Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Back to That Place (3)
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It didn't take long to descend.
We plunged through the cold air. The chilled wind battered my ears painfully. The palms gripping the wire felt raw. But with the speed we were going, there was nothing to be done about it.
The ground rushed up toward us.
I landed safely.
Fortunately, there were no mishaps this time. We made it down unharmed and escaped the arena. Riccardo, who had landed first, was already making a report on some phone he must have pulled from who-knows-where.
Probably snatched from a dead cop or mafioso.
I hadn't even thought to grab one. Something to reflect on.
I picked up Barbie in a more comfortable hold and approached. The senior looked up.
"Status."
"Aside from some chest pain, I'm fine."
Riccardo frowned ever so slightly.
But he didn't press further.
The low-voiced report cut off shortly after. A chilly silence settled in its place.
We stood in the moonlit wasteland, waiting for backup.
Barbie, who had been crying hard, reached out to Riccardo.
"Lend me your phone... I need to call Dad...."
She sniffled as she took the phone he offered.
"Tell him to sweep them all away...."
Huh?
That was one hell of a thing to say.
I stared at her with trembling pupils, but she just wiped her red nose and held the phone to her ear.
Riccardo kept silent with a wry smile.
Hm.
So the bit about not operating legally was spot on, it seemed.
I set the blond senior down in a suitable spot so she could talk comfortably.
I waited quietly a few paces away for backup. Gazing down at Asil, who kept his mouth shut and showed no signs of waking.
An anxious wait.
The medevac chopper arrived.
"Send up the wounded first!"
The shout came from the helicopter.
From there, things got hectic.
We loaded Asil and then Barbie aboard and boarded ourselves.
As soon as everyone was on, the chopper headed for Black Badger HQ. Medics were inside, swarming over Asil and Barbie, working busily.
For Barbie, the fix was obvious. She'd need a prosthetic leg attached, and there was nothing more to do for now.
For Asil, his arm would heal, but the poison already spreading through his body was the problem.
Proper treatment would have to wait until HQ. After passing that on, the medics focused on care. Riccardo and I watched over our seniors' conditions endlessly in the cramped chopper.
We had no bandwidth for details like what would happen to the arena, the people inside, or how the cops and mafia would be handled. I kept talking to Barbie to keep her spirits up and monitored Asil's situation. I answered the medics' questions too.
The noise made conversation tough, adding to the chaos.
We only realized we'd reached HQ when the pilot said so.
The headquarters loomed closer through the darkness.
The top floor.
We landed on the rooftop.
***
Ska was there.
The aide watched us disembark with a troubled expression.
He walked slowly toward the interior of the landing pad.
I caught him gazing at Asil being wheeled away with conflicted eyes, then turning to Barbie on her stretcher.
He said something to her and gripped then released her shoulder.
Asil and Barbie soon vanished from sight.
Once the wounded were safely down, the man approached us.
"You okay?"
"Ah~... So sorry...."
Riccardo gave Ska a wry smile in response.
The thick fatigue in his voice worried me. He clearly felt awful but was trying not to show it.
I barely suppressed the urge to tell him to go rest.
"Coming back from a simple mission like this a failure.... And dragging along a rookie who hasn't even shed his newbie tag~."
"Go to the hospital, both of you."
"I've gotta file the report.... Send the greenhorn down~."
"Tomorrow."
Ska replied firmly.
"I already gave a brief report."
"Thanks to the newbie throwing his body in, I've still got all four limbs intact.... You should hear it now while it's fresh~. The site? Total mess.... Dead bodies aren't just one or two~."
The aide stared long at Riccardo, who smiled brightly.
His eyes, so good at reading comrades, were filled with worry. Guilt washed over me as I watched the two men.
Truly sorry.
He'd treated us to dinner and briefed us on the mission's peculiarities, and now we'd made him wear that expression. As Riccardo said, this was a failed mission.
Even though I'd known it wasn't as simple as it seemed....
"Hilde."
Ska's voice snapped me from my thoughts.
I straightened up.
"Yes."
"Go get treated. Now."
"I'm fine too."
Chest hurts a bit.
My breath was short like after sprinting all out, shoulders knotted uncomfortably, but otherwise okay. The minor cuts on my hands would heal in a day or two.
Riccardo was clearly in worse shape than me with my scrapes.
There was a chain of command, so I couldn't say I'd report instead.
Instead, I said this.
"I'll wait until the report's done."
"Why~? What changes if a dummy like you waits~?"
"Ric."
The senior turned to me with a bright smile.
Ska shut him down immediately.
I met the other's cool smile with a grin of my own.
"No...."
"You know, so scram already...."
Then I should go check on Asil.
Seemed waiting for the report wasn't allowed.
