Black Badger

The plain was quietly busy with the sound of footsteps.

Beneath the fog spread by the mages, people moved briskly.

There were many of them, yet they carried little. Despite the crowd, hardly any voices could be heard.

Tension lay evenly across the space. Everyone had already prepared for immediate retreat if anything went wrong, and one by one they boarded the train.

In the midst of it, Baek Byungyeong approached the child crouched with his face buried in his knees.

The young handler was hunched over, head lowered.

Baek waited a moment for the child to calm down, but when it became clear the boy had no intention of standing, he let out a heavy sigh.

「Mou.」

He bent his knees and gently lifted the child upright.

「It’s time to go.」

“I don’t want to board.”

Mou sniffed.

“I don’t want to. I’m going back.”

「Are you afraid of the train?」

“I ride Skybirds. I’m not scared of some lump of scrap metal.”

「Then stop crying and get on.」

“No.”

「Or are you afraid of entering the human world?」

“You know that’s not what I mean!”

The boy suddenly shouted, lifting his head.

His face was flushed with boiling emotion.

Several nearby turned to glance at them. A few even started to approach, but Baek raised a hand to stop them.

He looked down at the child, who stood there breathing hard with his hands on his hips, and sighed again.

「Handler.」

“I want to go with Kyle.”

Mou looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Meierbold is on this side, so can’t I go to Kyle’s side? I can fight too!”

Baek did not completely fail to understand.

If he had been that age—if he had possessed skill like this child—he too would have struggled not to board.

He would have insisted on running alongside the Swordmaster he admired.

Especially when that Swordmaster had taken all the formidable warriors with him. No one boarding the train could truly be called a warrior.

There were mages and an Archmage, and a few handlers whose skills were not especially outstanding.

The rest were civilians. Moreover, every handler older than Mou or with more field experience had followed Kyle. The child clearly felt deeply slighted by that.

However—

「Are you going to betray the trust Kyle placed in you?」

Mou’s body flinched.

Baek did not miss the moment the boy pressed his lips into a straight line.

「Or does the mission entrusted to you seem so trivial?」

“...No.”

Fortunately, Mou’s voice began to soften.

“That’s not it...”

「Then stop causing a scene and help those boarding the train.」

There were quite a few who genuinely needed assistance.

They would require the protection of Mou’s familiars until they reached the Core.

「You’ll see Kyle again soon, won’t you? Instead of spouting nonsense about going back, focus on completing the task he gave you.」

“Baek Byungyeong...”

「There isn’t much time left.」

He checked the watch he had brought from inside the Core.

「Don’t betray the trust Kyle placed in me.」

That did it.

As if the outburst had never happened, Mou obeyed.

He wiped his tears with his forearm, then spun around and ran toward the train as if he had never cried at all.

Light footsteps fading into the distance.

Baek stood there for a while, watching Mou assist his kin in boarding.

A dizzying talent, reminiscent of a Flame Dragon Pearl. A young genius who had astonished both Archmage and Swordmaster.

Later, when everything ended successfully, he knew the resentment he would hear from that child would weigh heavy. But he felt no regret.

Baek agreed with Kyle—and with Mou’s mother.

He wanted to give the boy a choice.

He still did not like humans. He had never forgotten revenge. Nor did he believe that emptiness would remain after revenge.

But he did not consider himself so blind as to ignore what humans had achieved.

After returning safely, he sometimes thought about life inside Center Core.

That Black Badger Personnel Director.

The man possessed extraordinary talent. He knew how to naturally ease tension and deliver what he wished to say without provoking rejection.

Baek sometimes recalled the stories he had artfully shared during tea time.

Stories of those adapting and living inside the Core. (That was only possible because we existed, Baek would reply inwardly with a scoff.)

A world with a foundation for talent to flourish.

Advanced technology and—

Occasionally he would casually mention news about Hildebert.

The Personnel Director had even handed him a cellphone.

‘It’s not all bad here.’

For him, perhaps not.

But for Mou, it might be different.

「I can’t break the future of someone that young.」

Of course, he had not forgotten revenge.

They intended to give up none of it.

Prepared not to stop until they obtained what they wanted, Baek remained standing beside the tracks until not a single person was left unboarded.

***

The squad settled inside the deserted station.

