I Became the Cute One in the Problem-Solving Team

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Fortunately, the parachute was a simple thing that could be used with just about three minutes of training.

Just grab the two straps flopping around your chest and push them forward—easy peasy.

No matter how panicked I was, I shouldn’t have been unable to handle something this simple.

But maybe it was because jumping from several kilometers up while relying on a parachute wasn’t easy in itself.

Following Raven, I landed on the building rooftop, my legs trembling like a newborn calf.

Seriously, if it was going to be like this, he should have warned me to get mentally prepared before getting on the plane.

I almost wanted to give myself a pat on the back for trying hard not to use my telekinesis!

“Whew, fortunately, since we’re on the outskirts, it looks like we’re not caught by the police. Hey, rookie, come here. I’ll help you take off that bag.”

“….”

I quickly turned my back on Raven, who was rolling up the parachute that had fallen on the ground.

Even if I was annoyed, I had to do what I had to do.

Right now, I just wanted to help Greg as soon as possible. This was no time to get sidetracked by petty things.

Of course, I would never forget this grudge. I would definitely get my revenge someday.

Clenching my lips, I secretly built up my hatred towards Raven.

After he helped me get the parachute bag off my back, Raven carelessly hid his parachute nearby as well.

We were planning to wander around the city from now on. He probably thought carrying around such a bag would be too cumbersome.

He definitely wouldn’t need the parachute bag again, and I would have done the same.

Nodding at Raven’s judgment, I approached the nearby rooftop railing.

‘This place… is really different from Night Haven.’

Regaining some calm, my eyes reflected the scenery of Belmont.

It was indeed different from Night Haven, filled with unique skyscrapers under neon signs.

If I had to express it, it was a forest of concrete filled with extremely boring and uninteresting buildings.

From the shadow of a passerby down below, there was absolutely no sign of any beastmen.

Indeed, unlike Night Haven, which was overflowing with beastmen, this place just had ordinary humans.

In a strange sensation reminiscent of waking up from a dream, my heart sank coldly.

“Hey, rookie. There’s a ladder over here. Let’s go down.”

“….”

“…Tch, what are you sulking about? You scared now that it’s all said and done?”

No, this was a completely different issue….

I shook my head vigorously, holding onto the railing, trying to convey the indescribable feelings.

Having left Night Haven and entering a world I knew nothing about.

How could I express that something felt off, and how could I expect him to understand?

So all I could do here was pretend to be calm.

As if knowing this or not, Raven placed his hand on my head and said, “Don’t worry about Greg. That guy is tough enough to take a bullet and not die. He’s probably not in immediate danger right now. He might be tangled up in some complicated and annoying situation though.”

“….”

“So, what I mean is… don’t be too gloomy about it. If you waste your energy being like that, how awkward would it be when we meet later?”

Staring at Raven, who looked a bit awkward, I suddenly realized something.

He was pretending not to, but wasn’t he actually comforting me right now?

It was unusual for him to act like this, which made me chuckle slightly.

Well, I wasn’t exactly being all mopey and worrying about Greg on this rooftop.

But since he said that much, I couldn’t just ignore it.

Feeling a bit more uplifted, I stretched my shoulders as if to shake it off.

Right, having come this far, I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

I forcefully shook off the negative emotions and thoughts that had been lurking in the back of my mind like mold.

“…!”

Let’s go! I’ll follow you with all my strength no matter what!

As if to say I didn’t need to worry anymore, I raised my arms high above my head.

As if he found that sight quite agreeable, Raven grinned and turned away with a light step.

“Alright, time’s wasting, let’s go help that poor orc who’s forgotten his cat!”

“…?”

What’s with the treating me like a forgotten cat?

I playfully punched Raven on the side as I found his comparison far from appealing.

But of course, my punch, lacking telekinesis, was utterly pathetic; he simply walked away towards the ladder without even flinching.

Ignoring me like that was truly double the annoyance.

*

Thanks to catching the plane over, it was still somewhat early evening, not quite dark yet.

So, we decided to change clothes at a clothing store that was still open.

Raven’s regular suit was fine, but I, dressed in a masked maid outfit, would definitely attract attention just by walking around.

“Hmm, we should try to blend in as much as possible. How about this? A very plain hoodie with some fur inside. A kid like you wouldn’t stand out at all wearing this.”

“…!”

“Then I’ll just throw on a basic coat outside.”

I changed from the maid outfit to a hoodie with a hood.

Since the mask would be mostly covered by the hood, it’d work just fine as a temporary fix.

I carefully packed away the maid outfit in a nearby paid locker at the station.

Because that was a precious outfit Greg had given me. Losing it would hurt a lot.

