Luche’s words were not entirely incomprehensible to me. I had served as her life education supervisor in the past and had interacted with her in a senior-junior relationship. It wasn’t ideal for me to use polite language with her.
Although there was no ill will between us and we had known each other for ten years, the feeling of meeting after a long time made it seem like I should use polite language, which she found disagreeable.
However, the time I spent with ATi was just a few months, whereas the time I spent as her subordinate has been almost ten years.
Even though I knew Luche was ATi right in front of me, over the past ten years and continuing into the future, as long as I’m on Earth, I have to treat her as my superior.
Suddenly switching to informal language with her would be difficult from the perspective of someone who has been in military service for a long time.
“Why are you using formal language?”
Luche seemed to think I didn’t understand, so she looked at me intently and said, “You’re the team leader.”
Since I already understood enough about ATi, the fact that ATi was now Luche did not change.
I enjoyed the time spent with ATi, but the memories of the last ten years with Luche were more vivid.
“You’re still my senior.”
While it’s true that I am a senior, having missed multiple promotion opportunities, it’s familiar for a junior to become a superior and use formal language.
This wasn’t unusual, as many people in similar situations faced this. In the world of Spacystros, where they travel across many planets and gain much experience, this was quite common.
“Still, Luche is the team leader. If I switch to informal language…”
Though close friends can use informal language, it’s not ideal within the organizational structure. Although Luche being ATi surprised me, it didn’t justify switching to informal language with her.
Before I could explain that it would be too sudden to switch to informal language, Luche’s eyes started to well up.
“What? Why are you crying again?”
“Ci… I haven’t cried yet.”
Not crying yet meant she was going to cry.
First, I needed to soothe Luche before she started crying again. Usually, buying sweets from a nearby convenience store would help, but I couldn’t go to a convenience store right then.
“You talk informally with Siera…”
“Ahh…”
I couldn’t refute that when talking about Siera.
Unlike with Luche, I had known Siera longer as a friend and fellow member since she lived next door. We had spent far more time together as equals.
In public settings, I use formal language, but this is only for external appearances.
That doesn’t mean I don’t recognize Siera’s position. When I was blocked from promotions due to various accidents, she consistently cleaned up my messes and achieved commendable results.
Especially, being right beside her, I strongly recognized Siera’s position as a team leader.
But using informal language with Siera was a separate issue.
Having been friends for too long, using formal language with her felt awkward. Initially, I tried to use formal language with Siera, but both of us found it uncomfortable, so we ended up using informal language.
Most soldiers and team leaders knew this, and while it wasn’t ideal for organizational structure, the majority of people in the Seoul branch knew I had spent a long time with Siera, so everyone tolerated it.
“Siera is… how should I say… too close to me…”
Just because others tolerated it didn’t mean I should take it for granted. I needed a clear explanation if asked.
Luche demanded an explanation for why she used informal language with Siera but not with me. Since I hadn’t thought about this before, I had to quickly come up with an explanation.
But explaining wouldn’t solve everything. Luche had seen me and Siera interact before, and they had spent time together.
Explaining that Siera and I had known each other for a long time wouldn’t work because Luche would be included in that timeframe. Saying the duration was different wouldn’t apply here.
Instead, saying “Because I’ve known Luche as a senior for a short time, I’ll use formal language,” would make the situation worse, potentially making Luche very unhappy.
“Ugh…”
As I was thinking about this, Luche’s clenched fist trembled, and tears were about to fall from her eyes.
“No! Luche is close. Luche is close too.”
There was no time to worry about reasons for using informal language with Siera or not with Luche. After realizing Luche was ATi, drawing a line wasn’t possible.
To stop Luche from crying, I gently stroked her head and switched to informal language, even though I usually used formal language.
Luche wiped her tears with her hand, and I couldn’t adapt to the drastic change in atmosphere compared to twenty years ago.
If I viewed ATi and Luche as separate individuals, it wouldn’t be hard to adjust. But seeing ATi transform into Luche, resembling my own personality, was surprising.
“People change, but not this much, right?”
It would be hard to believe that the former ATi was now prone to crying if those who worked with her in the hangar back then saw her now.
Suddenly, I wished Klugger would wake up and hear this news.
“It’s all because of you, senior.”
“Me?”
I tilted my head. While it’s true I didn’t recognize Luche for ten years, I didn’t see how her personality could have changed significantly.
“Monsters learn quickly.”
