Black Badger

I thought sleeping might calm it down a little.

But of course—it didn’t disappear.

I sensed that the fire would only be extinguished if I delivered the most miserable ending possible to Colton Wiseman. Until then, the raging inferno of anger would keep burning inside me.

I had to drag it out before it consumed me.

I got out of bed and went down to the first floor.

I went down with my phone in hand, but I didn’t check it.

Deltei was alone on the first floor.

She stared straight at me as I smiled.

“You’re angry.”

“I am.”

“If it’s too much, you can stop.”

I let out a small laugh.

“I’ll think about it after I finish my revenge. Not yet.”

“You’re going to keep working as a Black Badger?”

“For now. I also need to go to Antarctica.”

“Antarctica?”

Deltei’s blue eyes widened.

“Antarctica, all of a sudden?”

I called Yehyeon first.

I dialed while putting slices of bread from the fridge into the toaster. It was 10:30 a.m., so he would be at work. I had also sent him a message telling him to call me when he woke up.

I still couldn’t bring myself to check the messages from the other seniors.

Yehyeon picked up almost immediately.

[Hilde.]

His voice was so desperate it startled me.

I nearly dropped the strawberry jam I was holding.

“Yes, Commander.”

[Commander... ah. Are you calling about official business? Before that, may I talk with you for a moment? There are things I want to ask before we talk about work....]

“Are you busy?”

[Not at all.]

He asked urgently, like a child.

[Is it okay to talk?]

Hearing his voice made me feel guilty.

He must have been really shaken. It was something even he hadn’t known about, and I had stormed out after causing a scene—he must have had a hard time cleaning it up.

I told him it was of course fine to talk and asked what had happened after I left that day.

Yehyeon cut it off, telling me not to worry about that.

[I completely shut down the complaints.]

Must’ve been rough.

[You won’t be receiving anonymous messages anymore.]

After reassuring me that everything was fine and had been resolved, Yehyeon asked about my emotional state.

“Anyway, I want to go to Antarctica and recover my stamina.”

I answered honestly.

I despise Jaeyeon, but the knowledge he went through the trouble of delivering to me will be put to good use.

“I want to leave as soon as today, if possible.”

[Let’s do that.]

The reply was unexpected.

[Leaving sooner is actually better. Before the Antarctic winter deepens.]

I arrived at headquarters after lunch.

On the way, riding in Kairos’s car, I received a large amount of information through the Black Badger specialized-duty app.

First of all, it was currently winter in Antarctica.

There was no light. In winter, the glaciers thickened to the point that access by ship was impossible. In fact, it was correct not to approach during winter at all. The winds were fierce, and violent storms swept through periodically.

Originally, they had planned to go by aircraft.

But that plan was canceled. The risk of something going wrong was too high.

We would use a portal to cross over to the South Pole base in Antarctica.

A base that had once been used for research.

Because of the altitude, oxygen saturation was low, and since it was far from the sea, it was even colder.

They said an Ice Dragon was sleeping nearby. Fortunately—or perhaps because of it—the portal device was in remarkably good condition despite the cold.

The device was installed inside the South Pole base.

The team going to Antarctica was the same as always.

Yun, Ami, Ricardo, Kai, Sophia.

With Kairos added.

William Walker was excluded.

In fact, I was told that Ricardo and Sophia had also initially been on the exclusion list. It wasn’t a mission that required Badgers skilled at killing Creatures.

However, taking into account the Badgers’ own requests and my particular circumstances, the two of them were ultimately included.

They were already waiting for me near the General Affairs warehouse.

Together with Kairos, I entered the first-floor conference room of the General Affairs annex.

The moment I opened the door, gazes poured onto me.

People in black combat uniforms stared straight at me.

I gave a bitter smile.

“Seniors.”

They didn’t move from their seats.

“I’m truly sorry for causing such a mess and leaving.”

I bowed my head, then raised it again.

“I’ll do well on this mission.”

The seniors didn’t answer right away.

They just kept looking at me without moving. The TF team members scanned my face with subtle expressions I couldn’t read.

A chilly space, with only us inside.

Surprisingly, the first to speak was Sophia.

“Did you hear from Lucia Kwon?”

Huh?

“I haven’t been able to check all my messages yet, so I don’t know. Did Lucia sunbae have a reason to contact me?”

“She was the one who made that comment about ‘seniors,’ right?”

“Oh—.”

Now that I thought about it, the voice did sound familiar.