There was nothing immediate to do. The train outside the Core had not departed yet. The moment its departure signal was detected, Yehyeon would contact them. They would wait, then rush out, raise their guns, and conduct a search inside.

With the electrical signal traceable, there was no risk of missing it.

Time stretched.

After sweeping through the station once, there was even less to do. Such idle gaps during missions were common enough, so they entered the building, sat down, and waited for the moment to come.

They ate as well. They could not afford to lack energy when that moment arrived.

Perched on dusty plastic chairs in the decaying station, they chewed emergency rations.

Dry, brittle biscuit-like things.

Crumbs scattered over gray tiles. No one cared.

“Want some coffee?”

The station, filled only with the sound of biscuits being chewed.

After finishing his ration, Ju smiled and made the suggestion.

“I brought stick coffee.”

“Sure.”

Yehyeon answered smoothly.

Jonathan quietly watched the scene.

He stared blankly at the two seniors seated opposite him.

He felt no need to respond.

He preferred tea over coffee, and stick coffee least of all—

Thud!

Ricardo kicked his leg.

Jonathan frowned and turned his head.

His green-eyed friend was already rising with a smile.

“I’ll get the hot water~.”

Judging by the way he squeezed Jonathan’s shoulder, it meant get up and stop being rude.

But before Jonathan could stand, Yehyeon spoke.

“You two don’t drink stick coffee, do you? Sit. I’ll go.”

“No... I’ll drag him and be right back...”

“If you want to step into the smoking booth next door, go ahead. I’ll get the water.”

“Go together!”

Ju cut in, glancing between Yehyeon and Ricardo.

“It’s near the Core—might as well keep watch for Creatures.”

Yehyeon shot him a flat look.

Ju instantly found himself under the cold gaze of both men, but he did not yield.

He fiddled with his communicator and smiled brightly.

“Right?”

“You come with me, Ju. It’s you and I drinking.”

“It’s better if first and second generation mix when moving, isn’t it? That’s usually how it’s done, Squad Leader?”

“They’re capable juniors. Leaving the two of them is fine.”

“They’re not on bad terms, are they?”

Ju asked as if ignorant.

“They’ve never fought or anything. Right?”

And so Yehyeon and Ricardo exited the rectangular waiting hall and entered the old diner across the way—long unused, but because of Badger traffic, the water supply still functioned.

Trickle—

Hot water filled a canteen.

The two men stood in silence, watching it rise.

Yehyeon spoke first.

“How’s your body these days?”

Ricardo shot him a look as if he didn’t understand.

He studied his superior’s profile, then answered slowly.

“I’m fine~....”

“Then if Kyle’s [N O V E L I G H T] on that train, you and I take the front. If possible, at least make sure Ju survives.”

Yehyeon removed his finger from the button.

“Though ideally, all four of us return safely.”

“Yes....”

Silence again.

Then functional talk. Yehyeon, about to dump far too much powder into the cup, was hurriedly and politely stopped by Ricardo.

The coffee avoided becoming undrinkably bitter.

After sealing the canteen filled with warm coffee, they moved to the smoking booth.

Ricardo, who would not leave even if persuaded, took a corner and lit up. Yehyeon stood diagonally opposite, checking HQ messages. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

This time Ricardo spoke first.

“Have you caught all the straws planted from that side?”

“Almost all of them. Based on the data Walker passed along, Gilbert’s verifying with the military deserter task force. Looks like there’s only one specific-position Black Badger who defected.”

“You acquainted with that junior?”

“No.”

Yehyeon answered firmly, then smiled faintly.

“I was worried about that too. But no.”

Ricardo, staring at the wall, rolled his eyes upward and exhaled smoke.

Yehyeon, watching the opposite window, glanced briefly at his green-eyed junior.

Then silence again.

He only spoke once Ricardo had finished smoking.

“For that junior’s sake too, let’s try to live a long time.”

Ricardo immediately understood it was not merely about this mission.

He snapped his head up to look at his senior.

Yehyeon ignored the stare.

He lowered the muzzle of his rifle and turned casually.

“Let’s go. Ju’s tormenting Kudo.”

“Ah~. Poor guy....”

Unbelievable.

He had begun feeling uncomfortable with this sharpness long ago.

No matter how much the Personnel Director tried, they would never be comfortable with one another.

Thinking so, he followed his superior out.

***

What was jelly?

That was what I was thinking now.

Where exactly had I eaten it?