Black Badger - Chapter 418



Only Noblemtl

418. Memorial Service (2)

All eyes were on him.

People who can’t take their eyes off the golden ring.

Hildebert stood under the pouring gaze and scanned the chapel.

People could not read anything in those golden eyes, which showed neither disgust nor fear.

And so the cool, sinking silence sets in.

A husky voice broke the silence.

“Come in.”

That was the end.

Hildebert did not respond to the commander-in-chief’s brief instructions.

The leaders, who are looking at the bronze urns covered in linen, do not look back either.

Pure white linen and flickering candles.

A music box placed in front of a pipe that rises all the way to the ceiling.

As Hildebert and Jack Black took their places, everyone’s eyes turned back to the front.

The memorial service has begun.

***

The eulogy was read by Kang Joo and me.

No one knew all the Badgers who had passed away as well as Kang Joo. The head of the personnel department’s eulogy was flawless as always. He truly cared for all the Badgers, and his eulogy was filled with genuine affection.

All the warriors lived as Black Badgers.

Even if the world forgets them, the organization will remember them.

Some shed tears.

Amy continued to cry. Her lips were pursed shut, making no sound, but tears continued to pour from her bloodshot eyes.

Dante, who was a classmate of Badger who died without a body in the park, wiped away tears with his thick forearm.

Tom Hutson, a classmate of Hildebert, sheds tears like chicken droppings.

A tear also fell from Karl Doe’s blue eye. It was the first tear he had seen at the memorial service.

The skin without the mask is pale.

Tears flowed down his cool skin and fell to the floor of the chapel. That was the end of his tears. Karl didn’t cry any more, and instead placed his hands on the back of the office worker who was burying his face in his hands and unable to raise his head.

As we listen to the eulogy, we pray for the peace of Gene Silver.

All time hurts, and the last one kills.

Badger recalled an old Roman proverb he loved:

Someday, his final hour will come.

Dying

As the eulogy was finished, the requiem began to resound.

Amidst the resonating sound of the organ, the leaders and Hildebert looked at the urn without expression. It was difficult to guess what they were thinking.

It’s equally impossible to read emotions from Jack Black, who stands next to Hildebert.

However, since there were no reporters who were so insensitive as to flash their cameras during the memorial service, the service proceeded without a hitch.

After the song ended and the time of silence passed, the ceremony was over. People turned around and walked out of the chapel.

Swish….

It was still raining and a light fog was blocking visibility.

The badgers who came out one after another opened their umbrellas.

Click click click!

As Hildebert followed them out, a loud flash went off.

“The funeral proceedings are not yet complete.”

It was the week before that that reporters stopped the microphones from being thrust into their heads.

“Please be considerate until the funeral is over.”

Journalists who take a step back to know public opinion.

The mic went down, but the lens continued to follow Hildebert.

The viewfinder captured the scene where the man with the golden eyes apologizes to the head of the personnel department, and the head of the personnel department gently smiles and pats his back.

The head of personnel walked along with the badgers who showed up late.

The younger badgers didn’t know the way to the cemetery, but most badgers knew where the cemetery was.

As was the case with Karl Dowdo, he followed the procession of badgers after dropping off the company employees to their families.

Leave the chapel grounds and climb the green slope.

A procession moving in polite silence.

They finally reached the cemetery after the raindrops on the grass had soaked everyone’s ankles.

The flash continued to go off, but no one raised the microphone. Carl Doe stood between his seniors and juniors, watching the urn being placed on the ground, the Black Badger insignia and blue ribbon next to it.

And they stood in silence until the farewell horn sounded.

The final proceedings of the funeral.

Until it was over, Hildebert remained silent.

***

Some badgers didn’t return right away.

Instead, he stays in front of the graveyard and talks to those gathered in black uniforms.

He paid no attention to the wandering reporters.

As the years go by, you tend to learn how to ignore the media… .

“Mr. Hildebert!”

“Mr. Taleb! Please give me a moment.”

“Commander-in-Chief!”

“Ms. Amy, can I have a quick interview?”

But that was a luxury only available to some.

As the funeral ended, the reporters had nothing left to hide. They swarmed like bees toward Hildebert, who finally appeared.

It was Jack Black who swam through the crowd as smoothly as if he was swimming.

The red-haired man grinned as he casually pushed Hildebert out of the reporters’ way.

Without blinking an eye even in the face of the exploding flashes, he continued to put distance between himself and the reporters until he disappeared from the field.

“Are you running away?!”

“Blackjack! How long have you known Mr. Taleb?”

“What is your relationship? Why did you two come together?”

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Taleb! Please accept our thanks!”

“Where are you now? I heard you took sick leave. Are you really that unwell?”

“Commander! Please tell us about the special recruitment of Mr. Hildebert Taleb!”

Those who did not answer and went to their own vehicles.

Ricardo stood there holding his umbrella and watched the people walking away.

Only after they were out of sight did he turn around and descend down into the graveyard with Jonathan.

