Black Badger

"It's not just that it hasn't eased up."

I replied gloomily.

Leaning against the wall, I briefly explained what had happened yesterday. I glossed over any details that might need to be hidden in case there were listening ears.

In any case, Ami understood without issue.

The underground space carried a unique damp smell.

My senior stayed silent until I finished explaining.

Then, once I was done, she spoke carefully.

[We'll have to wait for Rick's head to cool down.]

"It doesn't seem like it will. And this reaction is only natural. Even I would..."

[I haven't heard your full side yet.]

Ami cut me off firmly.

[The fact that you betrayed them and sided with humans probably isn't sinking in for him right now.]

"Well... In any case, the fact that we were the seeds of tragedy hasn't changed. And I don't regret coming here, nor do I intend to pretend that I do."

[Because you didn't come here with any malice.]

Ami said in a voice laced with conviction.

[You just wanted to survive.]

It wasn't wrong.

But that didn't erase my sins. Gazing depressedly at the floor, I smiled bitterly, my eyes fixed on my shoes.

There were some things in the world that couldn't be undone.

Matters of life and death.

"Someone who's lost their family has the right to resent everything that caused it."

I closed my eyes and smiled.

"How could I possibly dare to ask for forgiveness?"

Hadn't I done the same?

Hadn't I failed to forgive? I had resented those who burned the temple and took the priests' lives, the military that couldn't stop them, the lord, the king, the gods. And more than all that combined, I had resented myself for being so powerless in the face of the disaster. The burning emotions from back then were still vivid, as if I could touch them.

That's why I couldn't beg my senior for anything.

Because I could at least half imagine the feelings she had in front of that collapsed building.

Because I'd seen with my own eyes that those old wounds hadn't healed.

Ami spoke from the other end of the phone.

[I won't go to Rick and tell him to understand your situation or whatever.]

Her voice had lost its usual playfulness.

[But you don't need to carry that death on your shoulders. And I don't think Ricardo will hate you forever.]

"He probably doesn't even want to see my face right now."

[The timing was pretty bad, too.]

My senior muttered like she was talking to herself.

[Yesterday was probably the Fallen Comrade Anniversary.]

Ah, damn.

That's why she had dressed so sharply in a suit. When I asked where she'd been, she didn't answer. She usually liked suits, but I'd never seen her in such a black one.

I'd scratched at her wounds.

My mood plummeted to the bottom.

Ami spoke softly, as if she could sense it even over the phone.

[It's not your fault.]

"I must have hurt her."

[It probably went both ways.]

A neutral voice came through.

[You got hurt too, Hilde. Stop blaming yourself. What did you do wrong?]

I...

My faults...

The moment I bit my lip, something touched my ribcage.

What?

I blinked and looked down at my chest.

A long object entered my view.

The hand that held the object.

I immediately grasped the situation.

The moment I did, my body tensed up rigidly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Wow.

"Yoon."

"Why so tense?"

The tip of a sword in its scabbard was touching my chest.

It was the sword Yoon was holding. The one that was meant for me. My mentor had been carrying a fairly large sword, wrapped twice in cloth so even the scabbard wasn't visible.

But I was more focused on the sword tip against my chest than the greatsword.

Was this guy actually insane?

"Why are you doing this? Take it. Ah, I heard why you're so down today."

[Are you with your brother?]

"You really have bad taste in hobbies."

Trapped between the wall and the sword, I looked at Yoon.

He raised one eyebrow as if to say what was that supposed to mean. In truth, he wasn't stabbing me painfully. He was just lightly pressing the sword tip against my chest.

Most people would think it was just lighthearted joking.

But I knew where the sword tip was aimed.

"If you thrust it in like that, you could pierce the heart right behind the sternum and the front ends of the ribs."

As I spoke slowly, Yoon gave a faint smile.

"You've faced a humanoid creature like Ray, so why do you know about a spot like this?"

"I've got a graduation exam to pass."

Yoon made a strange noise.

"You're finally becoming useful. You can't graduate without a proper spar."

"I passed the promotion exam."

"I can't let you graduate if you can't even cut the hem of my clothes."

Yoon flipped the sword around and offered me the hilt.

A shortsword that fit perfectly in my hand.

As I carefully took it, the man then held out the longsword as well.

Once his hands were empty, he turned without hesitation.

"Let's go to the training hall."

He easily ignored Ami shouting, "Brother! Hilde's not in good shape right now!"

He bounded up the stairs and vanished from sight.

I sensed his presence moving away without waiting.

