After Siera finished speaking, the room was filled with a heavy silence.
The story had been abruptly told, leaving out many details, but even considering that, it was an incredibly shocking tale.
I couldn’t imagine that A, who outwardly never showed personal problems, had experienced losing their parents in front of them.
Red and the other HunterKiller members were also not close to their parents, but they understood the significant impact that parents have on ordinary people.
“Does that mean your older brother continues the invasion activities to seek revenge against those pirates?”
“Yeah.”
“But his appearance…”
His appearance did not seem like someone living for revenge at all. There was no madness or anger usually associated with someone living for revenge.
This didn’t mean he seemed like someone who didn’t think about revenge, but rather that he didn’t seem like someone who harbored such intentions.
“Years have passed. For several years after that, A was obsessed with revenge and consumed by anger.”
“Did his emotions subside over time?”
“Yes. The influence of Captain Angelique, who helped stabilize A’s mentality at the time, was also significant.”
Last summer, when we went to the sea, I met her only once, but I didn’t know much about her except for her name, another team leader whose name I didn’t know well.
“I was also quite shocked, so although not as bad as A, my mental state wasn’t good either. This might be unnecessary to say, but at that time, we were ordered to transfer units, and because the situation was so bad, we stayed in our existing unit for a while.”
And the current second team leader, Angelique, who was A’s direct superior at the time, took care of A and Siera’s conditions.
“Hold on. I understand your condition and your older brother’s condition, and I understand what a space pirate is. But what is this ‘Predator’?”
When Red heard the name ‘Predator,’ the first thing that came to mind was an alien monster from an old movie.
Although the name could be coincidental, Red quickly dismissed the thought of the movie and simply thought there might be such creatures in space. However, after hearing Siera’s account of the invasion, it was impossible to predict what kind of creature it was.
“It’s a predatory life form in space.”
“A predatory life form?”
“Yeah. They all look different, have different characteristics, and behave differently, but they all share the common trait of preying on living beings.”
“…Then could Earth be invaded someday?”
There are unimaginable life forms in space. When Red first learned about their existence, the first thing that came to mind was the threat to Earth.
It’s possible that this life form called Predator might come to Earth, and if that happens, the Hyper-human must stop it. But even the Spacystro, which surpasses Earth’s technology, was unable to deal with the Predator and was driven back into space.
The worry arose whether they would be able to stop the Predator when the time comes.
“There won’t be such a situation.”
“Huh?”
Despite being invaded by the Predator, Siera firmly denied the possibility of the Predator coming to Earth when asked.
“Sure, the Predator is an incredible life form. Some can travel between stars, and many are immune to various weapons.”
Siera’s firm denial only heightened the awareness of the Predator’s danger.
“They search for life forms in space but don’t react to regular movements.”
“What does that mean?”
“Everything in space moves in a regular pattern. Even seemingly irregular things follow a pattern. And the one entity that disrupts this regularity in space is humans.”
While it wasn’t a long explanation, Red could understand the characteristics of the Predator to some extent through Siera’s words.
The Predator detects irregularities. The entity that creates these irregularities is a sentient life form.
In other words, the Predator hunts sentient life forms that create irregularities.
“Even if life forms move within a planet, they cannot be detected in space. There are civilizations that have been destroyed by the Predator due to regular movements, but overall, such cases are practically non-existent in the universe.”
“Then why you?”
“We said it was an invasion by the Predator, but it was actually an invasion by the space pirates. They used the Predator to planfully invade our planet.”
Humans used a predatory life form to invade. It’s not uncommon to see humans using other life forms for their purposes.
However, while using such a special life form as the Predator seemed impressive, it also made Red wonder if humans would go to such lengths just to attack each other.
“Can humans use the Predator?”
“It’s not unheard of, but no human who tried to use the Predator has ever had a good outcome.”
The statement that no human who tried to use the Predator had a good outcome deeply rooted itself in Red’s mind.
“I understand about the Predator. You mean that because your older brother has the purpose of revenge, he doesn’t have any chance of settling on Earth?”
“Yeah. Although A’s anger has lessened over time, his purpose hasn’t changed.”
This was the most convincing statement Siera had made.
Red didn’t like Siera, but she had been with A for a long time and knew more about him than Red did.
“One more question. If A leaves Earth with Spacystro, what will you do?”
Red loves A, and A loves Red.
