Black Badger

She looked better than expected.

Relieved, I glanced at my senior. Ska and Ricardo, who had been sitting in chairs, turned to look at us, and Yehyeon—who had been leaning against the drawer—also lifted his head.

None of their faces looked particularly grim.

I let out a quiet breath of relief.

“How’s your condition? Where were you stabbed?”

I hurried inside and looked down at Ami.

Ami looked up at me and grinned brightly.

“My side!”

What?

My eyes widened, and Yun, following behind me, let out a quiet “Huh.”

He was holding a Java Chip Frappuccino.

The sight of a cold, black-suited man—so dark he seemed to swallow even the light—holding a Frappuccino was absurdly funny.

My instructor wore an expression that said, “Unbelievable,” as he came to stand beside me.

“You were stabbed in the side?”

“Yeah. But none of the important organs got hit.”

“And you still told me to buy this?”

Ami /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ smiled radiantly and spread her arms wide.

“My digestive system’s fine, so I can still drink it, right?”

“No.”

Yehyeon and Ska answered at the same time.

Ami’s round eyes drooped in dejection.

Yun didn’t even smooth out the faint furrow between his brows as he looked over at Yehyeon.

“You drink it.”

Yehyeon reflexively accepted the Frappuccino.

He looked down at it with a helpless face, as if wondering what he was supposed to do with it, which made me laugh. Ami’s muttered, “Yehyeon oppa, drink it for me instead...” made it even funnier.

The situation itself wasn’t funny, though.

Who stabbed her?

Judging by her being hospitalized, the blade must’ve been coated with Green Dream. That meant the attacker specifically targeted Ami.

When I saw the message saying “Ami’s been stabbed,” I’d slammed the accelerator without a second thought. I didn’t know the details.

Yun had his hands in his pockets, staring down at Ami.

“Explain.”

“Got it~.”

Ami explained the situation.

While receiving the Frappuccino, someone hidden in the crowd approached and stabbed her in the side. She hadn’t felt their approach or retreat. That meant they were skilled. She insisted they had intentionally avoided hitting vital organs—deliberate precision.

Yun rubbed his temples as he listened to his sister.

When she finished, silence fell.

A silence so heavy everyone in the room hesitated to breathe.

Then Yun let out a long, deep sigh.

“You got stabbed because you were too busy staring at your Frappuccino?”

“Hey!”

Ami bristled.

“That’s not it!”

“Sure it isn’t.”

He looked like he was suppressing the urge to flick her forehead.

“It is!”

“It’s not! I haven’t even told you everything yet!”

She raised her voice, ready to argue—but then suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Her round eyes rolled.

Hm?

“Hilde, what happened to your clothes?”

I looked down.

I brushed the blood and dust off my black suit with one hand.

“My body’s fine, don’t worry. Please finish your story.”

“Are you sure you’re not hurt? There’s a hole—it looks like something pierced through.”

“I’m sure.”

I swiftly took off my jacket.

“See? No injuries. So don’t worry, just continue.”

“You’re not hiding one, right?”

“I’m really not. And those holes—Yun made them.”

“Ah.”

Everyone accepted that explanation without question.

I could feel the gazes of the higher-ups and Ricardo soften.

No one seemed inclined to ask further.

The sudden change was almost funny, but I couldn’t exactly enjoy it.

There was something more important right now.

I looked at Ami, who nodded as if she understood something.

She met my gaze carefully.

“...Don’t be too shocked, okay?”

What was that supposed to mean?

A chill ran down my spine. Something was wrong—I could feel it.

I looked from Ami to the others who had arrived before me.

“Hilde.”

Ska suddenly stood up and grabbed my shoulder.

“Sit.”

“Sir? I’m really fine, Aide-de-Camp.”

“You look it, but sit anyway.”

He pulled me down into the chair he had been sitting in.

The gesture only deepened my unease. Yun raised an eyebrow, silently asking what was going on.

Why?

As I grew more anxious, Ami hesitated, then began to speak.

When the explanation ended, silence followed.

A dense, heavy silence. I sat there staring at the floor, my mouth shut for a long while.

My ears rang. It felt like sitting inside a plane as it took off.

What the hell...

“Don’t blame yourself.”

Ska said quietly.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah. And I think the culprit this time is the same person who kidnapped Hilde.”

That was Ami’s claim.

I straightened. The hospital room, past midnight, was heavy with tension.

Only Yun was looking at Ami; Ricardo, Ska, and Yehyeon were all watching me.

Ami, too, stared at me with those round eyes.

“Right, Hilde? You thought so too, didn’t you?”

“...Pardon?”

“You didn’t feel them approaching either, right?”

Ah.

I nodded.

“That’s true, but...”

“And you were just walking down the street that time, weren’t you?”

“Yes. I was heading to the grocery store to buy dinner.”

“See!”

Ami turned triumphantly to Yun.

He raised one eyebrow.

Her youthful defiance didn’t waver.

“So it’s not that I was distracted by a Frappuccino! Hilde didn’t notice them either!”

“What proof do you have it’s the same person?”

“The culprit wasn’t caught on CCTV this time either.”

Ami declared solemnly.

“Same as with Hilde. It was a crowded area full of cameras, yet they found every blind spot, approached behind trained fighters without a sound, and they knew Hilde. How many people like that could there be in the world?”

“Ami.”

Yun’s voice was low.

I tried to stay quiet until they were done talking, but I couldn’t hold back. Everyone looked at me. The ones who’d arrived before us watched, their expressions tight—as if they were holding back words.

