I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad-Chapter 121: There’s Emotion in the Fixer Exam (4)

"Treasure hunt?"

"Are you saying there's a treasure hidden somewhere in Hydeout?"

"To suddenly tell us to find a treasure without any explanation...?"

Murmurs spread.

It was probably due to Mira Valentina, the gourmet fixer, suddenly declaring a treasure hunt. The test-takers, who had been a bit excited meeting such a famous fixer, were now showing signs of confusion.

Well, thinking about it, maybe this reaction wasn't so strange. They had come for a serious exam, and now, out of nowhere, they were being told the first task was a treasure hunt. For the fixer hopefuls who had paid such an expensive exam fee, it probably felt like some wild nonsense.

Most likely, they had been preparing for the fixer exam for at least half a year, and in some cases, it had been years. It would be maddening if all their hard work for so long was suddenly thrown away like this.

But no matter what others thought, for me, this was quite good news. This was exactly like the fixer exam I had seen in the original.

"In the original, Alice and David also took the fixer exam as part of the New Year's episode. I had a feeling this would come up, so I meticulously prepared... but I never expected it to be exactly the same."

Well, considering the setting of the fixer exam, examiners were chosen almost half a year in advance. Even if the butterfly effect had occurred because of me, the exam content probably wouldn't have changed that easily.

So, looking at it, this was almost a guaranteed victory. The answers to the exam were already known, and all I had to do was get in the first 100. Unless a bolt of lightning struck me out of nowhere, there was no way I could fail.

Please let the second and third tasks be just like the original! Then Raven's plan to bring down the egos would go smoothly!

As I spun my happiness circuits in my mind, Mira tapped the watch on her wrist with a finger and spoke casually.

"The first task will start immediately. The task ends when the first 100 people are done or when three hours pass, at 12 o'clock. Detailed information about the task has been sent to your watches, so please check them. Good luck, everyone."

"Ugh... is this for real...?"

"Damn! I’m going first!"

"Me too! No time to waste!"

Perhaps because she pushed forward without giving anyone a chance to respond, the test-takers, who had been hesitating, scattered in all directions to search for the treasure.

It was well known that the tasks in the fixer exam were determined by the examiner’s discretion. Since Mira was the examiner, they had no choice but to follow her instructions.

The good thing was that the test was being held in a large, empty field with nothing around. There were only a few hundred people gathered, so there was no risk of being obstructed in moving around.

As the candidates rushed off without checking the task details, Alice, who was unlike the others and was taking a moment to look at the task information, tilted her head and spoke.

"Umm... something seems off."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the task the examiner sent us. It lists the things that will disqualify us in detail, but when it comes to the treasure, it’s vague and unclear. If we find a treasure, how will we even know if it’s the real one?"

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The watch, a wristwatch-type device that displayed holograms when tapped, displayed the task details. While the disqualification clauses were explicitly detailed, the information on the treasure was almost non-existent.

For example, if you caused another candidate’s death, you’d be disqualified and face criminal charges. If you used unauthorized communication devices or received help from outsiders, you’d be disqualified. If you tampered with or disabled the tracking function of the watch, you’d be disqualified.

But when it came to the first task, the treasure hunt, all it said was that the treasure was hidden somewhere in Hydeout. There was no information on what shape or value the treasure had, making it impossible to know anything about it. Without clear details, just wandering around seemed like a fool’s errand.

"Definitely, we need to think about this. A treasure could be something valuable to one person, but just an old trinket to another. Maybe figuring out what the treasure is will be part of the task itself."

"Ugh... so if we find a precious diamond somewhere in Hydeout, and the examiner says it’s not the treasure, we get disqualified? This is going to be tough."

Alice and David murmured in contemplation, deep in thought. Then, suddenly, Alice scratched her head awkwardly and asked with a somewhat hesitant smile.

"Oh, by the way, I didn’t notice before, but are we supposed to cooperate like this? I thought the fixer exam was supposed to be an individual challenge..."

"Well, the task doesn’t have any restrictions on candidates cooperating, so it should be fine for us to team up, at least for now, right?"

"Well... yeah, if there's only one treasure, teaming up wouldn't help, so it’s probably better to cooperate! It looks like other people have grouped up too."

Hehe, Ulia. I’ll definitely help you pass the first task!

