Black Badger - Chapter 85

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

◈ Black Badger ◈

Chapter 85: Colosseum (1)

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We were certain that we could exert influence over creatures.

It was probably by using the sense I privately called my sixth sense, the feeling of being connected to a separate entity. In fact, I could vaguely tell which direction Kyle was in right now.

The problem was that I had completely forgotten how to use that sense.

Some creatures had definitely come from the world I had been in. I could not remember when they had arrived on Earth, though.

Would I remember if I encountered more creatures?

After I explained what I knew, Yoon stood with his arms crossed in silence.

Then he abruptly asked,

“Are you going to play it twice?”

“...After the emotional shock fades a little. I haven't found all the Easter eggs yet.”

“Let me see it before then.”

I readily handed over the game chip.

Now I was curious about the game's developer too. If I left it to Yoon, he would find out something. At the very least, when the game had been made.

I wanted to know everything I could. When it was made, how it was made, what made this game unique.

At my request to find out anything at all, he nodded.

Yoon took the game chip from me.

* * *

The end of November came quickly.

The days grew colder, and the daylight shorter. The city was beginning to take on its year-end atmosphere. Until the day of the mission arrived, I focused on training without letting stray thoughts distract me.

I liked feeling my body grow faster, even if only little by little. I liked training until I was exhausted, then sleeping as if I had passed out.

Lately, whenever I dreamed, it was a nightmare. If possible, I did not want to dream at all.

Dreams that were not nightmares were no more welcome. Memories of my previous world kept surfacing while I slept. It was probably because of From E, but after dreaming about Ray and Kyle, I wanted to give up on everything.

Some memories were painfully detailed.

Kyle, letting out a confident snort at people who said no one had ever returned alive from the castle.

Ray, who had not blinked at the grotesque Plague God but had been terrified by the sound of water droplets echoing through the castle.

Me, laughing at them while gobbling up their shares of pie.

What was the point of remembering things like that now?

That was why I was glad the mission day, something that could keep my feet planted in reality, was approaching.

I wanted to do something that helped someone. Or even if it did not help directly, something that would benefit society in the long run.

It would not erase the wrongs I had committed, but still.

I counted down the days until the mission.

* * *

The day of the mission.

I arrived at the train station at eight thirty in the morning.

We had to take the nine o'clock train to reach the arena around seven or eight that evening, when the match began. Center Core was absurdly large. Even though we were taking the fastest high-speed train.

This station was also quite far from headquarters.

The station was quiet. My breath now came out white in the cold. Even though I had put casual clothes over my thin combat uniform as instructed, I could feel the chill.

Still, it felt nice standing where the morning sun shone.

It was not hard to spot my senior standing in the white station.

The senior was fiercely arguing with someone over the phone in the otherwise empty station.

“Fuck off, asshole!”

Bobby Winter was fighting with her boyfriend.

“Shut up! I was the idiot for taking you back!”

Should I pretend I had not arrived yet?

Her back was turned, so she had not seen me yet. I was not so tactless that I would walk over and greet her in a situation like this.

I slowly backed away, my eyes darting around.

I should hide in the bathroom and come out later. I could check my clothes in the mirror while I was there.

“A gift? Come get it! Take everything with you!”

Just until the other seniors arrived...

“That cheap junk!”

“Rookie.”

At the voice from behind me, I spun around.

“Let's step aside for a moment.”

He was tall.

I took in my senior's tired blue eyes and thin silver hair.

Asil Pisker. A former detective. Junior to Bobby but senior to Aki, and a Badger who had worked at a Core outside Center Core until last month.

He wore a wrinkled gray jacket and held a steaming cup of coffee in one hand.

I quietly bowed.

“It's nice to meet you, Senior. I'm Hildebert Taleb.”

“Let's get out of the way first.”

He walked slowly over and stopped behind a station pillar.

His every weary movement was funny. I thought I understood what Ami meant when she said he felt somewhat like Lee Ho Chang. Lee Ho was the type to laugh loudly and enjoy himself at a drinking party, while Asil was the type to laugh wearily and go home.

I ran over to the senior, who tipped his head toward the space behind the pillar.

“Looks like she's having another rough relationship.”

Once I stopped beside the pillar, Asil took a sip of coffee and spoke as if talking to himself.

I looked at the pale man and blinked once.

“She must be the type to have passionate relationships.”

“Her taste in men is strange.”

Maybe she was drawn to men with personality.

The blond senior was still arguing. She seemed a little calmer than before, but her irritated voice continued to carry through the station.

I did not turn around until I heard her say, “Don't call me again.”

Asil spoke as I watched Bobby.

“Ask her yourself later if you want the details.”

“Yes. I'll ask if I get the chance.”

I gave a sensible answer.

Then I turned and met my senior's eyes.

“Would it be all right if I asked you various things too, Senior?”

His pale blue eyes slowly shifted toward me.

I let the senior I had just met quietly observe me. A former detective who, as Ami described him, was prickly on the outside but actually a very good person. Yet for some unknown reason, he had grabbed Yoon by the collar without warning.

He looked at me as if wondering what kind of strange rookie he had encountered.

“What are you curious about?”

