Black Badger

Cleaning up took some effort.

After throwing the body out the window, I went outside and buried it in the ground. Once the corpse was completely covered, I scrubbed the blood that had soaked into the floor—but that wasn’t an easy task.

By the time I finished wiping everything down while being blasted by the cold wind, it was already time to leave.

The squad that had requested fire support—but hadn’t even exchanged names with us—said they would remain here. They still hadn’t completed the mission they’d been assigned. Richard unloaded a long string of sharp nagging at them, ordering various measures to make sure the same situation wouldn’t repeat.

There was no denying he was a good soldier, but he wasn’t someone I’d want sitting next to me at a company dinner.

Those of us who’d come as support prepared to head back.

With combat power concentrated in one place, Richard insisted we return quickly and disperse to other missions.

I couldn’t be happier.

“Hilde.”

Tom, just released from the control room, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Why do you smell like bleach?”

“I cleaned the floor.”

It wasn’t just blood—various things had spilled, and bleach was the only cleaning agent available.

Tom blinked his blue eyes.

“Out of nowhere?”

“I made a mess.”

I smiled awkwardly while preparing for night motorcycle travel, which only made Tom look even more confused.

Beside us, Jason Trevain shot me a look like he couldn’t believe this.

In any case, Tom didn’t press further. He tilted his head, then put on his helmet. After lowering the visor, he checked his belongings and turned to me.

“What happened to that humanoid Creature?”

I could feel Jason and Jonathan, who were preparing to depart nearby, prick up their ears.

Richard didn’t care.

He’d finished his own preparations long ago and was busy checking the security of the Fox’s house. Small talk clearly wasn’t on his agenda.

Anyway, I adjusted the angle of my sword so it wouldn’t interfere with riding and answered,

“I killed him.”

Tom stared at me.

“Wasn’t he surrendering?”

“He was a criminal even the enemy had expelled. Charges were kidnapping and human trafficking.”

My junior seemed to chew on my words.

After a brief silence, he nodded.

“When we get back, tell me more about you.”

Trevain snorted.

But he didn’t say anything. Ever since I’d taken Shaunton’s head, he’d been looking at me like someone who deserved to be chewed to death—yet ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) he didn’t speak to me. In other words, things were the same as before, except he’d stopped talking to me. A change I wholeheartedly welcomed.

I lowered my visor and laughed lightly.

“Sure. If I can, I’ll explain it together with Hesh.”

At that moment, Richard turned.

Wow. Good thing I was ready.

With a look that said, Surely there isn’t some idiot who hasn’t finished preparing yet, the man swung onto his motorcycle and barked an order.

“We’re heading back!”

Richard’s motorcycle roared to life.

Jason and Jonathan lowered their visors at the same time. The clicking sound of visors coming down. Engines starting one after another.

Motorcycle headlights glowing in the bluish darkness settling around us.

The bikes took off in succession.

We raced toward the portal device set inside the decaying cathedral.

***

We returned.

We emerged into the Portal Zone.

No one spoke until we stepped out into the vast, pale space. We’d returned exchanging only the bare minimum of words, and only after seeing the Badgers crowding the Portal Zone did our bodies finally relax.

It looked like another squad had returned to Center Core through the portal as well.

The pale space filled with people and the sounds of their voices. Weapons and gear being unloaded.

I picked out a familiar face.

“Rick!”

A voice of genuine delight burst out of me before I could stop it.

The man checking the magazine of his rifle turned around.

“Oh~.”

He looked at me with a long, lazy smile.

“Long time no see, Hilde~.... You doing well~?”

A snake-shaped ring glinted under the lights. Narrowing eyes that curved just so.

The deep green eyes and drawn-out tone were familiar and welcome. I smiled and walked toward him. After finishing his weapon check, he set the rifle on the return conveyor and came over to me.

Then he lifted one eyebrow.

His green gaze flicked past my shoulder.

