Black Badger

Her words snapped me back to my senses.

I blinked and answered.

“I didn’t get hit.”

The short-haired senior snorted.

It’s true....

If necessary, I was going to avoid it even if it meant using force. I didn’t get a chance to argue that. Sophia swept her black bob back over her shoulder and walked toward me.

The senior who had been hit by Sophia was unconscious, collapsed on the floor.

The people standing nearby looked so shocked they’d forgotten how to move. They only opened and closed their mouths; no one spoke.

With every step, the container boxes echoed with a hollow thud, thud.

Sophia passed the stiffened Badgers indifferently.

“Step back.”

The black-haired senior who stopped in front of me said it.

His gaze was directed over my shoulder.

“What are you doing, surrounding a junior like this?”

My body was freed.

The senior who had been holding me stepped back. I rubbed the area around my trapezius.

Then I saw familiar faces.

Carl, letting out a sigh, and Ricardo, narrowing his eyes as he swept his gaze over the Badgers.

They didn’t move, and for a while, everyone remained silent.

The one who spoke was an unfamiliar senior.

“Do you have no pride?”

It was a Badger with his hair tied into a single topknot.

A feeling I knew well flared in the eyes of the senior who had asked the question.

“You were born and raised in the middle of the war, weren’t you. Do you really want to protect that?”

“How many?”

Carl asked the question.

The Badger who had spoken turned to look at Carl.

“...Twenty-three.”

“Everyone’s misfortune can’t be compared. But don’t you think there’s a reason why Badgers who’ve either fought in the war or grown up in its flames have accepted Hildebert?”

There wasn’t even a fragment of anger in Carl’s voice—very like him.

He’s an impressive person.

Of course, there are plenty of times when that calm tone doesn’t work.

The Badger who’d been rebutted frowned, and a male Badger who had been standing opposite him, silent until now, added,

“You’ve forgotten your anger toward the enemy, Senior.”

What are you talking about.

“Or forgotten your loss.”

How can someone say something so careless?

Without even imagining the weight of the past Sophia and Ricardo carry.

A cold anger climbed up my chest. I was even more furious because they were hearing this kind of talk for protecting me.

But if I lost my temper here, I’d only be giving them an excuse to vent their anger.

Carl answered.

“Or maybe you’re the one addicted to anger. What changes if you cowardly drag Hildebert into a container and gang up on him?”

“Are you saying revenge has meaning? Next you’ll tell us to forget the names of the fallen and just look forward!”

“If you really thought it was unjust, you should’ve protested up the chain.”

“This is personal revenge.”

“I’ve got nothing to say about this topic.”

Sophia said.

She was standing right in the middle of everyone.

As usual, the senior who wore a muted anger like a second skin rolled up her black sleeves.

“So you’re just trying to pick a fight by calling it a junior’s lynching.”

Her husky, icy voice echoed inside the container.

“Six of you ganging up on a junior because you don’t have the guts to face him one-on-one. This is something that needs discipline tightened again.”

“Does a single Badger take down a Creature on their own?!”

“You’ve forgotten everything.”

One of the unnamed Badgers muttered ominously.

“Both the anger and the loss that once made you point a gun at the Commander-in-Chief.”

“You don’t need to hear things like this because of me.”

I said it before I could stop myself.

Eyes turned toward me. Sophia with her sleeves rolled up, the unfamiliar seniors wearing displeased expressions, even the two men standing at the threshold all turned to look at me.

I looked at Sophia and spoke in a subdued voice.

“I’ll avoid it properly, Senior. I’m still useful. I can get by without getting beaten even without help.”

“I don’t need your help to discipline juniors either.”

Sophia turned away.

My eyes went wide.

But she didn’t look back at me.

Instead, she called out to Ricardo, who was standing at the threshold.

“Senior.”

Ricardo answered by lifting one eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.

“Take ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Hilde out.”

“Yeah....”

The green-eyed senior straightened his previously crooked posture.

“Please wrap things up nicely~.”

Then Ricardo strode in and grabbed my arm firmly.

I made a startled sound, but he didn’t even pretend to listen.

My body was yanked straight outside. While that was happening, Carl ignored my calls of “Senior? Seniors?” and stepped inside the threshold.

I heard the sound of him closing the container door behind me.

As Ricardo dragged me along, I looked back at the container, now tightly shut.

“What are the two of you staying behind to....”

“Later, make sure you thank Ayer once~. He told us your location....”

