Black Badger

“Why a day like this?”

The Titan asked.

Eve lifted her head. And saw the man staring straight at her.

Vivid yellow eyes were fixed on her without blinking.

Eyes filled with puzzlement.

Eve broke into a wide smile.

“You’re asking why a day like this exists?”

April Fools’ Day was coming to an end.

It was the first April Fools’ Day they had experienced since arriving on Earth. That morning, Eve had introduced April Fools’ Day to the man. While walking around with the still-bewildered man, she had joined the other researchers in pulling small April Fools’ pranks.

People walking around in their clothes worn inside out, cakes shaped like electronic devices being eaten right in front of them. At first, Hildebert had been visibly confused when he saw those lighthearted pranks.

But later, he laughed and played along.

“Funny.”

When faced with a prank someone had put effort into, he would sometimes use a word he had learned recently to express admiration.

Of the three Titans who came out to interact with the researchers, he was the easiest to approach.

The one who had clearly been assigned the role of the “good cop” among the “bad cop,” the “neutral cop,” and the “good cop.”

That was how people described Hildebert.

Eve thought that assessment was unfair.

From her point of view, Hildebert hadn’t taken on the role of the “good cop” at all—he simply genuinely liked humans. Wasn’t that obvious the moment you spent even a little time with him? He truly had no aggression. He was someone who liked people.

Hildebert was a remarkably harmless person.

Someone anyone would like....

“I don’t really know. I’ll look up the origin. But isn’t it fun?”

Hildebert could now understand her words to some extent.

The handsome white-haired man smiled gently.

“Quite.”

As always, he summed up his impression in a single word.

“Over today?”

That meant he was going back inside.

Back to the “bad cop” and the “neutral cop”—in other words, the black-haired man and the other white-haired man. Eve knew very well how much Hildebert liked them.

At present, Hildebert was the only one openly interacting with Eve and the other researchers. Whenever he went back inside, the long black-haired man and the short white-haired man somehow always knew and came out to greet him.

Every time she saw their faces, Hildebert’s smile was dazzlingly bright.

Feeling a twinge of envy at that bond, Eve would make the same quiet vow each time—that she would become just as close to Hildebert as they were.

Of course, she often heard that getting too close to a research subject was not a good idea.

But this wasn’t sociology or psychology research. Personally getting close—what harm could that possibly do?

Hiding her regret, Eve nodded and promised herself “next time.”

Then, as usual, she walked toward the place where the black-haired and white-haired men would be waiting like ghosts.

They were there again today, having come out to greet Hildebert.

The moment she saw them, Eve couldn’t restrain an impulse.

The instant Hildebert broke into a bright smile upon seeing them, Eve suddenly spoke up.

“Hilde.”

Hildebert, who had been walking toward the men, stopped short.

Eve looked up at the golden eyes that turned back toward her in confusion.

“I want to get closer to you too. As close as they are to you.”

Those golden eyes widened.

She had held back until now.

Maybe it was because she’d seen Hildebert burst into laughter so often throughout the day.

“That’s okay, right? Hilde, you like us too, don’t you?”

With surprise shining in his beautiful golden eyes, Hildebert looked down at Eve.

The man gazed at her for a strangely long moment, then slowly formed a faint smile.

A smile whose meaning was impossible to read.

Without erasing it, the man who was gradually learning English answered.

“Of course.”

It was a slow reply.

“Let’s do that.”

As if soothing a child, Hildebert gave that answer, then vanished together with his kin without looking back.

***

Colton Wiseman checked the set of his clothes.

He had finally made it this far.

In a few days, he would set foot in the heart of the rumors. Just yesterday, he had received a definitive answer from those above him. It was time, they said, to start introducing them to him as well. He was to wait—he would be contacted within two weeks.

The one who said this added, at the end, that “you probably can’t even imagine who they are.”

That wasn’t true.

Colton already had a rough idea of what they were.

Born without the capacity for empathy, but not lacking in situational awareness. Since his days at boarding school, Colton had quietly gathered information bit by bit. Those in power loved his unvulgar flattery. Even if he couldn’t hear everything, it wasn’t difficult to roughly infer their origins.

And because he had one special joker card he had never revealed to anyone, guessing was all the easier.

A being in the form of a woman approached him.

“Darling.”

