Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Yuria Repays a Kindness - Interlude
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The so-called Belmond Incident, where roughly twenty percent of the city was scorched black by magic.
Perhaps because there were fortunately no casualties and the affected area was a now-unused slum.
The incident seemed to have been resolved rather quickly, considering the scale of the damage.
This was because after helping the police for nearly a full day, from late dawn until midnight the next day, Raven had handed the case over to the investigators and Fixers and returned to Nighthaven.
It seems someone had subdued werewolves here and there throughout the slum.
He said it lent credibility to his claims and made persuading them easier. *Ahem*, I have no idea who could have done such a thing.
In any case, Raven arrived in Nighthaven a day later than the rest of us.
Looking like he was about to die from exhaustion, he gathered the group in the office and explained the situation.
Alice spoke up, letting out a small sigh of relief.
“There was no one at the office yesterday, so I was wondering what happened… You really went through a lot.”
“I had already been contacted and was aware, but I’m glad no one was hurt.”
“Ugh, I wish I could have helped too!”
Belmond was, after all, a human city, which made it a hassle for metahumans to come and go as they pleased.
Alice looked extremely disappointed, as we’d had no choice but to leave her behind.
Unlike David, who had provided help via hacking after hearing the news midway through, she hadn’t been able to contribute at all until the incident was over.
Of course, the current Alice had yet to fully awaken her talents and was even weaker than Greg.
It might have actually been more helpful that she wasn't there.
…No, is that a bit cruel to think?
“Still, it all worked out one way or another, so it’s fine. Besides… even if you had been there, what help would you have been with two of the Seven Extremes present? Go get stronger, kid.”
“Ugh, you really know how to hit where it hurts… I’m so sorry for being a useless weakling!”
“The Seven Extremes are among the strongest individuals in all of Nighthaven. Indeed, someone of my or Miss Alice’s level would have only been a hindrance.”
“Grrr…”
Unlike me, who only thought it, Raven had a rather direct personality.
He immediately hit Alice with a painful dose of reality.
Still, Alice was the type to get fired up with the determination to overcome any wall that stood in her way.
Perhaps telling her the cold, hard truth was a better way to motivate her.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat, Alice lowered her head and pressed her forehead against the top of my head as she hugged me.
Raven watched her, shook his head, and roughly summarized the situation.
“Let’s wrap this story up here. Those guys… the Liberation Army went way too wild this time. They probably won’t be showing their faces so aggressively for a while, not like this. Especially not in Nighthaven, since *he’s* here.”
“By ‘he’… are you perhaps referring to the Dragon Mayor?”
“Yeah. Unless they’re planning an all-out war, they won’t be thinking of picking a fight so recklessly.”
Nighthaven had Tempest, the Dragon Mayor, a one-man army.
As the city's leader, he was a prominent pro-human figure who opposed the Metahuman Liberation Army's ideology.
The Liberation Army wouldn't be able to retaliate against us easily without being prepared for immense risks.
Finishing his explanation, Raven turned to the woman who had been sitting quietly on the sofa.
“So, what are you going to do now? It’ll be difficult for us to help you any further.”
The person he addressed was Karen, a beauty with luscious gray hair and impressive narrow eyes.
Karen hadn't returned to her hometown, where she had nearly been abducted by the Liberation Army, and was still here.
At Raven's words about not being able to help, she scratched her cheek and replied.
“Ah, I… It’s embarrassing to ask, but I’ve decided to stay in Nighthaven and work at Mr. Greg’s shop. He works as an appraiser, so I’d be like a dedicated specialist, repairing the artifacts that occasionally come in…”
“Hmm, is that so? That’s great.”
“If you ever have something you need looked at, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll inspect your items free of charge, as many times as you need.”
“Hehehe, well now, looks like I’ve got myself a pretty nice voucher. I’ll be sure to stop by without a second thought whenever I get the chance.”
“Hmph, of course.”
Karen's race was Arachne, spider-like metahumans with special eyes and exceptional magical aptitude.
As someone skilled enough to repair complex artifacts on her own, it seemed she planned to live in Nighthaven while working at Greg’s shop.
Greg's general store primarily dealt in old antiques and artifacts.
With Karen joining as an employee who could assess the condition of artifacts, their synergy would surely be magnified.
In other words, this was undoubtedly a proposal that benefited both her and Greg.
‘Does this count as… a happy ending? No one got hurt. In fact, Karen is free from the threat of the Liberation Army, and Greg gets a new employee. This never happened in the original story, so it took me by surprise, but I’m so glad.’
I quietly recalled the events of the source material from within Alice's embrace, which was now tighter than usual.
In the original story, Karen first appeared as a member of the Liberation Army.
In that timeline, Greg’s glasses never broke, so he never helped her, and she was captured and forced to work for them.
She made an impression not only by repairing artifacts but also by fighting in a rather stylish way.
Then, around the time the Liberation Army was completely dismantled, she was liberated and returned to her hometown, and that was the end of her appearance.
Once the Liberation Army was crushed and the main villain group shifted to the Invaders, what little screen time she had vanished.
But to think our connection would lead to her working at Greg’s shop.
You really never know what the future holds for people.
‘Right, I need to change my way of thinking, too.’
Come to think of it, I wondered if I even needed to worry so much about the original story anymore.
Now that Raven had fought two of the Seven Extremes at this point in time, trying to predict the future was largely meaningless.
How much sooner would the enemy's attacks come? How would their personnel be rearranged?
All predictions and expectations were now far beyond my grasp.
In other words, rather than passively reacting to situations as I had been, perhaps I needed to be a little more proactive in preparing for the future.
