I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad
Chapter 171: Of the Black Raven and the Snow-White Ghost – Interlude

After a night full of chaos, morning arrived just like any other.

Maybe because I’d already taken a good long nap inside the closet,

even though I’d moved around a lot, I woke up feeling completely refreshed.

It felt like I’d been out cold for hours, but in reality, it had only been three.

Maybe that’s just how a child from a "new nation" sleeps—one stretch and I felt great.

‘If I forced myself, I could sleep a bit more... but there’s no need for that.’

Sliding out from the warm blanket, I casually twitched my fingers and tidied up the bedding without hesitation.

In the past, people who made their beds right after waking up seemed super impressive to me.

But really, if you have telekinesis, it’s nothing. The blankets fold themselves. Easy peasy.

Once I’d neatly taken care of that without lifting a finger,

I tiptoed out into the hallway, careful not to wake my roommate, who was surely still sleeping.

Then I slipped silently into the washroom and turned on the lukewarm water, splashing my face.

Thanks to my psychic control over the water, not a single drop splashed outside.

No wet clothes, no damp floor or walls. Long live telekinesis.

“....”

While I was patting my face dry with a towel, I suddenly made eye contact with myself in the mirror.

White hair, dripping wet and stuck to my cheeks—what a gorgeous girl.

Even with my mouth closed, there was something fragile in my expression.

I still couldn’t quite believe that was my own face.

Well, staring like this didn’t stir any particular emotion.

So at the very least, my brain had accepted that it was me.

I guess it’s lucky I didn’t turn into a narcissist.

Staring at the mirror for a while, I slowly parted my lips and pushed a little strength into my throat.

“...Yuria.”

A voice as pretty as glass beads rolling on porcelain echoed softly in the washroom.

And then came the sensation—goosebumps on my shoulders, my toes curling involuntarily.

Saying my own name... Why was it so embarrassingly awkward?

I quickly glanced around, worried someone might’ve heard.

Only after confirming, again, that I was alone, did I finally let out a sigh of relief.

Then I pressed a finger to my lips, flustered, and thought:

‘So this is what my voice sounds like. Ugh, it’s so weird... I wonder how it sounds to other people.’

Maybe it was because I hadn’t spoken for months.

My throat tickled and the sound felt strangely unfamiliar.

And then I remembered Raven’s shocked expression when I first spoke yesterday.

I mean, I was startled too—imagine how surprised he must’ve been.

Silently apologizing to Raven in my head, I looked at my reflection again,

parted my lips, and this time put more force into my throat.

Just saying my name wasn’t enough—I should try saying what I wanted to eat. Ice cream. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry!

“Choc...! Va...! Strawb—Ow!”

Maybe I pushed too hard with my voice—

without meaning to, I chomped down on my own tongue.

Crunch.

The metallic taste flooded my mouth, and the pain had me stomping my feet in place.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I covered my mouth and collapsed to the floor.

Thank god no one saw that.

Groaning on the floor, I could only think that pitiful little thought.

“...What are you doing, this early in the morning?”

“...!”

But then, the washroom door creaked open—and I heard someone’s voice, flat and unimpressed.

A voice I could now pick out even in a crowded plaza.

No way. It was way too early. He should be asleep...

I creaked my head around like a broken puppet—and there stood Raven, wearing an expression of complete disbelief.

The moment I registered it, I instantly sprang up like nothing had happened.

The more embarrassing something is, the more you have to act like it’s nothing.

Because that’s the only way to avoid a full-on cringe memory.

Acting casual, I dabbed at my cheek with the towel and tried to walk out of the washroom.

“Tsk. You bit your tongue, didn’t you? Hey, let me see. Just open up.”

“....”

“If there’s a cut on your tongue, you need to treat it right away. If it gets infected, you won’t even be able to eat properly. Can you handle that, Miss I-love-food?”

...He had a point.

I wasn’t some beast-person who healed instantly—you cut me, I stay cut.

If I got an infection, I’d be sobbing and praying for it to heal faster.

But using the Tesseract on something like this...

Felt like a waste for a minor injury.

So, after a moment of hesitation, I slowly approached Raven,

swallowed hard to dry my mouth, and carefully opened it.

“Ah... aah...”

“Whoa, that’s a clean rip. Still, should heal fast with some ointment. Wait here.”

Raven looked seriously down at my hesitant, outstretched tongue.

The wound must’ve looked bad enough—he soon returned with ointment and cotton swabs.

Then, without hesitation, he dabbed the swab full of ointment onto my tongue.

Maybe because the injury was fresh, it didn’t really hurt.

What did hurt... was Raven’s look, like he was silently asking, “Why the hell did you bite your tongue doing god knows what?”

—

After breakfast, I applied more ointment to my tongue, then changed into my maid uniform.

