I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

Sabrina, who had received the mask, had a dazed look on her face, as if she were half out of it.

She looked like a devout believer who had just come face-to-face with a UFO flying in the sky.

“Th-That’s a lie… This makes no sense….”

“…?”

Her reaction made me tilt my head in confusion.

Sure, I knew my face was objectively pretty, but was it really worth reacting that dramatically?

I waved my hand back and forth in front of her frozen face.

Only then did Sabrina snap out of it, jumping in place with a shout.

“…Ha?! I-I’ll be going ahead then! Don’t you dare get hurt! I-I’ll be mad if you do!”@@novelbin@@

She moved so quickly that, before I knew it, all I could see was the small silhouette of her back in the distance.

Well… I guess she just needs some time to process things.

Feeling a bit puzzled, I scratched my cheek before calming my excitement.

‘I’ll think about Sabrina’s reaction later… For now, I need to focus on the matter with Anser.’

I covered my face — one I hadn’t revealed in public for a long time — with a pure white tablecloth, and drew out telekinetic power from deep within myself.

‘Decoy.’

Bzzzzzt.

The air under the control of my telekinesis subtly vibrated.

It was a telekinetic application that shook the air around me, scattering the light to make my body’s outline appear hazy.

A smile crept onto my face. It had been ages since I last used this technique — not since I stopped pretending to be a ghost.

Memories of prowling through back alleys flashed vividly through my mind.

Of course, not all of those memories were pleasant.

Living in those dirty, grimy alleys, and sometimes in run-down abandoned buildings with no heating or air conditioning… If you asked me to go back to that lifestyle now, I’d probably hesitate.

But at least I could swing my telekinetic power around freely back then without anyone watching.

For me, handling this power was like a form of exercise. And now, with my telekinesis being unleashed after so long, I felt a liberating sense of release, like a breath of fresh air blowing through my chest. ṛ₳𝐍Ő𝔟Е𝙎

“…!”

Whooosh!

I launched myself from below, propelling my body upward with pure telekinetic force. In an instant, I sprinted up the side of the building, shooting straight to the rooftop.

My once-narrow view opened up all at once, revealing the snow-covered landscape of Nighthaven.

With all this snow falling, it looked like I’d be able to avoid being seen, at least for a while.

I glanced at the snowflakes that scattered before they could even touch me, thanks to my Decoy. 

Then, I let myself fully savor the feeling of doing a bungee jump without a cord from the center of the city.

Flying through the sky was incredibly fun.

It felt like every single cell in my body was coming alive, and I found myself wanting to keep soaring for as long as I could.

Of course, bounding around in the middle of a city like this was pretty dangerous.

Even if the snow helped me stay hidden, this place had far too many watchful eyes. If I acted too carelessly, I’d definitely be caught sooner or later.

But I wasn’t throwing myself around just to have fun.

This was a calculated risk — a gamble where I was betting on a worthwhile return.

And my bold gamble ended up leading me to success.

‘Found it!’

Leaping gracefully between the outer walls of high-rise buildings as I crossed through Nighthaven, I finally spotted the target I had been searching for so desperately.

What I had strained my eyes to find was none other than the railway that cut through the city.

Why was I looking for a railway all of a sudden, you ask?

Well, that’s simple — it’s the fastest and stealthiest route in.

‘Subways don’t only run underground. Many of them have sections of track that run above ground. If you look closely, you can always find a way into the underground track system without using a station.’

Leaping from the building, I fell along a smooth arc and landed on the exposed railway track.

Without slowing down, I slid forward along the track where no trains were running, my movement as smooth as a skater gliding on ice.

Thanks to my telekinesis, which had grown much stronger in both power and precision since last time, my movements left behind an afterimage, making it seem as though I was moving at incredible speed.

How far did I travel like that? Before I knew it, I spotted a tunnel that appeared to lead underground.

Luckily, there didn’t seem to be anyone guarding it, as if no one had considered the possibility of someone entering in the brief window of opportunity.

With no witnesses around, there was no need to conserve my energy.

With the full force of my weightless sprint, I boldly dashed straight into the underground track.

‘Huff, huff… Phew. That was a little nerve-wracking, but I made it.’

Rustle.

To reduce noise, I deactivated my Decoy, slowly lowering myself to the ground.

The fact that all nearby trains had been halted meant there was definitely a reason for someone to enter the underground track.

So from this point forward, stealth would be more important than speed.

Charging around recklessly would only get me flagged as a suspicious person, and the next thing I’d know, I’d have the police on my tail.

It’d be better to stay as quiet and discreet as possible, while still moving swiftly.

‘Hmmm, maybe I should’ve gone with a black cloth instead. This white one makes me stand out a bit too much.’

Feeling a little regretful about using a white tablecloth, I used my telekinesis to lift my body slightly off the ground so I could move forward without making a sound.

Focusing on stealth, I carefully moved deeper and deeper into the underground passage.

