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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Red didn’t contact me constantly. Usually, I’d receive a text message from her in the evening, and I’d reply.
There wasn’t any other significant communication, and since this fight had already become a long-drawn-out affair, waiting longer wasn’t a problem. I decided to prolong the surveillance period by exchanging messages with Red.
Today was the day of the duel. The location was Namsan Park.
“Ruche.”
The cramped backseat was packed with guys wearing identical black suits and helmets. Even if I heard someone’s voice, I couldn’t tell who it was.
“Yeah?”
Ruche, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around, but she couldn’t tell who had called her from the back.
“Never mind who called. Can’t we use another van? Seriously, this is too cramped.”
Even slightly turning my head in the backseat brought a wave of body odor. It was a hellish environment, and Ruche also frowned.
“There’s nothing we can do. Our performance stats are in the bottom tier.”
Ruche also desperately wanted another van for a more comfortable ride. However, we weren’t the only team in the Seoul branch that used vehicles, and there weren’t enough vans for all the teams, so we had to share them on different days.
“We have a new weapon today, so let’s all do our best.”
While she was trying to boost morale in the front, those of us in the very back, out of Ruche’s sight, were whispering amongst ourselves.
“Ruche seems really down today.”
“Don’t bother her today. She got chewed out by the branch manager before we left.”
“It’s unusual for him to call anyone in…”
Ruche was our direct superior, and there were a few other executives above her in the Seoul branch. It was quite surprising that the branch manager, who rarely scolded his subordinates, had reprimanded Ruche.
It was understandable that Ruche was feeling down, having been scolded by someone who usually didn’t nag.
While we chatted like we were comfortable with each other, the atmosphere within the Spacetroe Seoul branch wasn’t exactly great.
We were familiar with each other only because we’d seen each other for a long time. Basically, the executives led the operations, and subordinates like me only came to work when called, so there wasn’t much interaction.
“How’s the Red surveillance going?”
One of the guys suddenly spoke to me. I couldn’t tell who it was because of the helmets, but he knew I was the one monitoring Red.
“It’s a bust. It’s not like it’s the first time Ruche chewed me out for having nothing to report.”
It wasn’t that there were no results at all. To be precise, there were no performance results, but there was a change. A change in the relationship between Red and me. We’d gone from being completely hostile and distant to a slightly closer relationship, with Red unaware that I was the enemy.
I was gathering information, hoping this change in relationship would lead to some results so I could deliver a substantial report.
“You in the back! Were you talking about me?!”
Ruche’s loud voice boomed from the front. She had sharp ears, even though we’d been whispering.
“Yes, we were.”
“What?!”
Since she couldn’t see us anyway because of the crowd, I just blurted out whatever came to mind.
“A, I’ll talk to you later.”
How did she know?
Engaging in meaningless chatter, we parked the van in the Namsan parking lot. The strangely dressed men in black poured out of the van, which no longer felt spacious.
“It’s hot!”
Stepping out of the van, I saw that Namsan Park was crowded even on a weekday morning, and as usual, people were just whispering about us.
A child walking with their mother waved at us from afar, and one of the guys waved back.
“Ruche, is it far from here?”
“No, it’s the open area back there.”
There was a large open area right next to the parking lot, and we started moving towards it.
“Don’t go into the restricted area! You’ll get fined!”
Ruche, sensitive to fines, yelled at the guys standing by the restricted flowerbed. The guys, who had been admiring the flowers, quickly rejoined the group.
If she was so afraid of fines, why did she insist on cramming so many people into the van, exceeding the passenger limit?
“It’s hot!”
Our black suits and helmets had no special functions other than defense. While the material seemed thin, it was incredibly durable and resistant to most impacts. The problem was that it offered no other functions. When we weren’t fighting, they were just black suits.
The helmets didn’t even have breathing holes. They were basically motorcycle helmets.
Kindergarteners on a field trip were watching us, and a few of our guys were showing off and making them laugh. Maybe switching careers to a circus troupe wasn’t a bad idea.
Surprisingly, there was a reporter with a camera, probably because we were in the middle of Seoul. There were only two of them, but seeing reporters after such a long time made me feel a sense of welcome. It confirmed that something was definitely wrong with me.
“Ruche, cover up with your cape. It’s not appropriate for the children.”
Ruche was wearing a full-body suit that exposed her chest and abdomen. Since her outfit was much more functional than ours, she didn’t seem to feel the heat.
