Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Behind the Curtain (1)
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I missed Ami and Ye-hyeon terribly.
I took one step back from my master.
And with my body ready to flee from him at any moment, I replied.
“If I play the game, won’t I end up on the operating table?”
“Then we’ll just push back the schedule a bit.”
Was canceling it not an option at all?
It was ridiculous, but not surprising, which made me sad. It had been nearly three months of rolling under Choi Yoon from Monday to Friday. I was used to the guy named Yoon by now.
Without dropping my defensive stance, I answered.
“I’ll play it.”
“When.”
“But I have a dinner appointment with Advisor Ska tomorrow.”
Ska Owen was my savior.
Yoon raised one eyebrow. I clung to the appointment like a lifeline—the one that was supposed to happen last week but got postponed to tomorrow due to the advisor’s schedule.
“I’m meeting Advisor Ska at 6:30 on the 45th floor of G Tower.”
“Just the two of you?”
“Yes. Advisor Ska said he’d treat me.”
I didn’t know why, but anyway.
This was a perfect excuse. As long as that appointment was alive, Yoon couldn’t use the operating table on me tomorrow. My master respected Advisor Ska in his own way.
As expected, Yoon thought for a moment before saying this.
“Then clear the game over the weekend.”
“Yes, sir.”
If I pushed it back any further, I’d really be in deep trouble.
Well, I had to play it eventually. Might as well use my master’s threat to muster some courage this time.
I answered briskly, then narrowed my eyes and studied my master’s blank face.
“You’re canceling the operating table reservation, right?”
“Well, no choice.”
Yoon shrugged casually as he replied in an offhand tone.
“We’ll just reschedule.”
Don’t.
I knew he was serious, but I hadn’t realized he was serious to this extent.
I shuddered anew, feeling an unholy fear toward my master.
But even if I begged him not to reschedule, he’d just let it go in one ear and out the other. He’d done the same with Ye-hyeon’s nagging.
Now my only option was to tattle to Ye-hyeon or Ami before the danger hit.
When would they get home?
Thinking that, I quickly fled from in front of my master.
***
Friday evening.
The moment training ended, I bolted to the showers and quickly changed into the suit I’d worn to the social gathering. And I escaped as fast as possible from Yoon, who was lamenting how hard it was to book the operating table.
G Tower wasn’t far from headquarters.
Its exterior was so flashy I’d never even considered going in.
I entered the sleek building and headed to the 45th floor.
“You’re early.”
I ran into Ska standing in front of the elevator.
He was impeccably dressed today as well. The silver piercing in one ear reflected the lights, sparkling. The supreme commander’s right-hand man. The one who would take Lee Ye-hyeon’s place.
Ska greeted me with a bright smile.
“Let’s go. You must be hungry.”
I was naturally led to a private room.
As I sat in my chair, I glanced out the window. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass, the evening Center Core sprawled out. Amid the endless city nightscape, the Black Badger headquarters stood tall, drawing the eye.
The nights are falling faster now.
Ska’s voice pulled me from my reverie.
“Sorry for making you come to an uncomfortable spot.”
“No, it’s fine.”
I answered sincerely.
“You’re my savior.”
“What?”
The advisor blinked, not understanding.
When I briefly explained what had happened yesterday, the puzzlement on Ska’s face turned to disbelief.
He wiped his hands with a wet towel, wearing an expression that said, That guy hasn’t changed a bit.
“You’ve got it rough under Yoon.”
“Actually, aside from trying to cut me open, he’s a good master.”
Especially considering my unique traits.
Whether he understood even what I hadn’t said aloud, Ska just nodded silently.
The man, lost in thought for a moment and silent, set the wet towel down on the table.
He soon pointed to the plated food with his palm.
“Eat up. I didn’t know what you like, so I ordered safe choices.”
After thanking him, I started on dinner.
Salmon salad, grilled scallops in butter, cubed steak—the dishes were delicious one after another, though I couldn’t pinpoint their exact origins. We ate them while exchanging small talk for a while. About my training, the cabin and dorms, the recruits.
After the waiter brought the main course, Ska finally got to the point.
“You’re heading out on a mission with Ricardo at the end of the month, right?”
I’d figured it would be this.
He wouldn’t bring up my past without Ye-hyeon around. The reason he’d called me out alone was probably because of his close friend.
I set down my utensils and nodded.
“Yes.”
“Have you heard what kind of mission?”
“No, nothing at all.”
Ska leaned back in his chair. His expressionless face revealed no particular emotions.
The man’s following voice was cautious.
“Capturing or killing Creatures is all Black Badger’s jurisdiction. No matter the form.”
“Yes.”
“There are people raising Creatures illegally inside the Core.”
It wasn’t all that surprising.
If anything, it’d be more shocking if there weren’t any. I sipped my red wine, letting it slide down my throat as I listened to the advisor.
“There are criminal organizations breeding them, and individuals doing it illegally on their own. The problem is mostly the former. The latter don’t scale up. They usually end up as corpses trying to.”
“Is the reason criminal organizations breed Creatures to pit them in illegal coliseums?”
The advisor nodded, affirming my question.
“Illegal implant users versus illegally bred Creatures. They wander the Core outskirts like a traveling carnival, holding matches. Just buying a ticket is a felony that lands you in jail. And yet seats always sell out. Huge money’s bet on the outcomes, and some illegal implant users even gain fame there.”
