Chapter 62

Idol Aisha from the entertainment agency ‘Kodeoria’.

She was someone with a certain meaning to me.

She was the first person I looked up in Night Haven, even before the protagonist Raven.

Looking back, there wasn’t any grand reason for it.

When I first dropped into this Fixer world, she was just a landmark to figure out the timeline.

Honestly, she wasn’t exactly a character with massive importance in the original work.

Well, thanks to her, I could confirm that this was before the start of the original story.

I guess you could say she was somewhat helpful. Though this was my first time actually seeing her face.

‘Anyway… she really does wear makeup that completely hides her facial features. No wonder she’s not popular. She might actually scare me in my dreams.’

Isn’t this a bit too much?

Watching Aisha fidgeting at the door, I quietly broke out in a cold sweat.

The reason those hurtful words popped into my head wasn’t because of anything else.

The makeup on Aisha’s face went beyond being shocking—it was downright catastrophic.

Wasn’t her hair a two-tone bob with different colors inside and out? And weren’t her lips a deep blue as if dyed?

The distinctive appearance that would naturally grab attention when passing by… well, honestly, that wasn’t the most noticeable thing about her now.

Her skin was so white that I couldn’t tell if it was makeup or if she had rubbed flour on her face.

Her eyes had thick, black smoky makeup that made pandas come to mind, and she had heavily shaded her cheeks and jawline with purple contouring.

Even in Night Haven, where prejudices about appearances were almost non-existent due to various races, her look was truly rare—a veritable monster-like appearance.

“U-um…”

“…!”

Ah, now isn’t the time to be flustered by her appearance. Time to work.

Belatedly snapping out of it, I calmly guided her into the office.

Perhaps because I already knew that despite her terrifying appearance, Aisha herself was quite a decent person inside…

I quickly got used to her catastrophic face.

Though, falling for her would still be pretty difficult.

“Gulp…”

“Oh my.”

“…Hm?”

As Aisha followed me into the office, the three people inside reacted with utter speechlessness.

Raven unconsciously twitched her hand as if searching for a gun, Alice covered her mouth with both hands and widened her eyes, and David kept adjusting his glasses as if doubting his own eyes.

Their reactions were far from what you’d expect when meeting an idol.

But maybe because they were professionals getting paid for their work, they quickly shook off their surprise and began attending to Aisha in their usual calm manner.

“A-ah, hello… Is this the Fixer Office?”

“Yes, it is. Have you come to place a request?”

“Uh, yes. It’s a problem I can’t possibly solve on my own…”

“In that case, please have a seat here. Yuria, could you get some coffee?”

“…!”

After naturally guiding Aisha to a seat, I hurried to prepare coffee and snacks inside according to Raven’s instructions.

At first, it was a bit clumsy, but perhaps thanks to over three weeks of repetition.

I was starting to feel quite skilled at brewing coffee. There was something satisfying about making it.

With a tray carrying coffee and snacks, I returned to the reception area.

By then, Aisha and Raven seemed to have made some progress in their conversation.

“You keep receiving threatening texts from unknown numbers, and pictures of restaurants you’ve visited are showing up in your mailbox?”

“Yes. So lately, I haven’t been able to sleep properly, and the stress is affecting my work…”

“Hmm, certainly, with such issues, one can’t help but lose sleep. Stalkers are a serious problem.”

The reason Aisha came to the Fixer Office at this point was none other than this.

Just three months after her debut, she was being harassed by a stalker, unable to work properly.

The stalker followed her even after work ended, and at its worst, took pictures of her back at the studio. Eventually, she realized she couldn’t handle it alone.

After consulting with her manager and agency, Aisha decided to hire a Fixer to catch the stalker directly, and apparently, the chosen Fixer was Raven.

Watching them talk like that made my mouth itch.

As someone who read the original work, I knew how the incident would unfold and end.

‘I want to jump in and mess things up… But I shouldn’t.’

Even though I couldn’t speak, I tried hard to exercise patience.

This request wasn’t just important for Aisha; it was also crucial for the Fixer Office.

It was the episode where David, who hadn’t fully adapted to the office yet, would properly integrate.

You could say he would start viewing Raven, whom he regarded as a savior, as a trusted colleague.

If it were any other request, maybe I wouldn’t hesitate to meddle, but this one was tricky.

What if a butterfly effect occurred, causing David to drift apart from the office?

Patience, gotta endure somehow. While I was lost in thought staring blankly at the wall, their conversation seemed to have reached a conclusion.

Raven nodded understandingly and spoke to Aisha.

“Hmm, so our job is to catch that stalker and make them pay properly, right?”

“Y-yes, yes…!”

“I understand. Please leave your terminal number here, and here… my business card. When new threats arrive, contact this number immediately, and we’ll resolve the issue quickly.”

“T-thank you! Thank you!”

