“It wasn’t just that things didn’t go well.”
I replied gloomily.
Leaning against the wall, I gave a brief account of what had happened yesterday. I left out what couldn’t be spoken aloud, in case someone might overhear.
Ami understood perfectly anyway.
The underground’s characteristic damp smell hung in the air.
My mentor stayed silent until I finished.
Then, she spoke carefully.
[You’ll have to wait for Rick’s head to cool down.]
“I doubt it ever will. His reaction is perfectly reasonable. If I were him—”
[It’s because he hasn’t heard your side yet.]
Ami cut me off firmly.
[Right now, he can’t even process that you betrayed your own kind and stood with humans.]
“Well. That doesn’t change the fact that we were the seed of tragedy. And I don’t regret coming here, nor do I intend to lie and say I do.”
[Because you didn’t come here out of malice.]
Her voice grew stronger.
[You only wanted to survive.]
Not wrong, but—
That didn’t erase my sin.
Staring down at the floor, I fixed my eyes on my shoes and let out a bitter smile.
There are things in the world that can never be undone.
Especially when lives are involved.
“Anyone who’s lost family has the right to hate everything that caused it.”
I closed my eyes and smiled faintly.
“How could I dare ask for forgiveness.”
Hadn’t I done the same?
Hadn’t I failed at forgiveness, too? I had hated those who burned the temple and took the lives of the priests. I had hated the army that failed to stop them, the lord, the king, the god. And more than all of those combined, I had hated myself—the one powerless before that catastrophe. The burning emotion of that time still feels close enough to touch.
That’s why I can’t beg him for forgiveness.
Because I can half guess what he must have felt, standing before the ruins.
Because I saw with my own eyes that those old wounds haven’t healed.
Ami’s voice came from the phone.
[I’m not going to tell Rick to go understand your situation or anything like that.]
Her usual sass was completely gone.
[But you don’t have to carry those deaths on your shoulders. And I don’t think Ricardo will hate you forever, either.]
“He probably can’t even stand to see my face right now.”
[The timing was just bad.]
My senior murmured like she was talking to herself.
[Yesterday was probably his comrade’s death anniversary.]
Ah, damn it.
So that’s why he was dressed so neatly in a suit. That’s why he didn’t answer when I asked where he’d been. He always liked wearing suits, but never that black one.
I’d torn open his wound.
My mood plummeted straight to the bottom.
Ami must have sensed it through the phone, because she spoke softly.
[It’s not your fault.]
“I hurt him.”
[You both did.]
Her voice stayed neutral.
[You’re hurt too, Hilde. Stop blaming yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong.]
I...
My sin...
The moment I bit my lip, something brushed against my ribs.
What the—?
I blinked and looked down at my chest.
A long, narrow object came into view.
A hand holding it.
I understood immediately.
And as soon as I did, every muscle in my body tensed.
Wow.
“Yun.”
“What are you so tense about.”
The tip of a sheathed sword was touching my chest.
It was Yun’s sword—the one meant for me. My mentor was holding a large sword wrapped in cloth with one hand, the scabbard completely hidden beneath the fabric.
But my attention was fixed on the one pressing against my chest.
This man’s insane.
“What’s this. Take it. Oh, and I heard why you’re so out of it today.”
[Are you with Oppa?]
“You have a really bad sense of humor, you know that?”
Trapped between the wall and the blade, I looked at him.
Yun raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t get what I meant. He wasn’t actually trying to hurt me—the tip merely brushed my chest lightly.
Most people would’ve taken it as harmless teasing.
But I knew exactly where that tip was aimed.
“If you push that straight in, you’d pierce the heart—right behind the sternum and rib edge.”
As I spoke slowly, Yun gave a faint smile.
“You’ve only ever fought one humanoid Creature—Rei. How do you know anatomy that well?”
“I had to pass my graduation exam, didn’t I.”
Yun said something strange.
“You’re finally useful enough. You should graduate after a proper duel.”
“I already passed the promotion test.”
“I can’t let you graduate when you can’t even cut my sleeve.”
Yun flipped the sword and held the hilt out to me.
A dagger that fit perfectly in my hand.
After I carefully accepted it, he handed me the longsword as well.
Then, empty-handed, he turned without hesitation.
“To the training hall.”
He ignored Ami shouting, [Oppa! Hilde’s not in good shape right now!]
He strode up the stairs and vanished from sight.
His presence kept receding, without a pause.
I sensed it and sighed in resignation.
