Chapter 31 - Luminaries of Science (3)

No, I hadn't been.

I stared blankly at Riccardo, then explained in a little more detail how this had happened. It was true that there was something strange about me, and finding out what it was couldn't hurt...

THWACK!

He flicked me on the forehead.

“Ow!”

Searing pain shot across my forehead. I cried out and instinctively clapped a hand over it. Wow. That really hurt.

“Did you lose your will to live along with your memories?”

Riccardo gave me a murderous smile. The instant I saw it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was in trouble. I hastily held out a hand to stop him from going any further. He was angry again.

“No, sir!”

“No what?”

“Well, the thing is...”

I racked my brain for something that would calm him down, then gave up and decided to be honest.

“Um, I...”

“You what?”

His smile as he echoed me was terrifying. I swallowed reflexively.

People passed behind us, chatting. Perhaps because evening had come, their footsteps sounded light. Amid the noise, I chose my words carefully before speaking.

“What if I'm a humanoid creature?”

Riccardo blinked. A long silence followed. Long enough to make me embarrassed by what I'd said.

“What brought that on all of a sudden?”

After studying me for a long time like an alien he'd never seen before, he finally spoke.

“That sounds incredibly stupid...”

“Does it? That's a relief, then.”

“So stupid that I'm curious what gave you the idea... Did someone say something?”

“No, I just watched a video.”

I briefly explained that I'd watched Yehyeon's famous video that morning. I debated whether to mention that I'd cried, then decided to be honest about that too. Even so, Riccardo kept looking at me as though I were the biggest idiot he'd ever seen.

“Do you know what humanoid creatures are like?”

“No, not in detail... I've just heard that the more human they look, the higher their level.”

“Right... Well, that rules you out for a start...”

Ouch. Right where it hurt. I had no choice but to nod at Riccardo's argument that someone as pathetic as me couldn't possibly be a humanoid creature. It was certainly a reasonable rebuttal.

I gave him an earnest look. “You make a reasonable point, sir.”

“Glad you caught on so quickly.”

Why did that make me sad? Happy, but sad too. As I grappled with these conflicting feelings, Riccardo looked at me and chuckled. Some of it must have shown on my face.

The green-eyed man lowered the arm he'd draped around my shoulders.

“The creature in that footage turned to ash after it died, so they couldn't even study it... I heard it was the only one they'd encountered that spoke a human language.”

“That thing could talk?”

Good lord. He nodded and went on readily.

“It's not that there aren't other creatures that can talk, but that was the only humanoid one that spoke fluently too... Still, hardly any information survives... Literally every Badger left at the time went up against it, but almost none were conscious to witness the end. Just Tvein and Yehyeon, I suppose? I heard the other first-intake Badgers were out cold by then...”

“What about the person who filmed it?”

“Dead.”

Oh.

Every time I thought of that footage, my emotions churned. Riccardo's words had reassured me a little, but they hadn't made that turmoil go away.

It seemed certain that something in the video was connected to my erased past. I wanted to discover what it was. The cause of these intense emotions. Though giving an eccentric scientist half a day of my weekend wasn't going to magically uncover anything.

“Yehyeon took you in, didn't he?”

I blinked at him at the sudden remark.

“Yes, he did.”

“There's only one person left in the world who's faced a level ten at point-blank range... Commander-in-Chief Lee Yehyeon. He must have a reason for taking you in.”

Ah. Come to think of it, asking Yehyeon would be the quickest way.

The problem was that he was my highest-ranking superior. If only the cabin hadn't been destroyed. Then I could have casually asked him when we happened to cross paths.

In any case, all of Riccardo's points were valid. I had no intention of going back on what I'd told John Mühlen, but I felt a little more at ease.

Right. If he'd thought there was really something wrong with me, Yehyeon wouldn't have welcomed me like this. Hadn't he even falsified paperwork and summoned the Badgers to the auditorium? If I'd been in his position, I would never have so actively brought in a potential problem...

Did Yehyeon know something?

The question crossed my mind, but I didn't let it show. Nothing good could come of that. I simply nodded, then thanked the green-eyed senior watching me.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Oh, just... all the things you keep doing for me. Have you had dinner?”

