Black Badger

Breakfast was good.

Since Ricardo had chosen it, that was only natural. We ate in peaceful silence.

They had definitely heard me mutter that I should rewrite my will, yet no one said anything. Probably because they were planning to rewrite theirs as well.

It was that kind of time.

After breakfast, though, while drinking coffee, I had to endure Ricardo scolding me about the scars.

“Drawing two lines on your face isn’t going to fool Giacomo Ro~.”

That was a bit harsh.

“You’re smart enough to know you can’t fool people just by drawing two lines on your face.... If I suddenly had two lines on my face, you’d still recognize me, right~?”

“Next time... I’ll try a cappuccino.”

For some reason, drinking an Americano made the criticism feel even sharper.

But Igor was drinking an Americano too.

That guy was practically pouring the coffee down his throat like it was water.

“Still, Rick, the scars were pretty striking, so while I had them on, nobody actually recognized—”

“Really? You must’ve carved them with real determination.”

Realizing this was an unwinnable situation, I surrendered.

Jonathan was staring at me from behind with a sullen look, which made me shrink even further. I gave up trying to argue and instead apologized, adding the excuse that at least I’d returned in one piece. Then I made a face that said I knew I’d done wrong.

After I carefully read the room like that, the seniors eventually let me off the hook.

The timing was good too—Yoow arrived.

He’d apparently slept in the room two doors down, and he requested a private meeting with me. Ricardo said he was going out for a cigarette and stepped out with Jonathan. Igor took William with him.

With an arm draped around the man’s shoulders like he was escorting a kid.

“Don’t bully him too much.”

Yoow grumbled at Igor.

“Doesn’t it make him uncomfortable?”

William didn’t openly show annoyance or irritation.

He merely glanced at my subordinates and gave a small nod. I had no idea what he thought privately, but I was grateful he tolerated our fussing.

Anyway, the moment the room was left with just the two of us, the strategist asked his question.

“What was it you wanted to say?”

“Ah.”

Sharp as ever.

All I’d done was look at him a little longer when Ska called him.

Yoow had noticed that I wanted to say something privately and had dismissed everyone.

I gave a bitter smile and sat down on the bed.

“It’s nothing. Really not important. I just got weirdly unsettled for a moment....”

I briefly explained what had happened in the science division.

Then I was about to add that however people defined us, it wouldn’t affect reality anyway, so I was fine now.

“Ha!”

But Yoow’s loud scoff cut me off.

“You’re only realizing that now?”

“Huh?”

I blinked in confusion.

“Uh... isn’t that something most people wouldn’t know?”

“No. Most people know at least that much.”

Yoow said irritably.

“The definition of species is basic biology! You spent that much time with Eve and didn’t even know something like that?”

“I was too busy learning English from her.... And after that, she....”

“And we already debated this issue a long time ago. Back when we first started blending into human society. It came up back then. The argument didn’t even last long.”

“Sorry.”

Embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my neck and apologized.

I had spent fifty years desperately trying to return, sure, but I couldn’t deny that I’d placed a heavy burden on Yoow during that time.

I was asking now about something he had already dealt with long ago on my behalf. No wonder he was irritated.

I cautiously watched Yoow as he let out a huge sigh.

“Sorry. I’ve never once thought of myself as human, and I’ve never wanted to become human either. I was just briefly shocked. This kind of conceptual game hasn’t changed my thoughts or my values....”

“Commander. Do you really think we are the same as them?”

Huh?

Yoow’s response confused me.

Hadn’t he just asked how I didn’t know that?

“We’re so different from those born on Earth. Do you really think we’re completely the same species? Since your knowledge of biology is apparently shallow and you won’t have time to study for a while, I’ll explain it simply. Humans and us are like wolves and dogs.”

“Wait... what?”

“Wolves and dogs are biologically the same species, by the way!”

“They are?”

I didn’t know that.

When I stared at him blankly, Yoow let out another sigh that sounded like the ground collapsing beneath us and buried his face in both hands.

