The biggest clue was the photo taken late at night inside the agency.
Based on this, they were able to narrow down the suspects who didn’t have an alibi.
Aisha’s manager, an in-house designer, an accountant, a photographer, and a fellow idol.
The list of those suspected in the stalking case had been reduced to these five people.
Raven, maintaining a serious expression, turned to Bold, who looked equally concerned, and asked,
“Hm, are you certain these five suspects were inside the agency at the time the photo was taken?”
“Yes, I can confirm it with my own eyes. They were the only ones who had a reason to remain in the office late that night.”
“With that statement, I’m certain. The culprit is among them.”
Raven nodded decisively, eliminating any remaining uncertainty.
He then began explaining the situation to the suspects, who had no idea why they were summoned.
For the past month, Aisha had been receiving threatening messages from a malicious stalker. These included death threats, photos of her back, and pictures of places she had visited.
Fortunately, a critical piece of evidence in the form of a photo had surfaced, allowing them to narrow down the possible culprits.
Even without knowing all the details, this summary was enough to make the situation clear to everyone.
“That’s terrible....”
“Hah, why would I do something like that to Aisha? We’re colleagues in the same agency.”
“This is outrageous! How could I be accused of stalking someone?”
“Please, calm down. No one’s saying you’re the culprit, only that it’s a possibility....”
“That’s exactly why this is upsetting! Why would I harass Aisha?”
Alice struggled to calm down the increasingly agitated suspects.
It seemed some of them were deeply offended by the mere suspicion of being involved in such a vile act.
Raven, however, remained unfazed by their reactions. With a professional demeanor, he continued speaking calmly.
“There’s no guarantee you won’t be the next target. Catching the stalker as quickly as possible would be in your best interest, wouldn’t it? If you cooperate, this won’t take long. Now, let’s go through what each of you was doing at the time.”
Perhaps it was Raven’s unwavering composure, or maybe his firm yet measured approach, but the suspects began to settle down and explain themselves.
The manager claimed he had stayed in the lounge to warm up after escorting Aisha home.
The designer said she was working late in the studio, rushing to complete an album design.
The accountant admitted she had stayed at her desk to fix a mistake she made earlier that day.
The photographer explained he had forgotten some photos he needed for the morning and had briefly returned to the office.
The fellow idol said she had just finished practicing her singing and dancing and was about to leave.
While none of them had alibis that could be verified by others, their reasons for being in the office seemed plausible.
Raven stroked his chin thoughtfully, his expression unreadable.
“I see. Thank you for your explanations. You all seem to have reasonable alibis.”
“Hah... I don’t know. It’s hard to believe one of them could be the stalker....”
Bold, the overall manager, muttered that none of them seemed to be lying.
It was understandable; as someone who had worked with these people, he found it difficult to accept that one of them might be guilty.
But then, Raven’s head slowly tilted toward one person. His gaze landed on none other than Aisha’s manager.
“Something doesn’t add up. You claimed you were quietly sitting in the lounge at the time the photo was taken, but... there’s evidence you visited a café outside the agency around the same time.”
“Wha...! Th-that’s...!”
“You seem to have cleverly avoided the agency’s CCTV, but it didn’t occur to you that external cameras might catch you, did it?”
With a confident air, Raven pulled out a photo and held it up in front of the manager.
The image, taken from an external CCTV feed, clearly showed the manager himself.
Caught in such an obvious lie, murmurs and gasps rippled through the room.
Imagining the drama, I swallowed hard, as if I were munching on imaginary popcorn.
Adding weight to Raven’s claim, David stepped forward and spoke.
“I’d like to add something. At the scene where the stalker’s photo was taken, witnesses reported seeing a red-haired man quietly following Aisha.”
“Gasp! And the manager’s hair is...”
“Bright red!”
The other suspects gasped, their eyes turning toward the manager with suspicion.
With his false alibi exposed and circumstantial evidence pointing to him, even Aisha widened her eyes in shock.
“Manager... this isn’t true, right? Wh-why would you...?”
“....”
“Please answer me! You’re not the stalker, are you? You said we were like family!”
Aisha’s expression betrayed her deep sense of betrayal, her heavy makeup unable to hide the hurt written across her face.
She couldn’t believe the person who had looked after her since her debut was the one tormenting her so cruelly.
