Night Haven was peaceful again today.
Snow wasn’t falling, but the winter chill was enough to freeze anyone to the bone.
Even a flame spirit, its body wreathed in fire, clutched its coat tightly against the cold. Meanwhile, a single car was tearing recklessly down the road, ignoring all traffic signals.
Vroooom! Screeeech!
For a moment, the car soared through the air before slamming back onto the road, leaving dark tire marks in its wake.
The speed was so extreme that white smoke rose from the tires as they violently skidded across the asphalt.
Speeding, running red lights, driving against traffic, and crossing the centerline...
If the police caught up with them now, there would be no excuse for the lawlessness.
Perhaps even the passengers couldn’t handle such a chaotic ride; screams echoed from inside the car.
"Hiyaaaaack! The car, the car! Over there too! Watch out! Ukkiyaaaack!"
"Please calm down, Ms. Cookie! We’re not going to crash!"
"Ugh, that’s so damn loud! Do you know who’s making me drive like this right now?"
Raven, the black-haired man in the driver’s seat, grumbled irritably while yanking the steering wheel back and forth.
Yet, shockingly, the car slipped between vehicles with an impossible smoothness despite its breakneck speed.
It was as if time moved slower for him, as though he existed in a world where everything around him was sluggish.
No matter how tough someone’s stomach was, they’d still be flipping inside out after such an intense drive.
Finally, as the car left the bustling downtown and entered the relatively clear ring road, Raven’s voice rang out as if he could finally focus on something outside the car.
"David! Where are the bastards who kidnapped the client’s daughter?"
"The kidnappers are on Road 3, heading toward Midnight Airport. Judging by their route, their destination is likely the airport."
"Trying to flee overseas, huh? What a hassle."
"Ahhhk! My Jellybean...!"
"Hey, stop crying in the car! This isn’t even my car!"
"Ms. Cookie! Please calm down! If you cry here, the whole car’s going to be ruined!"
"Sniffle... but the tears..."
From the other end of the call, a chaotic commotion erupted.
Understandably so; there was a real risk that the client’s daughter could disappear forever. The client, overwhelmed with emotion, had burst into tears.
Ordinarily, such a reaction would be understandable. But unfortunately, she belonged to a rare species whose tears turned into gemstones.
If she let her tears fall inside a speeding car... well, that would be an absolute nightmare.
Since the car was only borrowed in a hurry, Alice was likely in the back seat, frantically trying to catch the floating tear-gems before they caused too much trouble.
"Looks like we’ll need to get to the airport first. David, how long until they arrive at the airport?"
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"At their current speed, they’ll likely reach the airport in about 20 minutes."
"Twenty minutes, huh? Ugh, considering the distance to the airport from here, we’re definitely going to be late."
"I’ll try to find the fastest route. For now, if you take the ring road and—"
"No, that’ll be too slow. This road circles the lake pretty widely, so no matter how fast we drive, we’ll lose too much time. There’s no way we’ll make it in 20 minutes."
"Nooo! Sniffle!"
"Argh! Jin, please stop Mrs. Jin from crying!"
"Then... what else can we do?"
If you weren’t going to follow the road, how else were you planning to get there?
David looked as though he wanted to say that, his eyebrows twitching.
But objections without alternatives were useless when every second counted.
David bit back whatever he was about to say.
Whether Raven knew that or not, he showed no intention of slowing down as he blitzed across the road. Then, suddenly, he shouted.
"So we’ll cut across the lake!"
"Eeeeeek!"
"The lake, right! Ms. Cookie, hold on tight!"
"Wait, no... what...?"
David gaped, completely stunned by Raven’s absurd conclusion.
Crossing a lake wide enough to fit a road was already ridiculous.
The fact that Alice unhesitatingly backed him up made it even worse.
I reached out and patted David’s shoulder reassuringly. Raven wasn’t the type to say something that was truly impossible. It was better to just trust him for now.
"Here we go!"
"Eeeeeek! I don’t want to die like this!"
Crash! As the ring road reached the lake’s edge, Raven’s car shattered through the guardrail and launched itself into the air, straight toward the lake.
Even I, who knew what was about to happen, couldn’t help but clench my fists at the terrifying sight. It looked like the car would sink straight to the bottom of the lake.
The car hung in the air for a moment before—
At the perfect moment, a Night Haven sightseeing cruise ship passed below. The car crashed onto the deck, sending screams, debris, and metal scraping everywhere. Miraculously, no one was hurt, a testament to Raven’s insane driving skills.
The car sped across the cruise ship deck, launching off again and landing in the dirt of the park near the lake.
Of course, after two such brutal falls, the car’s bumper crumpled like paper and fell off.
But considering it was far faster than driving the long way around the lake, this gamble was wildly successful.
The car continued forward, tearing up the park’s natural scenery before finally returning to the road.
"Does Raven have three hearts or something? I can’t believe this. Did you really predict the timing of that cruise ship passing by?"
"..."
David, who had been watching all of this unfold through a drone back at the office, was completely dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open in shock.
Raven’s actions weren’t just daring; they were so over-the-top that it was hard to process. I understood how he felt.
Well, after that ridiculously reckless shortcut, everything went smoothly.
"Hey, can you stop for a second? I’d like to have a word."
"Hiiiik! This woman ripped the steering wheel off!"
"The car, the car is flipping over!"
Raven and Alice reached the airport before the kidnappers. When the kidnappers finally arrived, Alice dove into the driver’s seat of their car and flipped it over.
