Chapter 3 - Black Badger (3)

Before I could collect myself, I was dragged into the infirmary. I followed the doctor along with my three guards. A spacious room came into view, white and brightly lit, with a desk and several chairs for visitors. The scent of cool air drifted through the spotless room.

The man who had burst through the door strode over to the desk and sat down. He gestured for us to take a seat as we came in.

“Samuel? Is something wrong?”

The others settled into the chairs scattered around the room. Ami alone remained standing, coming to my side to question the man in the doctor's coat.

The man she called Samuel waved a hand.

“It's a little tricky to explain. There's nothing wrong with his health. Aside from his stomach being completely empty right now.”

“If it isn't his health, what else could be wrong?” Ami asked, her eyes widening. “You just gave him a physical, didn't you? If you found a problem during a physical, that means there's a problem with his health.”

Exactly. Perfectly reasonable.

Strangely, though, the doctor shook his head emphatically.

“Just get him something to eat first,” he said gruffly, his eyes fixed on the screen. “I'll explain while I show you the images. And get ready to contact Yehyeon.”

“The commander-in-chief?”

“You'll freak out too when you see this.”

What was it? What was wrong now? Listening to the doctor called Samuel talk with the others terrified me. Waking up in a completely unfamiliar place with my memory gone was confusing enough. What else could possibly have happened?

Everyone's expression stiffened except Ro's. A chill settled in my gut.

The rattle of the mouse wheel sounded unusually loud. The doctor told us to wait while he searched for something on his computer. I bit my lip, nerves stretched taut.

I had no idea what the problem was, but what would happen if it was serious? I clenched my sweaty fists.

Just then, Ami spoke.

“Hilde.”

Startled, I turned my head.

“Yes?”

“What do you like? Do you remember? What you liked to eat?”

Ami looked at me with her round eyes. I noticed the phone in her hand. Pictures of all kinds of food filled the screen.

I looked blankly between her and the screen.

“Oh... I don't really remember. I'm sorry...”

“That's all right.”

She answered readily, then tilted her head to study my face.

“You don't look happy.”

“Of course he doesn't. Would you be happy if you had a serious health problem?”

“No, I keep telling you, it's not a health problem.”

The doctor let out a heavy sigh at Ro's irrelevant remark.

Neither Ami nor Riccardo seemed particularly surprised, so Ro apparently said things like this out of nowhere quite often. Watching him raise his eyebrows and ask, “Huh? Then what are you talking about? This is a hospital, and you're a doctor,” I gave an awkward, worried smile.

Exactly. What was any of this supposed to mean?

“Then I'll play it safe and order burgers,” Ami told me. I nodded slowly as she tapped away at her phone screen.

“Look at this.”

I turned at the doctor's voice.

“You can read this graph too, right?”

He pointed to a holographic window.

What was that? I blinked stupidly at the thing that had just appeared. The sharp, clear display was filled with incomprehensible numbers and explanations.

I couldn't read it.

The others, however, seemed able to make sense of the information. Their voices rose.

“Huh! Are you sure these are Hilde's results?”

“Oh?”

“What? What does any of that mean?”

Their reactions differed. The holographic window displayed an image of an adult body and several graphs. The graphs were labeled with figures and incomprehensible words. But even after blinking and reading them again, I couldn't understand what those numbers represented.

Fortunately, Ro looked just as confused as I was. Riccardo and Ami, on the other hand, couldn't hide their bewilderment. For a while, they simply stared at the graphs in silence.

A baffled silence settled over the infirmary. The doctor was the one who explained.

“He has an enhanced body, just like you.”

“I'll go report this to the commander.”

“Huh? Come on, that's ridiculous!”

Riccardo rose and went outside, while Ro raised his voice.

“I've never seen a Badger like him! And how many years has it been since the war ended? There's no way an unregistered Black Badger could exist! Huh? I might be an idiot, but even I know that!”

