I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 47: The Wardrobe Holds a Secret (2)

The chaotic scene before me looked like an earthquake had struck.

I stared blankly into the wardrobe, caught off guard for a moment, before quickly snapping back to my senses.

This was one of the rare times Raven, ever the vigilant, was absent from the office. Opportunities like this only came a few times a day.

If I wasted this chance, I’d have no choice but to wait until tomorrow. With time being so precious to me, I couldn’t afford to lose focus.

“Right, Raven isn’t the type to bother with tidying up. I should’ve expected this... Let’s hurry and start searching.”

Stretching my back, I took a good look at the entire wardrobe to assess the situation.

The wardrobe was so large that even if I spread my arms wide, I wouldn’t be able to cover it all. It was built into the wall, reminiscent of the sliding door closets often found in Japanese houses.

Thanks to its polished finish with high-quality wood, it didn’t feel as dark or musty as I had anticipated.

“It’s deeper than I thought. Looks like I could climb inside easily...”

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

The wardrobe was deceptively spacious. It seemed like it had been part of the building's design from the beginning, as there was no awkwardness in its integration.

Yet, Raven had been using this excellent wardrobe as a makeshift storage room. It had three shelves filled with an assortment of items, chaotically crammed together without any semblance of order.

Pulling everything out would be no small task. With such little time to spare, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the challenge ahead.

“Raven said the pants containing the fragment were part of his newly unpacked winter clothes, right?”

At least I wasn’t fumbling around without a clue. If I could find the box holding his winter clothes, there was a good chance I’d locate the item I was searching for nearby.

“It’ll be a hassle, but if I search the boxes here, I’m bound to find something. Still... time is tight.”

I glanced at the digital clock mounted on the wall. Roughly five minutes—if I managed my time perfectly, I could avoid getting caught. Missing the deadline would mean serious trouble.

Locking that timeframe firmly in my mind, I carefully moved the heavy items piled on top of the boxes to the side.

But just as I shifted a particularly unstable pile of junk, everything toppled toward the floor with a deafening clatter.

“...!”

Panicked, I reached out with my telekinesis and managed to catch the falling items before they hit the ground. Thankfully, they stopped midair, avoiding the noise that would have surely exposed me.

Looks like I’ll need to rely on my telekinesis more for this.

With renewed determination, I lifted the pile and began rummaging through the boxes scattered throughout the wardrobe.

This one had tools like nails and light bulbs. Another was full of books and decorative items. And... wait a second. This was... a stack of adult magazines?!

“Seriously?! Why would he hide something like this here?”

Embarrassed, I froze for a moment, staring at the magazine’s provocative cover, before hastily tossing it aside with a flushed face. This wasn’t the time to get distracted.

“Is this a wardrobe or a junkyard?!”

The haphazardly shoved-in mess frustrated me. If I didn’t care about leaving evidence of my snooping, I could’ve finished much faster. But trying to keep things tidy as I searched was doubling the time it took.

Still, there was no helping it. I had to keep going.

As I continued sifting through the chaos, a thought struck me.

“Could it be... up there?”

After restoring the scattered items and boxes as inconspicuously as possible, I stood on tiptoe and peeked into the wardrobe’s top shelf.

To my surprise, there was another box with a lid, just like those below. From ground level, it had been obscured by thick blankets, so I hadn’t noticed it earlier.

Shaking my head at Raven’s utterly unpredictable storage habits, I used my telekinesis to leap lightly onto the top shelf. Sitting on the blankets with my knees drawn in to avoid hitting the ceiling, I opened the box.

“Got it! Summer clothes!”

Bingo. Inside the box were lightweight summer clothes that would be impossible to wear in this freezing weather. This box was probably meant to hold his winter clothes originally.

Which meant there was a high chance something related to the Invaders was nearby.

Carefully crawling on all fours, I combed through every corner, scrutinizing every detail.

“Wait... What’s this? Something feels... off.”

As I meticulously examined the ceiling area connected to the wardrobe, I noticed a subtle irregularity.

While I couldn’t physically touch it, my intuition screamed that something existed in that space. Extending my telekinesis, I probed deeper into the area beyond what was visible.

And then, unexpectedly, my telekinesis met no resistance, despite the wooden wall seemingly in the way.

It was like a scene out of a movie, where a wizard ran straight through a supposedly solid wall onto a magical platform. My eyes widened as the realization hit me.

“This is... a dimensional rift!”

That’s right. This was none other than a dimensional rift—an important phenomenon in the Fixer’s world.

A rift occurred when different dimensions accidentally overlapped, creating a fragile seam in space. To most people, it was a mere oddity, but for those in the know, it was a treasure trove.

Why? Because, on rare occasions, objects from other dimensions—like the Tesseract—could slip through these rifts into our world.

Of course, it wasn’t all good news. If a rift became too large, it could serve as a gateway for Invaders to pour into our world.

Thankfully, this rift was only the size of my fist. No need to worry about an invasion. Yet.

“Why is there a rift here? Wait, was this in the original story?”

I racked my brain but couldn’t recall any mention of a wardrobe or a rift in the source material.

My musings were abruptly cut short by the faint sound of a door creaking open.

My blood ran cold. That sound came from the shower room door.

“...!”

Crap! I’d gotten so absorbed in the rift that I’d completely lost track of time.

Panic set in. The shower room was just steps away from the bedroom door. If Raven opened it now, I’d have no way out except the window.

But escaping through the window in this freezing weather? The sudden rush of cold air would definitely raise suspicion.

“What do I do?! If I get caught like this... he’ll definitely be suspicious!”

Horrible scenarios flashed through my mind. After all, what kind of guest sneaks into their host’s room and starts digging through their things?

I wasn’t stealing or plotting anything malicious, but how could I explain that to Raven? Especially when I couldn’t speak.

Footsteps approached the door. Five seconds at most.

Sweating nervously, I quickly slid the wardrobe door shut and squeezed myself into a corner.

Maybe... just maybe, I wouldn’t get caught.

The door clicked open, and Raven’s presence filled the room. My heart pounded so loudly it felt like he’d hear it.

Then, as if mocking my desperate prayers, his footsteps moved directly toward the wardrobe.

The door slid open, flooding the interior with light.

I’d been caught.