How far had I gone like that?

It seemed the crowd control had already been completed, as I passed through two completely empty stations without encountering a single person.

That’s when I finally spotted a familiar figure.

‘That’s….’

She was a beautiful woman with ash-gray hair, her sleepy eyes and long, pointed ears leaving a lasting impression.

Her appearance was striking, but what stood out even more was the way she wore a perfectly neat police uniform while casually sporting piercings here and there — a rebellious elf through and through.

If I remembered correctly, she was a regular member of Special Unit 3, the same team as Ethan, whom I had met earlier.

Her name… was it Mist? Yeah, I was pretty sure it was.

I hid behind a wall, carefully peeking out to observe the situation.

Mist was standing alone among several officers who were sprawled on the ground, talking into her radio.

“…Sir, we have a serious problem here. Just as we were about to move to the position you specified, our members started passing out, coughing up blood, and collapsing all over the place. I think we’ll need more personnel to handle this.”

[ “It’s happening on your side too? This is getting annoying. Alright, do a headcount. Any of them in critical condition?” ]

“Fortunately, none of them are on the verge of death. A few of them are crying, though.”

[ “Alright, I’ll send reinforcements your way, so just hold tight. We’re facing a similar situation over here. The moment we tried to move in, something grabbed us by the ankles. We’re still analyzing the cause.” ]

“Understood. By the way, mind if I smoke?”

[ “Hold it. We’re in the middle of an operation. If I smell cigarette smoke on you when we meet, you’re done for.” ]

“Tch.”

[ “You were planning to sneak one, weren’t you? Don’t even think about it.” ]

Listening in on the conversation with my ears pricked, I figured out what was happening.

It seemed Mist had tried to move in with her squad, but something had stopped them in their tracks.

It was hard to believe. Mist might look like a delinquent elf, but she was also a highly skilled sorceress with considerable recognition.

Her combat abilities were probably on par with Alice wielding a sword. She was effectively a high-ranking officer within her team.

And yet, despite preparing for a full-scale entry, she had been forced to halt.

What on earth was going on inside?

My curiosity only deepened.

Carefully avoiding the area where the collapsed officers were groaning, I rolled my body sideways like a tumbleweed and slipped into the path they had been attempting to enter.

‘This is it. From the outside, it looks like there’s nothing here, but….’

After confirming once more that the police had not noticed me, I focused my gaze on the bloodstained tracks.

They said the officers passed out and coughed up blood just from trying to walk past here, right?

Considering the fact that Anser was beyond this point… maybe the officers had been caught by some sort of contract.

‘But is there even a contract like that? One that forces people to have headaches and cough up blood? No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t add up….’

Demon contracts were supposed to be mutually binding. At the very least, they were structured so that demons would bear the cost or the consequences would be shared.

That’s why demons were always so desperate to trick their targets.

But if you could forcibly impose a contract on someone, inflict harm on them, and not need their consent, then… What would be the point of trickery?

‘For now, I’ll use the Contract Eye. This isn’t the time to hesitate.’

If the damage spread any further, it’d be difficult to recover from it. Time was of the essence here.

Resolving myself, I pulled out the napkin that Anser had given me earlier and, without a second thought, tore it cleanly down the middle.

Thankfully, the contract was still valid, and I felt a distinct presence settle into my right eye.

At that moment, countless words began to fill the empty space of the underground tracks.

I covered my unaffected left eye with one hand, focusing on the letters that had suddenly materialized before me.

When I finished reading them, my jaw dropped in shock.

‘Th-This is…!’

The inscriptions carved into the underground tracks, walls, and ceiling were nothing short of horrifying.

[ “Causes headaches in anyone who touches the letters. In return, the contractor loses an eye.” ]

[ “Makes anyone standing in the direction the letters point vomit blood. In return, the contractor loses one lung.” ]

[ “Knocks unconscious anyone who passes below the letters on the wall. In return, the contractor dies.” ]

[ “If the letters are forcibly erased using magic, they revert to their original state. In return, the contractor’s internal organs rot away.” ]

Every single one of the densely packed letters demanded an extreme, almost unreasonable price.

Obviously, the contractor behind this had to be the demon Anser, since they were the one who had etched these words here.

But using such a reckless method to block the path would mean one thing — Anser would soon cease to exist.

Yet, despite all of this, the contract was still fully active.

That meant Anser had paid those extreme prices and… was still alive.

Paying the cost of death and still being alive?

As far as I knew, there was only one group capable of such a thing in this world.

‘The Invaders… It’s them, isn’t it?’

Grind…

The realization sent a surge of rage through me, and I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they might break.

The Invaders still hadn’t given up on this world. They were still extending their grasp.

And one of their methods… was to brainwash people and force them to become pawns on their board.

What do they even see people as?

My blood boiled. Anger surged up from the depths of my heart, flooding every corner of my being.