I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 164: Of the Black Raven and the Snow-White Ghost (2)

“What’s the result?”

The first to speak was an old man, his face deeply lined with wrinkles.

A spotless white lab coat with not a wrinkle in sight, thin-rimmed glasses—

a textbook look so stereotypical that out of a hundred people, all hundred would guess he was a researcher.

He was staring fixedly at the testing chamber beyond the glass.

As if what lay beyond was so important that he couldn’t even afford to glance away.

“As you can see, not only did we fail to meet the goal, but none of the subjects even adapted to the minimum threshold required to control the power.

Most displayed symptoms of seizures and delirium, leading to brain death. We believe severe psychic contamination is likely the cause—”

“Hm. So this attempt was a failure too. Maybe we need different methods for each individual.”

The old man stroked his beard as if troubled by the middle-aged researcher’s response.

Yet even as he murmured to himself, his expression remained completely flat, emotionless.

Like a doll attempting to mimic a human—just uncanny enough to make the viewer uncomfortable.

Still, even with his unchanging face, maybe he was truly concerned after all.

After falling silent, lost in thought for a moment, the old man finally spoke, his voice faint and weary.

“It’s about time we abandon this lab. As a final trial... let’s use the Child of God.”

“Director, the Child of God, sir...?”

The younger man’s voice trembled with shock, while the elder’s face didn’t so much as twitch.

His gaze was fixed on a girl, huddled in the corner without any sign of life or response.

It was clear that the old man was referring to that black-haired girl.

But what exactly did “Child of God” mean? That hadn’t been mentioned in the original source material.

‘This is strange. Why am I dreaming about this?’

Suddenly, # Nоvеlight # a question surfaced.

Why was I having this dream?

Well, it’s just a dream. Dreams are supposed to be like this.

I tried to convince myself with that simple logic—

—but then I realized something that left me stunned.

‘Wait... this place... Isn’t this where I first woke up?’

Crack.

A sound like fracturing echoed through the void, and my consciousness surged upward as if breaching the surface of deep water.

It was like being yanked from the edge of sleep with a splash of ice water.

Snapping out of the hazy awareness of a lucid dream, I forced myself to focus on what I was seeing.

My instincts screamed that this wasn’t something I could afford to overlook.

‘Urgh... I feel like... I almost know something important...!’

But the clearer my mind became, the farther I drifted from the dream.

The world around me scattered like a mirage—

and just as I felt myself return from formless ghost to my heavy, physical body—

I realized I was lying inside the familiar confines of Raven’s closet.

“...!”

What kind of absurd dream was that? No, wait—was it really just a dream?

My back was soaked in sweat, sticky and unpleasant, and my heart pounded wildly in my chest.

Maybe I couldn’t move properly because of the shock of waking up.

So I lay there, eyes closed, trying to steady my ragged breathing.

And then, just as I started to sit up, barely regaining my focus—

—I met eyes with a pair of black pupils gazing down at me.

“Ah. I wasn’t planning to wake you, but I heard you groaning in there, and... acted on impulse.”

The man looking down at me from outside the closet, of course, was Raven.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, clearly aware of the poor timing.

I hadn’t even had time to mentally prepare.

There I was, maskless and flustered, staring back at him in a panic.

Thump-thump.

My heart, which I’d just barely calmed down, started racing uncontrollably again.

It felt like that moment when you realize the due date for the assignment you’ve been putting off is suddenly now.

***

Outside, the sun had long since set, the sky now drenched in deep darkness and neon light.

A glance at the clock showed it was already 11 p.m.

I’d only meant to take a quick nap, but I’d ended up sleeping far longer than expected.

Maybe I really was that exhausted after the Sky Garden. That would explain why I felt oddly refreshed.

Apparently, Raven had only returned to the office a few minutes earlier.

Despite being a Single Number Fixer himself, he’d personally gathered the rest of the elite support Fixers.

Thanks to that effort, he’d been exempt from the prolonged cleanup duty that was sure to follow the Sky Garden raid.

It was good news, no doubt about it.

I’d thought I wouldn’t even get to see his face for a while.

If the Troubleshooter Office could return to normal operations soon... that was something to be glad about.

“Why don’t you have any appetite? You usually can scarf down a whole pizza on your own.”

“....”

“Ah, are you cold? I made sure the heat was extra warm today.”

“...!”

But now, my deepest, darkest secret had been discovered by the one person I least wanted to find out.

Even though I was sitting on a soft sofa, it felt like I was perched on a bed of nails.

The mental stress I was under must’ve been enormous.

I couldn’t even bring myself to touch the pizza, which I normally devoured without thinking.

But what was with this guy—why wasn’t he bringing it up?

Wouldn’t it be easier to just get the scolding over with?

‘If he’s going to yell at me, I’d rather it be sooner than later... Wait. Could it be he’s planning to pretend he doesn’t know?’

Now that I thought about it, Raven was acting more or less the same as usual.

Except for that unreadable expression and the way he kept glancing at me.

Maybe he intended to pretend he didn’t remember anything from the Sky Garden incident.

If so, I had absolutely no reason to object.

