WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ Black Badger ◈

Chapter 61: Martin's Disappearance (1)

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The scientists were devastated.

They were grief-stricken. Summoned urgently by John, they had rushed into the lab only to wail at the sight of where Martin had been stolen from.

I stared blankly at the scientists covering their faces.

People dropping to their knees and crying, “Oh, God.”

To this extent?

Of course, they did not just sit around in despair. Things moved quickly. I had never known John Mueln could move that fast.

Led by John Mueln, the scientists worked in perfect order, pushing desks together and preparing for a meeting.

They even set out a chair for me.

Why?

“Hilde, sit down. The meeting’s starting right away.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

The scientists answered in unison and pulled me into the chair.

“The meeting is starting!”

That’s exactly why. Why am I here?

But the scientists did not seem inclined to let me go. The ones I had gotten acquainted with while visiting the lab with my senior partner gripped the hem of my clothes tightly.

I’m not from here. I visit the lab often, but I’m not a scientist.

Anyway, as I sat there held captive, Yoon spoke.

“The CCTV footage.”

“We’re reviewing it.”

John answered.

It was shocking enough that he replied so promptly, but even more surprising that he was actually staring so hard at the enormous screen. Less than an hour had passed since he pressed the red button and called everyone together.

Had he always been capable of moving this quickly?

No one else seemed surprised. Instead, they nodded eagerly as though John was someone they could trust with anything. Yoon did not argue with John’s answer either and simply nodded.

My senior partner slowly looked over the grief-stricken scientists.

“From this moment on, we will apply the principle of presumed guilt.”

What kind of principle is that, you lunatic?

“Write down your detailed movements from yesterday until now and post them on the board.”

“It could have been someone from outside the lab. Shouldn’t we collect alibis from everyone at headquarters?”

“I think we should investigate not only headquarters staff, but outsiders as well!”

“That makes sense. Martin is something outside companies would definitely want.”

“I’ll check the access logs for outside visitors!”

The scientists began talking noisily. Slightly dazed, I picked up bits and pieces of the conversations bursting out around me.

They were serious. They did not seem the least bit unhappy about revealing their movements. If anything, they seemed to think only revealing the scientists’ movements would not be enough.

Many other methods for finding the culprit were suggested. Check when Martin’s power had been cut off. Find out what tool had cut the cables. Trace where that tool had been purchased. Was there any power left in Martin’s main body? Could Martin’s last signal provide a clue?

I did not understand half of what they said.

But I could tell Yoon was furious.

“If the culprit is among you, confess while I’m asking nicely.”

My senior partner issued his threat.

“I’ll take it into consideration if you confess. If I catch you, I’ll beat the hell out of you.”

Can a Badger threaten civilians like that?

I heard someone swallow under the pressure. Still, no one objected. The scientists nodded with serious expressions.

Watching the people so full of resolve, I gave a hollow laugh.

But seriously, who stole Martin?

Cute Martin. Martin was practically the lab’s idol.

I watched the situation unfold with great interest. I would have liked to watch longer, but I could not. My senior partner had received a message, looked up from his phone, and fixed his eyes on me.

Yoon’s gaze landed right on me.

“Rookie.”

“Ah, am I still a rookie?”

“Come with me.”

Judging by the way he barked at the scientists to begin their investigation into Martin, then turned away, it seemed important.

After asking the scientists holding my clothes to excuse me, I trotted after my senior partner out of the lab.

*　　　*　　　*

Ye-hyeon had been the one who contacted him.

It was a private hospital room, much cleaner and larger than the one I had stayed in. The space was so quiet my ears rang. Following my senior partner inside, I sucked in a breath at the sight of the Commander-in-Chief lying in bed.

Ye-hyeon lay there limp and flat like a rice noodle roll.

The men lightly ignored my surprise. Yoon strode toward the man who clearly looked unwell. His superior, paler than usual, rolled his eyes toward us.

After checking that I was there, Ye-hyeon met Yoon’s eyes.

“Why did you call an emergency meeting?”

Yoon and I sat side by side in chairs beside the bed.

“Martin disappeared.”

“Ah.”

Ye-hyeon let out a short sound.

He really must have been sick. Looking at the way he stared at my senior partner without expression, he did not even seem to have the energy to be surprised or angry over scientists kneeling down and wailing....

Ye-hyeon turned his gaze to the ceiling.

“It’s nothing serious.”

It isn’t?

“Why is that not serious?”

“It’s just a machine.”

Ye-hyeon answered Yoon’s protest.

“Is it really such a big problem? It didn’t have any secrets stored in it, did it?”

“It didn’t have any secrets stored in it, but still.”

Yoon looked down at Ye-hyeon with a sullen expression.

I rather enjoyed watching my senior partner’s reaction. So he grumbles at Ye-hyeon too.

My senior partner complained.

“Something belonging to headquarters was stolen. Shouldn’t you at least be annoyed?”

“You’ll find it.”

Ye-hyeon remained calm. Lying straight on his back and staring at the ceiling, he rested his right hand, with an IV needle in it, over his stomach.

Then he muttered as if to himself.

“Martin... uses too much electricity....”

So that was the problem.

I held back a smile.

I stayed quiet and listened closely to the conversation between my seniors.

They talked about Martin’s situation for a while. Did he have any guesses about the culprit? No, but he would have a clearer picture in a day. The moment he caught them, he would beat them up. Catching them was fine, but threatening civilians was not. Ye-hyeon was always too harsh on Martin....

