Black Badger

A few minutes later, Ami finally managed to pull herself together and staggered toward the lab.

The moment she stepped through the familiar door, a wave of scientists’ voices washed over her.

Without ending the call, she headed straight for Yun’s desk.

“Oppa!”

The man who had been working on Martin No. 2 lifted his head.

The researchers seated in a loose circle around him also glanced up at Ami.

Ignoring all eyes, she marched straight to Yun.

“He says I’m easier to deal with than you and Ricardo!”

Yun didn’t look confused at all, even at her completely context-less outburst.

He simply stared at his younger sister with those sharp, black eyes.

“Who.”

“Hilde’s subordinate!”

“The one who stabbed you?”

“Yeah, that guy!”

“I don’t know why you’re so shocked about something that obvious, but that’s not the point. Who told you that?”

“Hilde just told me over the phone.”

Ami snapped back quickly, lifting the phone back to her ear.

“Right, Hilde!”

[Yes? I can’t hear you very well....]

“Hilde, do you also think I’m worse than Ricardo and Yun?”

Ami asked desperately.

An ominous silence flowed through the speaker.

Ami clutched her pounding heart and waited. The scientists, who had unintentionally overheard the call, and Yun himself all fell silent, waiting for the answer.

The space around Ami grew quiet.

Then a muttered voice came through:

[Well, usually Ami is kind of....]

“Kinda what?”

[Kind of... less cautious.... So for an ambush you’d be the easiest of the three.... Objectively, though, on the battlefield you and Ric seem similar in skill....]

Ami was devastated.

So devastated, in fact, that she didn’t even notice when Hilde said, “Oh—phone call,” and hung up on his own.

Devastation worse # Nоvеlight # than when she had walked in on Ria kissing Jason Trevain, worse than when Jonathan Kudo started beating Richard Green senseless in the hallway, worse than when she heard Hilde was a Creature.

She shoved her phone deep into her pocket.

After staring at the floor in wordless shock, she suddenly ignited.

“No more escape rooms.... Only training from now on....”

The researchers subtly drifted away from the Badger who now seemed to be radiating flames.

“No knitting, no movies.... Training.... Only training, one single path....”

“What’s with her tone?”

Yun asked, faintly furrowing his brow.

“Something’s off.”

Ami opened her mouth, wanting to explain Hilde’s condition to her brother.

She meant to say he was probably drunk on plum wine. That over lunch, Hilde had said he wanted to say some honest things while drunk.

She lifted her head to tell him—

And Yun’s phone buzzed.

The moment he saw Hildebert’s name, he answered.

“What are you doing right now?”

[Yun....]

Hilde groaned. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

[Thank you for your patience.... Honestly, I would’ve been furious too.... But if he properly apologizes, could you maybe cancel the mark....]

Yun blinked two, three times.

“Are you drunk?”

[Yes.... I’m calling to speak honestly....]

“Where are you.”

[The cabin....]

Yun let out a sigh and rose from his seat.

Ami and the researchers lifted their heads, watching him stand.

John Mühlen, completely unfazed by all the chaos, continued building Martin Version 2—until Yun suddenly held out a wrench to him.

“I’m going.”

John accepted it without even looking up.

The giant of the scientific world continued his work, wrench in hand.

Ami widened her eyes and hurried after Yun.

“Oppa, where are you going?”

“The cabin.”

“I’m coming too!”

She tore off her lab coat and ran after Yun, who was already striding down the hall.

“I wanna go see Hilde too!”

The siblings left HQ and headed for the cabin.

To take care of a drunken Hilde—and to witness a rare spectacle with their own eyes.

***

Deltei swallowed down the urge to sigh.

Instead she bit her lip and took in the scene in front of her.

Hildebert, drunk, slumped on the floor in front of the bed.

And Yoow, seated on the bed, glaring down at him.

Yoow’s face was completely twisted.

She hadn’t seen that man’s face look relaxed in a long time, but today he looked even more furious than usual. Deltei understood him—this time, at least. A drunk Hilde had been calling all sorts of humans.