“Why... Are you buying if I haven't?”

“Yes.”

My confident answer drew a chuckle from Riccardo. He pulled a hand out of his pocket and ruffled my white hair.

“You're barely hatched, you little fledgling. What are you talking about? Just go tell John Mühlen you've changed your mind...”

“Fledglings get paid too.”

“Look at you dodging the subject... Come on. I'm starving.”

Riccardo withdrew the hand mussing my hair and started walking. I hurried after him, thinking I'd behave myself until it was time to pay, then beat him to it.

The corridor looked beautiful in the sunset glow.

* * *

We went into a pasta restaurant on a tidy street a little way from headquarters. I was eating some unbelievably good pasta when I ran into familiar faces. It had only been a few days since I'd last seen him. Jason Tvein.

“Oh, if it isn't the half-ass.”

His lips curled upward as he looked at me. He seemed to be leaving after his meal, an unlit cigarette between his lips, dressed in a short black T-shirt. I gave the blond man a small nod. Luckily, I had a mouthful of pasta. It was a good excuse to keep my mouth shut.

Tvein thumped me hard on the back. That hurt.

“Buying the rookie dinner?”

“Yees...”

“Hey, good for you. This little shit's all right. Gets cocky about using a sword when he's only half a Badger, but still. Look after him, huh? I'll put your dinner on my tab.”

“Well... I won't say no.”

I wanted to say no. I'd been planning to buy dinner. Tvein said his piece and vanished, whistling. I offered a perfunctory goodbye and concentrated on my pasta.

Why was that man so unlikable?

Riccardo, who'd responded without much interest, turned his gaze back to me once Tvein had left.

“Why does that man suddenly like you...?”

“Incredibly enough, it's because I told him I'd never seen that video of Yehyeon.”

“Aha.”

Riccardo readily accepted that. Was this really something you could understand so easily? I still didn't get it.

As I twirled seafood pasta in oil sauce around my fork, I asked why Tvein acted that way. The answer was succinct.

“He thinks Yehyeon took all the credit for killing the level-ten creature.”

What a petty man. I inhaled my pasta, letting my face convey my disbelief. Riccardo gave a quiet laugh, apparently amused by my expression.

“Well, I heard he looked down on Yehyeon even before they fought the level ten. The man's so mild-mannered in private... Ah... You haven't met him outside work?”

“No. But he does seem kind.”

“Kind doesn't cover it. He's practically a pushover.”

How was that possible? Riccardo's words surprised me a little. In my mind, the commander-in-chief was someone whose every movement carried the weight of experience. A man who wielded a shape-shifting weapon with elegance and drew a greatsword with flawless form.

Riccardo ate his pasta neatly.

“So whatever that man says to him in private, Yehyeon just smiles and lets it go... Tvein's got nothing going for him besides his fighting skills, so don't get too friendly.”

“Yes. To be honest, I'm not all that comfortable around him either.”

“But what's this about a sword?”

A pointed question. I gave him a sheepish smile. Telling someone who'd seen me tumble out of a portal without warning that I thought I'd used a sword before was a little embarrassing.

But I was honest again this time. After hearing my answer, Riccardo tilted his head.

“And Yun allowed it?”

“Yun was the one who put a sword in my hands. Maybe because he saw what happened with the butterfly.”

“Ah.”

Riccardo smiled cynically, as though recalling the incident. I had to swallow at the sight of that smile, sharpness spread evenly across it.

“Right. You had excellent form pulling that kitchen knife out of your arm too.”

“... I'm truly sorry about that.”

“Forget it... So you used a sword on your trip outside this time—”

“Hey!”

A loud shout rang through the restaurant. Riccardo and I turned our heads and spotted a man waving as he approached our table. Curly hair, a striped shirt. A strangely swaggering gait.

He was another of the first people I'd encountered in this world. Giacomo Ro.

Ro settled into the seat beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Long time no see. Been doing all right?”

“Yes. It's been a while, sir.”

“Ah, perfect timing. Ro, why don't you talk some sense into John Mühlen?”

