Black Badger

Before any explanation about the commercial, Jonathan started by laying out the situation.

First of all, he had woken up after almost four days.

Apparently he had come to briefly in between, but he didn’t remember any of that. He’d been told he’d been violently ill.

“He even insisted that Ska come and check on him.”

That was the explanation given by the taciturn comrade.

“Hildebert practically slept here.”

By some miracle, Ska still hadn’t caught the epidemic.

And the shutdown was still ongoing. The antibiotics hadn’t been completed yet. Most of the Badgers were still bedridden, and there were quite a few whose condition had worsened after everything that had happened.

Still, it wasn’t all bleak.

There had been an article saying that John Mühlen, who was conducting research together with Heath, had grasped a clue to the antibiotics.

With so many different samples available, it sounded like development wouldn’t take much longer.

He hadn’t heard how the samples were “diverse,” exactly. Jonathan, like Ricardo, had been hospitalized the entire time.

The rest of the news came from Ska, who was on the other end of the receiver.

Ska’s voice carried a deep, unmistakable exhaustion.

“Looks like you’re the one who needs to be hospitalized~....”

[“Yehyeon brought up retirement, so I feel like I’m going to die of stress. If he actually tries to retire, I’ll admit myself.”]

The aide, who was still living at headquarters, said this.

[“Thankfully, when I asked him how he could possibly say something like that, he got flustered and apologized.”]

“Is it because of the building collapse~?”

[“Most likely.”]

Ska said it was a relief there hadn’t been any casualties.

It didn’t seem like there was no public criticism at all, but in any case, the Creature infiltration incident itself was being wrapped up properly. Judging by how quickly he changed the subject, Ska didn’t seem inclined to explain any further.

The sharp-eyed comrade was always careful not to give Ricardo and Jonathan too much information.

The Creature outbreak—an incident where the worst-case scenario had been avoided.

Though the collapse of two buildings was a painful blow.

And the shutdown was still ongoing....

[“I honestly thought there would be casualties no matter what. It’s an absolute relief that it ended with just buildings collapsing.”]

“This was Hildebert’s doing, right~?”

[“Thanks to Hilde.”]

When Ricardo leaned back and asked casually, Ska politely corrected his phrasing.

[“And yes. To be precise, there were no casualties thanks to Hilde and the people on his side. You should’ve seen it. Everyone was incredible.”]

“I had a rough idea back when we ran missions together~....”

“...He had a nice voice, too.”

As Ricardo recalled not a pleasant memory, but Hildebert’s rampage, Jonathan suddenly cut into the conversation.

Ricardo blinked.

“What?”

Was his fever spiking again?

Apparently Ska had heard Jonathan’s comment as well, because he let out a quiet laugh.

Jonathan spoke calmly.

“Hilde is good at singing.”

“...Oh, yeah~?”

With no context whatsoever, Ricardo answered reflexively. Ska’s muffled laughter followed.

What was that supposed to mean?

Had Hildebert sung an aria while out of his mind?

As Ricardo looked at his comrade with disbelief, more explanation came—naturally, from Ska.

[“There was a Creature that could be dealt with using holy power, so the person who used to be a Saint and Hilde sang hymns together. Too bad you missed it. Apparently he was in a choir until his voice changed.”]

“A choir...?”

[“He grew up in a temple embedded in the Empire’s provinces. Since he did choir activities, he’d sometimes go sing at city temples and come back.”]

What the hell is this....

[“Ami said she didn’t hear it either and slammed the ground in grief, saying this couldn’t be happening.”]

“Ami~?”

[“She got infected late and is hospitalized nearby. Our combat strength just keeps dropping, so it’s a real problem.”]

Come to think of it—where exactly was he right now?

He’d heard the hospital wing had collapsed.

Sensing his confusion, Ska added a clean explanation. They were inside a temporary isolation ward. The Black Badger headquarters building itself was intact, but the entire headquarters site had been completely wrecked, so they’d cleared out the General Affairs containers behind it and set up a temporary ward.

He was trying to hide it, but the damage must have been severe.

On top of that, it seemed like a lot was weighing on his mind.

Ricardo prodded Ska just enough to draw out part of his true feelings.

[“I can’t shake the feeling that it’s not over.”]

His friend said quietly.

[“But the damage is serious. We’re short on both manpower and supplies. If the enemy regroups and pushes in now, things will get really bad. They struck and withdrew pretty intelligently.”]

“So what’s this commercial....”

Having more or less grasped the situation, Ricardo dragged the topic back.

Something he still couldn’t believe.

The green-eyed man recalled the long history of ‘Black Badger public service announcements’ he’d seen during his career and pinched the bridge of his nose.

They didn’t seriously go to film an actual PSA, did they?

[“It’s nothing major.”]

As Ricardo frowned, Ska spoke lightly.

[“They’re filming a short Lexic noodles commercial, apparently?”]

Ricardo’s mind went blank.

What commercial?

Lex....

That failed franchise?

“Didn’t it go under?”

[“They’re reopening.”]

“That garbage?”

[“Hey, don’t say it like that.”]

His good-natured comrade laughed.

[“He really likes it, you know. And Jonathan’s got it a bit wrong. They’re not filming right now—after the shutdown ends. For now, he probably just went to pick up the Lexic noodles he ordered.”]

Even the corrected information was absurd.

Why would he agree to do that in the first place?

Pressing his thumb hard into his aching forehead, the timing aligned perfectly as the ward tent opened.

Golden eyes that immediately drew attention.

Filled with worry and relief.

“Rick!”

“Hilde....”

Ricardo smiled broadly.

“You look good?”

Hildebert sharply registered the dangerous edge in his voice.

