Black Badger

The people around him blinked and looked at Yehyeon.

Only Yun did not look surprised.

Even Ami showed a faint reaction, yet Yehyeon’s longtime friend calmly examined Hildebert’s wrist and ankle. Then, without warning, he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

“Pardon? But I’m really fine. You know there’s no problem if I absorb it.”

Heads snapped around.

Yehyeon’s eyes widened as he slowly turned his head.

Yun kneaded his neck, wearing that uniquely awkward Hildebert expression.

“It didn’t even hurt because of the adrenaline. Besides, this much makes the death rumors more believable.... Look. My hands and feet are completely fine.”

He opened his right hand.

“You saw when I caught the Thunder Dragon. You remember, don’t you?”

Thud!

Ami, who had been staring blankly at her older brother with a blank face, suddenly threw a punch.

She looked up at him in stunned outrage.

Yun did not look down at his sister.

“Are you very angry?”

He calmly acted out Hildebert’s usual manner.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t explain in detail. But I’m really fi—”

“Stop.”

Yehyeon covered his eyes with his hand.

“I’m begging you. What on earth are you doing, Yun....”

“I told you to hear the answer in advance.”

“Is this some kind of provocation?”

Jonathan Kudo looked at Ricardo with a genuinely baffled expression.

Ricardo, who had turned his head away as if he couldn’t bear to watch, shoved Jonathan’s shoulder. Not understanding the gesture, Jonathan continued staring at Yun with the same expression he used for Creatures. Ricardo finally pushed Jonathan’s cheek with his palm and physically turned his face the other way.

“Wow.”

Leeho, whose eyes were wide, let out a strange sound.

Sophia stared at Yun like she’d just witnessed something indecent, while Kai blinked twice but showed no particular reaction.

Kairos held his chin, looking as if he’d just witnessed something extremely interesting.

“That’s impressive. It really sounds exactly like Hilde’s tone.”

He rubbed his jaw, studying Yun.

“It’s enough to make one angry.”

“So annoying!”

Ami shouted.

“But I don’t know if I’m angry at my brother for imitating Hilde, or angry at Hilde because my brother imitated him, or just angry at Hilde in general!”

“You’re angry at the Hilde who would answer like this.”

Yun kindly provided guidance.

Ami clenched her fist and glared into empty space.

“If he comes back, he’ll really say something like that.”

And Yehyeon muttered darkly while staring at the floor.

“If I get angry or depressed, he’ll just panic and apologize. He’ll never understand what he did wrong until the very end.”

“Well, to be fair, I don’t think Hilde’s claim about his right hand and left ankle is entirely wrong.”

Yun said it lightly.

In fact, Hildebert had made no such claim about his right hand or left ankle.

No one pointed out the inconsistency in Yun’s words.

The scientist looked at the body parts placed neatly on the floor.

“Can I take those?”

“Wow.”

Leeho made that sound again.

“When you say it like that, senior, it hits differently.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

Yehyeon said tiredly.

“Of course we’ll be taking them anyway, but....”

“Samples.”

“Argh!”

Ami, furious, threw another punch ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ at Yun.

“Hilde’s hand and foot are not samples!”

“Didn’t he leave them with me specifically to use as samples?”

“No!”

“Isn’t it better to store them than to burn or bury them?”

“No!”

“I’m curious whether the fingerprints on the hand that grows back will match the ones on that.”

“Aaaargh!”

At Yun’s half-joking assertion, Ami raised her fist indignantly.

“You’re a menace to society!”

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

“So it’s really not a provocation?”

“No~.... But hearing Hilde’s answer does make my blood boil~.”

Ricardo patted Jonathan’s shoulder as the latter continued looking completely unconvinced.

“He’s really good at stirring people up....”

It hadn’t been Hildebert’s answer.

But that no longer mattered to them.

Sophia, staring down at Hildebert’s ankle with a sullen expression, said,

“When he comes back, make him get counseling. He looks even stranger than I did when I was at my worst.”

