I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 122: There’s Emotion in the Fixer Exam (5)

There are strangely many animals from another world around here.

Was it only after hearing this from Alice that my vision finally widened?

David and Lisa, as if realizing it just now, both widened their eyes and showed surprised reactions.

"Oh my, could it be...?"

"Is the purpose of the treasure hunt...?"

"That's right. Maybe... the treasure we're supposed to find is something these animals from another world are meant to find."

Alice spoke in a hushed tone, as if worried her voice might leak out.

After all, the other examinees were all competitors. She probably thought there was no reason to help them.

Anyway, her intuition was right on the mark.

The first task was closely related to animals from another world.

To be precise, the solution to the task was a precious ingredient from another world.

The crucial clue was that the examiner, Mira Valentia, was a gourmet fixer.

When the task was described as a treasure hunt, the key process was figuring out whose treasure it would be from whose perspective.

It wasn’t about getting stuck on the word "treasure" but thinking outside the box and judging how to accomplish the goal.

It was a task designed to test things like critical thinking and the ability to secure ingredients faster than the competitors.

"Well... when you think of treasure, most people think of precious metals or artifacts. So, I suppose the test is about breaking those conventional ideas and seeing if we can achieve the goal."

"Wow, I never imagined it. Who would have thought the treasure would be these cute little things... Well, once someone figures it out, everyone else will want to follow suit."

"In that case, it’s important to finish quickly before someone else gets ahead! Yuria! Thanks to you, the first task is going to be a breeze! Really, thank you so much!"

"..."

Alice hugged me tightly, as if she was struggling to catch her breath.

Perhaps she was a little nervous about her first fixer exam.

She genuinely seemed to be thanking me for clearly revealing the answer to the task.

Of course, there was no reason for me to feel particularly grateful.

After all, within about an hour, everyone would have figured out what the treasure really was.

It was odd that animals that would normally be found in a protected area were wandering around in a place like this.

No matter how much I looked around, there was nothing that could be called a treasure. So, it made sense to think about it that way.

What I did was simply speed up the inevitable conclusion.

I had already secured an easy target just by tempting it with snacks.

Still, it felt nice when Alice gave me a hug. I didn’t need to refuse.

Heh, I’d let her praise and look up to me a little more.

"Yuria, I’ll be back soon!"

"...!"

Alice, who had hugged me so tightly that our cheeks almost touched, quickly straightened up.

This task was all about who got there first. Taking it slow would be of no help. This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Having figured out the answer, it seemed she was determined to solve the task right away.

She then looked at David and Lisa and said,

"David! And... Lisa? Let’s go quickly!"

"Understood."

"Heh, thank you for accepting me as part of the group."

"What do you mean, accepting you as part of the group! This is just for this task!"

I chuckled at Alice, who seemed to be on guard against Lisa, suddenly barging in.

Even though she said that, her kind nature probably meant she knew they’d end up getting tangled in the future.

Just looking at them was fun. She’s a good person, so I hope we can get closer.

I waved at the departing group, wishing them well.

They were some of the most skilled examiners in the fixer exam. There was no real need for concern.

"Chik chik!"

"..."

As I waved goodbye to the retreating group, a cute sound came from my hand.

It was the same three-tailed thunder squirrel that had meekly been caught by me earlier.

Was it asking for more snacks?

I handed the squirrel some snacks, gently brushing its fur with my fingertips.

The thunder squirrel jumped up on two feet, chewing on the snack while quietly accepting my touch.

It didn’t seem wild at all, probably because it had become accustomed to human hands.

But this little squirrel’s tail was considered a delicacy.

Maybe it’s tastier because it’s so cute? I couldn’t imagine how that could be, but my curiosity suddenly spiked.

"Chi, chik chik?!"

"...?"

But then, the squirrel, still chewing its snack quietly, suddenly perked up its tail and clung to my finger.

It seemed like a small creature sensing danger.

Had I made it uncomfortable while I was distracted for a moment?

