I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

Although it wasn’t snowing, the frigid winter weather was more than enough to make anyone freeze. Even a fire spirit cloaked in flames would have pulled its coat tighter in this kind of cold.

Through this bitter chill, a car was recklessly speeding down the road, blatantly ignoring traffic signals.

Vroooom! Screech!

At one point, the car briefly left the ground before slamming back onto the road, leaving deep skid marks behind.

Its speed was so extreme that white smoke billowed from the tires as they scraped violently against the asphalt.

Speeding, running red lights, driving against traffic, crossing the median—this car was a bona fide menace, a criminal on the road with no excuse that could placate the police.

From within the vehicle, screams of panic erupted, evidence that even the passengers weren’t having a good time on this chaotic ride.

[ “Hyaaaaaaah! Watch out! There’s another car! It’s dangerous! Uwaaaah!” ]

[ “P-Please calm down, Cookie! We’re not going to crash!” ]

Behind the wheel sat Raven, his black hair tousled, and his irritation evident as he maneuvered the steering wheel with intense focus.

Miraculously, despite the breakneck speed, the car weaved smoothly between other vehicles as though it existed in a world where time moved slower.

For anyone prone to motion sickness, it was a stomach-churning ride. After enduring the extreme driving for who-knows-how-long, Raven finally managed to steer the car off the crowded streets of downtown and onto a less congested ring road. He used this brief respite to shout into his communicator.

[ “David! Where are the kidnappers who took the client’s daughter?!” ]

“According to their current route, they’re heading down Route 3. Based on their trajectory, their likely destination is Midnight Airport.”

[ “Planning to flee overseas by plane, huh? Annoying pests.” ]

[ “Ooooh, my Jellybean…!” ]

[ “Hey! Don’t cry in the car! This isn’t even our car!” ]

[ “Cookie, please calm down! If you cry here, the inside of the car will be a mess!” ]

[ “Sniff… but the tears….” ]

The voices of chaos spilled over from the communicator. Their client, Cookie, seemed on the verge of breaking down, understandably terrified that her daughter might disappear forever.

It was a reasonable reaction under normal circumstances. 

However, Cookie belonged to a rare race whose tears turned into jewels upon hitting the ground.

Inside a speeding car, her unique trait was an absolute nuisance. And since this was a borrowed car, Alice was probably frantically trying to catch the airborne jewel-tears before they wreaked havoc.

[ “We’ll have to beat them to the airport. David, how long until the kidnappers get there?” ]

“At their current speed, they’ll arrive in about 20 minutes.”

[ “20 minutes, huh? Hmm, considering the distance from here to the airport, we’d definitely be too late.” ]

“I’ll try to find the fastest route. If you take the ring road and circle—”

[ “No, that’ll still be too slow. This road loops around the lake, and even at top speed, it wastes too much time. We won’t make it in 20 minutes.” ]

[ “Nooo! Sniff, sniff!” ]

[ “Stop talking about her crying! She’s tearing up more!” ]

David’s eyebrows twitched, his face clearly showing his frustration.

What are we supposed to do if we can’t take the road?!

But protesting without a solution wouldn’t help, so David held his tongue, suppressing his urge to complain.

Whether he noticed or not, Raven, showing no signs of slowing down, shouted boldly as he sped past cars.

[ “In that case, we’ll cut across the lake!” ]

[ “Eeeeeeh?!” ]

[ “The lake?! Cookie, hold on tight!” ]

“Wait, what…?”

David’s jaw dropped at Raven’s absurd conclusion. The idea of driving across the wide lake was already ridiculous, but seeing Alice unflinchingly go along with it shocked him even more. ṙαℕȎ𝐁Ë𝐬@@novelbin@@

Noticing David’s growing panic, I patted his shoulder reassuringly. Raven wasn’t the type to suggest something outright impossible.

[ “Here we go!” ]

[ “Eeeeeek! I don’t want to die like this!” ]

With a loud CRASH, Raven’s car burst through the guardrails at the edge of the ring road, launching toward the lake.

Even I, knowing how things would turn out, clenched my fists at the sight of the car hurtling toward the water.

As it seemed destined to plunge into the lake, the car instead landed squarely atop a passing cruise ship—the NightHaven Sightseeing Cruise.

The scene was pure chaos: screams from passengers, splintering debris, and the car scraping against the ship. 

But miraculously, Raven’s godlike driving ensured no one was injured, though the ship’s owner was likely screaming their lungs out.

The car sped off the cruise ship, skidding across the dirt of a nearby lakeside park before landing roughly on the road again.

Given the height of the jumps, the car’s bumper had crumpled like paper and fell off completely. 

Still, Raven’s daring shortcut shaved enough time off to ensure they’d reach the airport ahead of the kidnappers.

“Does Raven have three hearts or something? I can’t believe he actually timed that perfectly to land on the cruise ship.”

David, who had been watching the entire stunt with me via drone footage, stared in disbelief, his mouth agape.

Raven’s recklessness wasn’t just audacious—it was outright surreal. I could understand why David was so stunned.

After that daring shortcut, the rest of the journey went relatively smoothly.

