The scientists were devastated. Stricken with grief, those who had rushed to the lab at John's emergency summons wailed at the empty spot where Martin had been stolen.

I stared blankly at the scientists clutching their faces, dropping to their knees and crying, "Oh my God!"

Wasn't this a bit much?

Of course, they didn't just wallow in despair. Things moved fast. I had never known John Mühlen could move that quickly.

Led by John Mühlen, the scientists worked in perfect coordination, pushing desks around and getting ready for a meeting. They even set out a chair for me.

Why?

"Mr. Hilde, take a seat. We're starting the meeting right away."

"You want me to sit down?"

"Yes!" the scientists chorused, pulling me into the chair. "The meeting's starting!"

Yes, but why me?

The scientists showed no intention of letting me go. People I'd exchanged names with on my trips to the lab with my training officer clung to my clothes.

But I didn't work here. I might come to the lab often, but I wasn't a scientist.

As I sat there, held captive, Yun spoke.

"Security footage."

"Reviewing it now," John answered.

His immediate response was shocking enough, but the fact that he was actually staring intently at a massive screen surprised me even more. It hadn't been an hour since he'd pressed the red button to summon everyone.

Had he always been capable of moving this quickly?

But no one else was surprised. Instead, they nodded vigorously, as though John were someone they could trust entirely to handle this. Yun also gave a short nod without questioning his answer.

My training officer swept his gaze over the grief-stricken scientists.

"From this moment on, everyone is presumed guilty."

That's not how it works, you lunatic.

"Write up a detailed account of your movements from yesterday until now and post it on the board."

"Someone outside the lab might have done it. Shouldn't we get alibis from everyone at headquarters?"

"I think we should investigate outsiders as well as headquarters staff!"

"That's a valid point. He's certainly something outside companies would covet."

"I'll check the visitor logs for headquarters!"

The scientists erupted into a hubbub. Slightly dazed, I listened to snatches of conversation from all sides.

These people were serious. They seemed to have no objection whatsoever to disclosing their movements. If anything, they appeared to think checking just the scientists' movements wasn't enough.

They proposed all sorts of other ways to identify the culprit. Check when Martin's power had been cut. Identify the tool used to sever the cables. Find out where that tool had been purchased. Could Martin's main unit still have power? Could his last transmitted signal offer a clue?

I couldn't understand half of what they were saying.

But I could tell Yun was absolutely furious.

"If the culprit is among you, confess while I'm still asking nicely," my training officer threatened. "I'll take it into consideration if you come forward. If I catch you myself, I'll beat the shit out of you on the spot."

Were Badgers allowed to threaten civilians?

I heard someone gulp, cowed by his intensity. But no one objected. The scientists nodded solemnly.

I let out an incredulous chuckle at their determined faces.

But seriously, who had stolen Martin?

Cute little Martin. He'd been something of a star in the lab.

I watched the situation unfold with fascination. I would have liked to keep watching for as long as possible, but I couldn't. My training officer received a message, then looked up at me from his phone.

Yun's gaze locked straight onto me.

"Rookie."

"Oh, am I still a rookie?"

"Follow me."

It must have been important, judging by the way he barked at the scientists to get started on the Martin investigation before turning to leave.

I excused myself to the scientists clutching my clothes and trotted after my training officer as he left the lab.

* * *

It had been Yehyeon who contacted him.

The private room was much cleaner and larger than the one I'd stayed in. It was so quiet my ears felt muffled. Following my training officer inside, I caught sight of the commander-in-chief lying in bed and drew in a sharp breath.

Yehyeon lay there as limp as a flat rice noodle roll.

Both men casually ignored my surprise. Yun strode toward the visibly unwell man. Our superior, even paler than usual, shifted his eyes.

After registering my presence, Yehyeon met Yun's gaze.

"Why did you call an emergency assembly?"

Yun and I sat side by side in the chairs beside the bed.

"Martin's gone missing."

"Oh," Yehyeon said briefly.

He really must have been ill, judging by the blank look he gave my training officer. He didn't even have the energy to be surprised or angry about a situation that had scientists dropping to their knees and wailing...

Yehyeon turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Nothing serious, then."

It wasn't?

"How is this not serious?"

"It's just a machine," Yehyeon replied to Yun's protest. "It shouldn't cause any major problems, should it? There aren't any secrets stored in it, are there?"

"There aren't, but..."

Yun looked down at him sulkily.

I watched my training officer's reaction with considerable enjoyment. So he even grumbled at Yehyeon.

My training officer groused, "Something's been stolen from headquarters. Shouldn't you at least be annoyed?"

"I'm sure you'll find it."

Yehyeon remained unruffled. He lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling, his right hand with its IV needle resting on his stomach.

Then he murmured, almost to himself, "Martin... uses too much electricity..."

So that was the problem.

I suppressed a laugh and listened quietly to my seniors' conversation.

They discussed Martin for a while. Any idea who the culprit might be? No, but give it a day and we should have a clearer picture. The moment I catch them, I'm beating the shit out of them. Catching them is fine, but you can't threaten civilians. You're always so hard on Martin...

At some point, that easy exchange came to an end.

Yehyeon turned his head toward me.

"Hilde."

"Oh! Yes, sir."

Had I been enjoying their conversation too much?

