Ricardo finished his cigarette and headed down to the year-end hall.
A place that was rarely used was completely empty.
Chairs had been set up. At a glance, there were just under a hundred.
Where the executive table was usually placed, there was nothing.
So they were going to take questions standing.
He had heard it in passing from Ska. The leadership had cleared this entire ti block. Every mber of the top brass, including Gilbert, would be present, and during this ti they wouldn’t answer anything unless it was a matter of extre urgency, like the appearance of a high-rank Creature.
That made sense.
Preventing internal fractures was important.
He took a seat in the farthest corner, closest to the entrance.
Then, leaning lazily back against the tal chair, he stared up into empty space.
While he was doing that, soone ca in.
“What.”
It was Jason Trevain.
“Here to defend that half-wit?”
Ricardo didn’t answer right away.
He dipped his head in a small bow, greeting him silently first. Like most male juniors, he didn’t particularly like Jason Trevain.
He knew the man was skilled, sure, but—
“It’s been a while, sunbae....”
He even showed the courtesy of standing up from his chair.
“Looks like you’re here for a face-to-face inquiry....”
“I figured it was a parachute.”
Trevain didn’t care that Ricardo had dodged the question.
He probably hadn’t been waiting for an answer anyway.
As always, he just said what he wanted to say.
“I knew it the mont they started «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» summoning the Badgers to the auditorium. Anyway, that bastard Yehyeon is a breeding ground for corruption. When the hell is your friend going to shove Yehyeon out?”
Ska truly did not want to sit in the Commander-in-Chief’s seat.
Ricardo knew that all too well. Ska’s greatest fear these days was Yehyeon’s resignation, which could co at any ti.
Whenever they had ti to drink together, Ska would casually let slip how terrified he was. The pressure on him looked enormous.
Sotis it was worrying, genuinely.
Of course, he never talked about it honestly.
Ricardo wondered when exactly this man would free himself from his absurd jealousy toward the Commander-in-Chief—judging by the look of him, probably never—and smiled faintly.
“He’ll do it when the ti cos~....”
“It’d be nice if it changed this ti. Fuck. Hiring a Black Badger through employnt corruption and then trying to gloss it over with so shallow Q&A—does that make any sense?”
Ricardo raised an eyebrow.
He wasn’t planning to let that leak outside, right?
That idiot junior was already taking so much undeserved abuse.
He said he didn’t care, and he really did seem like he didn’t care—but having your na plastered all over the dia was a different matter.
At least it was good that he was famous in a positive way right now.
He had beco an instant star thanks to the Mario video, and just as he was about to fade from mory, a live poker clip resurfaced and rode the algorithm. Hildebert Taleb had no idea.
He was soone so uninterested in his own reputation that he might have completely forgotten the fact that he’d even been fild.
A white-haired Badger receiving nothing but praise.
But if the issue of improper hiring was put on the chopping block, public opinion would flip in an instant.
People loved watching soone fall from the top.
So at the very least, they had to stop anything from spreading to the press....
Ami walked in.
“Hi.”
The n turned their heads.
When they lowered their gazes, all they saw was a black crown of hair.
The black-eyed Badger muttered in a listless voice,
“They say you can’t see Adélie penguins during the Antarctic winter....”
The two Badgers stared down at Ami.
Trevain raised an eyebrow.
“What penguin?”
The blond man looked at the woman trudging in.
“You going to Antarctica?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? What’s there?”
“The Ice Dragon.”
Ami answered dully.
Then she staggered farther inside.
After stopping at a suitable spot, she stared diagonally down at the floor.
“Adélie penguins.... I wanted to see them.”
“They’ve got emperor penguins, though~?”
Ricardo snorted.
The TF teams were training to go to Antarctica. Hildebert didn’t know it, but the Badgers who would be going had already been decided.
The coldest place on Earth.
Since it was winter there now, both access and survival were extrely difficult.
They had been sending unmanned drones to do preliminary work, but several were already immobilized.
There was a reason Gilbert had sighed and said Everest might have been easier.
Of course, with no Sherpas left on Everest, that too would have been no small journey.
Ricardo studied Ami’s sad face.
“Why do you like Adélie penguins so much~?”