I didn’t know what it was, but I gently scratched the squirrel’s chin, trying to soothe it.

It wouldn’t do if it ran away before the examiners came.

I had no choice but to calm it down, as if # Nоvеlight # reassuring it.

In truth, if I submitted this to the examiner, the task would be done.

But if I ended up succeeding as the undisputed first place, I’d attract unwanted attention.

I decided to wait it out, at least until Alice’s group returned.

"Chik chik!"

"..."

I spent quite a while playing with the squirrel, sitting by an empty lot.

Naturally, there were other examinees around, but maybe they were too busy searching for the treasure.

It seemed they didn’t pay much attention to me.

If they didn’t know what the treasure really was, they must have assumed I had given up and was just playing around.

They probably didn’t want to get involved with someone who looked like they weren’t taking the exam seriously.

From my perspective, that was a blessing. Playing with the squirrel kept me from being bored.

It would have been difficult if someone suddenly tried to steal it from me.

I knew that there was only one thunder squirrel, so if someone tried to take it away from me, they’d likely end up crying and begging.

Then I’d have to ask Alice to get back at them. Anyway, it was a good situation.

"Yuria! We’re back!"

About 30 minutes later, Alice’s group returned, each carrying something with them.

Alice had a large tiger with golden fur.

David was holding a colorful mushroom that looked like a deadly poison.

Lisa was carrying a bamboo stalk covered in dirt.

"What’s that? A tiger? Was there something like that?"

"Aren’t they idiots? The treasure hunt is going on, and they’re doing something so leisurely..."

"Hmm... wait, now that I think about it, something’s off. Why are such animals in a place like this, on the outskirts of the city?"

The examinees raised their voices, murmuring, staring suspiciously at the group.

Some with good instincts seemed to have already figured out the truth behind the treasure hunt.

But most clicked their tongues, focused on their own tasks, and wondered what kind of nonsense they were up to.

I didn’t care about the reactions of the other examinees. I quickly ran toward them, still holding the squirrel.

"...!"

"Sorry to make you wait. Actually, we finished earlier, but David thought it would be better to get something more expensive, so we took a bit longer."

"After all, the task was a treasure hunt. It seemed better to get something rare."

"Alice, be sure to tell them that my knowledge helped!"

"Ugh, th-thank you. Lisa."

It seemed like everyone had understood the core of the answer to the task.

In short, the important part wasn’t just getting ingredients from another world.

The ingredient had to be rare enough to be called a treasure.

Alice’s group had brought rare ingredients that would be difficult to buy even with money.

At this point, it was certain they would pass the first task.

"Hmm, you’re all passers. 631, 632, 633, and the examinee who entered last, number 7, will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th based on the order they entered the lot. No objections?"

"It’s fine!"

"No objections!"

"Hmm, the treasures will be collected by the staff. You can rest until the exam is over. Good work."

Naturally, the results were success.

Alice and David proudly took 1st and 2nd place.

I, who had purposely delayed my entry, took 3rd. Elizabeth and Lisa, who were outsiders, took 4th.

The order of ranks didn’t matter much.

But the title of 1st place would lead to unwanted attention, so I felt sorry for Alice.

But she was strong enough to handle any competition, so it was probably fine.

"Did... did that really happen?!"

"The treasure was an ingredient!"

"I see! Since the examiner is a gourmet fixer, the treasure is ingredients! We have to find them quickly!"

I wonder if the fact that we solved the task in less than an hour was made known outside?

The other examinees seemed to have figured out that the treasure was a special ingredient from another world.

The result was a kind of chaotic competition for the ingredients.

It became common to steal from someone who was hunting, and sometimes people ambushed others on their way back to take their findings.

With only about three hours to work with, it was easier to steal from someone who had already found something than to search endlessly.

Of course, those who stole and found out it was a common ingredient were enraged.

"Good, you’re the last 100th passers. Congratulations."

2 hours and 44 minutes into the exam.

The 100th passer appeared, covered in shallow wounds.

The next examinee screamed in despair, but it couldn’t be helped.