I pretended not to notice.

“I’m sorry.”

Whump!

A pillow hit me in the face.

“Don’t apologize!”

Ami snapped, throwing the pillow.

“You think I said all that because I wanted an apology?!”

Scary.

Her sharp anger startled me.

I’d never seen her this mad before.

She was terrifying.

I instinctively shrank back.

“I’m sorry—no, I mean, not that sorry, the earlier one—”

“Yeah.”

Ami blinked, instantly returning to her dazed expression.

“I know what you mean.”

“Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve seen Ami this angry...”

Ricardo chuckled quietly, arms crossed as he observed.

I looked at him blankly. You find this funny, do you?

Ska and Yehyeon were laughing too. Ska bent over, chuckling as he picked up the pillow, and Yehyeon smiled faintly around his straw.

This was not the time to be amused.

I glared at them briefly, then looked down at the floor again.

No—putting aside whether it was my fault or not—

“If Ami’s theory is correct, and I think it holds weight, then whoever’s behind this must have a personal grudge against me.”

“Most likely.”

Yehyeon answered in his husky voice.

I spoke in a low tone.

“Then it’s probably one of my kind.”

It couldn’t be one of the Elder’s attendants. And no human who’d known me in the past would still be young enough to pull this off.

That left only one possibility—a Titan who bore a grudge. Whether they’d gotten lucky sneaking into the Core or had stayed hidden inside it, I didn’t know.

Both of the higher-ups nodded slightly—they seemed to share my assumption.

I furrowed my brow.

Who the hell was it?

What kind of coward targets the people beside me instead of me directly?

My clasped hands tightened.

“Hands.”

Ricardo tapped my knuckles with his foot.

I loosened them and cracked my joints with my right hand.

My eyes stayed fixed somewhere in the air.

“I’ll capture the culprit myself and drag them before my senior.”

Make them kneel and apologize.

“Since it’s probably someone I knew, I’ll find them faster on my own. If you don’t want to see them, I’ll take care of it quietly.”

“Hmm. But what if it’s someone who doesn’t actually hate you?”

Ami said something odd.

Everyone looked puzzled. Even I didn’t get what she meant.

She tilted her head in thought, staring up at the ceiling.

“I told you, right? It felt like they deliberately avoided the vitals. Maybe they’re a Creature trying to free a captured comrade from human hands?”

“Would someone like that commit a kidnapping?”

“That part’s hard to explain...” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Ami tilted her head again, gazing at the air.

“When they said ‘that white-haired one,’ it didn’t sound like pure hatred. Maybe they think we brainwashed Hilde or something... or maybe they tried to talk and failed for some reason...”

“That’s less deduction and more delusion,” Yun remarked.

Ami didn’t back down.

“But that’s the feeling I got!”

“And?”

I couldn’t help but interrupt.

Everyone’s eyes turned to me—even Yun.

I stared straight at Ami.

“So what difference does it make?”

Ami opened her mouth, closed it, tried again, failed again.

She couldn’t quite form the words.

The reflection of her hospital gown glimmered faintly in the darkened window.

Smiling faintly, I pressed my right fingers against my left palm.

“Whatever the intention, anyone who hurts the people beside me is still a—”

Ah. The higher-ups were here.

I quickly rephrased.

“—a coward. So their motive doesn’t matter.”

“But what if it turns out they were actually on your side? Then you’d feel torn, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t feel anything. Why would I?”

I smiled thinly.

“If I regretted anything, it’d only be not crushing them back when they were under my command. But no, not for that.”

“...Calm down for now, Hilde.”

“Senior, please be careful as well.”

Ignoring Ami’s worried tone, I turned to Ricardo.

He sat lazily, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

I met his puzzled look.

“Since Ami was attacked, the next likely target is you, Senior.”

Ricardo’s eyes widened.

They grew large, sharp green eyes staring right through me.

He gave a short, incredulous laugh.

“Me~?”

...Why are you that surprised?

“You’re worried I’ll get stabbed inside the Core~?”

“Well... Ami was stabbed, wasn’t she.”

“So next is me?”

Ricardo laughed outright, raising his eyebrows.

He even shifted in his chair to sit straighter.

“You’re worried I’ll get stabbed because I let my guard down~?”

“Yes. I mean, well—”

Surely I hadn’t offended his pride.

I carefully chose my words. You have to pick the right ones, Hildebert—something that won’t sound wrong.

After some thought, I said,

“Because Ami was stabbed. She’s highly skilled, too. If we add a speed factor, she even outperforms you in some areas...”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Wow. The rookie chick is comparing the seniors’ combat stats.”

Ska burst out laughing, and Ami muttered blankly,

“I’ve never had anyone do that before.”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant, seniors! Not at all! You’re both veterans—I just meant... you know what I mean, right?”

“Senior, is this really how we’re training our juniors~?”

Ricardo teased Yun.

Don’t tease me.

I’m serious—this isn’t the time for jokes.

And don’t tease me like that!

It’s terrifying!

“Senior, I’m saying this because after Ami, you’re the one I’ve grown closest to.”

I hurried to explain myself to Ricardo.

He looked surprised again—but this time in a slightly different way.

I didn’t have time to think about why.

I just kept talking, determined not to make things worse.

“So if they pick their next target, you’re the most likely one. You’re the second person I’ve become attached to...”

Ricardo stared at me with those vivid green eyes.