Black Badger - Chapter 354



Only Noblemtl

354. Protocol (1)

A cozy corner of the lobby of a rehabilitation center.

There, a senior who was playing a game on a console with his head bowed greeted me warmly.

“Hilde.”

She gave a small smile.

You look happy.

“Thank you so much for coming to visit me.”

“Sorry I’m so late.”

I picked up a box of strawberry shortcake that Ami had recommended, saying she liked it.

Shu’s eyes widen when he sees the brand on the box.

As Ami said, it seems like it’s Suga’s favorite brand.

After receiving the box, she looked up at me with wide eyes.

“I really like this.”

I burst out laughing.

“That’s fortunate.”

“Let’s eat together.”

She started the wheelchair.

I tried to help her, but there was no need. She was very good at controlling her electric wheelchair.

He spread out a box on the lobby table and even offered me some coffee.

After pouring his share of milk tea, the senior went to the table and picked up a cream puff.

After she finished one of the cream puffs, she started talking.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well. Are you okay?”

“Yes. I am resting well.”

I swallowed the cream puff and then answered.

It’s a good thing the strawberries on top of the cream puff aren’t sour.

“You’re still thinking about amputating your leg, aren’t you?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“senior.”

There was still a chance of recovery since the two archmages were still alive.

If there was even a slight possibility, it would have been right not to cut off the leg. I said that while drinking iced Americano. I will capture the wizard. I don’t know how long I have to wait, but I can’t guarantee that it will be fixed even if I wait. But please wait a little longer.

Shu nodded after finishing three choux cream puffs.

“okay.”

“Are you changing your mind?”

“That’s what you said.”

She put down her glass of milk tea and said.

“Thank you for saving me back then.”

If only I had prevented Kyle from kidnapping me in the first place.

I thought he responded with a smile, but it seems like the bitterness was written on his face.

Shu handed me a strawberry shortcake and preached to me about his sanity.

“I’m doing well while playing the games I’ve been missing. Thanks to Senior Jin, I’m not lonely. My dad comes almost every day.”

“How are you, Jin?”

“no.”

no?

Shu took a big bite of the fourth cream puff.

“I think you know that your reputation is not good. The HR manager is stopping you, so you are still on sick leave, but you might be taking a leave of absence soon.”

“Ah… Maybe a leave of absence wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“I think so too. But he says he’s fine. He’s living with a robotic arm attached to his shoulder and he’s completely adapted to it.”

Shu briefly explained what treatment he and Jin were receiving and how they were adjusting.

He also told me who had come to visit him in the hospital.

Other people weren’t surprised, but the story about Kairos showing up a few times was a bit surprising.

I think he came to visit me while I was visiting Core 15.

“He taught me how to use a wheelchair.”

How do you know that?

“I’ve also been in a wheelchair before.”

“yes?”

“I heard there was an accident on the track.”

The two-toned senior showed me a video while my mouth was wide open.

“Thank goodness I only broke both my legs.”

I wrapped my head and watched the ‘Jack Black accident video’.

It was a sickening image, even though I know he’s fine now. The racing car skids, crashes into a wall, and bursts into flames.

Spectators gasping for breath and staff running.

A body being pulled out of the flames by officials… .

It’s a good thing he moved to Black Badger.

If you keep it by my side, I can bring it back to its former state.

This guy has something going for him, whether he was in the Empire or now.

I changed the subject, feeling distraught as I recalled Kairos’ one eye no longer functioning.

“Don’t you feel something strange about the fortress portal?”

It was just a question I asked to forget the accident video of Kairos.

Shu’s face darkened immediately.

My heart pounded.

“Is it strange? These days?”

“Yeah. No… To be exact, it’s been like that recently.”

The short-haired senior muttered in an unusually gloomy voice.

“I think I’ve become hypersensitive after the accident because it’s been like that for so long. Actually, nothing much has happened since then… It could be that my senses have become a little strange.”

“It can’t hurt to be careful. Does the leadership know about this?”