On the opposite side of where the rumor owners parked their cars. A place where the noise subsides as you walk.

The two badgers stopped under a zelkova tree at the beginning of the slope.

Yoon was already standing below, smoking a cigarette.

“I thought you were caught by the reporters… ”

Ricardo said next to Jonathan, who nodded in greeting.

Yoon, who had been smoking a cigarette with a bored expression, rolled his eyes.

“reporter?”

The man stared at Ricardo with reptilian eyes.

“To me?”

Instead of answering, Ricardo let out a hollow laugh.

Then he turns his head forward. Thinking about it, that’s what happened. Who would have the courage to thrust a microphone at Choi Yoon and squeeze out an answer?

He snorted at himself for asking the question and took out a cigarette and lit it.

For a while, I just smoked in silence. Jonathan doesn’t smoke, but when he does, he usually stands there silently with an inscrutable expression on his face.

Those who smoke cigarettes in silence.

The smell of summer rain mixes with the fresh scent of young leaves and the scent of tobacco.

It was Ricardo who broke the silence.

“You said you would give me a room… .”

Yoon immediately understood the words that were thrown out without any context.

“Did he say that?”

“Yes….”

“Orally?”

“Yes, well… I heard that communication isn’t guaranteed right now….”

“It looks like your home has been invaded too.”

“That’s not why I invited you to my house… .”

One day, in the middle of the night, I felt a noise and went out with a gun, and saw Hildebert at the front door.

He stood there with a truly apologetic expression on his face, unable to come inside.

I didn’t even hear the sound of the door lock opening, let alone the sound of the window opening.

Even none of the many CCTV cameras installed around the house captured Hildebert’s appearance.

But surprisingly, the successor appeared inside Ricard’s house, like a mushroom sprouting in front of the front door.

Adding to the glowing yellow eyes in the darkness, Ricardo found himself thinking that he would have aimed his gun at Hildebert if it weren’t for the distinctively scared expression he was wearing.

‘Why are you looking so scared when you’re talking about a home invader?’

‘I’m truly sorry, Rick… .’

As soon as he said that, the junior lowered his head and looked at him.

‘I apologize for coming without permission. Actually, it would have been best if you hadn’t come, but… I came here after much thought because I had things I had to give you.’

The media isn’t exactly the worst, so what does that matter?

Isn’t it strange for seniors and juniors to see each other outside?

He didn’t ask back. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that Hildebert was starting to get involved with those behind the curtain.

So rather than grumbling, I chose to stretch my body.

‘Come in first~….’

‘Oh, I’ll just leave you with something to tell you.’

I tried to give him a ride, but Hildebert remained in the hallway.

He threw his weapons in front of the entrance without even changing into his slippers.

‘What is this… .’

What did you interpret the muttered words he was saying to himself while looking down at his weapon?

Hildebert made a small noise and began to describe the weapon.

Ricardo sighed.

‘I know how to use it… .’

‘Thank goodness. There is no legal problem with the purchase process, but please keep it somewhere out of sight. It is definitely not for mission use.’

‘What the hell are you doing?’

A junior with a bitter smile.

He looked at Ricardo with golden eyes.

‘I’m sorry. I can’t explain it properly, but you are close to me and you are also close to Assistant Ska. It seems right to prepare in various ways.’

‘Where are you now…?’

‘The shooter gave me one of his guns.’

Hildebert dismantled the gun with such skill that it was hard to believe it was the same rookie who had forgotten to refill the magazine.

The anesthesia needle and other weapons were quickly checked for their condition and then returned to their original state.

It’s a strange feeling to see them skillfully handling weapons that only intelligence agents would use.

But regardless, Hildebert smiled at Ricardo, who raised his eyebrows.

‘I’m doing well there, so don’t worry. Just be careful for a while. I heard that Assistant Ska is worried too.’

‘I wonder if the Commander-in-Chief is really going to resign~?’

‘Personally, I think that would be better for Yehyun.’

The successor put down the things he had brought and turned his body.

‘I heard that a decision hasn’t been made yet.’

After that, he started talking about all sorts of harmless things (like the dinner he had at Anga the night before) and tried to leave on his own.

I sighed at the sight of him doing whatever he wanted, but my successor looked like he remembered something late.

He added:

‘If you can’t avoid it, kill the intruder.’

As I stared intently, my successor smiled with a look of regret and sadness.

‘I’m sorry, Rick.’

And until today, not even a single trace of the nose has been seen.

The green-eyed junior is ill-mannered.

“Humans know how to kill.”

Ricardo answered Yoon’s question without blinking an eye.

“yes.”

“Hold on tight to your lifeline, at least for the sake of your comrades.”

Yoon said absentmindedly, blowing smoke out of his mouth.

“I don’t want to see what happened when outsiders took the top job again.”

And less than two days after hearing those words, Ricardo received a message from Scar Owen.

[Please come and pick me up.]

Ricardo, who went out to greet her personally as she had wished, encountered Scar Owen, who was out of his mind, for the first time.