Black Badger - Chapter 432



Only Noblemtl

432. Understanding and Misunderstanding (1)

How long has it been since the fire started burning inside?

Kyle had never known a life without flames. He lived every moment with karma. At some point, he became accustomed to the heat that warmed his insides. It was strange to not have flames.

So, whenever my anger started to subside, I threw in some firewood. I couldn’t forgive myself for letting my inner desire for revenge subside.

While following the emperor’s orders, he engraved in his mind the faces of the tribesmen who had fallen at his hands.

He remembered his deceased parents and his teacher who was stabbed to death by the enemy’s sword.

I didn’t tell this story to the Count’s third son, Ray Reneur.

‘You sometimes glance at my face and start to speak but then stop.’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘It’s nothing special. I guess he was just trying to talk about the people above.’

Ray hated Kyle’s way of opening and closing his mouth.

However, he could not express his discontent openly. He was not so naive as to not know the difference in status between Kyle and me.

He couldn’t ask Hildebert why he could speak so freely to him but not in front of him.

‘Why are you guys doing this again?’

Every time that happened, it was Hildebert who always came in to mediate.

‘Actually, I know you guys really like each other. Let’s spar instead of just being awkward.’

Then, the awkward, ghostly atmosphere would disappear.

Hildebert was a man of such talent. His uncomplicated personality made those around him feel comfortable.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Ray and him weren’t close friends. As Hildebert said, they were best friends.

There was just one topic we were both careful about.

Even though it was such a huge topic, it sometimes became a problem.

‘But still, where are the nobles who would voluntarily come to the western unit?’

Ray would sometimes drink and grumble like that.

‘I’m quite rebellious, you know. I may not be as good as Hilde, but please trust me sometimes.’

It’s not that I distrusted Ray.

I just knew that Ray wasn’t as free as Hildebert.

‘What will you do if you rebel?’

One day, Kyle jokingly asked a question to which Hildebert immediately answered.

‘I should be standing next to you.’

A person who has lost everything precious to him.

‘But if that’s the case, you should have pretended to break up with Ray at least a few months ago. You know that, right?’

Hilde said that if it weren’t for Ray, she would never have set foot on the zodiac.

‘You know that even though Ray says that, he can’t completely hate his own family.’

Sometimes Ray would feel intimidated when Hildebert acted like that.

In fact, Ray Renouard also showed a friendship that was shocking to those around him.

It was understandable that Ray felt sorry for no reason, since there was someone right next to him who would burn his own body to help him get revenge without a moment’s hesitation.

Hildebert has been in that position for quite some time.

Unlike Kyle, who had a tribe, and Ray, who had a family, Hildebert lived like a dry leaf on the world tree, swaying in the wind.

As Kissis said, for a while, the only people Hildebert had were him and Ray.

So, he was the one who used to match the balance between the two.

The emperor, knowing this, appointed Kyle as the commander of the knights a little earlier.

They probably knew that if they could catch him, they would definitely be able to catch Hildebert.

The emperor, who could not bear to let go of the yellow eyes and did not even sweep away the rebellious gaze of the conquerors, used their friendship as a good anchor.

There were times when I thought we couldn’t get any closer to each other.

‘Kyle.’

The change in the relationship was due to an unexpected event.

‘sorry.’

The count’s indecisive attitude and the eldest son’s rash words and actions led to the entire family being accused of treason.

At that time, they desperately ran to save the Reneur family. Kyle was the first to request an audience with the emperor. To someone who could not stop hating him even after kissing him to swear allegiance.

I heard that Hildebert was also busy.

Since he encountered the Emperor much more often, he would have petitioned Him more often.

Hildebert did not elaborate on this.

Anyway, the important thing is that he and Ray became very close as a result of that incident.

‘How have you been living?’

After everything was over, Ray came to him and said.

‘I’m sorry for nagging you all this time. I never understood what was on your mind until now.’

