No.

I stared blankly at Ricardo and explained in a little more detail how this came to be. It was true that I was a strange guy, and it wasn’t necessarily bad to figure that out....

Smack!

A flick landed.

“Ah!”

A hot pain shot across my forehead. With a cry, I reflexively clutched my forehead.

Wow. That really hurt.

“Looks like your will to live flew off along with your memories—?”

Ricardo gave a deadly smile.

The moment I caught that smile, the back of my neck bristled. This was bad. I hurriedly raised a hand to stop the conversation from going any further.

He’s mad again.

“No, sir!”

“What isn’t.”

“I mean, well.”

I racked my brain to find something that might calm his anger.

Then gave up and just decided to be honest.

“That, I.”

“You, what?”

His smiling expression was vicious. Reflexively, I swallowed hard.

Behind us, people walked by chatting. Since it was evening, the footsteps sounded light. In the noise, I carefully picked my words and opened my mouth.

“What if I’m a humanoid creature?”

Ricardo blinked.

There was a long silence. Long enough for me to feel embarrassed for even saying it.

“Why would you suddenly think something like that~?”

My senior, who was observing me like I was some alien he was seeing for the first time, finally spoke.

“That’s a really stupid thought....”

“Is it? Then that’s a relief.”

“It’s so stupid I’m curious how you even came to think it.... Did someone say something?”

“No, nothing like that. I just watched a video.”

I briefly explained that I had seen that famous video of Yehyeon in the morning. I debated whether to add that I cried while watching, then decided to just be honest about that too.

Even so, Ricardo didn’t drop the look he gave me like I was the dumbest person alive.

“Do you even know what a humanoid creature is-?”

“No, not exactly.... I just heard that the more human-like, the higher the stage.”

“Right~.... Well, that’s already not you....”

A blow to the bones.

What he meant was, “There’s no way someone this pathetic could be a humanoid creature.” I had no choice but to nod.

That was certainly a rational rebuttal.

I shot him a sincere look.

“That’s a reasonable point.”

“Good thing you catch on quick~.”

Somehow that was depressing.

I felt both glad and sad at once, a jumble of emotions, and Ricardo smirked when he saw it show on my face.

The green-eyed man lifted the arm that had been draped over my shoulder.

“The creature in that video turned to ash after death, so they couldn’t even study it.... From what I’ve heard, that was the only time they encountered a creature that could actually speak human language~.”

“It could talk?”

Good god.

My senior nodded and continued easily.

“It’s not that talking creatures don’t exist, but a humanoid creature that could talk that well—that was the only one.... But almost no information was left.... Practically the entire batch of Badgers threw themselves at it, and hardly any of them actually lived to see the end with their eyes open. Trevain and Yehyeon, maybe? I heard the other first-gen members lost their minds at the time....”

“What about the one who filmed the video?”

“Dead~.”

Oh.

Every time I remembered that video, it churned my emotions. Ricardo’s words reassured me a little, but the churning didn’t go away.

It seemed certain that whatever was in that video was connected to my erased past. I wanted to know. The source of this violent feeling.

Investing a Saturday afternoon with some eccentric scientist wasn’t going to magically reveal it like a ghost.

“Yehyeon accepted you, didn’t he~?”

His sudden words made me blink at my senior.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Now there’s only one man in the world who’s faced a 10th-class creature at close range.... Commander Yehyeon. He must have had a reason for accepting you~.”

Ah.

Come to think of it, asking Yehyeon directly would be the fastest way.

The problem was that he was my supreme commander. If only the cabin hadn’t been destroyed. Then I might have run into him casually and slipped in a question.

Anyway, Ricardo’s point was entirely valid.

I wasn’t going to take back what I’d said to John Mühlen, but I did feel a little better.

Right. If there had really been a problem with me, Yehyeon wouldn’t have accepted me like this. He even forged paperwork and assembled the Badgers in the auditorium.

If I had been there in his place, I would never have actively incorporated something so risky....