“Treating one’s own body like a tool is definitely a problem.”

Kai evaluated calmly.

“If this worsens, dissociation will occur.”

Hildebert had never answered, yet the situation unfolded that way.

Everyone present grew angry at “Hildebert’s answer.” They were indignant at his nonchalant attitude and discussed how clearly abnormal the reaction was.

And although they couldn’t chase Hildebert under the current circumstances, they unanimously agreed that they should capture him the moment he was found.

“Hilde won’t rest until the job is done, and he won’t come quietly either.”

Ami muttered gloomily. Yun, checking the bullet marks left across the walls, said,

“If Yehyeon asks, he’ll listen when there’s no work or after it’s over.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure.”

Yehyeon answered with a bitter smile.

“I don’t think I have that kind of influence over him.”

Jonathan looked at Yehyeon curiously but didn’t ask.

“If Jack asks, he might listen. He’ll feel very guilty about leaving him behind.”

“Ha ha. I doubt that very much.”

At Yehyeon’s murmur, Kairos narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“It seems he’s losing to bonds built over a very long time.”

In any case, they all reached agreement. With no dissent, the conversation did not drag on. They unanimously decided not to let Hildebert out unless absolutely necessary.

Even a Black Badger with far superior regeneration couldn’t easily sever his own wrists and ankles—so how could he not realize something was wrong? They discussed his broken mental state at length.

Hildebert was not present to refute them.

Had he been there, he would have opened his mouth and shouted, “I never said that!”

But he had no such opportunity.

And so events rolled forward.

***

“Who’s that?”

The man sitting on the metal landing chair of the stairs leading to the third floor spoke.

Lin whipped his head around.

The blond subordinate’s eyes lit up as though he had been waiting his entire life for this question.

“Oh, this guy? He’s my junior!”

Lin placed a hand firmly on my shoulder and smiled brightly.

“I figured it was about time I let him get involved in my work. In exchange for teaching him the ropes, he’ll handle chores and security. He’ll be staying at my place for a while.”

The man, legs crossed and smoking, studied me carefully.

I did not avoid his gaze.

I had taken sufficient measures beforehand; I wasn’t worried about being recognized.

First, I was wearing the black circle lenses Lin had prepared. My hair was twisted up and stuffed entirely under a black cap, with a hood over it.

I was even wearing a mask—suspicious in an entirely different way.

The Black man with closely cropped hair removed the cigarette from his mouth with two fingers.

“Take off the mask.”

“He’s got some scars on his face.”

Lin interjected quickly.

“Not very pleasant to look at.”

“If he’s coming into my apartment, show your face.”

“Hey, Tim. I’ve lived in this flat for years and never caused trouble. We’ve known each other how long? You’re going to be like this now?”

“Mask. Off.”

The man’s voice was firm.

“Now.”

Lin was full of petty tricks.

I slowly removed the mask. Taking the black cloth mask off my ears, I looked down at the man who claimed to own this flat.

His sharp gaze traced the scars across my face.

I had made them myself with a blade.

One began at my left ear, crossed my nose, and stopped midway down my right cheek. The other began beneath my chin, passed my lips, and ended somewhere along my right cheek.

When I made them, Deltei discovered it and caused quite the uproar.

It had taken considerable effort to calm her down as she cried.

Lin shouting, “Saint! There’s absolutely nothing to worry about! He’ll absorb it later and it’ll heal cleanly! At first he was going to cauterize it with a hot iron, but that seemed too painful so he switched to a sword!” had not helped at all.

Nor had Rose rushing over after hearing the commotion, extending her palm as though she wanted to touch my eyeballs and muttering, “Commander... you’ll leave the eyes alone, right?”

I sent a look that asked whether he was satisfied and put the mask back on.

The man, who had been staring at my scars, said,

“You must have had a handsome face. That’s unfortunate.”