“That's why this is such a big deal. And keep your voice down, you little shit! This is a hospital!”

“Unbelievable,” Ami murmured to herself, eyes wide.

I had been sitting there like an idiot, unable to understand what the doctor meant, when I turned my head. Ami was standing beside me, staring at the holographic window. Ignoring Ro and the doctor's squabbling, she added brightly,

“This is serious enough that even the head of HR ought to come back and work overtime.”

What was a Black Badger? And what did he mean, I had an enhanced body? Barely a few hours had passed since I regained consciousness, and here was another term I didn't understand. Besides, this didn't look as though it would be resolved as easily as before.

I sat quietly among the agitated people, keeping my mouth shut. It was the only way to keep myself safe amid things I had never seen before.

A white infirmary. Agitated, startled strangers. Unfamiliar smells, unfamiliar surroundings. Strange names and strange words.

All of a sudden, I was ravenous and exhausted. I wanted to forget this whole situation and fall asleep.

* * *

Riccardo returned with burgers. His green eyes curved gently, but he radiated a tension he couldn't hide. He opened the infirmary door with a bag of burgers in his hand.

“Hilde,” he called warmly, and I turned to look at him. Instead of the ominous black combat uniform he'd been wearing before—assuming it was a combat uniform—he now wore a neat shirt and trousers. His glasses suited him surprisingly well.

He walked into the infirmary with a smile.

“Here's your burger... Kept you waiting, didn't I?”

“Not at all. Thank you so much.”

“Hey. He really does have an enhanced body.”

With my hands finally free, I politely accepted the paper bag of burgers. Ro swung one leg in his chair.

Riccardo looked down at Ro through his glasses.

“Does he?”

“Yeah. I arm-wrestled him myself.”

I'd lost spectacularly. A few minutes earlier, Ami had removed my handcuffs and told me to try arm-wrestling Ro, so we'd had a round. Naturally, I hadn't expected to win. One look at his solid build made it obvious that he worked out.

I'd been utterly helpless against him.

But Ami and the doctor hadn't focused on who won. They seemed more interested in the fact that my muscles were still intact after arm-wrestling Ro. Apparently, the same went for Riccardo. His green eyes swept over my arm.

“Well, now. This just keeps getting stranger...”

“Peanut said she was going to report to someone. No idea what else she's got to report.”

“Of course she is. This is an unprecedented emergency.”

There was a curious hint of amusement in Riccardo's reply.

As I rustled through the bag and took out a burger, I kept glancing at the man standing in front of me, trying to gauge his mood. It was all right to eat here, wasn't it? I'd been so hungry ever since entering the infirmary.

As if reading my mind, Riccardo added easily,

“Go ahead and eat here... That's why I brought it in.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“You don't look happy.”

He watched me unwrap the burger.

“Is it because everyone's faces changed and they started making calls over this enhanced-body business? You don't need to worry too much. Even if it causes trouble, it'll be our higher-ups in hot water, not you...”

“Um... I'd rather not cause problems for anyone, if I can help it.”

“That might be possible. If the higher-ups do a good enough job covering for you. No one outside knows you exist yet, do they?”

Riccardo smiled, then lifted his long foot to draw a wheeled chair closer. Settling onto it, he waved a hand toward the burger.

“Eat. You must be hungry...”

“Thank you.”

With that, I bit into the burger.

Meat juices, burger sauce, and crisp lettuce burst blissfully in my mouth. My eyes widened at the unexpected flavor. It was delicious. Strange—the burgers in my fragmented memories hadn't tasted this good.

I checked the wrapper, but it wasn't a brand I recognized.

Either way, I would gratefully enjoy it. My appearance seemed to have caused them all sorts of headaches, and I was thankful that they were still treating me like a human being.

Riccardo's gentle smile widened.

“How much has Samuel Han explained to you?”

So Samuel's full name was Samuel Han.

I swallowed my mouthful before answering.

“Not very much... Just that the enhanced body was successfully transplanted, so there's nothing physically wrong with me.”

