I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 151: To Protect Everyone (5)

Murmur was a genius among fairies—

and that wasn’t a statement limited to his magical abilities.

Intelligence, creativity, focus, curiosity, critical thinking, emotional resilience...

Among fairies who typically never outgrew the mindset of children, he was nearly a mutation.

But for Murmur, such traits felt more like a curse than a blessing.

The loneliness of being different from the others weighed heavily on him, becoming a source of constant stress.

—Murmur! Come play with us!

—No, I... I’m sorry. I don’t think it’d be fun if I were there.

—What does that matter? Just having you there makes everything twice as fun!

—...Really?

—Of course it does!

But the other fairies accepted the slightly odd Murmur just as he was.

A very smart fairy, yes—but still family. Someone to be trusted and cherished.

Perhaps because of their constant, genuine affection without a hint of pretense,

Murmur, who might have twisted down a darker path, was able to open his heart and accept them.

Of course, somewhere along the way, his thinking changed—

and he developed a deep sense of responsibility, as if he had to protect all fairies himself.

The more precious my kin became, the more I hated humans. Greedy, selfish creatures. They’d harm us one way or another.

Over a long time of contact with humans, Murmur had studied their nature deeply.

They never knew satisfaction, and they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice others for their own gain.

Especially back before Sky Garden existed, when conflict broke out over humans coveting fairy magic—

Murmur could only see them as the worst kind of species, the kind he never wanted to associate with.

But... this human is different. I’m clumsy with emotions, but I can tell. The affection she gives to fairies... it’s real.

Yet all those deeply ingrained prejudices were shattered by the pale girl standing before him.

Over the not-so-short time they had spent together, she had never once shown greed toward the fairies.

On the contrary, she looked at them with genuine warmth and love.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t a mage, but a psychic instead.

Even so, of all the humans Murmur had ever met, she was by far the most trustworthy.

And so, after much deliberation, Murmur made up his mind.

If he couldn’t choose between fairies and the world—

then he would save both.

“...I’m sorry, human. While I go search for more fairies, I need you to find something for me.”

“...?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, and I hate being vague... but I can’t tell you exactly what it is. Still, I can say this for certain:

If it’s ever unleashed into the world... something very dangerous will happen.”

The guilt weighed so heavily on Murmur it felt like his heart was being squeezed.

It was the Seed of the World Tree—a powerful item he had once obtained by pure chance.

And now, he had decided that if there was anyone he could entrust it to, it was this girl.

But would the search go smoothly?

What if it led her into terrible danger? The worry gnawed at him.

Still, if not her, then who else could he possibly ask?

Determined not to let doubt sway him, Murmur bit his lip and looked up at the pale girl with steadfast eyes.

“...!”

Had his feelings reached her?

She stood silently for a moment, as if weighing her thoughts—then gave a careful, knowing nod.

She placed a hand on her chest, as if to say “trust me,”

lowered herself slightly, and held out her pinky finger.

Murmur, familiar with human customs through knowledge and study, instantly recognized the gesture.

From what he knew, it was a sign of promise—

Not a heavy or binding one, but a light-hearted vow exchanged between children.

He stared at the finger for a moment, then slowly reached out and hooked his own pinky with hers.

This seals our promise.

Yuria gave the gentlest shake of their entwined fingers, as if to say so.

Then she let go and, for the first time, removed the fox mask that had always hidden her face.

“...Huh?”

The girl’s face beneath the mask was nothing like what Murmur had expected.

He had assumed she must’ve had some injury or something unsightly to keep it so tightly hidden.

But contrary to that expectation, her face was nothing less than a work of art.

Murmur was so stunned that his endlessly active mind completely stopped functioning for a moment.

“....”

But perhaps she was used to such reactions.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she simply handed the fox mask to him.

This is important to me.

I’ll find what you asked, and I’ll come back for it.

Though he didn’t fully grasp everything she meant, Murmur received the mask carefully and nodded.

“This... I see. So, I’ll trust you, and you’ll trust me. That’s what this means, right?”

“...!”

“Alright. I’ll keep this mask safe for you. I’m counting on you, White Human.”

As the fairies, completely entranced by the girl without her mask, stood frozen like a backdrop—

a promise was exchanged between one fairy and one girl.

“Waaah, so pretty... Is she maybe an angel?”

“I think we should crown that human as the Fairy Queen.”

“I’m all for it! Long live the Fairy Queen!”

“Waaah! Chiriloo’s Whitey has become everyone’s Whitey!”

Ahaha... Thanks to the fairies, there’s no way we’re keeping the serious mood going now.

The pale girl, Yuria, gave them a small wave, a sheepish smile forming on her lips.

*

Sky Garden had lakes, hills, and open clearings—

but nearly half of it was a massive forest densely packed with trees.

And thanks to enchantments, the weather there remained sunny and mild all year round.

Branches were lush, trunks thick and sturdy, and leaves brimming with life.

In other words, if one moved along the treetops, it was quite difficult to be noticed from below.

Especially someone like me—small, silent. The effect would be all the more effective.

...Haa, does my hair stand out too much? Well, yeah. What’s the point of hiding if there’s a streak of white among all this green...

