I Became the Cute One in the Problem-Solving Team

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I got tied up with the werewolves longer than I expected.

Seriously, we can’t afford to waste any more time. It’s a real problem.

After pulling the fainted werewolf’s head out of the ground, I hurried towards the mail location.

There was quite a distance to the destination from here.

But if I don’t let up and fly at full speed, I could make it in just a few minutes.

Every minute counts right now; there’s no time to relax.

“Ugh…! It’s too fast; I’m freezing.”

Whoosh!

The cold wind sliced through my skin like a knife, rushing past my ears.

It felt like riding a motorcycle in cold weather without any protective gear.

Naturally, my frail body wouldn’t stand a chance against that.

In no time, my skin turned bright red, and especially my exposed ears were already numb.

But I gritted my teeth and endured it. What does it matter if I feel like I’m freezing?

If I can buy time with this pain, then I’d do it a hundred, even a thousand times over.

As my will and spirit burned hot, I forced my body, which wanted to retreat from the cold, to hold steady.

“…!”

Just as I was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, I suddenly caught sight of an unnaturally blackened exterior wall.

It was an intense and, in many ways, peculiar mark.

There was no debris as if a bomb had exploded, and the building itself was intact, showing no signs of fire.

How could just that one part be charred so deeply?

While I ran forward, a certain thought crossed my mind.

‘Come to think of it, I heard a loud noise like a lightning strike earlier. Wait a minute, if it’s the Liberation Army and lightning…!’

Thump.

A chill ran down my spine, foreboding an ominous premonition.

The reason was simple.

It was precisely because there was a high-ranking officer in the Liberation Army who specialized in lightning magic.

The highest rank in the diverse-race Liberation Army is the Supreme Commander.

Underneath him, there’s a top-level officer known as the Seven Extremes.

These guys were monsters not just as commanders in charge of their units, but also excelled in their own might.

Well… if you look closely, they betray and backstab each other like crazy.

Remarkably, the individual combat power of the Seven Extremes was at the level of Raven, a top-tier Double Number Fixer.

No, that might be a bit hard to understand if I put it this way, so it’s better to express it in numbers.

Double Number Fixer refers to those ranked from 10th to 99th.

So, most of the Seven Extremes can be understood as being within the top 20 globally.

Considering that a powerful mage can unleash firepower equivalent to an entire battalion, one can see how a single organization could wage war against humanity.

‘If the blight of Akashmir is truly a thing… then Greg can’t handle it. Lightning isn’t something you can just take on with your body.’

To be honest, Greg was already a powerful person, strong enough that my worrying seemed laughable.

Orcs, with their strong vitality and robust bodies, could be compared to bears and lions even with bare hands.

But Greg was an upper-tier orc, a great warrior among orcs.

Without a weapon, he could rip apart a tank; calling him a walking biological weapon wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

However, if the opponent was a master of lightning magic, such advantages would quickly fade.

Maybe it was because of how dangerous lightning is, but even Greg wouldn’t be able to withstand such devastating power.

Even if by some stroke of luck he dodged an attack and managed to retreat, if the enemy cloaked themselves in lightning… then without a weapon, he’d have to bear the damage.

If Greg had a solid weapon that could withstand the power of lightning, maybe it’d be better, but considering how he always shies away from fights, he wouldn’t have something like that on him.

‘If Raven hasn’t been delayed, that’d be at least something… but I don’t know. I’ll just have to see how it goes.’

Suppressing my anxiety, I picked up the pace.

All I could do now was trust Raven somehow.

And when I finally reached my destination, where the noise was growing more deafening, I leaped forward before I could even think it through.

Before I could feel joy at seeing Greg again after a long time.

I saw a woman about to attack Greg, who was kneeling on one knee.

“Fry him to a crisp! Pulgur!”

“…!”

Skidding to a stop, I managed to get in front of Greg just in time.

Then, in that fleeting moment, a red flash pierced my retina.

So the enemy’s attack was lightning magic after all.

What a relief. If I hadn’t considered it beforehand, I might have been too slow to react.

Feeling a small wave of relief in my mind, I extended my telekinesis towards the ground.

I latched onto the solid soil beneath the stone floor, which was insulated from electric currents.

But even that might not be enough to absorb the opponent’s power.

So, I embedded some nearby metal into the side of the dirt wall that was as tall as a person.

Some of the lightning would divert off that metal, dispersing the force sufficiently!

And then, in the very next moment, the massive wall of dirt collided with the red lightning.

Kwah-pow!

Before my body could even react with nausea, the ground shook with a deafening sound.

The immense force tearing apart my grasp on the dirt sent me flying backward.

No matter how much stronger I had gotten, the gap between me and a real powerhouse still felt insurmountable.

It felt just like when I faced a Drakel, a crushing sense of helplessness weighing heavily on my shoulders.

But I absolutely didn’t want to lose.

No, I wouldn’t lose.