“Doctor Han must have reported it.”

Shu, who had answered, gulped down the fifth cream puff.

After emptying the milk tea, he spoke quietly.

“But you know, Dad, you know, you’ve been dreaming about that guy a lot lately.”

My eyes grew wide.

I remembered a story I had heard from Simon Diamond before. The woman I met while wandering around inside the portal. A being who couldn’t die and couldn’t communicate.

The woman he described looked exactly like the Cecil I remembered.

Could Cecil and the flowers have something to do with each other?

Or is it that the instability of the portal that Sugar feels has something to do with Cecil?

I hadn’t thought much about Cecil until now. The reason was simple: it wasn’t something I could solve by moving.

It is not clear whether the woman Simon met was the real Cecil, someone who looked like Cecil, or just a memory of Cecil.

I asked after thinking about the new information for a moment.

“You mean the woman who told me last time?”

“Yeah. It could just be a coincidence.”

Shu muttered in a tone that said he didn’t feel like it was a coincidence.

“He said that he often remembers those days recently.”

“Is there anything new that you remember?”

“My dad drew a picture of his memories. Do you want to see it?”

Sugar said something unexpected.

As I blinked in surprise, my senior started sending me photos.

I widened my eyes and took in the images arriving one after another.

A pen drawing that shows no hesitation.

Fragments of memories drawn in black and yellow.

“… You draw really well.”

It was something I said after looking at the picture for a while.

Cecil in the picture.

She looked terribly lonely.

Eyes that seem lost.

***

I told my fellow countrymen about Cecil.

There was no great harvest. It was as it should be. She was a very excellent wizard, and at the same time, she was the exclusive bodyguard of Kisis, so she had little contact with Delteina Igor and You.

Rose didn’t even know her face.

Although Kairos knew a little about Cecil, he didn’t know much more than I did.

“What on earth does it mean to be inside a portal in the first place?”

Deltay asked with a confused face.

“There’s a portal inside? And it’s not yet known whether this is Cecil’s memory, Cecil, or something in Cecil’s form?”

“yes.”

I sighed as I thought about the story that showed no sign of being resolved.

“Just know that there is a story like that. I still have no idea what’s going on, but I thought it would be good to share it anyway.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your face.”

Kairos muttered, his gaze fixed on the photo.

“I had completely forgotten. She was also a child of the World Tree.”

That’s right.

I didn’t know how she became the child of the World Tree. Neither Cecil nor Kisis explained the circumstances. Cecil was a quiet person to begin with. She only spoke to Kisis and followed only Kisis’s orders.

It’s not that he wasn’t a person who would listen to what you had to say, but he wasn’t an easy person to talk to.

“I wish we could save him since he’s alive.”

After hearing Deltay’s muttering, I looked at the photo and muttered.

“That’s right.”

“I will make sure not to forget this information and will look into it from time to time.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“But wasn’t this woman the Archmage? It’s also strange that the Archmage can’t come out of the portal. Isn’t that like a dream voice?”

“That could be the case.”

“Hilde. Are you angry with me?”

While the other compatriots were talking about Cecil, Kairos said something strange.

“Ever since I met Senior Shu, there’s something strange about his attitude towards me.”

That ghostly guy.

I tried my best not to show it though.

Since I had no choice since I was caught, I told you without hiding it. Watching the video of your past accident reminded me of the countless accidents you’ve been in.

Including the one that hid the poison.

But this grumbling had little effect.

Because Kairos opened his eyes wide and asked, ‘Have I caused you that much trouble?’

They say you have a knack for turning other people’s stomachs upside down.

“Okay… Go on your mission.”

After sending Kairos away, who was flustered and asking if I was really angry, I rolled around on the bed with Milk.

That’s how I spent the physical test week.

Neither peaceful nor busy.

***

On the last day of the physical test, I heard both good news and bad news.

Bad news.

The drinking party with the Lord continued as planned.

[8pm today, Yellow Tape, bar across from Headquarters.]

