Black Badger

The embroidered curtains covered half the window.

Rose had calmed down. The nosebleed had stopped. While I was throwing away the blood-soaked tissues, she vanished briefly and returned with a cardboard box.

She pulled a small round table closer and spread the documents from the box across it.

One of Rose’s strengths was that once she started working, she recovered a certain level of composure.

She sat down and handed me a sheet of paper.

“The humans who followed Kyle existed even before the First War broke out. They simply called themselves the Church of Chronos.”

“Straightforward.”

“At first, those who failed to become Elders sided with Kyle and acted for him. They bet on the idea that Kyle’s world would come. Several scientists who were fascinated by us also joined Kyle’s side. I learned of their existence before the First War began, but at the time, I couldn’t tell you about them, Commander.”

The end of her businesslike voice suddenly wavered.

Before Rose could spiral into fear and self-reproach over having disappointed me, I spoke up bluntly.

“Just finding out about them was impressive enough. Have you been keeping an eye on them ever since?”

“Yes. But until you returned, Commander, they didn’t move in any noticeable way.”

According to her, the export of Green Dream only began after I arrived.

Before that, only practical goods were sent out. It felt more like bulk purchasing and delivery. For various reasons, however, Yoow and Rose had not stopped them even after the First War ended.

They hadn’t touched the leader of the group either.

There was a reason for that.

“The head of the traitors was someone who deeply comforted Adam’s parents.”

Rose handed me a personal profile.

“He genuinely mourned Adam and continued to stay in close contact with Adam’s parents afterward. It was a sincere relationship. They cherished him and leaned on him a great deal. Because of that, the Strategist couldn’t bring himself to touch him.”

Why are humans such complicated beings?

If he had been nothing but hatred and selfishness, Yoow and Rose could have crushed and eliminated him without hesitation. The traitors’ group might have collapsed and disappeared altogether.

But because the leader of the traitors had been a great comfort to Adam’s parents, the group did not vanish. It survived, persisted, and eventually became a religion.

Of course.

The sense of superiority from knowing about the existence of Titans that others did not. The reassurance of being protected by Titans who could command Creatures. Those who believed would have watched Creatures appear in the Cores and strengthened their faith.

“How is Green Dream being leaked?”

We couldn’t arrest them all right now.

We had to deal with the most urgent problem first.

“And Rose. Do you happen to know someone named Doug Clark?”

“The deserter Badger who entered the factory a few days ago?”

Rose smiled, her eyes curving.

“He seems to have been a courier. Abandoned, though.”

“Abandoned?”

“He deserted. Couriers have to remain within the system and stay invisible, but by deserting, he put himself on the Black Badger headquarters’ radar.”

“Then why did he break into the factory?”

“It seems he wanted to obtain Green Dream for personal reasons.”

Rose’s ruby-colored eyes glittered.

“To kill the military deserter capture units.”

I see.

So he infiltrated the factory for his own objective. Sounds like he was fairly capable.

“Do you know where he is now?”

“Of course! I placed him in the Church of Chronos’s headquarters building!”

Rose clapped her hands once, then tilted them to the left, her eyes shining.

“So the Badgers would have a justification to enter the building!”

I let out a sound of pure admiration.

I hadn’t expected things to fall into place this smoothly. Just as she said, now we could enter the building, retrieve Doug Clark, and at the same time sabotage the transportation route used for leaking Green Dream, making it look like a mistake that occurred during the process.

“You really did an incredible job. You couldn’t have done better than this. Thank you, Rose.”

Rose made a strangled sound.

Before she could burst into overwhelmed tears, I changed the subject.

“You captured him alive, right? Where exactly is the building? And I want to know the process by which Green Dream is distributed to Kyle’s side.”

Rose answered every question.

The reason she could respond so smoothly was that Heath’s grandfather had been a believer in the Church of Chronos.

In short: Doug Clark was alive. The headquarters building was located near the capital of Core 3.

Green Dream was transported out through a portal device inside the headquarters building.

That last piece of information startled me.

“There’s an unauthorized portal device?”

“At the very beginning of the Church of Chronos were scientists who opened portals and poured Creatures into Earth.”

Rose showed me a series of photos of scientists in white lab coats.

“Do you remember these faces?”

I do.

I let out a small laugh.

Brilliant scientists I used to see often in the lab.

While I was teaching humans how to wield swords just in case, Kyle had been recruiting them in the lab.

Just as he hadn’t known about Seunghyun’s group, I hadn’t known about them.

When did we start hiding things from each other?

When did we give up on trying to persuade one another? I couldn’t remember exactly. Every time I tried to trace back to the point where things began to go wrong, especially when I felt Kyle’s emotions so vividly, I failed to pinpoint the beginning.

And even if I did figure it out, nothing would change.

I brushed my fingers over the familiar faces and murmured,

“As far as I know, none of them received age-stasis.”

“That’s right. And that’s exactly why they supported Kyle even more.”

Among the scientists of that era, only one had stopped aging.

Eve.

She had used her own body as a test subject. Because the experiment succeeded, Eve’s biological time stopped in middle age.

But the other scientists had been prevented from undergoing age-stasis by opposition from above. Since it was a human matter, I hadn’t paid it much attention at the time...

A handful of scientists, consumed by jealousy, had made their choice.

“According to rumors, Heath Clair’s grandfather was also one of the scientists who knew about that lab. There’s no definitive evidence left, though.”