Sensing it, I let out a sigh of resignation.

"I guess I have to go. Thanks for calling, Ami."

[Yeah. Don't be too depressed.]

Ami comforted me to the end.

[I'll tell the HR Director for you.]

Thanks. It hurt too much to explain it myself.

We might have to reform the team...

I gave a dejected thanks and hung up.

*

I arrived at the training hall.

It was still a cool and quiet place. Not one with good memories.

The mentor who dragged me to this spacious area didn't waste time on the way here, true to form. He explained the official badger duties. From then on, Tom, Hesi, and I would live according to the schedule.

The schedule was largely divided into two.

Schedules outside the core and inside the core.

Badgers called the outside-core schedule "Reclamation" and the inside-core schedule "patrol."

The proportion of Reclamation and patrol varied by the badger's tendencies.

Those addicted to the freedom outside the core coordinated with HR to fill their schedules with Reclamation duties. They went out every time and stayed out long. Some barely entered the core at all, only coming in when they needed to report.

Reclamation duties were usually done in teams.

But skilled ones often moved solo.

The duties were very diverse. They ranged from basic supply missions to maintaining safehouses, installing portal machines, building and repairing infrastructure like power, communications, railroads, exterminating packs of creatures, and more.

Mission durations varied wildly by task, and pay did too.

It was said that if you studied, there was endless studying to do for duties. If you got certifications useful for duties, your pay went up accordingly.

"Just out of curiosity, what's the certification that pays the most?"

"Portal device-related certifications give the highest bonuses."

Yoon explained.

"But those missions aren't assigned often."

Anyway, the core of Reclamation duties was freedom.

Freedom, but without enjoying the benefits of civilization.

Patrol duties were the opposite.

They involved working within civilization, but not as free as Reclamation. Patrols operated in partner systems. It meant missions patrolling assigned areas according to timetables. There was a basic four-shift rotation, but schedules could flex based on creature appearances.

"You."

Yoon had me stand in place, then walked to the opposite side.

"You'll start with patrol duties."

"Ah."

Did the HR Director foresee this situation?

Or was it coincidence matching some other reason.

Holding two swords, I watched my opponent stop.

The place where I'd once faced mushrooms.

In that cool space, Yoon stood there now instead of mushrooms.

"It's got nothing to do with Sordi."

As if reading my thoughts, the man said flatly.

I set the shortsword aside and unwrapped the cloth from the longsword.

After removing the cloth, I prepared to draw the sword.

I flipped the sword this way and that, muttering.

"Why did patrol duty get assigned to me first? I thought you said patrol requires seniority."

"It means you have the skill for it."

"I figured since you formed a Task Force, we'd head out right away."

"Where to?"

Yoon asked me as I inspected the hefty blade.

"Where outside? Just out?"

"...Well, yeah. Roughly toward where I sense kin."

It was a good sword.

It was similar in width and weight to the one I brought. It seemed to have been made copying the sword Ye-hyeon had. It looked as if it had been stored unused for a while. Who had made a sword like this?

I was curious, but anyway, it was good to have a usable one now.

If I went to the obsidian in the cabin, it could be even better.

I drew the sword and placed the tip on the floor.

Then I raised my head.

"I can't just let a bomb like you loose outside recklessly."

He had a neat face.

My mentor observed me in his unchanged stance.

Instead of answering, I gave a bitter smile.

"After scouting the outside situation, you'll get orders to go out at an appropriate time."

"Yes. Understood."

"Your first patrol partner is Jonathan Kudo."

Ugh.

"I heard it starts in two days; he'll contact you on his own."

Why him of all people.

I'd heard they paired new recruits with skilled partners. But there were plenty of skilled ones.

I blinked at the uncomfortable fact.

It wasn't that I disliked him.

It was just that Kudo was friends with Ricardo.

He already had no interest in me, but this would make working together even more awkward. I'd see Ricardo's anger, so he wouldn't have a good impression of me.

The timing was...

......

...Timing?

Boom!

The sword slash I reflexively launched collided with the training hall wall and scattered.

I leaped back and took a stance for a second slash.

To counter the attack.

More precisely, to counter Yoon, who was emitting sharp killing intent.

Yoon held a shortsword in his right hand.

The sword reflected the light sharply.

"This is the final lesson."

The man chuckled lowly.

"No need to hold back now."

Killing intent that choked the breath.

A stance ready to charge at any moment.

A mad bastard with no holds barred.

From the killing intent he exuded, people would think this was hunting, not a lesson.

The moment I thought that, Yoon vanished from my sight.