I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 143: Surviving in the Sky Garden (6)

"Why have I not found a fairy yet after all this time?!"

Alice, who had been searching the Sky Garden for the past 4 hours without a break, stopped in place, clutching her head in agony.

Maybe if only a couple of hours had passed, it wouldn't have been as frustrating. But 4 hours and still no sign of a fairy?! How could this be? She laughed bitterly, feeling utterly defeated.

Of course, there were still 8 hours left, so it was too early to worry about being disqualified. However, it was still hard to be entirely at ease.

At this pace, one failure could very likely result in disqualification.

"Ugh... I shouldn't have thought this task would be easy. I knew it was going to be tough..."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, fairies usually avoid humans. In a place this crowded, they'd never show themselves easily... Wait, who’s that?!"

Alice, who had been catching her breath, suddenly turned her head in surprise as a voice she hadn't expected was heard.

She had been talking to herself, but the response came so naturally that she felt like she had been having a conversation.

When she looked towards the source of the voice, she saw a fairy, a life form with a somewhat snobbish expression, standing before her.

Its height was only about 30 cm, roughly the size of an adult male's forearm, and it was incredibly cute.

Even its face and clothes were so perfectly designed, they seemed like something a delicate designer had crafted.

Alice couldn't help but freeze in awe at the sight before her.

"Ugh...! A fairy!"

"That's right, I’m the fairy you’re looking for. Call me Shalong. Pretty human."

Shalong. The name suited her snobbish face perfectly! Alice couldn’t help but look her up and down, unable to close her mouth.

Shalong had the appearance of a princess, with her eyes tilted upward. Her long hair was styled into twin tails, and she wore a dress like a blonde girl out of a fairy tale.

For Alice, this was extremely dangerous. She was a severe fan of cuteness, and this was the lethal dose.

It was Alice’s first time seeing a fairy in person, and to find one this perfect was overwhelming!

Holding her nose, Alice muttered in a daze.

"So... cute..."

"Hmph, I know, right? Yes, Shalong is cute. You’re pretty too, human."

"What should I do... even the name suits her perfectly... What should I do...!"

In that moment, Alice completely lost her will. She couldn't think about the task at all; she just kept repeating how cute Shalong was, like a broken record.

They say a girl in love becomes even more beautiful, and Alice, lost in admiration, looked quite pitiful.

But did her overwhelming cuteness work on Shalong? With her arms crossed, Shalong, who had been observing Alice, turned her head and spoke coldly.

"Well, I just came here to look around. You have a good eye. If you become one of Shalong’s subordinates, I might give you the Friend's token. But remember, becoming Shalong’s subordinate means..."

"I’ll be your subordinate! If it means being Shalong’s subordinate, I’m totally on board!"

"Hey! I haven’t finished talking yet!"

Shalong puffed her cheeks in protest, clearly displeased with Alice’s eager acceptance.

Becoming her subordinate meant forming a close relationship, one that required understanding the seriousness of the situation first!

Yet, Alice hadn’t even listened to her and had accepted without a second thought, which bothered Shalong greatly.

If she answered so carelessly, Shalong might just leave without offering anything.

With that, Alice quickly regained her composure, staring at Shalong with a serious look, as if saying, “Go ahead, say it again.”

"Ahem, human. I won’t say this twice, so listen carefully. If you become my subordinate..."

"If I become your subordinate?"

"You’ll have to come see Shalong again... Got it?"

"...!!"

Thud!

Alice, dazed, immediately dropped to her knees, her heart pounding wildly, feeling as if she had received a fatal blow.

She had been so overwhelmed by cuteness that it had affected her physically.

This was the danger of being a severe fan of cuteness, and it was clear she was deep into it.

The relationship between Alice and Shalong progressed quickly. Shalong, pretending to be cold but secretly affectionate, and Alice, defenseless in the face of cuteness, surprisingly got along well.

