Chapter 69

It was a serious situation.

No way could I joke around lightly in this kind of crisis. This was, quite literally, an emergency.

How bad must things be if even Tesseract couldn’t sit still and was fidgeting nonstop?

This was absolutely not something I could just ignore.

[“Meow? Mama, did you call me?”]

Ah, sorry. It’s not like I called you because of work or anything…

Anyway, there are just some things kids shouldn’t know about!

After poking Tesseract with my telekinesis for a bit to entertain it,

I retreated back into the cramped closet to get serious again.

Let me think. What day is it today?

[Thursday!]

Right, just as Tesseract said, today was Thursday.

To be precise, it had been exactly five days since Aisha’s request ended…

And it had already been three days since Greg was supposed to return.

Well, technically, it’s evening now, so it’ll be four days by the time I wake up tomorrow.

So after much deliberation, I faceplanted into my fluffy blanket.

Greg… why aren’t you here yet?! You said you’d come back!

“Part-timer, what are you doing in there making all that noise?”

“…!”

Ah, I wasn’t doing anything, really!

I slightly opened the closet door and shook my head at Raven, signaling I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Then I closed the door and crossed my arms obediently so I wouldn’t get scolded again.

Setting aside the fact that Raven scolded me,

this was absolutely not something I could just let slide.

Because if Greg didn’t come back… I couldn’t leave the Fixer Office.

‘That place has higher pay than here anyway. Once Greg comes back, I was planning to stop freeloading here and find a proper room…’

One of the biggest reasons being that working part-time at the Fixer Office doesn’t pay well.

Even though I’m practically here from morning till evening, it barely feels like pocket money.

Of course, it’s not like Raven is sucking me dry.

Raven’s also in a tight spot, letting me freeload out of goodwill.

Expecting a high wage on top of that would just be shameless.

It’s not like they’re taking advantage of me. Honestly, I don’t have any complaints about the low pay.

But living here while trying to rent a separate room and pay rent on my own would definitely be tough.

It’s not like I’m clinging to this place for no reason. I really have no choice.

‘Greg needs to hurry up and come back so I can finally do something… Staying at Raven’s house like this makes no sense!’

What happened to my grand plan of avoiding trouble and chilling in some corner of Night Haven?

I desperately wanted to leave this central hub as soon as possible and move somewhere far away from the main plot.

…Huh? Are you asking why someone talking like that is calmly hiding in a closet?

Well, I still have to do what I can. Who knows, maybe the world will end tomorrow.

So I was feeding the remaining crack energy to Tesseract, just in case.

Honestly, I deserve praise for staying diligent even amidst all this chaos.

You get it, right? RIGHT?

[Mama, it’s delicious!]

Oh, really?

I curled up like a little bean on the blanket and secretly pulled Tesseract out.

Seeing Tesseract’s lively glow even in the darkness made me smile without realizing it.

Is this what it feels like to raise a kid? It’s so cute I want to feed it again.

‘But why am I “Mama”? Every time I ask, it just says, “Mama is Mama!” I have no idea why…’

Anyway, this is how things have been lately.

If Greg contacts us, he’ll probably reach out to Raven since I don’t have a terminal.

Every hour, I poke Raven like a bird pecking, asking if Greg has contacted him.

Then, when the day ends without any news, I roll around in the closet and fall asleep in my room.

The next morning, I wake up and repeat the same cycle.

I figure something big will happen soon if I think about the original story…

But all I can hope for is that it doesn’t happen until after I’ve left this place.

Suddenly, a great idea popped into my head.

I’ve saved up some money from working part-time for a month. Maybe I should buy myself a terminal?

In the cozy darkness of the closet, I gleamed at my brilliant idea.

*

The next day, Friday morning.

Alice arrived at work feeling deeply gloomy, thinking Yuria might leave soon.

She widened her eyes at the sight of Yuria running down the hallway with a mop like a whirlwind.

“…!”

“Oh, good morning, Yuria. You seem energetic today?”

“…!!”

It was strange.

