Black Badger

"I don't really have anything specific to discuss."

When I said that calmly, the HR director smiled faintly.

"Everyone says that."

"No, I mean it."

I replied, flustered.

But Joo seemed to let that answer go in one ear and out the other. He asked me to spare him a moment, to greet the Choi siblings who had come to see my face and then head to his office.

Ami, who had been listening quietly, waved her hand dismissively.

"Then I'll go since I've seen your face!"

She lightly acknowledged my greeting and vanished in a flash.

The petite senior who had arrived in a hurry departed just as lightly.

The mentor didn't follow Ami and stayed in place.

"I'll take him after the consultation."

"Ah. So you didn't just come to greet us after all."

Joo smiled amiably but didn't suggest taking me away first.

Instead, he asked brightly.

"It might take a while, is that okay?"

A vein seemed to bulge on the mentor's forehead.

Even if it was Eric, I couldn't understand why Yoon disliked the HR director so much. From the first time I met the mentor, he had consistently shown disdain for Joo.

In any case, Yoon replied with a furrowed brow.

"It's late, so please wrap it up quickly."

Joo smiled faintly again.

*

But I really had nothing to say.

Even sitting alone with the HR director in his office, I couldn't find the words.

A consultation wouldn't change anything anyway.

But if I said I had nothing to say, he wouldn't let me go. So I needed to bring up something superficial. Saying that I couldn't grasp my identity because of forgotten memories from the past might work.

The moment I thought that, Joo, who was sipping burdock tea, chuckled.

"Badgers can get an assigned counselor anytime they want."

"Ah, I see."

"But with Hilde, I figured you couldn't open up in front of civilians."

Joo chuckled and offered me some refreshments.

Various baked goods gave off a sweet aroma.

I didn't refuse and picked up a gorgonzola financier to eat.

"Thank you for your consideration. But really, I don't have anything particular to say."

"I suppose so. You think nothing will change even if you open up."

My eyes widened.

Joo's eyes curved gently.

"You seem to believe you don't even have the time or right to suffer."

Who had he heard that from?

I sat there speechless for a while.

Most people had already left for the day. But the HR director, who was known for clocking out precisely at 4, sat right in front of me. Dressed impeccably in his suit, he smiled silently, waiting for my response.

This man, whose innate talent even Ye-hyeon couldn't alter.

"Can't you even allow yourself to open up and cry?"

The HR director said something peculiar.

"Pardon?"

"Even if I said I'd hold you here until you pour out your emotions, you couldn't do it?"

Joo sent me a sharp gaze.

Strangely, it felt like he was seeing right through me.

I quietly set down the financier I had been about to eat.

"Yes."

He wouldn't fall for a lie anyway.

"I can't."

"Since when?"

"...I'm not sure. I don't really know."

In truth, it had been since I heard the story of the sword from Ye-hyeon.

But that was exactly what I didn't want to open up about honestly. I couldn't, and I wanted to prevent the situation where my roundabout words reached Ye-hyeon's ears.

Joo seemed to guess my inner thoughts and smiled wryly.

"Then, when the time comes, will you tell me?"

"Yes. If the day comes when I'm ready..."

"After you've finished everything you set out to do, please tell me."

My eyes widened again.

Joo just smiled and said nothing more. He didn't explain how he had figured all this out.

This was starting to feel a bit scary.

"It's a way of saying, don't make any foolish decisions after finishing what you want to do."

But that wouldn't count as atonement.

"Dying will never atone for anything."

Joo added as if reading my thoughts.

I fell silent, mulling over his words.

I didn't think it was empty comfort. It was a valid point, perhaps. In a one-sided situation, I might have said the same.

But my case was special.

And because it was special, the answer came easily.

"Then I'll ask and decide."

Joo blinked.

This time, I smiled.

I was sorry I couldn't explain everything, but talking with him had helped sort out my thoughts even more.

"In the final moment, I'll do as the one who resents me decides."

They would most likely wish for my death with high probability.

The HR director observed me for a long while.

He didn't speak for a time long enough for his tea to cool completely. He didn't ask who the one resenting me was or why I would follow their words.

Instead, he eventually sighed upon seeing my bright smile.

It was a sigh tinged with a hint of resignation.

"Then, when that final moment comes, think of us, even if just for a moment."

That was what he said as he stood from his seat.

"I hope that changes your decision at the last second."

But Mr. HR Director, I had no choice.

*

Yoon was really waiting for my consultation to end.

I thought he would have gone ahead or returned to the lab.

The mentor turned to look at me as I emerged from the office and jerked his chin.

"If it's over, let's go."

"Back to the cabin?"

"No. The lab first."

After speaking concisely, he led me to the massive Research Wing.

I didn't ask any particular questions. I now knew well that answers would come once we arrived. Probing now wouldn't get me a satisfying response anyway.

The Research Wing was the same as always.

The scientists, seeing me visit after a long time, cheered.

"Mr. Hilde!"

Those whose faces I recognized or with whom I had exchanged greetings approached me and the mentor.

"Long time no see! How have you been? Have you greeted Martin?"

"Martin's busy helping another team with experiments right now."

"Are you taking on a quest!"