[ “Hey, could you stop for a moment? I’d like to have a little chat.” ]

[ “Eeeek! This woman pulled the steering wheel off!” ]

[ “The car’s flipping over!” ]

Raven and Alice arrived at the airport ahead of the kidnappers. As soon as the kidnappers’ car arrived, Alice leapt into the driver’s seat and overturned it.

[ “Ugh… Damn it… I’ll kill you all!” ]

[ “Y-Yes, boss! We’ll—Ack!” ]

Over ten kidnappers emerged from the overturned car, only to be instantly subdued by Raven’s rubber bullets.

The police, arriving belatedly to the scene, tried to arrest Raven as well, given the chaos he’d caused on the roads.

[ “Sorry, but I’m on fixer business. Could you let this slide?” ]

As a fixer, Raven’s work helped reduce the police’s overwhelming workload in the city, granting him some leeway for bending the law.

Thanks to this, Raven’s illegal antics were overlooked, and Cookie’s daughter, Jellybean, was safely reunited with her family.

All in all, this dynamic case was successfully resolved, thanks to everyone’s efforts.

Huh? What did I contribute? Well… I cheered them on, obviously.

At the moment I greeted the tear-streaked client and served her tea when she arrived at the office, I had already fulfilled my role. So, technically, I did contribute a little.

***

“Phew, we’re back. Honestly… When you’re rescuing people, cars can get a little banged up. Why do they always have to nitpick?”

“They just lent it to you for a bit, and you returned it completely totaled. Wouldn’t anyone be upset…?”

Shortly after the case was resolved, Raven and Alice returned to the office.

Raven, grumbling to himself, flopped onto the couch, looking completely drained.

It seemed he had been thoroughly scolded for returning the borrowed car in such a battered state.

It was understandable—after all, the car was perfectly fine when they lent it out, but just a few dozen minutes later, it came back looking ready for the scrapyard. From their perspective, they had every right to be angry.

Still, since they were on friendly terms, it seemed they’d settled things by agreeing to do a favor later.

“Yuria~ Come here!”

“….”

“Aah, so warm! Yuria, you’re the best!”

Having spent so much time out in the freezing cold, Alice pulled me into her embrace, rubbing her cheek against the top of my head.

Even though she was usually warm, her body was ice-cold now. It was a stark reminder of just how chilly it was outside.

Well, I had no choice. This time, I’d just let her hold me.

Feeling like a human hot pack, I let her hold me without protest. 

Meanwhile, Raven, who was wrapped in a blanket, glanced our way and asked:

“Is she really that warm? Let me borrow her for a bit. I’m freezing.”

“…!”

“No way, Raven! Look, Yuria’s horrified just at the suggestion!”

Why would I ever hug him?!

I was so startled by his absurd request that I wriggled deeper into Alice’s arms, turning my back to Raven.

Raven, perhaps wounded by my clear rejection, scratched his head sheepishly, muttering that he didn’t mean it seriously.

I felt a little bad seeing him look so dejected, but… it was still a bit much.

Maybe it was because I’d been seeing him every morning lately, but Raven was starting to feel less like a coworker and more like some quirky neighbor.

As I mulled over this, stealing occasional glances at Raven, David adjusted his glasses and spoke with a straight face.

“If it’s alright with you, Raven… I could—”

“Oh my, oh my.”

“No, no! Forget it! I was just joking! And Alice, what kind of reaction is that?!”

Whatever somber mood David had shown earlier was completely gone as he earnestly tried to console Raven, who looked utterly flustered.

I stayed nestled in Alice’s arms, amused by the lively office banter, until my gaze happened to fall on the calendar on the wall.

Today’s date was Thursday.

That meant less than a week remained until Greg was scheduled to return.

In other words, this strange little slice of life of mine would be over in just six days.

‘Time’s flown by.’

Looking back, it all went by so quickly. I never expected to end up living at the office, but it had been surprisingly smooth sailing—and fun, in its own way.

Not that I had any lingering regrets about parting ways.

These people weren’t going to fall apart without me, and they’d proven just how capable they were. Who was I to worry about them?

If anything, my presence might have been more of a hindrance than a help.

Considering my own safety, parting ways would probably be a win-win for all of us.

‘Alright, since it’s come to this, I might as well enjoy the time I have left. Getting to see the events from the original story up close is a rare experience!’

Now sufficiently warmed by Alice’s body heat, I was returned to the couch. As I settled in, I silently reaffirmed my resolve.

What kind of client would walk through the door next? The anticipation was part of the fun.

Ding-dong.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

That sound meant someone had come to the office—a new client, perhaps.

I slipped out of Alice’s arms, smoothing out my slightly rumpled clothes.

Nodding a silent farewell to Raven, I made my way to the entrance with brisk but modest steps.

Of all times, someone had to come near closing.

This was either going to turn into overtime tonight or an early start tomorrow.

As I opened the door with a subtle, polite gesture, I was greeted by the sight of…

A woman whose appearance was surprisingly familiar.

She had a bob cut, her hair dyed in a two-tone style with different colors on the outside and inside. 

On her cheek was a mark resembling a musical note, and her lips were painted a strikingly bold blue.

Have I seen her before?

Of course. There weren’t many people with such a distinctive look.

“Uh, um… is this the Crowley Problem-Solvers office?”

“…!”

Standing there was none other than Aisha, the iconic first client of the completed Problem-Solvers office and a character set to play a significant role in the story going forward.