“So we’re going to catch them.”
“Right. Joint op with the police.”
“Police grab the criminals, and we neutralize the Creatures in the coliseum?”
“You catch on quick.”
Ska flashed me a satisfied smile.
I thanked him and waited for him to continue.
He wouldn’t have called me out just to explain a simple mission like this.
The tall advisor took a sip of wine, then gazed down at the red liquid.
The man idly swirled the glass, making the contents slosh, before breaking the silence.
“Rick might act a bit sensitive the whole mission.”
Here it came.
The real point.
I straightened my back and looked straight at the man across from me.
“He despises that kind of criminal organization.”
Sounds like he got tangled up with them badly in the past.
I nodded to show I understood.
Then, to clear up the question in my mind, I asked.
“But why is Ricardo assigned to this mission?”
“Oh, he’s assigned every time. Every single time.”
Huh?
I widened my eyes, and Ska gave a wry smile.
“There aren’t many Badgers who handle this mission as well as he does.”
A small realization flashed through my mind.
It was a memory that surfaced and revealed it. The first day, when I’d asked those surrounding me the name of the country. The moment I asked which country I was in, the Badgers’ puzzled faces came clearly to mind.
And what Ricardo and Lo had said then.
“Mafia?”
Ska’s movements stopped.
My guess turned to certainty. Tom and Hessi didn’t grasp the concept of nations well, but I knew pre-war Earth, and the many countries.
Sicily’s fame for organized crime was common knowledge too.
I took in the advisor quietly sighing.
“Asking if he was a member or a victim would cross the line, right.”
“Yeah. I can’t answer that far. Rick would explode just knowing I told you this much.”
“Are the Elders taking tribute from the organization?”
Ska’s eyes widened at my quiet question.
He clearly hadn’t expected it. The man stared at me with wide rabbit eyes.
Seeing the pure surprise in his gaze, I added calmly.
“That’s why you brought it up here, isn’t it? You’re not the type to drag out a story that’d anger your close friend just to say ‘be careful, he’ll be sensitive.’”
“You’re one hell of a junior I’d love to have.”
Ska suddenly burst out laughing.
Strange thing to say. What’s to covet or not? I was already in his squad.
The neat advisor saw my puzzled look and laughed even longer.
Only after collecting himself and straightening his posture did he explain.
“You’d do great on the command staff.”
“Ah.”
Talk about flipping my trauma switch like this.
I let my true feelings show plainly on my face.
“I don’t want to sit above anyone anymore.”
“That’s not up to you.”
Ska said something chilling in a different way from Yoon.
The man, satisfied smile on his lips, picked up his wine glass. Seeing that relaxed demeanor only deepened my unease.
Why were the people around me full of those who said scary things?
My heart couldn’t take it!
“This match is especially so.”
Ignoring my terror, the advisor continued brightly.
“One of the Elders got ousted. That unlucky bastard will end up in the arena soon.”
I stared at Ska Owen.
It wouldn’t be Eric Airhart or Yekaterina. If they’d lost a power struggle, Ska wouldn’t be here leisurely having dinner with me. So it must be someone without their level of influence, booted from one of the limited Elder seats.
I didn’t know how many Elders there were.
Guessing my thoughts, Ska said quietly.
“About ten, but below fourth, the names change every time.”
“Fourth must be solid.”
“There’s this raccoon-like old coot. Only cares about survival.”
The type who puts all effort into maintaining rank.
Not easy, especially among those people.
As I thought of the Elders I’d met and their lackeys, Ska’s next words jolted me alert.
He said something that had to jolt me.
“The one ousted from the Elder seat this time wanted checkmate.”
Wow, the all-or-nothing type.
“And he failed.”
“Oh dear.”
“He’ll be in the arena end of November.”
Merciful for Colton.
Maybe getting on in years made him soft. Or maybe he didn’t land a blow significant enough to warrant a cruel death. Either way, not surprising.
Probably the latter was far more likely.
Anyway, now Ska’s reason for calling me here was clear.
“Don’t get involved with him.”
The advisor commanded in a voice devoid of emotion.
“Even if you save every other player.”
“Understood.”
A pretty reasonable order.
I couldn’t tell this to Ricardo. No matter how I spun it, no plausible explanation would come. Even twisted every way, he wouldn’t fully get it. Especially in a sensitive state, he wouldn’t listen to such an odd command.
I understood Ska’s concern. He feared a keyed-up Ricardo accidentally touching Colton’s prey.
And that was truly something to fear.
I slowly set down my wine glass.
“I’ll make sure to leave him be. As naturally as possible.”
“Yeah, thanks. Sorry to dump this tricky job on you.”
A bitter smile spread across Ska’s face as he finished speaking.
“And no one will ever know.”
I watched the smile mixing various emotions. It lacked Ye-hyeon’s resignation to life and heavy sorrow, but it carried the weariness of facing a life that never got easier, and the pain of knowing too much.
The kind worn by those who don’t look away from bitter reality.
With that wry smile, Ska Owen lamented.
“But I deserve at least this privilege, don’t I?”
Protecting a comrade from danger he doesn’t even realize.
Guessing the unspoken words, I kept a long silence.