Chapter 31
Encountering Sabrina was almost a coincidence.
No matter how much I searched around the party hall, I couldn’t find her.
Half giving up, I had wandered down to the underground parking lot where David’s plan was set to begin.
But who would have thought she’d try to persuade David all on her own, miserably and without anyone’s help?
It seed that this was a worldline where Sabrina and Raven had no significant connection to each other.
‘Hmm… Well, looking at it another way, it’s kind of fortunate. If Sabrina wasn’t here at all, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.’
It wasn’t that bad of a situation.
The worst-case scenario would be Sabrina being injured or kidnapped, and thus absent from the hotel.
At this mont, she was the only person who, through David’s files, knew the true purpose of this terrorist attack and the Nesis conspiracy.
As long as I could bring Sabrina and Raven together, things would sohow start moving forward.
‘Alright. Now’s the ti. Let’s go down.’
David remained firm in his decision despite his younger sister’s pleas, boarding the elevator.
Sabrina, who arrived late, collapsed in front of the firmly closed elevator doors, crying her heart out.
At that mont, as I hung upside down from the ceiling using telekinesis, I released my hold and quietly landed on the floor.
“Sniff, hic… Oppa… huhk, huhkyahh! Wh-what the—!”
“…”
Sabrina, bawling pitifully enough to make anyone watching feel sorry for her, suddenly froze and scrambled backward in panic when she saw soone drop out of nowhere.
Startled by my unexpected appearance, she stopped crying instantly and crawled away like a scared animal.
Well, nothing stops a child’s tears like a shock.
After inadvertently delivering that “therapy,” I puffed out my chest and stared confidently at Sabrina.
And then, as if finally processing my appearance, she wiped her tears with her forearm and stood up with a wary expression.
“What… What the heck, are you a guard? No, you’re way too small for that…”
“…”
“Wait, more importantly, you! You were eavesdropping on us, weren’t you? Are you going to snitch?!”
Thunk.
The sa Sabrina who had been bawling her eyes out monts ago now snapped her mouth shut and struck a threatening pose as if ready to lunge at .
Oh, wow, so that’s the Iron Tiger Fist technique from the original story.
Her build was about the sa as mine, but her presence felt as overwhelming as a giant bear. Incredible.
‘No, this isn’t the ti to be impressed. I should clear up the misunderstanding first. I need to convey that I want to help, so we can smoothly enlist Raven’s assistance…’
As I muttered to myself internally, I suddenly realized sothing crucial.
…Wait. How was I supposed to communicate all this to Sabrina?
“Answer ! If you don’t, I won’t hold back—even if you’re a kid! I’ll smash your face in with that mask on!”
“…!”
Oh no.
I completely forgot—I couldn’t speak!
At this rate, I wouldn’t even have a chance to explain myself before getting beaten up.
Panicked, I shook my head vigorously at the hostile Sabrina, signaling that I had no such intention.
Then, I crossed my fingers in an “X” over my throat to indicate that I couldn’t talk and raised my hands in a gesture of surrender.
“You… can’t talk? And I’m supposed to believe that now…?”
“…”
Hmm. As expected, she didn’t believe right away.
Well, it’s natural for soone from the underworld to be distrustful.
It’s only reasonable to suspect a shady stranger you’ve just t.
But this was a problem.
We were at a juncture where mutual trust and cooperation were the only way to achieve a good outco. Wasting this opportunity and ti was disastrous!
‘Ah! Maybe this will work…’
How could I progress in this situation?
As I wracked my brain for a solution, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
A way to calm down the agitated Sabrina and earn her trust.
Yes, once I had the thought, I imdiately put it into action.
I carefully opened my hands, bent my fingers together, and moved them above my head in an arch-like motion.
Then, I bounced on the spot slightly, wiggling my hands as if imitating floppy ears.
…What? Wondering what I’m doing?
I’m mimicking the round, adorable ears of a bear, obviously! Isn’t it clear?
“You… that… it’s Reine’s…!”
“…!”
That’s right! That’s it!
I nodded furiously at Sabrina, whose gaze shifted from suspicion to surprise, then to relief.
