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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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A week had passed since my first encounter with Green in the park.
Since our first proper conversation, we’d been meeting at the park almost every day, and Green would always talk about Hunter Killer.
While it was all personal information, so I couldn’t glean any intel, I was happy to hear that Yu-bin and Yu-ra were getting along, and I was relieved that Green wasn’t struggling as much as I’d feared.
While they were the enemy, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for them, knowing they were facing prejudice and mistreatment as superhumans.
And today was duel day.
The duel was taking place by the Han River, as usual, with people scattered around, and we cordoned off the area just before the fight to prevent any casualties.
Perhaps mindful of the public perception of superhumans, I found myself observing the onlookers as the Hunter Killer members directed them away from the duel site.
While no one openly expressed hostility towards Hunter Killer, the expressions on the faces of the people leaving the area under their guidance caught my attention.
A fleeting look of disgust and avoidance, as if repelled by something unpleasant, and I couldn’t understand why.
Hunter Killer must have seen countless such expressions during their duels. Why was I only noticing them now? I, too, had been oblivious, uninterested in anything beyond what was right in front of me.
“Alright, are you ready?”
Ruche, always brimming with confidence before duels, stood tall, her scythe in hand.
I couldn’t help but notice Red, Pink, and Green on the opposing side. Three out of the five members were people I knew.
While my connection with Green was tenuous, we’d been meeting at the park for a week, so I couldn’t consider her a complete stranger.
“Come on.”
Seeing Red draw her sword, our team assumed their combat stances. Had we become accustomed to losing? All I could think about was finishing this quickly and going back to my research.
“Let’s go!”
I charged towards Red, sword in hand, leading the charge. While she was my girlfriend, we were Spacetroe and Hunter Killer in this moment, so there was no hesitation in my movements.
Determination alone wasn’t enough to sharpen my abilities.
I bent backward, narrowly avoiding Green’s spear, just as Red’s sword came crashing down. My reflexes were sharp. I saw her movements clearly, but before I could react, Pink’s blast slammed into me, sending me to the ground.
“Ugh!”
The ensuing chaos was our usual routine. Battered by Red and Green’s attacks, I was bruised and exhausted by the time we admitted defeat and retreated to our van.
I glanced at the passenger seat, wondering if Ruche was crying again, but surprisingly, she was sitting quietly. I thought she might be holding back tears, which, on second thought, was her usual response.
Without any significant events, our routine remained unchanged.
Back at headquarters, we changed and went home as usual. The only difference was that I was waiting in the lobby for Seira to return, so I could continue my research.
“Team 4 today…”
I checked the weekly schedule on the lobby bulletin board. Team 4 also had a duel scheduled today, against another team.
“Two duels on the same day again.”
While it was unusual for two teams to have duels on the same day, it had been happening more frequently lately, so it probably wouldn’t be considered rare in the future.
“Oh?”
I noticed something unusual on the schedule. Below our Team 3’s duel against Hunter Killer, Team 4’s opponent was listed as Team Guerrilla.
While each team was usually assigned a specific team to face, and while the assignments weren’t set in stone, they rarely changed unless there was a special reason.
Team 2 was originally in charge of Team Guerrilla, and I’d rarely seen the assignments change, so it caught my attention.
“That’s unusual.”
“We have a lot of people on vacation this week.”
A familiar voice spoke beside me, a refreshing, kind voice that felt like a gentle breeze. I turned my head.
A woman with long, silver hair tied back, dressed in a Spacetroe uniform, was standing there, and I instinctively saluted.
“Team Leader Angelica, hello.”
“Hey, A. It’s been a while.”
We’d seen each other occasionally, being in the same branch, and there was no awkwardness in our reunion.
“Yes, it has.”
“It has. You have a duel today, right? How did it go?”
“Same as always. Nothing much has changed.”
She was Angelica, my former superior, back when Seira and I were still in the same rank, before she became a team leader.
“How have you been, Commander Angelica?”
“I’m good. No duels for me this week, but it’s the same as always when I do fight.”
Commander Angelica replied with a gentle smile and a soft voice, and I relaxed.
“What are you doing in the lobby after your duel?”
“I’m waiting for Seira, I mean, Team Leader Seira, to do some research.”
She knew Seira and I were from the same batch, but I couldn’t casually call Seira by her name in front of a superior. Even when we weren’t around superiors, I usually used formal language with Seira, unless we were alone.
When she first became team leader, I’d used formal language even when we were alone, but she’d found it awkward and annoying and forced me to drop the formalities.
“You’re always working hard, A. You haven’t changed in that regard.”
Commander Angelica approached me, smiled warmly, and patted my head. I was taller than her now, and much older than when she was my superior, but she still seemed to see me as a young subordinate.
“I think I haven’t changed at all.”
“Oh? No, you used to be like a sharp predator, but now you’re more like a round ball.”
I couldn’t objectively compare my past self to my present self. I didn’t think I’d changed much, but my former superior, Commander Angelica, seemed to disagree.
“You’ll spoil him if you keep treating him like a child, Commander Angelica.”
Seira’s voice from the lobby entrance made me turn my head. She was sweating, having just returned from a duel, and she saluted Commander Angelica.
“That’s enough. We’re both team leaders, no need for formalities.”
“It’s a force of habit.”
Spacetroe regulations dictated that members of the same rank were equals, no matter how long they had served. And if their ranks differed, seniority was meaningless—the chain of command was absolute.
Yet, after years under Commander Angelica, Seira couldn’t shake the deep respect she had for her. Formality came naturally.
“You’re going to shower, right? I’ll head up to my office.”
“Okay.”
“Then I’ll be going, Commander Angelica.”
“Alright, good work, both of you.”
I saluted Commander Angelica and went up to Seira’s office.
