Black Badger

I didn't really want to see such a private side of him.

Snapping out of my shock, I quickly turned away.

An impulse to get out of the area gripped me. I started walking briskly wherever my feet took me.

Until my phone rang.

"Shu."

[Hilde. Busy? I got the game from the locker.]

Good.

I'd agreed to lend the game to Shu for about three days. It had been hers to begin with, so it made sense to give it back when she needed it. Our schedules hadn't aligned, so I'd left it in the badger locker with the password, and it looked like she'd picked it up fine.

After saying it was a relief, I lowered my voice.

The scene I'd just witnessed had been pretty shocking, and I wanted to ask someone about it.

"But does Senior Kudo have any kids?"

A puzzled sound came from the other end of the line.

[No, he doesn't.]

"Huh? He doesn't?"

[I heard his blood family is all gone now.]

My senior explained and then casually asked back.

[Why?]

I objectively described what I'd seen.

I didn't mention the part about taking leave for an anniversary; I just said I'd seen him at a restaurant smiling softly at some woman. That much seemed okay to share.

Shu didn't sound surprised; instead, she just went, "Ah," like she got it.

[Isn't she his girlfriend?]

The response was shocking.

[There are occasional sightings of him dating a blonde woman.]

Dating?

But he'd said it was probably an anniversary.

Would he really take leave on an anniversary just to go on a date with his girlfriend?

The conflicting information only added to my confusion. With the phone pressed to my ear, I walked on, my face showing my bewilderment.

He didn't seem like the type with such odd tastes....

It felt like some untrue info was mixed in there.

I wasn't planning to dig deeper.

I thanked her and was about to end the call, promising to talk later, when Shu continued.

[But it's better not to bring up marriage with Senior Kudo.]

"Huh?"

I hadn't mentioned anything about an anniversary—how did she know?

I was about to ask, but her next words cleared up my doubts.

[You know he lost his wife during the war, right?]

"Ah.... No, I just guessed."

[He still wears that wedding ring from back then. Richard Senior once nagged him to remove all accessories before crossing a portal.]

Senior Richard could be pretty strict.

[But Senior Kudo must have been stubborn about it.]

"Ah, he didn't want to take it off?"

[Yeah. He held out till the end, so an angry Richard Senior said something like, 'It's not just your family that died.']

My goodness.

My mouth dropped open. I stopped dead in the street, forgetting to keep walking.

Passersby gave me curious looks as they went by.

It was lunchtime, when office workers were pouring out.

My senior explained matter-of-factly.

[That's why I heard Senior Kudo committed insubordination.]

"He hit him?"

[Big time.]

That sounded about right.

[He totally lost it and beat Richard Senior to a pulp. If the other seniors there hadn't jumped in to stop him, it could've been bad.]

"Oh.... So what happened after?"

[One month suspension. Richard Senior admitted his fault, and Senior Kudo bowed his head in apology to the high command, so it wrapped up okay.]

"To the commander?"

[Yeah. Ska Aide... he wasn't an aide back then, but anyway, Ska Aide and Senior Sordi dragged Senior Kudo along, and the three of them lined up to bow and apologize to Commander Ye-hyeon.]

If Richard had forgiven him, was that really necessary?

For a moment, I was puzzled, but then I found an explanation that made sense.

"Richard Senior must have been the squad leader at the time."

[Right. So it was classified as insubordination during a mission, which could've been a big issue if they'd pursued it.]

I let out a small chuckle.

I definitely shouldn't bring up 'I saw you at lunch yesterday' or anything during tomorrow's night patrol. He seemed more hot-tempered than I thought. And he had quite a few landmines to step on.

I thanked her for the useful info and wrapped up the call with Shu.

*

After hanging up, Shu clutched the game pack carefully.

She pocketed her phone and started down the hallway. She couldn't wait to get home and boot up the game. The newly discovered easter egg was supposed to be pretty intriguing, and she was excited.

The easter eggs in From E had always been minor things.

Shaking the frame on the third floor of High Castle would make the figure inside's eyes move, or setting the grandfather clock in High Castle right would reveal a hidden attic with an item. Little points like that. But the community was buzzing that this new one felt different. And it seemed they hadn't even fully solved it yet.

She thought she should try it first and tell Hilde.

Lost in thought as she walked the hallway, she noticed a commotion coming from the opposite direction.

She blinked at the men filling the corridor as they approached.

The thick smell of dirt and sweat hit her.

"Hey, isn't that the hoverboard kid!"

The badgers, who looked like they'd just returned through a portal, came over.

It was an all-male group. They walked with disheveled uniforms. Their bodies were covered in dust and dirt as they traversed the not-so-narrow hallway.

Shu now knew all their names.

Dante, Henry, Cheon Lin, Carsten.

Ricardo Sordi.

She bowed her head to the approaching seniors.

"Where you headed? Patrol?"

"No. It's my day off today, so...."

"Going to play games, huh!"

As she responded to Dante's question, Cheon Lin pointed at the game pack in her hand.

"Right?"

"Yeah. I'm heading back to play it."

"What game is it? Some new release?"

Shu slowly shook her head.

