Black Badger

I immediately arranged an appointment with her.

I scheduled it for the earliest possible day and adjusted my existing plans. Shu also wanted to meet me as soon as possible.

She looked like she urgently wanted to relay something to Yun.

Does she not have Yun’s contact information?

When I asked, Shu answered like this:

[Shu Diamond : He probably will not respond to my messages. Even the people in the same science building have a hard time talking to Senior Yun.]

Is that so?

He certainly had a frightening side, since there was a problem with his brain. But personally, I think Choi Yun has better social skills than Jonathan Kudo.

Better than John Mühlen goes without saying.

If you contacted him, he would probably reply.

But I did not force the matter. Shu seemed uncomfortable with Yun. Since we were meeting tomorrow anyway, I could simply relay the message then.

In fact, I considered suggesting we call Yun to the meeting as well. But then an unexpected person was added to our appointment, and I did not even bring the suggestion up.

Shu’s father.

She asked if it would be all right to bring him as a reference.

[Shu Diamond : He experienced a portal accident himself, so I thought he might be able to tell you something you want to hear.]

[Me : It would be an honor for me.]

Simon Diamond, who entered the portal and only emerged a long time later, really was Shu’s father.

Was he not the case that best matched mine among all portal accident cases? If I heard his story, maybe I would learn something.

I lay down on my bed, trying to calm my racing heart.

Until I remembered everything about the past, I had not been particularly curious why I popped out of the portal.

But now I was desperately curious about how it had happened. Because I knew that if I had returned earlier, many things would have changed.

Nori would not have died, and You would not have been broken.

And why had Kyle awakened exactly around the time of my return?

Kyle.

Do you remember what happened then?

I focused on the presence whose boiling hatred I could touch if I paid attention. Now I understood that those who faced Kyle had felt these emotions.

Exploding hatred and betrayal. Rage.

He had poured unending hostility at me, but I never showed him emotion.

Because I did not trust myself not to pour only °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° negative emotion. Of course I resented him and hated him. Kyle had taken the lives of those who followed me and made decisions that led the situation to catastrophe.

But even so...

There was no guarantee that if I let emotion slip out, longing would not mix into it.

And I did not possess the technique to filter that out, so I chose to quietly lock down my emotions.

“I can never be found out until the day I die.”

Covering my eyes with my forearm, I let out a small, pathetic whisper.

“It would be better to die than be found out.”

It already felt humiliating enough that I had shown emotion so disgracefully in the arena. I could not let myself be humiliated further.

From now on, I truly had to behave with dignity.

Even after everything that happened, the fact that I still felt longing—I myself did not understand it.

Feeling the burning emotions of an old comrade, I nodded off into sleep.

***

“Shu!”

The senior I had not seen in a long time had not changed at all.

“It has been a while. Have you been well?”

Shu turned her head.

A faint smile touched her lips when she spotted me.

It was the first time I saw her smile.

I had only ever seen the expressionless face she always wore. The smile suited her effortlessly. Gentle and quiet yet unashamed—so very like her.

“Hilde.”

The senior, who looked like she had been peering into a claw machine, approached me.

“It’s been a while. Your hair has gotten much longer.”

“Yes. I just left it... without cutting it...”

I was considering growing it out like before.

Though “considering” was really just laziness.

I grabbed the ends of my unevenly growing hair and looked down at the small senior.

“Is it messy?”

“No. I think you suit that awkward length too. Did you get layers cut in?”

“No. I think the problem is I always cut it roughly myself.”

“It suits you. Looks like you intentionally layered it.”

Shu gave me a calm compliment without changing her expression, then turned her body.

Today again, she wore a flashy anorak.

She pointed at the claw machine.

“Dad went to put in the waiting number. Let’s play the claw machine while we wait for him.”

“...What?!”

Why did he go put in the waiting number himself?

I was extremely flustered.

“If you had told me, I would have gone! I already owe you so much... I will go right now.”

“No. We came early to shop. He’ll be back soon after inputting the number.”

Shu replied casually and walked toward the claw machine.

“Are you good at claw machines?”

Not bad.

Since I like all types of games. I moved around to different claw machines and grabbed various plush toys.

It felt good to play a game thoughtlessly after so long.

The problem was that because I played thoughtlessly, I ended up grabbing far too many plush toys. When I finally came to my senses, Shu and I were both holding armfuls of huge reversible octopus plushies.

People passing by glanced at us curiously or smiling. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Should I hand some out?

I was considering it when suddenly someone ran up and pointed at me.

“Hey, you!”

Clutching the green-red octopus plush that almost fell from my arms, I blinked.

“What is all this nonsense?!”

“Dad.”

Shu stretched her neck out.

