Black Badger

Yoow lifted the head that had been struck down, his expression dazed.

But the one more flustered than Yoow was Ami.

The small senior, who had frozen in surprise, scurried over.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

I grabbed Yoow by the back of his collar and pulled him behind me, smiling brightly as I did.

After blocking Yoow from Ami’s line of sight, I turned with a gentle smile.

“I apologize for putting you in the same space. I’ll drag him out as soon as the meeting ends.”

“I’m really fine though.... I go hang out at the cabin all the time.”

“That’s your choice, Ami. This isn’t.”

I twisted my upper body and looked back at Yoow, who was standing silently behind me.

The tactician had his mouth shut, watching my face.

I pointed to the corner of the meeting room.

“Go plant yourself there.”

“Yes.”

“Aaah!”

Ami shrieked and grabbed my left arm.

“No! It’s fine!”

It’s not fine.

After confirming that Yoow had gone to stand in the corner with his face practically pressed to it, I turned back. Lowering my head slightly, I smiled and gestured for Ami to take a seat.

Her round eyes wobbled violently. She clearly wanted to argue, but my firm smile seemed to stop her from speaking.

I gently pushed her by the back.

“We’ll continue this conversation after the meeting.”

I felt awful for not having found a way to keep them from sharing the same space.

“And thank you for the keychain, Ami. I’ll keep it on my car keys.”

In the end, Ami sat down with a slightly troubled expression.

When she took the seat next to Ricardo, the green-eyed senior tilted his head at an angle and said something to her. His voice was low, so I couldn’t hear the content.

He’ll handle it well.

As I turned back toward my kin, more people started pouring in.

Carl Dow from the TF team entered first, followed by Sophia Kalak.

Both of them returned my greeting properly.

Even after I introduced my kin, Sophia didn’t furrow her brow.

“Hey.”

Instead, she stared straight at me and said,

“Looks like you’re not getting beaten up these days.”

“I’m trying.”

When I smiled wryly, she studied me for a long moment before heading inside.

Carl arched his brow and jerked his chin toward Yoow’s back.

“What’s with him? Isn’t he your subordinate?”

“He made a serious mistake, so I told him to reflect over there.”

When I smiled lightly, Carl stared hard at me.

I widened my smile.

“I’ll give you a brief introduction later.”

The senior nodded with a dubious look and went inside.

More people followed in a steady stream.

Dante, Cheon Lin, and Karsten, whom I’d briefly exchanged names with at the year-end party.

Others I hadn’t met properly, or was seeing for the first time.

Ruta Ayer, the squad leader of the kidnapped unit, also entered the meeting room.

I greeted him politely, my expression neutral.

“Senior.”

Ayer stared at me.

Strangely, there was no hatred or resentment in his gaze.

That puzzled me enough to make me blink, but Ayer soon walked inside without a word.

People kept coming in without pause. Asil Fiscer, the former police officer. Aki, the sharpshooter.

Then Shu came in.

“Shu!”

I ran over to her as she rolled into the meeting room in her wheelchair.

“How are you feeling? I didn’t expect you to come today.”

“I’m not going out on the mission. But I was ordered to attend the meeting.”

She said it flatly, her expression unchanged.

She was wearing white shorts.

On the wheelchair rested two legs, turned ashen and completely unmoving.

“I still can’t really walk.”

Shu flicked her gaze briefly to her legs.

“But Senior Ami has been helping me a lot. I’m going to keep trying.”

Ah.

Once again, I resolved to end things with Kyle as quickly as possible.

Her legs, calcified from what she’d endured when she was kidnapped. That was a soldier’s wound, so I didn’t pity her. But I knew how much Shu loved riding her hoverboard, and that made my chest ache.

Had there ever been a precedent of a body that stiff recovering its movement?

Humans had different bodies from us, so the outcome might be different.

I have to hold onto hope.

I nodded, then moved to go behind her wheelchair—only for Asil to step up and push it instead.

I watched Shu take her seat with the help of the seniors.

Even then, people kept coming in.

Iljin and Ijin.

In other words, Jason Trevain and Chen Koenig.

Ha.

The ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) moment I saw them enter the meeting room, I sighed inwardly.