As she tried to approach her manager in disbelief, Raven stepped forward, blocking her path.
“No, coincidentally, the manager is not the stalker.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“But you just said he was lying! Then how...?”
“The manager has no motive to stalk Aisha. He gains nothing from it. He was merely a tool being used. Isn’t that right, Bold?”
“Wh-what? What are you talking about all of a sudden...?”
“The stalker... is you. Am I wrong?”
Gasp!
The room filled with shocked gasps as everyone reeled from this unexpected twist.
The prime suspect, the manager, had been a red herring all along. The real culprit was Bold!
Of course, I’d known this from the start, but even knowing the ending couldn’t ruin the excitement of watching it unfold.
Bold, now sweating profusely, tried to deny the accusation, claiming he had no reason to harm Aisha.
“You claim the manager had no reason, but neither do I! What would I gain from harassing Aisha?”
“Oh, you’d gain plenty. Specifically, you’d get Aisha to voluntarily quit. You’ve been trying to reduce the number of Maximized idols like her because they don’t bring in much money. Isn’t that why you were assigned here, a practically demoted position?”
“Ha, haha...! What nonsense! We’re family! How could you accuse me of such a thing? Even if you’re a troubleshooter, this is absurd. I’ll report this to the police!”
“Innocent, are you? Then explain this.”
Raven, now dropping formalities, pulled out a device from his pocket and played an audio file.
[ “Manager, what’s this about...?” ]
[ “Look, I need your help. HQ thinks these Maximized idols are a waste of resources. We need to get rid of them as soon as possible.” ]
[ “Can’t you just let their contracts run out?” ]
[ “Tsk, they’re too impatient for that. Just do something to make them quit, and I’ll put in a good word for you. Maybe even get you a promotion.” ]
The audio cut off, leaving a heavy silence in its wake.
The betrayal was clear. Bold, who had claimed to treat idols like family, had been plotting to sabotage them all along.
Even the stalking and harassment were intended to push Aisha out without making the company look bad.
Aisha, devastated, lowered her head, her expression showing how deeply hurt she was.
Raven, putting the device back in his pocket, turned to Bold with a look that asked, What now?
“It seems like the one needing to answer to the police... is you.”
“Th-this is... fabricated...!”
“I can guarantee, on the honor of a Fixer, that there’s not a trace of fabrication in this recording. So, what are you willing to bet? Your entire fortune? Or maybe your life?”
“D-damn it!”
It seemed Bold had planned to use the manager as a scapegoat for the stalking case while slipping away unscathed. But his expression twisted into one of utter defeat, knowing his plan had fallen apart.
Gone was the kind, fatherly bald man we’d met earlier in the day. In his place was someone consumed by malice, a despicable criminal through and through.
The situation had completely turned. The stalking and death threats directed at Aisha weren’t just personal crimes anymore—they were ones that could harm the entire Codria agency.
If the police were called and this incident was fully investigated, Bold would inevitably face judgment.
But before that could happen, Aisha, her eyes brimming with tears, hurriedly approached Raven.
“W-wait a moment!”
“Huh?”
“C-could you... not report Bold to the police?”
Aisha’s sudden defense of Bold threw everyone into confusion once again.
She had been tormented for an entire month, so why was she standing up for him now?
Even the manager, who had been manipulated and used as a tool by Bold, seemed taken aback by her unexpected actions.
Raven, however, paid little attention to the external reactions. He focused solely on Aisha, carefully observing her.
Realizing that her plea wasn’t born out of simple pity or self-satisfaction, he calmly asked her,
“May I ask why?”
“It’s not really for Bold’s sake... There are still idols in Codria whom I admire and respect. If this gets reported, they could suffer unintended consequences. And that... that’s not something I want to see.”
Wiping away her tears, Aisha met Raven’s gaze with a fiery determination.
Her thoughts weren’t on the betrayal by Bold or the manager’s complicity.
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What concerned her was the collateral damage that might befall the idols under Codria if this case escalated.
For someone known as the “End-of-the-World Idol,” Aisha had an unexpectedly kind and noble heart. She couldn’t bear the thought of innocent people being harmed.
Raven scratched his head, as if mulling over her request, and then shrugged as if to say, Do as you like.
“Fine, it’s your call. My job was to find the stalker, not punish them.”