They should have come a little sooner.

"Wow... so many people dropped out in an instant. 100 out of several hundred. A lot of people failed the first task. I bet similar things are happening in other groups. Altogether, maybe about 1,500 people are left."

As expected, it was the world’s hardest exam.

The first task alone had eliminated thousands of examinees.

It was an unfortunate moment when the months of preparation for this day turned into nothing in an instant.

But perhaps someone found it hard to accept.

A man who had been waiting nervously while holding his ingredients shouted in a furious voice.

"Hey, don’t joke around! We’re seriously aiming to be fixers! A treasure hunt like this, childish games... You can’t mess with people like this!"

The man, a beastman with a large scar on his face, took a big step toward the examiner, Mira.

His mane-like hair suggested he was a lion beastman, and it had an imposing presence.

He looked so agitated that his face seemed twisted with anger.

It seemed he was furious about failing the task due to a treasure hunt.

It was quite brave of him to approach the examiner, a current fixer, like that.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

The assessment was at the examiner’s discretion, and challenging her would only harm him.

However, Mira, despite her stern tone, didn’t show any sign of fear.

She responded without even twitching her eyebrow.

"Childish games, you say? Do you really think so? This task has nothing to do with the fixer exam."

"Of course it doesn’t! Finding treasure is all about luck, not skill! You think I’ll just watch someone weaker than me pass just because they found a treasure?!"

The lion beastman shot a glance at me, sitting quietly in the corner.

What’s he looking at? Are you staring at me? Want me to rip out your mane?

...Well, I understood what he was trying to say.

Even if I had a million soldiers, it would be impossible to defeat a lion beastman without telekinetic power.

The knowledge I had from the original work made me feel a little uneasy.

But Mira, perhaps just finding it amusing, crossed her arms and sneered at the man.

"Well, I understand why you’re angry. It seems like other examinees feel the same way. Alright, let me ask you one more thing. What do you think a fixer does?"

"Of course, they’re the strong ones who survived the competition! Look around! The strongest are called fixers! Being a fixer means you’re strong! This little game can’t decide that!"

"Hmm, interesting perspective. Indeed, it’s not entirely wrong when you look at fixers."

Mira chuckled softly, clearly amused by his answer.

While his words were far from perfect, they did hit on some core truths.

Most of the strongest people known in the world are fixers, not criminals who are on the run.

So, his answer, though flawed, wasn’t entirely wrong.

However, by Mira’s standards, it was only a 50-point answer.

She stood up from leaning against the sports car and walked toward the man.

"Power, champions, entertainers, influencers... Recently, fixers have spread across every domain, so people misunderstand sometimes. But the essence of a fixer has always been the same from the beginning."

"What...?"

"A fixer is someone who solves other people's problems. Essentially, a government-sanctioned, reliable errand service. Being strong, charismatic, and beautiful... those are all secondary traits. Understand, rookie?"

"Ugh, you...!"

Boom!

The air around Mira shimmered fiercely, as if a hot mirage on scorching asphalt.

The unseen pressure she exuded was so intense that the lion beastman, who was much taller, trembled and knelt before her.

Perhaps it was because the lion beastman couldn’t raise his head again after the time passed.

Mira, who had been waiting for him to respond, scoffed and looked around, speaking again.

"Erasing unwanted enemies from this world can be done with missiles or magic. But rescuing a hostage from a troublesome kidnapper can only be done with the will of a person. If you don’t understand the difference, you’ll never be a fixer."

She must have hoped that this experience would teach the man to be wiser.

Mira took out her sunglasses from her chest pocket and, with a charismatic gesture, placed them on her face.

"That’s it for the first task! The examinees who failed should return their watches and quickly leave the exam site!"

They’ll have another chance in six months. Let’s work harder next time.

I whispered some words of comfort to the departing examinees, hoping no one heard me.

Thus, the first task of the fixer exam, the treasure hunt, ended.

But from here on out, the tasks would get much harder.

The real fixer exam was about to begin.