Black Badger

Chapter 350: Physical Evaluation (1)

Ricardo, who had been leaning back against a café chair, raised an eyebrow when he saw me.

That familiar, long, crooked smile was on his lips.

Jonathan was sitting beside him.

He took a sip of what looked like green tea, then turned toward me and blinked.

Café Senabi, bathed in the morning sunlight, seemed utterly unaware of what had happened in Core 15—peaceful to the point of indifference.

The sound of coffee being brewed. People chatting.

I rushed over to the single empty chair.

“Calm down~....”

Ricardo said as he pulled out the chair for me to sit.

“For now, Ami doesn’t seem to be thinking anything strange....”

“Right?!”

Thank god my hope circuit wasn’t completely delusional.

Without even thinking to order a drink, I held out the photo Bobby had sent.

Ricardo had already seen it, of course.

“So it’s just Ju who has ulterior motives, right? Ami doesn’t have any weird thoughts, right?”

“Hold on....”

Ricardo replied calmly, then reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone.

Was he going to reply to someone?

Or show me something?

I blinked as I watched him.

But Ricardo didn’t show me anything or start typing.

Instead, he swiped through his screen, checked something, then called someone.

Bobby?

While I was guessing, I froze at the name Ricardo let out with a long laugh.

“Ami~....”

Whoa.

Straight to the point.

“Where are you right now~? Ah~.... If you’re free later, want to come to Café Senabi~?”

Ami’s excited voice spilled out of the phone.

“Yeah~. I’m with Hilde and Jonathan.... Nothing’s wrong, so we’ll wait until you get here~.”

He ended the call quickly.

He could’ve just left a message, but calling directly felt very like him.

I gave a faint smile as I watched him set the phone down on the table.

“So you’re just going to ask her directly.”

“That’s the most accurate way with stuff like this~.”

True enough.

“And Ami’s not the type to hide this kind of thing.... Like I said, from what I can tell, Ami doesn’t seem to be thinking anything weird~.”

“Right? You think so too, right?”

I asked desperately for confirmation when Jonathan suddenly cut in.

Ricardo and I both turned toward him.

The only human swordsman among the Black Badgers abruptly stretched a hand straight toward me.

“Do you have a fever?”

I leaned my upper body back in reflex.

“No.”

I smiled as I met Jonathan’s blinking gaze.

“Thank you for worrying, senior. I’m not in perfect condition, but I’m not running a fever.”

“Your eyes look a bit red.”

“Ah, that’s probably because my sleep schedule’s messed up.”

I hadn’t slept.

Seunghyun showed up around dawn. After everything that happened then, I stayed awake all the way until we returned through the reactivated portal. I’d passed out in the car, so I wasn’t that short on sleep—but Samuel must’ve practically pulled an all-nighter.

I wonder if he got home safely and is resting now.

Thinking about Samuel and what he said made my chest feel tight, and I rubbed my neck.

As time passed, the weight of his words grew heavier.

Maybe I acted out of habit without thinking deeply enough, driven by impatience....

I told myself ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) I’d think it through properly after sleeping, and as I massaged my neck, a question came from across the table.

“You’re still like that?”

I lowered my hand.

“Yes?”

“Avoiding contact....”

I laughed awkwardly and trailed off.

“Well.... I’ll get better.”

“You’re avoiding contact?”

Jonathan didn’t give me anywhere to run.

He frowned and stared at me like a cat.

“What happened?”

I don’t want to explain.

But I couldn’t figure out how to dodge it either.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep—my brain isn’t working.

“Some kind of PTSD from nearly dying~.”

Thankfully, Ric smoothed over the explanation.

He must’ve caught my hesitation.

“The problem is he’s just leaving it like that....”

“I’m planning to rebuild my stamina first.”

I forcibly changed the subject.

“I heard there’s a physical evaluation coming up soon.”

“You can postpone it if your condition’s bad~.”

“Until when?”

“Two weeks later. Monday through Friday.”

Jonathan answered without taking his eyes off me.