For a moment he didn’t move, as if lamenting the stupidity of the one he served. Then the man slowly raised his tired face.

“But would you ever say wolves and dogs are the same? Nobody mistakes a dog walking in a park for a wolf.”

“...Right.”

“And nobody sees a wild wolf and thinks it’s a dog.”

“That’s true.”

“Just think of it like that.”

At this point Yoow clearly lost interest.

His expression said he had no idea why he had to come all the way here just to explain something like this to me.

“Feeling calmer now?”

I gave him an apologetic smile.

The turmoil inside me settled instantly. My thoughts had twisted up from one careless remark by John Mühlen and Martin, and now they were unwinding thanks to Yoow’s tired explanation. It was honestly pathetic.

But strangely enough, I really did feel better.

Seeing me nod gratefully, Yoow let out another heavy breath.

“If you start analyzing this from every angle, it becomes much more complicated.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But you don’t have the knowledge to understand that, and frankly you don’t need to study it either.”

“I know. Sorry for asking such a stupid question. I always end up making things harder for you.”

“...Get ready.”

Yoow’s voice softened.

Maybe venting with all those sighs had helped him.

The strategist closed his eyes tiredly, then waved a hand as if telling me to stand up.

“If things move quickly, it’ll start within three hours. There’s a mountain of preparation to do. Hurry.”

He was right.

I nodded, told him to contact me immediately if anything happened, and left the room.

***

In truth, I wanted to ask Ricardo something.

Whether, when I lost control, I had pushed him to the very brink of death.

But there was no chance to bring that up.

If I said something like that now, it would definitely rekindle Ricardo’s irritation that had only just subsided. And there wasn’t enough time for a deep conversation anyway. First I had to urgently rewrite my will.

War was right in front of us.

The problem was that I had to walk around wearing this suffocating gas mask and protective suit.

“Should I just give up rewriting it?”

I could leave a voice message on my phone.

And honestly, the will I’d written before had been pretty thorough....

As I was debating what to do, Ju returned from handling some work and helped me.

“Write it inside. I’ll take care of the rest.”

He smiled softly and stepped into the room where we had slept.

“When you’re finished, hand it to me.”

So all the Black Badgers who had slept in the leadership lounge updated their wills.

Igor, who didn’t have a will to update, said he would go check on Deltei and left. Since I’d also been planning to contact Del, I saw him off gratefully.

“Thanks. Tell Del I’m sorry I couldn’t contact her myself.”

“Sure. Though she probably won’t be upset about something like that.”

I thought so too, but I still felt sorry.

Besides, hadn’t someone among those who gathered at Deltei’s request died?

She would definitely be suffering over that.

“Please take care of her. And let me know when you reach headquarters with Del.”

Igor nodded and disappeared.

Honestly, if it were up to me, I would move Deltei straight into the safest area in the center of Center Core.

But since we might need enormous holy power, I couldn’t give that order.

I could use holy power too, but it was nothing compared to Deltei’s.

“You’re planning to bring Deltei here?”

William asked as I came in and closed the door.

“Not move her somewhere safe?”

“We need Del’s holy power.”

I raised my head slightly and met the seniors’ gazes.

“There will definitely be monsters that can only be attacked with it.”

“Hymns?”

“That’s one method. But to create that kind of effect with hymns alone, you’d need someone with holy power like Deltei. No one else has that level.”

Even so, I wasn’t going to take her all the way to the Center Core boundary.

You couldn’t bring someone who couldn’t even ride a bicycle there.

More than that—

I didn’t want her to meet Kyle.

Deltei had suffered a lot when she and Kyle separated.

She tried so hard not to show it in front of me that I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it either.

It was better if they never met again.

“I don’t know how things will turn out, but if you end up near Deltei during the war, please take care of her.”

I said it with a smile. The seniors nodded in unison.

Well—Ricardo and William nodded. Jonathan raised his head with a puzzled look.

“Deltei?”

Of course he wouldn’t remember her.