What I had just done was none other than the bear imitation Reine, the kidnapped princess, had created.
For Sabrina, whose round ears covered in fur made her look more like a bear than a human, it was a special dance Reine had crafted to console her—a gesture of deep bond and understanding.
To Sabrina, who had felt isolated in Beastfolk society, it was a precious mory she shared with Reine, soone akin to an elder sister.
It was a perfect signal to show we were connected!
…Well, it did feel a bit embarrassing to move like a child performing a silly dance.
But considering how visibly her guard was lowering, now wasn’t the ti to let sha get in the way.
“Could it be… Reine sent you?!”
“…”
“You… who are you? No, never mind. If you know that, you can’t be an enemy.”
Her previously tense shoulders relaxed, and it seed like she was starting to believe I wasn’t hiding any ill intent.
The bear dance—what a reliable tool.
As relief washed over , Sabrina spoke again, her face tinged with guilt.
“Alright. I couldn’t stop my brother. You’ve co to scold for that, haven’t you?”
“…!”
“…I know. If Reine were here, she would’ve stopped that idiot brother of mine from fighting Nesis alone. It’s impossible to win—it’s like an egg trying to break a rock.”
Even though I shook my head in disagreent, Sabrina continued, her eyes heavy with resignation as she stared at the elevator.
Then, she looked at again, a faint smile crossing her lips as if she’d realized sothing.
“Even soone like , who never went to school, knows that. My brother wouldn’t do this if he didn’t know that too, right?”
“…”
“That idiot brother is going because he has to, not because he can win.”
Wait.
Did she just…?
No way, she’s not thinking sothing reckless, is she?
“I have to go help him. I might not be of much use, but… I can still do sothing.”
“…?!”
“If you et Reine again, tell her this. It’s not her fault—it’s just that two foolish siblings decided to act on their own.”
No, no, no!
This isn’t where you co to that conclusion.
You don’t want your brother to die, so you’re supposed to let find soone to help through Raven! Why are you suddenly determined to assist David yourself?!
‘Did she misunderstand, thinking Reine didn’t give up and kept trying because of ? Ah, this is driving crazy!’
But looking at Sabrina’s face, now devoid of any clouds of doubt or despair, I knew there was no stopping her.
Was this how Sabrina had felt as she let David go earlier?
Watching the original plot unravel spectacularly, I wanted to cry.
Ding.
The elevator door opened.
Sabrina stepped inside without a hint of hesitation.
If I let her go alone, everything would end in disaster.
Realizing that, I quickly dashed after her and jumped into the elevator.
“What the—? You’re not supposed to follow . Soone has to stay behind to relay the ssage to Reine.”
“…”
“…Fine. Do what you want. I warned you. If anything happens from here on out, it’s your fault.”
Who was worried about whom here?
Sabrina turned her head with a huff, but there was a subtle hint of relief on her face, as if secretly glad I had followed.
I wanted nothing more than to grab her by the back of her collar and drag her to Raven imdiately.
But doing that would an openly using telekinesis, which was a problem.
She might look like a cute girl, but being a bear Beastfolk, her strength was comparable to an average adult male.
Using telekinesis openly would ruin all my efforts to keep it a secret so far. Worse, I’d beco a global sensation as the world’s only known psychic, swamped with attention and handshakes from strangers.
Of course, what would happen next was anyone’s guess.
Things could take an unexpected turn and sohow lead to a positive outco.
But one thing was certain:
If it turned out that way, I could kiss my peaceful life as a part-tir at the Crowley Problem-Solvers goodbye.
‘What do I do? Seriously, how do I get out of this ss…?’
In the cramped elevator shooting from the underground parking lot to the upper floors, I was lost in thought to the point my head began to ache.
And when the elevator ca to a stop at the floor Sabrina had selected, a sudden shift in perspective hit , born out of the stress muddling my mind.
‘…Do I really need to stop Sabrina? If it’s co to this, why not just help her carry out the terrorist plan and ensure David ets Raven directly?’
It was a bold, reckless idea.
Forget the original story’s flow. Skip all the interdiate steps and go straight for the result.
Co to think of it, clinging to the original plot was kind of ridiculous.