"You haven't taken the promotion exam yet."

"But the promotion exam is coming up soon, right?"

"How about trying a quest after passing the exam?"

They were always so energetic.

But the conversation didn't drag on. Because Yoon was busy, he waved his hand, telling them to return to their seats quickly.

I'd thought this before, but the lab scientists really listened to Yoon well.

The crowd that had gathered dispersed just as quickly.

Once the people scattered, the mentor dragged me deep into the lab.

"Can I enter here?"

I asked because he flung open a massive door that looked like a restricted area.

Yoon didn't even turn around.

"Only you can."

It was bright inside.

The room felt devoid of any presence. Whether they controlled the air density on purpose, the air was refreshingly clean. I stopped in place as I heard the heavy door close behind me.

The mentor didn't go any further in either.

Instead, he turned his head, met my gaze, and looked me over as if appraising me.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I brought back that head."

The impact hit hard.

The unexpected blow made it hard to breathe for a moment. I turned pale, forgetting how to inhale.

Only after Yoon slapped my back while watching my state could I draw in air.

I gasped like someone who had just been pulled from water.

"Want to see it?"

Yoon watched impassively as I caught my breath and asked.

"Sorry, but I can't give you a gentle burial."

I suppose so.

In fact, even asking like this was probably an act of kindness toward me. It was better than I had braced for.

Even so, I had to suppress the surging emotions for a while. My ragged breathing echoed in the cool room.

In the space where the faint hum of the air purifier could be heard.

Fortunately, I regained my composure faster than last time.

"...I'll see it. You haven't opened it yet, right?"

"Yeah. Ye-hyeon said to get your permission first."

"Ah. Thank you."

It was a considerate gesture.

"Please... let me see it."

Yoon nodded quietly.

With that, we went further in. We opened another door and entered. A small, white space that I assumed was a sterile room welcomed us.

There, I spotted my old comrade inside a transparent case.

The head was placed like a pristine plaster statue on display in a museum.

I slowly approached my comrade's head.

Yoon watched silently as I stroked the transparent case.

"Shall I finish the old tale?"

After gazing for a long time at my comrade's head, half-covered in wood, I said.

Yoon replied without moving.

"I was about to ask you to."

I let out a small laugh.

And without taking my eyes off the well-preserved head, I delved into the past.

A world that surfaced in faded colors. My homeland, where blessings and curses, myths and heroic tales had unfolded.

The ashen city.

The memory of crossing the city stained with ashes and kneeling before the World Tree.

"Those like me at tier 10 were called children of the World Tree."

My voice echoed in the pale space.

"Those freed from the curse of the Sacred Tree by the Blessing of the World Tree, who drew sustenance from others to display grotesquely immense power and healing power. The emperor of the greatest empire at the time gathered such people under him. They made for excellent forces."

That was where I first met Kyle, in the empire's training grounds.

He had joined the empire's Knight Order four months before I arrived. Because his tribe had knelt before the emperor's mighty army.

It was an event so tremendous that rumors spread to every corner of the world.

His tribe boasted exceptional mobility, and tales were passed down that only ashes remained in their wake, so merciless were they.

But Kyle's tribe eventually knelt before the might of a great nation.

The moment defeat was sealed, Kyle resolved to end his life with his own sword.

He had actually picked up his bloodied sword to do so, but changed his mind upon hearing the words of the empire's general who came to find him.

'Climb high for the sake of your tribesmen! So they can stand proudly within the empire!'

"That general said those words."

I took in the neatly severed neck.

It looked like it had been cut by a sword—perhaps Kudo's doing.

As I pondered while looking at the ruined face, Yoon's voice broke the silence.

"Why is half the face covered in wood?"

"It's the power received through Kyle. Children of the World Tree can transfer the nutrients they've absorbed from other life forms to another individual."

It was a technique I learned only after Kyle joined the Knight Order.

"If they receive power for too long, those without the consecration of the World Tree end up like this—their bodies overtaken by dead wood, withering away to death."

"So they die in the end? Then why do that?"

"It's about sacrificing their own life to inflict damage on the enemy."

It was the kind of choice he would make.

And... it must have been a situation where such a choice was warranted.

"He hadn't been well for a long time."

Because his arm had been severed by the emperor he served loyally.

This wasn't something Yoon needed to know, so I explained simply without delving into details.

He had just been unwell for a long time. So he must have made this decision. To die gloriously in battle at the end.

By burning away his remaining life.

"You might encounter more people like this in the future."

Since Kyle had begun to move.

"...If possible, I'd like to go outside the Core more often."

I didn't want to go through something like this again.

I no longer wanted to see kin dying by human hands. I placed my hand on the case and turned to Yoon.

The human who had said he would kill me himself the moment I betrayed them.

Yoon said,

"To do that, you need to pass the promotion exam."

"Yes. ...Yes? Ah, yes. It has to be that way.... Well, of course it does."

"You have only a few months left."

Yoon walked slowly toward me.

He approached, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me away from the case.

"Since it's come to this, let's start preparing for the exam you want."

No.

It wasn't what I wanted; it was just the natural...

...Anyway.

And so, my exam preparation began.