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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Beep!
The sound of the barcode scanner at the convenience store counter beeped multiple times, and I watched as the prices of the items I’d placed there were tallied up.
“That’s 12,800 won.”
“Here.”
I handed my card to the convenience store clerk. The uniformed woman took it and processed the payment. As she packed the lunchboxes and drinks into a bag, I glanced up at her from time to time.
She seemed to notice my gaze and became aware of me. I took the bag and walked out of the convenience store.
“I guess coming at the same time every day for a month was too suspicious.”
I, ‘A,’ had been watching her for over a month. I was a member of the space pirates, Spacetroe, and it had been a full 20 years since I arrived on Earth.
Having lost our home planet to a foreign invasion and fled into space, we prolonged our survival by invading other planets. Then, our ship’s engine completely lost power, and the last place we landed for an invasion was this very place: Earth.
Though we targeted planets for invasion, we weren’t ruthless beings. Even during invasions, we followed the planet’s rules and aimed to seize what we wanted by winning through the methods they proposed.
Earth possessed only enough technology to explore nearby planets, and things like deep space navigation technology needed much more development.
So, we thought we would win no matter what they proposed, and surprisingly, the method the Earthlings presented was a ‘duel.’ They agreed to acknowledge defeat and permit our invasion if we completely triumphed in a physical confrontation against humans selected from Earth. Considering the technological gap, we thought it would be an easy win, but we were mistaken.
While Earth lacked the technology to explore space, they had sufficiently developed technology to counter invasions from outer space, and their technology proved effective against us.
In the end, unable to complete the invasion after 20 years, Spacetroe members began to integrate into Earth society and initiate invasion activities from various locations.
Earthlings, too, dispatched individuals capable of countering us in each region, and that was one of the reasons why I visited this convenience store at the same time every day for a month.
The part-time worker who had just scanned my items, she was one of the Earthlings we had to deal with.
As ‘Minion 1’ in Spacetroe, I was tasked with watching her. I couldn’t follow her around all the time, so I came to check on her like this on days she worked at the convenience store.
Spacetroe’s mothership had landed in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, and many members had dispersed to various locations. I, one of them, came to Seoul, a city in the country called South Korea on Earth, to watch her.
“Working hard again today.”
I walked out of the convenience store, pulled out the hot bar I had just bought, and ate it while watching her work through the glass window.
One of the Earth representatives we were facing at the Spacetroe Seoul, Korea branch was ‘Team Hunter Killer.’ To protect their identities, they used color-based code names.
The young woman working at the convenience store was also a member of Hunter Killer, codenamed ‘Red.’ In my mind, I called her ‘Convenience Store Red.’
-♬~
Just then, a melody rang from my smartphone in my pocket. I pulled it out, checked the name on the screen, and answered the call.
“Hello.”
“A, where are you?”
“I’m monitoring the target.”
The person on the other end was one of Spacetroe’s executives and my direct superior, the one who assigned me to watch Convenience Store Red.
“It’s an operation. Come here.”
“Yes….”
I sighed, hung up, shoved the remaining hot bar in my mouth, glanced at Red inside the convenience store, and headed to work.
The Seoul branch wasn’t that far. It was a short drive. Sometimes, to save on taxi fare, I walked, and since it wasn’t that far of a walk, I’d thought a few times that having a bike would be more convenient. But I gave up because I didn’t want to spend the money on a bike.
When I arrived at the branch building, I had one task: to change into a nondescript black suit and put on a helmet that covered my entire head. That completed the preparations for dispatch, and all that remained was to get in a car and move with the others.
We piled into a van, squeezing in tightly. We’d even been ticketed once for exceeding the passenger limit, but our boss seemed determined to stick with this method.
“Is everyone in?”
A woman with grey hair, dressed in a revealing outfit that exposed her chest and abdomen, wearing a cape and heavy makeup, turned from the passenger seat to check the headcount. Since everyone was dressed the same, she wasn’t checking who was there but rather just how many.
“Where are we going today?”
“Han River.”
We carried out our invasion activities according to the rules set by the planet we were trying to invade. Therefore, the days we could launch our attacks were predetermined, and they also showed up for the duel at that time.
Honestly, mobilizing our full force could easily crush a planet like this. While I had no complaints about the peaceful method, there was a sense of frustration.
The van started, and we headed to the Han River, unable to breathe properly in the cramped vehicle. I wasn’t sure if Convenience Store Red, who’d been working until just now, would show up at the duel location.
After about a 30-minute drive, we arrived at the Han River and poured out of the van to escape the stuffy interior. However, even outside, it was difficult to breathe properly due to the helmets covering our entire faces.
“This is harder than fighting. Can’t we get some better benefits?”
“I know, right? I heard the San Francisco and London branches have great benefits.”
