Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Festival Preparation (3)
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I bought fermentation vats.
Whether it was the original world or this one, the way to brew alcohol wasn't any different. It was all about using yeast to create delicious liquid.
It was something I'd done often at the temple, so the process came back to me as instinctively as swinging a sword. Memories of stuffing fruit pulp into baskets woven from branches. Dumping the pulp full to the brim from the basket and washing it with well water inside the temple. Joyfully crushing the fruits dotted with water droplets.
As a child, I'd quite liked making fruit wine.
Even the priests approached the task with utmost seriousness. Thanks to that, I clearly remembered specifics like the right amount of alcohol for a certain quantity of apples.
Honestly, it was more fun than herding sheep or chopping firewood.
I sifted through those memories and crushed the apples with the flat of my sword.
Then I waited for fermentation to finish.
In the meantime, I handled my other tasks.
Even as preparations for the reclamation battle ramped up breathlessly, patrol duties continued. Kudo and I had developed a good rhythm by now. We alternated meals based on each other's tastes.
On off days, I rested while doing my routine workouts.
It'd be nice if Hesi and Tom were here, but they were out beyond the Core, busily preparing for the reclamation battle. Pseudo hadn't returned in ages either. No sign he'd even read the messages I'd sent.
So I hung out with Ami a lot.
She'd come back from outside the Core a few days ago and was off duty until reclamation day.
"Hilde, you still haven't written your will?"
After eating chicken stir-fry loaded with cheese and taking dozens of photos in the selfie studio, we were heading to the game center.
Ami asked with her eyes wide open.
I blinked.
"Yeah."
"Oppa is the worst master ever."
Ami pouted, badmouthing Choi Yoon.
Her scrunched-up childish brow was so funny that I let out a chuckle.
"So you write the will before heading out on missions, huh."
"Yeah. You can rewrite it whenever you want."
"I'll write it when I get back in, then."
I replied nonchalantly.
I wasn't surprised. I'd written one when I first joined the knights' order too.
No matter how great our recovery abilities or immortality were, Black Badgers could die at any moment, so it was a natural procedure.
I didn't really have much to write anyway.
"But where do I put it once it's done?"
"There's a storage spot at HQ. Usually handwritten. No one can check it without permission until you're dead."
"Ah, got it. Tell me later where to submit it."
"Sure."
Ami nodded.
Then she stared up at me intently.
Her gaze lingered, so I smiled down at her.
"What?"
Ami scrutinized me with her round eyes.
"Sophia’s coming back tomorrow."
Ah.
A senior I'd never met. But someone who already knew all about my backstory.
The one who'd hated Ye-hyeon and pointed a gun at him.
The reclamation battle was such a huge deal that she wouldn't cause issues there. Still, hearing the name of someone I couldn't face comfortably made my stomach churn.
I nodded without averting my eyes.
"Guess I'll meet her soon."
"Yeah. Once Sophia's back, we should all get together. I'll coordinate the date."
"Oh, thank you."
I hadn't even thought of that.
But Ami was right. We needed to meet. It'd be good to assess each other's abilities and figure out how to coordinate in the reclamation battle. I knew Ricardo and Ami's combat styles well, but I had no clue about Karl Dow or Sophia Carrac's.
Karl was a sniper, I thought?
Anyway, I scolded myself for not even considering such basics and thanked her.
"No problem! As the most senior, that's my job!"
So cute.
It was funny how she puffed out her chest saying she was the most senior.
Hard to believe she's older than Ricardo every time.
"If you send me the schedules, I'll cross-check with everyone else's and pick a date!"
I barely resisted the urge to pat her head.
I grinned and stepped into the game center.
Reclamation day was approaching fast, the past clung stickily to my dreams without letting go, but wallowing in gloom wouldn't change anything.
I'd do what needed doing and spend the rest of the time simply.
Thinking that, I walked to the game machine Ami had picked.
***
"Oppa! You didn't tell Hilde about having to write a will, did you!"
"Ah."
Meeting day.
I'd decided to write mine by hand, so I arrived at HQ earlier than the appointed time. The meeting was at 7 p.m., but I'd planned to grab an early dinner with Ami and write it first.
That's when Yoon portaled back in.
He looked more exhausted than I'd ever seen him.
The man who returned alone through the portal.
His master replied indifferently.
"Yeah, there was that."
"Are you okay?"
I'd never imagined saying such words to him.
