“Well, I’ll get going now. Yesterday’s barbecue party was a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Sure. Send my regards to Lily, and maybe convince her to stop sneaking cameras around so Yuria doesn’t have to keep finding them.”
“Ahaha... I doubt she’ll listen to me, but I’ll try. Yuria, see you tomorrow!”
“...!”
After spending the night at the office, Alice stayed until lunch before heading home.Though she seemed reluctant to leave, she couldn’t sit still knowing her sister Lily might be worried about her.
A beautiful, kind younger sister who cooks for you and worries about you without needing to be asked... Truly, she was the ideal sibling any brother or sister would dream of having.
Perhaps because there was no need for formal goodbyes, Raven and Yuria simply watched Alice leave through the front door before heading back inside the office.
As Raven poured himself a glass of chocolate milk from the fridge, he caught sight of Yuria crawling back into her favorite closet and couldn’t help but think:
Why does she like going in there so much? Does she really find that cramped space so enjoyable?
No matter how he looked at it, the closet wasn’t a comfortable place.
The space was so narrow you couldn’t even stand upright, not to mention it was dark and damp because it wasn’t designed for a person to stay in.
Granted, Yuria’s small stature meant she could sit without hitting her head on the ceiling.
Even so, as a resting spot, it barely deserved a score of five out of ten.
If Raven hadn’t swapped out her blanket for a freshly washed one or placed a portable ventilation device to reduce the dust, it wouldn’t even have earned that much.
Well... if it’s about the "secret base" vibe, I guess I can’t argue. It’s probably fun at her age.
Kids will be kids.
Raven placed his empty glass in the dishwasher, yawned, and returned to his bed.
Rustle, thump.
From the closet came the sound of some kind of activity.
Raven couldn’t imagine what she was doing in there, but the occasional racket wasn’t too bothersome.
It was nothing that couldn’t be ignored if he just closed his ears to it.
As long as it wasn’t the sound of another blanket tearing, it was fine.
With that thought, Raven lay casually on his bed, tapping away on his communicator to look up information about today’s dragon racing matches.
Sunday was dragon racing day—a time when mighty beasts tore through the tracks in thrilling competition.
Every detail mattered, as even the smallest factors could determine the difference between first and second place: weather, wind, rivalries, starting positions, track conditions, and even the
number of spectators.
“Oh, look at that. Mega Briart and Starlight Highway are racing today? This might be another legendary match.”
“....”
“But with matches like these, there’s always room for a dark horse. Maybe Stardust Comet, with its unpredictable form, could actually win...”
“...!”
“Hey! When did you get here? Weren’t you going to the bathroom?”
Caught off guard, Raven turned to see Yuria standing near his bed, her curiosity practically shining as she leaned against the bed frame, staring at his communicator.
The screen displayed a scene from a dragon race—a sight that Raven, being a fan, found quite familiar.
Seeing her interest, Raven asked if she was getting into dragon racing.
Yuria tilted her head, then nodded slightly, as if to say, Yeah, kind of.
At that, Raven straightened up, his face lighting up with a suspiciously eager grin.
“Perfect timing! Now’s the best season to get into it. Here, check this out. This is the DR Final League Championship match from two years ago at Night Haven Royal Stadium. The
racers in this match all have incredible stories and histories...”
“....”
The screen showed a powerful scene: a drake—commonly referred to as a lesser dragon—pounding the ground with immense force as it sprinted forward.
Unlike true dragons, drakes lacked intelligence and magical abilities, but their sheer physicality was far beyond that of any ordinary beast or monster.
Watching them race conveyed a sense of grandeur and raw power, as if entire mountains were moving.
Dragon racing, the largest-scale sport of its era—how could anyone dislike it?
Raven, caught up in the romanticism of it all, suddenly noticed that Yuria was completely engrossed, her small frame swaying slightly as she watched the race with wide eyes.
Haha! Looks like I’ve converted another fan.
Amused, Raven glanced at the screen again, curious about what had caught her attention.