“There’s no need to thank us. This is, after all, a business transaction for money.”

Aisha showered her with gratitude while sporting her terrifying face, but Raven maintained a composed expression.

Truly a master of poker face. If it were me, my expression would’ve cracked at least a little.

His demeanor in work mode was indeed extraordinary. This is what a professional looks like.

Afterward, nothing much happened.

After signing the contract and leaving a deposit and terminal number, Aisha departed.

Since stalkers don’t usually leave obvious traces, catching one in a day wasn’t feasible. Ultimately, this task would become a long-term request requiring substantial time investment.

Once Aisha left and only we remained in the office,

Alice, who had been quietly listening from behind, said with concern,

“Hmm… I’m a bit worried about Miss Aisha. She seems to have gone through quite a lot mentally.”

“Once you get harassed like that, resting doesn’t feel like resting anymore. That aside, to think she gets stalked despite that face. There sure are strange people out there.”

“Mr. Jin! You shouldn’t say such things to Miss Aisha!”

“Oops, sorry. But didn’t you also seem flustered when you first saw the client? Am I wrong?”

“Urk, w-well… I did think she had… quite a strong personality…”

Reprimanding Mr. Jin for his harsh words, Alice suddenly found herself cornered by his sharp jab and could only roll her eyes.

It seemed she too subconsciously thought, “To get stalked with that kind of appearance…” Thinking is free. As long as you don’t verbalize it, you probably won’t feel guilty.

However, David, watching their exchange, seemed to have different thoughts.

He adjusted his glasses once and opened his mouth with an excited air.

“No. Perhaps it’s precisely because of that kind of personality that she attracts stalkers.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Until recently, the internet and media environment were privileges granted only to humanoid races. But as time passed, even tree spirits and merfolk, who previously couldn’t enjoy media, started adapting to the environment. Miss Aisha is an idol born to fulfill the needs of these various races, possessing an exaggerated personality. In other words, a Maximized Idol!”

“Woah, woah…”

“Too long! So… you’re saying they deliberately amplified her personality to target the demographic of non-humanoid races who struggle to recognize people?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

David, who wasn’t usually verbose, delivered a lengthy speech.

Hearing this, Alice and Raven naturally showed signs of confusion.

They seemed unsure how to react to this unexpected situation.

But unlike them, I grinned widely and lightly clapped my hands twice.

Eh? Why am I enjoying this elaborate explanation that makes no sense?

The reason was simple. David… was a huge idol otaku!

Seeing his distinct personality from the original work made me genuinely delighted.

He probably didn’t know much about Aisha herself since she was a relatively unknown idol.

Perhaps he took off his glasses earlier because he couldn’t believe he was seeing a real-life Maximized Idol?

‘This seems like the highest level of excitement I’ve seen from David. Is it because it’s his forte?’

Maybe it’s because this world is like a shonen manga with these three as protagonists.

Each member of the Fixer Office displayed a strong, unique hobby that didn’t overlap with others.

For instance, Raven was a gambling addict who poured money into dragon races, and Alice was a lover of all things cute.

David could be described as an idol maniac deeply engrossed in various idols.

Technically, there’s backstory about him being recruited by a roommate during his overseas studies and becoming a full-fledged fan who attends concerts, but let’s set that aside for now.

Anyway, for these reasons, David was effectively the main character of this episode.

It also helped ease the awkward atmosphere in the office and made Aisha, who had accumulated troubles with her agency, feel happier.

‘Then for now, I’ll… leisurely observe the situation.’

With David properly fired up and Aisha having safely placed her request,

I saw no room to interfere or meddle.

This was already over.

Could things possibly go awry here?

*

The next day.

We visited her office early in the morning as part of the preliminary preparations to catch the stalker.

Perhaps this place was specifically established for special members like Maximized Idols.

It felt small-scale, with a personal touch, unlike what you’d expect from Kodeoria, which has produced many prominent idols.

When we arrived at the office, they might have been filming some promotional video inside.

Following the staff’s guidance, we entered and witnessed Aisha with a broken guitar slung over her shoulder, her face contorted into a fierce expression.

“Heyyy! Are you listening, you brats! If there are any pests bothering you, tell this beautiful big sis everything! I’ll crush all their heads! Got it?!”

There was no trace of the timid, hesitant demeanor we saw at the Fixer Office—just an overwhelming presence akin to a crime syndicate boss!

Watching the scene quietly from behind the filming area, Raven muttered incredulously under her breath.

“The stalker really exists, right? At this rate, she might be able to handle them alone.”

“Mr. Jin. You shouldn’t say such things.”

“C-cool…”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

As David muttered with a slight blush, Raven and Alice instinctively gawked at him.

Aha-ha! Watching my companions’ vivid reactions, I silently burst into laughter behind my hand.

Ah, coming along was the right choice. Somehow, I was already having fun.

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