“I’ve got an emoji. They’re small, so they’re cute.”
“Oh, so emperor penguins are big....”
“1.1 ters.”
Ami replied.
Trevain burst out laughing.
“Yeah, I’d hate that too. That’s like two-thirds your height!”
Ami looked up at Trevain with a shocked expression.
She closed her mouth, which she’d dropped a mont too late.
“I didn’t say I hated emperor penguins!”
“Aren’t you going to get smacked if you wander too close?”
“No!”
Ami shouted firmly.
“Emperor penguins are nice!”
Not sure they’d even have the luxury of going to see penguins.
Ricardo sat back down and thought. He’d never been there, but he did know that the sun didn’t rise during the Antarctic winter.
And that going to Antarctica once winter set in was usually considered insane.
Ami was the helicopter pilot.
When asked if she’d be okay, she nodded.
“I’ve been once.”
That was news.
“But I think the Ice Dragon went there to sleep.”
“Didn’t Blackjack tell you last ti not to go anywhere near the Ice Dragon?”
“He did.”
“And you’re still going to wake it up by going all the way to Antarctica in winter?”
Ami nodded.
“There’s a reason.”
“Is this about that half-wit again?”
“Don’t call Hilde a half-wit.”
Ami puffed out her cheeks and looked up at Trevain.
“Did Jason co here to tell them to kick Hilde out?”
Ricardo was surprised that Trevain didn’t answer imdiately.
He’d expected him to shout, Fuck, of course! right away.
Instead, the blond Badger looked down at Ami with an unreadable expression.
After silently watching the small Badger for a mont, he said,
“I need to hear what excuse that bastard Yehyeon is going to give. Corrupt piece of shit.”
Ami smiled faintly.
“Jason really hates Yehyeon oppa. But Yehyeon oppa thinks Jason is his lifesaver.”
“Cut it out.”
“Though he probably doesn’t think about Jason even one minute a month.”
A vein bulged on Trevain’s forehead.
It was obvious he was holding back a curse. Ricardo snorted as he watched Ami, who had added that last sentence without any need to.
Ami pretended not to notice their reactions and continued her story.
“But it’s okay. Emperor penguin chicks are really cute.”
She sat in the chair next to Ricardo and started showing penguin photos on her phone.
As he half-heartedly played along, people began to trickle in.
Those who entered whispering and took seats here and there.
Those who glanced around, scanning the faces of the people who had gathered.
Naturally, everyone from the group chat except Yun had arrived at the year-end hall.
“The Personnel Director is here.”
As Ricardo exchanged nods with them, hushed murmurs spread.
“It’s the leadership.”
The doors opened, and four n entered the hall.
The Commander-in-Chief and two aides.
And the Personnel Director.
Kang Ju smiled brightly, eyes curving.
“Everyone doing well?”
The Q&A began.
***
“Did you see Kysis die?”
While asking back, I regained my composure.
I was surprised at how quickly my calm returned.
Maybe it was because I now thought of him and death as one and the sa.
Or maybe it was because Jaeyeon’s scream lacked credibility.
I quietly looked down at Jaeyeon, who was thrashing and spewing curses.
A being torn apart in humiliation, revealing a form he favored.
He didn’t answer my question—where he’d seen the Emperor, or how he was so sure of Kysis’s death.
Instead, after hurling curses for a long while, he shouted,
“You ungrateful bastard!”
That was a new one.
“You shaless piece of shit! Do you know who you owe it to that you were able to blend in safely?! Who do you think made it possible to erase your presence completely when you didn’t even have a single mage?!”
Oh?
“Fuck, instead of being grateful for my devotion—!”
I understood the situation.
A mory from a few years ago rolled out.
It was the day I reunited with Colton. The day he flew into a rage after learning that I had gone under Yehyeon.
Jaeyeon had injected with so inexplicable shot.
That was when the sixth sense that had been dormant awakened.
I’d thought, better safe than sorry, and hadn’t paid it much attention.
But it was true that I’d thought about that injection from ti to ti. I’d wondered how Colton had managed to make it. I’d even asked Yoow afterward—had anyone been put on an operating table during the drug’s creation?
Yoow had flatly said no.
I’d felt relieved, but also puzzled about how it was possible....