It wasn’t that I was particularly angry at the person who had thrown those words at me. At the time, I was just angry at humans in general. People who had neither the ability nor the knowledge to clean things up, chattering away—it irritated me.

But well, if you really looked at it, the seniors weren’t all that much at fault.

“I see. Honestly, I don’t really care anymore.”

I answered simply.

The seniors’ expressions grew subtle.

Unable to guess what they were thinking, I stayed quiet. Then Ami asked carefully.

“Hilde... are you angry?”

I looked into her round eyes.

“Angry at whom?”

Ami’s face went pale.

“He’s angry. Hilde is really angry.”

“I’m not angry at you, Ami.”

I answered gently, but Ami’s face crumpled.

She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

I mean it....

It’s because someone like you exists that I’m here.

But before I could step closer and tell her that, Ami twisted her body away and walked toward the table beside her.

A gray, square table.

On top of it sat a mysterious object that looked like a tiny microwave or steamer.

What is that?

As I stared at it in confusion, Ami pressed a button on the strange device.

The door popped open.

There was something inside.

A delicious smell tickled my nose as it leaked out.

“Whoa.”

What’s inside there, don’t tell me....

“Lexic noodles?”

“I made them.”

Ami took out the bowl without wiping the sulky look off her face.

“I made them for you, Hilde.... I know something like this won’t make you feel better, but still....”

“You made this for me?”

“Yeah. Rick followed the recipe.”

“And you brought it here to match the timing?”

“Yeah. I was worried it’d get cold, so I put it in a food-warming machine the scientists invented.”

“I mean.... I’m seriously moved.”

“The noodles might be a little soggy, though....”

“That’s even better. I like soggy noodles more.”

“Huh?”

When they’re a little soggy, the sauce soaks in better. It tastes better that way.

I looked down at the Lexic noodles on the table and thought.

I ignored Yun muttering, ‘Seriously, your taste buds...’.

I’m really moved....

I stood there for a moment, savoring the smell that made my salivary glands ache.

Then I couldn’t take it anymore and walked toward the bowl of Lexic noodles by the shortest possible route.

Ami, with her eyes drooping, quickly and neatly set the table for me.

“It should taste the same. Rick said he followed the recipe exactly. He even guaranteed it tastes exactly like that shitty thing you used to eat.”

“Rick.”

I plopped myself down in front of the plate and looked up at Ricardo.

“Thank you. I’m really touched, I....”

Ricardo looked down at me with a smile that seemed half resigned.

“...Yeah. If you’re happy, then~....”

“I really am. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of excitement.”

“Ah~. That’s really satisfying~.”

“But did you not sleep well yesterday? You look kind of tired.”

“Just eat already....”

That’s harsh.

Of course, I had already neatly split the disposable chopsticks in two.

It does feel a bit awkward eating when I’m the only one doing it. But still, someone went to the trouble of making it—I should eat it quickly, shouldn’t I?

I grabbed a generous bundle of noodles with my chopsticks.

Put the noodles into my mouth.

That familiar taste spread through my mouth.

It’s good.

It’s so good....

“Is it really okay for me to be the only one eating this?”

“Please, let it be just you.”

When I finally came to my senses mid-meal and asked, Sophia replied coldly.

It’s seriously delicious—why does no one appreciate this flavor?

I sent Ricardo an enthusiastic review telling him it was truly the best, but he didn’t look particularly pleased. If anything, he stared up at the ceiling with an expression that said he desperately wanted a cigarette right now.

Why, though.

Anyway, eating something good after such a long time made me feel a little happier.

Even though there was no need, the seniors helped clean up. They snatched the bowl and chopsticks right out of my hands and took care of them somewhere on their own.

Only then did we return to talking about work.

Planning the details of the Antarctic mission.

I.... carrying my fear with me, told Kairos the truth.

“There’s an Ice Dragon in Antarctica. That’s what we’re going to see.”

Kairos blinked.

“An Ice Dragon? Why?”

“Because a being who carries the Emperor’s memories said that receiving dragon-grade mana restores leaf-veins.”

Even as I explained, I prepared myself to stop him if he got excited.

Considering what he was like back in the Empire, it wouldn’t have been strange at all for him to immediately leap into the portal connected to Antarctica.

But Kairos didn’t get excited.

Sitting at the end of the cold conference table, looking at me, he simply replied,

“I see.”

...Huh?

“Are your mana channels open?”

“No....”

“Then it’ll be painful.”

Kairos frowned.

“I’ve opened mine before. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. If you asked me to do it again, I couldn’t.”