The former chairman of the pharmaceutical company.

I’d heard that Heath’s father was also aware of the existence of Titans. He didn’t support them, but instead took the stance of pretending not to know about the leaks.

Heath, on the other hand, was said to be unaware of Titans’ existence.

He was still too young and too busy to believe in things like that. Learning management, getting married, dating...

Ah.

Now that I thought about it, tomorrow.

“Rose.”

When I called her name, Rose snapped her head up from the documents.

“Yes!”

“Doesn’t Heath seem interested in you?”

Otherwise, why would he care so much about the man his wife summoned?

At first, I thought he was gay, but from what I heard, he seemed to be bi. He was far too persistent for it to be just about appearances.

He didn’t seem aware of it himself.

Calling me over tomorrow also felt like an instinctive move to block a man his wife showed interest in and provoke jealousy.

When I shared that opinion, Rose smiled gently.

“I think so too. I worked very hard to make it that way.”

Wow. So that’s something you can achieve with effort.

Is this what a real honey trap looks like?

“But it’s also true that his interest in you has grown, Commander.”

“Huh?”

“Until now, he’s been wary, but he’s never set aside time like this.”

Rose rested her face against her clasped hands.

“For someone who looks like that, he’s a workaholic. Giving up precious time like 5:30 p.m. actually means a lot.”

Should I just cancel the appointment?

With things progressing this way, there didn’t seem to be any need to meet him further. There was no longer a reason to tour the factory. Doug Clark wasn’t on the factory grounds, and we needed to infiltrate the Church of Chronos headquarters.

And ever since crossing into Core 3, I’d been impatient.

We had no idea what kind of treatment the kidnapped people were receiving...

“Well. How could anyone ignore these eyes?”

Rose’s dreamy voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

The black-haired woman was gazing intently into my eyes.

“Even more beautiful than gold....”

“Right. Thanks. What do you think—should I cancel the appointment Heath made?”

Once work was mentioned, Rose’s reason, which had been about to ascend, returned.

She straightened her upper body.

“It wouldn’t cause major damage if you did, and personally I’d like you to, Commander, but building a relationship could help later in fundamentally stopping the leakage of Green Dream.”

“Ah. Good point.”

I immediately accepted the opinion of my capable subordinate.

Thanks to that, what needed to be done became clear. Seeing the tasks ahead of me made me feel refreshed.

After thanking her for her hard work and sincere help, I stood up smiling at my subordinate, who looked overjoyed.

I needed to go back, relay everything, and move quickly.

I’d also brag to Igor about how the honey trap had succeeded.

“Thank you. When this is over, let’s have a relaxed dinner together with Igor.”

“Okay!”

Rose answered enthusiastically.

“I don’t even need that knight!”

We’d need to manage her excitement now.

With a wry smile, I gave a signal that I was going to open the door. Rose understood immediately.

The subordinate who had been brimming with fervor instantly became Lacy. The fanatic light in her eyes settled, sank, and was replaced by coiled gloom and anxiety.

An astonishing level of skill.

Just as Jaeyeon once said, she really was someone who could “at least act decently.”

“Shall we?”

“Yes.”

We quietly left the bedroom.

Once in the empty corridor, we pretended to exchange polite conversation as we slowly walked toward the mansion’s front gate.

A silver gate engraved with grapevines.

I pretended not to hear Rose’s demure murmur of, ‘I’ll divorce him once this is over,’ and pulled the gate open.

A man stood before me, his back to the moonlight and streetlights.

What the hell.

“Chairman?”

Why was he still here?

I blinked and stared blankly at Heath.

“...Ah, we meet again.”

“Didn’t you leave already?”

Heath growled low as he looked at me.

“You stayed this late. What were you doing?”

What was I doing...

I looked at him with an awkward expression.

I was at a loss for words. Still, I could understand why he was angry. I needed an answer that would make sense if I wanted to get out «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of here quickly.

I thought for a moment.

Not for long, though.

Despite how I might look, I’d spent many years serving royalty and the Emperor at close range. I was a subordinate well-liked by those above me.

I met Heath’s black eyes directly and spoke politely.

“Actually, I asked your wife a few things about you, Chairman.”

“What?”

“Since I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, I wanted to study up on you beforehand.”

That wasn’t even a lie.

Growing more confident, I smiled lightly at Heath, who looked dumbfounded.

“I thought I might have misunderstood you, Chairman.”

“......”

“So I stayed and listened for a bit, and that’s why I’m late. I apologize.”

That should satisfy him.

I quickly turned and slipped my body through the gap between Heath and the gate.

Just as I tried to escape, he grabbed my arm.

Heath twisted my arm and said coldly,

“I didn’t say you could go.”

“I’m not in a position where I need your permission.”

I smiled softly, removed Heath’s hand as his eyes widened, and bowed once more.

Then I turned my head and met Rose’s eyes one last time.

Her eyes were dark again, the lenses back in place.

‘Let’s stay in touch.’

Rose barely held onto her reason and nodded, having understood the message in my gaze.

I smiled, and this time, I finally left the mansion.

***

“I succeeded with the honey trap.”

I bragged to Igor the moment I got into the car.

The subordinate, who had been in a trance with his legs up on the steering wheel, glanced at me with half-lidded eyes and lazily lowered his legs.

“Why didn’t you let your hair down?”