They don’t need to say it; Red knows it better than anyone else.
Therefore, when the day comes for Spacystro to leave Earth, Red thought there was a possibility that A might stay on Earth instead of leaving.
But A had a purpose that existed long before meeting Red.
After hearing Siera’s story, Red felt that the day A would leave Earth was approaching.
If that day came, could Red really leave Earth and follow A?
Red didn’t dislike A at all.
Having never thought about leaving Earth, Red couldn’t immediately answer the question of whether they could go to an unknown world like space.
But the reason Red hesitated was precisely because of A.
“Think about it more.”
Red came to confirm Red’s sincerity but didn’t expect to hear everything today.
Siera understood that Red needed time to think about the unknown information.
“Hold on.”
Before concluding the conversation by throwing out a dilemma, Red grabbed Siera.
“You’re just going to finish talking and leave?”
Red had a lot to say to Siera. First, Red came because Siera had something to say and waited for Siera to finish. Red didn’t intend to end the situation just because Siera was done talking.
“What will you do about your older brother?”
By clearly stating that Red wasn’t giving up despite being an enemy, Red indicated that Red had a clear intention.
Siera looked sharply at Red, who was confident that Red would do something, but Siera shrugged nonchalantly.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“You already said you don’t know. While I’m not ready to give up confidently, I’ve maintained this relationship with A for a very long time. It’s true that I’m anxious, but suddenly changing the relationship seems strange…”
Though she spoke plainly, there was a lot of contemplation in her words. It seemed she regretted maintaining the friendship for so long and felt ashamed of herself for being content with the current relationship.
“That’s why I wanted to check your feelings. Then maybe my thoughts will become clearer.”
Red could understand some of Siera’s contemplation.
While Red’s concerns were different, both were about a loved one.
Seeing oneself worrying about how to handle A’s harem and Siera worrying about A having a girlfriend, both seemed to have similar yet distinct points.
“Why did I come here to listen if I’m just going to talk and leave?”
“Wait.”
As Siera got up to leave after finishing her business, Red called her back.
“What? Do you have more to say?”
“…Let’s eat something.”
“Huh?”
Surprised by the sudden mention of food, Siera frowned as if this was absurd. Red didn’t come to eat, and Red and Siera weren’t the type to share a meal together.
But from Red’s perspective, who had waited outside for a long time,
Despite the emotional and practical hostility, Red felt sorry for sending away the person who came without enmity today.
“Never mind. What would you and your older brother eat?”
“……”
Unable to refuse Red’s offer again, Siera nodded.
“But what does your older brother like? He said he’s fine with anything.”
Red prepared the meal in the kitchen, while Siera sat on the floor in the living room waiting for Red.
Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, Red asked one of the questions that had been on Red’s mind.
“He really eats anything. He doesn’t have the concept of picky eating. We used to fight a lot over this.”
Red had assumed A’s statement about eating anything was just a figure of speech, but seeing Siera, who had experienced A’s various sides, also say that A eats anything, Red realized that A’s statement was genuine.
“When you need to choose what to eat, just pick what you want. It’s faster and less stressful.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“…What do you do on dates?”
Siera had many questions about private matters. Hesitating for a moment, Red recalled countless dates.
“Well… It’s pretty normal. Eating, sightseeing, and so on. We haven’t traveled far yet, but I think what we do is just like what normal people do.”
“That sounds like A.”
Siera, who had gone out with A many times, thought that A’s girlfriend would act similarly to when they were together, but hearing Red’s words, Red felt there wasn’t much difference.
“Because it’s so normal, I never thought A would be Spacystro.”
“Even though it’s not my place to say, it must be hard work.”
“It is. Five of them, all team members, turned into girlfriends.”
“Huh?”
Seeing Red express regret about A’s harem, Siera tilted her head in puzzlement. As Red turned to look at Siera, their eyes met.
“Why five?”
“There are five girlfriends.”
“…So what if there are five?”
Realizing her mistake, Siera wasn’t thinking about the fact that A had five girlfriends. The problem was that a girlfriend had been acquired before Siera, and that girlfriend was currently an enemy, an Earthling.
For Siera, it didn’t matter that A had five girlfriends, and seeing Siera ask why five mattered, Red thought, “Oh, she’s also an alien like my older brother.” At the same time, Red realized anew that the culture of the alien world was different from Earth’s.