That’s not much time.

When I opened the duty schedule app, it had already been updated. Tapping the icon with two crossed dumbbells brought up the details.

It looked like I just had to pass the physical evaluation sometime within a week, according to my own schedule.

And I had no missions for the rest of the month.

That stung in its own way.

I stared at the screen for a moment, then asked—

“Ric, when’s yours?”

“Next Tuesday~....”

“And Jonathan?”

“Same.”

Looks like they matched their schedules on purpose.

“Just postpone yours. Don’t be stubborn like last time.”

“Take your meds.”

Jonathan scraped his chair back and stood up.

Do I really look that bad?

I was about to ask when the bell on Senabi’s door jingled.

“Hilde!”

Ami beamed brightly.

“It’s been so long!”

“Ami!”

Seeing her face really made me happy.

I turned my body to greet her.

“Have you been well?”

“Ami~.”

Ricardo leaned his upper body against the table and waved.

“You came fast....”

“Yeah! I was at HQ when I heard Hilde was back!”

The warmth on her face made even me feel better.

She smiled widely and skipped over.

Then she ran straight into Jonathan, who had just stood up and was heading toward the café entrance.

He looked down at Ami, then took two steps back.

Pulling out the chair he’d been sitting on, he dragged it toward her.

“You may sit here.”

Ami’s eyes went wide.

“My goodness. Jonathan Kudo showing this kind of consideration....”

...He’s normally like this, though....

“I’m touched....”

Jonathan blinked as he looked down at her.

Ricardo bowed his head, chuckling quietly.

Ami didn’t take her eyes off Jonathan.

“Where are you going? If it’s the bathroom, I can grab another chair.”

“I’m going to buy medicine.”

Huh?

“I’ll be back from the first floor of the hospital wing. It’ll take a bit.”

“Senior—no, Jonathan.”

I hurriedly stood up.

I already had medicine Samuel prescribed.

I was about to step forward to tell him that even if he bought some, I couldn’t take it—

When the world spun.

“Hilde!”

Ami cried out in shock.

Someone caught me urgently.

The floor rushing toward my eyes stopped halfway. My body, pitching forward, was caught in someone’s arms. Then the world froze.

I clutched the person’s arm, flailing slightly, and stayed still until the dizziness passed.

Wow.

Thank god there isn’t a billion-credit statue around here.

“Go home.”

Ricardo’s hardened voice reached me.

“Right now.”

“I’m fine now.”

Is this orthostatic hypotension or something?

I blinked and straightened my upper body.

Jonathan must’ve been holding me. He startled at my movement, then firmly grabbed my arm.

My field of view widened, and the café came fully into focus.

Ami frozen stiff.

Ricardo frowning deeply as he stared at me.

A few other patrons were also watching with startled eyes.

This is embarrassing.

“It’s just orthostatic hypotension.”

I laughed awkwardly and sat back down.

“I’m really fine now, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“I didn’t realize you’d gotten this bad.”

Beside Ricardo, who’d gone stone-faced, Ami murmured in shock.

“But hadn’t you gotten a lot better?”

At this rate, they really are going to drag me away.

And resting won’t magically fix everything anyway.

Of course, if I said that out loud, I’d get torn apart verbally and probably dumped in a hospital or a cabin somewhere.

But I was so sick of lying in bed.

And I wanted to hear Ami’s story.

Holding both palms up, I stopped Ricardo and Jonathan as they tried to haul me away.

“Then I’ll just sit here and rest for a bit.”

The seniors gripping my arms froze.

“I’ll rest properly soon—could I at least hear Ami’s story first?”

“Huh?”

Ami blinked.

Thank god.

Even if the Personnel Director has ulterior motives, Ami really does seem to have no thoughts of her own in that direction.

The seniors returned to their seats. Ricardo sat down with a displeased look, and Jonathan pulled over another chair and sat elsewhere.

I gave a wry smile at Ami, who was standing there clueless.

“Ami. Is there anything going on between you and the Personnel Director?”