After talking for about an hour, Alice promised to return to the Sky Garden and, in the end, Shalong handed over the Friend's token.

"...Kiss."

"Wow, the color of the bracelet changed!"

"Well, Murmur said all I had to do was kiss the bracelet. I guess that’s it."

The method of handing over the Friend's token was simple. After winning a fairy’s favor, the fairy kissed the bracelet, and that was it. It was an action that could not be done by mistake, making it a sure sign of success.

Alice looked at the bracelet, still warm from Shalong’s kiss, with a foolish smile.

Then, she suddenly wondered about something Shalong had mentioned.

"By the way, who’s Murmur?"

"Someone annoying. A fool who never sleeps, always worrying about fairies."

"Heh, I see."

Shalong, twisting her twin-tailed hair with her fingers, gave off a vibe that showed affection for the person she was talking about.

Although Alice didn't know who it was, pretending to be concerned was cute in itself. She smiled contentedly, watching the adorable fairy.

Now that the task was done, she thought she’d spend the rest of the time keeping Shalong happy.

Though the true reason was simply that she loved anything cute, her neat and composed face hid the darkness of her feelings.

"Ugh! What’s going on?!"

"Is... is the ground shaking?"

But just as she was beginning to relax, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.

Trees were shaking, and birds flew up into the sky, making the entire situation feel far from normal.

But Alice quickly became suspicious. How could there be an earthquake in the Sky Garden, which was floating in the air?

"Shalong! This way!"

"Eh? W-wait, okay!"

Alice grabbed Shalong and pulled her to safety as she had been frozen in shock.

Even though Alice had just been treating her like a subordinate, she now acted in complete contrast, holding Shalong protectively.

Shalong, relying on Alice’s calm charisma, had no time to worry about anything else.

She trusted Alice and felt she would be fine. While they held each other, something changed suddenly, and Shalong's expression turned to one of shock.

"This... this can’t be..."

"Shalong, do you know what’s going on?"

"The... the barrier protecting the Sky Garden...!"

Shalong’s eyes widened in horror, and Alice quickly looked up, noticing something was wrong.

The sky, which had been calm and serene, now rippled unnaturally. The ripples reached a breaking point, tearing apart something unseen.

The temperature dropped sharply, and a cold wind replaced the gentle breeze that had been blowing through the garden.

"This cold wind... could it be?!"

Shalong was now in Alice’s arms, as the situation unfolded. The sense of dread that followed was unmistakable.

The meaning of the sudden disappearance of the gentle breeze that had been flowing through the garden was clear. It led to one inescapable conclusion.

Just a few seconds later, something happened all around them at once. It was a mass of bones, devoid of flesh, entirely out of place in the once fairy-tale-like garden.

Creeeak... creak...

Nearly dozens of skeletons rose from the ground, moving towards the living.

Skeletons were difficult monsters that could only be fought by ordinary humans with firearms.

Shalong’s face turned pale from the sheer malevolent intent directed at the living.

"Shalong! Hold on tight! I’ll take you to a safe place!"

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"Okay!"

Crack!

But the skeletons were easily shattered by Alice’s powerful kick, crumbling as if they were made of dirt.

To Alice, who had already fought high-ranking undead, low-level skeletons were nothing more than an obstacle.

With a quick kick to clear a path, Alice jumped high and landed on a tree. From her elevated position, she looked down at the vast forest and couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.

"This... this is a planned ambush...!"

The entire Sky Garden was filled with the sounds of violent noise and screams.

It was clear that this incident was not something that could be # Nоvеlight # resolved easily.

‘Yuria...!’

Alice thought of the pale girl who must be somewhere in the Sky Garden.

This situation was far too dangerous for Yuria.

She had to go help her, and quickly.

But the warmth in her arms made Alice bite her lip in frustration.

Please, don’t let her get hurt, she silently prayed, her face darkening as she looked toward the sky.

The chaos that had engulfed the Sky Garden was only just beginning.