Huh?

I hadn’t seen Ruta Ayer today at all.

I wanted to ask where he’d seen me, but it didn’t seem like Ricardo would entertain my question.

The man walked briskly, gripping my arm tightly, his face expressionless.

I wish he’d let go of my arm.

I thought that as I followed obediently.

I knew it was an irrational fear, but the thought of what if I absorb him began to creep over me.

“Rick. Please let go of my arm.”

I pleaded quietly.

“Ricardo?”

The green-eyed senior rolled his eyes.

I didn’t get an answer. His phone rang at that moment. It seemed like the caller was Ska. Despite having just used the title “aide,” the senior spoke on the phone with a surprising lack of formality.

While on the call, Ricardo loosened his grip, but he didn’t let go completely.

The call didn’t end until we reached the underground parking lot.

“Are you heading to the video center too, Rick?”

“No....”

I thought he might be coming along, but apparently not.

I wondered if that was why Ska had called. But even after answering that way, Ricardo followed me all the way to my car. When we reached it, I felt his hand finally drop and let out a small sigh of relief.

I should thank him for walking me out.

I lifted my head, and the senior said,

“Doesn’t seem like it’ll spread outside the organization.... But internally, rumors are spreading faster than you’d think, so don’t go following random seniors you don’t know~.”

“Yes.”

I answered immediately.

“Don’t worry.”

I really have no intention of getting beaten up.

So I wished the seniors from the TF team wouldn’t shield me. It didn’t feel good seeing them hear things like that.

When I conveyed that sentiment, Ricardo rolled his eyes upward again.

“Yeah~. That’s the Hildebert answer, all right....”

“Are you angry? But really, I’m not affected by whatever people I don’t even know say.”

“It’s just me getting worked up, that’s all~.”

“Mm. Senior, you shouldn’t worry either. Opinions from people whose names I barely know don’t matter. They’re not even skilled enough to be worth caring about.”

I meant it sincerely, but the senior’s expression didn’t ease.

Looking at him like that, I felt both apologetic and grateful at the same time. The TF seniors are genuinely good people. If they didn’t truly care about me, they wouldn’t be this stressed.

It almost feels like they’re more stressed than I am....

Ricardo muttered, almost to himself.

“If we’re being precise, I don’t really have the right to get angry either, but....”

“Yes?”

What is he talking about all of a sudden.

When I didn’t understand, the man waved his hand dismissively.

Get in the car.

I hesitated and opened the driver’s door.

Seeing me waver, Ricardo snapped irritably,

“Get in~! Don’t just stand there awkwardly....”

“Yes. Um, Rick. Thank you for helping today. But I’m really fine, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Since the Colosseum, I don’t believe it when you say you’re fine....”

That’s really unfair.

There’s nothing more meaningless to me than the opinions of people I haven’t formed bonds with.

What did I even do at the Colosseum to lose his trust?

As I sat in the driver’s seat, I briefly retraced my memories.

Back when I hadn’t yet remembered everything.

The mission where I first met Bobby and Asil.

The noisy stage and the vulgar audience.

The grotesque variety of Creatures the repulsive hosts kept parading out....

Huh?

Wait.

Among those Creatures back then,

as far as I remember....

“Fuu!”

I shouted reflexively.

Ricardo, who had been stepping aside in front of the car, flinched at the sudden shout.

The senior looked down at me with an expression asking what the hell was wrong, then bent his eyes and looked at me sitting in the driver’s seat with the door open.

I smoothed my expression and met Ricardo’s gaze.

“Rick, do you remember Fuu?!”

“What ‘fuu’?”

Ricardo said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

***

I stopped by the video center to check the flower.

But half my mind was elsewhere. Even as I set a date to visit the video center together with the Emperor, my heart was impatient, my foot tapping sharply against the floor.

It had been a while since I’d come to the center.

As expected, there was nothing new I discovered about the flower during this visit.

But remembering something else was enough.

I could see a small breakthrough. In high spirits, I contacted Yoow, Igor, Kairos, Rose, and Yun one after another.

And that night, for the first time, I entrusted Yoow with the Emperor’s escort.

Calling it an escort was an exaggeration—it was just asking him to sleep in the same cabin.

“Please take care of it.”

After seeing Yoow off with a brief nod, I hurried straight to Kairos’s house.

The homeowner, along with Igor, Rose, and Yun, were waiting for me in silence.

