Black Badger

I widened my eyes and looked back at Kairos.

But Kairos was looking at the Personnel Director and Sophia. More precisely, he was looking at the seniors.

The adjutant spoke in a voice that still hadn’t lost its cold edge.

“Whatever happened, they’re the ones who started the war. They’re the ones who forced those of our kin who didn’t want war into it and then cut their heads off. We consider them complete enemies.”

“Your captain didn’t seem to think that way.”

Sophia replied coolly.

Kairos smiled lightly.

“That’s because Hilde took all the blame onto himself.”

Kairos’s voice rang alone in the conference room.

“All we had to do was choose which side of the split leaders we would stand with. And until things erupted, each of us lived our own life. So there’s no reason for us to feel sorry toward the kin who separated from us, is there?”

“You hate the ones who split off more than the humans around you?”

“Of course.”

To Ju’s question, Kairos answered calmly.

“Even if they’re kin, they’re the ones who couldn’t understand each other and pointed blades. But most humans didn’t harm us.”

“Some tried to kill all of you.”

“Those, yes, I do hate. But the point is that the kin who started the war, knowing they’d turn us into enemies, are simply enemies.”

I hadn’t known he thought like this.

Well, I hadn’t tried to listen in the first place. I didn’t want to ask anything about the war to those who had blended into human society. I didn’t want to drag up a bleak past for those now living a second life.

When the war broke out, I was too busy on the front line to think of anything else.

Speechless, I looked at my kin.

Kairos, who had been glancing at the seniors, turned his head.

I flinched at the burning orange of the man’s eyes.

“I’m telling you to stop blaming yourself.”

Kairos’s eyes curved with a bitter slant.

“They’re the ones who left you no choices.”

My throat clogged.

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent. I couldn’t even manage my expression.

I must have looked stunned out of my mind. From the small laugh the adjutant let out while staring into my face, that much was obvious.

The air grew strangely heavy.

The one who broke the stagnant atmosphere was the Personnel Director.

Clap!

Ju clapped his hands to gather attention.

Once the gazes shifted to him, he smiled brightly and swept his eyes across the table.

“So let’s watch over things gently, okay?”

That smile that looks like flowers would bloom behind him was the same as ever.

“It’s the higher-up’s decision, so we can’t undo it now~.”

“Who’s the mentor?”

Kai asked in his hoarse voice.

Ju smiled brightly.

“Yehyeon said, for various reasons, that he hoped someone who knows the circumstances would be assigned as mentor?”

Among these five?

Everyone straightened their backs.

They were all tense, waiting for whatever words would come out of the Personnel Director’s mouth.

I, too, closed my mouth and watched Ju.

If we’re lucky, maybe Kai would mentor again, or Ricardo... something like that....

Ju declared with a radiant smile:

“By elimination, it’s Ami!”

Crack—

Yun’s fist made a murderous sound.

My jaw dropped.

Ami shouted “Oing?!” with eyes wide open.

Sophia and Kai stared at the Personnel Director with rabbit eyes.

The only ones smiling were Ricardo, Ju, and Kairos.

Ricardo looked genuinely unconcerned, as if it didn’t matter at all whether he was the mentor or not.

The man’s eyes curved like crescent moons as he smiled long.

“O~h. That’s great~.... You two suit each other so well~.”

“What kind of elimination method leads to this conclusion?”

“Uh, Personnel Director, with all due respect, this bastard isn’t exactly the quiet type....”

Yun didn’t bother hiding his boiling irritation and glared at Ju, and I quickly regained my senses and opened my mouth.

We both ignored the green-eyed Badger smiling like a fool.

We also ignored Ami murmuring, ‘It’s been a while since I’ve been a mentor,’ and Kairos giving polite greetings saying he looked forward to working together.

This situation justified it.

Ju, please.

“I think problems might happen rather often. With these two together... they’re both very outgoing, so...”

“I’m not going to clean up their messes.”

“I know what you’re worried about, but giving him a different mentor would be much worse.”

Of course, our pleas meant nothing to Ju.

With his chin resting on the back of his hand, he observed Yun—full of irritation—and me—full of reluctance.

“Kai and Yun just did mentor duty recently, so they’re out. Sophia is obviously out. Ricardo is horribly incompatible with Jack. Hilde is way too new to qualify. So Ami it is! They match well, so don’t worry too much.”

“Don’t you dare go wild.”

I gave up trying to change the Personnel Director’s mind.

I turned to Kairos and showered the confused adjutant with scolding.

“Don’t latch onto one thing and charge blindly forward. Don’t cause trouble out of boredom. And don’t speed inside the Core. Got it?”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry so much. I know what moderation is.”

“Choi Ami.”

“Mm?”

Beside us, Yun addressed Ami.

The mentor stared at the round-eyed girl and then asked again.

“What was your bucket list?”

“My bucket list? There are more than a few—?”

“That pitch-black fighter jet.”

“Blackbird!”

Ami raised her voice and her eyes sparkled.

“The one made by Skunk Works! I really want to fly a Blackbird!”

“Speed?”

With his arms crossed, Yun asked.

Ami answered:

“Mach 3.2.”

This is insane.

I suppressed the urge to grab my head.

Beside me, Kairos let out a little gasp.

“That’s awesome!”

“Right?!”

“You see this?”

Yun pointed at the ecstatic Ami with his thumb as he looked at the Personnel Director.

Sadly, Ju simply smiled and spun his chair a little.

“Isn’t it nice how they’re already on the same wavelength? Jack. If there’s any problem, come to me anytime. My office is on the 9th floor of HQ~.”

“Yes, I look forward to your guidance, sir.”

“I’ll take good care of you, Jack!”

We were doomed.

Yun and I gave up. We stared up at the ceiling, trying to accept reality.