“Don’t do embarrassing things.”

A doting father...

Soon we were carrying bags stuffed full of reversible octopuses as we headed to the restaurant.

At the crowded taco place, we did not discuss anything important. We only exchanged names.

Simon Diamond, unlike his daughter, had a strong rough-and-rowdy vibe. He looked surprisingly young and seemed like a well-dressed low-tier thug or someone working in show business. But despite his aggressive manner of speaking, he strangely looked timid.

Shu’s calmness and boldness came from her mother, it seemed.

And her flashy, kitschy taste looked inherited from her father.

The conversation began after we moved to a large franchise café.

“Shall I start with what I want you to pass on to Senior Yun?”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

“You might think it sounds very occult.”

She spoke while extending a straw toward the man sitting slouched beside her—who looked more like an uncle or older cousin than a father.

“Since the recapture operation, the portals feel strangely unstable.”

I stared at her.

“Why do you think that?”

“The air feels different. Right before a portal opens, the air around it shimmers strangely. I have been sensing that occasionally all around Center Core.”

...Really?

I could not hide my reaction.

Simon, who was sipping an Americano through the straw his daughter gave him, let out a “Ha,” filled with irritation.

“If you weren’t going to believe us, you shouldn’t have come!”

“Please explain more. I have no knowledge of portals at all...”

“Yeah. I’ll explain.”

Shu answered calmly and then looked at Simon.

“And Dad. Hilde is my first junior. Treat him well.”

Highly effective.

Simon immediately dropped his aggressive attitude. It looked less like he was happy about me and more like he was obeying the daughter he adored.

In any case, Simon shut his mouth tightly and leaned back against the wall.

Shu, satisfied, continued her explanation.

“I do not know the principle either, but sometimes portals open even without machinery being installed. Cases whose cause cannot be identified. It is rare but does happen.”

“I have heard that can happen.”

Yun had mentioned it—occasionally a spatial fracture forms, opening a portal connecting inside and outside the Core. That was why Creatures sometimes appeared inside the Core.

When I explained what I had heard, Shu nodded.

She fiddled with her taro bubble tea and added:

“Right. And when those spatial fractures occur, the air nearby changes strangely. The air vibrates faintly. I can feel it, and Dad can too. I heard most survivors of portal accidents can sense that sign.”

“That is fascinating. And you have been sensing that more often inside Center Core recently?”

“Yes. Quite often.”

Shu sucked up some tapioca pearls, then quietly furrowed her brow.

“I don’t know why. But it didn’t used to be this frequent. I kept putting off talking about it because I didn’t know how to explain it, but now I think I have to.”

“You mean it has been like this since the recapture operation?”

“Yes. But strangely, the occurrence rate of Creatures inside the Core hasn’t changed much. That was another reason I kept delaying saying anything.”

I had a bad feeling.

This did not feel like coincidence. The timing was too precise. As I listened to Shu talk, Sequoia’s voice—shouting that she had succeeded—echoed faintly in my mind.

But aside from that, I also understood why Shu had not spoken about it until now.

It really was quite an occult story.

In any case, I nodded to show I understood.

“I will relay everything to Yun.”

“Thanks.”

Shu dipped her head in gratitude.

Simon watched us with a fork in his mouth, expression sulky. Even the way he sat made him look delinquent.

I slid the nearest cake plate toward him.

“Please have some.”

“You.”

Simon spoke without even glancing at the cake.

“Yes.”

“Did you forget what happened inside the portal too?”

“...What?”

I did not understand the question.

“Inside the portal?”

There is no “inside” of a portal.

Ah—well, maybe that disorienting sensation, the wavering vision, and the flashing lights could be considered an “inside.” Before bursting out into another place, one felt those overwhelming sensations.

But I had no memory of even that. No memory of entering a portal at all.

I answered truthfully that I had no memory.

“Do you have memories of being inside a portal, Father?”

“You ask real brazenly. Acting like there is no ‘inside’ to a portal while making that face.”

Simon gave a mocking snort and glared at me with a delinquent expression.

But the moment Shu turned her head, he straightened his posture and uncrossed his arms.

I gave a bitter smile and acknowledged he was making a fair point.

“You are right. I did not know there was an inside to a portal. Isn’t it just like a threshold?”

“That is what everyone says. But I wandered inside and came out.”

Until then, I had thought nothing in particular.

I was just listening to an interesting story. One part of my mind thinking about contacting Yun and Yehyeon right after we left.

Until Simon Diamond said something bizarre.

“I wandered through something like black-and-white ruins. I even met a woman.”

...Huh?

“A miserable, beautiful woman who kept failing to die.”

Cecil?

An old name flashed across my mind.