I’d wondered if they’d dragged in kin who’d lost contact.
“So Colton experinted on you and made this.”
Jaeyeon seed capable of roughly mimicking the sixth sense.
“Thanks, Jaeyeon. Turns out I owe you more than I thought.”
“Shut up, fucker! Lick my feet like before!”
“If you help just one last ti.”
I pinned down his flailing arms.
I smiled as I looked at him, claws bared.
“There’s no need to hide it anymore. Where did you et him? Tell . Colton must have ordered you to provide information useful for victory.”
Jaeyeon scread.
I listened closely to the fragnts of information slipping between the curses.
The real Emperor would be disappointed in you, he knew you’d been throwing up your guts ever since you transferred, you were a sucker for staying loyal to the bastard who kept summoning you even knowing that, the Emperor would have supported Kyle, Kyle is part of a noble resistance movent, blah blah....
As expected, once he reverted to being Jaeyeon, it was hard to tell where the truth ended and the lies began.
I thought, straddling the struggling man.
Later, I should have Kairos put the Voice of Dreams to work and strip his mories.
There was nothing to gain from leading interrogation right now.
I drifted into thought.
Let’s organize the situation.
Judging by the timing of Jaeyeon impersonating the Emperor, Colton seed to know that I’d recently decided to return to the past.
Back to the days when we’d ram trucks into each other’s cars.
When we’d wish for each other’s deaths, then go watch the opera together in the evening.
He must know that now.
So he’d probably pulled out one of his hidden cards....
From Colton’s perspective, it was a gamble with little to lose.
If I’d never figured out the Emperor’s identity, I’d have ended up indirectly under Colton.
Even if I did uncover the truth like this, it wasn’t disadvantageous to him.
If anything, he’d assu that I, having gained bits of information here and there, would focus on the imminent war with Kyle rather than striking at the Elders.
That wasn’t wrong.
But it did leave with a task to solve.
When and where had Jaeyeon t the Emperor?
I needed to know that precisely to fit the remaining pieces together. The Emperor’s ring, and the whereabouts of Kysis and the others.
[How long are you going to stay like that?]
Ah.
I snapped out of my thoughts at Sasu’s voice.
[He’s going to fall asleep.]
I looked down.
He had cald down, at least a little.
I stared at Jaeyeon, sprawled on the floor, wearing an expression that said I don’t know anything.
Seeing the male-ford Jaeyeon lying there sulkily with his head turned away, I laughed.
“See you again.”
How did Colton even manage sothing this chaotic?
“Call when you’re bored.”
Today wasn’t the day. I’d squeeze the information out of him another ti.
I got off Jaeyeon.
After standing up, I was about to tell him to take off his clothes before leaving. He was wearing clothes I’d gotten from Yoow.
They were things worn in the Empire, but not so conspicuous that wearing them now would draw attention.
Still, they were Imperial property. I needed them back.
So I reached out to retrieve them—and Jaeyeon bolted.
What?!
“Hey!”
I leapt up and chased after him.
“Give the clothes!”
Our clothes!
“Clothes!”
“Fuck off, you pervert! You total freak!”
“I’ll give you sothing to change into!”
Yoow brought them!
“Take off the formalwear! Just that, then go!”
Jaeyeon burst out of the portal zone.
I chased him hard.
I ran down corridors, took stairs three steps at a ti, hot on his heels.
But Jaeyeon, worked up and frantic, was fast. I only barely managed to grab the back of his neck when male-Jaeyeon slamd open a stairwell door and sprinted into a vast space.
Jaeyeon cursed as he was dragged back toward .
I held him firmly, panting.
“I just want the clothes....”
It’s not like I’m telling you to go naked.
“I just want my clothes back. What’s the problem....”
And then I realized the problem.
It was a problem I’d co face-to-face with far too suddenly.
The place I’d run into was packed with an enormous number of people.
And every single one of them was staring at , eyes wide.
Silence fell, heavy with shock.
“...Good evening.”
Even as I felt blood rush to my face, I made a futile effort to stay composed.
“Um....”
“.......”
“Uh....”
“.......”
“Mm.... I’m very sorry for the interruption....”
The leadership, the Personnel Director, and the Badgers all stared straight at .
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