The scent of Chanel perfume tickled his nose.

“You love me, right?”

The being embraced Colton from behind and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Long blonde hair spilled over the collar of his black suit.

Colton finished straightening his right sleeve with his left hand.

The month had already changed.

The month when flowers bloomed beautifully.

The very first day of it.

“Of course.”

Colton turned smoothly to face the woman and tucked her radiant blonde hair behind her ear.

The blue diamond earrings he had bought her gleamed.

“I love you. Forever.”

Colton kissed the back of her hand.

The unidentified being he had picked up off the street years ago.

The strongest card he was keeping in reserve.

It was about time to give it a new name.

To the being that had shown him that another world—or something utterly unbelievable—truly existed.

This time, he intended to give it a name he could use consistently.

While pondering what might be suitable, Colton walked out of the room together with the smiling woman-shaped being.

Preparing himself to meet the rumored “superior beings who do not age.”

***

Quite some time had passed since the Second War.

The Core that had once collapsed now firmly covered the sky again, and Supreme Commander Yehyeon and his aide Saul seemed to have settled into their positions to some degree. The chaotic period had passed, and a strange sense of stability had taken hold within the organization. Reclamation work and patrol duties proceeded without major friction.

And, fortunately, Ricardo, Ska, and Jonathan were all assigned to patrol duty within Center Core.

Because each of them patrolled with different partners, their days off lined up perfectly.

Which meant they had a lot more time to meet up and hang out. Knowing that once their posts changed they wouldn’t be able to do this as often, the three men made a habit of eating together on the evening after a night shift whenever nothing special came up.

They would sleep in a bit, then leisurely decide where to have dinner. Sometimes they ate out; other times they went to someone’s place.

Today, they had gathered at Ricardo’s apartment.

The drowsy air after a meal.

Ska muttered,

“Ah. Come to think of it, today was April Fools’ Day.”

As he set down his wineglass, he glanced at his phone.

“I was wondering what Ami was suddenly going on about.”

Ricardo let out a small laugh.

Then he leaned back lazily in his chair and brought his wineglass to his lips. The small senior still had a childlike side to him. He, too, had received a prank-filled message from Ami just a few minutes earlier.

“When do you think Ro will finally remember April Fools’ Day?”

Ska muttered as if to himself.

Ricardo snorted.

“Wish for something realistic~.”

Ami’s lie today had probably been swallowed whole yet again.

Ricardo briefly imagined the familiar bickering between the two seniors, vivid in his mind.

Letting his gaze wander as he lazily thought of people it was hard to believe were older than him, his eyes landed on the drawer.

A revolver.

April Fools’ Day....

“They say they’re not making ammunition anymore~....”

Without much thought, Ricardo told an April Fools’ lie.

“Guess we’ll have to leave it with an empty cylinder....”

Ska and Jonathan snapped their heads up.

Ricardo thought their immediate reaction was pretty funny.

He’d had a bit to drink, so up until then, he hadn’t thought much of it. He just let out a small laugh at his friends’ instant response.

Until Ska—who had widened his eyes while staring at him, then suddenly started tapping aggressively on his phone—froze his finger.

More precisely, until the handsome friend spoke in a voice stripped of all emotion.

“You think this kind of bullshit counts as an April Fools’ joke?”

The buzz of alcohol vanished in an instant.

The dark emotions that had surged during last night’s patrol were washed away as well.

“Are you messing with us?”

Instead, a cold fear set in.

Ricardo straightened his upper body.

“Sorry.”

“That’s right.”

Ska replied in a stiff voice.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

Ricardo shut his mouth and nodded.

Jonathan abruptly stood up and walked to the drawer. He picked up the revolver that had been lying there without permission, then skillfully removed two bullets.

After slipping the bullets into his pocket, he glared at Ricardo.

Jonathan said,

“Reflect on it.”

“Yes....”

Normally, Ricardo would have snapped back that he didn’t want to hear that from Jonathan, but right now, he had nothing to say.

It had been meant as a black joke, but it had crossed a line.

“That was a slip of the tongue.... I’ll reflect on it, so let it go~.”

His peers snorted.

To convey his apology, Ricardo walked over to the wine cellar.

***

Ami liked April Fools’ Day.

A day that came once a year. Without fail, she played pranks on the people around her. She enjoyed pranking Yun and Ro the most. It was fun in a different way.