I thought you had forgotten.

If this were to go quietly, I was planning on giving Milk a bath tonight.

I was frustrated that I wasn’t forgotten.

While I was wrapping my head around that and feeling sad, another message arrived. As soon as I opened the message, my face lit up.

[Army: Okay.]

At that short word, I looked up at the ceiling, holding my phone, trying to control my overwhelming emotions.

Igor came to his senses only after asking, “Are you okay, Captain?”

Thank you, God.

[I think it’s a really wise choice.]

[Army: Yeah.]

The round senior answered quickly.

[Ami: I thought about it carefully, but Mr. Joo isn’t my type.]

Oh, it’s a matter of taste?

[Ami: I just turned around and said sorry. Mr. Joo said he knew.]

I feel refreshed.

I feel like something that was weighing on me has disappeared.

I smiled and headed out to the drinking party.

Thanks to the extra week of rest, my physical condition has improved. When I realized that there is nothing left between me and Ami, my mood has also improved, and I entered the bar, thinking that I should drink moderately.

With a faint doubt as to whether Roh would actually remember this promise.

But surprisingly, Ro was the first to arrive.

He looked back at me, blinking, and took a swig of his beer.

“Oh, you’re here?”

He pointed to the chair next to him with his chin.

“Sit down.”

Looks like he was drinking first.

As I sat on the right side and ordered a drink, the waiter arrived shortly after.

Should I comfort you?

That was the first thought I had when I saw him looking a little more lethargic than usual.

But as if he had read my mind, he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“are you okay.”

The HR manager sat down next to me and immediately ordered a drink.

“Why don’t you run today? It’s been a while since I’ve been in a place like this, so it’s really nice.”

The HR manager smiled broadly as he watched me down a whole bottle of beer and accept a mug.

After receiving my share of the drink, he held out his glass and said, “Let’s have a toast.”

“Let’s just drink comfortably today without thinking about work.”

The drinking party actually went like that.

It made less sense than I thought.

There was no talk of normal conversation, let alone of the failed love business of the Lord. There was no talk of John Mullen’s physical strength, nor of the physical tests that had been conducted all week.

Instead, he said something like this:

“Hey, Kunde. You.”

That’s what Roga said after he drank his tenth bottle of beer.

“This breath has all collapsed and we are all going to die.”

“yes?”

What does this mean?

The senior ignored me, who blinked in confusion, and continued speaking.

“So, you and the other one will be left to raise the child.”

“No, senior. Why would you come up with such a hypothesis…?”

“Then would you rather have a tree or Griffith?”

“Tree and Griffith…? Are you by any chance different from Senior Mullen?”

“No, there’s Triin and that guy, he’s a nagging bastard!”

“Jason Tevein and Richard Green?”

“Oh, yeah. Which of those two is better?”

“…Why those two….”

“I have to raise a child.”

Roga added strength to his voice.

“I have to raise the child. No matter what. Tell me quickly.”

I chose… Richard.

And I fell into a strange sense of self-destruction. It felt even stranger because I was the only one answering and not hearing Rowan’s answer.

Why am I here like this?

The thought was compounded by the sight of the fancy drinks the Lord had poured for him.

During the drinking party, he showed off his brewing skills that even I, who has lived for over a hundred years, had never seen before. He smiled brightly and said, “I’ll make you some drinks~” and made all kinds of drinks. Cocktails. Fruit soju. What kind of drinks. What kind of drinks…

At some point, Roga started sleeping with his head on the table.

Left alone, I drank all the alcohol the Lord offered me.

I told them in advance that I wouldn’t drink plum wine, and since they’re not actually giving me any, it should be okay.

I’ve never gotten drunk from drinking regular alcohol.

I’m a bit scared of the amount of alcohol I can drink, but I don’t think I’m that shocked by being scolded by ARMY, and I’m worried that if I drink like this and time passes quickly, I’ll break up…

I thought so.

That was the last memory.

***

The next day, I woke up in a bathtub in a house I had never seen before.