Told to cover her revealing outfit because of the kindergarteners, she self-consciously wrapped her cape around her.
“Why not just wear something else?”
“What can I do if it’s designed like this?!”
I muttered to myself that she was suffering because of her own choices. Ruche, who had somehow heard my mumbling from afar, yelled at me.
“That’s right, A! You were talking about me, weren’t you?!”
Ruche remembered that I’d admitted to talking about her in the van. She stomped towards me, and knowing how much her punches hurt, I ran through the park to escape.
“Get back here!”
Ruche, fuming and chasing after me with her cape wrapped tightly around her, looked ridiculously funny. She resembled a penguin waddling along.
“Be careful! You’ll fall if you run around in that… Oh dear.”
Just as I was about to warn Ruche about tripping, she stepped on the hem of her cape and fell flat on the ground.
The loud thud drew everyone’s attention.
“Ugh…”
While Ruche crying was a somewhat familiar occurrence, it was still an emergency. Once she started, it took a long time to console her. And this was right before a duel.
“Ruche! It’s his fault, isn’t it?!”
Two guys, noticing the situation, approached me, grabbed my arms, and dragged me to Ruche. Aware of the situation, I didn’t resist.
“Ah! It’s A’s fault. Why did you have to talk about Ruche?!”
“That’s right! A’s the bad guy!”
“A’s a jerk! What a jerk!”
“Hey! Weren’t you just insulting me?!”
Ruche, swallowing back her tears as she watched us bicker, got up and dusted off her cape.
“We’re sorry, Ruche! We won’t talk behind your back again!”
I’d definitely talk behind her back again, but I wasn’t stupid enough to say that to her face.
Fortunately, Ruche didn’t cry, and right as the situation calmed down, Team Hunter Killer arrived.
All five of them arrived on motorcycles, already wearing their color-coded suits. They approached us.
“You’re here on time again.”
“Hmph! Punctuality is basic for any organization.”
Ruche, trying to boast with a puffed-up chest, realized she was still wrapped in her cape and unfolded it.
“Little friends, you need to stay back. The adults have work to do.”
Pink and Green of Team Hunter Killer kept the children gathered nearby from approaching, and we also moved the excited onlookers to a safe distance.
“Why are you guys, who came here to invade, so concerned about laws and safety? Are you even serious about invading?”
Red’s familiar voice reached me from behind her helmet.
“We never harm the elderly or children! We compete solely within the rules set by our opponents and let them taste utter defeat. That’s Spacetroe’s policy!”
From an Earthling’s perspective, we were invaders and villains, and these words might sound ridiculous, but from Spacetroe’s point of view, we weren’t evil and had no intention of becoming evil. We plundered to survive. In the dog-eat-dog universe, it was natural for the strong to survive.
Spacetroe’s representative, who was once addressed as “Your Majesty” back on our home planet, had always advocated this policy. We’d witnessed the demoralization of our opponents after being completely defeated within the rules they themselves had set.
We should have finished the invasion and moved on long ago, but Earth… this planet was taking an exceptionally long time.
“I hope you can keep to those rules until the very end.”
The five Hunter Killer members drew their weapons, and we did the same.
Ruche, who had boasted about a new weapon, pulled out a long staff instead of her usual large scythe.
“Let’s go!”
With Red’s shout, Team Hunter Killer charged towards us, and we also rushed at them with a yell.
It felt surreal that I’d been exchanging text messages with Red, who was right in front of me, and that we would continue to do so even after this.
However, the enemy was still the enemy. The reason I was communicating with Red was to gather information. There was no need to be concerned about our slightly closer relationship. I simply attacked her with all my might, as usual.
And then, with a single kick from Red, I went flying for several meters and crashed to the ground.
Ruche attacked Red with her long staff. Red blocked it with her sword, but the force of the impact pushed her back.
“How do you like it? The power of the new weapon given to us, who receive barely any support!”
Ruche spoke triumphantly, but for some reason, her words sounded sad to me.
“Bringing a strange weapon… Blue!”
Blue, who had been shooting at the minions from behind, aimed her gun at Ruche and pulled the trigger.
A beam of light shot towards Ruche, but she swung her staff with force, deflecting the beam’s trajectory into the sky.
“Team Hunter Killer! Today, I will finish you all!”
We lost.
It was a complete defeat, same as always.