And for the first time in a while, I headed off to work at Greg’s general store.

We’d been off for a few days because of the Fixer exam.

At this point, I almost missed working.

So I flung open the store’s front door, flaunting my arrival as loudly as possible,

waved enthusiastically at Greg, who looked up from the back, and «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» called out:

“Greg!”

“...Yuria, did you just...”

“Oh my.”

Greg and Karen both looked completely stunned—probably because I spoke.

Their reactions reminded me exactly of Raven’s from yesterday.

Grinning ear to ear, I shut the door behind me, ran up to Greg, and called his name again.

“Greg!”

“Y-yeah... you can talk now?”

“...!”

Fwip fwip.

My snow-white hair bounced up and down as I nodded with great force.

Greg had been my benefactor. It made me so happy to be able to call his name.

Maybe that feeling got through to him—

He chuckled, gently ruffled my hair with a hand the size of a pot lid.

His hands were rough and hard...

But somehow, the gesture made my heart feel warm.

“Fufu. Miss Yuria, your voice is so pretty.”

“...! Ka... Ka... Kaaa...”

“That’s right, I’m Karen! Will you say my name too?”

“....”

Couldn’t manage it. I’ll say it next time, promise...

After a few failed tries, I quietly took off my mask and gave her an apologetic look.

I really want to say it, but it’s not something I can control. Please believe I’m not ignoring you.

I looked up at Karen, now a good friend of mine, silently asking for understanding.

“Hehe, it’s okay—you don’t have to apologize... but thank you anyway.”

“...!”

“I see... so you can only say certain words for now. That must be tough. It can’t be easy.”

“....”

Well, it’s not that bad...

I put my mask back on, rubbed my neck awkwardly, and gave a soft laugh with a nod.

After all, it was still a million times better than not being able to speak at all.

From there, the day flowed as usual.

Customers came in, I assisted Greg, trades were made.

The only difference was how frequent everything was.

And the reason was obvious: the general store had gotten way busier than before.

Well, part of it was probably Karen being a silver-haired, narrow-eyed beauty.

But I was definitely helping attract attention too. Embarrassing as it was.

As I helped customer after customer without a break, time flew by.

Before I knew it, evening arrived—and with it, closing time.

“Hmm. We had more customers than usual today. Good work, both of you.”

“Thanks for your hard work, sir.”

“I need to stay behind to sort the new inventory. Karen, can I ask you to walk Yuria home?”

“Of course. Miss Yuria, shall we get something tasty on the way back?”

“...!”

Yes! Dinner date with Karen, let’s go!

Arms stretched high, I beamed in response to her kind offer.

Karen had a pretty refined palate, after all.

Meals with her were always delicious. Maybe artists have sensitive tongues too?

Once we made plans to head out, I ran to Greg, who was still sitting at his desk.

Spreading my hands in a wide gesture like a farewell, I summoned all my strength and shouted:

“Greg! ...Bye!”

“...Oh, yeah. Bye-bye. See you tomorrow.”

“Hehehe. That was adorable. Well then, we’ll be going now.”

“Mm.”

Perfect. I’d finally said goodbye—so satisfying.

I took Karen’s smiling hand and left the store.

No need to look back—we’d be coming back tomorrow anyway.

We walked down Nighthaven’s night streets, chatting about what to eat.

This place was a cultural melting pot. The more options, the harder the choice.

Eventually, we decided on a newly opened Chinese place nearby.

But to our surprise, the Fixer squad—including Raven—was already there, eating.

They must’ve noticed us too, because—

Alice, stuffing food into her mouth, sprang up and dashed toward me.

“Yuria!”

“...?!”

Woomph.

My vision went dark as I was smothered in warmth—caught off guard by her full-body hug.

Even if she did this all the time, Alice was always intense.

Come on, we literally saw each other yesterday. Why’s she reacting like it’s been a week?

While awkwardly smiling in her embrace, I wiggled around a bit.

I had greeted Greg earlier—so now it was Alice’s turn.

Mouthing her name a few times for practice, I drew in a deep breath and looked up at her.

“Alice.”

“...Huh? Did you just...”

“Alice!”

“Yu—Yu—Yuria just... said my name...!”

Thud.

And then, what followed... was so far beyond what I expected.

Alice’s eyes flew wide, and she collapsed in blissful shock—right onto the floor.

Since I was still in her arms, I ended up falling with her...

But maybe because she absorbed the impact, I wasn’t hurt at all.

Seriously, why do you like this so much?

Still lying in her arms, I quietly stared up at the ceiling.

I sometimes forget, but... yeah, Alice is definitely kind of weird.

Giggling behind my mask, I waited patiently for her to come back to her senses.

At this point, it really felt like life was back to normal.

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