Black Badger

The Ice Dragon tilted his head slightly.

“I used that word to help you understand. Though in the world he came from, it probably wasn’t what they called him.”

“I’d like to ask why you describe him as troublesome.”

“He’s timid.”

...Hm?

That was not the answer I had expected.

Fortunately, the Ice Dragon elaborated.

“He has great ability, but he’s timid.”

That was a dangerous combination.

I understood immediately.

Those who possessed overwhelming power yet were overly fearful sometimes caused catastrophic disasters. Even among the children of the World Tree, the timid ones were treated as individuals requiring close attention. Back when I commanded my knights, I would always keep a closer eye on those who showed fear.

Come to think of it, his attacks had been long-range.

And he seemed heavily focused on defense.

“May I ask more about him?”

“I’ll only tell you that he is alone.”

The Ice Dragon smiled faintly.

Though he wore clothing appropriate for the era and bore the refined appearance of a human, there was an unmistakably inhuman air about him.

I couldn’t tell what caused it.

“As for the rest... well. He’s not without ability. The fact that he came here alone suggests he’s quite exceptional. But he didn’t come here intentionally. Hm. I’m not sure what it is he wants.”

If he had been a little more refined, he might have added, “And I have no particular interest.”

But the Ice Dragon ended his explanation there.

After that, he did not bring up the strange being again. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Instead, he spoke a little more about the Aquilos Kingdom and the World Tree.

That in that kingdom, the “Curse of the Divine Tree” was not considered a curse, but rather a rite of passage.

That only nobles could see the Divine Tree, and since many possessed blessings, swordsmanship had not developed much.

And that there were slightly more mages.

“Thank you for the fine tea...”

After speaking calmly for a while, the Ice Dragon soon rose gracefully to his feet.

“I have a performance tomorrow as well. I should be going now...”

“Please take care on your way...”

I stood and saw him off.

Then I remained seated for quite some time.

I needed time to process the flood of information that had suddenly been poured over me. The story of the Aquilos Kingdom was merely an interesting tale of ancient history—but the part connected to Kyle was not.

It would be right to report the white figure to the higher-ups, but I didn’t even dare to consider it.

Should I tell Kyle what the Ice Dragon had said?

...No. Even if I told him, it wouldn’t help his life in the slightest.

Still, it was a relief that my wounds would take a long time to heal.

I should probably apply for leave again.

“Hilde?”

I sat blankly in the chair until I heard Kairos’s voice from outside the cabin door.

“Are you alright?”

I snapped to my senses and quickly stood to open the door.

I hadn’t even heard the doorbell.

“Sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment.”

“I figured the Ice Dragon had left, so I came by.”

Kairos narrowed his eyes, carefully examining my condition.

“The reaction to the photo you posted on SNS isn’t a problem. But what’s going on?”

“The Ice Dragon told me a bit about that white figure.”

I let him into the cabin as I spoke.

“He said it’s some kind of timid mage who drifted in from another world...”

I also briefly mentioned the Aquilos Kingdom.

I told him I’d explain in more detail once Yoow arrived. Kairos nodded, but he kept watching my face.

Probably because half my mind was still elsewhere.

No matter how much I tried, my scattered thoughts wouldn’t return.

I picked up my phone to check SNS reactions, but ended up sitting there blankly again.

Only after Kairos ordered some Lexic noodles for me did I finally regain some clarity.

“This is really good.”

“Your eyes look clearer now.”

Kairos smiled as he watched me devour the noodles.

“When you’re ready, tell me what’s going on.”

“Sorry. I called you over and then spaced out like that.”

“Well, I came on my own anyway.”

Milk approached me and rubbed her head against my arm.

I gently stroked her while offering an apologetic smile.

“It doesn’t look like any mission will be assigned right away, so call me when you gather the strategist.”

After saying that, the familiar gathered Milk and stood up.

I thanked him and saw Kairos off. After that, I moved mechanically through the rest of the day. I cleaned the room, went out for some light training, then came back around dusk and replied to the messages that had piled up.

I moved slowly through the stretched-out hours.

When darkness once again wrapped around the cabin, I crawled into bed.

But this time, I did not see Kyle.

I fell asleep with a mixture of expectation and unease, and woke with sorrow.

***

“Aaaah!”

The next day, I went to the house across from mine.

I had something to discuss with Yehyeon. Since Yun and Ami also had no schedule, I decided to meet all three at once and crossed the street to the large house.

I had contacted them in advance, so they should all have known I was coming.

But the moment I entered, what I heard was Ami’s scream.

I saw her punching Yun’s arm with her fist.

“My meat!”

“What’s going on?”

A startled Yehyeon ran out from inside.

Then, the moment he saw Yun chewing on something, he seemed to understand the situation.

“Yun. I told you not to steal Ami’s food. Hilde, you’re here?”

“He ate the best part of my tempura!”

“Jaeyeon was seen leaving your place yesterday.”

Yun smoothly ignored Ami and Yehyeon’s protests and looked at me.

“What is it?”

“The Ice Dragon informed me of his visit.”

I answered calmly as I took off my shoes and stepped inside.

“I came today to relay what he told me. That strange silhouette we encountered outside appears to be some kind of mage from another world.”

“Hilde! There’s vegetable tempura left!”

Ami leaned forward and looked at me.

“Eat tempura!”

And just like that, I suddenly ended up eating vegetable tempura.

While eating it, I relayed the Ice Dragon’s words to Yehyeon. I only spoke about the mage from another world. There was no reason for them to be interested in the Aquilos Kingdom, and I didn’t want to talk about Kyle.

They probably wouldn’t want to hear about him either.

