I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

Back again today at the lakeside park.

We sat side by side on a bench, quietly demolishing our favorite breads one by one.

I had a chocolate éclair stuffed full of custard cream, and Sirocco was eating a strawberry and fresh cream sandwich.

From the look of it, Sirocco’s preferred bread type was the sweet and creamy variety.

Which really didn’t match the kind of face that looked like it wouldn’t bleed even if you stabbed it.

No, even the way she stacked up a mountain of bread to eat didn’t fit her image at all.

“Mm? What’s wrong?”

“Why... so much bwen...?”

“Ah... you mean why there’s so much bread? Ahaha, I guess it might not really suit me... But this is how I relieve stress—by eating a lot of bread. Luckily, I don’t gain weight easily, so...”

Scratch, scratch.

Looking a little embarrassed, Sirocco touched her neck and answered awkwardly.

Well, relieving stress through eating is pretty common. Nothing to be ashamed of.

I reached into the towering pile of bread and picked out one with chocolate, munching away.

Yeah, I still liked chocolate best. Dense and sweet with just a bit of bitterness—absolutely perfect.

We’d been focused on our bread for who knows how long.

Even freshly baked, moist bread eventually dries your throat out.

Maybe that’s why Sirocco, gulping milk from a bottle, suddenly looked out at the lake and spoke.

“...Thank you. For last time too. And today. I’m the older one, but I keep relying on you like this. I know I shouldn’t keep doing it...”

“...”

“You’re saying it’s fine? Fufu, Yuria-chan, you’re so kind.”

I actually felt kind of bad, like I was just mooching off her for free bread.

I shook my head firmly as if to say, don’t worry about it, to comfort her.

Maybe she was feeling conflicted in a lot of ways.

Sirocco rubbed her face unnecessarily and then, staring out at the distant lake, opened her mouth again.

“...This might be a little out of the blue. But Yuria-chan, if there’s something you really don’t want to do, but you have to... what would you do?”

“...?”

“If... it’s because you have no choice, because it’s to carry on the will of someone you deeply respect...”

What exactly does she mean by that?

With a donut still in my mouth, I glanced to the side.

There she was, deep in thought, not even holding a piece of bread anymore.

It didn’t seem like she really expected an answer—more like she was just letting her thoughts spill out.

Hmm... Something you don’t want to do, but have to.

It was a vague question, so I pondered over it.

Something I don’t want to do, but have to... That’s pretty normal, isn’t it?

In my past life, I had to work to survive, even if I didn’t want to.

And even now, as Yuria, I still get dragged into incidents even though I don’t want anyone to know I’m a psychic.

But once you’ve decided you “have” to do something, isn’t that already choosing a priority?

Even if you complain about not wanting to do it, deep down, you’ve made up your mind.

So I sorted out my thoughts and tried to express them to Sirocco.

If you’ve already decided it’s something you have to do—then you just go through with it.

“I... I see. But as you can tell, I’m timid. And a coward...”

“...!”

“That’s surprising? You think so?”

What kind of timid person stares down professional protesters with sheer presence?

I shook my head, both incredulous and disapproving.

Maybe my reaction gave her some comfort.

She gave a weary smile and nodded, as if thankful.

I didn’t know what she was dealing with, but I hoped I could at least give her some strength.

While I was thinking about how I could give her even a little more support—

Suddenly, a man’s shout rang out from not far away.

“Hey! What are you gonna do about this? This was my favorite outfit, and now it’s ruined!”

“Eek—I, I’m sorry...!”

Whip.

I turned my head toward the voice and saw a rough-looking man confronting a woman and her child.

Judging by the wet stains on his pants, maybe the kid had an accident?

But the way he loomed over the bowing woman, threatening her—it was an ugly scene.

It’s not like she ignored him and walked away. There’s no reason to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) go this far.

I frowned at the escalating tension, and then—

One of the man’s friends, sneering, added fuel to the fire.

“Boss. Looks like they’re treating us like we’re nothing. Shouldn’t we teach ’em a lesson?”

“Yeah, no way we can just let this go.”

“No! P-please don’t...! Someone, help...!”

“Waaaah! Mommy!”

Squeeze.

The man grabbed the mother’s wrist and tried to drag her somewhere.

There was no way I could ignore that kind of behavior.

What the hell do you think you’re doing in a park, in broad daylight? With a kid watching?

I leapt from the bench, dashed forward, and slammed the top of my head into the man’s back.

A textbook example of a perfect headbutt.

The kind that knocks a guy silent in one hit.

“Guh...! Aaack...!”

“Boss! W-what the hell?!”

The man crumpled to his knees and fell flat.

Guess he wasn’t the sturdy type.

Curled up and whimpering, he looked downright pathetic.

But since his buddy was still glaring daggers at me—

I naturally moved in and positioned myself between the man and the mother and child.

“...”

“Kh...! Who the hell is this brat?!”

“This little shit!”

Of course their attention shifted to me.

They’d been trying to squeeze her for dry cleaning money, but now that someone interrupted—they were livid.

Tch, with trash like this, I don’t even need telekinesis.

Just as I thought that, ready to use the self-defense moves Alice had been teaching me—

A terrifying pressure swept through the park, enough to make my shoulders flinch.

