Chapter 37

The very next day after the Fixer Office finally became complete, a monumental event occurred.

I hurried to the office with my hands stuffed in my pockets due to the driving snow, and right at the entrance, I bumped into a Bear Beastman standing there dazed.

With his round bear ears sticking out from the top of his head, green hair, fairly tall stature, and angular glasses gently resting on his face…

No matter how you looked at him, it was David. What was he doing just standing there instead of going inside?

“….”

“Oh, Miss Yuria. Good morning.”

“??”

“Why am I not going in, you ask? Well… I guess I’m a bit nervous too.”

Nervous, huh… Ah, come to think of it, that made sense.

He had been attending university in the outer city, but in reality, he had just barely become an adult.

Even if he had some part-time job experience, this was probably the first time he’d ever gotten a proper job.

Seriously, the guy who fearlessly took on corporations to save a childhood friend is now acting all timid over something like this?

Smirking slightly, I opened the door boldly for the hesitant David.

Then, pounding my chest confidently with my fist as if to say “just trust me,” I strode into the office with determined steps.

“Ah, Yuria… geez, shake off the snow on your head before coming in. Isn’t it cold?”

“Why? I think it’s cute, like a doll! Good morning, Yuria! You look adorable as always!”

“??”

But the one who greeted me upon entering the office was Raven, lounging almost fully reclined in a chair, making some incomprehensible comment.

Wondering what she meant, I tilted my head and touched the top of my head, only to feel the soft clump of accumulated snow.

Eek?! Was I seriously walking around with snow piled on my head without realizing it? Why hadn’t I noticed!

Flustered, I dashed outside and shook my head wildly to get rid of the snow.

…Wow, so embarrassing. David must have seen it all—why didn’t he say anything?

I returned to the office after cooling my slightly heated neck with my palm.

“Good morning, Mr. David!”

“G-Good morning, Alice. Jin.”

“Welcome, newbie.”

There stood David, greeting everyone awkwardly like a creaky old robot.

Hmm, looks like he doesn’t have the mental space to worry about others. He’s trembling all over.

Oh well, I guess I can forgive him. It’s not like I noticed either, being such a dunce.

Sigh, anyway. Thank goodness the office is warm.

Our hideout has no heating, so it’s freezing unless you’re curled up in a sleeping bag like a caterpillar. Maybe it’s time to consider moving?

As I thought about it, sitting demurely on the office sofa, Raven had already guided David to his new desk.

“Here’s your spot. Whenever you need to work on something, you can do it here.”

“I understand. But could you perhaps explain again the tasks I’ll be responsible for?”

“Ah… yeah. Just as I mentioned before, there’s nothing major. Both me and Alice are a bit clueless when it comes to computers and the internet. So we’ll mostly need you to assist with those kinds of tasks for my Pixie duties. If there’s no work, you can do whatever you want during the rest of the time. No problem.”

“Yes, understood.”

In short, David was the office’s computer-related task handler.

You could say he was here to fill the gap left by Raven and Alice, who were both computer illiterate, in this place filled with far more advanced technology and complex mechanical devices than in my past life.

Just having him around would nearly double the number of requests we could take on, so it was definitely a big advantage for Raven to hire him.

‘Though, it does make you wonder why they waited so long to hire someone… Then again, being cautious is better than carelessly hiring anyone and risking betrayal.’

Come to think of it, incidents where hired coders ran off with important information or money weren’t uncommon around here.

Not long ago, one of our clients even came to us asking us to catch a runaway coder.

Considering that, even setting aside the original storyline, Raven hiring David might actually be a win-win situation for both parties.

“…”

*Click.*

Without realizing it, I quietly removed the small camera attached under the table and tossed it into the trash, lost in thought.

I hope everything goes smoothly from now on.

At least until I quit this part-time job!

*

Fortunately, David seemed to adapt to the office quickly.

His nervousness lasted only for the first few dozen minutes after arriving.

Once a client or two showed up and actual work began, he seemed to realize the tasks weren’t as difficult as he’d imagined, and his expression visibly relaxed.

Raven wasn’t the type to interfere much with me or Alice on a daily basis, and Alice was basically the most affable golden retriever-shaped human I’d ever met.

And though I’m a bit shy around people, none of us were particularly proactive in approaching others anyway.

So getting used to the office atmosphere wasn’t that hard.

Then lunchtime arrived, and both Alice and I widened our eyes in surprise.

The meal provided for lunch was a high-end bento box nearly twice as expensive as the cheap ones we usually ate.