“Jin!”
“What? If the client doesn’t want it, then that’s that. Let her do what she wants.”
With that, Raven casually stepped back, ignoring Alice’s protests.
Aisha, bowing slightly in gratitude, walked over to Bold, who was looking at her with a smug expression, as if daring her to do something.
She stopped in front of him and spoke in a cold, cutting voice.
“Manager... no, Baldy.”
“B-Baldy?!”
“Yeah, you. Should I call you Octopus instead? Want me to pluck out the few strands of hair you have left? How dare you raise your voice at me? Aren’t you ashamed of what you’ve done?”
“You... you little...!”
Aisha glared at Bold with eyes that seemed ready to tear him apart.
It seemed she no longer felt the need to show him any respect.
Her fierce aura was so intense that it felt like she might pull a hammer out of her pocket and smash his head on the spot. Even just watching her made my knees feel weak.
“Tell the higher-ups that the contract was terminated due to your mistake. If you don’t, I’ll make sure this whole thing goes public.”
“Ugh....”
“Well? Aren’t you going to answer?!”
“F-fine! I’ll do it!”
Bold, thoroughly intimidated, hung his head in submission.
Clearly, he understood that defying her now would be a fatal mistake.
And so, the case was resolved.
Aisha decided to terminate her idol contract with Codria due to the company’s culpability.
If Bold failed to follow through, she would spread the details of the incident through the press.
For Aisha, who had dreamed of becoming an idol since she was young, this bittersweet ending was anything but satisfying.
“Ugh... I thought things would turn out better....”
“With the general manager being the culprit, staying as an idol wasn’t an option. There was no other way.”
Alice and David, visibly dejected, slumped over a café table after the case was closed, looking utterly miserable.
Seeing their gloomy expressions, Raven sipped his hot chocolate and clicked his tongue, as if scolding them.
“Why overthink it? We just do our job. It’s not our place to interfere with the client’s decisions.”
“But still....”
“Tsk tsk, look at the temp. He’s completely unbothered, acting like nothing happened. And you two, grown-ups, are sulking in front of him. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“...?”
Why are you dragging me into this?
Also, Alice is still in high school, so she’s not an adult either!
I looked at Raven with an incredulous expression as I sipped my apple mango juice.
But Raven, unfazed, met my gaze confidently before turning back to Alice and David, continuing his lecture.
“Stop expecting everything to end in a happy ending. Most of the time, life doesn’t go the way you want. Don’t dwell on the outcome too much—that’s the only way to live without unnecessary stress.”
“Phew... I guess you’re right.”
“And from what I’ve heard, Aisha isn’t planning to quit being an idol entirely. She’ll probably get another chance. I’m not saying she’ll succeed, but the opportunity will come.”
Raven left them with that dose of cold reality before finishing his hot chocolate.
Somehow, his mature perspective seemed to provide a bit of comfort.
Alice and David began sipping their coffee, their moods slightly improving.
For a while, no one spoke, and silence filled the space.
Then, Alice, resting her chin on her hand and gazing out the window, muttered to herself,
“Now that I think about it, Aisha said she was taking off her makeup. When’s she coming back?”
“Well... she probably has a lot to remove. It’s gonna take a while, don’t you think?”
Actually, there were more than just the four of us in this café.
One other person was with us: today’s client, Aisha.
With her Maximized Idol persona, “Aisha of Destruction,” now behind her, she had gone to remove her makeup and collect herself.
Suddenly, from the café’s interior, a stunning beauty approached our table.
She was breathtakingly gorgeous, the kind of person who could make heads turn.
Even Alice, the Troubleshooter Squad’s official beauty, seemed a little overshadowed by her sheer presence.
The striking woman paused in front of our table, her movements slightly awkward.
As Raven glanced at her, as if asking what she wanted, she gave a bashful smile and spoke cautiously.
“Um... Raven, could I make one more request? There’s something I’d like your help with....”
“...Who are you?”
She spoke as if she knew him, but she was a complete stranger.
Raven’s jaw dropped as she continued speaking,
“It’s me, Aisha.”
“What?!”
“Excuse me?!”
“...?”
Pfft!
I couldn’t help but laugh internally. This was far more shocking than when Bold was revealed as the culprit.
Ah, so this is what surprises are all about.
It felt like I had learned something new today.