Ju and Ricardo watched our vacant expressions with great amusement. They were utterly useless in the situation. The Personnel Director even left on his own, telling us to take some time to bond.

Sophia walked out of the conference room right after Ju left.

Kai stayed, but he didn’t particularly console either of us.

Ami and Kairos were already smiling warmly as they began bonding.

Talking about F1. About Kairos’s retirement. About the Choi family. About the rookie schedule....

Private conversations.

“Hilde, can you tell us about when you first came to Earth?”

“Early Hilde, you mean?”

The adjutant let out a light laugh as if he found something funny.

“In the very beginning, he found automatic doors especially fascinating.”

“No way.”

Ami blinked her round eyes.

“Those building doors?”

“Yes. He found them so interesting he walked in and out of the door several times.”

“Did you really?”

Yun stopped staring at the ceiling and looked at me with a grin.

Ricardo and Yun were smirking, and Kai gave a faint chuckle. I answered calmly.

“Yes. They’re fascinating.”

“Hilde, you’re funny.”

“He also loved the robot vacuum cleaners. He kept asking the researchers for one and would turn it on all the time. Remember that?”

“You were obsessed with cars.”

As soon as he got in a car once, his eyes went wide and he stared at them like crazy.

As I traced back the past, forgotten memories popped up like bubbles.

I let out a short sigh.

“I should’ve realized back then....”

We chatted about pointless things a little more and then dispersed.

They said the official introductory meeting with seniors would be at the year-end party. That’s when I would show my face to the seniors for the first time and officially begin rookie life. But Kairos had to move into the rookie dorms by next week. He would spend six months there.

Whether he could blend into the organization without trouble would only be clear once the year passed.

By the time we all poured out of the conference room, the sun had long since set.

We each went our separate ways.

Yun had to return to the lab because he still hadn’t solved Kyle’s transportation issue. Kai went to fine-tune his firearms, and Ricardo said he was going to smoke with Ska. Ami said she’d wait for Yehyeon to get off work in the lounge.

I was planning to ride back with Kairos.

We separated after saying goodbye.

But before I followed Kairos, Yun called out to me.

“What are you doing tomorrow evening?”

“Tomorrow? Nothing special. I plan to train at the conditioning range. I’ve been removed from patrol /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ for now, so I’m only assisting with video or scientific cooperation. And the land-clearing work is still....”

“Let’s drink.”

Good god.

“Come home after you finish training.”

I didn’t refuse.

It was the first time my mentor asked me to drink. I thought I knew why, and it was depressing.

I kind of wanted a drink myself.

With a bitter smile, I said I would and followed Kairos.

Maybe because it was late, there was no one in the underground parking garage. We walked side by side, cutting across the concrete space dyed by pale fluorescent light.

The unique smell of an underground parking lot.

“Pets aren’t allowed, you know. Could I leave Milk with you for six months?”

“Of course. Tell me everything I need to know. Even the small things.”

“Don’t spoil him too much. And don’t let him nip.”

As our footsteps echoed through the parking garage, Kairos spoke.

I glanced sideways at his profile.

“It doesn’t hurt much.”

“If he develops bad habits, it’ll be hard to fix.”

The adjutant answered firmly and put his hands in his pockets. The headlights of a yellow sports car lit up.

I slid into the passenger seat.

“Let’s go slowly today, please.”

“Hahaha.”

My kin laughed as he started the engine.

“If that’s what you want.”

The sports car pulled out smoothly.

And, thankfully, sped forward at a comfortable pace. The car heading toward the pitch-black city.

I kept silent until the car left HQ and began running along a public road. Kairos didn’t say anything either, focusing on driving.

Until I blurted something out.

“You could just keep living this life.”

I felt Kairos’s gaze.

He was waiting for the rest, so I continued, saying what I’d wanted to say.

“Your career is at its peak, and you really love cars, don’t you?”

“Am I a burden to you?”

“That’s absolutely not it. It’s just... if I hadn’t come back, I don’t think you would’ve applied to the Badgers.”

“As long as it’s not a huge burden, it doesn’t matter. And the captain has returned, so there’s no point imagining what I would’ve done if you hadn’t.”

Kairos cut me off.

Then, still looking ahead, he added:

In a tone that sounded almost cheerful.

“I picked up that emotion of yours during the friendly race, so there’s no way I can go back to the circuit with peace of mind.”

Ah.

My face flushed all the way to my ears.

Damn it.

I jerked my head toward the window in a panic.

Heat rose up my face. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my kin, cursing my own immaturity back then as I stammered an apology.

“I’m really sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind then....”

“Hahahaha!”

Kairos burst into hearty laughter.

“No need to apologize. I was really happy! I still regret not responding right away back then. Back in the Empire, I often felt one-sided emotional transfer from fans, but none of them left as deep an impression as yours.”

“...I truly am sorry. It was my mistake. A really immature mistake. So please, could you forget that happened....”

“Why is it a mistake? If the one receiving the transfer is happy, what’s the problem? No need to be so embarrassed, Captain. You’re more conservative than I thought.”

“I did come from a temple, you know.”

Without looking at my subordinate, I grumbled.

“I don’t understand what I was thinking. I wanted to apologize one day, but I couldn’t bring myself to....”

Kairos laughed for a long while.

Laughing happily, he dropped me off at my cabin. He never answered my plea to forget what happened—he only eagerly promised he’d keep it secret from others.

He kept smiling brightly as he let me out, refusing to accept my apology.

Damn it.

Tomorrow I really will drink myself dead with Yun.

I stumbled as I got out of the sports car.

Trying in vain to cool the heat burning my face.

***

The next morning, when I woke up, there was a text from Jonathan Kudo.

[Hilde. Where did you learn to use a sword?]