Ricardo immediately enjoyed watching Hildebert stiffen and cautiously read the room.

That cheeky junior had clearly rushed over the moment he heard Ricardo had woken up.

Rolling his eyes around, he assessed the situation.

Then he muttered in a shrinking voice.

“Why... are you angry...?”

That question marked the end of the call with Ska.

And Ricardo began mercilessly scolding Hildebert for having gone out to eat Lexic.

***

I looked down at the floor, dejected.

It wasn’t like I’d mindlessly said yes to filming.

It was true that I’d been tempted by the “Lexic noodles reopening” proposal Okazaki brought. Okazaki, who had taken over the franchise from Georges. The young owner had a sharp sense for trends and money, and he’d messaged me as soon as the chaos at headquarters started settling.

[Okazaki: If you film a commercial, it will help the Lexic noodles reopening immensely.]

Apparently I’d recently risen as a well-known figure inside Center Core.

Along with that, interest in Lexic noodles had surged.

Since they could no longer be tasted after shutting down, the noodles had gradually turned into a fantasy food, gaining explosive popularity. Okazaki said he couldn’t even count how many reopening requests he’d received.

[Okazaki: But this popularity is clearly temporary. To increase buzz even a little, I’d like to shoot a roughly 20-second commercial. Very low-key.]

With my achievements during the recent Creature outbreak becoming known—and my subsequent hospitalization—the synergy from filming now would be even greater.

Honestly, I was a little tempted.

But I didn’t actually intend to do it.

Not until I heard Yoow speak.

“It’s a good idea.”

“Huh?”

“We can’t hide from public attention at this point.”

My subordinate said.

The man who’d been more unsettled than anyone by the Archmage’s appearance, who’d snapped at a Badger saying, ‘Still, we held out pretty well!’—that man looked at me.

“We need to imprint a clearly positive image.”

“Is that really necessary? Rose filtered the articles, and my reputation’s already good enough, isn’t it?”

“They’ll come at you, won’t they?”

The strategist looked straight at me.

“The moment you put a blade to his throat, he’ll use every means at his disposal to bury you.”

He was talking about Colton.

Understanding Yoow’s words, I let out a heavy sigh.

“Did you see how badly the Supreme Commander got beaten up by the media this time?”

“Yes. That’s why I spent all yesterday going back and forth between Yun’s and Yehyeon’s ward tents.”

“He was hit far harder than usual. That means the Elders didn’t step in to mediate with the press.”

Yoow, who’d lived in Center Core for nearly fifty years while I was gone, knew public sentiment there inside and out.

He hadn’t become the Emperor’s strategist at a young age for nothing.

He flicked through his phone and showed me several articles.

“They’ve already caught on to the Mongmong knockoff angle. There’s no way he doesn’t know. Anyway, things will start moving soon.”

“It was bound to happen eventually.”

“Yes. We can’t just sit back and take it. We’ve built up quite a bit of positive opinion through recent events, so let’s lock it in. A simple advertisement to project harmlessness will help later.”

He suggested filming as soon as the shutdown ended.

The logic wasn’t incomprehensible.

And I did want Lexic noodles to reopen....

So I went to the Personnel Director and the Supreme Commander to ask about filming the commercial.

Surprisingly, both of them agreed readily.

Ju even laughed and said this.

“We sometimes film public service announcements too. You wouldn’t want to do one of those, right?”

“Yes. That would be... difficult.”

“What a shame. Then at least make the noodle commercial look nice!”

Said the Personnel Director, who had thankfully survived a dangerous crisis.

“As long as it’s not too politically charged or overly provocative, anything’s fine.”

Yehyeon also gave permission with a faint smile.

The kid who’d collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut the moment all eight spatial transfer gates were blocked.

Yun had thrown the unconscious Yehyeon into an ambulance waiting outside the Core, then lost consciousness himself.

The two of them had suffered badly for two days.

They recovered some strength on the third day, but still....

The kid who’d terrified me smiled faintly after hearing about the commercial.

“Jack Black still has active ad contracts anyway.... So there’s no issue in principle. You can do it.”

“...Thank you. If I go through with it, I’ll report back.”

“Good.”

“And....”

“Patrol is still a no. Stay in the ward until Walker requests reinforcements.”

Yehyeon cut off the proposal I was about to make.

“If things really get desperate, I’ll personally shove you out there. Not just you—Black as well.”

“...Understood.”

Currently, patrols were being handled by Walker and the juniors.

More precisely, Luke Lyle and Nana Dol. They’d happened to be training deep in the hills when the epidemic broke out, so they hadn’t been infected.

Meanwhile, Kairos and I had inhaled toxic gas enthusiastically during combat and were ordered onto sick leave.

And so, Kairos and I were stuck in the isolation ward ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) along with the seniors.

We’d been living here ever since that day. Deltei, Yoow, and Igor also barely left the isolation ward, tending to both me and Kairos, as well as the Badgers.

After the Creature incident, the juniors had suddenly grown close to the seniors.

“But I’ve improved a lot now, so I think I can be discharged tomorrow or the day after.”

I said this while watching Ricardo frown sharply at the mention of toxic gas.

“Honestly, I’m completely fine even now. If I’m being truthful, I’d like to go out and do patrols—”

“Stop talking bullshit.”

“Yes.”

If I said any more, it felt like my head might come off.

I snapped my mouth shut immediately.

Then I quietly studied my senior’s face.

Apparently I stared too intently, because he raised one eyebrow.

Ricardo relaxed the frown between his brows.

“What are you staring at so passionately~?”

“...Ricardo.”

Masking a heavy sense of relief, I began.

“About the form-changing weapon....”