The cold wind stung my ears. I brushed back the white hair fluttering at the edge of my vision.
The vast nightscape spread beyond the rooftop.
The aide, who had been pressing his brow with a troubled look at his comrade's sharp words, glanced at me.
"Yoon will be here soon."
"Yes?"
Why?
"You just arrived, so he'll have gotten word. Head to the hospital wing and report your location to your master on the way."
"Yes, sir."
"Or he might show up any second—could wait here a bit and go together."
Doubt he'd come quick.
Couldn't fathom why he'd come here anyway. What difference would it make?
My master, born without a shred of humanity and epitome of efficiency, had no reason to come. Wouldn't surprise me if he hadn't even checked when I'd return.
Not dumb enough to voice that.
I smiled innocently at the seniors.
"Then I'll head down first...."
"Hildebert."
What.
Holy shit.
I reflexively jolted, a sharp pain lancing across my chest.
Ow....
Wincing at the stabbing pain, I kept my brow furrowed as I stared at my approaching master.
Choi Yoon, walking over in his lab coat.
His face showed no emotion, as always.
"Why are you here?"
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Yoon brushed off my rude greeting lightly.
He passed Ska blinking in surprise and Riccardo raising his brows, stopping before me.
"You've gotten a lot more polite."
"Naturally."
Seeing his face reminded me of something I'd briefly forgotten.
"A greenhorn who hasn't taken the promotion exam has to be polite, right?"
Ska coughed in startled surprise.
Shocked by my insolence. Fair, since he didn't know the situation. He couldn't imagine Yoon hadn't breathed a word about the exam.
Tell me important stuff like that ahead of time.
If Riccardo hadn't mentioned it offhand, I'd have been clueless till sunset. No shock if he'd casually dropped it a month before.
I eyed my master with a hint of complaint.
Of course, Yoon ignored it.
The man, who had ignored my words and stood there, narrowed his eyes curiously and said,
"Why's your breathing like that?"
"Yes?"
What's wrong with my breathing?
"Weird?"
"Yeah, weird."
Yoon stepped right up.
"Breathe."
Breathe...
It hurt to inhale deep, so I took a shallow one, then widened my eyes at what my master did next.
What?
"Why the sudden—!"
"Stay still."
My master abruptly pressed his ear to my chest. I freaked and tried to back away, but he'd already grabbed my arm—couldn't budge.
Still fast and silent as ever.
No escape, I stood obediently as he said.
Yoon, standing unnervingly close and unmoving, frowned faintly.
"Sounds like a contusion."
The low mutter drew the seniors over.
I ignored their stares.
"You hurt your ribcage?"
"I took a hard hit."
"When the building collapsed?"
"No, in the arena."
"Heard you carried Sordi and ran after?"
I nodded honestly to Yoon's question.
Kept my eyes fixed on him, not daring to glance at Riccardo's expression beside me.
Ignored Ska frowning and eyeing my chest too.
Yoon blinked his pitch-black eyes once.
"Must've been hard to run with the swelling."
Hm.
"Had to run, or I'd have been smashed flat dead."
Yoon stared straight at me.
His face gave nothing away—what he was thinking, impossible to tell. The same piercing, cold gaze as always.
The silence on the rooftop was terrifying.
I stood frozen, praying this passed quick. Didn't want to stoke Riccardo's anger more. He'd wanted to leave me behind on the ground....
My master slowly broke the silence.
"Pain tolerance this high, but you hate the lab table?"
"You really don't know why?"
"Heard you ran up stairs in this state too."
"Th-that, adrenaline kicks in and it doesn't hurt much."
And please don't bring up the thing I wanted to avoid most. Don't wanna piss off Riccardo any more.
But my master ignored my desperate signal again.
He scoffed coldly.
Then released my arm and turned slowly.
"Follow."
Flat, low voice, no room for debate.
"And don't sneak off to another room."
Damn ghost.
I glowered at Yoon's back.
Then gave up. Turned to nod at Riccardo and Ska, who had been listening beside me.
To the seniors staring with inscrutable faces.
Ah.
"Sorry."
I apologized to Riccardo, who stood silently.
"I-I didn't lie.... Adrenaline really was pumping, so it doesn't hurt like this now.... I'll come apologize properly after treatment. Oh, and now that you're back to full strength, drop by anytime and beat me as much as you want."
Riccardo didn't reply, but I ignored it and bowed my head once more.
Then, following Yoon slowly, I added,
words that might help burst the anger the senior was barely holding back.
"Still, thanks for trusting me."
Yoon would cover for me roughly.
"Make sure you rest after the report, Riccardo."
Dared not check his face.
I turned and hurried after my master, fleeing the landing pad.