Alice struck a fighting pose with me by her side, full of enthusiasm.

Well, truthfully, I didn’t need much help. But I really appreciated her thinking of me. In exchange, I figured I might as well help out since the sooner we completed the task, the better. I might contribute a little.

"...?"

"Hmm? What’s going on, Ulia?"

"...!"

"Uh, okay? Follow me?"

I asked Alice, who had me trapped in her arms, to let me go, and then, gently pulling her arm, I moved outside the field.

I would wait here. Once you find the treasure, come back.

Maybe it was because Mira had started at the starting point when she made her announcement, but the outer edges of the field had turned into a chaotic scene with the test-takers running around in all directions.

"Dig, dig, dig, dig..."

"Is this it? Is this it? Is this it?"

"Of course, the greatest treasure in the world is the sun! So, the real answer is not to take anything at all! Hey, are you all listening?"

Test-takers frantically dug up the ground, some biting anything they could find, others acting like cult leaders, grabbing random people and presenting their theories. The fact that nobody knew what the treasure was only made the situation even more chaotic.

The good thing was that violent acts were penalized, so no bloodshed occurred, and everyone was just going about their business recklessly.

Of course, somewhere in a hidden corner, some candidates might have been pricked by anesthetic needles or tricked into being confined to prevent them from moving. Some might have been tricked into disabling their watches to reduce the competition.

The exam staff wouldn't interfere with these minor issues. After all, anyone who signed up for the fixer exam knew they might have to deal with such obstacles.

"Yeah, I should speedrun this before the meddling fools can catch up."

I looked back at Alice and then paused, scanning the surroundings. As soon as something caught my eye, I pointed at it and directed Alice’s attention there.

"Hmm? What is that... huh? Is that... a squirrel?"

"Hmm, judging by the three-split tail, it seems to be a creature from another world. I can’t search it, so I’m not sure what species it is."

"Oh, that’s a lightning squirrel. Its tail’s special form means that if it wags it strongly, thunder sounds. I’ve heard it’s delicious, but I’ve never tried it myself."

"Ah, I see... huh?"

Alice, nodding in curiosity, suddenly opened her eyes wide and turned her head. I followed her gaze, and there was an impressive woman in the distance.

A beautiful woman with blonde, rolling hair that reminded me of a Renaissance noble. Her dress, fit for a noble’s banquet, seemed entirely out of place for the current setting.

I couldn't believe she was about to jump into the story at this timing. I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at the appearance of a character from the original story that had been subtly on my mind since earlier.

But to Alice and David, she was just another mysterious candidate. Both of them eyed her with some suspicion and cautiously asked her:

"Who are you?"

"Me? Ah, call me Lisa. I may look like this, but I actually know a thing or two. I overheard your interesting conversation, so I couldn't help but join in."

"Uhm... Is that so?"

The woman, introducing herself as Lisa, gracefully lifted her skirt and curtsied in a noble-like manner.

Perhaps because of her excessive individuality and sudden intrusion, Alice gave a somewhat awkward smile, unsure how to respond to her.

Then, subtly moving to cover me, she spoke to Lisa in the most polite manner possible.

"Thank you for telling us. But we’re competitors. We’d appreciate it if you could keep your distance."

"Oh, what a shame. You two have such great spirit, I was hoping to join you, but I guess that’s not going to happen after all."

"..."

She was an interesting person. She didn’t hide her intentions at all.

But since she was kind, there was no real need to be wary of /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ her.

Knowing Lisa’s character from the original, I tugged on Alice’s sleeve and gestured as if to say it was fine. Then, I quickly turned and took a biscuit out of my pocket, ready to lure the lightning squirrel nearby.

This biscuit was the favorite flavor of the lightning squirrels. A squirrel raised by humans would never turn it down.

"...!"

"Ah, the squirrel... came in?"

"Up close, it’s pretty cute."

"The fur's shiny, so it looks like a squirrel raised by humans."

Raised by humans?

As Alice stared at the lightning squirrel, she frowned slightly. Then, she quickly glanced around, seemingly realizing the odd feeling, and spoke with wide eyes:

"Come to think of it... there are strangely a lot of animals here, right? Especially animals from other worlds..."

It seemed that Alice had already figured out the secret of the first task. I was so proud of her.