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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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You might think that if you decide not to worry about something nearby, you can just ignore it. But honestly speaking, that’s impossible. For instance, if there was a predator like a lion or tiger within 100 meters, would anyone really believe they could completely ignore it and remain safe?
Of course, I wasn’t thinking of the Hunter Killer members as such predators. Each of them had become precious to me now, so most of my thoughts about them were positive. But that was just my perspective—the executives didn’t see it that way.
While they didn’t see Hunter Killer as terrifying beasts, the tension between the two factions was akin to facing a predator.
While one might assume Hunter Killer wouldn’t come to this beach, knowing we were here, this was the only easily accessible beach in the area, and Spacetroe currently occupied it, with over 100 members present.
“Do we really have to do this?”
“We’d have to go much further to find another beach,” Red said, reassuring Pink, her gaze fixed on the Spacetroe group. They’d been looking forward to enjoying their first team trip, but their encounter with Spacetroe at the beach had dampened their spirits.
It wasn’t that their plans were completely ruined. They’d just encountered each other outside of a duel, so there was no direct conflict. But it was hard to relax and have fun knowing their enemies were nearby.
“Let’s just enjoy ourselves. They’re probably here for recreation, too.”
“You think so?”
The Hunter Killer members were also trying their best to ignore Spacetroe.
The first day of training was usually treated as a day off, but I had no real interest in playing around. Even though I was close to Hunter Killer, encountering them here—people who were supposed to be enemies—meant I had no time to think about having fun, something I wasn’t interested in from the start anyway.. But there was one upside to this encounter.
‘Their swimsuits look good.’
The members were wearing various swimsuits, and the only one I recognized was Yu-bin’s. I’d gone shopping with her, so I knew what it looked like.
Well, at least it’s nice to look at, I thought, letting my gaze linger on the Spacetroe side when Ruche poked my ribs.
“? What is it?”
“You’re okay with them being here?”
Ruche seemed to be bothered by Hunter Killer’s presence, especially with the training exercise starting tomorrow. We’d be busy with training tomorrow, with no time for leisure, and the last day was for returning home, so there wasn’t much time to relax and enjoy the beach.
“Are you bothered by them?”
I understood her concern. As I’d mentioned earlier, the first day of training was usually a free day, and while I wasn’t interested, my colleagues were. Even now, my teammates, oblivious to the Hunter Killer situation, were playing volleyball, swimming, and enjoying themselves.
“Of course, I am.”
Ruche was probably worried Hunter Killer was planning something, but since Spacetroe was usually the one scheming, I didn’t think it was likely.
“What do you think we should do?”
“I agree with Esmeralda. If we ignore them, they’ll probably ignore us.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
It was impossible. It would be impossible for Ruche, and it was definitely impossible for me, knowing my secret could be exposed at any moment. Just seeing them here made me anxious. Why hadn’t I felt this anxiety when they’d been talking about their boyfriends?
It was probably because I hadn’t been emotionally invested in the relationships back then, secretly considering them temporary.
Or rather, I’d only been concerned about my own situation, believing I’d be the only one affected if my identity was exposed. But now, my first thought was of Yu-bin, Yu-ra, and Ha-yeong, regardless of my feelings for them.
I was also slightly concerned about Su-a. We’d just become friends; what would happen if she found out I was from Spacetroe?
Green, surprisingly, wasn’t a major concern. Not that I didn’t care about her; I just felt that the other Hunter Killer members would have a greater influence on her now.
“It’s impossible.”
It was impossible to ignore them. I answered honestly, and Ruche, her head down, seemed lost in thought.
“I wonder if there’s a way to get rid of them.”
I almost said, Isn’t that a bit harsh?. While that’s how I felt, as someone involved with them, from Spacetroe’s perspective, it was understandable to want to eliminate any potential security risks. I understood her reasoning, but the question was how.
“How?”