How was I supposed to stop a clash with those two this time?

There was no way they wouldn’t pick a fight. And as top seniors, they wouldn’t be easy to restrain.

I decided I’d first have to shut Yoow up, since he listened the least, and then physically block Igor if he tried to jump out of his seat.

But before I could act on that judgment, someone stepped in between Trevain and me.

The person who cut in broke into a wide smile when he saw me.

“Hilde. Have you introduced all four of your people to the seniors who arrived earlier?”

It was Personnel Director Kang Ju.

Trevain and I both lifted our eyes.

I reacted first.

“I’ve introduced them to some, but not all.”

“The Commander will formally introduce everyone once he arrives~.”

Ju smiled cheerfully and looked at my kin standing behind me.

Then he naturally walked over to them.

“Mind if I give a brief introduction?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Of course.”

“Jason.”

Ju called out to Jason, who was standing there with a deeply furrowed brow, the moment he finished speaking.

“And Chen. Come over here. You should greet them.”

“Yoow.”

I called out to the tactician as well.

“Come back now.”

As Yoow returned to his place with a gloomy air, the Personnel Director approached my subordinates.

At the end of his path stood Rose. She was wearing an elegant smile—the kind she used at parties as Heath’s wife on paper.

Why is he going to her?

I narrowed my eyes and watched my superior approach my people.

Ju stopped in front of Rose and smiled warmly.

“Hello. I’m Kang Ju, in charge of personnel greetings for the Black Badgers. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

His gaze was evenly distributed to Yoow and Igor as well.

Igor raised an eyebrow in silence. Yoow’s brow tightened ever so slightly, while the Personnel Director skillfully pretended not to notice.

Kairos was technically a Badger now, so it seemed Ju didn’t give him particular attention....

With a smile that looked like it could bloom into flowers, Ju continued.

“We’ll have time for a formal introduction shortly, but I thought we might exchange names briefly first. Jason, Chen. These people will be participating in this mission on Hilde’s side. They are Hilde’s kin. Ms. Clair, Mr. Igor, Mr. Yoow. And these two are first-generation Badgers Jason Trevain and Chen Koenig. They’ve been fighting steadfastly since the First War.”

“Oh my. So you’re war heroes.”

Rose covered her mouth with her palm.

As if surprised.

Shyly....

“You must always work so hard. Thank you so much for helping us even though this must feel uncomfortable.”

Rose smiled brightly and extended her right hand to Jason.

A flush spread across her pale cheeks.

“I may be lacking in many ways, and I can’t compare to veterans like you, but I’ll do my best not to hold you back.”

“No, not at all.”

Trevain grinned.

?

What.

He’s smiling?

“We’ll make sure to protect you. That’s our job. By the way, your full name?”

“Lacy Clair. Nice to meet you.”

“Jason Trevain.”

Trevain extended his right hand to Rose, asking for a handshake.

“Please call me Jason.”

I stood there, utterly dumbfounded, watching the whole exchange. I was frozen in place, having forgotten how to speak.

To make matters worse, Chen walked right past me, grinned, and held out his hand to Rose as well.

“Wow, you’re incredibly beautiful.”

After spouting that nonsense, he clasped her hand.

“We’ll protect you, so don’t worry too much. You’re very brave.”

What is this.

Protect you?

Don’t worry?

Brave?

I listened to their conversation in a daze.

The Chen Koenig who used to fly into a rage about running missions with humanoid Creatures was nowhere to be seen. There was only Chen Koenig, unable to suppress a foolish smile at Rose’s fake one.

The Jason Trevain who hated humanoid Creatures more than anyone because of the past was gone as well. There was only Jason Trevain politely asking how she’d gotten here.

I stared at them stupidly, forgetting even to blink.

Then I turned my head toward the inside of the meeting room.

Ricardo and Jonathan were staring straight at me.

‘What is this?’

I mouthed the question while pointing at Trevain. Ricardo just shook his head.

Jonathan blinked slowly, looking not particularly surprised.

Wow....

This bad?

At this point, is it that they literally can’t think normally in front of a woman?

I felt ashamed of my past self for ever feeling even a shred of sympathy for Jason Trevain. I should have listened to the words of the light and salt of my life much earlier.