Their casual conversation stopped at some point.

Ye-hyeon turned his head toward me.

“Hilde.”

“Ah, yes.”

Had I been enjoying their conversation too much?

I wiped the smile from my face and sat up straight.

The highest-ranking officer saw how tense I was and gave a faint smile.

“You don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Do you have any questions?”

Another question thrown at me without explanation.

I looked directly into my pale superior’s eyes.

I had waited for this moment ever since Jin Silver dropped that huge bomb on me in the subway.

But now that I had been given the chance, it was difficult to choose the right question. I had wanted to ask about Jin. But I did not want to bring up something that would tear open the wounds of someone lying there in a cold sweat.

He could hold a conversation normally, but he did not seem to have any strength left.

After thinking it over, I said something else.

“They say I’m not human.”

Yoon raised his head.

His black eyes blinked once.

Ye-hyeon’s eyes, meanwhile, lowered. As if he pitied me. Or as if he felt sorry for hiding this from me all this time.

His reaction alone gave me my answer.

But I wanted to hear it confirmed. I looked at the man as white as the blanket covering him.

“Did you know?”

A long silence followed.

A cold silence wrapped around us. I sat in the still hospital room, waiting for an answer. Yoon also turned toward Ye-hyeon and waited. Apparently, even Yoon had not known.

Information not allowed even to the person who knew Jaeyeon and lived in the same house as Ye-hyeon.

Why was this man so determined to hide it?

“I knew.”

After a long while, Ye-hyeon answered quietly.

“I’m sorry I hid it.”

“No. I never asked.”

I gave a faint smile.

Sadness and guilt clouded Ye-hyeon’s eyes. The corners of the man’s eyes drooped as he lay in the hospital bed. The authority he showed in official settings was gone. I remembered what Ricardo had said. In private, he was so gentle he might as well be soft.

He must have hidden it because it was necessary, so there was no need for him to feel this sorry.

When I said that, Ye-hyeon looked even more distressed.

“Please don’t be so sorry. If you could have told me, you would have told me earlier, wouldn’t you?”

“Did Jin tell you?”

How did he know so easily?

I nodded.

“Yes. Jin told me. Jin said that I would have to remember eventually.”

“...Right. In the end, you will have to. For all of us.”

“I’ll try. Fortunately, I have remembered some important things.”

When I said it casually, my seniors’ eyes widened.

I gave a bitter smile. I had not told anyone about what happened in the subway yet. Still, if I was going to tell someone first, it should be this man.

I touched the empty place at my waist where my sword should have been.

Feeling the absence of my greatsword, I spoke.

“I heard Kyle has awakened.”

Yoon narrowed his eyes as if he did not understand, but Ye-hyeon’s eyes widened.

“It seems Kyle is looking for me. I heard that I betrayed them. Is that why they are so determined to kill me?”

The hand with the IV needle clenched into a fist.

The Commander-in-Chief did not answer. He stared at the ceiling.

That was answer enough. All the information had been true after all. I was not human, I had betrayed my comrades, and Kyle, their current leader, had awakened.

Damn it.

So there was a reason Hildebert Taleb did not exist anywhere in Center Core. Of course Ami could not find a record of my name after I had suddenly fallen out of a portal....

“If you’re not human, then what are you?”

Yoon’s flat question pulled me back to reality.

“A creature? That Level 10 one you stabbed to death?”

Ye-hyeon thought for a long time.

He looked at the ceiling with complicated eyes, then closed them. As I took in my superior’s handsome face, damp with cold sweat, I sorted through my thoughts.

The creatures that had targeted me. The unknown entity called Jaeyeon that wanted to kill me. Lee Ye-hyeon had banished me from the Core after I became Jaeyeon’s target. But now that I had returned and Jaeyeon was enthusiastically welcoming my return, Ye-hyeon showed no sign of sending me outside again.

That meant Ye-hyeon had taken some kind of measure while I was gone.

Was it not because of whatever he had done that I could sit here peacefully now? I considered those said to stand behind the world. Those above the law. Hidden figures of power who had achieved the dream of immortality. Jaeyeon, who was said to have known me.

And their master.

With his eyes closed, Ye-hyeon broke the silence.

“Titan.”

His voice was husky as always.

“The Elders called them Titans.”

*　　　*　　　*

The next day, I went to work at the lab.

That was where our conversation ended. I had suddenly told someone who was sick something far too heavy. Ye-hyeon thanked me for telling him, but he had to call the nurse right after I finished speaking, so it clearly had affected him.

We ended the conversation there and left the hospital room. Yoon put his car keys in my hand and told me to go rest at his house.

“You know how to drive, right?”

“I don’t know whether I have a license or not....”

“I registered you.”

Crazy.

“Besides, you use self-driving mode most of the time anyway. You probably drive better than people who got their licenses recently, so just drive it.”

I followed his instruction.

After spending the night quietly in the guest room at my senior partner’s house, I recovered my belongings there. The sword Yoon had given me. The creature guide. A portable first aid kit. After gathering them, I diligently went to headquarters. Since I had not received any particular message, I simply went to the lab.

The lab was chaos.

John stood beside my senior partner’s desk.

John Mueln was staring at a screen with bloodshot eyes. I came to a halt at the bizarre sight before me.

Without moving, I stared at the genius scientist of the century.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t slept since then?”

“I finished checking the movements of 126 people.”

John turned his eyes, filled with burst blood vessels, toward me.

“Now I only need to check the movements of another 362 people.”

“....”

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