“I look better.”

Lin replied, curling up one corner of his mouth.

“Satisfied now, Tim? Then I’ll take him inside. Oh, and don’t expect to get any answers out of him. His vocal cords are shot—he can’t speak.”

“What’s he done?”

“Don’t be curious. Just know he listens to me, no matter what.”

Standing one step above me, Lin rested his elbow on my shoulder and leaned his weight on it.

Because Lin was extremely reluctant to reveal more than my face, the landlord did not insist that I remove my cap.

Not that I would have complied.

“My loyal lackey. Right?”

Lin's house was clean.

Outside, in the Harlem neighborhood where the apartment stood, the smell of drugs and urine hung thick in the air. But once inside, clean air tickled my nose.

Everything in the flat was expensive merchandise.

Only the old, sturdy security bars on the windows proved this wasn’t an affluent district.

As soon as we entered, Lin drew all the blackout curtains over the barred windows and checked for bugs and cameras before returning to the living room.

As I’d heard before departure, there were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one walk-in closet.

The closet was used to shove various items into storage.

「Use only your room and bathroom. The kitchen and living room are shared, so feel free to come out.」

Giving orders came very naturally to him.

And I realized something: Lin's so-called “casual speech time” was not the Center Core concept.

He wanted the Imperial concept.

Ambitious bastard....

「Unlike you, who has nothing urgent to do, I’ve been extremely busy lately. Do the laundry and dishes promptly. If we run out of groceries, buy them from Grandma Ellie’s shop out front. Don’t use delivery. Couriers avoid this area, and even if they come in, their goods will get stolen.」

「Yes.」

I replied indifferently and looked into the room I’d be staying in.

After dusting it roughly, I set down my laptop and external drive.

Then I made several trips back and forth to the car, bringing in my sword and other belongings.

Once the move was complete, I prepared dinner at Lin's request.

Lin ate the food I made with a very subtle expression.

「Why is the flavor so... subtle....」

「Is it bad?」

I looked down at the omurice I had made.

It was edible.

Lin stared up at the ceiling with a sullen face.

Then the blond subordinate looked at me with a completely baffled expression.

「Didn’t you cook for yourself when you went camping? Then why is the taste so... subtle?」

「I did. It’s not... inedible, is it?」

「Didn’t knights or mercenaries ever say it was bad?」

Every time he said things like that, it showed he’d never lived as a mercenary or knight.

When a unit moves together, the one who suffers most and plays the most important role is the cook. They might grumble among themselves, but no one tolerates someone complaining about the food directly to the person responsible.

I didn’t, at least.

Kyle didn’t either.

For example, when Kyle once commanded a squad of knights, he took the man who grumbled that “those guys smell like rotten food” and shoved his headfirst into the slop pit.

I never let anyone disrespect the cook’s labor either.

As long as the food didn’t cause food poisoning and provided energy, it was sufficient.

As I was recalling the past, Lin sighed.

「This won’t do. I’ll be busy anyway. Handle your own meals from now on.」

「Yes.」

「As I said before, don’t snoop around in my room or the walk-in closet.」

Lin emphasized firmly.

「People have something called privacy. Privacy!」

I nodded calmly.

***

Two weeks had passed since Hildebert’s body was discovered.

The boiling fury of the Black Badgers showed no sign of subsiding.

The incident had expanded into a discussion about the rights of Black Badgers, the rights of CIS, and even the rights of enhanced-body owners in general.

Stories about Hildebert continued to be reported without pause.

The Black Badgers announced they would not hold a funeral until his entire body was found.

The death registration became complicated. Legal issues tangled matters further, and the Black Badgers and CIS entered prolonged, grim negotiations.

The results of those negotiations were periodically made public, and many people came to leave flowers in the Black Badger headquarters lobby.

“San.”

There were those who came to the lobby every day after that.

“You’re here again today?”

San lifted her head and blinked her bloodshot eyes.