I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 108: Aftermath at Saint Maria (1)

After Plaguebringer Morte vanished with the Vita sisters using the Queen’s Profane Tiara, the suffocating killing intent, which had felt like a hand gripping my heart, dissipated in an instant.

Did he really flee? Or is he just hiding, waiting for a chance to ambush us?

The tense atmosphere lingered, as if no one could easily let their guard down.

But that was only because they didn’t know what the Profane Tiara could do.

And when the undead that had been rampaging through the auction started crumbling apart, unable to maintain their forms, the tension finally broke.

He broke through the ceiling when he arrived.

He ripped through space itself when he left.

Seriously, both his entrance and exit were completely absurd.

“...”

Then suddenly, a sharp pain and a faint taste of iron spread through my lips.

When I absentmindedly reached up, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ I felt a thin streak of blood on my fingertips.

It seemed that Morte’s overwhelming presence and killing intent had been so intense that I had subconsciously bitten my lip too hard from sheer tension.

Considering the fact that I would’ve died if Raven hadn’t intervened, it wasn’t surprising.

‘Ugh... but at least this woke me up. I need to leave. If they catch me here, it’ll be a disaster.’

I had instinctively used holy magic—what a mistake!

Now that I had time to think, it was far too conspicuous a move.

Just in this city alone, there were probably countless priests still struggling to recover even a fragment of their holy power.

If word got out, I could end up being interrogated and tortured for answers.

Even Morte had called me the ‘Saintess of Earth’ for some reason, so it was only a matter of time before powerful people came knocking.

‘And if I stay here any longer, the transformation will wear off. That’s another headache waiting to happen.’

After all, my current beastkin form was just a disguise created with the Tesseract, and I only had a few minutes left before it expired.

If I suddenly transformed back into Yuria in front of Raven and Alice...

I had no idea how I was supposed to explain that.

So, I subtly scanned the area, confirming that no one was paying close attention to me...

And quietly began stepping backward to slip away unnoticed.

Or at least, that was the plan.

Until Raven suddenly turned around and aimed his gun straight at me.

"Hey. Where do you think you're going? Holy energy, huh...? I've got a lot of questions for you. So do yourself a favor—don’t even think about running. There are so many fixers here, you wouldn’t get far before getting caught."

“...”

Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head or something?!

A cold sweat ran down my back as I froze in place.

If I ran at full speed, he’d catch me within seconds. There was no point in resisting.

...And it seemed Raven noticed my silent surrender.

He slowly lowered his gun, his tense posture relaxing slightly.

His gaze carried no hostility, showing that he had no intention of hurting me.

But it was different from the way he usually looked at me.

Instead of seeing me as a person, his expression was cold and unreadable—like he was analyzing an object.

Well, I still had the same hair color, but...

My height was slightly taller, and I had beast ears and a tail.

So at a glance, he hadn’t recognized me as Yuria yet.

‘Wait—who cares about that?! If I don’t escape, I’m doomed either way!’

Raven looked like a predator that had just locked onto its prey.

He had no intention of letting me go.

If I transformed back into my human form now, he’d demand to know how I did it.

And that could lead to him discovering both the Tesseract and my telekinetic abilities—a total disaster.

But just as Raven’s presence became almost suffocating, he suddenly glanced at Alice.

Then, with a small sigh, he muttered,

"...Relax. I’m not trying to scare you. You got targeted by Morte too, right? We’re just trying to help each other out. Tch... Did I come off too intimidating?"

"Yes. You looked like some awful adult bullying a kid."

Alice’s blunt reply made Raven awkwardly clear his throat, rubbing his forehead with his knuckles.

So he didn’t actually intend to pressure me?

He scratched his head, visibly embarrassed, then quickly turned away as if losing interest.

"...Whatever. Point is, don’t run. I’ll make sure you stay safe. Alice, keep an eye on them and take a break. Morte might not have gotten far—I’ll track his trail."

"Understood."

"If things get rough... call Victor. That guy’s up top, completely exhausted after tearing through dozens of high-level undead."

"Huh? Is Victor some kind of gorilla or something?"

"Worse."

Raven let out a short laugh, then disappeared up the stairs.

With the undead gone, it seemed like he was more concerned about tracking Morte’s movements.

Which was great news for me.