I was grateful enough that they hadn’t started fighting.

I slammed the front door shut.

“I’ve figured out a method.”

I threw out the words without any preface.

Everyone stared straight at me.

“A way to confirm whether it’s the Emperor or Jaeyeon.”

The gazes grew heavier.

We went into the study.

A place unusually quiet compared to the rest. A room with a mahogany conference table so expensive it made you afraid to ask the price. As soon as I sat down at the center of that table, I laid out the plan I’d come up with.

The plan was simple.

Present a mimicking Creature before the Emperor.

If we brought it before him, the Creature would perfectly imitate the Emperor’s appearance.

If he were the real Emperor, there’d be no particular reaction.

Maybe he’d just say something like, ‘You’re thinking of making a double with this? Do you really think that’s a good idea?’

But if the Emperor were actually Jaeyeon, the reaction would be different.

With a very high probability, a negative one.

“What was it called again?”

I asked, looking at Kairos.

“That monster. The high-tier ones imitate their target’s appearance pretty faithfully, don’t they?”

“That’s right.”

The tamer answered with a dubious expression.

“At least the appearance. As for the voice, it can only mimic the sounds the target makes, like a parrot.... Hilde. Do you really think this will work?”

“It’s an idiotic plan.”

That was Igor’s assessment.

“Just as idiotic as that carrot-something plan. The Captain has a strange talent for coming up with shoddy plans.”

“But it worked that time too.”

I’d expected this reaction.

I took it without flinching and shot back,

“The simpler the plan, the better.”

“That’s amazing, Captain!”

Rose clasped both hands together and jumped into the conversation.

“So all I have to do is catch that monster, right?!”

“Yeah. That’s why I called you. If possible, ones with a higher tier. I thought it might be easier to capture them if you go with Kairos.”

“Well.... It’s not a particularly hard monster to catch, so if you tell me to, I can bring back as many as you want.... But I’m not that familiar with shapeshifters, so I’m not sure whether this will really work.”

“I told you it’s idiotic.”

“It’s not bad.”

Yun spoke up abruptly.

The man who had shown no movement or sound until now suddenly asserted his presence. Everyone turned their heads toward Yun at once.

I relaxed my face.

“Right?”

“Decent enough. If it’s Jaeyeon, there will definitely be a reaction.”

How satisfying.

The one who had spent nearly fifty years searching for ways to screw Jaeyeon over was Choi Yun.

There was nothing more reliable than his evaluation.

Grinning, I turned to Igor.

As I endured Igor’s incredulous stare, Yun added,

“At the very least, it won’t fail. As long as you put a well-crafted Creature in front of him.”

“Exactly, right? Thank you. That’s what I thought.”

“Yeah. But if you’re going to use that method, go all the way.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t approach it lightly, just thinking about confirming whether it’s Jaeyeon or the Emperor. Plan it with the resolve that if it is Jaeyeon, you’ll drag what’s inside all the way out.”

After saying that, Yun straightened his posture and sat properly in his chair.

The indifferent expression he’d been wearing the whole time since entering the study vanished completely. Sitting upright, the sniper leaned his upper body forward.

Yun stared at me as if piercing straight through my eyes.

“I’ve got a plan inspired by your idea. Listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

“First, catch Mongmong on sight.”

“...What?”

What the hell is Mongmong.

When I made a blank face, Yun repeated himself.

“Catch at least fifty Mongmong.”

“Mongmong?”

“The mimicking Creature you were talking about.”

“That’s called Mongmong?”

Mongmong?

“Yeah. Mongmong.”

That thing’s name is Mongmong?

***

And so the operation later named the Double Mong Plan began to roll forward.

Aside from waiting, there wasn’t much for me to do.

Of course, that didn’t mean I truly had nothing to do.

From the start, there was one thing I absolutely had to do before putting the plan into action.

Show the flower.

Use the Emperor’s knowledge to grasp the enemy’s movements.

Week two of the escort.

At last, I left the cabin together with the Emperor and headed for the video center.

Once inside the restricted zone, I showed him the flower without any back-and-forth. I already knew the Emperor wouldn’t refuse. Kissing my foot had been a kind of small contract.

A promise to give each other what we wanted.

True to that, the Emperor carefully examined the data filling the controlled area.

Only after letting the videos and photographs linger in his eyes for a long while did he finally speak.

「I know.」

It was a voice whose inner thoughts were unreadable.

「What Kysis desperately coaxed into bloom.」