‘Have some pickles.’

That was the answer he gave at the time.

Anyway, it was an emotion that could not be explained to others unless they were in a similar situation.

‘Let’s talk after we have a few drinks.’

That’s how we became close friends.

With one large, transparent barrier gone, they finally understood each other.

Every time he and Ray met after that, they poured out their inner feelings.

Ray is….

“Captain.”

Valdez opened the door and came in.

“Drink some water.”

“What about Navaratte?”

Kyle snapped out of his thoughts.

As he muttered, running his hand through his black hair, Valdez held out the water before answering.

Kyle took a sip of the water in silence. After setting the empty glass down on the table, he habitually checked for signs of Hildebert.

Still inside the core.

As I heard, he seems to be preoccupied with fighting with the elders.

Kyle had been quite trustworthy of the humans who had provided information to his kind before he woke up. One of them in particular had great information powers, and was greatly treasured by the commanding staff, including Kyle.

I hope they don’t catch on until the end.

I heard that the Black Badgers have started to seriously hunt down spies.

It may not be completely safe, but if the key informant is not discovered until the end… .

The voice of a dutiful subordinate once again interrupted my train of thought.

“I am still receiving treatment, but I think I will still have difficulty moving.”

Valdez sighed, pushing up his glasses.

“I’m sorry. I don’t really have any talent for healing….”

“Okay. Who doesn’t know that you’re trying.”

Kyle got out of bed and tapped Valdez on the shoulder.

After stretching as I always did, I walked out of the bedroom.

The morning air tickles my nose.

It seems like nothing special happened during the night, as no one else was waiting outside the bedroom.

Actually, the Badgers haven’t come out of the core lately. Even though I figured I wouldn’t be able to push through to the end, it was worth igniting the space movement seeds I had planted near the headquarters.

It’ll be quiet for a while.

One glimmer of hope was extinguished recently when Cecil went berserk and Navarrate was badly injured, but soon another spark of hope was rekindled.

So Kyle wasn’t impatient.

“What was unusual last night?”

“No. It was quiet. It looks like supplies will be delivered from the core this afternoon. The commotion inside Badger has made surveillance outside the core less lax. We’re trying to take advantage of this gap to replenish supplies.”

“Yeah. I need to check the ledger too.”

“Take a rest today.”

As I walked out of the building, Valdez answered coolly.

Kyle didn’t answer and just pushed the door open.

The wizard came close to him and clung to him.

“I said, rest. If you don’t rest today, Lord Seth will kill me. He’s been pestering me since last week to let his master rest. I’ve been telling him that I’m urging him to rest, but he won’t listen!”

“Okay, okay.”

Kyle waved his hand.

I think this will continue to run wild unless they give me a definite nod to not touching anything today.

In fact, he also felt that he needed some fresh air, so Kyle accepted his subordinate’s request. After eating breakfast, he completed his self-planned training quota and went to take a leisurely rest.

Only when he entered the room did Valdez show a satisfied smile.

Seth, a loyal subordinate who had been with Kyle since before he ascended to the rank of Grand Master of the Empire, even came to his bedroom to see with his own eyes that Kyle was really stretched out, ready to rest.

“It’s unusual.”

“It was you, the captain, who emphasized the importance of rest.”

Seth didn’t say a word.

“You said that humans would be quiet for a while. Take advantage of this opportunity to get some sleep.”

“I slept as much as I could in my life back then.”

After responding as if talking to himself, he waved Seth off.

I pretended not to hear the rebuttal, “That’s not sleeping, is it?” Instead, as soon as the door closed, I opened the window and lay down on the bed.

And I looked out the window.

The shortage of materials, which was the biggest problem, seems likely to be resolved from this point on.

Kyle was quite fond of those who risked their lives to get out of the core. Unlike the informants inside the center core, these people were mainly driven by money rather than conviction. They gathered their items to exchange and risked their lives to get out of the core.