The problem, of course, was my hair. My glaringly white hair that sparkled no matter where I went.

It naturally caught the sunlight and gleamed on its own.

Even if I hid among the foliage, I’d still stick out against the background.

“The most beautiful being in the world, brought down by a tiny brat like this... Forgive me... Olvis-nim....”

“...”

One modified human had already spotted me—

only to get yanked by telekinesis and smashed into the ground, pummeled by rocks and trees until he foamed at the mouth and passed out.

It was the second time I’d been discovered by one of them.

Honestly, I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ wanted to avoid distractions and prioritize securing the Seed of the World Tree first.

But if they’d already begun tailing me, then I had no choice but to eliminate them.

If they see me obtain the seed and report back to the Seven Calamities... Ugh, worst-case scenario.

If I had to go up against one of them, I’d have to draw out a power that barely lasted a few minutes for a short, decisive battle.

There was no telling how long the search might take—such an option wasn’t ideal.

Still, even if it was unavoidable, these constant interruptions were a problem.

If this dragged on any longer, the enemy might find the seed before I did.

I slipped a hand inside my clothes and gripped the hidden Tesseract, speaking to it quietly.

Tesseract, how much energy would it take to change my hair color? Just temporarily is fine.

[ Hmm... not much. If it’s only for a little while, it should be manageable. ]

Then... yeah, make it black, please.

I’d be moving through the trees anyway. As long as I wasn’t easily seen, it would do.

I watched silently as my stark white hair darkened, shifting to black beneath my shoulders.

Then, using telekinesis, I leapt back onto a branch, landing naturally without a sound.

I wouldn’t be invisible, not by any means—

but at least this would be less conspicuous than a head of glowing white hair. It should be enough.

The place Murmur mentioned is only a few hundred meters away... Time to move!

I shot straight toward my destination—a large tree in a clearing that Murmur had described.

Maybe the black hair helped, because while I did spot a few modified humans below me,

none of them seemed to notice my presence.

How far had I come, undisturbed?

By the time I reached the spot where Murmur had hidden the Seed of the World Tree, I was met with a completely unexpected scene.

“Guh! Th-these bastards!”

“They just keep getting back up no matter how many we knock down!”

“Gihihik! Resistance is futile! You’ll serve the same purpose as the soldiers you defeat!”

It was total chaos.

A massive horde of grotesque undead had surrounded a group of people, launching a relentless assault.

Those fighting back were surprisingly competent—they were managing to hold on.

But as wave after wave of enemies came crashing in, their stamina was clearly wearing thin.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.

While I was assessing the situation, a loud and all-too-familiar voice rang out.

“If you can no longer fight, fall back inside! Help will surely come! Do not give up hope!”

The voice belonged to none other than the bear beastman—our agency’s hacker and brain—David.

He had flames wrapped around both fists as he fought.

From the look of it, he wasn’t far off from an active Fixer—maybe a little below Alice in power.

He crushed incoming undead with just a few punches, but...

with no end in sight to the flood of skeletons and zombies, his movements were clearly slowing.

How long had they been fighting like this?

The mounds of corpses scattered around painted a clear picture of the brutal battle.

David’s here... Tch. I can’t just watch this happen!

There was no time to hesitate over whether to get involved.

David and the examinees were on the verge of being overwhelmed.

There was no time to weigh the pros and cons—my body moved before I could think.

“What’s that...?”

“C-could it be another enemy?!”

The exhausted examinees who had been keeping watch looked up toward me in alarm.

A black-haired girl suddenly leaping out of the forest without a sound—it wasn’t surprising they assumed the worst.

But I didn’t bother to clear up the misunderstanding.

I was floating several meters above the ground—none of them could reach me anyway.

Besides, I couldn’t speak. I would show them through action.

Everything that isn’t human... crush it all!

Still hovering, I swung my arm downward with force.

And with that motion, my telekinesis swept down, gripping every visible undead and modified human.

Once they were caught, it was over.

Like crumpling a can, I crushed every single one of them with brutal force.

There were nearly a hundred enemies surrounding David and the others.

But as long as I didn’t lose focus... sheer numbers meant nothing to me.

“Gugh?! M-my body...! N-not this...!”

“Kkrrk...”

“Ka-crack...!”

The outcome was simple.

Skeletons, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered entirely.

Even the tougher giant zombies collapsed, joints dislocated and bodies toppling over.

The modified humans were a different matter—this level of force wasn’t quite enough to finish them.

Still, taking out all the disposable undead in one go was a huge blow to the enemy.

“W-was that... gravity magic?”

“Incredible... She wiped them all out in one shot...!”

“Real reinforcements! We’re saved!”

To the examinees with David, the relief was visceral.

Their fatigue from the endless battle melted into cheers of joy.

Considering they had been moments from annihilation, it was only natural for emotions to overflow.

Even the most stoic would have trouble holding it together in a moment like this.

First, I had to clean up those remaining modified humans and get everyone out of here.

Having made that decision, I reduced the output of my telekinesis and slowly descended to the ground.

I needed to end this before anything more annoying showed up.

And as the thrill of finally unleashing my power surged through me,

I burned with more resolve than ever.