Of course Yoow, who hated the humans around Hilde and hated the Badgers even more, would be livid.

And now he was calling someone else again.

Hilde raised the phone to his ear, muttered, “Not picking up...,” and tapped the screen.

Deltei let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Aren’t you going to stop him?”

She turned to Kairos.

The man watching the entire mess stone-cold sober, arms crossed.

His red eyes rolled toward her.

The Empire’s No. 1 star gave her a small smile.

“He hasn’t said anything catastrophic yet. And he seems in a good mood, doesn’t he? Depending on alcohol isn’t good, but if it lets him relax even a little, I’ll take it.”

“...True. He brought back Yvon’s sword yesterday.”

She gripped her elbow and murmured.

“His expression was terrible.... I couldn’t tell him that after the war, Yvon woke up from his coma for a short time. I don’t even know if telling him would be right. I worry I’d just reopen wounds for no reason....”

“Let’s wait and observe. Right now isn’t the time. He looked awful this morning.”

So it was bad.

She had thought he seemed fine since he woke up and trained like a machine. Looks like Kairos had seen something she missed.

The red-haired handler had been one of those who regretted deeply after Hilde disappeared. Most of the surviving kin had drowned in regret and grief, but—

Among them, Kairos had regretted the most. When Hilde returned, he grew close to him at an alarming speed. Sometimes Deltei even felt jealous. Before the war, she, Yoow, and Igor had been far closer to Hilde.

But Yoow—

Why had he twisted so badly....

Ding-dong!

The doorbell sliced through her thoughts.

Everyone except Hilde turned their heads.

Hilde, half-lidded eyes, kept fiddling with his phone. Pale eyelashes lowered.

Kairos gestured that he would go, then went downstairs.

Deltei nodded absentmindedly. Probably a delivery. He’d send them off and come back alone, she thought. She watched Hilde, who was holding out his phone to Yoow saying, “Yoow. I don’t have your number.”

Then—

She jolted when she saw several people stomping upstairs.

“What the—?!”

“The seniors. They said Hilde called them.”

He let the Badgers in?

Deltei stared blankly at two tall men and the round-eyed woman.

During this confrontation with Yoow?

“Wow....”

And the men—

They knew who Yoow was.

Their gaze, which had flown straight to Hilde, immediately shot to Yoow, and their eyes hardened sharply.

“Crowded in here~....”

“And he’s drunk, right in front of that guy.”

Yoow shot them a glare full of disgust.

The air on the second floor tightened instantly.

They needed to get these humans out or nothing could proceed!

Deltei mouthed frantically at Kairos to get her message across.

But she didn’t see his reaction.

Because Hilde suddenly stood up and blocked her view of him.

“Oh—it’s the seniors....”

The Commander nodded politely at the Badgers.

“Hello....”

“Hilde’s totally drunk, huh.”

The round-eyed Badger stared up at him blankly.

“So interesting.”

“Choi Ami. Go downstairs.”

The East Asian man said.

“No. I’m staying with Hilde. No matter what anyone says, I was the first person he bonded with. That won’t change.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but go downstairs. Hildebert isn’t the only one here.”

“Anyone hearing you would think I threatened him into dragging humans here.”

Yoow scoffed a bitter remark.

Smack!

A sharp sound rang in the cabin.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Yoow’s too, after Hilde smacked the back of his head.

Hilde stared down at Yoow with a flat expression.

“Don’t lift your head in front of Ami.”

The white-haired knight pointed at him.

“And don’t look her in the eye.”

“I’m fine though.”

The one shocked was Ami.

“I kinda wanted to see his face. That must’ve hurt a lot.”

“I’m... sorry I disappeared and didn’t come back.”

Whether Yoow listened or not, Hilde murmured in front of him.

“And sorry I didn’t recognize you right away.... I don’t know why.... And I don’t remember what I was doing.... I’ll apologize again when the memories return.... I wasn’t trying to run away....”

“You think that’s what you say after disappearing for decades?”

