Black Badger - Chapter 65

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

◈ Black Badger ◈

Chapter 65: Elder (1)

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The gathering hall was full of people like peacocks.

Everyone, men and women alike, was dressed to the nines. It was a whole cluster of people with strong personalities. Yet even among such forceful people, that man and woman had an unmistakable presence.

I breathed in the suffocating air surrounding them, then exhaled.

“Do we really have to greet them?”

“To be honest, I wanted to hide you at first too.”

Ye-hyeon brought up something unexpected.

Blinking, I turned my gaze toward the men beside me. They had not relaxed since we left the house. Even my senior partner was on edge, so it was clear these were people too important to ignore.

I still had no idea exactly what kind of important people they were.

A crystal chandelier gleamed brilliantly overhead.

Ye-hyeon studied my face.

“We cannot hide you forever anyway. I thought it would be better to face them head-on than act ambiguously.”

“I still do not understand why they are so interested in me.... But I will follow your decision.”

“Hilde.”

Ye-hyeon said my name in a grave tone.

I silently met my superior's large eyes. Yoon stood with his hands in his pockets, quietly listening to us.

As I waited for an answer, Ye-hyeon said,

“If I can safely finish introducing you to the Elders today, I will tell you as much as you want to know.”

“What?”

“I do not know everything myself. But if the introductions go safely, there will be no reason to hide what I know from you.”

A beautiful smile settled on Ye-hyeon's lips.

I knew that smile. I had seen it only once, in the Commander-in-Chief's office. It was the smile Ye-hyeon had given me as he left the office on the day I first heard Jaeyeon's name.

A smile of pride for a subordinate who had met his expectations.

“It must have been frustrating. Thank you for enduring it without showing it.”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Then I barely managed to nod. I still did not know what I should say.

Perhaps my awkward reaction amused him. Yoon gave a short snicker as he looked at me.

A man who suited black so well that it was strange he did not wear it more often turned and said,

“I will stay out of this. Nothing good comes from getting close to them.”

“Right. Stay as far away as possible.”

Ye-hyeon answered readily, then turned his gaze toward the pair.

“They are not people worth getting involved with.”

Then we walked over to those people who were not worth getting involved with.

We approached the woman with silver-gray hair twisted into a single bun first. Ye-hyeon said that was the proper order. He explained that she was “above” the platinum-blond man. It was extremely important to follow this hierarchy strictly, he said. Under no circumstances was I to mix up the order.

The person ranked second in power among the Elders.

Codename Sukhoi.

The moment we stopped nearby, I saw her turn gracefully amid the people surrounding her.

The silver jewelry on her black dress, dark enough to seem as though it devoured light, made clear, delicate sounds.

She was a stern-looking woman. Elegant silver hair, strong features. Her green eyes were far brighter than Ricardo's. The pale green gaze seemed to pierce through the back of my head.

There was no trace of a smile on her face.

“Yekaterina.”

Ye-hyeon quietly called her name.

“I would like to introduce my subordinate.”

Gazes flew toward me.

The eyes of those surrounding Yekaterina landed on me. People of every sort narrowed their eyes and examined me. As I accepted their stares, I quietly took in my surroundings.

There were wary looks and envious ones, but only a very few people looked at me that way.

Most of them regarded me with the same emotion.

Condescension.

Or contempt. Ridicule asking who that stranger was. This was a place where reputation was power. I could not identify everyone around Yekaterina, but they were clearly all famous in their respective fields.

I recognized several of them right away. If even I knew them, they had to be extremely famous. A famous film actor. The leader of a political party. A news anchor from a major broadcaster. A famous influencer.

People with countless fans.

How ridiculous must a new Badger who had only appeared in the news once look among them?

I had been invited somewhere I did not belong, so this was only natural. But I paid no attention to the openly appraising looks, the clearly audible snickers, the voices asking who I was, or the mocking replies that I was a new Badger.

More precisely, I could not pay attention to them. I could not escape Yekaterina's gaze. Now that I stood before her, her presence weighed on me even more heavily than it had from afar.

And what was this? Sharp gazes pricking at the back of my neck?