I wiped the smile off my face and straightened my back. Seeing me tense up, my highest superior gave a faint smile.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

"Any questions?"

These days, he asked that without any preamble.

I looked straight into my pallid superior's eyes. I'd been waiting for this moment ever since Jin Silver dropped that bombshell on me in the subway.

Now that I had the opportunity, it was hard to choose the right question. I'd actually meant to talk about Jin. But I didn't want to say anything that might reopen old wounds when he was lying there in a cold sweat.

He could hold a conversation perfectly well, but he looked utterly drained.

After some thought, I brought up something else.

"I've been told I'm not human."

Yun raised his head. His jet-black eyes blinked once.

Yehyeon's eyes, by contrast, drooped. As though he pitied me. Or felt sorry for keeping this from me all this time.

His reaction alone told me the answer.

But I wanted to hear him confirm it. I looked at the man who was as white as the blanket covering him.

"Did you know?"

A long silence followed.

A chilly silence that enveloped us. I sat in the stillness of the hospital room, waiting for an answer. Yun had also turned toward Yehyeon and was waiting. So even Yun hadn't known.

Information withheld even from someone who knew Jaeyeon and lived in the same house as Yehyeon.

Why was he trying so hard to keep it secret?

"I knew," Yehyeon answered quietly at last. "I'm sorry I kept it from you."

"No. I never asked, did I?"

I gave a faint smile.

Sorrow and guilt clouded Yehyeon's eyes. The corners of the bedridden man's eyes drooped. The authority he usually displayed in public was gone. I remembered what Riccardo had said. In private, he wasn't just gentle; he was downright soft.

He must have had a reason to keep it secret. There was no need to feel so sorry.

When I told him that, Yehyeon looked even more miserable.

"Please don't feel so bad. You would have told me long ago if you could."

"Did Jin tell you?"

Uncanny how he knew.

I nodded.

"Yes. He told me. He also said that in the end, I'd have to remember it myself."

"... That's right. In the end, you'll have to. For all our sakes."

"I'll try. Fortunately, I've already recalled some important memories."

At my casual remark, my seniors' eyes widened.

I smiled wryly. I hadn't told anyone about these things that had happened in the subway. If I was going to tell someone first, it ought to be him.

I felt around my waist, which felt empty without my sword. Acutely aware of the missing greatsword, I spoke.

"I'm told Kyle has woken up."

Yun narrowed his eyes, apparently not understanding, but Yehyeon's widened.

"He seems to be looking for me. From what I hear, I betrayed them. That's why they're so desperate to kill me?"

The hand with the IV needle clenched into a tight fist.

The commander-in-chief looked up at the ceiling without answering.

That was an answer in itself. All of it had been true after all. I wasn't human. I'd betrayed my comrades. And Kyle, their current leader, had awoken.

Fuck.

So there was a reason no trace of a Hildebert Taleb existed anywhere in Center Core. Of course Ami hadn't been able to find my name after I'd dropped out of the portal...

"If he's not human, what is he?"

Yun's flat question brought me back to reality.

"A creature? Like that level-ten one you stabbed to death?"

Yehyeon deliberated for a long time.

He stared up at the ceiling with a complicated look in his eyes before closing them. I studied my superior's handsome, cold-sweat-dampened face and gathered my thoughts.

The creatures that had targeted me. The mysterious Jaeyeon, who wanted to kill me. Lee Yehyeon had banished me outside the core because Jaeyeon was after me. Yet now that I'd returned, and Jaeyeon was enthusiastically welcoming me back, Yehyeon showed no sign of driving me out again.

That meant he'd taken some sort of action while I was away.

Wasn't it thanks to whatever he'd done that I could sit here in peace? I tried to imagine the people said to stand behind the world. Those above the law. Hidden powers who had fulfilled the dream of eternal youth and immortality. Jaeyeon, who supposedly knew me.

And Jaeyeon's master.

Eyes still closed, Yehyeon broke the silence.

"Titans."

His voice had its distinctive huskiness.

"The elders called them Titans."

* * *

The next day, I reported to the lab.

Our conversation had ended there. I'd sprung far too heavy a subject on someone who was ill. Yehyeon had thanked me for telling him, but we'd had to call the nurse immediately after I finished, so it hadn't left him unaffected.

We ended the conversation and left the room. Yun pressed his car keys into my hand and told me to go rest at his house.

"You said you know how to drive."

"I don't know whether I have a license, though..."

"I've registered one for you."

Jesus.

"Besides, it spends most of the time in self-driving mode anyway. You're probably a better driver than anyone who's gotten a license recently, so just take it."

I obeyed.

I dutifully spent the night in my training officer's guest room and found my belongings there. The sword Yun had given me. The creature field guide. The portable first-aid kit, and so on. After gathering them up, I diligently reported to headquarters. With no other instructions, I simply went to the lab.

The lab was chaos.

John was beside my training officer's desk.

John Mühlen was staring at a screen with bright red, bloodshot eyes. I stopped dead at the bizarre sight before me and stood motionless, watching the scientific genius of the century.

"You haven't stayed awake this entire time, have you?"

"I've finished checking 126 people's movements."

John turned his eyes toward me, their tiny blood vessels all burst.

"Only 362 more to go."

"..."