Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Supreme Commander (1)
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I opened my eyes to find myself in a hospital room.
The whispers of people speaking softly tickled my ears. All I could see was a white ceiling. When I turned my head slightly, the backs of people's heads came into view.
My injured arm and leg felt numb, with no pain. They must have given me some medication.
As I blinked, someone approached my bedside.
"You're awake?"
At the doctor's voice, the people surrounding me all turned around at once.
The flood of gazes made me feel awkward.
"Yes. Ah, was I asleep?"
"You didn't just sleep—you passed out briefly. You lost quite a bit of blood."
"Are you okay? How do you feel?"
The doctor replied, and Ami craned her neck forward to ask.
I propped myself up on the bed with my elbow.
A familiar room came into view. A spacious white room filled with unidentified medical equipment. People sitting in round chairs and a bed attached to the wall.
It was Doctor Samuel Han's infirmary—the place I'd come to yesterday.
Large gauze patches covered my forearm and ankle. It was hard to see clearly because of the gauze, but the wounds didn't look shallow. Yet they didn't hurt at all. Painkillers, probably?
In any case, it was a miracle that facing that thing had only left me with injuries this minor.
I checked the people surrounding the bed. Ricardo and Ami sitting in chairs. A handsome man with braided hair standing there with a troubled expression.
Samuel was looking at his pad.
I nodded and rubbed my neck with my good hand.
"It doesn't hurt at all. Thank you. For saving me.... I've been nothing but trouble since yesterday. I'm really sorry."
"What did you do wrong~?"
"Ric. Don't be sarcastic. Bad habit."
"Don't walk around for a week, at most."
I turned my head at the doctor's words.
The doctor called Samuel Han set the pad down on the desk. He looked at me with his hands tucked into his doctor's coat.
His clear blue eyes held firm confidence in his work and seasoned expertise.
"I'll do my best."
I had no idea how I was supposed to live for the next week, though.
As if reading my thoughts, Ricardo let out a long laugh. He flashed a sly smile and poked the braided-haired man in the side with his elbow.
The man quietly glared at Ricardo and pushed his elbow away firmly.
Then he took a step toward me.
"Mr. Hilde."
"Yes. Hildebert Talib."
"My greetings are late. I'm Aide Ska Owen."
What?
This was the aide? I widened my eyes and observed the man standing before me.
The man who had just rushed out and saved my life.
He was handsome even upside down, but straight on, he was strikingly tall. Attractive bronze skin, braided hair reaching his shoulders. A suit fitted perfectly to his body, and several silver piercings in his ears. A faint scent of cologne.
Ska Owen was a handsome man who appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties.
The aide, whom I'd run into so unexpectedly, spoke.
"First, my apologies."
Apologies for what?
"We were too late to notice the bleeding. Since you have an Enhanced Body, we assumed it had healed naturally.... It was my oversight."
"No, not at all. If you hadn't saved me, I wouldn't be in this world right now."
"Rescuing civilians from those things is my job."
As expected, these people weren't doing ordinary work. But whatever they were, it didn't change that he was my lifesaver.
Before I could respond, Ska continued.
"Also, your meeting with the Supreme Commander will be delayed quite a bit. It's the first time Creatures have appeared near headquarters—two of them at once. No fatalities, and you're the only injury, but the media is in an uproar. It might take a week to sort things out."
"Ah. That's fine. Right now, I.... As you know, I have no life here at all, no memories.... I don't even know what I should be doing."
I was supposed to go brunch with Ami and Ricardo.
But the monsters that appeared out of nowhere ruined that. Thinking about food made my stomach growl unbearably.
What time is it now?
"It's...."
"12:10!"
Ami blinked and said.
"You must be hungry."
I nodded awkwardly and glanced around.
The hospital room bathed in sunlight streaming through the window. The sounds of people bustling beyond the door. A lively midday scene filled my eyes.
Hard to believe I'd almost died to that monster just now.
The doctor suddenly held out a chocolate bar.
"Have this at least."
"Thank you."
"Tell her where she's staying for the week. We'll wheel her there. We'll check any anomalies once she's fully recovered."
"Are there more weird things about me...."
I wondered if there was anything normal about me.
Ricardo's smile widened as I muttered in dismay.
The doctor picked up the pad and explained.
"Yeah. Normally, Anti-Aging and enhanced recovery come first for a safe Enhanced Body transplant. But yours is transplanted, yet your recovery isn't correspondingly superior."
Huh.
"It's not average human recovery. Anti-Aging seems properly in place too. Anyway, your recovery is lower than standard Badgers, so let's recheck in a week."
The doctor said it casually while tapping the pad.
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched him record something. I was speechless at how bizarre I was turning out to be. No idea why these oddities kept popping up.
The doctor looked up after noting something on the pad and stated firmly.
"Go rest for now. No urgent tests."
I nodded while chewing the chocolate.
But I had no clue what to do next. No pain, but my limbs felt sluggish. Since he mentioned a wheelchair, I probably couldn't walk normally....
One leg and one arm were fine, so maybe I could manage with a wheelchair?
As I twisted to get off the bed, the people around me reacted.
"Mr. Hilde, hold on. Ric. Wheelchair."
"Hey, don't move like that!"