I asked, wondering if she had a plan, but she didn’t answer. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, it seemed. The situation was unexpected, with many limitations, so a solution wasn’t readily available.
“Team Leader!”
As we stood there, watching Ruche ponder, one of my teammates came running towards us. Ruche looked up, startled, and asked what was going on, and the teammate, out of breath, exclaimed,
“They’re… Hunter Killer… they’re here!”
He seemed surprised, his eyes wide, and I patted his shoulder, trying to calm him down.
“It’s okay, Ban. Calm down. We already know.”
Ban, my fellow soldier, looked at me, as if questioning my words, then at Ruche, who nodded, confirming what I’d said.
“The team leaders already know, too.”
“Who else knows about Hunter Killer being here?”
Ruche wanted to know how many of the ordinary soldiers knew, and Ban counted on his fingers.
“Rondo, Jack, Kruger… three of us in our team.”
Four of my teammates, including Ban, had seen Hunter Killer. Ban had probably come to report to Ruche to avoid any confusion or rumors.
“What about our team? Do the other teams know, too?”
“I’m not sure, but there are members from other teams surfing with them.”
I looked towards the beach and saw Rondo, Jack, and Kruger, my teammates, with some female members from other teams, holding surfboards.
“Were they playing around with girls?”
Even though I had a girlfriend, I still felt a bit annoyed at my teammates who were enjoying themselves with female members from other teams, completely oblivious to my situation of being surrounded by team leaders here at the beach. But Ban, hearing my comment, glared at me.
“You’re definitely not going to die peacefully.”
“Suddenly?”
His unexpected, ominous threat made me raise my voice, but he ignored my reaction.
“What should we do?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out.”
Ruche, still unable to find a way to secure their recreational space, was staring at the beach, then suddenly exclaimed, “Ah!”, seemingly having an idea, and walked towards the team leaders’ beach umbrella. I was left alone with Ban.
“Are you having fun?”
His question, without a subject, made me wonder what he meant, then I realized he was asking about the beach. Since I wasn’t swimming or doing anything fun, I shook my head.
“Hunter Killer at the beach… I guess there’s no relaxing now.”
“Esmeralda said we should just ignore them. They seem to be on vacation.”
“Vacation? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I saw them at the supermarket earlier, and they were all carrying suitcases.”
Whether they were on vacation or not, Hunter Killer’s presence would prevent my teammates from fully enjoying themselves. I was probably the only one who understood both sides, that if they genuinely ignored each other, there wouldn’t be a problem. But I couldn’t explain that.
Explaining the situation would be complicated, and I risked revealing information I shouldn’t. Especially to Ruche, my direct superior, who’d assigned me to monitor Hunter Killer, and who would be furious if she found out I was involved with them, especially with my lack of results.
While I wasn’t planning on reporting anything, if I did, it would be after I’d obtained some valuable intel about the Earth Defense Alliance, not about my relationships with the enemy.
Ruche, after talking with the other team leaders, was explaining something to Seira, and Seira started walking towards me.
“I’m leaving.”
Ban, eager to escape the team leader, patted my shoulder, grabbed his surfboard, and headed towards our teammates. Was that a gesture of good luck?
“Hey.”
Seira’s firm voice made me look at her, my expression probably blank behind my mask. She was probably going to implement the plan they’d just discussed with the other team leaders, and she wanted my help.
I just hoped it wasn’t anything too risky.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Just follow me.”
I followed her, and we were getting closer to the Hunter Killer members. I couldn’t suppress my smile as I saw them in their swimsuits up close.
I’d already seen Yu-bin’s swimsuit, as I’d mentioned before. But seeing her in it at the beach, under the bright sunlight, was different. The light blue swimsuit with lace details accentuated her toned figure.
Yu-ra was wearing quite a daring swimsuit. It was a black bikini, and whether it was because the coverage area was small or because her chest was large—or maybe both—it felt like it was basically just covering the essential parts. I’d definitely have to stop her from wearing something like that in the future.