Does Yehyeon know something?

The question crossed my mind, but I didn’t show it. Nothing good would come from showing it. I simply nodded.

Then I bowed politely to the green-eyed senior who was still watching me.

“Thank you.”

“For what~?”

“Well, just for this and that.... Have you had dinner yet?”

“Why.... If I haven’t, are you going to buy?”

“Yes.”

When I answered confidently, Ricardo chuckled.

He pulled the hand out of his pocket and ran it through his white hair.

“A chick with blood still wet on his head, talking like that~. Go tell John Mühlen you’re taking back your decision instead....”

“Even chicks get a salary.”

“Listen to him dodging.... Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Ricardo withdrew the hand he’d been messing my hair with and started walking. I hurried after him.

Quietly resolving that when it came time to pay, I’d beat him to it.

The corridor bathed in sunset was beautiful.

***

We went into a pasta place on a clean street a little ways from HQ.

I was enjoying a plate of incredibly delicious pasta when I ran into some familiar faces.

Hadn’t been long since I’d seen him. Jason Trevain.

“Oh, it’s the half-wit.”

He smirked at me.

He was finishing up his meal and about to leave. Unlit cigarette in his mouth. Short black T-shirt. I nodded at the blond man. Luckily I had pasta in my mouth, so it gave me an excuse not to say anything.

Trevain thumped my back.

That hurt.

“Buying the rookie dinner?”

“Y-yeah....”

“Hey, nice. This bastard’s all right. Even if he’s a half-wit trying to swing a sword. Take good care of him, eh? Dinner’s on me tonight.”

“Well.... I won’t refuse~.”

I wanted to refuse.

I was supposed to be paying. But Trevain just said his piece, whistled, and was gone. I gave a half-hearted bow and focused on my pasta.

Why is that guy so unlikable.

Ricardo, who had tolerated him with indifference, turned to me after he left.

“Why does he suddenly like you...?”

“Surprisingly, because I told him I’d never seen that video of Yehyeon.”

“Ahh~.”

Ricardo accepted it easily.

That was enough for him? I still didn’t get it.

Twisting seafood oil pasta around my fork, I asked why Trevain acted that way. A concise answer came back.

“He thinks Yehyeon stole all the credit for killing the 10th-class creature~.”

Petty man.

I inhaled pasta and conveyed my disbelief with an expression. My senior found my face amusing enough to chuckle.

“Well, I heard he underestimated Yehyeon even before the 10th-class fight~. That guy really should be milder in private.... Ah.... You’ve never met him off-duty?”

“No. But he does look kind.”

“He’s more than kind, he’s soft as mush~.”

Could that be true.

I was a little surprised. In my image, the Commander was a man whose every movement carried authority. A man who wielded a form-shifting weapon fluidly and drew his greatsword with flawless stance.

Ricardo polished off his pasta.

“So whatever that guy Trevain says off-duty, Yehyeon just laughs it off.... Trevain’s nothing but a fighter, not much else. Don’t get too close to him~.”

“Yes. Honestly, I feel uncomfortable around Senior Trevain too.”

“But what’s this about a sword?”

A sharp question.

I gave an awkward smile. Telling someone who saw me tumble out of a portal that I thought I used to wield a sword—that was a little embarrassing.

Still, I answered honestly again. Ricardo tilted his head.

“Yun allowed it?”

“Yun handed me the sword. Maybe because of that butterfly.”

“Ah.”

Ricardo smirked like he was recalling that time. His smile carried sharpness, and I had to swallow nervously.

“Right. Even the way you pulled that knife out of your arm was expert-level.”

“...I truly apologize for that.”

“Forget it.... So you used the sword again this last time outside....”

“Hey!”

A loud shout shook the restaurant.

Both Ricardo and I turned our heads.

We found a man waving and walking toward our table. Curly hair, striped shirt. His stride had a cocky edge to it.

Another one of the first people I met in this world.

Giacomo Ro.

Ro sat naturally beside me.