“Just various things... I want to get closer to you, Senior.”

When I stated my honest feelings so directly, the bewilderment in his eyes deepened.

My senior, who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties physically, remained silent for a while.

“Ask whatever you want when it feels right.”

“Asil.”

The sharp clack of heels.

The sound quickly grew louder. I looked at the senior with stylish blond hair pinned up in an unusual twist and heavy makeup.

The deep V-neck black jacket and vivid red lipstick suited her well.

“And you, weird rookie.”

Me?

I smiled at the senior as she expertly lit a long cigarette and placed it between her lips.

Bobby Winter had been at Safe Point when we went to D Zone. She was a Badger who had personally watched Safe Point become surrounded by creatures.

Surprisingly, she was quite an experienced Badger. According to Ami, Bobby was cheerful, loved having fun, and was honest with her emotions, but she also had childish and careless sides. She narrowed her eyes at me as I stood there smiling.

With a cigarette between her fingers, she looked me over from head to toe and said,

“Your casual clothes suck.”

“Ow.”

That was harsh.

I had not expected an attack like that.

It hurt a little. I had thought I picked out a perfectly ordinary varsity jacket.

I let out an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Sorry. I don't really care much about clothes...”

“Not you. Though your clothes are bad too. Asil, are you on your way to the scene of an incident in the financial district?”

“I'm the one talking to the police anyway, so what does it matter?”

Asil took a drink of coffee and rolled his eyes upward.

“It's not like I'm going inside the arena like the others.”

That was true.

There was a reason the mission instructions said to wear casual clothes over our combat uniforms. The seniors regularly assigned to this mission could not conceal their identities completely, but the three of us should still blend in with the audience as much as possible. Bobby, Ricardo, who had not arrived yet, and I would have to enter the arena that evening.

Among the spectators who enjoyed watching creatures fight illegal implant recipients.

The problem was that I did not own clothes suitable for something like that.

“You should buy a leather jacket.”

Bobby advised me around her white cigarette.

“A black one. It would suit you.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. I'll keep that in mind the next time I go shopping.”

“If you're done with your call, let's get on.”

Asil pushed himself away from the pillar.

With the hand holding his Americano, he pointed toward the station entrance.

“Ricardo is here too.”

Finally.

He had arrived. I turned toward where Asil was looking.

Then my eyes widened at the senior walking into the white station.

I had seen Ricardo almost as often as Ami since falling into this world, but the Ricardo walking toward the stopped train now looked unfamiliar. A black mask, a black field jacket with lots of pockets, black boots. And silver piercings that stood out all the more because of that outfit.

He wore the snake-shaped ring he always had on his hand.

It was an outfit far removed from what he usually liked to wear.

The green-eyed man stopped in front of the train, saw us, and waved.

I looked at his long-eyed smile, started walking, and voiced what I was thinking.

“A punk...”

Dressed like that, he really did look like some thuggish punk.

* * *

There were barely any people on the express train to the outskirts, either.

Since we had booked the best car, we were given a private compartment again. Until we reached our destination, we each spent time getting ourselves ready in our assigned compartments. Anyone who wanted to eat lunch or dinner together was to gather in the dining car.

In fact, the only people who came to the dining car at lunchtime were Asil and me.

A quiet, pale dining car with three or four civilians in it.

Asil bought me a boxed lunch.

He waved off my thanks, then asked about my background while we ate.

“Ah, you were at another Core during the introductions.”

“Yes. There were not many Badgers who attended your introduction.”

Really? The auditorium had been full.

Had they not said everyone should attend if possible? Perhaps he could read my thoughts, because my silver-haired senior added a blunt explanation.

“Badgers who were at Cores other than Center Core, outside a Core, or in places far from headquarters even within Center Core did not attend.”

“Ah, of course. I did not think that through.”

“So what did you do before becoming a Badger?”

I recited the fake administrative details Yoon had taught me.

Asil's expression darkened a little after hearing my fake past. The Hildebert Taleb in the official records had lived a rather unhappy life.

But it was all fake, so there was no need for him to look so grim.

I quickly added that I had grown up happily, then changed the subject.

Asil readily answered my various questions. Why he had decided to become a police officer, what sort of work he had done as a detective. Listening to his blunt but detailed replies gave me courage.

After asking one last question, if the mood was still good, I would ask about Yoon.

“Why did you quit the police force and become a Badger?”

But that question was a landmine.

Asil's face darkened quickly. An unnatural silence fell in an instant.

That was how our conversation ended. I had to eat lunch while apologizing for asking such a sensitive question and watching Asil, who grumbled that it was fine.

After that, I read one of the detective novels provided on the train until we arrived.

The train did not reach our destination until darkness had fully fallen.

As we walked from the train to the abandoned house being used as the arena, I heard about Bobby's love life.

My senior liked men who were not easy.

When she saw that I did not understand what that meant, she explained.

“If I had to pick among the Badgers, Jason or Senior Ricardo.”

“Ah.”

Jason Tvein and Ricardo Sordi.

I looked at Ricardo's back as he walked several steps ahead and guided us.

Tvein and Ricardo...

“So in other words, you don't care about software at all. You only care about hardware...”

“Hilde~...”