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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Numerous teams existed within the Earth Defense Alliance Seoul branch. Team Hunter Killer, boasting the undisputed best record and having never lost a single match since its current members were assembled, was unanimously acknowledged as the current top team.
However, there was another team with a record as impressive as Hunter Killer’s, a team considered, along with Hunter Killer, to represent the Seoul branch.
Team Special Forces. Their current lineup had been together longer than Hunter Killer’s, and while their win rate wasn’t quite as high, they maintained a respectably high record and were individually recognized for their exceptional abilities.
“White did?”
Blue, being the longest-serving portrait member in Hunter Killer, had a certain level of familiarity with them. Of course, the other members weren’t completely ignorant of other teams.
However, the Hunter Killer members, whose internal atmosphere hadn’t been particularly positive until recently, hadn’t had the leisure to pay much attention to other teams. Their relationships with other teams remained at a level of basic facial recognition without much interest.
Blue, having a degree of familiarity with them, was bothered by the fact that a personal matter she hadn’t yet publicly disclosed was circulating as a rumor.
“Yeah, is it true?”
“No. I just started living on my own. Marriage is out of the question.”
Blue hadn’t ruled out the possibility of marriage with A. But they’d only recently become a couple, and it felt premature to consider marriage. So she couldn’t help but be taken aback upon hearing the rumor.
“But did White really say that?”
The White that Blue knew wasn’t someone who gossiped or spread baseless rumors. So she double-checked with the woman in front of her to confirm the source of the rumor.
“No. White only said she saw you leaving a furniture store with a man. And that you looked like you were getting along.”
It seemed the marriage part was an exaggeration that arose as the story spread. Wanting to avoid a sudden marriage rumor, Blue asked her to keep quiet.
“I’m not getting married, so don’t spread strange rumors.”
“I won’t. I didn’t tell anyone else. It just came up in conversation among ourselves.”
As the woman said, it wasn’t yet widespread enough to be considered a full-blown rumor. If Blue were to be questioned by someone completely unrelated to White, then it would truly be a rumor. But currently, it was just among White’s team members. However, rumors could grow unexpectedly, so Blue pre-emptively requested confidentiality.
“You’re on your way back from a duel, right?”
“Yes. We won again today.”
“Your team members must be waiting.”
“You’re right. Be careful.”
“Okay.”
After Blue got off the elevator and the doors closed, the woman inside ascended to the upper floors. Having confirmed that nothing was amiss for now, Blue headed to the locker room, thinking she needed to talk to White later.
Spacetroe Team 3 faced yet another defeat. While losing wasn’t pleasant, they were so used to it that they had long passed the stage of dwelling on it.
More than the outcome of the duel, something else weighed on their minds today. During the duel, seeing the Hunter Killer members had reminded them of their encounter during training, but after returning, their attention was drawn back to that more pressing matter.
“How did it go?”
Forgetting even to change, my colleagues and I headed straight to Ruche’s office after our return, removing only our helmets while still in our suits.
“Wait a moment.”
Since the duel took place before the training results were released, we had competed without knowing the outcome, and Ruche, our team leader, hadn’t seen them either. Trying to calm us down as we waited with bated breath, she sat down, manipulated the mouse, and fixed her gaze on the monitor.
It was time for the results. Ruche was checking, and we watched her, holding our breaths. Finally, Ruche stopped clicking the mouse, stared at the monitor, and then turned the screen to show us.
We instantly crowded around the monitor, checked the results, and
“YES!!!”
We all cheered simultaneously. Out of thousands of teams, our team ranked in the top 3%. Assuming there were a thousand teams, this meant we were among the top 30 in training performance.
“You’ve already seen it.”
We turned our heads at the low voice behind us as we celebrated, and instantly toning down our excitement, we saluted the woman who had entered Ruche’s office.
“Greetings, Branch Chief!”
The person who entered the office was none other than the Branch Chief of the Spacetroe Seoul branch. She held the highest position in this building and had the longest tenure.
“What brings you here?”
Even Ruche, who rarely used honorifics, spoke respectfully to the Branch Chief and rose from her seat. The Branch Chief gave a benevolent smile and gestured for her to relax. Lowering our hands from the salute, we were wondering if it would be best to leave the office when the Branch Chief’s gaze fell upon us.