It was like opening a sealed box full of dry ice—it exploded out all at once.

An overwhelming, primal aura, like the apex of all living things.

Even the thugs froze, spinning around toward the source.

And there she stood—a black-haired beauty, brushing back her bangs.

Horns sprouting from both sides of her head, a fat lizard tail swaying behind her.

Of course, it was Sirocco, who just moments ago had her hat pulled low.

“Did it really need to go that far? If she apologized, it should’ve ended with compensation for the cleaning. Acting like you caught some kind of weakness... Tch. Pathetic.”

“The hell are you?! You wanna get your eyes clawed out?!”

Step. Step.

Sirocco approached with eyes sharp enough to kill someone on sight.

Was this really the same timid bread-lover from earlier?

The sheer charisma radiating off her as she closed in made my knees weak just watching.

“Curious who I am? Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m Sirocco—Chief of Public Safety, Nighthaven Police. And I could throw scum like you in a cell with one finger. That answer your question?”

“What... A cop?!”

“Boss! S-she’s for real! That’s the demon chick everyone talks about!”

What Sirocco pulled from her coat was unmistakably an authentic police badge.

Not a beat cop or sergeant either—Chief of Public Safety. One hell of a rank.

The thugs clearly knew how dangerous cops were in Nighthaven.

Realizing she wasn’t bluffing, they started backing away fast.

If they hadn’t done anything yet, maybe they could’ve argued.

But since they were using the cleaning excuse to get rough—there was no escaping the guilt.

“W-we didn’t mean anything by it!”

“Boss, let’s get outta here!”

Whoosh.

The two thugs bolted like their asses were on fire.

Leaving only the trembling mother and daughter and a few stunned bystanders.

The woman bowed deeply to both of us, over and over, before hurrying away.

The onlookers scattered, disappointed the show ended so quickly.

Soon, it was just me—the headbutt striker—and Sirocco, now unmasked.

She looked deeply awkward, tugging her hair to hide her face despite her usually cool demeanor.

No need to stand around awkwardly. Let’s head back to the bench.

Like I was saying just that, I gently tugged at the hem of her coat.

“...”

“Y-yeah... Let’s go back.”

Back at the bench, Sirocco sat down and struggled to hide her horns and tail again.

Like a mirage, the heavy, imposing presence dissipated without a trace.

Ah... So that’s why I usually can’t sense her around.

I nodded, finally understanding why.

“...”

“...”

Still... this vibe’s even more awkward than before.

She probably wanted to just be a normal “Shiro” and eat bread together.

But now that she’d revealed herself as Chief of Public Safety, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Which meant it was my job to lighten the mood.

I scooted closer and offered her my extra chocolate donut.

Eat this—let’s smooth things over. That was the gist.

“Ah, um, thank you...”

“Yeah...”

Luckily, it seemed to work.

Operation Chocolate Donut: Successful.

The mood softened again, and we sat together peacefully.

Then Sirocco, still hiding her face, spoke hesitantly.

“Um, Yuria-chan. Why did you jump in earlier?”

“...?”

“I mean... You don’t seem to have any magical power or special strength. What if you’d gotten hurt? Honestly, I was really worried.”

Ah, she’s worried about me.

Well, there’s no way she’d know I’m a psychic.

She probably thought I was just some reckless, powerless brat.

But if I hadn’t jumped in then, that mom and her kid would’ve had the worst day of their lives.

And even if something did happen, I’ve got just enough strength to protect myself.

Still... how do I explain that?

I looked at Sirocco and slowly, clumsily opened my mouth.

“Ha... Ha-mya... ha, ing...”

“Y-yeah...? Is that... Are you talking about what I said before? About having to do something even if you don’t want to?”

“...Yeah.”

“I see... Because it’s something you have to do...”

Why is it so hard to talk? So frustrating!

And how the heck did she even understand me? Can she read minds or something?

I stared at Sirocco in awe, as she seemed to fall into deep thought.

I wondered if I’d managed to get my point across.

But thankfully, it seemed I had.

She gave a small, relieved smile and said,

“Thank you. I think my thoughts are a little clearer now. Fufu... here, this is a thank-you.”

“...!”

She pulled out the bread bag from the bench and handed me a pile of pastries.

So many that I could barely hold them with both hands.

Was this her way of saying she didn’t need to eat for stress relief anymore?

I tilted my head, wondering if that meant she’d come to a positive conclusion.

***

The next day.

I was working at the general store like usual when my eyes drifted to the TV screen in the corner.

And there she was.

Sirocco—the one I’d just shared bread with yesterday—appeared on the screen.

Without her hat, horns and tail in full view, brimming with charisma.

On what looked like a press conference stage, she spoke with a solemn expression.

“[...Therefore, I—Sirocco, Chief of Public Safety of the Nighthaven Police—will be running as a candidate in the upcoming mayoral election. I will lead this great city, built by my father, Tempest... more firmly than anyone else.]”

She’s... running for mayor?

I quietly applauded the campaign announcement of Sirocco, the half-dragon daughter of Tempest.

Maybe... that was the thing she didn’t want to do, but had to.

Maybe I’d just changed the course of history in a really big way.

That vague thought passed through my mind for just a moment.