I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 165: Of the Black Raven and the Snow-White Ghost (3)

I had been lucky enough to never be shot in my entire life.

In my previous one, I lived in a country where hearing gunshots was rare, and in this world, as long as I didn’t let my guard down, I had ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the power to deflect bullets with ease.

So my understanding of being shot—“it hurts”—was based entirely on theory. It was laughable to claim I understood something I had never experienced, but when you have no reference, all you can do is imagine.

A bullet shreds your skin and muscles, leaving lasting damage. Of course it’s going to hurt.

That’s why, even now that I had a special power, I still feared bullets. That fear was exactly why I’d gone to such lengths to avoid getting shot.

But right in this moment, that fear had dulled. I was too busy trying to process what Raven had just said.

—"It’s a special serum that erases psychic powers. It’ll hurt like hell, but... you’ll become an ordinary human."

A serum that erases psychic powers? It felt completely unreal.

I had never once considered that idea since arriving in this world.

If something like that existed, it would've shown up in the original story. No, maybe this was part of the butterfly effect I’d caused without realizing.

Let’s say it was real. Then what?

I’d be back to being just an average person with no power. I didn’t have magic. I wasn’t superhuman. I’d be helpless.

If I got shot, I’d lose everything—and all I could do was pray someone would protect me when the next disaster came.

Hah... guess I was a little too attached to having powers.

But if I ran now, my connection to Raven would end.

Just like when I first woke up in the Western Labyrinth, I’d have to live without relying on anyone.

Keep the power and give up everyone I care about.

Or lose it and keep the people I want to protect.

If I had to choose between the two...

“...”

I stared up at Raven, putting force behind my gaze.

It was my answer. I wouldn’t run.

I wasn’t turning away from reality. This was my choice, made with full awareness. I stared at him silently, lips tightly shut.

Did he understand my resolve?

He stared back with a serious, unreadable face.

His finger pulled the trigger.

“...!”

BANG!

The deafening blast hit my ears and a dull ache burst across my shoulder.

I had been bracing myself, biting my lip—and still, my forehead scrunched up from the pain.

But ridiculously enough, it only made me tear up a little. It was just... dull.

If I grit my teeth, I could even hold back the groan. It was that bearable.

Huh. This hurts less than I imagined.

Instinctively, I touched my right shoulder where the pain throbbed.

Something sticky clung to my fingers.

Wait, this isn’t blood...?

What had stained my arm wasn’t red—it was a black, sticky liquid.

Was this the serum?

But I didn’t feel like I’d been shot—no holes, no serious wound. Just a bruise.

Maybe this was how the serum worked?

I looked up at Raven, still a bit shaky.

He slowly lowered the black gun and walked toward me.

“...So you’re okay giving up your powers? That’s your answer?”

“...”

“Hah... Well, then. That should be enough for those old geezers.”

He returned the gun to his coat and pulled out a handkerchief.

Kneeling to meet my eyes, he gently wiped the black liquid off my shoulder.

He looked nothing like the man who’d been threatening me just moments ago.

The calm aura around him felt more like the Raven I knew.

Confused, I tilted my head.

He grasped my arm and sighed, closing his eyes.

“You really believed me... Now I feel a little bad. That thing about the serum—it was a lie.”

“...?!”

A lie? I... really believed it!

I stared at him, feeling wronged.

But in hindsight, it made sense.

I knew from the original story that nothing like that ever existed.

So why would he lie?

He kept wiping my arm, face hard to read.

“You talked to the old man during the exam, didn’t you? Tempest. And then he figured out you were a psychic.”

“...!”

How did he—

I sat upright, eyes wide.

He let out a snort.

“How did I know? I heard it from him, of course, you idiot. You think that tight-lipped geezer blabs to just anyone?”

So Raven had met Tempest in person.

They knew each other from the war, so it wasn’t weird if he’d dropped by the hospital.

But what did that have to do with the lie?

I gave him a look, begging for more answers.

He finally stood up, putting away the now-blackened handkerchief.

“You told him you didn’t want the Association’s protection, right? So he handed your case over to me. A psychic without signs of mental contamination... If word got out, it’d be a nightmare.”

“....”

So that talk I’d had with Tempest on the airship had decided my fate behind the scenes.

He’d figured out Raven was the Fixer closest to me, and just assigned me to him.

The fact that my future was being decided without my input... was a little unsettling.

Still, I didn’t have a good reason to refuse.

Then Raven said something that hit harder.

“But there was one condition for me taking you in. I had to be sure. That you were really on humanity’s side.”

“...!”

“Yeah. Everything just now was a test. Whether you’d accept losing your power. Or whether you’d abandon everything for it. I couldn’t take you in unless I knew that.”

He spoke with absolute sincerity.

If I had rejected that fake serum, he would’ve treated me as an enemy.

One decision could’ve changed everything.

I let out a shaky breath, relieved I’d made the right choice.

Ugh... Good thing I didn’t eat that pizza. I was so tense, I would’ve puked.

Did this mean... I’d earned Raven’s trust?

My shoulder still ached like I’d been hit with a paintball, but...

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

If it meant being trusted by the people I cared about, I could endure this pain a hundred times.

Maybe I was high on adrenaline from the relief.

“...Wait here a second.”

“...?”

Raven left me slumped in the chair and walked into the office.

Less than a minute later, he returned—carrying a stack of stuff.

He pushed the now-cold pizza box aside and dropped it all on the table.

What the heck was all this?

Just as I tried to sit up, Raven picked up one of the items and said something that stunned me.

“This is your temporary ID. Issued by the Association.”

“...!”

A... an ID? novelbuddy.cσ๓

I jumped to my feet and grabbed the card.

It looked just like the rectangular IDs Raven and Alice had used before.

No photo yet, but the name printed on it was oddly familiar.

[Yuria Crowley]

I knew the first name, obviously. But the last name...

That was Raven’s.

I looked at him, speechless.

He scratched his neck, avoiding my gaze.

“Well... Saying you’re my adopted sister makes things easier in public.”

...

I was about to feel happy, but suddenly I got a bit emotional.

Raven’s little sister. That was... a pretty heavy title.

But no one else knew about it yet.

There was no need to overreact.

“...”

“Ugh, don’t cry. You’re making me feel worse about hurting you.”

I hesitated, then slowly walked over to him.

I looked up at him and quietly hugged him around the waist.

He had taken me in as his “sister.” That was his kindness.

My arm still hurt—but this trust he was giving me, it just made me grateful.

It had been nearly half a year since I’d fallen into this world, and for the first time...

I felt like it had finally accepted me.