It’s not like I had any desire to announce to the world that I was a psychic.

If I just stayed cautious and kept hiding my identity, I could avoid being a burden to anyone.

Of course, if someone like Raven, Alice, or Greg ended up in danger, I wouldn’t be able to stay quiet.

But unless things got that bad, I was probably one of the most low-key people out there. Really.

“...Hmm. Judging by how you keep checking my mood, I guess you know how serious this is. Fine. No more testing the waters. That’s easier for you, too, right?”

“....”

So he wasn’t going to let it slide after all.

Raven looked at me with a cold, expressionless face that crushed any faint hope I had.

Unlike his usual loose and lazy attitude, there wasn’t a single opening in his demeanor—

—so sharp it almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Then let me get straight to the point. Yuri. You already know, don’t you—that you’re a psychic?”

Thud.

My heart dropped like a rock.

He hit the core issue right from the start. I wanted to get up and run right then and there.

But trying to lie at this point would only destroy what little trust I had left.

There’s no way Raven would fall for a half-baked excuse. That would be the worst option imaginable.

So I swallowed hard, tongue dry, my shoulders trembling as I slowly nodded.

And no, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand what that question truly meant.

Knowing you’re a psychic versus not knowing—that was a world of difference.

‘Psychics are those who wield the power of the Invaders, the dimensional invaders themselves.

And to the Fixer Association, they are the greatest threat—enemies.’

I knew better than anyone just how heavy the word “psychic” was in this world.

It wasn’t yet the right time in the story for a proper psychic faction to emerge—

—but even so, the Association had, over the past decade, encountered countless incomplete results from its attempts to artificially create psychics.

They concluded that psychics were on neither humanity’s nor the other species’ side.

Their ultimate goal was to hand Earth over to the Invaders—turn it into another of their worlds.

A dimensional conquest meant the end of everything.

There was a reason humans and other-species had united in an uneasy truce after the Invaders first appeared.

“I see. So you were fully aware that your powers didn’t originate from magic.”

“....”

“The ghost in the Western Labyrinth—that was you, wasn’t it?”

“...!”

Flinch.

My shoulders jerked involuntarily at Raven’s sudden question.

Even if he’d met Alice, I didn’t expect him to know about the ghost.

But clearly, my reaction was as good as a confession.

With a nod that suggested he expected as much, Raven pulled out a pitch-black pistol from inside his suit and pointed it at me.

Mocking Shadow.

It was a Mocking Shadow, an artifact that replicated previously “fed” items.

Raven always brought it out when he considered someone an enemy.

I’d thought of the possibility somewhere in the back of my mind... but I never imagined it would actually happen.

Staring at the restrained killing intent he directed at me, I could only sit there in shock.

“Psychics are considered a top-level threat even if they haven’t hurt anyone. Do you know why?”

“....”

Finger on the trigger, Raven spoke in a cold, flat voice.

The pressure made it impossible for me to move my head.

But it seemed he didn’t even need an answer.

Tapping his temple with his free hand, he continued.

“Every psychic ever observed has shown signs of extreme mental contamination. An incomprehensible hatred—enough to die just to kill someone else.

And since no method has ever successfully suppressed their power, the Association eventually gave up on trying to capture them alive.”

It was something I already knew from the source material.

And it was, unfortunately, mostly accurate.

It was true that most psychics were utterly insane.

Like flames that never stopped burning until they were reduced to ashes.

Their ideology itself was practically a doomsday cult.

To Fixers, psychics were enemies to be killed on sight—completely unreachable by reason or diplomacy.

It was sad, but I could understand why Raven would point a gun at me.

But understanding it in my head and accepting it in my heart were two different things.

His cold, lifeless gaze made me feel like I was dreaming.

‘What do I do? Am I... supposed to fight him? Fight Raven?’

My heart pounded uncontrollably as I clenched my fists on my lap.

Of course I didn’t want to die.

And especially not being shot to death—that was a horrifying thought.

So logically, I should either run before he could do anything—or fight back.

‘Run? ...To where?’

But neither of those choices appealed to me.

Greg. Alice. Raven. Sabrina...

People who now felt more important to me than even myself.

I couldn’t just run away and abandon them. The affection I felt for them was too strong.

And fighting Raven just to avoid dying...

Even if I won or lost, it wouldn’t mean anything.

So, in the face of Raven’s expression that showed no trace of joking,

I chose... nothing.

I could only sit there and silently look at him.

And as I sat there, cornered in this nightmare—

Raven pulled a strange, transparent cartridge filled with liquid from his coat and said something shocking.

“...But you’re in luck. The Association’s recently developed this.”

“...?”

“It’s a special serum that removes psychic powers.

It’ll hurt like hell, might feel like dying—but after that, you’ll just be an ordinary human.”

“...!”

It can get rid of my powers?

I blinked in disbelief at the words coming from Raven’s mouth.

If it really worked—if I could live without the fear of being a psychic ever again...

Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

“Don’t dodge. That’s my last warning.”

Without hesitation, Raven fed the bullet into the shadow.

Then he pulled the trigger.

The hammer clicked back—and the thunderous crack of the gunshot rang through the room.