Chapter 44

In this world—the Fixer’s universe—the major factions could be broadly divided into three groups:

The Human Faction, centered around governments and corporations established by humanity.

The Otherworldly Faction, led by otherworldly races that crossed into this dimension.

The Invader Faction, comprised of dimensional invaders.

Explaining all this like a history textbook would be tedious, so here’s a simple summary of their relationship:

“Humans and otherworldly races were in constant conflict, clashing and antagonizing each other. Then, they belatedly realized the existence of the Invaders, which forced them into a temporary alliance to prevent total annihilation.”

It was akin to two parties grabbing each other by the hair and fighting to the death, only for an incomprehensible psychopath to appear out of nowhere. Faced with a greater threat, they grudgingly joined forces.

Humanity alone lacked the intelligence to counter the Invaders. The otherworldly races alone lacked the strength to resist them.

Survival took precedence, so they agreed to set aside old grudges and work together for the time being.

But that crisis, where the Invaders first revealed themselves and triggered such urgency, was already an event of several years ago by this point.

As time passed, the temporary alliance patched together with uneasy truces began to unravel.

Old conflicts resurfaced, and the factions once again aimed their guns and blades at each other—right around the start of the original story.

It was only after several city-wide incidents that the true threat of the Invaders began to resurface.

That’s when it became clear: the Invaders, the real enemy threatening them, hadn’t disappeared but were lying low, biding their time.

Which brings me to my main point:

“This thing—this shouldn’t exist here right now.”

The shard of metal in my hand—there was no mistaking it. This was an item belonging to the dimensional invaders, the Invaders, and it had no business being here in this timeline.

Of course, I couldn’t be 100% certain.

All I could say was that the shard emanated a presence similar to the Tesseract, an Invader artifact. I couldn’t actually see any Invaders lurking nearby. R̃𝐚𝐍𝘰ᛒĘ𝙎

Still, ever since becoming Yuria, my instincts had sharpened unnaturally. And those instincts screamed that this shard was deeply connected to the Invaders.

“What is that? Jin, did you leave something weird in your pocket again before doing laundry? I told you not to do that.”

“Huh? When did I put that in there? I don’t really remember.”

“Sure, sure. You always toss your stuff carelessly into the washing machine.”

It seemed Alice and Raven couldn’t sense the ominous aura faintly radiating from the shard.

That wasn’t surprising. In the original story, only a handful of characters ever showed awareness of the Invaders’ signs, and neither of these two belonged to that group.

Perhaps this heightened sensitivity was a unique ability I had gained in this world—an ability tied to my powers.

‘Should I just pretend I didn’t see it?’

Clutching the cold, metallic shard tightly in my hand, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Should I ignore this foreboding sign, which seemed far too early to appear?

Or should I investigate further to find out what was going on?

Wait, couldn’t I just leave it be and let the story play out naturally? Wouldn’t it resolve itself without my interference?

Unfortunately, when it came to the Invaders, I couldn’t afford to be so carefree.

Sure, the fully developed version of Raven in the future might be able to handle them, but right now, both Alice and David were still works in progress—they had much growing to do.

No matter how dependable the heroes of the future were, throwing the equivalent of a final boss at them in their second chapter would be too much for anyone.

‘I hope this turns out to be nothing… or maybe it’d be better if it’s something significant?’

The problem was that either scenario seemed plausible.

If the Invaders were secretly up to something under the city, that could mean a full-scale crisis where the entire city might be destroyed. In that case, it’d make sense to bring in everyone—Dragon Mayor, Elf Queen, whoever—to deal with it.

Better to expose secrets than to die, right?

On the other hand, if this was just a coincidence, something trivial, jumping the gun might expose my own secrets—like my precognition and powers—putting me and everyone around me, including Raven, Alice, and Greg, in danger.

That thought alone made me shudder.

Thus, the best course of action for now was to figure out how this shard ended up in Raven’s pocket. I’d decide what to do afterward.

‘Am I incapable of learning? Why do I keep getting involved in things like this? I could’ve just left it alone…. Ugh, not that it’s easy to ignore.’

If only I hadn’t noticed it.

In hindsight, I was diving headfirst into exactly the kind of situation I wanted to avoid.

But what could I do? If there was a hidden bomb nearby, possibly moments away from exploding, how could I just sit still and pretend not to know?