"Huh? Ah, yes. Sorry...."
"Wait~. I'll get something to take you in...."
Aide Ska reached out to stop me as I tried to plant my good leg on the floor. The doctor barked loudly, surprised by my sudden movement. Ricardo stood and went to fetch a wheelchair.
I nodded awkwardly to Ami, who scurried over and grabbed my arm.
"Thank you."
Ami looked up at me.
"How's your condition?"
"Fine except for being hungry."
"Good. There's the room you slept in yesterday, right? I'll take you there. I already ordered brunch to eat together once you woke up."
"Thank you so much. And speak casually, please."
I didn't know my age, but probably younger than 70?
Ricardo wheeled in a wheelchair from somewhere in the hospital room.
I put strength into my uninjured foot. Ami firmly supported my arm.
Her grip was incredibly strong.
"Got it. Casual it is."
Ami half-lifted me and plopped me into the wheelchair in an instant.
"Let's go eat brunch!"
Ricardo and Ami wheeled me to where I was staying.
They took me right next door to the room I'd been in. Brunch that Ami had ordered, clothes Ricardo had delivered, and clothing products gifted by Joo.
Ricardo said he had work and left the room.
Just Ami and me remained in the new room.
"You have to rest here for a week."
Ami walked over and unpacked the brunch.
"I'll visit often during the week. Let's get close while you're recovering here."
I realized I'd have to stay quietly locked in here for a week. Probably related to the Enhanced Body transplanted in me. And to suddenly appearing in the Portal Zone.
Plus the incomplete recovery.... And the two freakish creatures that appeared at headquarters unusually.
But worrying about it now wouldn't yield answers.
I looked at the fidgety young woman and slowly nodded.
Then I pushed complicated thoughts aside and ate brunch with the person I'd just met yesterday.
***
The week stuck in the room was more peaceful than expected.
My leg injury meant I couldn't go anywhere anyway. I decided to enjoy the situation as it was.
It was an environment worth enjoying. Ami and Ricardo took turns bringing food, and I just had to eat.
I'd eat, read books they brought, chat lightly, and spend the day.
"Thanks to you, I'm living large~."
On the evening of the third day holed up, Ricardo said with a grin.
"Watching an unregistered Enhanced Body holder who appeared in the Portal Zone. Feels like vacation or mission...."
I felt a bit relieved. The fact that I was a burden had been eating at me. Even laughing and chatting with Ricardo and Ami, guilt had soured my stomach....
Even if it wasn't true, I appreciated him saying it.
Familiar foods from memory and new ones. But surprisingly delicious foods passed the time.
Immersed in an environment like drowsy midday air, I spent seven days.
A week with no special information gained.
No TV or computer.
"This is where the Command Staff rests."
When I asked if this world had no TV, Ami answered.
"It's made with almost no external stimuli so you can completely unplug and relax."
I nodded and didn't ask more.
Probably not a lie. But it also meant I wasn't allowed to watch TV.
Sometimes it's wiser to stay silent than ask questions. I'd unravel the backlog once my leg healed. After gaining more trust from Ami and Ricardo.
And after the organization's top decision-maker, the Supreme Commander, decided my fate.
The Supreme Commander wasn't mentioned once during the week. Aide Ska visited once while I was holed up, and HR Director Joo showed his face, but they said nothing about him. I'd almost forgotten his existence.
Days passed in a haze, not thinking about the future.
After that week, I met the Supreme Commander.
***
"Mr. Hilde."
The Supreme Commander turned his head, calling my name in a husky voice.
"I'm truly sorry the meeting is so late."
The man by the window shifted his gaze to me.
I'd stopped in place upon entering the office.
I stared blankly at the man standing by the window. His features etched clearly in the pouring sunlight.
Pale skin as if devoid of pigment. Jet-black hair. His large eyes curved gently, and his facial lines were refined. Without his tall stature, lean build, and fitted black suit, I might have mistaken him for a woman at a glance.
This was the top decision-maker here.
"Hello."
An indescribable pressure choked my words.
"I'm Hildebert Talib."
After greeting, I didn't move from my spot.
It wasn't tension from his authoritative gaze. He seemed to exude the softest aura of anyone I'd met.
But those eyes.
Despite his clearly twenties appearance, eyes that made you doubt he hadn't lived centuries. Facing the Supreme Commander's large eyes, piled with sorrow, resignation, and the resulting shrewdness, I lost my words.
That's where his pressure emanated from.
Eyes only one who had pierced through a life of pain could possess.
"I'm Lee Ye-hyeon."
The man spoke softly and lightly scanned my leg and arm.
"Pleased to meet you. How are your injuries?"
"Yes. Thanks to you.... I just got cleared as fully healed, and the gauze and bandages are all off."
"Glad to hear it. Please sit comfortably in that chair. We have much to discuss."
"...Yes."
I walked to the chair in front of the large desk.
As I sank into the plush seat, the man watching me moved slowly. He walked over leisurely, pulled out the desk chair, and sat. Then he dismissed the hovering hologram windows on the desk.
The man looked up at me.
"Shall we begin?"
Ye-hyeon said humbly with an unreadable expression.
I nodded slowly.
"Yes."
My interview with Supreme Commander Lee Ye-hyeon began.