I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

Perhaps it was because we had come at an odd hour for a meal, but the restaurant floor of the hotel was almost eerily quiet when we arrived via the elevator.

Well, it made sense. Most high-end restaurants would be wrapping up their lunch service and starting preparations for dinner around this time. There wasn’t much reason for anyone to be dining now.

After wandering around for a bit, we settled on a buffet restaurant.

As long as you paid the set entrance fee, you could eat to your heart’s content until the time limit was up.

It wasn’t exactly a Michelin-starred dining experience, but it didn’t feel shabby either. The food seemed decent enough—likely a reflection of the hotel’s reputation for catering to its guests.

Whoa… There’s so much delicious-looking food everywhere. Chicken, shrimp, beef… ugh, I’m already drooling.

The buffet was an eclectic mix of cuisines: meat, seafood, noodles, bread, Western, Chinese, Japanese—you name it.

Of course, with such variety, the quality of each dish might naturally take a hit.

But I wasn’t picky. For someone like me, quantity mattered more than quality. Eating until I was stuffed was the real goal here.

“This way, please,” the staff member said as they guided us to our table.

“Ah, thank you,” Alice replied with a polite smile.

The six of us took a large table, splitting into two groups: the car crew and the train crew. It ended up as three on each side.

I was seated between Alice and Sabrina, which was both comforting and problematic—they both adored me a little too much.

Now then, was it time to start piling up plates with food?

Sitting across from Sabrina, I could barely contain my excitement, shifting restlessly in my chair like a spring ready to snap. I wanted to grab a plate, load it up with meat, and start devouring immediately.

Noticing my barely restrained eagerness, Raven stood up, a wicked grin spreading across his face like a villain in a bad drama.

“Well then, let’s get to it! Hahaha! Let’s push this buffet to the brink of bankruptcy!”

“Jin… could you please not say weird things like that in public? Ugh. Yuria, Sabrina, let’s go before you pick up bad habits.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

“…!”

Alice, clearly embarrassed by Raven’s antics, scolded him before whisking Sabrina and me away, as if trying to shield us from his bad influence.

Honestly, both Alice and Raven were the kind of people who could eat several times what a normal person would.

Even if they didn’t try, their sheer appetites were enough to cause significant financial damage to the buffet.

But I didn’t dwell on that thought. Following Alice’s lead, I allowed myself to focus entirely on my grumbling stomach.

“You two ever been to a buffet before?” Alice asked as we browsed the spread.

“No, not really. There weren’t any buffets where I used to live….”

“Oh, I see. Then just follow my lead. You grab one of these white plates from here, and then just pick whatever you want and move it onto your plate. Simple, right?”

“….”

It wasn’t much different from what I’d imagined.

I nodded enthusiastically to show I understood and grabbed a plate, ready to start my food “shopping spree.”

Pork, chicken, beef… skip the veggies, focus on the meat.

I piled my plate so high with food that my hand trembled under the weight.

By the time I was done, the plate resembled a towering mountain of fried and roasted meats.

Uh-oh, maybe I overdid it a bit….

The precarious “meat tower” wobbled dangerously with every step I took. A single misstep could send it toppling to the floor.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I discreetly used a bit of telekinesis to stabilize the tower until I got it safely back to the table.

As soon as I set the plate down, I released the telekinesis. No one had to know. Probably.

“Fufu, Yuria, your plate is packed with meat,” Reine remarked with a giggle, already seated and looking amused.

“…!”

I blinked at her, feeling slightly embarrassed. Was she judging me for being a picky eater? But wasn’t the whole point of a buffet to pick what you wanted and eat as much of it as you liked?

Feeling defensive, I stared at her in silent protest, but Reine just smiled knowingly and poked at her salad with a fork, as if to say, It’s nothing.

…Tch, I lost this one.

Looking around, I noticed that the others hadn’t returned yet, leaving the table still mostly empty.

I guess I was a bit faster than everyone else. I just grabbed whatever I saw, so they must be taking their time deciding what to get. When will they get back?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Raven and David returned.

Raven carried three plates, each piled high with a random assortment of dishes, while David’s single plate had a more balanced mix of foods.

It seemed the choices reflected their personalities.

Now I was curious about what Alice and Sabrina’s plates would look like.

“…Huh, what’s this? A tower of meat and fried food? Bold,” Raven commented, eyeing my plate with mock disapproval as he sat down.

“…!!”

Without warning, he reached over with his chopsticks and snagged a piece of meat from the top of my plate.

Hey! If you’re hungry, eat your own food!

Fuming, I stood up and jabbed him in the side with my fist.

Of course, with his skin as tough as stone, all I managed to do was hurt my own hand. Ugh, how annoying.