“…!”

“Oh my, this bento is quite delicious. Hey, Jin, why don’t we order from here regularly?”

“No way. Today’s special because of the newbie. Tomorrow, we’re back to the usual cheap stuff.”

“Aww, so stingy.”

“Shut up. Be grateful it’s not instant noodles. Unlike you freeloaders, you eat so much that if I kept buying these expensive meals, I’d go bankrupt.”

“Hmph, sorry for eating a lot. But I’m hungry, so what can I do?”

*Munch munch.*

I tuned out their bickering and leisurely savored the rare luxury of an expensive meal.

A cube steak bento, no less. Ever since I started working here, I haven’t been able to spend money as freely as before. Enjoying something like this felt like a real treat.

Perhaps because I was so focused on the food, I only belatedly noticed David staring at me from across the table.

What? Do you need something?

I tilted my head slightly to convey that casual question, and he shook his head dismissively.

“…?”

“Oh, sorry, Miss Yuria. I was just wondering if you can actually see properly with your mask tilted diagonally like that…”

“…!”

“Was that unnecessary concern? My apologies. I tend to have useless curiosity sometimes.”

Well, whether he got the message or not…

When I nodded confidently to show I could see just fine, he apologized for saying something unnecessary. Honestly, there was no need for him to apologize.

Watching our somewhat awkward exchange, Alice—who had been happily chewing on her thick slice of meat—casually changed the topic.

“By the way, Mr. David, I heard you attended university outside. Did you study hard?”

“Yes. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I managed to get full scholarships based on my grades…”

“Wow…! I’ve never been able to attend school properly since I was little, so going to university sounds really impressive!”

“Hmm, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Her words carried genuine sincerity.

Due to family circumstances, she spent her time training instead of attending school and learned the basics through home education.

She must have found it remarkable that he achieved excellent academic results at the university level despite that.

At that moment, Raven—who had been quietly listening to the conversation—suddenly looked at Alice with a curious expression.

“But how did you manage to become a police cadet? Is the police force also facing a labor shortage these days?”

“What are you talking about? I just had help from my sister.”

“Did you cheat on the exam?”

“Excuse me! I studied my butt off for six months straight! Who are you calling stupid?”

Alice, enraged, grabbed Raven by the collar and shook her violently.

Though she’d quit now, becoming the top-ranking police cadet through sheer skill was one of her proudest achievements.

Joking about it—even if it was Raven—was clearly unforgivable. Her reaction was just too cute.

‘Wait, hold on. Does that mean… the person with the lowest education here is me?’

Let’s think about it. Raven may look like a pathetic middle-aged man now, but officially, he’s a Pixie—an elite soldier in his active days.

Alice was born into a prestigious family, received home education, and passed exams with flying colors to become a police cadet through sheer merit.

David, despite coming from the slums without any great teachers, entered university as the top student and earned full scholarships through sheer intellect.

And me? In my past life, I was just an ordinary nobody, and now I’m an illegal squatter hiding in an empty building. There’s no way I can compare.

‘…Who cares about education? Yeah, what good is being smart? In the end, what matters is working in a warm place during the winter, eating well, and living comfortably. Yup, yup. No need to feel inferior.’

My brain’s creaky positivity circuit kicked in.

Wait, it’s not a positivity circuit. It’s common sense.

Inferiority complexes stem from feeling inadequate or inferior. But I’m not really lacking, am I? I have plenty of skills. Like bullying thugs in back alleys—I’m probably the best at that here.

Feeling unnecessarily complicated, I angrily chomped down on a piece of steak cube.

Maybe it was the sensation of the medium-rare steak breaking apart tenderly in my mouth, but I felt my irritation ease a little.

“…Hmm.”

“…?”

After venting my frustration on the steak and casually raising my head, I suddenly locked eyes with Raven.

Wasn’t he being strangled by Alice just a moment ago?

Confused, I glanced to the side and saw Alice now bombarding David with questions.

Uh… so it seems our eye contact wasn’t accidental. He had been quietly watching me.

Huh? Did I do something worth noticing?

Tilting my head while placing my empty bento box on the desk, Raven nonchalantly turned away, pretending nothing happened. His ability to play innocent was almost professional.

‘Hmm… well, it’s probably nothing important. Surely he’s not misunderstanding something?’

Brushing off my puzzlement, I wiped my mouth and adjusted my mask back to its original position.

That’s the end of our short lunch break!

Now it’s time to welcome the clients coming in the afternoon.

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