Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Market Elections and the Round House (4)
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As the sun began to set, the blue sky gradually turning crimson.
Raven, who had been gone without a word, finally returned to the agency.
Seriously, what was he doing out until this hour?
Surely he didn't go to see the Dragon Mayor without telling me...
Recalling his usual behavior, I went to the entrance with Nabal to greet him, a hint of suspicion on my face.
"Oh, Yuria. When did you get here? I should've called ahead."
"…!"
But the Raven I met there was completely different from what I expected.
Traces of sweat dotted his body, as if he'd been running around in the hot weather.
He wasn't even wearing the casual clothes he usually wore on his days off, but a stuffy-looking suit.
To me, who was familiar with his usual patterns...
It seemed clear that he had returned from a fixer job.
*There was no mention of anything this morning... Did he take on an urgent request?*
Since he gave up his day off, he must have gotten nearly double the pay.
Reflexively thinking about Raven's commission fees, I waved a greeting to him.
I didn't know what he'd been doing, but it was clear he hadn't been lazing around.
As I greeted him, Raven, who was taking off his shoes, seemed to finally notice the stranger's presence.
He looked at Nabal, who could be mistaken for a girl with short hair at a glance, and spoke with curiosity.
"What's this, a new friend? You even invited them over. That's a first."
"Nuh-uh."
"Huh? Not a friend? Wait, a closer look... it's a boy."
Raven, who had been observing Nabal carefully, seemed to realize he was a boy right away.
It wouldn't have been strange to mistake him for a girl since he was wearing my clothes. What a sharp eye.
Anyway. How should I explain him?
Especially since I can't speak properly, it's hard to say anything...
After pondering how to put it, I gently pushed Nabal forward from behind.
He was the one with business here, not me. I figured it would be much easier if he spoke for himself.
"Ah, ah... Sis... U-um..."
"...Mmhmm."
"U-uh..."
Had he already gotten comfortable with me? Nabal looked at me with trembling eyes, as if asking for help.
But there was no way I, someone who couldn't even speak, could help. Besides, this was something he had to handle himself.
When I firmly shook my head, he must have realized he had to muster his own courage.
Swallowing nervously, he hesitated but approached Raven.
"E-excuse me... Are you... the Fixer known as the Black Crow, Raven... Mr. Jin Crowley?"
"Hmm, I'm probably the guy you're looking for."
"I-if so... I'd like to make a request!"
"Hmm...?"
At Nabal's sudden, strangely frightened shout, Raven's eyebrow twitched slightly.
At the same time, his look of displeasure shifted to one of considerable interest.
It was a look that suggested a key piece of information was missing to fully grasp the situation.
Puzzled for a moment, I belatedly realized Raven was exerting pressure with his gaze.
Even if he was holding back, it was enough pressure to intimidate a normal adult.
Raven must have been surprised that Nabal, whom he'd thought was just an ordinary kid, withstood the pressure.
*...Wait, what is he doing? What kind of Fixer in the world puts that kind of terrifying pressure on a client?*
The situation was utterly absurd.
Moreover, Nabal was a child with a tragic past who needed to be cared for.
What kind of childish prank was he playing on such a pitiable kid?
A little angry, I walked past Nabal, who stood there sweating buckets, and approached Raven.
And gathering a bit of psychokinesis at the tip of my toe, I kicked him squarely in the shin.
"Ow...! Yuria, you! What are you...!"
"...Hmph."
"Hey, I didn't know he was a client. I thought some weird kid was bothering you..."
"..."
"Ow! Okay! It was a joke! I'm telling you, it was a joke!"
Was even Raven's sturdy body susceptible to a kick imbued with psychokinesis?
He dodged my psychokinetic kicks, scrambling around the narrow hallway.
However, he seemed well aware of his mistake, as he didn't look particularly upset.
When I, huffing and puffing, finally stopped kicking, Raven retracted his pressure and approached Nabal.
Was he finally going to treat him as a proper client, not some mysterious outsider?
Nabal, breathing easier now that the pressure was gone, still looked up at him with a tense expression.
And Raven, after studying Nabal for a moment, spoke seriously with a rather troubled look.
"So you want to hire me..."
"Yes, th-that's right!"
"Well, what to do. I can't take your case."
"W-why not? I-I brought something valuable! My sister said it would be worth a lot...!"
Nabal cried out urgently, flustered by the unexpected refusal.
He seemed to think Raven was rejecting him because he was just a kid with nothing.
I, too, tilted my head, wondering why Raven had refused.
In the original story, he was a cool adult who readily listened. Why did he say no?
But perhaps there was a good reason for his answer.
Raven grabbed the shoulder of Nabal, who was about to run to where he'd left his clothes.
"It's not about the money. A Fixer isn't supposed to take on another job while one is in progress. It's a breach of professional duty, so to speak. I just came back because there was something I needed to pick up for my current job."
"Eh... So that means..."
"Sorry about that. Should I recommend another Fixer? There are some pretty skilled ones besides me... Ah, um... How much money did you say you have?"
Raven scratched his head, thinking, then asked Nabal about his available funds to be sure.
He himself might have taken the job for cheap under the guise of a child discount.
But usually, a Fixer who handles a case on the same day it's requested demands a huge sum of money.
In response, Nabal went back inside and brought the tattered clothes he had been wearing.