Yoow’s voice rose in irritation.

The male Badgers’ eyes showed annoyance and contempt. The colder of the two even had killing intent.

Deltei understood their reaction—Yoow was accusing Hilde of absurd things. How could he blame someone who had even forgotten his own appearance?

If Hilde’s mind had been intact, he would’ve been the first to rush back.

Yet Yoow spit out resentment.

“Without even asking the names of those who failed to adapt and wandered until they died, or those who one day vanished and whose fates remain unknown.”

“Why don’t you just blame him for the entire collapse of our world while you’re at it.”

“And now look at you laughing with these people.... Of course you forgot—so convenient. Lost your memories because you didn’t want to face reality. Jumped into the portal because you didn’t want to come back.”

“Wow~... that’s harsh~. Even century-old enemies wouldn’t be this unfair~.”

The Badgers added their own jabs.

The woman stared at Yoow in disbelief—as if wondering how anyone could say something so outrageous.

Deltei understood their reactions.

She didn’t want to admit it, but right now these new companions cared for Hilde more.

Their bond was recent, but they had seen with their own eyes how the strategist had suffered. She herself couldn’t fully take Hilde’s side—too much guilt.

So—go, Badgers!

Keep scolding him!

Hit him harder, verbally!

“Sorry.... But I really don’t remember the portal....”

Deltei kept cheering them on in silence until Hilde muttered this.

“The memory right before that came back yesterday.... But after that, nothing.... Where even was the portal....”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Yoow stood.

The chains around his left ankle and right wrist rattled.

Tense muscles, burning eyes.

He stepped forward, glaring into Hilde’s golden eyes with black, depthless ones.

“If the portal didn’t exist, how do you know that memory was right before it? How do you know that was your last memory? Hildebert. If you’re going to make excuses, at least make them plausible!”

“Ah....”

But Hilde remained unmoved.

His voice was hoarse but calm—like stating today’s date.

And then he dropped a bomb.

“I know because... I was dying....”

Yoow froze.

“With Kyle.... I think we drew.... His sword was stuck in my heart.... And I managed to stab his vital point too.... The citizens always bet black hair vs white hair for the Commander—answer was no winner.... I wondered what I’d do if I lost, but luckily I didn’t lose....”

Everyone stared at him in horror.

“I was cold... really cold.... And then the memory cuts off.... I really have no idea about the portal....”

Did it form naturally?

Hilde muttered this and pointed at the phone on the bed.

Standing there in the midst of people who had forgotten how to breathe or speak.

“But if you put your number in, I’d like to call—”

No one answered. They only stared at him for a long time.

“I wanna make a call....”

Hilde grumbled as he took his phone himself.

His sleepy eyes blinked as he tried calling someone again.

***

...My head hurts.

I stared at the cabin ceiling.

And I’m hungry.

Bluish darkness stained the cabin. Dawn’s quiet hung in the air.

An unmoving, cozy space.

What time is it?

I felt around for my phone.

Why did I wake up at such a weird hour? What was I doing? I didn’t have any official schedule yesterday or today, I think.

But I feel like I had some “urgent task” I set for myself....

.......

“Aaaagh!”

I shot up with a scream.

Igor and Deltei jolted awake, startled, blankets rustling.

But I had no brainpower to care about them.

Like a madman, I checked my phone.

A long trail of call logs.

My jaw dropped as I saw what I had done while out of my mind.

When I saw the record, the blood drained from my fingertips.

Shit.

I stared at the unbelievable record for a long time.

When I could no longer deny the reality in front of me, I grabbed the back of my head and buried my face in my knees.

Shit!

“Why didn’t you stop me yesterday?”

I whined at my kin, suppressing the urge to cry.

“At least stop me from calling him....”

[☎ Akou | 10:43 p.m. | Outgoing call 10:38]

Shit....

Even drunk, how could I call Colton, you absolute idiot.

And why 10:38?

Why did I talk for ten minutes?

What on earth did I talk about for ten whole minutes?!