Black Badger Chapter 125

"I don't really have anything specific to discuss."

When I said that calmly, the HR director smiled faintly.

"Everyone says that."

"No, I an it."

I replied, flustered.

But Joo seed to let that answer go in one ear and out the other. He asked to spare him a mont, to greet the Choi siblings who had co to see my face and then head to his office.

Ami, who had been listening quietly, waved her hand dismissively.

"Then I'll go since I've seen your face!"

She lightly acknowledged my greeting and vanished in a flash.

The petite senior who had arrived in a hurry departed just as lightly.

The ntor didn't follow Ami and stayed in place.

"I'll take him after the consultation."

"Ah. So you didn't just co to greet us after all."

Joo smiled amiably but didn't suggest taking away first.

Instead, he asked brightly.

"It might take a while, is that okay?"

A vein seed to bulge on the ntor's forehead.

Even if it was Eric, I couldn't understand why Yoon disliked the HR director so much. From the first ti I t the ntor, he had consistently shown disdain for Joo.

In any case, Yoon replied with a furrowed brow.

"It's late, so please wrap it up quickly."

Joo smiled faintly again.

*

But I really had nothing to say.

Even sitting alone with the HR director in his office, I couldn't find the words.

A consultation wouldn't change anything anyway.

But if I said I had nothing to say, he wouldn't let go. So I needed to bring up sothing superficial. Saying that I couldn't grasp my identity because of forgotten mories from the past might work.

The mont I thought that, Joo, who was sipping burdock tea, chuckled.

"Badgers can get an assigned counselor anyti they want."

"Ah, I see."

"But with Hilde, I figured you couldn't open up in front of civilians."

Joo chuckled and offered so refreshnts.

Various baked goods gave off a sweet aroma.

I didn't refuse and picked up a gorgonzola financier to eat.

"Thank you for your consideration. But really, I don't have anything particular to say."

"I suppose so. You think nothing will change even if you open up."

My eyes widened.

Joo's eyes curved gently.

"You seem to believe you don't even have the ti or right to suffer."

Who had he heard that from?

I sat there speechless for a while.

Most people had already left for the day. But the HR director, who was known for clocking out precisely at 4, sat right in front of . Dressed impeccably in his suit, he smiled silently, waiting for my response.

This man, whose innate talent even Ye-hyeon couldn't alter.

"Can't you even allow yourself to open up and cry?"

The HR director said sothing peculiar.

"Pardon?"

"Even if I said I'd hold you here until you pour out your emotions, you couldn't do it?"

Joo sent a sharp gaze.

Strangely, it felt like he was seeing right through .

I quietly set down the financier I had been about to eat.

"Yes."

He wouldn't fall for a lie anyway.

"I can't."

"Since when?"

"...I'm not sure. I don't really know."

In truth, it had been since I heard the story of the sword from Ye-hyeon.

But that was exactly what I didn't want to open up about honestly. I couldn't, and I wanted to prevent the situation where my roundabout words reached Ye-hyeon's ears.

Joo seed to guess my inner thoughts and smiled wryly.

"Then, when the ti cos, will you tell ?"

"Yes. If the day cos when I'm ready..."

"After you've finished everything you set out to do, please tell ."

My eyes widened again.

Joo just smiled and said nothing more. He didn't explain how he had figured all this out.

This was starting to feel a bit scary.

"It's a way of saying, don't make any foolish decisions after finishing what you want to do."

But that wouldn't count as atonent.

"Dying will never atone for anything."

Joo added as if reading my thoughts.

I fell silent, mulling over his words.

I didn't think it was empty comfort. It was a valid point, perhaps. In a one-sided situation, I might have said the sa.

But my case was special.

And because it was special, the answer ca easily.

"Then I'll ask and decide."

Joo blinked.

This ti, I smiled.

I was sorry I couldn't explain everything, but talking with him had helped sort out my thoughts even more.

"In the final mont, I'll do as the one who resents decides."

They would most likely wish for my death with high probability.

The HR director observed for a long while.

He didn't speak for a ti long enough for his tea to cool completely. He didn't ask who the one resenting was or why I would follow their words.

Instead, he eventually sighed upon seeing my bright smile.

It was a sigh tinged with a hint of resignation.

"Then, when that final mont cos, think of us, even if just for a mont."

That was what he said as he stood from his seat.

"I hope that changes your decision at the last second."

But Mr. HR Director, I had no choice.

*

Yoon was really waiting for my consultation to end.

I thought he would have gone ahead or returned to the lab.

The ntor turned to look at as I erged from the office and jerked his chin.

"If it's over, let's go."

"Back to the cabin?"

"No. The lab first."

After speaking concisely, he led to the massive Research Wing.

I didn't ask any particular questions. I now knew well that answers would co once we arrived. Probing now wouldn't get a satisfying response anyway.

The Research Wing was the sa as always.

The scientists, seeing visit after a long ti, cheered.

"Mr. Hilde!"

Those whose faces I recognized or with whom I had exchanged greetings approached and the ntor.

"Long ti no see! How have you been? Have you greeted Martin?"

"Martin's busy helping another team with experints right now."

"Are you taking on a quest!"