Then, with his sharpened hands, he tore the cloth and took out the object hidden inside.
It was the item I had found earlier with my psychokinesis.
I tiptoed slightly to peek over his shoulder and see what it was.
As expected, it was the same item from the original story—a cheap-looking accessory that you might find sold at a tourist spot.
"This is it...!"
"Hmm? This is... an accessory? Hmph, it doesn't look that expensive... Sorry, but this will have to be converted to cash. I doubt the others will accept this as payment. Do you have anything else? Something that looks expensive at a glance."
"Th-that's..."
At Raven's words, Nabal lowered his head, his face filled with despair.
This was the only thing he'd managed to escape with.
Something that "looks expensive at a glance," as he put it, simply didn't exist.
So Raven, too, let out a groan, showing his predicament.
He wanted to hear the details right away and decide whether to take the case.
But listening to the request when he couldn't even accept it would be nothing more than giving false hope.
It was a tricky situation with no easy solution.
Silently listening to the conversation, I patted Raven's back with my palm.
"What is it, Yuria? You have something to say?"
"Yeah."
"...Don't tell me you want to help him yourself."
"..."
S-so perceptive... No, really, this guy must be a mind reader.
I gave a weary look to Raven, who had figured out my intentions with creepy speed.
But if he understood my thoughts right away, it would make things quicker.
I thumped my chest with my fist, as if telling him to trust me, showing my confidence.
I may not look it, but I'm strong enough to have taken down Ren head-on, someone even Raven couldn't beat.
A simple request from Nabal is something I can handle with ease.
Well, if Raven had been able to do it, I wouldn't have bothered getting involved.
But unlike in the original story, he's in a situation where he can't help Nabal. So, what choice do I have?
"No."
"Myeh!"
But was that something Raven couldn't allow?
With a firmer expression than ever, he placed his hand on the crown of my head and pressed down.
Considering he didn't know the details of the request yet, he was probably worried about me wandering around outside.
My existence has already been exposed anyway. Is there really a reason to keep hiding...
But Raven and the Fixer Association went through a lot of trouble, mixing false information to prevent me from being identified.
It was like I had one last coin left before my identity was truly revealed to the enemy.
The reason he could leave my side so readily was because he had that confidence in the information control.
From Raven's perspective as my guardian, he'd want me to lie low.
...No, more importantly, get your hand off my head.
I'm going to shrink at this rate. Stop it, I said stop it.
"You've got more of a troublemaker streak than you think. If I let you wander around alone, I have a feeling you'll cause some kind of incident. If someone gets into trouble, you'll use it without a second thought, won't you?"
"..."
I, who had been resisting with both hands, could only shut my mouth at Raven's pointed words.
Because I couldn't deny that, as he said, I would use my psychic powers if necessary, no matter how many people were around.
No, but without psychokinesis, my body is so weak, I don't have a choice.
In fact, if I fought Nabal bare-handed right now, I'd lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
*Hmm, what should I do then?*
Leaving Nabal like this wasn't a good idea.
There was a clue to land a solid blow on the Metahuman Liberation Army, and besides, the kid was pitiful.
But moving without Raven's permission and causing him trouble felt a bit wrong...
As I pondered with my cheeks puffed out, a brilliant idea popped into my head.
Raven's worried about me using my powers where people can see, right?
Then wouldn't it solve the problem if I eliminated the possibility of that happening in the first place?
"...!"
Wait a minute!
Like a light self-defense move, I chopped Raven's hand away with the side of my own and dashed into the agency.
Then, after entering a room out of their sight, I grabbed the Tesseract and closed my eyes.
What I pictured in my mind was the Athletic Yuria I'd relied on during the Silver Cat incident!
I took a deep breath in and out, and my eye level had suddenly changed.
*It worked. Transformation into Athletic Yuria, success! ...Hmm, the clothes are a bit small. Should I change quickly?*
*Creeak.*
My clothes screamed in agony on my body, which had grown from an elementary schooler's physique to that of a middle schooler.
If I walked around like this, I'd be mistaken for some weirdo.
I glanced down, nodded, and shucked off my clothes.
Then I went into my room and changed into an oversized T-shirt and shorts that were no longer oversized.
After double-checking that nothing looked strange, I hurried back to the entrance where the two were waiting.
"S-sis, you got bigger...?!"
"You... you used that thing..."
"Heehee."
Grinning at Raven and Nabal, I slowly clenched my fist as if to say, "watch this."
I threw a light jab into the empty air.
A heavy gust of wind, something my pathetically weak body could never produce, rattled a picture frame on the wall.
See, I can even create wind pressure with my fist! Though at this level, it's just a gentle breeze...
Did Raven realize what had happened during this series of changes?
He strode over, cautiously felt my arm, and then sighed in disbelief.
"Hah, you want to help that kid that badly?"
"...Yeah."
"Tsk, well, can't be helped then. Go on. But absolutely no dangerous stuff. Got it?"
"Okay!"
"If I catch you doing anything weird... I'll give you a thorough head massage so you can't think of doing it again for a few hours."
"Heek."
Th-that's scary...
I nodded my head up and down vigorously, as if to say I'd take it to heart.
Raven's scalp massages are so agonizing, it's impossible not to scream.
I tensed up reflexively and swallowed hard.
*Absolutely do not overdo it.* Those words were etched deep into my mind.