“That sounds like him. Sticking strictly to his medical opinion... He didn't know how much he should tell you, so he said nothing outside his own field.”

“What's the big deal?”

Ro, who had been playing a game on his phone, joined the conversation. He arched his thick eyebrows as he looked at us.

“We can at least explain Black Badgers and enhanced bodies to him, can't we?”

“Well... True... Explaining some of it would put both Hilde and us more at ease.”

“I'd appreciate it, if you don't mind.”

I made the request politely as I picked up a fry. I'd heard various things already, but this new development had raised new questions. I wanted to hear about enhanced bodies and Black Badgers.

Riccardo stared at me with unreadable eyes, then gave a small chuckle.

“I can't very well ignore you when you look at me like that...”

Much obliged.

“Put simply, you're like a handgun with an unregistered serial number.”

That was clear enough.

“People with enhanced bodies are treated as living weapons... So when someone receives an enhanced-body transplant, their personal information is entered into a database, and they're kept under headquarters' control at all times afterward... But you're not registered with headquarters. We didn't even know you existed. That's why this is a problem. You also appeared out of nowhere in the portal zone. I suppose you could compare it to a missile we never knew existed suddenly popping out of thin air in a danger zone.”

“Aha.”

I more or less understood.

My body didn't feel particularly different, though. Still, I thought I understood why everyone had panicked at my test results. Someone with an enhanced body was probably closer to a missile than a handgun. They wouldn't report straight to the commander over a mysterious handgun turning up.

Anyway...

“Why would I have an enhanced body?”

Not remembering anything was driving me mad with frustration.

Riccardo chuckled softly at my stupid question.

“I wonder. How did you end up with an enhanced body...? I never imagined anything like this, so I couldn't begin to guess...”

“Maybe you had some illegal surgery somewhere? And lost all your memories as a side effect.”

“Ro... You can't get a transplant this perfect through illegal surgery. If he'd had an illegal operation, he wouldn't be in any shape to sit here talking so normally...”

“Unbelievable!”

Our conversation stopped.

BANG!

I jumped reflexively as the infirmary door flew open with a crash. Wide-eyed, I stared at the person who had thrown it open.

A woman with her round black eyes opened wide. It was Ami, who had just stepped outside saying she needed to call someone named Yun.

What was this all of a sudden?

Riccardo and Ro raised their eyebrows at her too. Silence followed the abrupt interruption. For a while, we blinked at one another, motionless, as though someone had pressed pause.

Then Ami spoke.

“Mr. Zhu is coming back to work overtime.”

THUD!

Ro dropped the phone he was holding onto the floor.

“He'd even gotten home already, but he's coming back!”

“Holy shit!”

CRASH!

Ro sprang up, sending his chair toppling backward.

The mood around me changed. Even Riccardo, who seemed so unflappable, asked, “The head of HR?” Ami nodded like mad at his question and Ro's cries of “Hey, seriously? You're serious?” Then she charged into the infirmary and began racing all over the room.

Unable to contain her excitement for quite some time, Ami finally turned to me as I sat there dumbfounded.

“It's all thanks to you, Hilde!” she cried happily.

Ro marveled,

“Man, live long enough and you really do see everything.”

The curly-haired man came over and thumped me on the back.

“Good job. You've pulled off something neither Yehyeon nor his predecessor could manage. You're the only guy who's ever brought Zhu back after he'd clocked out.”

His words brimmed with genuine delight. Even Riccardo let out a chuckle.

I could only sit there blankly watching their reactions. I didn't really understand, but this meant the situation was urgent enough for someone I didn't know to come back to work. Was it really all right for them to be enjoying themselves this much...?

I didn't voice the thought.

Instead, I sat quietly with my burger, smiling awkwardly until Ro and Ami calmed down, consumed by the question of just what sort of person this Zhu, the head of HR, could be.

I wanted to meet him as soon as possible.