It looked as though she had hidden bodyguards everywhere.

“At last, I see you.”

Yekaterina greeted me in a deep voice and stepped closer.

“His special guest. You have worked hard all this time.”

That was a strange greeting.

I could not ask what she meant, though. I simply smiled politely and said it was nice to meet her.

Yekaterina's hand was firm.

The surrounding noise quieted a little while we shook hands. The eyes trained on us burned hot.

They were watching us greet each other awfully intently.

With bright eyes that seemed to see right through me, the woman greeted me again.

“I trust you will continue to make the right choices, as you did then.”

“Thank you. I will continue to do my best.”

I had a strong feeling she was not talking about when I saved Porden, but I smiled and let it pass.

“So that I can make choices I will not regret when I look back.”

A strange light flickered in Yekaterina's eyes at my answer.

It vanished in an instant, and I was probably the only one who had seen it. I did not try to find the reason for that fleeting glint. I let go of her hand and discreetly stepped back, keeping my smile in place.

A woman whose presence overwhelmed even those who wielded fame as naturally as breathing.

I did not want to speak at length with this personification of power. The sharp gazes at the back of my neck still stung. And those were not the childish stares of celebrities. They were warnings from people filled with killing intent.

Send me home!

Ye-hyeon gave Yekaterina an intensely businesslike smile.

“Please take good care of our new recruit.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

Yekaterina replied calmly, then turned away.

As she returned to the people around her, she added indifferently,

“It has been a long time since I was truly pleased to meet someone. I will watch you with interest.”

Me?

Why me? I wanted to ask, but held it in.

Ye-hyeon had said he would tell me everything he knew if this gathering went safely. If I just endured a few more hours, I would understand much more.

So rather than blink in confusion, I smiled brightly.

Ye-hyeon turned.

He quietly whispered for us to go. I nodded and followed him. Perhaps because of Yekaterina's final words, a few people began approaching me with curious looks, but I had no choice but to pretend I did not see them as I followed my superior.

The various forms of attention, curiosity, condescension, ridicule, wariness, and killing intent, fell away.

We had left Yekaterina's territory.

Realizing this from the cool relief at the back of my neck, I crossed the spacious gathering hall.

* * *

The second Elder was the platinum-blond man.

He wore a spotless white three-piece suit with astonishing ease. Though age had left its marks on his face, he was more flamboyantly handsome than most people. His neatly swept-back hair, smooth features, and relaxed smile all looked impeccable.

He too was surrounded by people.

They felt different from those around Yekaterina. As we drew close, the man turned gracefully.

Ugh. Sharp gazes were pouring onto the back of my neck again.

They felt different from the eyes Yekaterina's bodyguards had sent our way.

There was killing intent in them, but somehow, excitement too?

What kind of people had he hired as bodyguards?

Holding a champagne glass elegantly between his fingers, the man saw us stop and raised his glass.

He beamed at Ye-hyeon.

“Commander-in-Chief!”

What was that? Why was he so happy to see Ye-hyeon?

“We meet again. I was waiting for you to come. You have been looking even better lately. Shall we have tea privately after this?”

Ye-hyeon sighed without trying to hide it.

I blinked, unable to understand what was happening.

Why was the man known as the third-ranked Elder smiling brightly and flirting with Ye-hyeon? Why did my superior sigh as if he was used to it, without even trying to hide his darkening expression?

The Commander-in-Chief even said in a gloomy voice,

“I thought I had been doing better these past few days. But evidently not enough to avoid drawing your interest.”

“Ha ha. Unfortunately, it does not look that way.”

The handsome middle-aged man laughed brightly at Ye-hyeon's words.

The people there also looked us over with curious eyes. But they did not seem as interested in us as those beside Yekaterina. Their stares were not as openly directed at me as before. They found a new face interesting, but at heart, they were most interested in themselves.

As I blinked and took in the obvious difference, I heard Ye-hyeon mutter,

“You still love things that look ill.”

“Because they are the ones who will shine brighter than anyone if they are polished and nurtured.”

The man smiled, his eyes fixed on Ye-hyeon.

He looked like someone born with refinement.