If Raven had stayed nearby, escaping would’ve been impossible.

But Alice?

I could work with Alice.

"Jin’s gone now... Haah. He really is amazing."

Alice stared at Raven’s departing figure, mumbling to herself in admiration.

Then, clearly exhausted from the fight against the Vita sisters, she plopped down beside me.

Seeing her relax, Tamamo, who had been unnaturally quiet since Morte appeared, finally scooted closer and asked,

"Um, Alice-chan? I wanted to ask earlier... but what’s your relationship with that guy? He seems really important...."

"Oh? Ah... He’s just... my boss? Ahaha...."

"Heeh... I see. Alice-chan, you found yourself a good connection. I was a little worried before, but now I feel relieved."

Tamamo smiled, visibly relaxing, before settling down beside Alice.

She had suffered serious injuries in the fight and could barely stand.

Her half-lidded eyes, heavy with exhaustion, made it seem like she could fall asleep at any moment.

Alice, seeing her childhood friend safe, finally let go of the tension inside her and smiled warmly.

"I was really surprised when I heard you became the Student Council President, Tamamo. And when I saw you fighting those monsters alone... You really are amazing."

"Nya-ha. It wasn’t that impressive. I only managed thanks to this."

"Oh? Isn’t that... one of the auction items?"

"Yup. The Great Mage’s Orb. But... it broke during the fight, so I can’t use it anymore."

Tamamo pulled out the cracked remains of the Orb, looking disappointed.

The Orb helped stabilize mana control, which was likely why she had managed to fight alone for so long.

And now...

It was broken.

Which meant...

I had a perfect opportunity to examine it.

I tapped Tamamo’s shoulder.

"...?"

"Do you want to take a look?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"...!"

Tamamo didn’t mind, since the Orb was basically junk now.

She handed it to me—

And the moment I held it, my hidden eyes widened in shock.

‘This... isn’t just an artifact. This is something much more complex... Something like the Tesseract or Echo.’

Somehow, I had been sensing a strong presence from afar—and now I knew why.

Even when I touched the fragment, I couldn't hear any voices.

Maybe it was because I was still in beastkin form?

But one thing was clear—this artifact was definitely connected to the Invaders.

Which meant... it had to be something extremely powerful.

This wasn’t something I could just walk away from.

However, taking it right now wasn’t an option.

Even if the Orb was now worthless, people would notice if something embedded inside it suddenly vanished.

I would get my hands on it eventually—but not now.

With the Orb’s value plummeting, there was no doubt an opportunity would come later.

Having made my decision, I casually handed the broken Orb back to Tamamo, acting like I had just been curious about it.

Then, in the most natural way possible, I turned to Alice with a meaningful gaze.

"Huh? Do you need something...?"

"...!"

Normally, since I was wearing a mask, it wouldn’t be obvious that I was staring at her.

But Alice had spent enough time around me to understand what my silence meant.

She tilted her head, then followed my gaze as I pointed toward the hallway—mimicking the action of someone heading to the bathroom.

"Oh, the bathroom? Hmm... Sure, go ahead. I’ll wait here."

"..."

...Wait.

She’s just letting me go?

I had expected her to follow me for security reasons, forcing me to find a way to shake her off before changing back.

But if she was letting me leave alone, this actually worked out perfectly for me.

There was no way anyone would suspect a random cat beastkin could suddenly turn into a human girl.

Even Raven, with all his sharp instincts, wouldn’t be able to connect the dots between the holy-powered feline and plain old Yuria.

This was it!

It felt like reaching the peak of a treacherous mountain after a grueling climb.

Suppressing my excitement, I casually waved, as if I’d be right back, and headed toward the restroom alone.

Once I turned the corner of the hallway and was finally out of sight—

I immediately shifted back into my original form and sprinted down toward the evacuation area.

"Y-Yuria...! Over here!"

"...!"

Sabrina was waiting outside the hotel, near the designated evacuation zone.

The moment she saw me, she hurriedly pulled out the fox mask I had been using and handed it back to me.

With a sigh of relief, I swapped out my disguise for my usual mask—

And only then did I feel like I had truly escaped danger.

Heh.

They could spend days searching the hotel for that mysterious cat beastkin—

But I was already gone.

I could practically feel the confidence radiating from my chest.