Black Badger - Chapter 401



Only Noblemtl

401. Pop-up store (1)

Sugar waved his hand.

She, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looked the same. The senior, wearing a kitschy short-sleeved shirt with a crescent moon on it and shorts, was in an automatic wheelchair.

Ricardo is also dressed in casual civilian clothes.

He was wearing a brown leather watch and a striped short-sleeved shirt. It seemed as if he had come face to face with Shu. He was lightly placing one hand on the wheelchair.

Seniors who approach people while flexibly avoiding them.

The pop-up took place inside a small building in a busy area.

I heard that it’s a space where only pop-ups are displayed. The content changes periodically.

We made an appointment for the third day of the Rat Pop-up.

A brand with a colorful mouse design.

Sugar told me the brand name, but I forgot.

To be honest, I still don’t quite understand what a rat this is.

But it seems to be popular. We decided to eat lunch separately and then meet up, so we had lunch nearby, and from then until now, there has been a line of people waiting.

“Have you been waiting long?”

Sugar came and stood next to me and looked up at me.

I smiled.

“no.”

“You came without a mask or hat~?”

Ricardo asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

“You won’t be able to walk comfortably….”

Well, it wasn’t that much.

As soon as I went out on the street, I was a bit surprised by the attention I received. But still, everyone was friendly. And since this is a street where many celebrities appear, I felt like everyone was used to seeing famous people.

I had to take dozens of photos on the way here.

Children came running toward me, screaming. Older people were anxious to hand me something. When I said I didn’t have enough hands to receive it, they even pushed paper bags at me.

It seemed that he had become as famous as he had been during the imperial era.

The feeling of fame was a bit different than back then.

In the empire, usually belligerent swordsmen were attached.

Those who admired him did not approach him easily. Few people would talk to the royal knights comfortably. Even if they cheered him on from afar, there were not many who approached him shouting like this.

Maybe during the prom?

But even then, I was so busy protecting the nobles that I didn’t have time to think… .

Anyway, on the way here, I met a lot of people who liked the basic flavor, which made me feel a little better.

Ricardo let out a hollow laugh as he looked at his senior and laughed.

“Did something good happen?”

“Many people have said that the basic flavor of Lexic is delicious.”

“I’m just saying that to make you feel better….”

“No. I said I really liked it.”

“The line is long.”

Sugar skillfully cuts through the conversation between me and Ricardo.

“I’m so sorry to have to wait with you… Senior. It’s okay if you and Hilde stay at a nearby cafe. I don’t think I’ll be able to wait until the dinner reservation time, so I’ll go in alone and then go to the cafe.”

“Okay~. I have some free time anyway….”

“I don’t mind either. I just want to keep in touch.”

Shu didn’t say it twice.

The two doctors nodded with a look of “well then” and went to stand in line.

Ricardo and I also stood in line quietly with Shu.

The people standing in front looked at us with curious eyes.

“Do you like this?”

Students who looked like they were high school or college freshmen asked questions in a hesitant manner.

“Are you on vacation today?”

“Yeah~. That’s right, it’s vacation~.”

“We were planning to have dinner together as a senior and junior, but I told you to stop by here before that, so you came with me.”

Ricardo answered with a smile at the child who was looking up at him cautiously.

Shu gave an explanation that wasn’t really an explanation to the students who looked like, ‘Why are those big guys here?’

I had a quick chat with people who were excited to try Lexik Noodles.

“Then, does Hilde really only eat the basic flavors?”

“yes.”

“The other menus are delicious!”

After having that conversation and taking pictures, the people waiting in line started talking amongst themselves again.

I took my phone out of my pocket without missing a beat.

Because there are contacts to check.

“I’ve been busy lately….”

Ricardo looked at me carefully as I entered the message window after asking for my understanding.

That’s a serious statement.

I tried not to flinch and smiled awkwardly.

I have not heard what the senior who took Kairos out that day said to Kairos.

Neither Ricardo nor Kairos answered my questions.

But he’s a scary-smart senior. He must have figured out that there’s a reason why I’m suddenly filming commercials and looking down at my phone more often than usual.

But I also thought that Scar’s stance was right.

Neither Ricardo nor Jonathan need to know anything about the Elders.

“sorry.”

I apologized politely.

“I’ll finish it right away.”

“Take it slow~.”

“You can take it slow. I think you’ll have to wait a bit.”

If you two say so.

I clicked on the photo Youga sent without hesitation.

You has been reporting in the form of writing the Imperial language on paper and taking a picture of it. This is a reporting method that has been used since long ago, and security is guaranteed because there are no people who know the Imperial language characters.

As expected, Youu is really good at this.

It hasn’t been long since I started working, but information is already listed.

Since you have a paranoid side, there must be a lot of things you’ve collected before I gave the order.