With a resolve nearly bordering on obsession, I held onto the telekinesis that was blocking the red lightning until the end.

If I let it break through effortlessly, I wouldn’t be able to face Greg.

‘They can’t get past this!’

Suuuh…

The seemingly endless moment began to move.

The strength trying to pierce the dirt wall I was holding finally did its job.

That meant one simple thing.

Somehow I managed to successfully defend against the opponent’s magic that was targeting Greg.

The moment I realized that, I released the dirt I had been holding tightly.

Then the wall of dirt that had risen to the height of a person collapsed, kicking up a tremendous cloud of dust.

“…Yuria?”

Before the thick dust could settle, I heard a surprisingly familiar voice.

It was a low voice that sounded blunt, devoid of emotion, yet somehow carried a hint of warmth.

I quickly tossed my cloth back and turned to look at Greg.

Hey, you liar. Since you didn’t come after a month, I came here myself.

I felt like that’s what I wanted to say if I could speak.

“How did you… no, this isn’t the time for that. Thank you. I owe my life to you.”

“….”

“Huh? Oh, it’s just a minor injury. You really don’t need to worry… Ugh, wait.”

As the dust began to settle, Greg’s appearance was truly tragic.

His clothes were practically rags, and beneath them were bandages that seemed to be aged.

Moreover, deep wounds could be seen on his shoulder and abdomen, bleeding as if they were fresh.

One arm looked as if it had been charred black due to a lightning strike.

How could someone be left in such a state?

Even more than pity, anger boiled up in me like a cauldron.

‘Akashmir…!’

I gritted my teeth and turned my body back again.

My gaze fell upon a woman with auburn hair, looking uncomfortable as she raised a hand to her eyes against the dust, staring at me.

Her appearance matched the Akashmir I knew.

Gray skin and long ears unmistakably revealed her as a dark elf.

Given that she had just cast powerful, red lightning magic, it was unnecessary to consider that she wasn’t Akashmir.

Well, considering her magic was powerful enough to scorch Greg’s arm, I couldn’t think of her being anything else.

“What’s this? I thought something had suddenly crashed in, but what’s with this kid? Judging by the lack of magical power, you don’t seem like a magician…”

Akashmir stared at me, seemingly contemplating whether to attack or not.

Perhaps she was wary, thinking that I had managed to block her lightning without any magical power.

Was she worried about doing something unexpected and opening a variable she didn’t anticipate?

Or maybe she was considering not causing harm while taking me alive, but in my position, that was definitely a good thing.

As someone who had just spent around 30% of my energy to block one attack, I could use all the time I could get to catch my breath.

‘Chances of winning… honestly, none.’

I was furious.

With that last attack, if Greg had taken the hit, he would either be dead or have a serious injury comparable to that.

Given that thought, it was only natural for rage to swell within me.

But aside from that emotion, considering the gap between us and her, it all felt utterly hopeless.

There were two barriers between Greg and Akashmir, and even just comparing me to Greg means there are three barriers between us.

Mathematically speaking, that put five barriers between Akashmir and me.

‘Blocking that attack was a miracle… or thinking about it, they must have been toying with the fallen opponent, and I just barely succeeded at blocking it. I might have narrowly avoided failure.’

It was a gap that could make one chuckle. Is this what it feels like to stand before a tank while holding a rifle?

If I hadn’t been seething from head to toe with anger, I doubt I would have been able to even stand under this pressure.

Yet for some reason, the confidence I had felt earlier was still standing tall.

Is this courage? Or is it just reckless arrogance? Realistically, I shouldn’t be able to win. It felt strange.

While I tilted my head slightly in confusion, unexpectedly, Greg spoke up.

“Yuria. Run away. There’s no reason for you to be involved here. Raven is fighting another enemy nearby. I’ll buy you some time. I still have the strength to withstand her magic. So… ugh!”

“….”

Ugh. What’s he talking about?

I used my telekinesis to shut Greg’s mouth, blocking his nonsense.

What does he think he’s doing, claiming he’ll buy time when he’s in this condition? He can barely even stand.

And let’s not forget that I’m the one who came to rescue him.

No matter how strong the enemy might be, if I only run away, I’ll gain nothing.

I’m determined to survive here and return to Night Haven with Greg.

‘That future… wait, what if there’s a way….’

Suddenly, an idea sparked in my mind.

This might be the only solution to resolve the current situation.

But I couldn’t be sure. It was merely a possibility among possibilities.

The only way to change reality was to attempt it.

“Ugh, enough already. I really hate kids. Just go get fried with him. Let’s wrap this troublesome business up. Pulgur!”

Akashmir muttered as she pointed her finger in my direction.

It seemed that her short patience had run out.

Surely, she must have full confidence that her true power would hit its target.

This time, a massive lightning bolt fell that I wouldn’t be able to block, no matter how hard I tried.

Kwah-boom!

The red death sentence that could tear everything apart landed on the earth.

And in that moment, a stillness fell as if the very air had ceased to exist.

 

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