Anyone would be anxious, tense, and worried in this situation. I wasn’t the problem—the world was the problem.

‘Alright, enough pointless thinking. Let’s make the best of this. If I stay at the office, investigating this shard discreetly will be easier. I can figure out what’s going on, and if it turns out to be nothing, I can just drop it.’

And if it was something major? Well, I’d deal with that when the time came.

Resolving to act, I slipped the shard into my skirt pocket and turned to Alice and Raven, who were staring at me with baffled expressions.

What were they thinking, watching me rummage through Raven’s pocket and inspect a random piece of metal so intently?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ugh, imagining it from their perspective made my face flush.

And now… I had to ask if I could stay at the office?

Wait… this was so embarrassing.

“Geez, give me a warning before you start grabbing someone else’s pockets. You almost gave me a heart attack. I was about to call the police!”

“…Jin, are you serious right now?”

“Ahem, I was joking. How could you take that seriously? Look at this awkward atmosphere now.”

Maybe it was because I had been wriggling my toes in embarrassment, unable to say anything.

Raven, seemingly trying to lighten the mood, broke the silence with a playful tone.

His nonchalant attitude felt like a reassurance that he wasn’t going to dwell on my sudden and strange actions.

Honestly, I would’ve understood if he flicked my forehead or scolded me, but his easy going demeanor helped ease my tension a little.

Alright, I’d made up my mind.

What I’d done just now wasn’t out of selfishness but for a greater purpose.

It wasn’t as if I was causing trouble—in fact, I was doing him a favor in a way. Thinking of it like that made me feel a bit better.

“….”

“Huh?”

I quickly scurried over to Raven.

The difference in our heights naturally created a situation where I had to look up at him.

Carefully, I grabbed onto his clothes and tugged at them, glancing up at him earnestly.

The gesture conveyed a clear message: Can you reconsider? I’ve changed my mind now.

Raven, ever sharp, seemed to immediately pick up on what I was trying to say.

His face turned pale in an instant, while Alice, watching from the side, broke into a radiant smile.

“…Huh?”

“Oh my! Jin! It looks like Yuria wants to stay at the office now!”

“What? Why? She wasn’t keen on it just a moment ago….”

“Well, people’s thoughts can change suddenly! Come on, let’s not stand around in the hallway. Let’s head inside!”

I was the one making the request, and Raven was the one being asked to grant it, yet Alice seemed far happier than either of us.

Before I knew it, she was ushering us into the office, her hands gently but firmly pushing us forward.

Raven, still in shock at my sudden change of heart, grabbed my shoulder and said urgently,

“Wait, hold on! How about reconsidering this again? Wouldn’t it be better to stay at her place instead? Hey, stop pushing me! I’m trying to talk here! I value my happy time too—”

“Eek! Don’t say things like that in front of a child!”

Thud!

Alice jabbed him sharply in the side with her elbow, as if punishing him for his crude words.

With a wheezing sound, Raven collapsed onto the floor.

It was unclear if his tears came from the pain in his side or the sudden responsibility of having me as a housemate, but a single droplet rolled down his cheek.

Oh… uh… now I kind of feel bad.

“Damn it… I haven’t even finished reading all those holograms full of pretty ladies I bought the other day….”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting. Yuria, don’t listen to him. It’ll rot your ears.”

“….”

Holograms? Were those the racy holographic magazines that appeared in the original story?

I’d always been a little curious about those. Maybe I’d sneak a peek later.

As I nestled in Alice’s arms, giving Raven a judgmental look, I made a mental note.

After Raven had recovered from his pain and returned to his usual self, we sat down on the sofa and had a proper discussion.

In the end, we agreed that I could stay in one of the unused rooms at his office until my temporary part-time job was over.

Since the room wasn’t being used much—there were hardly any clients—he wouldn’t charge me rent.

Instead, the cost of my daily meals would be deducted from my wages.

It was, for me, an absolutely perfect arrangement in the freezing winter.

Basically free. Was this guy secretly an angel?

‘How did things turn out like this…? This better not turn out to be a big deal.’

Now I have two weeks left.

I had to figure out why this shard was here and why it had to be Raven who ended up with it.

The looming time limit made me feel anything but optimistic, and I couldn’t help but worry about what lay ahead.