It was a serious situation.

    A situation so grave that there wasn’t room for lighthearted jokes. It was nothing short of an emergency.

    How serious, you ask? Serious enough that even Tesseract couldn’t stay still and was fidgeting nervously.

    This wasn’t something I could simply let slide.

    [ Mweing? Mama, did you call me? ]

    Oh, sorry. I didn’t call you because I needed anything....

    Anyway, there are things that kids don’t need to know!

    I poked Tesseract lightly with telekinesis for a bit of fun and then retreated into the cramped closet to put myself back into a serious mood.

    Let’s think. What day is it today?

    [ Thursday! ]

    Right, it was Thursday, just as Tesseract said.

    More specifically, it had been exactly five days since Aisha’s request was completed...

    And it was now three days past the time Greg was supposed to return.

    Actually, since it’s already evening, if I sleep and wake up, it’ll be the fourth day.

    After mulling over all of this, I finally buried my forehead into the soft blanket in frustration.

    Greg... Why aren’t you back yet! You said you’d come back!

    “What are you doing in there, part-timer? You’re making a racket.”

    “...!”

    Oh, nothing at all!

    I carefully opened the closet door and shook my head at Raven, as if to say I wasn’t doing anything.

    Then I shut the door again and folded my arms neatly to avoid getting scolded further.

    Setting aside Raven’s scolding for now, this was something I couldn’t just ignore.

    Because if Greg didn’t return... I wouldn’t be able to leave the problem-solver’s office.

    ‘That other place pays better. When Greg gets back, I was planning to stop freeloading here and find a proper room....’

    One of the biggest reasons for this urgency was that working at the Crowley Problem-Solvers didn’t pay much.

    Even though I came in the morning and left in the evening, it barely felt like pocket money.

    Of course, it wasn’t like Raven was exploiting me or anything.

    Raven wasn’t exactly well-off himself, and on top of that, he was letting me stay here out of kindness.

    Expecting to be paid more would’ve been shameless.

    It wasn’t as if he was treating me like a pushover. Naturally, I didn’t complain about the low pay.

    It was just that paying rent for a separate place while working here was clearly unfeasible.

    I wasn’t sticking around here for no reason. I really didn’t have a choice.

    ‘Greg needs to come back soon so I can do something about this. Honestly, it’s ridiculous that I’m still living in Raven’s place like this!’

    My grand dream of relaxing in a quiet corner of NightHaven, far from troublesome events, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

    I desperately wanted to leave this central area, which felt like the epicenter of chaos, and move somewhere I wouldn’t get tangled in the original story. rANo???E?S??

    ...Huh? You’re asking why someone with that attitude is calmly holed up in a closet?

    Well, I still had to do what needed to be done. Who knows—tomorrow might bring the end of the world.

    That’s why I was feeding Tesseract the remaining energy from the rift, preparing just in case something unpredictable happened.

    Rather than criticize me, you should be praising me for doing my duties diligently even in the midst of this confusion.

    Got it? You get it, right?

    “Suspicious? She probably just had some good news and got excited.”

    “No way! Yuria isn’t that simple—ah!”

    “Calm down. If something big happened, she’d come talk to us. You’re being overprotective.”

    Raven, ever the one to get annoyed when it came to Yuria, lightly tapped Alice on the top of her head to stop her from spiraling into overdrive.

    “If you’re really that curious, stop guessing and just ask her what’s going on.”

    His words were a pragmatic reminder that trying to deduce someone’s feelings without communication could only lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions.

    “Right... You’re right, Jin. If I just keep guessing, I’ll end up with some weird conclusion. Thanks, I’ll go ask her directly!”

    “Yeah. I’m curious too, so make sure to ask her.”

    “Hehe, got it.”

    Alice smiled brightly at Raven’s nonchalant response and cheerfully made her way toward Yuria.

    Without beating around the bush, she asked directly why Yuria was so upbeat.

    “....”

    “Hm?”

    “...!”

    Yuria, clutching the mop in her arms, tilted her head as if in thought, then brought her index finger to her lips in a playful gesture.

    It was a clear sign that it was a secret.

    “Oh, I see! Alright then, let’s do our best today!”

    Alice gave Yuria a warm smile, thinking how adorable she was, and then walked a full circle around the office.

    When she got back to Raven’s side, she covered her mouth with her fist and wailed.

    “Waaahhh, what do I do, Jin! Something’s definitely going on with her!”

    “Hey, hey, calm down. She doesn’t look upset—she looks happy. It’s probably something good, so relax!”

    While Alice continued her near-desperate wailing, Raven sighed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

    Just then, David arrived for work right on time.

    Noticing Yuria, who couldn’t seem to keep still, he greeted her casually as usual.

    Then, spotting Alice crying next to Raven, he approached her and commented in his usual teasing manner.

    “Did something happen to Yuria? Until yesterday, she looked like someone who’d eaten spoiled pizza, but now she’s glowing like someone whose stocks just doubled in value.”

    “I don’t know. Nothing happened!”

    “Mmhph... W-We don’t know...”

    “In that case, this is... a mystery case!”

    “Please, don’t you start too. Dealing with Alice is hard enough already.”

    Raven pressed a hand to his forehead, exasperated at the two troublemakers so early in the morning.

    Alice, who lost all sense of calm when faced with something cute, was one thing.

    But even David, ever since the Aisha case, seemed to have loosened a screw or two.

    At this rate, there wouldn’t be a single sane person left in the office.

    Raven glanced over at Yuria, who had now swapped her mop for a duster and continued her enthusiastic cleaning spree.

    She didn’t seem to have a grand reason for being in such a good mood.

    Still, just in case, he figured it might be worth checking in with her later.

    Little did he realize, the reason for Yuria’s excitement was her plan to buy a terminal.

    Raven simply let out a small sigh at the whirlwind of chaos in the office.