"It's me, Nathan. Captain of the maintenance team's second squad," he replied, his voice tight with nerves.
"What's wrong?" a second voice, a woman's, asked shortly after.
"Ms. Gail… I need to speak with Sir Claremont," Nathan said, almost stumbling over the words. It was obvious he was anxious.
The door opened a moment later, revealing a middle-aged witch with short-cropped hair. She gave him a curious look, her eyebrows slightly raised.
"In quite a rush, aren't you?" she said with a hint of amusement. "His Excellency doesn't usually have much time for unexpected guests."
Nathan shifted awkwardly, clearly caught off guard by her tone. He didn't seem to have any urgent news, but after coming all this way, he wasn't going to walk away empty-handed. Gail seemed to pick up on his hesitation and softened a little.
"Alright, alright, no need to look like you've been caught sneaking into the Restricted Section," she said, waving him in. "Sir Claremont isn't some kind of monster. I remember you, Nathan, right? You came to the park three years ago. But this is the first time I've seen you come alone."
She stepped aside to let him in, her voice a bit gentler now. "You're lucky. Sir Claremont just finished dinner, so he should have a bit of time. He's in his office upstairs. Go on, second floor."
"Thank you, Ms. Gail. Really," Nathan said, visibly relieved. He bowed slightly and stepped inside, repeating his thanks with genuine gratitude.
Up on the rooftop, Shalltear had heard every word. Now that she knew Claremont was upstairs, she silently moved along the roofline toward the second floor, peering through one window after another. Her wings barely made a sound as she crept along the edge, determined to find the room where the elusive Mr. Claremont was waiting.
After circling the area for a while, Shalltear finally spotted a wizard through one of the brightly lit windows. The man looked to be in his fifties or sixties, dressed neatly in formal robes with a well-groomed goatee that gave him a refined, dignified appearance.
He was seated behind a polished desk, a cleaned-off dinner plate pushed to one side, his head bowed as he studied a stack of documents. Fortunately for Shalltear, the breeding base's strict external security had made the residents a bit too comfortable, none of the houses had protective wards, and their windows were left wide open. That gave her the perfect chance to listen in without being noticed.
Recognizing that this man held a position of authority, she knew observing him might yield something valuable. Without wasting a second, she released her last surveillance spider and carefully directed it through the window.
The tiny device crawled along the edge of the room until it found a small, hidden corner with a good view. Just as Shalltear finished adjusting its position, someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in," called out the wizard, his tone calm but firm. It was Milan Claremont himself, the man behind the desk.
The door creaked open, and Nathan stepped inside, one hand on the doorknob and the other placed respectfully over his chest. "Your Excellency Claremont, sorry to bother you so late," he said politely.
Claremont looked up, his eyes lighting with recognition. "Ah, Nathan. Come in, take a seat. Apologies for the mess, I just finished dinner," he said, gesturing at the empty plate.
Nathan visibly relaxed at the warm welcome and stepped further into the room. "Thank you, Mr. Claremont."
"Please, no need for such formality. You've been around long enough to know that," Claremont said with a smile, motioning toward the chair in front of his desk.
He stood and walked over to a cabinet beside his desk, where bottles of fine liquor were neatly arranged. Glancing over his shoulder, he asked, "Whiskey?"
"Uh, yes, Sir Claremont," Nathan replied, settling into the seat. The friendly tone was a good sign, maybe his request had a chance after all.
Claremont handed him the glass and studied his face. "You seem troubled. Something happen?" he asked gently, taking his own seat again.
"You've been putting in solid work since coming to the park, but the fact that you're here tonight tells me something's not right.
Is it about your salary? Needing some time off? Or maybe there's been trouble in the crew?"
His voice remained patient, understanding, clearly willing to listen. Nathan took a deep breath and gave a weary sigh.
"It's about the second team in our maintenance unit," he said. "They had a serious run-in today with an 'Ukrainian Iron Belly' that went wild. Jimmy and one of the others were badly hurt, they're still in the hospital."
Claremont's expression darkened with concern. "Merlin's beard. Are they alright? How bad is it?"
"Jimmy got hit hard, his whole upper body was burned. The others took some scratches and cuts. You can still see some of their blood on me," Nathan said, glancing down at his stained uniform.
Claremont frowned, clearly shaken. "I haven't had time to read the daily reports yet... I didn't know anything like this happened," he said, visibly affected. "If it helps, I can arrange a proper break for your team during the holidays, give everyone a chance to rest and regroup."
But Nathan quickly shook his head. "That's very kind of you, Your Excellency, but that's not why I came. The rest of the team's still able to work, and they're not looking to take time off."
"Oh? Then what did you want to talk about?" Claremont asked, raising an eyebrow with interest.
His voice softened a little as he added reassuringly, "If you're worried about the medical costs, rest assured the park will take care of everything. We'll make sure they get the best treatment and recover fully."
"I don't doubt that," Nathan replied calmly.
In truth, this wasn't the first time someone on the team had been hurt. The park's medical staff were skilled enough to handle even serious magical injuries.
That wasn't what Nathan had come here for. He shook his head and looked at Claremont, his expression turning serious.
"Your Excellency, what I wanted to ask… is whether we could get protective gear for the maintenance team," Nathan said, carefully choosing his words.
"You've seen for yourself how dangerous it can get handling magical creatures inside the park. It's just as risky as patrolling outside the walls."
He hesitated slightly. This was something he'd promised the others he would bring up, but it wasn't easy confronting someone like Claremont. Nathan was honest, not one to stir up trouble, and he wasn't used to making demands, especially not from someone with so much authority.
But today's incident had shaken him. While his team was working on cleaning out the Ukrainian Iron Belly's blanket shed, the dragon suddenly went wild. It had let out a roar and started spewing flames in all directions.