Even though this was old news, I wasn’t sure if it fit the current conversation.
Luche was right; monsters learn quickly. Especially those less than 30 years old, like humans during puberty, experience significant changes influenced by their surroundings.
Of course, individual differences exist, and some monsters don’t undergo major changes.
For example, Roy hasn’t changed much since his Bio-Roid days. However, despite no significant personality changes, Roy showed rapid learning abilities as a monster.
Some monsters change little in terms of learning but drastically in personality, and vice versa.
Thinking about this, I somewhat understood Luche’s changes.
Over the past ten years as team leader of Team 3, her repeated defeats might have caused these changes.
But if the changes were due to Team 3’s defeats, blaming it on me wouldn’t make sense.
“Senior, you didn’t care about me at first.”
“First? So you’re talking about when we met as team leader?”
Whether ‘first’ referred to when she was ATi or Luche was important. Confirming it, Luche’s ‘first’ was indeed when she was Luche.
Naturally, I didn’t pay much attention at first. I was busy with my duties and suddenly got a field assignment. After a long break from combat roles, regaining my skills took time. With my hands full managing a new team, there was no reason to show interest in the new team leader.
After much reflection, I concluded and asked without hesitation, “Was it because you wanted me to notice?”
Suddenly, I wondered if her recent personality change was an attempt to get my attention, despite not recognizing or caring about me.
Skeptically, I asked Luche, who avoided my gaze and blushed.
“Really?”
Her avoiding eye contact made me confident, and this confidence led me to admit that her personality change was due to me.
“I’m too shy to say it, so don’t ask.”
Unlike when other team members comforted her, I could calm her down. This explained why she felt better when I comforted her.
“I’m sorry. You must have waited a long time.”
Thinking about Luche waiting for over ten years, I felt sorry. Avoiding eye contact, Luche glanced at me.
“I’m always late in noticing things, and this time, I was really late.”
I promised not to let such situations happen again, but I didn’t realize there were still things I hadn’t noticed.
“There are still many things I haven’t noticed.”
“Huh?”
“Those are things you need to figure out yourself.”
Being unaware of things made me uneasy, but Luche’s insistence on taking time to figure it out suggested it wasn’t dangerous.
“So, senior, what will you do about HunterKillers?”
“Ahh…”
As Luche calmed down, she brought up the previous discussion in the office. When I tried to bring it up again, I felt my face flush and my ears heat up.
“Why are you reacting like that?”
Stopping the caress, Luche tilted her head and looked at me, who was blushing. I avoided her gaze.
“When I try to tell you about HunterKillers, I feel extremely embarrassed.”
Discussing HunterKillers and girlfriends with Luche, while uncomfortable, wasn’t embarrassing. She was my superior and involved in related matters.
But knowing Luche was once ATi, reporting on HunterKillers felt awkward, like giving love advice to a junior who had been my life education supervisor.
“What do you plan to do? Dating an enemy, especially an entire team?”
“At the time, I reported it because it was tough, but now I can handle it. It might help with investigating hyper-humans.”
While I didn’t want to use girlfriends strategically, I had to adjust the story when reporting.
Though I postponed discussing it, proposing that Hayang and SuA join Spacystros supported the investigation into hyper-humans.
“Are you serious about dating?”
“…Yes.”
Embarrassed, I answered directly without evasion. I removed any smile or playfulness and told her. Luche, sensing my sincerity, sighed deeply.
“I understand. Since you chose it, I’ll keep it a secret for now and watch the situation.”
Then, smiling, she touched my hand that was stroking her head. I gently stroked her hair and then withdrew my hand.
Leaping up, Luche seemed to feel better, and the atmosphere returned to normal. Stretching, she said, “It’s a shame. I never expected to be beaten by Earthlings.”
Smiling, I playfully responded to Luche’s teasing.
“Don’t people think you like me if they hear this?”
Following Luche, who was walking to the bus door, she stopped and turned to look at me.
“Why wouldn’t you think so?”
Her response felt like a serious statement hidden in a joke, so I stopped and stared blankly at her.
“You were the one who first told me I was a valuable existence.”
Blushing, Luche smiled and quickly got off the bus. Standing alone, I stared blankly at the door through which Luche had left.
“Huh?”
Realizing her words, my dazed mind snapped back to reality. I knew not to rush conclusions after so many experiences in a short time.
Let’s think slowly. There’s no need to rush.