“You can stay. It’s something you should hear as well.”
The Branch Chief sat on the sofa, and we stood before her, awaiting her words. What could she possibly have to say that brought her directly to the team leader’s office, a place she rarely visited?
“Your performance this time was excellent, so some support will be coming down.”
“Really?!”
The person most delighted by the news of support was Ruche. Since we consistently lost our duels, including today’s, any kind of support was excellent news. Perhaps it would help us break the cycle of defeats that had persisted for years.
“It’s not a huge amount. And A…”
As the Branch Chief called my name, my colleagues parted to the sides, allowing me, who had been standing at the back, to face her. I stood at attention and answered loudly.
“Yes!”
I couldn’t remember the last time I had assumed such a rigid posture. Seeing this might have made the Branch Chief uncomfortable, but our team had many members with long tenures and ample experience meeting various people and officers.
And the Branch Chief, with her benevolent and gentle personality, was one of the superiors we felt most at ease with. But perhaps because it was right after a duel, or because the Branch Chief, who rarely visited other offices, had come in person, or maybe because it was right after checking the training results…
I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but we were a bit more tense than usual around the Branch Chief.
“Your evaluation from headquarters was very positive. They said they’ll use the report you communicated via radio as teaching material for the next recruits’ training.”
“Ooh!”
My colleagues made more of a fuss than I did, as I was unsure how to react to receiving such unexpectedly positive feedback.
Personally, I thought it was just luck. Since I assumed field control literally meant just controlling the field, I had thoroughly familiarized myself with the terrain and training details. And the tension from encountering the Hunter Killer members mid-training had further sharpened my focus.
“With such a positive evaluation, are there any special rewards?”
I didn’t really expect anything. It was just a playful remark made in a lighthearted atmosphere. The Branch Chief gave a knowing smile and pulled a card from her inner pocket.
“We got funding for a team dinner.”
At those words, everyone started chanting my name. “A! A!” echoed through the office, and Ruche quietly muttered, “Those idiots.” I also felt good that my actions had resulted in a happy occasion for my colleagues, and the Branch Chief wore her usual benevolent smile.
“What’s the limit?”
“It’s generous, so drink as much as you like. But be mindful of what you need to be mindful of.”
“Of course.”
Even for a simple team dinner, we had many restrictions. Given our position, we had to minimize contact with Earthlings when acting as a group. Moreover, since it wasn’t for training or a duel, we wouldn’t be wearing our suits, so we needed to be even more cautious about personal information leaks.
However, as a team that prided itself on being comprised of veterans, we were confident in our ability to follow basic rules. Indeed, our team consisted of members with no history of causing trouble despite having invaded various planets and experienced numerous incidents.
“Don’t skip out on us today!”
“Yeah. The person who got us the dinner money can’t miss it.”
“I’m going, I’m going. And did the dinner money come because of me? It came because we all did well. I didn’t even enter the training grounds.”
While the Branch Chief made it sound like the dinner was thanks to my report, I thought it was a matter of order. It wasn’t that my report was good and the team performed well, therefore we got a team dinner. It was that the team performed well, and my report was consequently evaluated positively, leading to the team dinner.
My colleagues were making a big deal out of it, but I wasn’t that remarkable.
Since I rarely participated in team dinners, my colleagues, assuming I would skip out again, repeatedly urged me not to disappear. Especially Kruger, who had been on the same team as me a few times and knew me well, was giving me an almost aggressive look.
“Hey, you’re going to burn a hole through my head.”
“Do you think it’s only been once or twice that you’ve bailed on us after saying you’d come to a team dinner?”
Honestly, I had no retort to that. Preferring indoors to outdoors, and enjoying solitude more than socializing, I had, as Kruger pointed out, skipped out on many team dinners after saying I would attend.
For the past few years, my colleagues had given up on inviting me altogether. Now that I was the reason for the team dinner, the pent-up frustrations were erupting from all sides.
“You ran off during the year-end party saying you had something urgent!”
“And during winter training, you ditched the team dinner saying it was too cold!”
“So I said I’m going!”
No matter how much I insisted, they didn’t readily believe me. This was the treatment I deserved for my past actions, so I accepted it. Honestly, I hadn’t been completely without guilt while ditching those team dinners.