After Seira returned, refreshed from her shower, we started our research, but we didn’t make much progress, as usual.
I kept reviewing and organizing the data while searching for new information, but most of it was repetitive, with little new or detailed information. Ironically, there was plenty of detailed information on topics I wasn’t interested in, which felt like searching for a lost remote control. It was always nowhere to be found when you needed it.
“Sigh.”
I sighed and left headquarters for a break, heading towards the park as usual. I was sure Green would be there and arrived at the park, but she wasn’t.
‘I just want to go somewhere and relax.’
I sat down on a bench and started organizing my thoughts, but the incessant chirping of cicadas made it hard to concentrate. When I came to my senses, Green was sitting on the bench next to me.
“?!”
“Hello.”
I hadn’t sensed her arrival and was startled. She greeted me with a smile.
“When did you get here?”
“About two minutes ago? You seemed deep in thought, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“You could have said hello.”
Green smiled and said, “Then I will next time,” and looked towards the trees, like she always did. Seeing her sitting there, staring at the trees for the past week, had made me wonder why.
But I had a feeling I shouldn’t ask and still didn’t intend to.
“Did something bad happen today?”
Her subdued tone made me ask, and she looked at me with wide eyes, as if surprised I’d noticed.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes, it is.”
She chuckled awkwardly and scratched her cheek, then sighed.
“I had a bit of an argument.”
“With your colleagues?”
I had never heard of Green arguing with anyone in Hunter Killer. It was surprising, considering her quiet and gentle nature.
“Colleagues, but from a different department.”
A different department meant a different team within the Earth Defense Alliance. I didn’t know which team she’d argued with, but based on what I knew, it was probably Team Guerrilla, who’d had a duel against Team 4 today.
“May I ask what happened?”
“Sure.”
She explained the circumstances of the argument,
referring to Team Guerrilla as a “different department” and the Earth Defense Alliance as her “workplace.” I pieced together the story in my head.
It seemed Team Guerrilla had been soundly defeated by Team 4 and had run into Hunter Killer as they were leaving.
“Ooh, our Hunter Killer ladies heading home?”
That was Indigo of Team Guerrilla’s first remark upon seeing the Hunter Killer members after their return. While it wasn’t particularly unusual, the Hunter Killer members found his presence annoying.
It wasn’t personal. His behavior was just that unbearable.
“Looks like you got trashed again.”
Pink’s sarcastic remark made Indigo frown.
“Unfortunately, we only face strong opponents, unlike your team, who only fights the weaklings.”
His dismissive comment about their team made Red’s fists clench. She didn’t want to fight, but she wanted to punch him in the face. That was how much Hunter Killer disliked Team Guerrilla.
What made it even worse was his disrespectful comment about Spacetroe, who, despite being the enemy, always fought with all their might. While it was true that they were currently the weakest team, and Hunter Killer’s high performance stemmed from fighting them, both sides were giving it their all in the duels.
Red found Indigo’s condescending remark, after his defeat, incredibly annoying.
“It’s unlikely, but if you ever face our designated opponents and lose, don’t come crying to us.”
Red, suppressing her annoyance, warned him, but Indigo just scoffed.
“We’ll see about that.”
Their eyes met, then Indigo’s gaze drifted downwards, and Red, realizing he was looking at her lewdly, turned away, ignoring him, thinking only about going home with her teammates.
“You don’t even know how strong we are. Don’t you want to find out? I can show you how good I am in bed.”
Indigo’s sexually suggestive comment, on top of his already annoying behavior, pushed Red over the edge, and she was about to yell at him when…
“I’d shut my mouth if I were you.”
Yellow, who’d been silent, finally spoke.
“What?”
Indigo turned to glare at Yellow, but her cold gaze didn’t waver.
“Seems like you have something stuck in your ear. I said you should shut your mouth.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?!”
As Indigo stepped towards Yellow menacingly, his vision spun, and he realized, a moment too late, that he was on the ground.
“If you’re going to talk like that to our leader, at least win a duel first. And even if you do win, if you talk like that again, I’ll rip your mouth off, so you better watch what you say.”
Yellow’s warm golden eyes were now cold as ice as she glared at the fallen Indigo. Her sudden outburst surprised even her teammates, who watched in stunned silence. Yellow was usually quiet and reserved.
“Let’s go. Time to go home.”
Yellow turned and walked away, leaving Indigo on the ground, and the Hunter Killer members followed.
“If he does that again, just hit him.”
Yellow patted Red’s shoulder as she walked past, and Red smiled, satisfied.
Green, walking behind them, glanced at the still-fallen Indigo before following her teammates out of headquarters.
I knew from recent reports that some superhumans had been causing trouble, including Team Guerrilla of the Seoul branch, but hearing the details made me realize they were worse than I’d thought.
Or rather, while they were undoubtedly troublemakers, Indigo’s sexually suggestive comment towards Yu-bin had infuriated me. While I’d probably lose in a physical fight, I wanted to punch him in the face, even if it meant getting beaten up afterwards.
“A?”
Green called out to me, seeing my darkened expression, and I quickly composed myself.
“Ah, yes. They’re… unusual, especially these days.”
“Right? I don’t understand them.”
Their behavior seemed to be stressing Green, too, despite her good nature, and she sighed.
“They’re so tiring. I just want to go somewhere and relax.”
I also wanted to relax, frustrated by my lack of progress. Or rather, I wanted to have fun.
While I hadn’t had much work to do recently and was now suddenly seeking a break, I believed needing to clear your head after a frustrating experience was valid, regardless of how long you’d been working.
Perhaps because I also desperately wanted a break, I responded to her words with,
“Where should we go?”
“Huh?”
The moment our eyes met, silence fell between us, broken only by the chirping of cicadas.
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