Tricking Yun was impossible to begin with.

So every time, she went with blatantly obvious pranks.

“Ah!”

This time, she had replaced everything in Yun’s closet with clothes in shades of pink and red.

Unfortunately, it seemed Yun wasn’t going to work today.

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, Yun came out of the bedroom looking perfectly calm and gave a crooked smile.

“Have a good day at work.”

“Grr!”

Realizing she had failed to get a rise out of him, Ami glared at her older brother’s mocking expression.

She followed after Yun as he strolled unhurriedly into the kitchen and shouted,

“At least wear a pink T-shirt!”

“No.”

Yun started boiling water.

“Just go to work. Your precious April Fools’ Day is slipping away.”

Ami admitted defeat and went to work.

And she had an enjoyable day. She succeeded in thoroughly pranking Ro again this time. She wanted to play a prank on Trevain as well, but unfortunately, she heard he was outside the Core.

Yehyeon had been incredibly busy lately, filling the vacancy left by the late Chief Aide Saul. So this time, she deliberately didn’t go looking for him.

Ska, who had taken up the position of Chief Aide just a few days earlier, was surely swamped as well.

And Ricardo....

“Ami~.”

“Huh—!”

Ami jolted in surprise.

“It’s Rick.”

“Yeah.... It’s me~.”

Ricardo approached lazily.

Ami stood there blankly in the corridor, watching him come closer.

It didn’t look like he’d just come back from a mission. Had he come to write overdue reports? Or maybe to use the headquarters training grounds?

Either way, Ami had no intention of pranking him this time.

To be honest, she was a little scared right now.

“You’ve been... well...?”

It hadn’t been long since she’d gotten scolded while cooking at his place.

That day, she had seen Ricardo smiling while clearly holding back his anger. That vicious smile—how terrifying it had been. She finally understood why the juniors always froze up whenever they stood in front of Ricardo.

She was aware that she tended to mess up the kitchen a bit when she cooked.

Yun occasionally made a comment or two about it.

But Yun’s complaints were just grumbly nagging, and that was it.

Ricardo, though....

“I’ve been great~.”

Perhaps unaware that she was frightened, Ricardo smiled brightly, his eyes curving.

“Did you enjoy April Fools’ Day~?”

“Yeah. The juniors’ reactions were funny.”

“That’s good~.... Have you eaten dinner~?”

“No! But I really want arancini. I was about to look up a place nearby that sells it.”

“Oh~.”

The Sicilian man made a sound of understanding.

“That stuff’s good.... But the places around here make it terribly~. I’ll make it for you—want to come over~?”

Gah.

For a split second, the terror of that day came rushing back to Ami.

The way he’d held back while wanting to scold her as he cleaned up the kitchen she’d trashed.

The hands that swiftly tidied up everything she’d scattered while she cooked beside him.

That vicious smile.

Ricardo in the kitchen was scary!

Rolling her round eyes frantically, Ami blurted out a lie on reflex.

Thankfully, it was April Fools’ Day.

“Uh, actually, I’m eating with Yehyeon oppa!”

Ricardo was consistently uncomfortable around Supreme Commander Yehyeon.

She’d once asked him why, out of curiosity, but there wasn’t any particular reason. He’d said it was uncomfortable because he was his superior, and their personalities didn’t mesh.

From Ami’s point of view, the two of them were excessively polite to each other every time they interacted.

And Ami took full advantage of that fact.

“Rick, you’re uncomfortable around Yehyeon oppa, right!”

Ricardo formed a smile she couldn’t read.

He looked down at her with an inscrutable expression for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“Well, yeah....”

“That’s such a shame! Um, let’s eat together next time!”

Then I’ll be off! Ami hurriedly tossed out a farewell and quickly slipped away.

Ricardo didn’t stop her.

Thank goodness the excuse worked!

As she fled in a hurry, Ami thought,

Thank goodness it’s April Fools’ Day!

***

April Fools’ Day.

Sitting on a beanbag, staring blankly at the TV, I briefly recalled the lie I had told Eve on that day—the first April Fools’ Day after we arrived on Earth.

I was half-watching the movie playing, half-not, idly stroking Milk, when the strategist who had come down from the upper level spoke in a sullen voice.

“Why are you watching something like that?”

