I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 124: There’s Emotion in the Fixer Exam (7)

I generally try not to take off my mask when I’m outside.

After all, I’m aware that my appearance is somewhat burdensome, and I’d prefer not to draw unnecessary attention.

Especially now, without Alice to protect me in every way, it’s even more important not to create reasons for others to focus on me.

Therefore, ever since entering the fixer exam, I haven’t once removed my fox mask.

After all, besides playing with the squirrel and submitting it to the examiner, I haven’t really done much to warrant taking it off.

So, the woman who suddenly said my face was cute was definitely saying something contradictory.

‘Well... can I really expect logic to apply here?’

However, when I thought about her identity, I couldn’t help but accept the situation.

None of the people on this bus, not even the fixer examiners, likely suspected it,

But if I felt like it, I could easily turn them all into tired mush in an instant!

Vespera. Known as the Crimson Primordial.

A legendary vampire queen’s descendant, living for at least a thousand years,

Her status was comparable to that of the Dragon Lord of Nightheaven.

Of course, such an evaluation was due to the fact that the Lord had retired from active duty to focus on administrative work and maintaining order.

In a direct confrontation, however, the chances of winning against such a transcendent being were slim.

The Dragon Lord was a cheat-like character who could extract mana from the heart as close to infinity as possible.

It was clear that the moment they were to fight, his strength would be undeniable.

‘Her right eye... the bloodshot eye, the one that can pierce through magic, right? If it were just an ordinary mask, it might have worked, but...’

One of Vespera’s major characteristics was that one of her red eyes was a cheat eye capable of seeing through magic.

It was a rare ability found only in some vampire queens, a natural ability to pierce through magic.

The fox mask that Greg had gifted me was an artifact imbued with various magical functions.

So, it was because it was an artifact that Vespera’s eye could see right through it, revealing my face!

This... was definitely a very troublesome situation.

Having a giant among the examiners suddenly show up was already making my head hurt,

But now my face, which I wanted to keep hidden, had been exposed to one of the most dangerous people in the world!

"Hmm... Ah, I misspoke. I meant the mask is cute. It’s a fox, right? A white fox, huh. It really matches your hair."

"..."

Maybe Vespera noticed that I was on guard.

She casually threw out the excuse with a gentle shrug, as if brushing it off.

Of course, to me, it was an absurd and shameless response.

What kind of person would mix up a compliment about a mask with saying someone’s face is cute?

It was a flustered attempt to clean up spilled water with words that didn’t even make sense.

But... well, I had no choice but to act as if I was relaxing.

It was better than challenging her and potentially going against a bomb that could explode at any moment.

‘...But still, this person being here is really bad, right?’

Of course, I was still just pretending to relax.

In reality, my mind was a storm of confusion, making me feel dizzy.

A few days ago, when the Liberation Army of Non-Human Races caused trouble, which wasn’t even in the original work, I was already struggling.

Now, if Vespera is here in the fixer exam, I couldn’t even guess what kind of repercussions it would cause.

Why is someone who doesn’t even need a fixer license showing up here?

And why didn’t the examiners throw out someone this suspicious right away? What are they doing?!

"Won’t you at least greet me?"

As I inwardly cursed the examiner I didn’t even know,

Vespera’s voice, now softer than before, came to me.

Her hair was tied back into a single braid, and her rimmed glasses gave her an almost librarian-like look.

So, one might think it would be okay to ease up and try to get along with her.

But that was truly foolish behavior without thinking about the future.

It was no different from swallowing a hot stone just because it looked delicious.

‘The Seven Deadly Sins. A criminal who holds a level of skill and danger greater than a Double-Number Fixer...’

Vespera was an irregular, belonging to no faction.

Neither the Liberation Army nor a fixer—she lived life as she pleased, doing whatever she wanted.

Additionally, her personality was mercurial, unforgiving, and completely unpredictable.

Even with the title of the Seven Deadly Sins, she roamed major cities on her own terms.

In other words, she was a ticking time bomb.

I had no idea why she was here, but one thing was clear—getting involved with her would be very troublesome.

"..."