“A red-haired woman with blue eyes. She helped nurse the Badgers in the temporary barracks during the epidemic. Mostly the female Badgers, so you probably don’t remember.”

“She was there~. The one who kept tripping over things everywhere....”

Ricardo added quietly.

“You weren’t paying attention back then either....”

Del....

How many times did you stumble while nursing people for Ricardo to remember you like that?

Still, the explanation seemed to help somewhat. Jonathan stared at Ricardo for a moment, then muttered, “Ah.”

He nodded with his usual blank expression and returned to updating his will.

Silence settled over the room again.

Once we finished updating our wills, we tied each one with a blue ribbon and handed them to Kang Ju.

“Try not to make me untie the ribbon on your will this time.”

Ju smiled faintly as he accepted the stack of papers from me.

“Untying those ribbons feels worse than you’d think.”

“I’m sorry.”

There was nothing I could say.

“I wanted to return cleanly, but I’m ashamed. Still, I’m planning to walk around headquarters and see people’s faces once. I won’t talk to them, though.”

“After you finish, go to the lobby.”

Ju advised.

“People who were waiting for you set up a memorial space there. Where are you starting? Going around with Ricardo and Jonathan should work. The office departments require different access passes than the science building. But if you have the special-duty tag, you can go anywhere.”

Right.

So I put my gas mask and protective suit back on.

I even came up with a concept: moving around with two Black Badger special-duty officers, checking whether any toxic creatures had slipped into offices.

I had permission from my superiors.

After parting ways with William Walker, we headed toward the office building.

“You even know the office staff~?”

Ricardo muttered as he tapped his tag.

I nodded.

“Not as often as the science building. But I went to the cafeteria a lot.”

A floor full of office workers.

The atmosphere here was different from the scientist-filled areas or the crowded medical wing. Much quieter. Less noise.

Another big difference was the way people’s eyes followed the black-clad special-duty officers walking by.

Badgers came and went constantly in the medical wing, and in the science building Yun and John were around, so people weren’t surprised by special-duty officers.

But on a floor filled only with office staff, people turned their heads and snuck curious looks at the Black Badgers.

“Oh my!”

Thud.

Ricardo caught an employee who tripped over an A4 sheet while staring at us.

The young worker’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.

The green-eyed senior smoothly helped him back up as if nothing had happened.

“Excuse us~....”

He smiled at the muttering employee and leaned casually against the office doorframe.

“We’ll just check inside to make sure nothing slipped into the office....”

As soon as he finished speaking politely, I walked inside.

I bowed slightly to those nodding or greeting me as I passed. Pretending to inspect the room, I scanned the faces of people peeking over their partitions.

Curious eyes.

Familiar faces among them.

I pretended to search for a nonexistent creature, then returned to the entrance.

Still...

It was nice seeing familiar faces once.

“Everything alright?”

“Yes....”

Ricardo answered the question from someone who seemed to be the team leader.

I stopped beside him.

Turning around, I took in the whole office.

Then I raised a hand in greeting.

“Oh.”

“Is everything safe?”

“Thank you for your work.”

“You’ve been working hard!”

The office staff looked startled by my sudden greeting, but they returned it.

Stay safe, everyone.

If there’s a chance...

I hope we meet again.

Inside the gas mask, I smiled faintly.

***

A translucent curtain covered Center Core.

And reflected against it—

a black dot rising into the sky.

“What’s that?”

“A missile?”

“A Badger.”

Walking past the murmuring crowd of his kin, Kyle answered calmly.

“They’re °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° probably just checking our movements. No need to worry.”

After giving that advice, Kyle continued walking when another report came from his subordinates.

It came from the handlers.

“The monsters behind our line are getting restless.”

They pointed toward the writhing ground behind them.

“Can you see them moving?”

Kyle’s brow creased slightly as he smiled.

He had already understood the situation.

A smile revealing white fangs.

“The Fire Dragon Lord has arrived.”

Kyle said, his voice almost cheerful.

“Kairos.”

A cool breeze was blowing.