Chapter 227
Chapter 227
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: The Mayoral Election and Round House (5)
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If Raven can't take two jobs at once, then I'll just take one for him!
I’d gone through all the trouble of changing with that grand ambition in mind, but maybe changing my appearance didn't solve the communication problem.
Before Raven packed his things and left again, he decided to quickly sort things out.
This wretched curse. It would've been so much easier if I could at least write...
Still, I was grateful for Raven's kindness in anticipating the issue and bringing it up first.
"Hmm... alright. So, to summarize, your older sister has been captured by a metahuman gang called the Black Anchor, and you want to hire me to rescue her."
"Yes, yes... They said they were going to offer my sister... as a gift to the Metahuman Liberation Army..."
"I see... This is definitely a job for a Fixer. Especially if the Metahuman Liberation Army is involved."
Naval's request was the same as in the original story.
He and his sister, Lindy, had been captured by the metahuman gang, the Black Anchor, and were being treated like slaves.
When he overheard talk of them being handed over to the Metahuman Liberation Army, he seized an opportunity to escape.
But perhaps because their captors were numerous and well-equipped, sponsored by some corporation,
Lindy was captured again while ensuring her younger brother, Naval, could escape safely.
In short, Naval's request was to rescue the captured Lindy, no matter what.
With the Metahuman Liberation Army involved in the background, it was clearly a job that required a Fixer.
'Besides, Naval is undocumented, just like I used to be. He can't rely on the police. Coming to Raven, who's rumored to take jobs for a low price... was truly the best choice he could have made.'
Well, he couldn't have known that Raven was already on another job at this exact moment.
He did the best he could in the worst of situations. I wanted to praise the two siblings for enduring so much.
As Naval finished sharing all the information he had and the conversation was winding down,
I, who had been standing back, approached Naval from behind, gave him a light hug, and gently patted his head.
Naval, who had been speaking to Raven with a trembling heart, turned to look at me, startled.
A sense of satisfaction washed over me at the significant difference in our eye levels compared to before.
Who knew looking down at the top of someone's head could be so joyful.
How long has it been since I've felt this way?
"Hmm, so that's the gist of it. This is on a scale that would require at least a Triple Number Fixer... What do you think, Yuria? Can you handle it?"
"Yeah."
"You're quick to answer. ...Wait here a moment."
Raven gave me a doubtful look before fetching something from inside the agency.
I watched him quietly, wondering what he was doing, and saw that he had brought back a pure white cap.
It seemed to be one he wore often, a baseball cap that was a little loose even on my now-larger head.
But perhaps because it had a strangely reassuring scent, the corners of my mouth twitched against my will.
He must have put the cap on me to help conceal my identity.
His brow furrowed slightly in thought as he carefully took a strand of my hair and asked,
"Um, Yuria. Can you change your hair color? Your white hair stands out a bit too much."
"...!"
Change my hair color? I've done it before, so it's not that difficult.
Clutching the Tesseract inside my clothes, I immediately dyed my white hair black.
Naval looked astonished by the sudden transformation before his eyes.
Still, perhaps because he'd already seen me change from an elementary schooler to a middle schooler, he quickly calmed down.
But as if that wasn't enough, he suddenly placed a pair of horn-rimmed glasses on my face.
I was taken aback for a moment, but I quickly realized they were fashion glasses with no lenses.
"This should make you harder to recognize. Right, don't wear a mask. The cap and glasses should be enough of a disguise."
"...Hehe, Raven."
"Yeah, yeah... Gack! Such strength... I'm... dying..."
Wow, he's being so considerate. Thanks.
I hugged him from the front, clinging to him and squeezing with all my might.
But perhaps because my strength had increased so dramatically,
a creaking sound came from his entire body, and he let out a pained cry.
Oops, I forgot how strong I'd become. Startled, I quickly pulled back.
Raven immediately grabbed my head with both hands and shouted.
"This is all well and good, but let's work on controlling your strength! Huh?!"
"Uwaah!"
*Whoosh, whoosh.*
As if he'd just come back from the dead, Raven shook my head back and forth.
W-well, I might have overdone it a little... As the world spun around me, I meekly closed my eyes.
How long did he spin me around like a top?
When Raven's anger finally subsided, he gathered some things from the agency and said,
"Alright, I'm heading out first. I'm sure you'll do fine, but don't get hurt."
"Pya."
'Okay, I'll finish this up quickly and come back to the agency.'
I waved a limp hand at the departing Raven, as if to say that.
Soon, only Naval and I were left in the agency.
He looked up at me with an expression that seemed to ask if this was really okay, then bowed his head.
"P-please, I'm in your hands...!"
"...Hmph."
He might not have had much faith in the smaller Yuria from before, but perhaps he found my taller form more reliable.
Or maybe, being a special species himself, he sensed some kind of strength emanating from me now.
Well, well, if you're going to put so much faith in me, I have no choice.
I'll rescue your precious sister without a single scratch!
Full of confidence, I kneaded Naval's shoulders.
Kukuk, right now, I feel like I could even bring down the sun.
Ah, does this feel a bit like I'm jinxing myself?
*
Of course, despite my worries, there was no failure.
The truth is, the Black Anchor was just another common criminal organization in Nighthaven.
They were simple enough opponents that Alice or David could have wiped them out single-handedly.