If it got stolen, I’d be sure to make them regret it. That was the feeling.

“Alright. With this, I shouldn’t stand out too much on the streets. The next step is figuring out how to find Greg in this vast city….”

Raven, with a bread hat that surprisingly suited him, took out his terminal and started tapping the screen.

He seemed to be seriously dealing with something important. Did he have some kind of method in mind?

Surprisingly, Raven didn’t let my expectations down.

After checking the terminal, he finally seemed satisfied and led me down a deserted alley, saying, “I hacked into the Belmont police radio successfully. If we listen to this, we can find out where any commotion in the city is happening.”

“…?”

“How did I do it? Hmph, it was my job to handle things like this before David showed up.”

No way, hacking police radio!

If he could do that, we’d be able to know right away if anything happened in the city.

I clapped my hands in amazement at Raven’s skills.

But he just shrugged it off as nothing and shoved the terminal back into his pocket.

“Well, it’s not so special. I’m just following the instructions of a hacking tool given to me by a friend. But hacking into a simple police radio is a piece of cake.”

Raven looked a bit awkward as if feeling he didn’t deserve any praise.

Then he slightly frowned, seemingly focused on listening to the hacked transmission.

The purpose of hacking the police radio was simply to keep tabs on what’s happening all over the city.

Whether it’s related to Greg or not, we’d need to confirm in the field.

Naturally, it was a bother. With such a wide area, when would we search one by one?

But there was no other way to find a person in need, who we couldn’t contact.

‘It seems like it’s going to be a long night.’

As I followed behind Raven, I silently steeled myself.

Finding Greg here felt as daunting as finding a needle in a haystack.

Plus, solving whatever problem he had wouldn’t be easy either.

But this was something I had already resolved to do. I couldn’t imagine giving up now.

So, we wandered around the city for a long chilly winter night without any results.

However, just relying on the police radio, most cases turned out to be trivial matters with hardly any seriousness.

No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find Greg, let alone any signs of beastmen.

Well, this wasn’t Night Haven after all. Maybe it was only natural.

But still, Raven and I were quite persistent. We wouldn’t tire out this easily. We could go all day long.

With fiery enthusiasm in our eyes, we kept wandering through the chilly night.

“Not here either. Then… let’s grab a bite first. Eating on time is important in a long game like this.”

“…!”

Finally, just after it was well past dinner and turning late at night.

To take a short break, we decided to buy some food from a food truck on the street.

I ended up with a hot dog stuffed with a plump smoked sausage, and Raven had a taco that was quite filling.

Maybe it was because we had been wandering outside for so long, but the hot food felt like it was reviving my energy.

“Should we go deeper into a back alley? Well, since Greg isn’t on the beastmen list, and looking at the fact no one has seen a beastman without a necklace… he probably is hiding somewhere that’s not easily visible.”

Rustling.

As I crumpled up my hot dog wrapper to throw it away.

Raven, who had finished his taco a while ago, muttered to himself.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind given how he had been wandering the city but couldn’t find any trace of it.

Plus, in this human city, beastmen had to wear power-limiting devices.

Considering that, it seemed like Raven thought it was highly likely Greg had snuck into the city without anyone knowing.

“Let’s move into a more deserted alley from here. Keep close. We don’t want any trouble from losing each other.”

“….”

I mean, he would notice right away if I got too far away, why scare me unnecessarily?

I tossed the leftover scraps in the trash can and nodded my head obediently.

So, we headed deeper into the now much darker and more deserted alleys.

This place didn’t seem well-kept, making it a humid and smelly spot even in the cold.

But no matter how much we searched, we still had no results. Just as I was thinking that.

Suddenly, Raven drew his handgun from his belt and, without hesitation, fired toward a wall.

Bang!

The muffled sound of the suppressor rounded off the sharp blast of the gun.

And before the noise could even dissipate, a pained scream was heard from beyond the wall.

…Wait, I didn’t even know about this.

Did he just hit someone through the wall?

I was startled by Raven’s incredible skill and widened my eyes in disbelief.

But he shrugged it off as if it was nothing and casually lifted me up by the waist as if I were a fragile glass ornament and leaped over the wall.

On the other side was a man, clutching his abdomen, groaning on the ground.

Raven gently set me down, as if I were something delicate, then casually rested his gun on his shoulder and spoke.

“Ugh! Ugh….”

“Stop whining. I shot you with rubber bullets on purpose. Just a sec… wait, you’re a beastman? And without a necklace too?”

Surprisingly, the man moaning on the ground was a werewolf with clearly distinguishable facial hair.

Moreover, he was a type of beastman that didn’t quite fit in a city full of humans, and lacked a necklace.