Black Badger

Lin was illegally distributing Creatures.

Pet Creatures.

So the bastard hadn’t turned over a new leaf after all.

“Illegal distribution?”

As I ground out the words through clenched teeth, everyone except Rose busied themselves with looking anywhere else.

I rubbed my face several times with my hand. I tried hard not to take my anger out on people who didn’t deserve it. No one here was at fault.

But illegal distribution.

I’d seen mafia types making money off illegal Creature breeding at the Colosseum.

I’d gotten dragged into that mess myself. Bobby Winter had even lost one of his legs because of it.

When I brought that up, Yoow went pale.

“It’s absolutely not that serious a category.”

Well, that was a small mercy.

If he’d been supplying the mafia, I’d have gone straight there and thrown him into prison myself.

Of course, listening to the explanation that followed didn’t make me feel any better.

“A lot of people are actually raising them?”

Slumping down onto the sofa, I muttered with a troubled mind.

“You’re telling me he’s catching cute-type Creatures and selling them as pets? What’s he planning to do if someone gets hurt?”

“He probably doesn’t think that deeply about it.”

The strategist let out a sigh.

“You know his personality.”

“So he’s capturing monsters, breeding them, and selling them?”

“There are cases like that, and cases where he just captures and sells them. Still, in his own way, he seems to be ‘drawing a line’ and not handling violent types....”

“Is there even a kind of monster a human who can’t use taming can raise safely?”

I asked, looking at Kairos.

The red-haired man, who had been carefully gauging my mood, gave a bitter smile.

“There are relatively less dangerous monsters. But just like getting hurt while raising dogs or cats, there’s always a risk of injury.”

“Do you know what Lin is raising?”

“I’ve heard roughly.”

“What do you think?”

Kairos considered briefly, then answered carefully.

“Like the strategist said, it seems he’s kept within the line. Mostly ones with very little movement.... Reptilian Creatures. Draconis lizards, Red-Spotted Lesser Drakes, Void....”

“Didn’t Draconis have venom?”

“Oh, right.”

For a moment, the tamer seemed to forget that I was angry, his expression brightening.

He looked almost pleased that I knew more about monsters than expected.

“Good memory. They’re generally docile, so as long as you don’t provoke them there’s no problem, but if you get on their bad side they spray venom, and if that gets into the mucous membranes, the blood—”

Smack!

Igor struck the back of the tamer’s knee.

Kairos staggered.

I looked at Igor and Yoow shooting him a look that clearly said please stop being a monster idiot already, and I smiled faintly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Where is he now.”

I’d tried to hold it in, but my voice must have turned fairly cold.

Yoow flinched.

The men started watching my expression again.

Rose, who had been observing the whole exchange, answered.

“Shall I bring him in, Commander?”

“Can you bring him in safely?”

“Of course.”

Rose cupped her cheeks with both hands and smiled shyly.

“I can bring him in however you like. How shall I do it? Knocked out? Voluntarily? Or force him to walk in here himself? Or should I just stuff him into a trunk?”

“I feel like I chewed him out pretty badly right before the war broke out.”

It was so long ago I couldn’t be sure.

Yoow, who had slumped back onto the sofa, confirmed it for me.

“Yes. He got caught scamming a pseudo-cult leader and got beaten pretty badly. It was less than a month after he’d been caught siphoning off contraband from a criminal organization and begged on his knees, swearing he’d never do it again. I remember you disciplining him quite harshly.”

“Ha....”

I remembered.

Burying my face in my hands, I muttered.

“Right. I remember....”

All of a sudden, I wondered if there was a fundamental problem with how I’d been dealing with idiots all this time.

Hadn’t Samuel said something similar to me once?

He’d had a point. As I recalled Lin’s history of skirting the edge, I muttered.

“Was trying to correct his behavior with punishment drills the real problem?”

I murmured darkly.

“Should I have just thrown him in prison for a while, or made him get counseling?”

“Huh?”

Igor looked at me like I’d suddenly started spouting nonsense.

“What are you talking about? If that kind of thing could fix him, he’d have turned over a new leaf ages ago.”

“Physical methods don’t seem to be effective.”

“That’s precisely why he watches himself at least a little.”

Yoow let out a weary sigh.

“Before you showed up, he was completely unmanageable. Georges and other kin went to see him, telling him to live properly at least with the Captain-Commander watching from above, but he never listened. I’d given up too. I figured he was rotten from the seed.”

“So he lived however he wanted.”

“Yes. But the moment he sensed you, he drastically lowered the level of his crimes. Until just before you emerged into this world, he was probably selling useless powder as fake ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) drugs.”

The nerve on him.

Then again, he’d been like that since the Empire. Back then, he’d swapped out relics of the previous imperial line stored in the temple with fakes. The counterfeits were so exquisitely made that the priests didn’t realize the real consecrated vessel had been stolen until the contamination spread and they had to take it out.

He’d even mixed brazenly among the chosen, receiving consecration, without being discovered for quite some time. His talent for fraud was truly monstrous.

In the end, he’d been caught and thrown into an underground prison.

A different breed of expert from Rose, but an expert nonetheless.

Still, up until just before the First War, Lin hadn’t crossed that line. In my judgment, he hadn’t committed evils that directly involved human lives.

I know how arrogant it is for me to make that judgment at all.

But he wasn’t cold-blooded enough to watch people die without reacting....

That was why I’d thought there was room for redemption and moved together with him.

I stayed still with my face in my hands for a long while.

Only after making up my mind did I let out a heavy breath.

“Report everything Lin’s been doing while I was gone. I’ll decide whether to call him in or throw him in prison after I see it.”

“Yes.”

Yoow turned and ran inside.

“Anyone here met Lin recently?”