The sa person harping on about “sticking to the original” had already taken down Drakel and stolen the Tesseract?
What was I, so secret ergency stash for convenience?
Planning things out in minute detail was never my style. Acting impulsively was much more than my speed.
‘David’s obstacles are twofold: a horde of battle robots his firepower can’t handle and Lexi, whose strength is completely out of scale. If I can just remove those two obstacles, David’s plan can succeed.’
Abandoning the preconception that I had to stick to the original plot, I asked myself: couldn’t I remove these two roadblocks for David?
‘Even if I can’t eliminate them, I could at least push them out of the way temporarily. That should be enough.’
Trailing behind Sabrina as she strode out of the elevator, I began fleshing out the hastily conceived plan in my mind.
‘Hide my powers, avoid getting caught up in the terror plot, stay safe, and neutralize both the battle robots and Lexi. Maybe… this could actually work?’
The more I thought about it, the clearer the plan beca, like puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together. My eyes couldn’t help but sparkle with excitent.
anwhile, at the banquet hall.
[ “That concludes the product introduction… Now, let’s take a short break! Please stay tuned for the upcoming presentation, where you’ll witness a new innovation for the future of tahumans!” ]
As the emcee announced a break before the main event, Raven, who had been half-listening to the product introduction, clicked his tongue knowingly.
“…Innovation, my ass.”
“Why? Isn’t a prosthetic that even other species can use pretty innovative?” Alice asked, tilting her head.
“Listening to them, I can tell—it’s nothing new. This tech already existed. About ten years ago, during one of the most brutal war periods.”
“What?!”
Alice’s eyes widened in shock. She had assud it was groundbreaking technology, yet Raven was saying it was a decade old.
As she turned toward him, silently demanding an explanation, Raven nonchalantly scratched his ear and replied.
“Why do you think other species can’t use prosthetics?”
“Well… isn’t it because magical energy can’t flow through machinery?”
“That’s about half of it. The real reason is that every species has vastly different body structures.”
Humans and orcs were as different from each other as orcs and elves were. And with the countless different species out there, it was absurd to lump them all together.
“Now that you ntion it, that makes sense. There’s no way a wooden doll-like treant and a rfolk resembling a fish could use the sa prosthetic…”
“Exactly. But apparently, this one works for all of them. So why do you think that is?”
“Uh…”
Alice frowned, trying to figure it out, but when no answer ca to her, she looked at Raven, seeking an explanation.
“It uses the properties of magic. Both treants and rfolk have magical energy in their bodies. If the prosthetic can interpret the magical responses when they try to move, it’s not impossible.”
“Wow, that’s amazing! Because of magic, huh?” Alice clapped her hands in admiration.
But Raven sighed, as if that wasn’t the point.
“There’s a problem with that thod, though. If it responds to magic, it also drains magic. Prosthetics like these consu the user’s magic just by being attached. And they put significant strain on the connected body part.”
“That’s… definitely an issue.”
“Exactly. That’s why people who desperately needed limbs used them at first but discarded them once they realized they weren’t suitable for long-term use. They do more harm than good.”
Raven’s gaze grew colder as he looked toward the emcee’s side of the hall.
Nesis must have known this. So why were they pushing these onto the market so confidently?
As he pondered this, feeling his hands itch with a vague sense of unease, Alice, who had been glancing around nervously, suddenly spoke up with concern.
“By the way, Jin, Yuria hasn’t co back from the restroom yet. Do you think she might’ve… gotten lost or sothing?”
“Huh? You’re right. Where the hell did that part-tir go?”
Raven scratched the back of his head.
Knowing her personality, Yuria was usually composed and dependable. And considering her identity as a ghost, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Still, it wasn’t great for an employee to be gone this long. As her boss, he couldn’t just let it slide.
“Should I step out and look for her? Not like there’s much point in sticking around here. Let’s take a walk outside and grab so food while we’re at it.”
“Yes! Let’s go quickly!”
Raven and Alice left the banquet hall at a leisurely pace, their steps unhurried.
It wasn’t that they didn’t care—it was more that they trusted the small, cute part-tir not to cause any trouble. Or so they thought.
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