“Jonathan?”

Ah.

“You guys went on a mission together~?”

I’d forgotten.

I froze with my smile plastered on, then desperately considered how to escape Ricardo, who suddenly clamped a hand on my shoulder.

I don’t want to face Jonathan.

More precisely, I don’t want to face Ricardo and Jonathan together.

But Ricardo firmly held my left shoulder with his left hand and didn’t let go.

“Jonathan~....”

Ricardo called out to the senior behind me.

“Long time no see.... Emergency call mission~?”

“That’s right.”

Jonathan’s quiet answer came back.

“You finished the land-clearing job?”

With his usual languid smile, Ricardo replied yes. He started chatting casually with his comrade, while I let most of the conversation wash past me.

How do I get out of this?

How do I escape from here?

Will Richard give some kind of order? ...No, that won’t work. That diligent soldier was already leaving the Portal Zone to write the mission report.

Should I go pick a fight with Trevain?

No.

I should head to Tom, who was checking whether he could leave with me.

I met Tom’s cautious gaze and signaled with my eyes that I was leaving now.

Then I tried to step toward him.

“Tom. I’m coming now.”

But my upper body didn’t move forward.

The grip on my shoulder tightened.

“Senior.”

I refused to give up and turned back to Ricardo.

“My junior is waiting, so I’ll head in first. I’ll contact you soon. If you have time, maybe we could have dinner sometime soon—”

“Oh~ sure~. Since you mentioned it, want to go eat now~?”

“...What?”

“Hey, red-haired kid~.”

Ricardo twisted my shoulder as he looked at Tom.

Tom, who’d been nervously watching the situation, straightened up sharply.

“Yes, Senior!”

“Your name was.... Tom Husson, right—?”

“Yes, sir!”

“If nothing comes up, how about the four of us grab dinner—including that stiff guy over there~? You three went on the same mission, right~?”

No.

I darted my eyes around frantically, searching for an escape route.

I didn’t try to beg Tom to refuse. To Tom, Ricardo was a senior so far above him it was unthinkable. There was no way he could reject Ricardo’s suggestion.

But I’d built enough rapport with Ricardo to do it.

At least, that’s what I decided on my own.

So I committed a small act of insubordination.

While Tom shyly answered yes and stepped closer, while Ricardo smiled warmly at the fledgling Badger—

I made my break.

I bent my knees, slipped free, and sprinted across the Portal Zone.

“Hilde?!”

“Sorry, Tom! I really need the bathroom!”

Ricardo’s expression scared me, but escaping came first.

“My stomach’s not great, so I’ll pass on dinner th—”

Thud!

Trevain stuck out a foot.

Focused only on running, I didn’t see it and went down hard, crashing onto the floor. Badgers nearby gasped in shock. I heard Tom cry out too.

But I had no time to react or groan at the dull pain.

Someone grabbed my collar.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, ditching a senior who’s setting up a dinner?”

Trevain seized my chest and hauled me up into the air.

Ricardo ambled over lazily, saying, “Ah, Senior~.... Thanks for catching him~.”

But Trevain didn’t respond to Ricardo’s greeting.

Instead, he lifted me higher, closing the distance.

The man loomed over me, his shadow swallowing me as he muttered,

“Can you use that thing too?”

A tone unlike his usual one.

A blunt question, stripped of all context. But I understood immediately. He was a shallow man, but he was also the only one who had seen how Rei ended.

Strictly speaking, Yehyeon wouldn’t have seen Rei’s death. Rei had collapsed after being pierced by his spear.

I met the senior’s eyes, where a strange light gleamed, and whispered,

“Yes.”

Trevain stared down at me.

Then he threw me back to the floor.

Just then, the green-eyed senior arrived beside us.

Jason Trevain turned to look at Ricardo, who’d stopped next to me.

“Do you know what this guy is too?”

Ricardo smiled only with his mouth.

“Yes.”

A formal answer.

