Chapter 85

The so-called Belmont Incident, where about 20% of the city’s land was scorched pitch-black by magic.

Fortunately, there were no casualties, and perhaps it was because the affected area was an unused slum.

Compared to the scale of the damage, the situation seemed to have been resolved quickly.

After Raven had helped the police from late night till midnight the next day, almost a full day.

He handed over the case to the investigators and the Pixies, then returned to Night Haven.

Perhaps someone had subdued werewolves scattered around the slums.

It made his claims more credible and easier to convince. Hmm, I really can’t figure out who did that.

Anyway, that’s how Raven arrived at Night Haven a day later than us.

With an utterly exhausted look, he gathered everyone at the office to explain the situation.

Alice sighed in relief and spoke.

“Yesterday, when no one was at the office, I wondered what happened… you’ve really gone through a lot.”

“I already heard about it, but thankfully, no one got hurt.”

“Ugh, I wish I could have helped too!”

Belmont is a human city that’s troublesome for different races to enter freely.

Since they had no choice but to leave her behind, Alice looked very disappointed.

Unlike David, who provided assistance through hacking after hearing the news halfway, she couldn’t offer any help until the incident ended.

Of course, Alice hasn’t fully blossomed her talents yet, so she’s weaker than Greg.

Maybe her absence was actually more helpful.

…No, that might be a bit harsh to say?

“But things somehow worked out fine, so it’s okay. And… even if you were there, with two Seven-Star fighters around, would you have really been of much help? Train more and come back stronger. Kid.”

“Gah, hitting the nail right on the head… I’m truly sorry for being such a useless weakling!”

“The Seven-Stars are among the strongest in all of Night Haven. Indeed, both me and Alice would have probably just gotten in the way.”

“Grrr…”

Unlike me, who only thought this internally, Raven has quite the straightforward personality.

He immediately hammered the facts into Alice.

But Alice is the type who gets fired up when facing obstacles.

Telling her these cold hard truths might actually motivate her more.

Alice pressed her forehead against mine as I sat there, feeling deflated and hugging my knees.

Raven shook his head at her display and wrapped up the situation.

“Let’s wrap up this story here. Those guys… The Liberation Army caused quite a ruckus this time. They probably won’t show themselves as actively for a while. Especially not in Night Haven, thanks to that person.”

“That person… you mean Mayor Dragon Tempest?”

“Yes. Unless they plan for an all-out war, they wouldn’t dare start a fight.”

Night Haven had Tempest, the one-man army and Dragon Mayor.

A staunch pro-human faction leader who opposed the ideologies of the Beastmen Liberation Army.

Unless they’re prepared for enormous risks, the Liberation Army likely won’t retaliate easily.

Having concluded this, Raven turned towards the woman quietly sitting on the sofa.

“So, what will you do from now on? We can’t help much further.”

He addressed Karen, the beauty with luscious gray hair and striking half-closed eyes.

Karen hadn’t returned to her hometown after nearly being kidnapped by the Liberation Army and was still staying here.

Scratching her cheek at Raven’s remark about their limited help, she replied.

“Ah, well… I feel embarrassed, but I decided to stay in Night Haven and work at Greg’s shop as an appraiser. Something like an exclusive repairer for artifacts that occasionally come in…”

“Hmm, is that so? That’s great.”

“If anything comes up, feel free to ask anytime. I’ll check items for free, no matter how many times.”

“Heheh, looks like I’ve got a great coupon here. I’ll drop by whenever I get the chance, without hesitation.”

“Hmm, of course.”

Karen was an Arachne, a spider beastman with special eyes and unique magical aptitude.

Given her ability to fix complex artifacts on her own, it seemed she intended to live in Night Haven while working at Greg’s shop.

Greg’s general store primarily deals in old antiques and artifacts.

If Karen joined as an artifact appraiser, their synergy would double.

This proposal undoubtedly benefited both her and Greg without any losses.

‘So… is this a happy ending of sorts? No one got hurt. On top of that, Karen escaped the Liberation Army’s threat, and Greg gained a new employee. This wasn’t in the original story, so I was surprised, but it’s a relief.’

I quietly recalled the original plot while enveloped in Alice’s tighter-than-usual embrace.

In the original story, Karen’s first appearance was as part of the Liberation Army.

There, Greg’s glasses never broke, so she received no help, captured and forced to work for them.

She did leave an impression with her stylish fighting alongside artifact repairs.

Eventually, when the Liberation Army disbanded, she was freed and returned home, disappearing from the story.

When the Liberation Army fell apart and the villains shifted to the Invaders, her role diminished entirely.

But who would’ve thought she’d end up working at Greg’s shop like this.

The future truly is unpredictable.

‘Indeed, I need to change my mindset.’

Thinking about it, maybe I shouldn’t overly rely on the original plot anymore.

At this point, with Raven and the Seven-Stars having clashed, predicting the future held little meaning.

How much earlier the enemy’s attacks would come or how personnel arrangements would shift…

All predictions had flown far out of my grasp.

In other words, perhaps instead of passively following situations like now,

I needed to prepare more proactively for what lay ahead.

‘So… yeah, let’s firm up my resolve. Surely, things will turn out fine.’

Honestly, I was a bit scared.

What am I afraid of? Well… everything?

But those feelings were fleeting.

I lightly glanced around and slowly calmed my uneasy heart.