She knew Cheon Lin played games. They were different from what she liked, but they'd chat about them sometimes.

So she casually explained it was From E.

After mentioning the genre, she added,

"Hilde's in it."

The men, who had stopped in the hallway, all shot her puzzled looks.

But Shu didn't elaborate further. Instead of explaining, she pulled out her phone, searched for the game, and showed them screenshots.

Being under 160 cm, even reaching up didn't bring her eyes level with theirs.

They bent down, craning their necks.

Soon, their eyes widened.

"What's this?"

Dante took the phone from Shu's hand.

"It looks exactly like that rookie? Wow, that kid must be obsessed with this game?"

"Hey, even the name's the same!"

"How is this possible?"

Dante, Henry, and Cheon Lin flipped through the screenshots, bursting into laughter.

Carsten stared down at Shu with wide eyes.

"When was this game released?"

"Before the Second War, I think."

"Huh? So it's older than that white-haired rookie?"

Carsten shoved Henry aside and peered at the phone.

"Does that mean the rookie modeled himself after this character?"

"No. Hilde was super surprised when he saw the game too."

Shu jumped in to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings.

"He didn't know something like this existed. So maybe his parents named him after it."

The group fell silent, mulling over her words.

The hallway carried the dry scent of the training grounds.

Henry broke the silence, frowning as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Named him after a character because of the gray hair."

A hint of reproach flickered in his furrowed eyes.

"With tanned skin and gray hair, the color matches.... If that's the case, isn't that too much from the parents? Though... it's kinda harsh to say that about people who aren't around anymore."

"Aren't they around?"

"He's from an orphanage, I think."

"But how's even the eye color the same?"

"Other way around, maybe? He has tanned skin and yellow eyes, so they took the character's name from that."

"Then the white hair's dyed?"

The four men huddled over Shu's phone, faces practically glued to it as they talked. Shu just looked up at them quietly.

She'd been shocked too when she first saw Hilde, so she understood their reactions. She watched impassively as the seniors chattered among themselves.

But one senior's reaction was off.

Ricardo stood silently beside the noisy group, wearing a strange expression.

What was that look?

It was hard to read his thoughts. Maybe he was recalling his first meeting with Hilde. As the green-eyed senior, he'd been there with her when Hilde first appeared.

They'd only done one mission together back then, and he was still a tough person to figure out.

Lost in such thoughts, Dante suddenly poked his head toward her.

"Your hair's dyed, right?"

Shu blinked her blue eyes.

"Yes."

"Why always this two-tone look? Trying to look like a game character?"

"Not root touch-up?"

"It's two-tone."

"This kid looks like she stepped out of a game too. You did it on purpose, right?"

"Yes."

"What's this style called? There's some fashion term for it, right?"

"I know. Fairy fashion."

"Quit saying dumb shit, you idiots~."

When Henry closed in to join the conversation, Ricardo elbowed Henry and Dante aside.

Cheon Lin and Carsten looked up from the phone.

Ricardo snatched Shu's phone from their hands.

"Go change.... You guys stink~."

The green-eyed senior handed the phone back to Shu while scolding the men. They looked sheepish and brushed off their uniforms.

Until Dante went, "Ah," like he'd remembered something.

"There's a soccer match today, right?"

Realization dawned on the others' faces.

Shu watched as the seniors hurried past her and disappeared down the hallway. They were probably rushing to catch the game. Shouting excitedly about beer and snacks, it seemed they planned to enjoy their day off to the fullest.

Beer sounded good.

Thinking that, she started to leave too, but Ricardo blocked her way.

"Diamond~."

"Yes."

The badger who hadn't followed the others to the end of the hall smiled brightly.

Shu looked at his smile without surprise. For some reason, she'd expected him to approach her like this.

Ricardo lazily shoved his hands in his pockets.

His gaze fixed on the game pack in her hand.

"Can you lend me that game later~?"

As expected.

She wasn't surprised. She wasn't offended either, but she didn't agree right away. She had to return it to Hilde in three days.

Plus, she had another idea.

Shu lowered her voice a bit.

"Do you play games, Senior?"

"Hm? Nah~.... Not really~. I'm bad at them~."

"Then want to watch me play this one now?"

Surprise flickered in Ricardo's green eyes.

"I'm going to play it right away—want to watch from the side?"

*

The week passed without incident.

And I was in high spirits.

These noodles were so damn good.

As soon as the mission ended, I rushed to the usual noodle shop and ordered the basic menu. I was so looking forward to eating alone for dinner that I'd been glancing at the clock thirty minutes before wrap-up.

The chef's touch was divine. A genius.

Naturally, I ignored the chili pork or whatever toppings. The basic was delicious enough—why add extras?

The basic noodles came out quick, and the familiar aroma moved me.

I ate the noodles happily.

So happy I briefly forgot reality.

Until my phone buzzed in the pocket of my Black Badger uniform.

[Creature appearance in Sector A, Zone 17.]

Huh?

[Creature appearance in Sector A, Zone 17.] 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

That's my patrol area.

[Badger dispatch recommended for Zone 17.]

[Tier 4 creature. 'Ashen Cloak']