Just yesterday, she looked as wilted as a plant that drank the wrong water, but how could she suddenly be bouncing around like a toy with fresh batteries overnight?

Alice quietly passed by Yuria, who was dancing while dusting the floor,

and then whispered half-heartedly to Raven sprawled on the couch.

“Wh-what’s with Yuria? Did Mr. Greg contact her or something?”

It was a natural question to ask.

It was obvious Yuria had been depressed because Greg hadn’t contacted her even though the promised month had passed.

But if she’s suddenly acting this excited…

It’s only logical to assume the issue has been resolved.

However, defying Alice’s expectations, Raven replied:

“…Nope? Nothing came. She’s been like this since morning. Maybe something exciting happened?”

“Eh? She’s acting like this even though Mr. Greg hasn’t contacted her?”

Alice tilted her head, clearly baffled by Raven’s response.

Yuria was the type of person who wore her heart on her sleeve, like a transparent glass bead…

but she wasn’t the kind to suddenly change moods without reason.

Something must be going on. Alice tapped her finger against her lips while glancing at Yuria running around the office.

“There’s definitely something suspicious here… Some outrageous mystery must be hidden!”

“Really? Seems like she’s just excited about something good.”

“No way! Yuria isn’t that simple… Ack!”

“Calm down. She’s not stupid. If it’s something big, she’ll come to us for advice. You’re overprotective.”

Tsk, this brat gets annoying whenever Yuria’s involved.

Raven smacked Alice’s head with the side of his hand to calm her down.

If you’re worried, don’t jump to conclusions. Just ask her directly.

He gave Alice some solid advice, as expected of the eldest in the office.

Trying to guess someone’s feelings without communicating will inevitably lead to misunderstandings.

If you’re unsure, just ask them directly instead of wasting energy speculating.

His words carried wisdom, as one would expect from the senior member of the office.

“Hmm… You’re right, Mr. Jin. Thinking about it alone might lead to weird conclusions. Thanks! I’ll ask her directly!”

“Yeah. I’m curious too, so make sure to ask.”

“Hehe, what’s with you?”

Alice smiled bashfully at Raven’s deadpan remark and approached Yuria with light steps.

Without beating around the bush, she asked directly why Yuria seemed so excited.

“…”

“Huh?”

“…!”

Yuria, hugging her wooden mop, tilted her head thoughtfully before playfully placing a finger over the mouth of her mask.

It was a clear sign that it was a blatant secret.

Aha, I see. Then let’s keep our spirits up today!

Alice grinned, finding Yuria adorable, and circled around the office naturally before collapsing into tears beside Raven, covering her mouth with her fist.

“Waaah, wooo… M-Mr. Jin! What do I do?! There’s definitely something going on…!”

“Hey, hey, calm down. She doesn’t look sad—she looks obviously happy. It’s probably something good! Calm down!”

While Alice sobbed uncontrollably, looking utterly despairing, Raven wiped his sweat and panicked.

Meanwhile, David arrived right on time for work.

He greeted Yuria casually, as usual, despite her inability to stay still,

then approached Alice, who was bawling with her fist in her mouth.

“Did something happen, Miss Yuria? Just yesterday, she looked like someone who ate spoiled pizza, but now she’s glowing like someone whose stock portfolio doubled overnight.”

“I dunno. Nothing happened, apparently.”

“Moooh, whaaaat…?”

“In that case, this is… A MYSTERY CASE!”

“Please don’t start too. We already have enough trouble with Alice, you idiot.”

Raven pressed his fingers to his temples, exasperated by the two losing their minds so early in the morning.

Alice losing her cool over something cute was understandable.

But David too? Ever since the Aisha mission, his mental limits seemed to have unraveled. Lately, he’s been acting more unhinged than usual.

At this rate, there won’t be anyone sane left in the office.

With that thought, Raven decided to leave David and Alice be for now and glanced at Yuria, who had swapped her mop for a duster.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like she’s excited for some grand reason…

Still, just in case, I should check later.

Completely unaware that Yuria was thrilled about buying a terminal, Raven quietly pondered to himself.

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