Ami’s eyes widened even more.

Ricardo smirked, and Jonathan sipped his green tea as he watched her.

Ami stared blankly for a moment, then said—

“No?”

Thank you, gods.

“Who said that?”

“There’s a rumor going around. I thought it was probably baseless. I guess it spread because you went to see a movie together.”

“No!”

Ami clutched her head in panic.

“I just went because it was a movie I wanted to see, and he said he wanted to see it too!”

...The Personnel Director definitely seems to have ulterior motives.

“That’s so unfair!”

Relieved by how solid her wall seemed, I relaxed—only for Ami to wail and add—

“It’s not as unfair as the Giacomo Ro dating rumor, but it’s still unfair!”

“Excuse me? You should be just as upset as back then.”

I blurted out.

“It’s the same kind of baseless rumor, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but it feels different!”

“No, it doesn’t.”

I need to snip this bud before it even sprouts.

“Ami. I truly don’t think you’re dating the Personnel Director.”

Thud!

My shin got kicked.

“Ah!”

That hurt!

I hopped back and grabbed my injured shin.

Ricardo had nailed my leg under the table with the toe of his dress shoe.

I stared at him from across the table with a what the hell was that? expression.

But no matter how much I appealed with my eyes, Ricardo didn’t even blink.

In fact, he didn’t look at me at all.

Arms crossed, gaze angled down toward the floor.

As if deliberately avoiding looking my way.

As if trying not to let me notice that warning....

.......

...We’re screwed.

“Who’s doing what with whom?”

A gloomy voice pierced my ears.

A low tone laced with a faint hiss.

That flat, depthless voice, carrying a trace of killing intent, triggered a primal fear.

The café went silent in an instant.

I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

Even Jonathan kept his gaze hovering near the floor.

Only Ami turned her head toward the voice.

“Oppa!”

I don’t have the courage to turn around.

“What brings you here? Did you come to buy coffee?”

“Who’s dating whom?”

Yun ignored Ami’s question.

He walked over to her side with eerily soundless steps.

The edge of his white lab coat entered my vision.

I can’t lift my head.

“The Personnel Director?”

Ami nodded.

“I went to see a movie with Mr. Ju, and I guess the rumor spread in a weird way.”

She was the only one in the café unaffected by the hostility Yun was radiating.

“I just went because it was a movie I wanted to see, and he wanted to see it too.”

“The Personnel Director said he wanted to see a movie with you?”

Yun asked gently.

Goosebumps rose along my arm.

Terrifying.

“Yeah! Mr. Ju said he wanted to see that SF movie series that got re-released.”

“A series?”

“Yeah. The first one came out three years ago, and the second one’s coming soon. They’re re-releasing it before the sequel.”

“And he suggested seeing it together.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. And what did he say after the movie?”

Yun asked softly.

Only Ami failed to notice the viper-like tone.

She answered cheerfully.

“He said it was really fun and asked me to watch the second one together when it comes out!”

Crash!

A café staff member dropped a cup.

I turned pale and lifted my head.

I saw the neat, composed features of a man calmly looking down at Ami.

Yun was gazing at his younger sister with an inscrutable smile.

Too scary.

Trembling, I leaned my upper body toward Ricardo.

‘What do we do?’

‘Wait....’

The senior replied quietly.

‘Since he knows Ami doesn’t mean anything by it, for now—’

Clink!

A clear sound cut him off as the café door opened.

The Personnel Director walked into Senabi.

A man in a calm, well-fitted suit.

Still unaware of the situation....

The man who’d put Yun in a psychiatric hospital....

“Ami.”

The Personnel Director greeted her with a bright smile.

“Hilde, you’re back too. Everyone’s gathered here.”

Flowers might as well have been blooming behind Ju as he smiled.

“What a pleasant coincidence.”

Yun turned his body.

Ricardo and I stood up at the same time.

“Yun!”

I dashed toward my mentor, who was heading straight for Ju.

“Yun! Please calm down!”