Indeed, what I wished for was a scene where no one was sad and everyone was happy.

To protect that difficult ideal, I’d have to strive until I collapsed from exhaustion.

“…”

“Hmm? Ah, yes.”

I slightly moved my head within Alice’s embrace to look at Greg.

Noticing my gaze, he turned back and nodded knowingly.

Just as Greg, who still had something to say, was about to speak—

Suddenly, Alice tightened her hold on me and opened her mouth with a worried expression.

“Uh, umm… Mr. Jin? Mr. Greg?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“So… now that Mr. Greg is here, is Yuria leaving again? That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?”

Startled by her question, I lifted my head.

There stood Alice, her eyes brimming with reluctance.

Her face clearly conveyed her unwillingness to let me go.

One wrong move, and tears might overflow uncontrollably.

Raven glanced at me once, then turned his gaze toward her, speaking with difficulty.

“Well, it can’t be helped. We can’t pay much here. It’s better for him to work with Greg.”

“Nooo! Yuria! Please don’t go!”

“It’s unfortunate. Thanks to Yuria, this gloomy office felt much livelier.”

“…Huh? Mr. David. Are you implying I’m dull like the men?”

“Ahem, the more I see you, the more rugged you seem. Sometimes you even appear more carefree than David.”

“Mr. Jin! What do you mean by that!”

Gwaak! Alice growled fiercely at Raven and David while keeping me locked in her arms.

Her ferocity was such that the two flinched under her glare and averted their eyes.

I somewhat empathized.

Indeed, she was undeniably a top-tier beauty with a stunning figure and face.

But she had a certain airhead and innocent charm.

She gave off more of a younger sister vibe than a woman.

Surprisingly, even by the end of the original story, there was no romance line between her and anyone in the office crew.

Their blunt evaluations of Alice were somewhat inevitable.

But wait, why does my presence make the office lively?

Compared to me, Alice is far cuter and prettier. Clearly, they lack vision.

I gently stroked the arm Alice used to embrace me and looked up at her quietly.

Alice, trying to hold back tears, whimpered and hugged me tightly. Oof, this is painful.

“Ahem, calm down, Alice. Wouldn’t it be better to hear what we have to say first?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Greg cleared his throat and stopped Alice, who seemed ready to dig into the ground.

It appeared he feared the conversation wouldn’t proceed properly otherwise.

But the office crew looked at him quizzically.

What did he have to say at this point? Their faces were filled with doubt.

And when he felt enough attention was on him,

Greg recounted the conversation he had with me yesterday to Raven.

“Raven. Could Yuria possibly stay indebted at the office again, like before?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems she wants to settle down here. Thinking about it, she has nowhere else to go. When I asked if my place was okay, she apparently prefers this side.”

“…!”

I nodded in agreement from within Alice’s embrace.

Raven twitched his eye and shot up from his seat, looking incredulous.

“Ah, I see. Come to think of it, this guy doesn’t have a house… But what about work?”

“He’ll work at my general store on weekdays and live here as before after work. He also seems willing to pay if possible.”

“Ahh… Hmm, that’s… squeezing money out of a kid feels a bit…”

“Mr. Jin! There’s no need to hesitate! Are you seriously thinking of coldly throwing Yuria, who has nowhere to go, onto the streets?”

“Hmm, I’m in favor.”

“You guys! Why are you agreeing on your own! This is my office!”

Raven pointed at Alice and David, yelling loudly.

He seemed conflicted about letting me stay at the office.

Perhaps quitting the part-time job but wanting to live here felt somewhat ambiguous.

Hmm, so it’s not okay?

Honestly… what I’m really after is the Rift.

That thing hidden in the closet. Super rare, you know.

Think about it. If I hadn’t fed Rift Energy to the Tesseract, I wouldn’t have been able to protect Greg.

Thus, I desperately wanted to feed energy to the Tesseract again in preparation for similar incidents.

Besides, they’re good people. I don’t want to drift apart intentionally.

The original story… maybe, with a little effort, we can navigate through it together, right?

“Grr, thinking about the future gives me a headache… but I don’t want to ignore it and pretend everything will be fine. I’ll do everything in my power to protect these people.”

In other words, clinging here is, in a way, a step toward the future.

As far as I’m concerned, this is something I absolutely don’t want to give up on.

Well… I won’t throw a tantrum to force it.

If it’s a no, I’ll quietly step back. I’ll understand and accept it.

Glancing nervously.

I waited anxiously for an answer, quietly watching Raven.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, he clutched his head as if a headache was coming on, then squeezed his eyes shut and flopped onto the sofa, shouting.

“Argh, fine! I get it! Just take him in, alright!”

“…!”

“Mr. Jin!”

“But forget the money! You’ll work at the general store on weekdays, right? Then help clean the office on weekends. That should be enough!”

Yes, yes!

At those perfectly accepting words, I straightened my back.

Alice happily patted my shoulder, sharing in my joy.

Though I’d quit my part-time job, living at the office meant I could meet everyone as usual.

She seemed satisfied knowing we wouldn’t be physically distant.

Hehe, I don’t mind it either.

I grinned widely along with the delighted office crew.

Even the Tesseract hidden under my clothes seemed thrilled at the prospect of getting fed.

My final day as a part-timer ended with this joyful news.

Thankfully, this was a happy ending too.

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