Trevain stared at Ricardo like he couldn’t believe it.

Ricardo smiled, eyes curving.

“I’ll take proper care of disciplining the junior~.”

Still as slick as ever. The languid senior lightly kicked my leg with his boot.

“Not getting up~?”

I scrambled to my feet at once.

I braced myself for Trevain to start something—but surprisingly, he just snorted once and left the Portal Zone. Without picking a fight with Ricardo, without hurling contempt my way.

He vanished from sight without even sparing me a glance.

We watched Trevain’s back as he exited the Portal Zone.

I wished I could keep watching that back for the rest of my life....

Of course, that wasn’t possible—and this time, Ricardo half-grabbed me by the collar.

“You little bastard.... You’ve grown, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Senior.”

I surrendered swiftly and efficiently.

“I was flustered and acted without thinking....”

Ricardo didn’t let go of my clothes.

Instead, he shoved me against the wall. With my shoulder pinned, he declared to Jonathan and Tom that he’d talk with me for a bit before going. He said he’d make time to coordinate the dinner later.

I heard Tom reply politely. Jonathan didn’t respond. I only saw him quietly leave the Portal Zone. Since his back was turned, I couldn’t see his expression.

Was I too obvious about avoiding him?

A wave of guilt washed over me, leaving a dull ache in my chest.

It would’ve been easier for both of us if he’d rejected me first.

“Since you went on a mission together, I thought there might’ve been some progress....”

Ricardo’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I tore my gaze from the doorway people had left through.

“This time, you’re the one running away.... What are you trying to pull~?”

“Rick.”

I looked honestly into the green eyes right in front of me.

“I’m scared to talk to Senior Kudo. He has very valid reasons for disliking me.”

“That guy is emotional~.”

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable reaction.”

“So.... You planning to run away like this forever~?”

“Think about it, Rick. His past wounds are that deep. There’s no way he could forgive me. Even if it wasn’t directly my fault, seeing me would still make his blood boil.”

“How do you know what his tolerance is like~.... Don’t assume things about people~....”

“But you too, Senior—”

The hand pinning my shoulder twitched.

His face hardened. I hurriedly continued, afraid he’d misunderstand.

“You know what that feeling is like too. I don’t know why you accepted me, Senior.... And I’m truly grateful for that, but everyone’s capacity for acceptance is different.”

“So how do you know what that guy’s capacity is~?”

“I’m scared to find out directly. If I get rejected again, I think I’d be really sad.”

Ricardo stared at me.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Since I was guilty of bolting like that, I kept my mouth shut and stood still. After a long while, Ricardo finally broke the silence.

“Were you like this with me too, when I was acting stupid?”

I don’t think he was acting stupid.

But I didn’t voice that thought. I hesitated, wondering how honest I should be.

Well. Lying would probably get caught anyway.

“Yes.”

The senior looked at me again with an unreadable expression.

Then, just as the silence began to make me anxious, he dropped the hand pressing my shoulder and let out a sigh.

It was a sigh deep enough to make the ground cave in.

“Let’s just go eat dinner.... Without Jonathan~....”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Oh, by the way—did Trevain notice you~?”

Ricardo asked as he walked toward the exit.

I followed him and answered yes. Matching the pace of the senior walking with his hands in his pockets, I explained everything that had happened. Ricardo let out several sighs as he listened.

Only after we sat down at the restaurant he’d chosen did the green-eyed senior finally stop sighing.

Though I did momentarily shock him by answering a call labeled “Daeja” and having it revealed to be Yehyeon.

In any case, Ricardo didn’t bring up Jonathan again.

As we ate dinner, I thought how fortunate it was that I didn’t have to face Jonathan together with them right away.

***

“You’re here?”

The next day. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Bobby snapped her foldable phone shut and grinned.

“Let’s go. They’re already waiting inside.”

I arrived at the meeting place with the owner of Lexic Noodles.