Despite my colleagues’ numerous complaints, I kept reassuring them that I would attend. After changing clothes, we dispersed, agreeing to meet at the restaurant later that evening. With such a celebratory occasion, I stayed at headquarters and collected data instead of leaving work immediately.
After reading a few recent articles about portraits, I texted Yu-bin, who would be waiting at home, that I would be late due to a team dinner. Although it would be our first meeting since the trip, perhaps because we had seen each other for two out of the three days, I honestly didn’t feel like it had been a long time.
“Aren’t you going, Ruche?”
“Do I look like I’m going?”
“I was just asking.”
If we were to rank who was most likely to skip a team dinner, I would definitely be second in our team. Then who would be first? There was no need to hide it. The person even less likely to attend than me was Ruche.
However, our positions were slightly different. I was an ordinary soldier, the same gender as my colleagues, and I skipped out because I didn’t want to attend team dinners where I could have fun on an equal footing with them. Ruche, on the other hand, didn’t drink much, was a superior, unlike me, and she intentionally avoided team dinners because she believed a superior’s presence wasn’t always beneficial in such settings.
Once, thinking she might secretly want to attend, her colleagues had persuaded her to join them. But she apparently got drunk and passed out after just a few drinks.
Considering these points, while we both rarely attended team dinners, my offense was much graver if skipping out was considered a sin.
As the sun set and the time to meet my colleagues approached, I shut down my computer.
“Have fun, and don’t drink too much.”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard too, Team Leader.”
It was true that I didn’t entirely view Ruche as a superior. While I treated her more casually than other team leaders, I acknowledged her abilities and efforts. Although she was younger and less experienced than me, I knew she always worked hard as a team leader.
It was a short, formal expression of appreciation, but it was sincere, and Ruche, as if sensing my sincerity, which was rare, offered a smile.
“Yes, you’ve worked hard too, A.”
After receiving Ruche’s unusually cheerful farewell, I left headquarters and slowly made my way to the restaurant. I arrived on time, but all my colleagues were already there, their table set. Just how much did these guys want to have this team dinner?
“Hey! He’s here!”
My excited colleagues made space for me and filled my glass. Was it because I, the one who usually didn’t show up, was present? Or were they always this energetic during team dinners? Seeing my colleagues even more boisterous than usual, I thought this team dinner would be tiring in many ways.
“Honestly, I was a bit worried when you said you might not come.”
“Me too. I thought we might have to do it without you this time.”
“Don’t make a fuss. Would things really fall apart just because I’m not there?”
They had been saying things like, “The training might not go smoothly since I wasn’t participating in field control,” and “This training probably won’t yield good results.” I corrected their overly flattering remarks, bringing my slightly intoxicated colleagues back to reality, as if I were the one who secured the dinner funding.
“Still, experience has its own power.”
“There are plenty of people with more experience than me.”
“This bastard, even when you try to be nice…”
In the end, they resorted to their usual boisterous expressions, filling their glasses. I responded in kind, and we toasted and drank.
While I didn’t particularly enjoy team dinners and preferred being at home, I felt it wasn’t so bad to have one occasionally.
“Those fucking bastards!”
Just as I was enjoying the drinks and thinking about having more fun, an emotionally charged, aggressive curse from nearby silenced us. While hearing curses at a bar wasn’t unusual, we clearly felt this one was directed at us.
We turned our heads, and there was a group of men sitting nearby, one of them with deep blue hair, glaring at us.
“Did you rent out the whole place? You’re being fucking loud.”
The man who openly expressed his anger at us kicked back his chair, stood up, and approached us. None of his companions tried to stop him.
Sensing the situation turning sour, I looked at my colleagues. Their slightly intoxicated expressions instantly turned serious as they assessed the atmosphere.
And as I looked at the man’s face to gauge his reaction, I felt a sense of unease.
‘Where have I seen him before?’
I tried to recall where I might have encountered this familiar face, but his next action left me no time to think.
“I said, did you rent out the whole fucking place?!”
The man, approaching our table where about fifteen of us were seated, kicked it. With a clatter, the food on the table spilled onto the floor. One by one, gazes turned towards us, and with the commotion, everyone in the bar focused their attention on us.
‘I stepped in shit.’
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Looks like a repeat chapter.
Fixed