“It hurts? I thought you just get hit by the Ice Dragon beam and magically heal?”

“Do you ever take anything seriously?”

“Why aren’t you excited?”

Letting the siblings’ exchange slide, I leaned toward Kairos.

“Why are you so calm about this?”

Kairos looked genuinely puzzled.

He looked like he had no idea what kind of question this was supposed to be.

“...Hm. What kind of reaction am I supposed to have?”

“Every time upper-tier monsters like dragons come up, you lose half your reason. I thought you’d get fired up, go wild, and jump straight into a portal....”

That’s why I had even begged the seniors beforehand not to tell him in advance.

But the handler still didn’t understand me.

“That’s because this is an Ice Dragon old enough to be classified as an ancient dragon.”

“So?”

“It’s not something you can really treat as a monster you can contract.”

This time, I was the one who didn’t understand.

When I just stared blankly, Kairos finally looked like he’d realized where my confusion came from.

He swept his gaze over me and the seniors.

“From the look of things, it might be better to explain Ice Dragons before we move on.”

What followed was his explanation.

Ice Dragons are quite different, [N O V E L I G H T] taxonomically, from Fire Dragons or Lightning Dragons. As explained before, Ice Dragons belong to an unusually intelligent and gentle branch among dragons. Their intelligence is high enough that Ice Dragons who have lived long lives learned language.

Naturally, something like ‘culture’ exists among them.

“To put it simply, the taxonomic gap between Ice Dragons and Fire Dragons is greater than the gap between humans and humanoid Creatures like us. Ice Dragons don’t even consider Fire Dragons or Lightning Dragons to be the same kind.”

“No way.... They’re both dragons.”

Stunned by information I’d never heard before, I asked back.

Kairos, who had been explaining while looking at the seniors, stared straight at me.

“Humans and chimpanzees are both primates too.”

Uh....

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, and Kairos continued.

“There are various evolutionary studies on dragons related to this, but I won’t go into detail. I’ll just share one major hypothesis. Fire Dragons and Lightning Dragons don’t use mana when they breathe fire or discharge electricity. Ice Dragons, however, use mana when they exhale cold, and as a result, their brains developed more than those of other dragons. That may have been the trigger for their evolution, though this is still, at best, merely the hypothesis Ice Dragons themselves examine most diligently....”

“Then how do Fire Dragons breathe fire? Do they produce methane gas or alcohol? Do they spit a flammable gas and ignite it? Electrical ignition?”

“Oh, that’s a good question.”

The handler’s face lit up at Yun’s question.

He then launched into an explanation of how Fire Dragons breathe fire—how they have two generator organs inside their mouths that ignite flammable gases, and so on and so forth.

If I didn’t cut this off now, the discussion would clearly last until night.

Sensing that instinctively, I abruptly cut Kairos off.

“You two can talk about that later.”

Thankfully, Kairos nodded right away.

“Fair enough. Anyway, back to the point.... Ice Dragons really are that different from other dragons. They have culture, and they value etiquette. This Ice Dragon will almost certainly be capable of polymorphing. That means it could even turn into a human.”

“Whoa.”

Ami let out a startled sound.

The red-haired man smiled faintly and wrapped up.

“So while I think it may not even be necessary for me to say this, it would be best to show as much courtesy as possible. A dragon capable of polymorph is a natural disaster. One breath, and we’d all be dead.”

“Guess I should update my will before we go~....”

“I hope they’re nice.”

Ami murmured, her eyes sparkling.

As if she’d never been gloomy at all, the small senior added with bright, round eyes,

“Then maybe we can go see penguins together....”

Antarctica in winter.

The coldest place on Earth, where no light reaches.

The South Pole base sat atop a thick glacier 2,800 meters above sea level. We would be staying in the power plant section of this base.

It was equipped with repaired emergency generators and its own heating facilities.

“Aviation fuel.”

“Check.”

“Medical supplies.”

“Check.”

“Food.”

“Check.”

We pushed the crates.

We kept feeding the supplies into the portal. Our goal was to return as quickly as possible, but in case the worst happened and we became stranded in Antarctica during winter, we prepared six months’ worth of supplies.

After sending everything through, we entered the portal one by one. I stepped forward willingly as well. We were bundled up in cold-weather gear to the absolute limit and on the verge of dying from the heat, so we didn’t hesitate and jumped straight into the portal.

The wavering view.

The sensation of being sucked in.

Someone grabbed my arm sharply and pulled me out of the portal.

We had arrived in Antarctica.