“Hm?”

I replied vaguely without turning to look at Yoow.

“Just... I don’t know. It doesn’t seem bad.”

“A story about a man who throws away everything, including his name, and runs away?”

Murmuring as if he’d heard everything, Yoow continued.

“...Do you want to do that?”

“No way.”

I let out a light laugh and told a small lie.

“What would change if I did?”

I didn’t say that, even knowing that, I sometimes dreamed like that.

That I dreamed of running out of the Core to Kyle, or of jumping into a portal with the wrong coordinates.

I didn’t say that sometimes I felt like I might be crushed under the weight of what I carried.

Instead, I stared blankly at the TV until the next movie preview began, then kissed Milk.

And then I faced the subordinates who came flooding in.

As if they’d planned it, they all came in together.

“Hilde! We bought Lexic!”

“What!”

Really?

I sprang to my feet—then froze as Deltei’s, Igor’s, and Kairos’s laughter burst out at the same time.

I stared at my subordinates in disbelief.

No way?

An April Fools’ joke?

“See? I told you he’d fall for it.”

The jet-black knight grinned as he looked at Deltei.

Deltei covered her mouth, laughing.

Only then did she notice the expression on my face.

The Saint came running over, still unable to contain her laughter.

“I’m sorry!”

“I hate all three of you.”

“Sorry, Captain. We ordered chicken on the way here instead, so calm down. It’s April Fools’ Day.”

“Chicken? Chicken??”

Chicken instead of Lexic noodles?

When I made a dumbfounded face, Kairos cleared his throat, wiped the smile from his face, and walked over to me.

“I also bought you a game title. Sorry. Your reactions are always funny, so I couldn’t help myself.”

“I don’t even have time to play games these days. Lexic noodles were my dopamine trigger....”

“I’ll buy them next time! I promise!”

As she said that, Deltei held out a jelly candy to me as an apology.

I snorted as I looked at my subordinates smiling apologetically, telling me not to be mad.

In the end, I gave in and started preparing dinner with them, putting on a sulky expression while they laughed and joked.

Still, I was grateful they’d bought me the game title.

And the jelly looked tasty too—

Agh!

“Shh!”

“Oh my.”

Deltei jumped in surprise beside me as I leapt back.

“Sorry. I forgot I bought that one to mess with you.”

“It’s too sour!”

Del!

Beside me as I made a fuss, the big subordinates doubled over, trying to hold back their laughter.

Even Yoow, who had stepped back and was watching the farce, let out a small chuckle.

Seriously, how could they do this...

In the end, I made them promise they’d buy me Lexic noodles.

Then I put a bit of distance between us and went to sleep with Milk.

That night, I dreamed.

A dream where, not long after we arrived on Earth, another portal opened and threatening monsters poured out.

And somehow, humans and we joined forces to subdue them.

Lacking imagination, the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» invading beings were still called Creatures, and the unit formed from humans and us mixed together was called Black Badger.

There was a First War, but the enemy was not our own kind—only Creatures.

There were no humanoid Creatures, and I fought alongside Kyle and Rei.

With sub-gunners under us who had received enhanced bodies thanks to our help.

Even as the world collapsed, we kept living our everyday lives.

Under me were Yun and Ricardo; under Kyle were Yehyeon and Ska.

Rei taught Jonathan, Jin Silver, and Giacomo Ro.

Kairos taught Ami and Ju.

Eve taught John Mühlen.

We could never let our guard down, and society barely functioned, but we were happy nonetheless.

Sometimes we had to worry about what we’d eat the next day, but we survived cheerfully.

Rei and Kyle cherished their sub-gunners. When the three of us shared drinks, they sometimes argued over whose sub-gunners were better.

Later, we fought back-to-back. When I fell rolling down a cliff, Yun and Ricardo grabbed me and hauled me back up. Yehyeon came running, carrying an addicted Kyle on his back—Kyle grumbling that he was making a fuss—while looking like he was about to cry. Ro charged at the Creature that had struck Rei, unable to hear Rei shouting, “You idiot, I’ve recovered already!”

And so we lived on through struggle....

It would have been nice if that had really been the case.

I woke up smiling as I watched Kyle and Rei bickering in my dream—then realized my eyes were damp.

It was a dream.

Still, it had been an incomparably happy dream.