“At least it’s a relief we now know its identity.”

That was Yehyeon’s conclusion after hearing everything.

“I need to report this to the higher-ups right away.”

“Hilde, did you have a sad dream?”

Ami asked, chewing on chocolate ice cream as she looked at me.

“Your eyes look a little sad.”

I gave a faint smile.

Suppressing the urge to pat her head, I replied,

“I feel a lot better now that I’m here.”

“That’s the look of someone hiding something.”

Yun pointed out dryly.

Seriously—what a sharp man.

But I didn’t falter under his gaze. I simply made a “what are you talking about?” expression and continued eating the vanilla ice cream Ami handed me.

That evening, the strategist and the others were to gather at Kairos’s house. The matter of the familiar who had crawled under the Third Elder had still not been resolved.

I also wanted to tell them about the Aquilos Kingdom, and we needed to discuss releasing Kairos’s presence.

So I got up before things could drag on.

Yehyeon told me on my way out that I should definitely get examined by Samuel.

I was planning to do that anyway, so I didn’t argue this time.

“They said it will take time for the wound to heal, so I’m not going to rush it either.”

“Did the Ice Dragon say that?”

“Yes.”

I left out anything about Kyle.

“They said it was an aura-inflicted wound, so it won’t heal easily even with absorption.”

“Hilde. You should seriously reconsider returning to duty.”

“If Samuel says no, I won’t insist.”

When I answered calmly, Yehyeon, Yun, and Ami all looked surprised.

“I mean it.”

“Hilde is finally growing up!”

Ami shouted.

...I’m about a hundred years older than you.

“As if. He’s definitely hiding something.”

Yun said flatly.

After offering a half-hearted rebuttal, I left the house under their sharp gazes and slowly made my way toward Kairos’s home.

What would happen if Kyle appeared while everyone was gathered?

I had told Kairos, but with the others... things weren’t exactly smooth between them. It would probably be better to pretend I didn’t know.

Thinking such meaningless thoughts, I walked lazily.

It wasn’t far, so I moved slowly, even sending Ricardo a message about how I’d been. Just like Rick had said, I told him I might cancel my return to duty.

I didn’t go into details.

But not long after sending it, my phone rang.

“Rick.”

[You feeling worse~?]

His clear voice came through.

I let out a small laugh.

“No. But the Ice Dragon stopped by this morning. He said it will take some time for my wounds to fully heal.”

[Ah~.]

The sharp edge in his voice dulled instantly.

[So you only listen when someone that old says it, huh....]

“Pardon? I do listen to my seniors as well.”

I asked, puzzled.

Ricardo scoffed, then after a brief silence said,

[The photo reaction is fine~.]

“Is that so? I haven’t checked yet.”

[So you’re going back on leave again~?]

“I’ll get examined first. If the doctor says stop, I won’t push it.”

After answering calmly, I briefly told him about the “otherworld mage” the Ice Dragon mentioned.

He listened without interrupting, then sighed on the other end.

[You live long enough, you really do see everything....]

It sounded like he was talking to himself.

He probably didn’t mean it toward me, but I still grumbled a little.

“What about me, then? This is all completely new to me too.” 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Ricardo asked about the date of my examination.

I told him I’d let him know once it was set, chatted a bit more, then hung up.

Then I continued walking at an easy pace.

Fortunately, there were no obsessive fans or reporters lurking around the house today.

Instead, Yoow’s car pulled up.

“Yoow! Del!”

Looks like they came together.

Deltei wasn’t particularly fond of driving.

From what I’d seen, she wasn’t bad at it. If anything, she was better with a car than with a bicycle. She drove very safely and had no accidents despite years of experience.

Even so, she disliked driving in the crowded Center Core and never refused when someone offered to drive her.

Yoow and Deltei didn’t live that far from here, if I remembered correctly.

They lived in a much busier area than this, but one that still suited their tastes—clean and orderly.

Deltei got out of the passenger seat and waved brightly.

“Hilde!”

It would be better not to tell her about Kyle.

I made that decision as I looked at the smiling Saint.

No need to trouble her heart unnecessarily.

“It feels like it’s been a while. How are you feeling?”

“Much better now. I’m glad you look well too.”

“Of course I do~! The war’s over, and you woke up.”

Looking down at her cheerful expression, I smiled faintly.

Deltei studied my face, then lightly tapped my shoulder.

“What’s with that expression?”

“What about it?”

“Hilde. If something’s bothering you, you have to tell me. You know that, right?”

Instead of answering, I smiled again.

Before sadness could settle in her eyes, I spoke.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance before releasing Kairos’s presence.”

“What’s there to be sorry about!”

Deltei widened her eyes in surprise.

“I knew you were thinking about it anyway. And I think it was the right choice. We could feel you, but you couldn’t feel anyone, right?”

That was true.

It had been lonely—truly lonely—but I couldn’t show it.

But now, I wasn’t alone anymore. When I followed Kairos’s presence, I could often sense Milk as well, which made it even better.

With a small smile, I walked slowly toward the entrance with Deltei.

“That’s right. There might be some side effects, but...”

“Igor also wants his presence released.”

Yoow suddenly spoke up from behind us.

“If that is his wish, there should be no harm in allowing it. Let’s discuss the rest inside.”

For the first time in a while, everyone had gathered.

Milk greeted Deltei and Yoow. Kairos had already finished preparing. There was food set out for the number of people present, and both residents of the house were clearly waiting for us.

Peaceful. Nice.

We could just eat and talk slowly.

Thinking that, I sat down—

and the moment I did, Yoow began with grim news.

“First, I will report on the commander’s debt repayment status.”

...I looked at Yoow darkly.