“I should go. Thanks for calling, Ami.”
[Yeah. Try not to get too depressed.]
She comforted me to the end.
[I’ll talk to the Personnel Director.]
That was a relief. Saying it myself would’ve hurt too much.
Would the team be reorganized now...
I thanked her quietly, still feeling dejected, then ended the call.
***
I arrived at the training hall.
Still cold and quiet as ever—a place full of unpleasant memories.
My mentor, ever efficient, hadn’t wasted a second on the way. He had used the walk to explain my duties as a formal Badger. From now on, Tom, Hesh, and I would live by the schedule.
There were two main types of schedules:
Outside the Core, and inside the Core.
Badgers called outside work “Reclamation,” and inside work “Patrol.”
Depending on a Badger’s preference, the balance between the two varied.
Those addicted to the freedom outside coordinated with the Personnel Department to fill their schedules with Reclamation tasks. They went out constantly, stayed out for long stretches. Some hardly ever returned inside at all—only when they needed to file reports.
Reclamation missions were usually done in teams, though skilled individuals sometimes operated alone.
The jobs were diverse: from basic supply delivery, maintaining safehouses, installing Portal machinery, constructing and repairing power, communication, and rail infrastructure, to exterminating clustered Creatures.
Mission length varied wildly by task, and so did pay.
It was a line of work where the more you learned, the more there was to learn. If you earned licenses relevant to your missions, your salary rose accordingly.
“Just out of curiosity, what’s the highest-paying license?”
“Portal device certification. Brings in the biggest bonus.”
Yun explained.
“Not that those missions come around often.”
Anyway, the core of Reclamation work was freedom.
Freedom, but no comfort of civilization.
Patrol work was the opposite.
You stayed within civilization, but had less freedom. Patrols were done in pairs, assigned to districts by schedule. The default rotation was four shifts, but it could change depending on Creature activity.
“You.”
Yun told me to stand still, then walked to the opposite side.
“You’ll start with Patrol.”
“Ah.”
Did the Personnel Director foresee this situation?
Or was it coincidence that just happened to fit?
I watched him stop, both swords in hand.
The place where I had once fought the mushroom.
Now, in place of the fungus, Yun stood there.
“This has nothing to do with Sordi.”
He must have read my thoughts; his voice was flat.
I set the dagger aside and unwrapped the cloth around the longsword.
Once it was freed, I prepared to draw it.
Turning it over in my hands, I muttered,
“Why was I assigned Patrol first? I thought you said it usually went to those with seniority.”
“That means you’re skilled enough for it.”
“I figured you’d formed a TF, so I thought we’d be heading straight outside.”
“To where?”
He asked while checking the blade’s edge.
“Outside... somewhere. I thought I’d just head toward where I could feel my kind.”
Good sword.
Its size and weight were almost identical to the one I’d brought—the one Yehyeon now carried. It must have been modeled after mine. Looked like it had been kept unused for a long time. Who made this, I wonder.
Curiosity aside, it was a fine weapon.
If I sharpened it with the black starstone in my hut, it’d be even better.
I drew it and lowered the tip to the floor.
Then looked up.
“I can’t just let a walking bomb like you roam free outside.”
That calm, collected face.
My mentor was observing me with his usual posture, unchanged.
I only gave a bitter smile instead of replying.
“You’ll go out once we’ve checked the situation outside the Core and the timing’s right.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Your first patrol partner will be Jonathan Kudo.”
Ugh.
“I heard it starts in two days. He’ll contact you.”
Why him, of all people.
I knew rookies «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» were paired with strong partners—but there are others just as strong.
I blinked, uneasy.
It’s not that I dislike him.
But Kudo was close with Ricardo.
He already wasn’t fond of me; this would make working together even more uncomfortable. He’d have seen Ricardo’s fury—he wouldn’t have a good impression of me.
The timing couldn’t be worse...
...Worse?
Boom!
Instinctively, I swung the sword. The strike collided with the training hall wall, scattering sparks.
I leapt back, readying a second strike—
—to counter the killing intent radiating from Yun.
He now held a dagger in his right hand.
The blade caught the light and flashed sharply.
“Final lesson.”
He laughed low.
“No more need to hold back.”
A murderous aura that squeezed my lungs.
His stance said he could charge at any moment.
A lunatic without restraint.
Anyone watching would think this wasn’t training—it was a hunt.
And the instant that thought crossed my mind, Yun vanished from sight.