Surprisingly, I found myself staring blankly at Yoon and asking. His state left me no choice. Slightly disheveled hair. Pale face and dark circles under his eyes.
The man looked utterly drained.
Must've been through hell.
Yoon brushed off his clothes.
"Too many idiots with no brains."
"Sorry."
What can you do when they were born that way.
Yoon nodded at my reflexive apology.
"Even without taste buds, your brain seems fine."
"Mine are fine too."
I shot back coolly.
Yet I couldn't take my eyes off him.
It was unnerving to see someone who wouldn't bleed even if stabbed looking like this.
Yoon ruffled Ami's hair half-heartedly and started walking slowly.
I watched him closely as I approached his side.
At least he didn't seem injured anywhere. Small mercies.
"Want me to drive you home?"
Yoon raised one eyebrow and looked back at me.
"You look exhausted."
"Tired."
Yeah, you do.
"Oppa! Go sleep in the command staff lounge!"
"Let's do that. If it's uncomfortable, I can drive you home. Won't take long."
"Reports first."
Yoon answered flatly, then stared at me.
I blinked back at his gaze, devoid of its usual emotional flickers.
Should I prepare the vehicle?
"But why are you here?"
Ah.
I briefly explained the day's schedule. We had the Task Force's first meeting in a few hours, so early dinner and writing the will beforehand. It wouldn't take long, so plenty of time to drop him off home after.
Ami added that she'd submit the Task Force report while I wrote mine, so it'd be best if I drove.
Yoon stayed expressionless for a moment before replying.
"Fine, in 30 minutes then."
"Yes, sir. Let me know when you're done with the report."
"Then write the will first, drop Oppa off, come back for dinner, and meet up? Timing should be perfect!"
Ami poked her head in with the suggestion.
Good idea.
Yoon and I agreed, then went off to our tasks.
***
Around 6 p.m.
Ricardo Sordi entered the meeting spot he'd arranged with Karl Dow. It was a room with transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, used for meetings.
Scheduled for 7 p.m.
They'd arrived an hour early for nothing special. Just planning to grab dinner at the HQ cafeteria after dropping off outerwear. They'd each handle their own meals before meeting.
So they casually flung open the door and stepped inside.
An empty space.
Karl spotted the unfolded paper and the blue ribbon beside it.
"Isn't that a will?"
He pointed at the ribbon and said.
Ricardo, who was checking his phone, looked up.
His eyes narrowed at the object his junior indicated. Karl was right. No mistaking it—even if you washed your eyes out, it was someone's will.
Long-time Black Badgers reacted sensitively to that peculiar blue ribbon.
Written before missions.
Badgers would roll up their wills, tie them with a blue ribbon, and store them in the will locker. The ribbon stayed tied without the writer's permission until death.
Naturally, many Badgers hated those blue ribbons.
"Sophia would flip if she saw this~."
Ricardo drawled lazily before heading toward the ribbon and paper.
Karl followed.
"No idea whose it is, but better clean it up~?"
"Yes."
Normally, out of courtesy, you didn't peek at others' wills.
But that assumed they weren't left out so carelessly. Moreover, they were about to meet a coworker who couldn't escape her lover's death.
The one who'd started hating everything after the loss.
The type to frown at anything the color of a will's ribbon. Knowing that well, the two men walked toward the open paper without hesitation.
Their eyes naturally fell on it.
And their bodies froze simultaneously.
The handwriting on the white paper was neat.
[ L A S T W I L L ]
Testator Hildebert Talib hereby bequeaths as follows.
All assets donated in full to Black Badger.
Approves the contents as accurate and signs below.
A signature sat beneath the final line.
The two men stared silently at the brief statement.
Both had spent more time with enhanced bodies than normal ones. Meaning they'd seen plenty of colleagues' wills. Whether sharing during updates or reading after a death.
Everyone wrote theirs seriously. Many brought tears to the eyes, some spanned pages.
Occasionally dozens of pages.
But never just one sentence.
Even loners filled half a page at least.
"Huh?"
They only tore their eyes from the paper when its owner entered.
"You're already here?"
Did you have dinner? Ami and I were about to go eat—want to join if you haven't?
The rookie's voice drifted in coolly as he half-opened the door. Like a weather report.
With an utterly serene expression.
The two Badgers didn't reply right away, just staring at the will's owner for a long while.
Watching his serene face darken in time with Ricardo's furrowing brow.