Moreover, my current physical specs were on par with, if not superior to, Alice's.
There was no need to be subtle; I could just walk into their base and beat everyone up, and that would be the end of it.
Well... this being a shonen manga-type story, it would be boring if the episode ended that simply.
They also had all sorts of robots and equipment, sponsored by some shady corporation.
Because of the sheer scale of it all, the Fixer party in the original story had no choice but to opt for a stealthy infiltration...
But unfortunately for them, I have Echo, who you could call the god of all machinery.
[ Lady Yuria, I have seized control of all 112 units. Please issue your command. ]
'Hmm, leak all the information stored on the robots to the internet... and since controlling them is a hassle, just make them all self-destruct.'
[ Understood. ]
The Black Anchor possessed over a hundred sponsored robots.
However, following my command, Echo's manipulation turned every single one of those robots into bombs.
I considered turning them against their masters, but that would have consumed too much energy.
Simply blowing them all up at once felt cleaner and more efficient.
*Kabooom!*
At just the right moment, when no innocent bystanders were near, I detonated all the robots simultaneously.
Naturally, the Black Anchor's base was thrown into chaos by the sudden disaster...
Having already memorized the internal layout, I meticulously took down the Black Anchor members one by one.
"Why did these things suddenly explode—! Gak!"
"Boss! There's a strange person here— Aaargh!"
"I-intruder! Intru— Urk!"
Since they were beastmen and naturally sturdy, I didn't have to worry too much about delicately controlling my strength to avoid killing them.
It took a mere twenty minutes to defeat every member of the Black Anchor.
Man, I was lucky. It would've been a bit of a headache without Echo. I'm glad it ended safely.
'The explosion was so loud, the police will be here soon. In that case... I should hurry and rescue Naval's sister.'
I gave a light pat on the back to Naval, who was standing beside me looking completely bewildered.
Was he surprised that I had taken down dozens of Black Anchor members with just my fists and feet?
I suppose to him, I'd just been the pretty older sister who dragged him to the bathroom and played games with him.
Even if he thought I might be strong, he probably never imagined I was *this* strong.
The sight of the gang members groaning on the floor seemed to bring him back to reality.
His eyes sparkled with excitement as he shouted at me.
"S-sister, you're amazing! Y-you took out the entire Black Anchor... all by yourself...!"
"Hmph."
"Y-you're so cool!"
Oh, stop it, you're making me blush.
Unable to hold back my smile, I patted Naval's back a little too hard and shook my head.
Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been praised for being cool like this before.
When I used my psychic powers, I always had to hide my identity, and psychokinesis is invisible, so it's all rather plain.
But perhaps I got carried away by my emotions and failed to control my strength.
Naval's face instantly turned ashen from my pats. That must have hurt. Sorry.
After things had more or less settled down and I'd tied up all the unconscious gang members,
I headed deeper into the Black Anchor's base with Naval.
"The place where my sister is being held is this way! S-sisterrrr!"
"... ."
A dark, underground prison where not even a sliver of light could properly enter.
There, just as in the original story, all sorts of metahumans were being held captive.
Looking at them, most were from rare species with only a handful of members left on Earth.
It was a scene that reaffirmed that the Black Anchor's main business was human trafficking.
In the deepest part of the prison, behind sturdy iron bars, a girl sat huddled up.
She was a girl who looked to be about fifteen, with gray hair similar to Naval's, stained red in places.
Lindy weakly lifted her head at the sound of footsteps approaching her cell.
She stared with trembling eyes at Naval, who was gripping the bars right in front of her, and murmured.
"Naval...? How did you... get here...?"
"Sister! I came to rescue you! It's a Fixer, a Fixer!"
Tears streamed down Naval's face as he looked at his sister, who clearly had suffered greatly since her capture.
And his voice echoed loudly throughout the prison.
Naturally, there were other metahumans imprisoned here besides Lindy.
Their weak gazes naturally turned in our direction.
Half-dazed, they seemed to have only just noticed Naval and me.
Seeing their gaunt cheeks, it was likely they'd had trouble staying lucid in an environment where they weren't being fed properly.
"... ."
*Creeeak!*
Ignoring their stares for a moment, I grabbed the bars of Lindy's cell and pulled them apart with all my might.
To my surprise, the iron bars screamed and buckled under the force of my arms.
If I'd used psychokinesis, I could have just cleanly ripped the whole thing out of the floor,
but even without that, it was enough to create an opening for a person to pass through.
Once the space was made, Naval rushed to Lindy as if he couldn't wait another second and threw his arms around her.
Lindy, as if she couldn't believe the situation, hugged him back and said,
"Naval, you... why are you wearing girls' clothes...? It suits you, but..."
"I-it's a long story!"
"Pfft."
Their brief exchange was enough to show they were close siblings, and I let out a small laugh.
Then I noticed the intense stares coming from all around me.
Well... I guess they want to be rescued too, right?
I glanced around, gave a small smile, and proceeded to rip open the bars of each cell with my bare hands.
'You're all free now. Try not to get caught again.'
As I freed the captives with that thought in mind, most of them expressed their gratitude.
Wow, being on the receiving end of so much goodwill and admiration feels really good.
I was so happy. *Hee hee.* I just couldn't stop smiling.