Ha-yeong was wearing a light blue checkered one-piece swimsuit, but unlike Angelica’s, which was quite revealing despite being a one-piece, Ha-yeong’s was modest, barely showing any skin. It suited her quiet demeanor.
Su-a’s was a seemingly ordinary bikini, but the leopard print gave it a strangely alluring vibe, the thin cover-up she was wearing accentuating her curves.
Green was wearing a black bikini bottom and a rash guard top. There are plenty of guys who complain that rash guards aren’t real swimwear and that whoever invented them should be killed, but honestly, I can’t relate to that sentiment. Why don’t they understand the beauty of concealment?
Anyway, it covered most of her body, and the sporty rash guard, usually worn for water sports, contrasted with Green’s reserved personality, which, I thought, was rather appealing.
As I was admiring their swimsuits, I felt their gazes on me, and I quickly looked away, self-conscious.
“What do you want?”
Su-a’s voice had an edge to it as she approached, eyeing both me and Seira with suspicion. I, unable to speak with my mask on, just watched Seira, wondering why she’d brought me along. If she needed help, she could have come alone or brought someone more… imposing.
“Aren’t you tired of this awkward staring contest?”
Seira’s words made the Hunter Killer members exchange glances, and Yu-bin stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“I was thinking, since we’re all being so self-conscious, how about we settle this with a competition and decide who gets the beach?”
“A turf war?”
It was a common occurrence in street sports: competing for limited space. The winner got to use the court or field. While it was usually a friendly competition, a way to meet new people and enjoy the sport, in this case, it was a literal turf war, a battle for the beach.
Of course, they couldn’t claim the entire beach, which wasn’t private property, but it would at least allow one group to relax without being constantly aware of the other’s presence.
“Yeah, it’s not an official duel, just a friendly competition. What’s the problem?”
“…”
Yu-bin didn’t answer. She was probably weighing the pros and cons of Seira’s proposition. This trip was special for Hunter Killer. It was their first team trip after three years of struggling with team dynamics, a chance to finally bond, and they didn’t want to ruin it.
But ignoring Spacetroe would be difficult, and accepting the challenge meant less time for themselves.
“Let’s do it.”
Yu-ra placed her hand on Yu-bin’s shoulder and spoke. Yu-bin, who’d been lost in thought, turned to look at her.
“If we’re going to be uncomfortable either way, let’s just settle this and enjoy ourselves.”
“…Is everyone okay with this?”
I agreed with Yu-ra. But I wasn’t sure about the others, their opinions divided, and as I asked, they all nodded in agreement.
Seeing their unanimous decision, Yu-bin’s eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed on Seira.
“Fine, I accept. What are the rules?”
“Two games of your choice, two games of our choice. We each pick one from our respective lists, then randomly choose one from the remaining two, for a total of three games, best two out of three. How about that?”
“Okay. We can decide on the games in 30 minutes, right?”
“Plenty of time. Let’s go.”
Seira, grabbing my arm, led me towards the team leaders. So, we were having a three-game competition, best two out of three… why had she brought me along?
As we walked away from Hunter Killer, I couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked Seira,
“…Why did you bring me?”
“You need to referee.”
“What?”
Judging by physical capabilities, I’d roughly expected that any competition would be between the team leaders and Hunter Killer members, so this out-of-nowhere statement about me having to referee made me stop dead in my tracks.
“Why? Don’t you want to?”
“It’s not about whether I want to or not… why me?”
“We decided amongst ourselves.”
The team leaders had chosen me as the referee. Orders were orders—if they told me to strip, I’d strip; if they told me to do something, I’d do it—but being made to referee a match where I absolutely couldn’t make biased calls was, in another sense, even more burdensome.
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Buahahaha!!!
The battle of Girlfriends VS Close Female Colleges!
A must’ve really made an impression in his looong military career and other ventures to catch these powerful alien chicks attention.