"Ugh... Damn it... I’ll kill all of you!"
"Y-yes, boss! The headquarters... ack!"
"Hey, idiots. Don’t cause a scene at the airport. You’re making everyone nervous."
Even as more than ten kidnappers tumbled out of the overturned vehicle, they were immediately subdued by Raven's rubber bullets, falling like dominoes without much resistance.
Of course, considering the chaos wreaked across the city, the police arrived shortly afterward in droves, ready to arrest not just the kidnappers but Raven as well.
Understandable, really—after causing that level of havoc on the road, there was no way they would just let him go.
"Apologies, but I’m currently on fixer business. Could you perhaps overlook this, given the circumstances...?"
Raven identified himself as a fixer and explained the unavoidable situation.
Fixers in Night Haven were essentially vigilantes who helped reduce the overburdened police force’s workload, so their bending of the law was often overlooked.
Perhaps because no one had suffered any real damage, Raven’s illegal antics were pardoned, and Cookie’s daughter, Jellybean, was safely returned to her family.
In short, this dynamic mission was completed successfully, thanks to everyone’s efforts. Well done, everyone.
Huh? What did I do? Well... I cheered them on, obviously.
From the moment the tear-soaked client had arrived at the office, I had already done my part by guiding her to a seat and serving tea. So if you think about it, I contributed, too.
"Phew, we’re back. Honestly... sometimes saving people means wrecking a car or two. Why do they have to make such a big deal about it?"
"You borrowed the car for a quick errand. If you return it completely totaled, of course they’ll be upset..."
Not long after everything was resolved, Raven and Alice returned to the office. Raven muttered to himself irritably as he collapsed onto the couch.
Apparently, he’d gotten thoroughly scolded for returning a borrowed car in such a state.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, the car had been pristine when borrowed but returned looking like it was about to be scrapped. From the lender’s perspective, it was only natural to be angry.
Fortunately, because they were familiar with each other, it seemed Raven had managed to settle the matter by agreeing to help out with a favor later.
"Yuria~ Come here!"
"...?"
"Mmm, so warm! You’re the best, Yuria!"
Maybe it was because Alice had spent so much time outside in the freezing cold.
She pulled me into her arms, rubbing her cheek against the top of my head as though I were a little heater.
For someone who usually ran pretty warm, it was surprising how icy she felt now. It really drove home how bitterly cold it was outside.
Oh well, I guess I’ll let her hold me just this once.
Resigned to being Alice’s personal hot pack, I quietly let myself be hugged. From across the room, Raven peeked over the edge of his blanket and asked.
"Is she really that warm? Let me borrow her for a second. I’m a bit cold, too."
"...!"
"Raven, no! Look, Yuria’s horrified!"
Why on earth would I cuddle with him?
Shocked by the absurd suggestion, I burrowed deeper into Alice’s arms, turning my back to Raven.
Raven scratched his head, looking somewhat crestfallen, and muttered that he hadn’t meant it seriously.
I felt a bit bad seeing him look so dejected, but still... that was too much.
Maybe it was because I’d been seeing him first thing every morning lately, but he really did start to feel like some overly familiar next-door neighbor.
As I glanced at Raven out of the corner of my eye, David adjusted his glasses and spoke up with an unusually serious expression.
"Raven, if you’d like, I could—"
"Oh, come on."
"Never mind! I said I was joking! And Alice, what’s with that reaction, you brat?!"
Whatever troubled, contemplative thoughts David had been harboring earlier seemed to vanish as he turned serious for Raven’s sake, leaving Raven utterly flustered. Was he joking? I hoped so.
As I watched the office buzz with its usual chaos from Alice’s arms, I found myself glancing at the calendar on the wall.
Today was Thursday.
That meant it was less than a week until Greg was set to return.
In other words, my time here would end in just six days.
"Time’s flown by already."
Looking back, it all felt like a whirlwind. I never imagined I’d end up freeloading at the office, but the days turned out to be smoother—and far more fun—than I expected.
I wasn’t particularly sentimental about the upcoming farewell.
It wasn’t as though these people would be in dire straits without me; they were clearly competent enough, as I’d seen earlier. If anything, I’d probably been more of a hindrance than a help.
Honestly, it was probably a win-win situation for all of us. I cared about my own safety, and they’d be better off without me in the way.
"Well, since it’s come to this, I might as well enjoy the time I have left. It’s not every day you get to see the original story’s events unfold with your own eyes!"
Having warmed up nicely in Alice’s arms, I settled back onto the couch and quietly reaffirmed my resolve.
Who would the next client be? The anticipation of it made my heart race.
Ding-dong.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
The sound indicated that someone—an outsider—had arrived at the office. Probably a new client.
Slipping out of Alice’s arms, I smoothed down my slightly crumpled clothes and nodded toward Raven to let him know I’d check the door.
Of all times, someone had to show up right near quitting time.
This smelled like overtime or an early start to tomorrow’s work.
Moving briskly but calmly, I opened the door.
And standing there was a woman whose appearance I recognized immediately.
Her hair was cut into a bob that reached her shoulders, the outer and inner layers dyed two different colors in a striking two-tone style.
A musical note-like design was painted on her cheek, and her lips were an intense, unnaturally blue shade that stood out boldly against her skin.
Have I seen her before?
Of course I have. There couldn’t be many people with such a distinctive look.
"Uh, um... is this the Crowley Troubleshooter Office?"
"...!"
There she stood—the Troubleshooter Office’s very first official client and an idol who would play a significant role in the original story going forward.
It was Aisha.