As we gasped for air and grumbled, trying to relieve our discomfort, our boss, Ruche, who had gotten out first, yelled.
“Then get some results! We don’t get support because you all keep getting knocked out in one hit and don’t have any results!”
Getting knocked out in one hit couldn’t be helped. Honestly, Team Hunter Killer’s attacks really hurt. I didn’t know what techniques they used, but every single one of their attacks was so effective against us that we couldn’t recover after being hit.
As we waited for Team Hunter Killer to arrive, I heard people passing by the Han River whispering about us. We were still unwelcome, but after staying on Earth for 20 years, our activities had become something of an event for them. It might not be my place to say as an enemy, but their lack of a sense of danger felt a bit pathetic.
Ruche had even given an autograph to a child who asked for one the other day. The child apparently called Ruche her fan, which was unbelievable.
At first, reporters followed us around, taking pictures and desperately trying to find our base, but now, after all this time, they weren’t very interested. We weren’t even news anymore in Earth society. These days, I almost felt a bit happy to see a reporter.
“Spacetroe!”
While we were gathered and chatting, Team Hunter Killer arrived. Hunter Killer, composed entirely of women, had code names: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink. Getting beaten up by just five of them was our daily routine. As I mentioned earlier, it really hurt.
They wore suits that matched their code names, and seeing their outfits transform so flashily compared to our purely defensive suits made me a little envious.
“You’ve arrived. Team Hunter Killer.”
Ruche completely erased her previous chatty demeanor and greeted them with a haughty air, pulling out a large scythe.
‘Red’s here too.’
Red, whom I’d seen at the convenience store, stood before me in her suit. The reality of us facing each other as enemies after having been a clerk and customer just a short while ago was a bit amusing.
Of course, she had no idea who I was, so it was a feeling only I experienced.
“Now, go!”
At Ruche’s command, the soldiers, including me, charged towards Team Hunter Killer, weapons in hand.
“Don’t you dare!”
One of our guys went flying after being hit by Red’s sword. Seeing that, I only thought, same as always, and continued running towards Red without slowing down.
The other members of Hunter Killer also engaged us, and the 16 of us, who had charged in so confidently, were getting completely trashed by just 5 of them.
Ruche, wielding her scythe, swung at Green, but Green, holding a spear, easily parried Ruche’s attack and then kicked her.
One of the minions blocked the attack, sparing Ruche from injury, but the minion who took the kick collapsed, unable to get up from the pain in his chest.
“You bastards!”
I was blown back by the shot fired by Blue and landed sprawled on the ground as I ran toward Red. Despite being suited only for defense, the suit was durable. It was truly fortunate that it was at least that durable.
The 16 minions and 1 executive, Ruche, were soundly defeated without much of a fight. From a distance, it looked like a complete rout, a fight that was almost a joke, but we were desperate to win and could only kneel before Team Hunter Killer’s strength once more.
One of the conditions Earth had set for Spacetroe’s invasion was a ‘no-kill’ rule. Spacetroe’s representative also wasn’t interested in pointless killing, so the proposal was readily accepted. As a result, neither we nor the Earthlings fighting us were allowed to kill each other.
“Now! Go back!”
At Red’s shout, we got up one by one and boarded the van that someone had driven over. Ruche, seemingly having some parting words, remained outside until the last of us boarded. As the last minion got in, she pointed at Team Hunter Killer.
“Team Hunter Killer! You just wait!”
I wondered if she really needed to deliver such a cheesy villain line, and it felt like a flag for our defeat in the next duel. But I wasn’t in a position to say anything, so I just watched as she delivered her line and got into the van.
With Ruche on board, we left Team Hunter Killer behind at the Han River and headed back to base. The fight at the Han River lasted a mere 10 minutes. We traveled for 30 minutes, got beaten in 10 minutes, and then returned for another 30 minutes.
Sob, sniffle!
The return trip after a defeat was always filled with silence. A whimpering sound from the front seat, usually quiet, drew everyone’s attention.
“Guys… sniffle… I’m sorry. Next time… I’ll definitely win….”
It wasn’t the first time Ruche cried after a defeat, so we just watched her, feeling awkward and unsure what to do, bothered by her crying.
“And… I’m sorry for getting angry earlier… Sob! As the leader, I need to do better to get results….”
Even though it happened every time, hearing our boss cry and apologize like that made us feel bad, and we wanted to help her somehow.
“We’ll get stronger too.”
“Yeah, it’s okay for you to be angry, Ruche. It’s true that we lost.”
“Let’s definitely win next time!”
Unable to just sit and listen, we each offered words of comfort, and Ruche continued to sob until we arrived.
She cried for a while even after we reached the base, so we consoled her until her tears stopped. Today, too, we had a beer, vowed to win next time, and then dispersed.
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I never understood how the aliens lose when they have better tech.