‘So… right. I need to get a grip. I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
Honestly, I was a little scared.
If you asked me what I was scared of… well, everything?
But that feeling was fleeting.
I glanced around, slowly calming my anxious heart.
In the end, what I wanted was a world where no one was sad and everyone was happy.
To protect something that difficult, I’d have to work myself to the point of collapse.
“…”
“Hm? Ah, right.”
From Alice’s arms, I subtly shifted my head to look at Greg.
He seemed to notice my gaze immediately, turning toward me and nodding as if he understood my meaning.
Just as Greg was about to speak, as if he still had something to say, Alice suddenly hugged me tighter, her voice laced with anxiety.
“Um, excuse me… Jin? Mr. Greg?”
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
“Does this mean… now that Mr. Greg is here, Yuria is going back? That’s what’s happening, right?”
At her words, I looked up, slightly flustered.
There stood Alice, her eyes filled with disappointment.
No matter how you looked at it, her face clearly showed she didn't want to let me go.
She looked so fragile, as if one wrong move would cause tears to stream down her face.
Raven glanced at me, then back at her, and spoke with a troubled expression.
“Well, it can’t be helped. We can’t pay her much here. It’s better for her to work with Greg.”
“Nooo… Don’t! Yuria! Please don’t go!”
“It is a shame. Thanks to Miss Yuria, this dreary office felt a little brighter.”
“…Huh? Mr. David. Are you implying that I’m dreary like the rest of you guys?”
“*Pfft*, the more I see you, the more you give off that vibe. Sometimes you seem even more rough-and-tumble than David.”
“Jin! What’s that supposed to mean!”
*Grrrowl!* Alice, still holding me in her arms, snarled fiercely at Raven and David.
Her ferocity was so intense that the two of them flinched and averted their eyes.
I could kind of see their point.
She certainly had the figure and face of a top-tier beauty.
But she also had a dorky and naive side to her.
She gave off more of a little sister vibe than that of a woman.
Surprisingly, even by the end of the original story, there was no romantic storyline between her and the other agency members.
So it was probably inevitable that their assessment of Alice would be so harsh.
Wait, but what did I do to make the office brighter?
Alice is way cuter and prettier than someone like me. They have no taste.
As if to comfort Alice, I patted the arm wrapped around me and looked up at her quietly.
Alice’s face scrunched up as if she were holding back tears, and with a soft whimper, she hugged me tight. Ugh, I can’t breathe.
“Ahem, calm yourself, Alice. Wouldn’t it be better to hear what we have to say first?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Greg cleared his throat, stopping Alice, who looked ready to dig a hole in the ground.
It seemed he felt the conversation wouldn’t proceed otherwise.
But the agency members just stared at him with puzzled expressions.
What else was there to say? The question was written all over their faces.
Then, when he felt he had everyone’s attention, Greg relayed the conversation he and I had yesterday to Raven.
“Raven. I was wondering if Yuria could continue to stay at the office, as before.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“It seems she wants to stay here. Come to think of it, she has nowhere else to go. When I asked if my place would be alright, she seemed to prefer it here.”
“!”
As if to confirm his words, I nodded from within Alice’s embrace.
His eye twitched as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he shot up from his seat.
“Ah, right. Now that I think about it, she doesn’t have a home… Wait, then what about her job?”
“She’ll work at my general store on weekdays, and after work, she’ll live here like before. It seems she’s also willing to pay for her stay.”
“Ah… *Hiss*, that’s… taking money from a kid is a bit…”
“Jin! There’s nothing to think about! Are you really going to coldly kick a homeless Yuria out onto the street!”
“Hmm, I, for one, approve.”
“Hey, you two, what gives you the right to approve! This is my office!”
Raven yelled, pointing his finger at Alice and David.
It seemed the idea of me staying at the office was making his thoughts a little complicated.
Was the idea of me quitting my job as a part-timer but still wanting to live here a bit too ambiguous for him?
Hmm, so is it a no?
To be honest… what I was really after was the rift, more than anything else.
That thing inside the closet. It's incredibly rare.
Think about it. If I hadn't fed the Tesseract energy from the rift, I wouldn't have been able to protect Greg.
So, to prepare for something like that happening again, I was desperate to feed the Tesseract more energy.
And these are good people. I don't want to intentionally distance myself from them.
As for the original story… if I t-try a little, maybe we can get through it together, right?
‘Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about the future… But I don’t want to just look away and assume everything will be fine. I’ll do everything in my power to protect these people.’
In other words, staying here was, in a way, a step toward the future.
It was something I was unwilling to compromise on.
Well… I’m not going to throw a tantrum over it.
If he says no, I’ll have to back down gracefully. I’ll understand and accept it.
*Gulp.*
I waited anxiously for his answer, watching Raven quietly.
As if reading my gaze, he clutched his head as if a headache was coming on, then closed his eyes tightly and threw himself back onto the sofa, shouting.
“Aargh, fine! I get it! I get it! I’ll let her stay, alright?!”
“!”
“Jin!”
“But forget the money! You’re only working at the general store on weekdays, right? Then on weekends, help out with cleaning the office. That should be enough!”
I-It worked!
At his perfect words of permission, I straightened my back.
Alice patted my shoulder, sharing in my joy as if everything had turned out wonderfully.
I was quitting my part-time job, but since I’d be living at the office, we could still see each other as usual.
She seemed content with the fact that we wouldn’t be too physically distant.
Hehe, I don’t mind either.
From behind my mask, I beamed along with the happy agency members.
The Tesseract hidden under my clothes also seemed overjoyed at the prospect of getting to eat.
My last day as a part-timer ended with such happy news.
I was so relieved that this, too, had a happy ending.