“You are one of them too, Ye-hyeon. I promise I will not discuss complicated matters. Will you truly not have tea with me afterward?”

“I came to introduce my subordinate.”

Ye-hyeon coldly cut off the offer.

He shifted slightly, opening a path for me. With an awkward expression, I passed beside Ye-hyeon and walked toward the man. This elegant man did not seem pleased that his conversation with Ye-hyeon had been interrupted.

But what could I do?

I bowed and greeted him first.

“My subordinate, Hildebert Taleb.”

“Ah....”

As though remembering something, the man drew out his words as he observed me.

I met the Elder's bright gray eyes and waited for his response.

“The one everyone has been talking about.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Hildebert Taleb.”

“Prometheus.”

What?

“Aren't you today's special guest? As expected, you are not the sort of person I find particularly interesting.”

“I am sorry. As you can see, I am only an unremarkable new recruit.”

“It is only that I am not personally interested. Given the circumstances, you are someone I cannot help but take notice of.”

Like Yekaterina, the man said something I could not understand.

Seeing me blink, he gave a crooked grin. It was different from Ricardo's or Yoon's smiles. It was sly and full of confidence.

It was a smile carrying the poise and confidence of someone who had been different from others since birth.

He held out his hand.

“Eric Earhart. I look forward to working with you.”

Codename Spitfire.

I shook his hand without a word. Once we had exchanged formal greetings, Ye-hyeon quickly left. We left Earhart behind as he told Ye-hyeon to seriously consider having tea with him.

As I followed Ye-hyeon, who had sharply turned and begun crossing the gathering hall, the gazes clinging to the back of my neck disappeared.

My neck finally felt cool.

We had only exchanged greetings, yet I felt this drained. Now I understood why Yoon did not want to get involved with them.

After giving myself a shudder, I returned with Ye-hyeon to where my senior partner was.

* * *

The gathering hall began to stir about thirty minutes after I started filling my stomach with my seniors.

I was eating green grapes between Ye-hyeon, who was pleased Eric had not shown any interest in me, and my senior partner, who had enjoyed watching me nervously introduce myself to the Elders.

I was dumbfounded as I listened to the explanation that Eric was a pervert who loved unhappy people and got a thrill from saving them. Apparently, not showing up on his radar was proof that you were living your life well.

That bastard was properly insane.

Just as I was thinking that, the gathering hall froze.

It literally froze. Sudden silence fell over the previously noisy room. A cool stillness filled with taut tension.

Feeling the abrupt change in the air, I looked up.

Everyone was looking in the same direction.

Yoon and Ye-hyeon were no exception. The men, who had looked happier than at any point since we left, set down their utensils and stared silently in one direction. The eyes of everyone in the gathering hall flew there.

The entrance to the annex. A door beautifully decorated with gold trim.

The door, which had been closed until now, opened, and someone entered.

“Falcon is here.”

Someone at the next table whispered under their breath.

“The rumor that he was coming was true.”

Codename Falcon.

Ranked first among the Elders. First in the power hierarchy. And someone who had never once stepped down from that throne.

I watched the man slowly walk into the frozen crowd.

He entered the gathering hall in an immaculate dark suit, accompanied by a tall man.

He was an elderly gentleman with graying hair neatly swept back. There was not a single flaw to be found. He had the air of someone who would bleed blue if stabbed, and he wore smooth leather gloves. His pocket watch chain caught the chandelier's light.

His features were neat. He stood somewhere between middle age and old age, but time had clearly not been cruel to him. The marks of age around his eyes and mouth only seemed to add gravitas and quiet elegance.

He had undoubtedly been handsome in his youth.

With clear blue eyes and smooth blond hair.

Someone people could not approach easily because of his cold air, but who had gathered followers through his particular charisma and intelligence.

Someone cruel, yet clever enough to hide that nature.

Ah.

“Colton.”

At my whisper, Ye-hyeon and Yoon sharply turned their heads.

But I had no presence of mind to react to my seniors. I was half out of my mind.

The memories rushing in, the shock of meeting someone I had “known” in this world for the first time.

The past growing clear.

Memories flooding in with dizzying force.

“Colton Wiseman.”