Ami had clearly said, “If Hilde were a woman, he wouldn’t have cared,” and I’d only half believed her at the time, thinking it sounded ridiculous.

I’m sorry, Ami.

You have always given me nothing but correct advice....

“I’ve heard so much about how outstanding you are.”

Rose’s affected, sugary voice drifted over.

“You’ve been on duty the longest, right? That’s amazing!”

Igor stepped up beside me.

Lowering his head to my ear, he muttered in the imperial tongue,

「What are those idiots?」

I exerted tremendous self-control to suppress a sigh.

「Their skills are usable.」

Igor raised his brows skeptically. I couldn’t exactly blame him.

Still, when it came to evaluating combat strength, I tried to be fair. I also tried not to be excessively cold.

Objectively speaking, without Trevain and Chen, our strength would drop too much.

But how long are they planning to act like this in front of Rose?

“Is everyone here?”

Just as I was about to step in and pull the seniors away from my subordinate, a husky voice pierced my ears.

I quickly turned my head and saw Yehyeon entering the meeting room.

Aides followed behind him. Choi Yun. Richard Green.

A flood of men poured in, and the room fell silent.

The top commander swept his gaze across the messy meeting room.

“If everyone’s here, let’s begin.”

With that calm statement, the atmosphere shifted completely.

The chaotic air settled, and the meeting began at once.

***

As soon as the meeting started, Yehyeon briefly introduced my kin.

He picked out only the essentials. He announced their names and made it clear that they were the same kind of being as me. He stated that they would be participating in this operation, but since they would be acting separately throughout, there would be little chance of encountering them during the mission.

“So there shouldn’t be much confusion in the chain of command.”

Yehyeon muttered monotonously without lifting his eyes from the pad.

“You were informed before attending the meeting, but details regarding these individuals are to remain confidential.”

My kin bowed quietly.

Light applause spread through the meeting room.

There was no backlash.

It seemed the leadership had already removed potential sources of opposition before the meeting began.

They must have spoken with Richard Green, the most hardline Badger, in advance. Otherwise, Richard wouldn’t have entered alongside the leadership.

Jason Trevain and Chen Koenig, who would have raised objections next, had just been handled right in front of everyone by the Personnel Director.

Ricardo and Jonathan, who had participated in the Second War, thankfully trusted me, and the Badgers under them didn’t have the leeway to object.

So, for now, a joint mission without visible resistance.

Before getting into the substance of the mission, the Personnel Director asked me to give a brief introduction.

“Since you’ll be working together, I figured you should at least know each other’s names.”

I nodded.

Meeting the gazes directed at me, I introduced the kin seated in a row beside me.

“Lacy Clair, Igor, and Yoow. Lacy specializes in infiltration. Igor is a swordsman like me. Yoow was once a tactician. All three are highly capable, so they won’t hold the operation back.”

I kept it as concise as possible.

When I finished, short, perfunctory applause rang out.

As the clapping died down, I hesitated, then carefully added,

“And Jack was a handler.”

Someone gasped.

Stinging gazes stabbed into my face.

It felt like everyone was barely restraining a flood of questions. If Yehyeon hadn’t been there, they would’ve bombarded me without pause.

But Yehyeon ignored the disturbance.

Instead, after offering a perfunctory thanks for the introductions, he interlaced his fingers and turned his gaze to Yoow.

The supreme commander’s voice echoed through the room.

“Before we move on to establishing the detailed mission plan, I’d like to hear any requests or proposals you may have.”

Even knowing that Yoow was the one who had fired Green Dream–tainted bullets at him, Yehyeon showed no particular reaction.

His voice, when addressing Yoow, was ruthlessly professional.

“Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

All eyes turned to the gloomy man.

I kept my mouth shut and quietly waited for Yoow to speak.

He understood the gravity of the situation, so surely he wouldn’t go too far.

And if he suddenly exploded, Igor or Rose would step in appropriately....

“Are you going to start by pronouncing Hildebert’s name properly?”

Huh?

My jaw dropped at the unexpected words.

Yoow narrowed his eyes and stared seriously at the seniors.

More precisely, at Giacomo Ro.

“This really isn’t acceptable.”

Hey!

No!