I read the report my subordinate had compiled and chuckled.

‘Note. Listed in chronological order of events.’

This is incredible.

The paper contained an elegant handwriting listing the numerous evil deeds committed by the three elders during their political strife.

They didn’t just sit there. Since ancient times, the leader of a country has not been able to sleep soundly. The elders were no exception. They maintained their position by cutting the throats of those who coveted the position like hyenas.

‘The death list is quite impressive.’

I ran through the names of those who were eliminated in the power struggle.

The names of those who punished the losers were tagged on the side like tags. Not to mention Colton and Jae-yeon, but the combination of Yekaterina and Lee Seung-hyun, and the combination of Eric Earhart and Shashinsky & Rabbi were also dazzling.

In the center core, the political strife was literally a struggle.

Before the First World War, political struggles were possible through market logic and law, because the masses could see who held power.

But now the public doesn’t know who sits at the top.

The power struggle has regressed to a rather primitive form.

Nowadays, it is common for elders to stop a car filled with explosives on the road they pass by.

bang!

If your neck is blown off, it’s over.

Of course, before that, the neck was usually cut by the water limbs.

The elder’s subordinates are all people with blood on their hands.

It was impossible to sit there and keep your hands clean.

I’m dirty too.

I don’t know if I’ll ever use this information, but… .

[Sukhoi agreed.]

I smiled faintly when I saw the imperial language sentence written at the end.

[The Falcons have definitely noticed. They will come up with something that will overturn the positive public opinion in the near future. They will probably reveal the captain’s identity or something.]

I guess so.

Up to this point, it was within the expected range.

After replying to the bookstore’s message window, I went to another message window.

A message from Seunghyun Lee.

[I am receiving counseling on a regular basis, but…]

In the trembling sentence, I could read the intention of asking questions so periodically.

I quickly typed a reply.

[I contacted you to confirm that you were still receiving it]

I urged you to do it today.

[Please continue to receive it in the future]

Then, after replying to Rose and Igor’s messages, he looked up.

The line started moving as people inside the pop-up store came out.

I apologized and followed behind my seniors.

“sorry.”

“Going in.”

Shu was so focused on being able to enter the building that he didn’t care whether I caught him or not.

Ricardo frowned slightly and looked inside the building through the window.

A look that contained a feeling of incomprehension rather than displeasure.

“Is that a rat…?”

therefore.

“Isn’t the round thing more like milk than a mouse? Isn’t this too much of a stretch?”

“No… That would make more sense… .”

We walked slowly into the building, still struggling with the same questions.

No matter how I look at it, I see characters that are more like teddy bears or thief snowflakes than mice.

But what do they sell inside?

Do you sell things like clothes or bags?

Captivated by the question, Ricardo and I followed Shu inside.

***

The knife was on the roof of the building.

With a telescope in hand, wearing a comfortable black short-sleeved shirt and jogger pants.

Today was a holiday.

I wasn’t really planning on going on vacation though.

The headquarters was also in disarray and the atmosphere was tense, so I decided to rest later. As others were muttering, it seemed like an attack would come soon.

But the moment the last week of July arrived, requests to take vacation poured in so quickly that I couldn’t help but take it.

[Sophia Carlock: I’m on vacation right now]

The first person I contacted was a classmate.

In return, I received calls from Ami, Ricardo, and Hilde.

[Ami Choi (Season 1): Carl! Aren’t you going to work? Take a vacation! I’ll check!]

[Ricardo Sordi (2nd season): Rest well. Don’t be stubborn for no reason.]

[Hildebert Taleb (62nd class): Senior. You shouldn’t take the words of the old dragon lightly. Please, I beg you, take a long summer vacation this time.]

There is nothing that cannot be done.

Carl took his leave without hesitation.

And now he was enjoying some alone time. He originally liked spending time alone.

It’s a bit of a shame not to see anyone during the long vacation.

I briefly considered contacting my new club members, but in the end I didn’t.

Given the circumstances, there was no point in asking civilians to come out.

It was difficult to even contact the badgers, as many of them were on patrol and couldn’t even think of taking a vacation.

I need to rest quietly and then come back.

A lukewarm yet promising wind.

Karl had a cigarette in his mouth.

He stood leaning against the roof railing without lighting the reed, and habitually held the telescope up to his eyes.

It was a new hobby I picked up a few years ago.

Bird watching in the city.

Carl Dow took a bird’s eye view of the center core with his telescope to enjoy the act of peace in his heart.

Then I discovered something strange.

The sword stopped the head that was slowly turning.

And I stared at it.

Located in the middle of a downtown park.

Oddly huge… .

“flower?”

Carl spat out the words reflexively.

“Why is that there?”

***

Same time.

Simon Diamond woke up from his nap screaming.