Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: The Secret in That Closet (2)
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The dizzying sight was a scene of utter chaos, as if an earthquake had struck.
I stared into the closet, half-dazed, before quickly snapping back to my senses.
This moment, with the sharp-sensed Raven away for a while, was a precious opportunity that only came a few times a day.
If I wasted it, I’d have no choice but to try again tomorrow.
And with each passing day so critical, I had to stay sharp.
‘Right, Raven was the type to avoid cleaning because it’s a hassle. I should have expected this… Okay, let’s hurry up and look.’
To get my bearings, I straightened up and took a wide look at the entire closet.
It was so wide that I couldn’t cover the whole thing even if I stretched my arms out to the sides.
It was a built-in, sliding-door type, the kind you might find in a Japanese home.
Still, thanks to the high-quality wood finish, the inside didn’t feel as gloomy as I’d expected.
‘It’s pretty deep. I think I could easily fit inside….’
The closet was deeper than it looked from the outside.
It seemed to have been part of the building’s original design, as nothing about it felt out of place.
Except, it seemed Raven was just using this fine closet as a makeshift storage shed.
The three-tiered closet was a jumbled mess of all sorts of items, completely unorganized.
It wouldn’t be easy to take all this out.
Faced with such a daunting task and so little time, I couldn’t help but worry.
‘Raven’s pants, the ones with the fragment, were new winter clothes he’d just taken out.’
Thankfully, I wasn’t just shooting in the dark; I had a clue to work with.
If he took out winter dress pants from this closet, then what I was looking for was likely near the box that held his winter clothes.
‘It’ll be a pain, but I’m sure I’ll find something if I check the boxes in here. But time is…’
A quick glance.
My eyes darted to the clock on the digital calendar hanging on the wall.
I’d give myself about five minutes of leeway from the current time.
Getting caught would be a massive headache, so I had to be careful not to cross that deadline.
I seared the remaining time into my mind, then carefully shifted the heavy junk piled on top of the boxes to the side.
But as I pushed the items aside, the precariously stacked junk lost its balance and came crashing down toward the floor.
“...!”
I frantically used my psychokinesis to catch the falling items.
Was it because I reacted quickly enough? The junk stopped safely in midair before it could hit the floor and make a loud noise.
Hmm, it looks like… I’ll have to use my psychokinesis more actively this time.
Having made up my mind, I lifted the junk and made it stick to the upper part of the closet, then hurriedly opened the scattered boxes one by one.
This is a toolbox with lightbulbs and nails, this one has books and ornaments…
Whoa, hold on. This is… a racy magazine. So this is where he hid it?
‘…No, no, this isn't the time for this! Couldn’t he have hidden it somewhere less obvious, really!’
I stared blankly at the magazine, which featured a woman with a dizzying figure striking a seductive pose, then tossed it to the floor, my face flushing for no reason.
I was embarrassed at myself for getting sidetracked when every second counted.
Anyway. Is this a closet or a dumpster?
I couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the chaotic state of things, which looked like they’d been shoved in without the slightest attempt at organization.
I could have been much faster if I’d just rummaged through everything without worrying about the cleanup.
Trying to work without leaving a trace seemed to be doubling the time it took.
But well… what can you do? A job’s a job.
Resigning myself to the task, I was diligently sifting through boxes when a thought struck me.
‘Maybe it’s not here… but up top?’
Using my psychokinesis, I returned the opened boxes and junk to their original places as discreetly as possible, then stood on my tiptoes to peer at the very top shelf of the closet, the third tier.
And surprisingly, just like the lower shelves, there was a lidded box at the very top.
I hadn't noticed it from below because of a thick blanket obscuring the view, but to think there’d be one up here too.
Feeling a slight headache from Raven’s completely unpredictable organizational patterns, I used my psychokinesis to leap up like a cat to the top of the closet.
Then, crouching to avoid hitting my head on the ceiling, I sat on the thick blanket and checked the contents of the box.
‘Found it. Summer clothes!’
Bingo. This was it.
Inside the box were clothes so thin they’d be impossible to wear now. This was probably where the winter clothes were supposed to be.
If so, there was a high chance that something related to the Invaders was nearby.
I started crawling around, meticulously searching every nook and cranny for anything that stood out.
‘Wait a minute. This part here, where it connects to the ceiling, something about it looks…’
After an obsessively thorough search, I noticed a faint sense of wrongness in the section where the closet met the ceiling.
A space I couldn’t touch, but one my intuition told me was there.
I extended my psychokinesis from my fingertips, projecting my power into the space deeper than what my eyes could see.
Amazingly, even though there was a wooden wall right in front of me, my psychokinesis advanced as if there were no obstacle at all.
It was a strange phenomenon reminiscent of the train station from that wizard movie!
Knowing what this phenomenon was, I couldn't help but stare with wide eyes in astonishment.
‘This is… a crack!’
That’s right. This was none other than a dimensional crack, a crucial element in the world of Fixers.
A rift between dimensions, a vulnerability in the world created when different dimensions accidentally overlap in the same space.
And at this point in time… it was an otherworldly treasure trove whose value most people didn’t yet recognize.
Huh? Why a treasure trove?
Because on very rare occasions, items adrift in other worlds… things like Tesseracts… would sometimes pass through these cracks that connected to the outside dimensions.
Not now, but later in the original story when cracks started appearing all over the world, the otherworldly items that fell through caused a huge uproar.
So calling it a treasure trove wasn’t much of an exaggeration.
Of course, it wasn’t all good. If a crack like this grew too large, it could become a gateway for Invaders to cross over, which would be a truly terrifying event.
Well, that was unlikely to happen with a crack barely the size of my cute little fist.
‘Why is this here… Hmm, so…’
Was this in the original story?
No, if my memory served me right, the closet was never described in detail.
More importantly, if this is a crack, is it a good thing or a bad thing?
Among the possibilities I’d considered, this seemed like one of the better ones…
As my mind reeled in confusion, I suddenly noticed a faint creaking sound in my ear.
A chill immediately ran down my spine.
The reason was simple. That was the sound of the shower room door opening.
“...!”
Oh no! I had been so focused on the sudden appearance of the crack that I’d lost track of time!
This was bad. The shower room was so close that you could see it the moment you opened this room’s door.
That meant the moment the door opened, my only way out would be through the window.
But jumping out the window?
In this cold winter, doing so would let in an unnatural chill that would give me away instantly.
‘Wh-what do I do?! If he catches me like this… he’ll definitely be suspicious!’
All sorts of negative scenarios flashed through my mind.
He graciously let me stay in his home, and now he finds me rummaging through his room?
Not even a saint could easily overlook something like this.
At the very least, he’d likely think I was trying to steal something, and at worst, he might mistake me for some malicious schemer with a fake identity.
Of course, I didn’t have any ill intent; I just wanted to be prepared for the worst…!
But whether he would understand that was another question. For one, I couldn't even speak.
*Thump, thump.*
Raven’s presence drew closer to the door.
There was no time to think. I had about five seconds left.
My palms slick with cold sweat from the shock, I squeezed my eyes shut and quietly closed the closet door.
My plan was to hide quietly inside the closet, like trapping a bug under a pot lid.
Would I go unnoticed? No, I had a feeling… I’d be caught…
*Click.*
The door opened, and Raven’s presence grew stronger.
My heart felt like it was caught in an icy grip, and my mouth went dry.
*Please don’t notice me.*
My own heartbeat thudded in my ears as I held my breath.
But as if to betray my desperate prayer, Raven’s footsteps immediately headed straight for the closet.
*Screech.* The closet door slid open smoothly, and a blinding light streamed in.
I was caught.