"You haven't taken the promotion exam yet."

"But the promotion exam is coming up soon, right?"

"How about trying a quest after passing the exam?"

They were always so energetic.

But the conversation didn't drag on. Because Yoon was busy, he waved his hand, telling them to return to their seats quickly.

I'd thought this before, but the lab scientists really listened to Yoon well.

The crowd that had gathered dispersed just as quickly.

Once the people scattered, the ntor dragged deep into the lab.

"Can I enter here?"

I asked because he flung open a massive door that looked like a restricted area.

Yoon didn't even turn around.

"Only you can."

It was bright inside.

The room felt devoid of any presence. Whether they controlled the air density on purpose, the air was refreshingly clean. I stopped in place as I heard the heavy door close behind .

The ntor didn't go any further in either.

Instead, he turned his head, t my gaze, and looked over as if appraising .

"...Why are you looking at like that?"

"I brought back that head."

The impact hit hard.

The unexpected blow made it hard to breathe for a mont. I turned pale, forgetting how to inhale.

Only after Yoon slapped my back while watching my state could I draw in air.

I gasped like soone who had just been pulled from water.

"Want to see it?"

Yoon watched impassively as I caught my breath and asked.

"Sorry, but I can't give you a gentle burial."

I suppose so.

In fact, even asking like this was probably an act of kindness toward . It was better than I had braced for.

Even so, I had to suppress the surging emotions for a while. My ragged breathing echoed in the cool room.

In the space where the faint hum of the air purifier could be heard.

Fortunately, I regained my composure faster than last ti.

"...I'll see it. You haven't opened it yet, right?"

"Yeah. Ye-hyeon said to get your permission first."

"Ah. Thank you."

It was a considerate gesture.

"Please... let see it."

Yoon nodded quietly.

With that, we went further in. We opened another door and entered. A small, white space that I assud was a sterile room welcod us.

There, I spotted my old comrade inside a transparent case.

The head was placed like a pristine plaster statue on display in a museum.

I slowly approached my comrade's head.

Yoon watched silently as I stroked the transparent case.

"Shall I finish the old tale?"

After gazing for a long ti at my comrade's head, half-covered in wood, I said.

Yoon replied without moving.

"I was about to ask you to."

I let out a small laugh.

And without taking my eyes off the well-preserved head, I delved into the past.

A world that surfaced in faded colors. My holand, where blessings and curses, myths and heroic tales had unfolded.

The ashen city.

The mory of crossing the city stained with ashes and kneeling before the World Tree.

"Those like at tier 10 were called children of the World Tree."

My voice echoed in the pale space.

"Those freed from the curse of the Sacred Tree by the Blessing of the World Tree, who drew sustenance from others to display grotesquely imnse power and healing power. The emperor of the greatest empire at the ti gathered such people under him. They made for excellent forces."

That was where I first t Kyle, in the empire's training grounds.

He had joined the empire's Knight Order four months before I arrived. Because his tribe had knelt before the emperor's mighty army.

It was an event so trendous that rumors spread to every corner of the world.

His tribe boasted exceptional mobility, and tales were passed down that only ashes remained in their wake, so rciless were they.

But Kyle's tribe eventually knelt before the might of a great nation.

The mont defeat was sealed, Kyle resolved to end his life with his own sword.

He had actually picked up his bloodied sword to do so, but changed his mind upon hearing the words of the empire's general who ca to find him.

'Climb high for the sake of your tribesn! So they can stand proudly within the empire!'

"That general said those words."

I took in the neatly severed neck.

It looked like it had been cut by a sword—perhaps Kudo's doing.

As I pondered while looking at the ruined face, Yoon's voice broke the silence.

"Why is half the face covered in wood?"

"It's the power received through Kyle. Children of the World Tree can transfer the nutrients they've absorbed from other life forms to another individual."

It was a technique I learned only after Kyle joined the Knight Order.

"If they receive power for too long, those without the consecration of the World Tree end up like this—their bodies overtaken by dead wood, withering away to death."

"So they die in the end? Then why do that?"

"It's about sacrificing their own life to inflict damage on the enemy."

It was the kind of choice he would make.

And... it must have been a situation where such a choice was warranted.

"He hadn't been well for a long ti."

Because his arm had been severed by the emperor he served loyally.

This wasn't sothing Yoon needed to know, so I explained simply without delving into details.

He had just been unwell for a long ti. So he must have made this decision. To die gloriously in battle at the end.

By burning away his remaining life.

"You might encounter more people like this in the future."

Since Kyle had begun to move.

"...If possible, I'd like to go outside the Core more often."

I didn't want to go through sothing like this again.

I no longer wanted to see kin dying by human hands. I placed my hand on the case and turned to Yoon.

The human who had said he would kill himself the mont I betrayed them.

Yoon said,

"To do that, you need to pass the promotion exam."

"Yes. ...Yes? Ah, yes. It has to be that way.... Well, of course it does."

"You have only a few months left."

Yoon walked slowly toward .

He approached, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled away from the case.

"Since it's co to this, let's start preparing for the exam you want."

No.

It wasn't what I wanted; it was just the natural...

...Anyway.

And so, my exam preparation began.