“You know he avoids me.”

Igor replied while drinking water.

Kairos gave an awkward smile.

“We weren’t exactly on speaking terms to begin with.”

“I’ve seen him once or twice.”

Oh.

When I turned to Rose, her pale face flushed red.

The pixie-haired subordinate lowered her red eyes and reported.

“He firmly believed you were dead, Commander, so he didn’t pay much attention. But whether he believed in your life or death didn’t matter to me. I never doubted for a moment that you’d return....”

Strangely, her breathing grew rapid.

“I kept waiting. I didn’t care at all what Senior Lin said. I was actually glad. One by one, everyone gave up waiting. The more people gave up, the happier I felt! Comman—”

“Rose. Breathe.”

I cut off Rose’s testimony firmly as it began to spiral.

“Ten deep breaths.”

“Yes!”

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

As that went on, Yoow returned. The strategist handed me a thick stack of documents. It looked like he’d prepared them in advance for just this situation.

Murmuring thanks, I immediately started scanning through them.

Even knowing my subordinates were watching my expression, I couldn’t stop the sighs slipping out here and there.

After finishing the materials, I took a deep breath and straightened my back.

“Rose.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Knock him out and bring him in.”

Rose nodded vigorously, then vanished out of the safehouse in a flash.

I let out a long breath and stood up from the sofa.

“We’ll need to collect the Creatures Lin distributed. All Creature distribution is illegal, right?”

“Yes. Recovering illegally distributed Creatures is also one of Black Badger’s duties. It seems to exist mostly in name, though....”

“Perfect. Kai, report it to Ami. And have her collect all the ones Lin distributed.”

“I’ll contact her right away.”

“If any of the distributed Creatures injured their recipients, Lin goes to court and we move on without him.”

At my decision, Igor grinned, and Yoow nodded with a sigh.

I was glad I’d brought this up while Deltei wasn’t here. She’d disliked Lin for a long time.

By the way, how was Ami doing?

When I asked Kairos after he returned from contacting her, the red-haired tamer smiled crookedly.

“She was thrilled.”

“Why?”

“Because the Commander-in-Chief is about to retire.”

Ah.

So she’s doing well. Smiling faintly, I went to check the message Sukhoi had sent.

***

A message came from Lee Seunghyun.

[Are you serious.]

[As I say every time, I’ve been receiving them diligently without missing any. I’m not sure this is the right timing for that kind of question.]

His dumbfounded expression practically rose up before my eyes.

I smirked and replied.

[Good work. Keep receiving them without skipping.]

Apparently at a loss for words, Lee Seunghyun read the message and ignored it.

Ignoring his sullen silence, I sent another message.

[I look forward to working with you.]

I’d joined hands with Sukhoi.

In a way, it was only natural. There was no one who wanted Colton Wiseman removed from his position more than she did. We formed a temporary, precarious alliance. Now Colton was in a position where he’d have to face me, allied with Yekaterina and Erich Erhart.

Of course, he wouldn’t go down easily.

With the fourth-rank Elder declaring neutrality with impeccable timing, Elders ranked fifth through tenth all sided with Colton.

Those who couldn’t even dream of the first seat but secretly coveted second or third had quickly grabbed the hand Colton extended. Colton Wiseman had always been a psychopathic politician who radiated an almost irresistible charm.

An upper-class man who’d never set eyes on public-school children until entering Oxford.

Colton didn’t eat the oranges served as dessert in the course meal. Those from private schools were taught not to eat oranges at formal settings, since the juice might burst out.

Yet he never joined the anti-intellectual clubs favored by the upper crust.

That, too, was quintessentially him.

Colton possessed a brilliant mind, and he despised the empty-headed.

There was no way he’d spend his time making trouble and treating everything like a joke—

Ah. I’d think about him later.

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

While I was here, I wanted to focus on Black Badger matters rather than raccoons.

Dressed in a suit, I crossed the site still under repair. After scanning my fingerprint and entering the building, the questions and shutter sounds pouring in from the site entrance faded away.

A high ceiling and an open, expansive view.

A pristine lobby where the sound of shoes echoed.

After greeting familiar faces, I cut diagonally across the hall.

It had been three days since I received word that the meeting with the President had concluded.

Last night, Yehyeon officially announced his intention to retire.

The internet was nothing but that story right now.

Speculative articles about his successor poured out day after day. Ska and I already knew the conclusion. With the Elders split cleanly in two and locked in opposition, the Commander-in-Chief’s seat would remain vacant for the time being.

Separate from that, the retirement ceremony would proceed.

At Yehyeon’s request, it would be modest, held two hours later in the headquarters’ main auditorium.

Before the ceremony began, anyone who wished could come up to the floor housing the executive offices. I stood in front of the elevator leading there.

And then I ran into Ami.

“Hilde!”

The small senior, dressed in a suit, beamed.

“It’s been so long!”

“Ami. Have you been well?”

We’d actually seen each other at the memorial too, but since it was a face I’d seen so often, it felt like it’d been a long time.

Suppressing the urge to ruffle her hair, I smiled.

“You look happy.”

“Yeah.”

Ami kept smiling brightly even as we got into the elevator.

“I’ll get to hang out with Yehyeon oppa all the time now!”

“I suppose so. That’s good.”

Smiling, I listened to Ami’s carefully planned schedule of ‘hanging out with Yehyeon oppa.’

...Can Yehyeon even handle that.

As I briefly wondered whether anyone could survive that itinerary, the elevator stopped.

When the doors opened, a corridor unusually crowded with people appeared.

I also saw a familiar back standing in front of the elevator.

A neat bob swaying at shoulder level.

“Senior?”

When I asked quietly, Sophia Kalak turned to look at me.