So, I nodded at Vespera, who was offering a greeting, and answered as dryly and formally as possible.

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She seemed to be somewhat displeased by my lack of response.

Vespera licked her lips with a crimson tongue, and with a more subdued voice, she asked,

"Are you deliberately not speaking? Are you the type who’s kind of prickly with strangers?"

"...!"

"Ah, I see... you can’t speak. How unfortunate. Your voice must be really nice too."

Her words went beyond discomfort and almost felt like a threat.

So, I pointed to my throat with my finger, making a gesture as if to say I couldn’t speak.

Luckily, it seemed she noticed that I wasn’t lying.

She smiled, her expression much softer now, as if understanding.

Hmm... Did I accidentally make her think I was deliberately being rude?

If I get off this bus, I’ll have to run away without thinking.

I made that silent resolve as I tried to appear nonchalant and looked ahead.

However, it seemed Vespera had a different plan.

She pointed to herself and spoke with a very polite tone.

"By the way, my name is Vespera. You know, I really like you. Want to hang out together?"

"...?"

"Don’t want to? Hmm... I could protect you, you know..."

"..."

...Refusing wasn’t an option.

If I openly refused here, I had no idea what might happen.

I had no choice but to manage my expression and reluctantly accept her proposal.

Being with the worst criminal of all time...

This was without a doubt the biggest crisis of my life.

 Two hours that felt like hell passed, and the bus reached the top of a mountain on the outskirts of the city.

The mountain’s name was Reverse Mountain.

It wasn’t originally a natural mountain, but rather an artificial one built as part of a forest project to recreate another world’s environment, using land that had been devastated by the war.

The height was several kilometers. After reinforcing the land with magic and scientific measures,

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Thousands of large trees were planted, and lakes were created that could support fish and birds, among other things.

It was a masterpiece created by magicians and scientists who had worked on it for over ten years.

Although this was a magnificent location, it wasn’t open to the public, and most of the information about it was concealed.

The main reason for this was that the Reverse Mountain had been created by the Fixer Association.

Since there was no need to rely on external profits, there was no reason to open it to tourists.

And since the purpose was the preservation of another world’s environment, it was a place that was generally off-limits.

‘Using such a place as the exam site is a rare occurrence. It really is beautiful. The scenery isn’t something you can easily see on Earth.’

The scenery of Reverse Mountain looked like a forest painted in pastels.

The trees and plants, which seemed like they could not exist in reality, shone with light and magic,

And the small insects and animals flying in between gave the illusion of being in a dream.

If I failed the second task and didn’t pass, I’d feel a little sad for having spent my expensive exam fee to come here,

But seeing this once-in-a-lifetime view would make it worth it.

The examinees who got off the bus could not help but gape at the breathtaking scenery.

"Wow... the scenery is really beautiful. So the fixers were hiding such things? It’s kind of making me nostalgic for home."

"..."

Among the murmurs, Vespera made a remark that seemed suspicious in her attempt to hide her identity.

But anyway, after a short sightseeing break, we gathered in the gymnasium prepared at the top of the mountain.

The large gymnasium had people from other groups as well,

Probably examinees who had passed the first task in different teams and had been selected for the White Team.

"Looks like most of these guys are pretty insignificant..."

"Tch, another kid? Does this fixer exam think it's a joke...!"

"Not many women... how sad..."

Wait, are they talking about me when they say 'kid'?

Really, how great do you think you are to be judging others like that?!

I naturally extended my hand to Vespera, who was trying to grab it,

And I made sure to memorize the face of the person who had scratched my mood with that annoying comment.

No matter how weak I was, I wasn’t going to just be passive.

If the day came when I’d make them fall, I’d make sure to humiliate them to the point ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ they’d burn with frustration.

Did we enter last?

As soon as the final person entered, the doors quickly shut, and the lights in the room flared on.

Then, astonishingly, a suspicious figure seemed to descend from the ceiling like a staircase, stepping on thin air.

"Ahahaha! Congratulations, examiners! Congratulations on being selected for the White Team! The examiner in charge of the second task for White Team is none other than me, the great fixer, Peacekeeper!"

It was the bewildering entrance of the examiner for the second task.