Ruche, who had been wielding her staff so confidently, ended up taking all of Team Hunter Killer’s attacks alone after we all went down. Eventually, her new weapon broke under the pressure.
“Ugh, sob! Waaaaah!”
She was already in a bad mood, her new weapon was broken, and the result was the same as always. Ruche sat in the passenger seat, crying her eyes out, while we sat in silence in the back.
Inspired by Ruche’s valiant fight, I got up and charged again, only to be punched in the face by Red and collapse once more. Thanks to the incredibly durable suit, I was still alive, but my face throbbed.
“Is… is anyone hurt, sniffle?”
“No.”
Ruche, still crying, glanced back to check on us in the backseat. We were injured, but no pain could compare to Ruche’s emotional pain right now, so we all kept our mouths shut.
After arriving back at the base, I washed the sweat off and went straight home.
I decided to do some grocery shopping on the way and headed to the supermarket. As I was walking…
“Oppa?”
“Oh, hi.”
I ran into Red, the very person who had kicked me in the stomach and punched me in the face just an hour ago.
“This is a coincidence. Running into you like this.”
“I was just coming to buy some things after work.”
Neither Red nor I could contact each other as usual because of the duel, and we went into it without any communication. There was no need to say something like, “I’ll be busy today, so it might be hard to contact you,” and it would be weird to do so.
It would be strange for me to suddenly say something like that when I never initiated contact in the first place.
“Aren’t you going to the convenience store today?”
“Why would I go when you’re not there?”
There was no reason to go to the convenience store if Red wasn’t there. Because of my surveillance mission, I went to the convenience store every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to buy lunchboxes, even if I didn’t want to. I wasn’t about to do that on a weekday.
Red looked at me for a moment after my blunt reply and then looked away. Wondering if I’d said something strange, I replayed my words in my head but couldn’t find anything wrong.
“…If you have time, do you want to grab something to eat?”
We’d lost the duel, and since I’d run into Red anyway, I thought I might as well try to find something useful by observing her. Maybe I could still salvage something from this day.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
Of course, I’d never asked her to eat with me before without prior contact, so it was natural for Red to be a little surprised. Her surprised expression quickly turned into a bright smile as she agreed. Was she really hungry? Fortunately, I was familiar with this area since I often came here to eat.
“I’ll treat you. Let’s go.”
I took Red to an ordinary Korean restaurant. We sat facing each other after ordering our meals. I was rubbing my cheek, which was still sore from the punch, when Red stared at me.
“Are you hurt?”
It felt strange to receive genuine concern from the person who caused the pain.
“Yeah, I bumped into something while spacing out.”
“How do you bump your cheek like that?”
Since cheeks weren’t usually a place you’d injure while spacing out, Red chuckled and rummaged through her bag.
She pulled out an ice pack.
“You carry that around?”
“It’s disposable. I packed it just in case, but I didn’t end up using it. Put it on the sore spot.”
I wondered if anyone else received genuine concern and an ice pack from the person who hurt them.
“? Yu-bin, next to your eye.”
“Huh?”
There was a small cut next to her eye. Red took a small mirror out of her bag and checked.
“Oh? When did that happen?”
“Hold on.”
Our food hadn’t arrived yet, so I got up and went to the owner at the counter.
“Excuse me, do you have any ointment?”
“Yes, one moment.”
I received some ointment from the owner and returned to my seat, handing it to Red.
“Apply this to the cut, and here.”
I took out an unopened flesh-colored band-aid from my pocket.
“You carry this around too?”
“I get hurt often because I’m clumsy.”
I couldn’t tell her I usually got hurt because of them, so I made up an excuse about being clumsy.
Red chuckled and applied the ointment, then took the band-aid. She continued to giggle as she put it on.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I can see why you’d say you get hurt often because you’re clumsy.”
“Oh? Is that how I’m perceived?”
I didn’t remember doing anything to warrant that impression, but apparently, Red saw me that way.
“Well, oppa, you always fumble and hesitate when choosing things at the convenience store.”
That was because I was trying to buy myself time to observe her. It seemed that to Red, those actions made me look clumsy.
“I’m not really a clumsy person.”
“Sure, sure, whatever you say.”
I felt like I was being teased, but it wasn’t unpleasant, so I didn’t respond.
Our food arrived, and Red and I continued our conversation in a slightly brighter atmosphere, enjoying our dinner together.
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