“Raven, why are you stealing Yuria’s food? That means,” Reine scolded from across the table.

“Honestly, that was uncalled for. Makes me question your character,” David added with a disappointed shake of his head.

At least Reine and David were on my side. I was the victim here, after all!

But Raven just snorted, completely unfazed by their comments, and shrugged as if he’d done nothing wrong.

“Quiet, it’s her fault for being careless. Tch, fine. Sorry. Want me to share some of mine instead?”

“….”

“Alright, I’ll take the steak and roast duck,” I said, finally forgiving Raven for stealing my food. I grabbed the prized meat he offered and added it to my plate.

With the Tower of Meat still standing strong, I sat back down and resumed eating, stabbing my fork into the savory pieces and bringing them to my mouth.

As expected of a high-end hotel, the food was delicious—absolutely worth the price of admission.

I happily chewed away, slowly dismantling my plate from the top, when a familiar voice suddenly called out from a nearby table.

“Hmm? Raven? Did someone just say Raven?”

SCRAAAAPE!

The sound of a chair scraping violently against the floor echoed through the restaurant as someone abruptly stood up.

Naturally, everyone at our table turned to look at the commotion.

Standing there was a tall, blond man with spiky hair and sunglasses perched on his face.

He was massive—so tall that his shadow practically swallowed us up.

Judging by the sauce smeared around his mouth and the towering stack of plates in front of his seat, he’d been wolfing down food before standing up. A serious big eater, no doubt.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m Raven… wait, is that you, Victor?”

“Ah, it is you. Long time no see, Raven.”

The spiky-haired blond man, Victor, removed his sunglasses with a flourish and broke into a wide grin.

Victor... I know that name.

I’d never seen him in person before, but I recognized him as a character from the original story.

Victor was an old comrade of Raven’s from their days in the same military unit and now his rival in the fixer business.

But something felt off. If I remembered correctly, this was supposed to be their first meeting in this timeline… yet his face seemed oddly familiar to me.

Wait a second… could he be… that pervy guy in the lab coat who followed me around once?

It all clicked into place.

Now that I thought about it, there had been something weird about that encounter.

My telekinetic flicks were powerful enough to knock out even beastfolk, whose physical abilities far exceeded humans. But this man had taken a direct hit to the head and barely flinched.

It wasn’t normal.

The only explanation was that he was some sort of augmented human. Stronger than most beastfolk, he had exceptional abilities—like being able to pursue someone through the air using a grappling hook.

A muscle-bound blond powerhouse with that kind of skill set? There weren’t many people he could be.

It’s ridiculous I didn’t realize it back then. How did I miss this?

The realization left me stunned, but what surprised me even more was that that perv in the lab coat had turned out to be Victor, a top-tier fixer.

No wonder I couldn’t shake him. That wasn’t just me overreacting—I was dealing with a professional.

I decided to act like I didn’t recognize him. The last thing I needed was for him to connect me to that “ghost” he’d chased before. I kept my head down and focused on my meal, determined not to draw his attention.

Thankfully, Victor seemed more interested in chatting with Raven than noticing me.

“Fancy seeing you here, Raven. This must be fate!” Victor exclaimed.

“Fate, my ass. It’s just a coincidence. Anyway, what brings you here? Don’t tell me you’re on vacation?”

“Ha! I wish. No, I’m here for work.”

Victor grinned so widely his teeth practically sparkled. His bright demeanor was so overbearing it made me uncomfortable just glancing at him.

Raven, however, seemed entirely unfazed, as if he was used to it.

He idly dug a pinky into his ear and asked, “Work? What kind of job requires a fixer at a place like this?”

“You mean to tell me you don’t know? Starting tomorrow, Saint Maria Hotel is hosting the largest auction in its history. It’s a massive event. Surely you’ve heard of it?”

“Auction? So you’re here to…”

“Exactly. I was hired to protect the items and VIPs in case of theft. I’m guessing there are a lot of other fixers here too, for the same reason. That’s why I’m eating at such an odd hour—gotta stay sharp.”

Victor laughed loudly, his booming voice drawing even more attention.

His confidence was undeniable, and he had the skill to back it up. Being recognized as one of the top fixers wasn’t just bluster—it was fact.

An auction, huh? So there’s an event like that happening here. Saint Maria Hotel, a year-end vacation, and now an auction… none of this was in the original story.

The lack of familiarity made me uneasy. Events that weren’t in the original story usually meant trouble.

Given the current lineup of characters, we could probably handle it if something went wrong, but… I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

I silently prayed that this time, at least, we’d have a peaceful and uneventful vacation.

Not that I had any faith my prayer would actually work.