“Long time no see, you. Been doing okay?”

“Yes. Long time, Senior.”

“Good timing~. Ro, how about you try to talk John Mühlen down?”

Why bring up John Mühlen all of a sudden?

I stared wide-eyed at Ricardo speaking like he’d just found the perfect man for the job. Ro, who was lounging crookedly in his chair, also widened his eyes at him.

“Why the hell should I? What is he, anyway? If he was holed up in research like some plant and got dragged off to the hospital, that’s none of my business.”

“John asked Hilde for his number.”

Ro’s jaw dropped. I ducked my head toward my plate, glancing nervously at my senior beside me.

Ricardo gestured with his fork and quickly explained the situation. Ro stayed frozen while listening.

When it ended, he turned to me and said seriously,

“What are you gonna do, kid?”

“...Why?”

“Once that bastard gets fixated, it’s over.”

He reached over and snatched the garlic bread off my plate.

The man bit into my garlic bread like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re really fucked. That bastard taking an interest in anyone? Damn. What are you gonna do?”

“...So just what kind of man is John Mühlen, for everyone to react like this....”

“Told you. Once he fixates, it’s over. Ah, now I’m pissed again! Anyway, you’re doomed. My place is already crawling with weird crap. Ah. Don’t tell me one day we’ll find you in my bathtub?”

“My place?”

“Shared apartment. He hardly ever shows, so I basically live there alone.”

So that’s why Ricardo told Ro to stop him.

But bathtub? Why the bathtub? Was John Mühlen that much of a mad scientist?

Panic started creeping up on me belatedly.

Ro didn’t care and just kept talking.

He even looked amused.

“Actually that would be hilarious, kid.”

“Senior. Are you enjoying this?”

“Yeah. Kinda. What if one morning I’m eating breakfast and you’re staring back at me?”

“Don’t get excited, try to rein him in~?”

“Ah, can’t do that.”

Ro suddenly wiped the grin off his face and answered flatly.

He brushed crumbs from his hand and locked eyes with Ricardo’s green ones.

“I told you. Once he gets obsessed, there’s no stopping him.”

“Guess so.... Hilde~. Just go to Yun and ask him to save you. Didn’t he say he would? Don’t get stubborn and end up found in Giacomo’s bathtub~.”

“Why does it always come back to the bathtub.... You’re not implying dismembered and dumped in the tub, are you?”

“Then why’d you agree to it?”

Ro grabbed the last piece of garlic bread from my plate and asked.

I stared seriously at the curly-haired senior munching on my oily bread. Ro and Ricardo fit this restaurant perfectly.

Vintage paintings on old wallpaper. Shelves lined neatly with wine bottles.

The kitchen smelled of pizza.

I swallowed the last of my pasta.

“I thought maybe I was a humanoid creature.”

Ro stared at me until he finished his bread.

Only after brushing crumbs off his striped shirt did he break the silence.

“You look human enough.”

...A fair point.

At a loss for words, I gulped down my water.

Before long, we left the restaurant.

I was flanked by Ricardo telling me to revoke my decision and Ro telling me I couldn’t, that I was screwed and he couldn’t help.

I didn’t know. If I just trained and adjusted to life, maybe things would work out somehow.

I decided to stop thinking about the video and went back to the dorm.

***

The long-awaited weekend.

I set my mind at ease and went to the laboratory.

Unlike before, the lab was nearly empty. There, John Mühlen stood like an old tree, absorbed in research. Long lab coat and black turtleneck.

The moment I entered, Mühlen jerked his head toward me.

“Hello, sir.”

“What’d you eat?”

That was the first thing he said.

I slowed my steps. Then stopped completely, quietly taking in the scene before me.

The still laboratory on an early Saturday morning.

The man standing like an NPC. According to what I’d looked up online during the week, a genius scientist regarded on par with Albert Einstein, recognized by all....

“Cereal...?”

John Mühlen drew my blood.

As he took it, he said,

“Next time, shall we meet on an empty stomach?”