Wait... based on the timing and her reaction, is she rooting for... that one?
It seemed Yuria’s favorite was the battered gray drake running near the back of the pack: Grey Manister.
Once raised under abusive conditions by an illegal organization, Grey Manister had been rescued by a fixer and had since risen to compete as a racer.
While it managed to maintain respectable results close to the first division, it was far from a fan favorite.
Of all the drakes to cheer for, why that one?
Raven furrowed his eyebrows slightly, his earlier enthusiasm dampened. Perhaps Yuria saw something of her own situation in the injured, struggling Grey Manister?
It never occurred to him that Yuria might simply find the famed racing drakes fascinating. Instead, the thought brought an unsettling chill, reminding him of something he tried to ignore.
Moments like these make me acutely aware she’s... the Phantom.
Though Yuria acted as if everything was normal, the signs were undeniable to Raven.
The Phantom—an irregular entity manipulating impossible psychic powers within the city.
Raven couldn’t shake the idea that Yuria and the Phantom were one and the same.
To be fair, Raven had never seen the mysterious power of the Phantom with his own eyes.
But her lack of understanding of basic societal norms, her seemingly inexplicable speed, and her subtle behavior pointing to a troubled past all added up to one conclusion: Yuria was the
Phantom.
Of course, Alice, who was still obsessed with capturing the Phantom, seemed completely unaware of Yuria’s true identity.
But her connection to the Nexus Project... that’s still unclear. I can’t just directly ask her about her past. All I can do is wait for the right opportunity.
Raven’s thoughts grew more complicated. While he was confident Yuria was the Phantom, that alone wasn’t enough to act.
The whole reason he’d been investigating the Phantom was to confirm her identity, secure her safety (given her likely troubled background), and use that lead to track down the Invader forces
behind her.
But Yuria was unexpectedly optimistic, not showing any signs of self-pity, and there was no clear evidence linking her to the Invaders.
Moreover, the problem lay in how close Yuria had become to everyone in the Troubleshooter office.
If she realized her identity as the Phantom had been exposed and fled out of fear, the impact would ripple through the office.
Even Raven himself, though he wouldn’t admit it openly, would feel a void if Yuria disappeared tomorrow.
Alice, with her overwhelming fondness for Yuria, and David, who quietly harbored a strong sense of camaraderie, would be devastated. Just imagining the fallout was enough to give him a
headache.
If I’d been certain she was the Phantom, I wouldn’t have let her stay here in the first place. Now, all I can do is hope she’s not a bad person.
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Raven let out a sigh, reached out, and grabbed Yuria by her round little head as she swayed to the race footage, shaking her gently.
Startled by the sudden disturbance, Yuria flailed like a reed in the wind, tapping her hands against his to make him stop. But Raven only chuckled and teased her more.
“Haha, sorry, sorry. Your head’s so round I just had to give it a little shake.”
“...!!”
“So, what do you want for dinner? How about steak?”
“......!”
What’s with you?!
Yuria raised both hands above her head in mock protest, glaring suspiciously at Raven. But after a moment of deliberation, she slowly nodded at his suggestion of steak.
She calms down so easily with good food. What am I going to do with such a sweet, simple kid?
Raven smirked to himself as he stood up.
Still, when Greg gets here, things might finally change.
Even though Greg hadn’t responded for a while, Raven knew him to be a skilled individual, not the type to fall easily—even against monsters in the dragon market.
Ding!
Just as Raven thought of him, his communicator pinged with a message notification, interrupting the ongoing footage of the dragon race.
Coincidentally, the sender was Greg himself.
Yuria, noticing this, lit up with excitement and began stomping her feet impatiently, urging him to show her the message.
How does he always pick the perfect timing? Is he watching us or something?
Raven tapped on the screen, opening the message.
When the content appeared, both Yuria and Raven exchanged startled glances.
[Raven, I’m sorry, but I need your help.]
The brief, urgent message offered no details about what kind of help Greg needed.
It felt like something had gone terribly wrong, and time was of the essence.