Black Badger

"Don't waste your energy unnecessarily and just sit down...."

Ricardo said lazily.

The tension between her and me loosened for a moment. Sophia's black eyes rolled to the side. I turned my head away from the scene and sat back down in my seat.

By the way, between Kal and Sophia, who was the senior? I had forgotten to ask beforehand.

While I lamented my own foolishness, Sophia took her seat.

Ami was the first to speak.

"Hello, Sophia."

No response.

"Have you heard who our squad leader is this time?"

As expected, no answer.

Instead, Sophia sat motionless, quietly staring at Ami.

The emotion in her gaze was far from friendly. This was the first time I'd seen a badger show such hostility toward Ami. Even Jason Tvain, who hated Ye-hyeon, had been lenient with Ami.

Well, the weight of the hatred was different, I supposed.

The uncomfortable silence was broken by Sophia's husky voice.

"I heard you talked about me to Jin Silver."

It was directed at me.

Was she saying she would completely ignore Ami's words?

I looked at the badger who sat in the head seat and smiled faintly.

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"But why did you accept me without thinking?"

It was a voice sharp as ice.

Ricardo rolled his eyes, Kal sighed, Ami blinked. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

I pretended not to notice the series of reactions and stretched my mouth into a long smile.

"Are you talking about me?"

"You must know that I loathe you and your superior's very existence."

That's right.

"Have you never considered that my gun might one day be pointed at you and your superior?"

Kal Dow's brow furrowed.

Ricardo raised an eyebrow and stared at Sophia. Ami, who had been watching her without looking away until now, wiped the expression from her face.

In the conference room, I was the only one smiling.

I calmly met her gaze.

"I've heard you've been serving exemplarily since that day."

"The HR director doesn't make up stories well."

"I was told you'd serve admirably on this mission too."

A faint wrinkle formed on Sophia's brow.

Her large, clear eyes narrowed. I pretended not to notice the change.

"As Jin said, you've served steadfastly all this time. I have no doubt you'll continue to do so, senior. I know it must be uncomfortable, but please take care of me from now on."

"I guess you didn't hear that I haven't had to serve alongside creatures or Ye-hyeon since that day."

A mocking response flew back.

"You must be the type who trusts too easily?"

"Sophia."

Kal called her name.

Sophia didn't respond. Beneath her long, dark eyebrows, black eyes burned fiercely.

A gaze that hated herself and everything else.

I met that gaze head-on and let out a small laugh.

What.

"It's not that I trust too easily; it's just the natural way of things."

I couldn't hide a faint irritation.

Surprised by my emotionally tinged voice, the seniors turned to look at me.

I ignored the stares flying my way.

"Isn't it obvious that a soldier on the battlefield must absolutely obey the superior's orders?"

Disobedience meant execution.

"Did we really need to start with such basics?"

If she was going to make a resolution, she shouldn't have done it halfway.

If she had wanted to kill Ye-hyeon with her own hands back then, she should have fired at that moment. If her gun was taken, she should have drawn her sword; if there was no sword, she should have thrown punches.

Or, after resigning from the Black Badger, she should have come back with a gun pointed.

But if she had chosen to suppress her hatred and stay in the Black Badger at that time, then obeying the highest superior's orders was only natural. Hiding the boiling hatred and showing her the back of her head was the proper course.

Hadn't she made that decision and resolution when she lowered her gun that day?

I smiled slyly as I took in the stiff seniors.

"You're soldiers, after all."

From the start, I hadn't liked how much she hated Ye-hyeon like this.

But I had planned to hold back and not bring it up. I didn't know exactly what had happened back then. I only had a rough idea of what order Ye-hyeon had given.

So, hold back, Hildebert Talev.

Hold it in....

"And did Ye-hyeon kill them? It was the things my kin dragged in that did the killing."

I couldn't hold back.

I threw patience aside.

"If you're going to point a gun, point it at me. Don't target innocent people."

"Innocent people?"

Her reflexive words carried grievance and anger.

"Innocent people? Who was it that pushed him into a zone where death was certain back then!"

"Was that order based on personal grudge? Was it an unreasonable command that no one could accept?"

When I sharply countered, Sophia bit her lip.

Blood beaded on her well-shaped lips. It was clear she knew the answer to the question I had thrown at her.

I knew there were many people like this.

There had been plenty around me too. But because the target was Ye-hyeon, I couldn't respond as calmly as usual.

If she was going to strike, she should go for the culprit, me.

To keep from getting hotter, I let out a long breath.

"Well. The supreme commander only moves with you during reclamation battles, so just endure it then."

If she rampaged, I would cut her throat without hesitation.

"You can point your gun at me whenever you feel like it. But as a soldier, don't commit insubordination."

"This guy's spouting nonsense again~...."

"Hilde! Why are you telling her she can point a gun at you!"

"It's just a figure of speech. Just words."

It really didn't matter to me.

"That's the explanation. We're seniors and juniors, after all."

Ami and Ricardo glared at me.

Only Kal Dow intently observed Sophia. It was clear that Kal was not junior to Sophia. They seemed like cohorts or Kal was senior.

It felt more like cohorts.

"Sorry, but I don't know how to turn away as coldly as you."

Her subdued voice drew attention.

I turned my gaze to her as I smoothed my piercing hair.

"I can't act like you, coldly betraying my kin and stabbing them in the back without hesitation."

There weren't many lackeys like me.

"So I kept my distance. Intentionally keeping distance was my best effort. But now this mission has made that effort futile."

