly, "the intelligence you gathered has proven invaluable. Thanks to your information, we were able to intercept a Diamond Kingdom strike team that was planning to ambush one of our supply convoys. Dozens of lives were saved, and critical resources made it safely to the front lines."
She pulled out a document and slid it across the desk toward him. "You're being formally commended for your actions. You'll also be receiving a promotion to first rank Junior Magic Knight, along with a monetary reward from the Wizard King's office and 3 gold stars."
Kenji's eyes widened slightly. That was... actually pretty good. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." She leaned back in her chair. "You're also being assigned to a new duty rotation. No more patrol duty or gate guard work. Starting next week, you'll be taking on more active missions—escorting supply convoys, investigating reported criminal activity, and potentially some border patrol work."
Finally, Kenji thought, fighting to keep the excitement off his face. About damn time.
"There are conditions," the senior knight continued. "You'll be working under the direct supervision of Vice-Captain Kirsch for the next month. Any missions you take will require his approval. Consider this probation—a chance to prove you can follow orders and work within the system."
"Understood," Kenji said, nodding.
"Good." She gestured to the door. "You're dismissed. Report to Vice-Captain Kirsch tomorrow morning for your new assignment briefing. And Kenji?"
He paused at the door. "Yeah?"
"Try not to stumble into any more major incidents while 'off-duty,' would you? My paperwork load is already excessive."
Kenji grinned. "No promises."
As he left the official building and stepped back out onto the capital's streets, Kenji couldn't help but feel like things were finally starting to look up. Better missions, actual combat potential, and a promotion to boot.
Maybe being a Magic Knight won't be so boring after all, he thought.
Then he remembered he still had patrol duty for the rest of the week before his new assignment started.
____
Note: hey this is probably going to be the last chapter for a little bit. Im sorry Ive been trying to write but I just dont have the time right now as its starting to effect y work having to stay up late to write a chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to stock pile and start releasing again once my job dies down a little and busy season is over. Again sorry im not dropping just need to pause for a bit to get myself right again and focus on my real life.