Why was he bringing up John Mühlen all of a sudden? I stared wide-eyed at Riccardo, who sounded pleased to have caught Ro. Lounging crookedly in his chair, Ro also widened his eyes and looked across the table.

“What's that bastard got to do with anything?”

An odd note of irritation entered Ro's voice.

“Why should I stop him? What is it? If he got dragged off to the hospital after doing nothing but fucking research like some plant, that's not my problem.”

“John got Hilde's number.”

Ro's jaw dropped. Watching his reaction out of the corner of my eye, I buried my face in my plate.

Waving his fork, Riccardo gave Ro a brief explanation. Ro didn't move the entire time. Once the explanation was over, he turned to me and spoke seriously.

“What the hell are you going to do?”

“... Why...?”

“Once that bastard gets fixated on something, there's no stopping him.”

He reached out and casually took the garlic bread sitting on my pasta. He bit into my bread as though he did this all the time.

“You're so fucking screwed. That bastard actually takes an interest in people? Man. Seriously, what are you going to do?”

“... What exactly is John Mühlen like to make everyone react this way...?”

“I told you, once that bastard gets fixated on something, there's no stopping him. Ah, just thinking about it pisses me the fuck off all over again! Anyway, you're seriously screwed. There's all sorts of weird shit lying around our place. Oh. What if I find you in our bathtub one day?”

“Your place?”

“We share an apartment. He's almost never home, so I've pretty much got it to myself.”

So that was why Riccardo had asked Ro to stop him. But wait, a bathtub? Why would I turn up in a bathtub? Was John Mühlen that much of a mad scientist?

Belatedly, I began to panic a little. Ro kept talking regardless. He seemed oddly entertained.

“Man, that would be funny, though.”

“Sir. Are you enjoying this, by any chance?”

“Yeah. A little. Hey, what if I'm eating breakfast one day and make eye contact with you?”

“Instead of getting all excited about it, why don't you try stopping him?”

“Ah, that'd be tough.”

All amusement abruptly vanished from Ro's face as he answered. Brushing garlic-bread crumbs off his hands, he looked into Riccardo's green eyes.

“I told you. Once he starts obsessing over something, there's no stopping him.”

“Thought so... Hilde. Just go ask Yun to get you out of it. He said he would, didn't he? Don't get stubborn for no reason and end up in the bathtub at Giacomo's shared apartment.”

“Again, why does the bathtub keep coming up...? You're not saying I'll be dismembered and soaking in it, are you?”

“So why'd you agree?”

Ro asked as he casually took the last piece of garlic bread from my pasta plate too.

I stared earnestly at the curly-haired senior crunching on my oil-soaked garlic bread. He and Riccardo suited the restaurant well. A pasta place with vintage pictures hanging on worn wallpaper, wine bottles neatly arranged on shelves along the walls. The savory smell of pizza drifted from the kitchen.

I swallowed my last mouthful of pasta.

“Because I thought I might be a humanoid creature.”

Ro stared hard at me until he'd finished the garlic bread. Only after brushing the crumbs off his striped shirt did he break the silence.

“But you look human.”

... That was a valid point too. At a loss for words, I gulped down my water.

Not long afterward, I left the restaurant, flanked by Riccardo telling me to change my mind and Ro telling me it was too late, I was in deep trouble, and there was nothing he could do.

Who knew. If I kept training and settling into life here, things would work themselves out somehow. Resolving not to think about the video anymore, I returned to the dorms.

* * *

The long-awaited weekend arrived. Resigned to my fate, I went to the laboratory.

Unlike last time, it was nearly deserted. John Mühlen stood there like an old tree, working on his research in a long lab coat and black turtleneck. The moment I entered, he whipped his head around.

“Hello, sir.”

“What did you eat?”

Those were his first words to me. I gradually slowed my steps, then came to a complete stop and silently took in the scene before me.

A quiet laboratory early on a weekend morning. A man standing there like an NPC. According to the internet searches I'd done during the week, a scientific genius who, by his own reckoning and everyone else's, rivaled Albert Einstein...

“Cereal...?”

John Mühlen drew my blood. As he did, he said,

“Shall we meet on an empty stomach next time?”