Usually, trains were used to transport supplies.

The farther away a core is from the center core, the weaker the Black Badger’s influence becomes. And since there are always people desperate to make money in any core, the smugglers living in Core 5 have bribed those who control the supply trains.

Originally, there were hardly any supply trains running in Core 5. This was because the supply depot outside Core 5 was now rarely used. However, when Core 5 was under the control of a powerful elder, the supply depot was active, so the rails and trains were still intact.

It was a win-win deal. The smugglers returned with resources that could only be found outside the core and sold them for a high price, while they quietly collected what could only be found inside the core.

The amount of goods coming and going was strictly controlled so as not to be noticed by the elders or the Black Badgers.

Of course, there were countless ways things could have gone wrong, but luck was on our side every time. Thanks to that, we haven’t had any problems with our supply lines yet.

Distribution is very important.

No matter what choice they make… .

‘Kyle.’

Memories of the past suddenly came flooding back.

‘Please don’t start first.’

Hildebert was pleading.

It was a memory from before the war. To be exact, it was a memory from a few months before he led his men to attack the research lab. It was around the time when he had started avoiding even the slightest confrontation with Hildebert.

He avoided talking to Hildebert, and Hildebert made every effort to talk to him.

One day, the person who had been constantly coming to him to ask him to believe in him got down on his knees, so Kyle got angry and stood Hildebert up.

‘What do you want to do!’

‘I thought this would convey my desperation.’

‘The problem isn’t lack of urgency. I want to get on my knees. Then you’ll come to your senses.’

‘Kyle.’

Hildebert then called his name in a voice that seemed ready to break at any moment.

‘Kyle. If you can’t trust me…’

I can’t believe it.

When the final moment of the last day comes, humans will change their minds. They will not have the determination to truly perish together. Kyle knew that very well. Didn’t he?

When empires and tribes fought over each other’s lands.

Kyle had decided that if he lost, he would rather die by embracing the enemy general’s neck. Almost until the very last moment, there was no fear or hesitation in his decision.

I will fight until the end on the battlefield like my father.

Even though you went out with that kind of determination, didn’t you end up kneeling?

Kyle was still convinced that if they had pushed through to the end, the enemy would have done the same. Hildebert had fallen for their bluff.

‘Do you know how much Adam loved you?’

The day I was ready to strike humans.

Knowing Hildebert well, Kyle also knew how to tease him, so he said that to Hildebert who had come to beg him.

‘Aren’t you ashamed to look at that kid?’

The turbulent Geuman at that time still comes to mind often.

Kyle’s desperate wish was not enough to finally bring Hildebert down.

‘I’ve become a coward who saves his life because I have too much to lose.’

Hildebert answered thus.

‘If only I could survive longer…’

Kyle felt the breeze coming in through the open window.

He was always sensitive to the smell of the wind. He was incredibly aware of changes in the weather and his surroundings by smelling the wind.

As a child, it took me a long time to get used to the smell of the wind that swept across the zodiac.

It was no different from immediately after the dimension shift. Earth was a stuffy place. Skyscrapers and roads full of people. Smoke and fine smoke that choked the air.

I think about it sometimes.

What would have happened if, like Hilde, she had put aside her pride and everything and prayed?

Then would he have changed his mind?

It’s true that Ray was relieved because he raised his hand.

Hilde also had the complacent thought that in the end, she would have to follow Ray and his decisions.

Because Kyle knew how much Hildebert liked them.

Moreover, the knight who grew up among the priests suffered from a certain degree of loneliness.

So even at the last moment… .

he is….

‘Ray?’

The answer to the question I asked as soon as I woke up.

‘Who killed him?’

When the war against humans finally began, Kyle sometimes thought.

I have Ray and Ray has me, so you must be quite lonely.

I now regret having thought that way.

“His revenge is mine alone.”

Kyle muttered to himself in a low voice.

“It is completely mine.”