"You just need to carry out the mission while holding back."

"Sorry, but the surging anger sometimes can't be controlled."

Sophia glared at me with burning eyes.

"The moment anger rises, my vision goes white."

"That's unfortunate."

It was sincere.

That was a classic symptom of PTSD. Her words weren't lies either. I genuinely pitied my senior who struggled in intense trauma.

But good intentions didn't excuse all actions.

Without making any particular expression, I stared at the empty space opposite.

Looking at some spot on the wall, I said.

"Try to direct that anger at me if possible, and be careful not to point anything at the supreme commander."

"I thought I explained that it's not up to me."

"Then there's no choice. I can only pray you don't lose your mind and get your throat slit."

Muttering like to myself, I lowered the hand that had been fixing my bangs.

I raised that hand and emotionlessly drew it across my throat.

"Thwack."

Execution was instantaneous.

The head lived for a few seconds after being severed. In the old world, someone had tried to confirm exactly how many seconds a severed head stayed alive. He had always been at the guillotine, counting how many times those about to be beheaded blinked.

I snapped back from useless thoughts to reality.

People seemed quite shocked by my reaction.

Ami muttered in a surprised voice.

"I've never seen Hilde get angry before."

Me?

I had gotten a bit irritated, but I didn't think I was angry.

I turned to Ami with a flustered face.

"I'm sorry. Did I raise my voice?"

"Yeah. But the opposite makes it scarier."

"Well.... A harmonious meeting seems out of reach already, so let's just get to what we need to do~."

Thankfully, Ricardo livened up the stalled atmosphere.

Leaning back long in his chair, he looked straight into my eyes.

"You all know what your main weapons are, right~?"

No one objected to his words.

*

The small sparring session ended quickly.

Lightly warming up improved my mood. With a clearer picture of expectations, my mind felt refreshed too. Now I had a rough gauge of Kal and Sophia's skills. They weren't as exceptional as Ricardo or Ami, but both were excellent soldiers.

I didn't have to worry about them getting swept up and dying helplessly in attacks from their kin.

I lightly placed the tip of my swinging sword on the training hall floor and smiled faintly.

"Good work."

Then I noticed people looking at me with surprised faces.

What now.

"Hilde!"

Ami, floating in the air with her boots on, hopped across the training hall.

"When did your skills improve like that!"

"Thank you."

I smiled and gave Ami a light high-five.

"It's about time."

It had been almost a year since I fell.

Even while living dazedly, I hadn't skipped training. I was an enthusiastic student, and Yoon was an efficient teacher. My rehabilitation progressed quickly.

Ami didn't know what kind of guy I used to be, so it was natural for her to be surprised.

"You're almost like Brother Ye-hyeon."

Since I taught Lee Seung-hyun, and Lee Seung-hyun taught Ye-hyeon, it was obvious.

But I couldn't say that much, so I just smiled at the surprised Ami.

Until the round-eyed senior shouted brightly.

"At this level, you could really take Sophia's head!"

Hm?

Why did she say it with a nuance like she thought it was a metaphor?

I was serious.

And wasn't that the common-sense response? Mutiny against a squad leader was bad enough, but Ye-hyeon was both squad leader and supreme superior. There was a degree to insubordination.

Why did my declaration of removing someone who lost reason and pointed a gun at the highest superior sound like a joke?

I looked down at Ami with puzzled eyes.

Then, in Ami's eyes, as she looked up at me, realization gradually dawned.

She gaped.

"Hilde."

This time, Kal called my name.

"I didn't know you had this level of skill."

"Thank you.... That's a compliment, right?"

"If an unexpected incident occurs, cut the gun arm."

The senior pointed his sword blade at me with pale blue eyes.

"With your skill, it seems plenty possible."

"Ah."

If Sophia had been a sword user, that's how I'd respond.

I'd sever the wrist to drop the hand holding the sword. But a gun was too fast. The moment the trigger was pulled, it was usually over. Even at my peak, I couldn't slice a flying bullet mid-air.

I could brute-force it with a sword slash, though.

But I didn't like that all this was even being discussed.

I glanced at Ricardo, who smirked crookedly at me, and Sophia, who stood eerily, scrutinizing me.

Then I focused my gaze on Sophia.

"Have you ever participated in a reclamation battle?"

"Of course."

"You know the dangers better than I do."

Her eyes narrowed.

Sophia examined my eyes with shadowed pupils under her eyelashes.

I smiled, letting the wary gaze slide off.

"During the reclamation battle, just think about the ultimate goal of the reclamation battle. Then you won't even notice the superior's presence."

"How many times do I have to explain that it's not up to me?"

"Are you saying you'll blind yourself with personal emotions and put the entire Center Core at risk?"

I hated people with such half-hearted resolve.

I hadn't used to despise them this much. Probably a twisted sentiment of 'I'm managing it, so why can't you' mixed with self-loathing projected onto her.

Anyway, this senior kept making me uncomfortable.

"With such half-hearted resolve, neither revenge nor salvation will succeed."

Click.

The gun barrel was pointed at me.

At the same time, the tip of my sword touched the barrel.

The wind I stirred by moving quickly whipped past Sophia's hair.

Tension filled the sparring room in an instant.

I stretched my mouth long as I looked at the opponent who had tensed up.

"Reclamation battle."

The fight to reclaim lost land on the day the closed sky opened.

"Please take care of me, senior."

Sophia had been aiming at me for a long time.