There were days when I didn’t feel like thinking about anything. But just as life doesn’t always go as we wish, I wasn’t given the time to simply space out.
I had thought several times that it was time to start moving, but my buttocks, glued to the chair, showed no signs of lifting.
My hand held the mouse idly, scrolling down, while my gaze was fixed on the void rather than the monitor.
“Huh.”
Theo called me with a sigh. He had already prepared to leave, but I, who showed no sign of moving, was being watched intently.
“Are you not getting up?”
“I have to get up.”
Even though I had important things to do, I lacked the will. It wasn’t just because there had been no progress in finding Gainesboro’s whereabouts; after checking the schedule recently, my enthusiasm had quickly faded.
“You said you’d go if visiting became possible.”
“That’s right. We have to go.”
Let me correct myself: it wasn’t the schedule that made my enthusiasm wane. The investigation might be disrupted by the schedule, which led to my decreased motivation.
Spacystro conducts training twice a year to evaluate combat capabilities. Even during summer, training took place, and I happened to meet the girlfriends at the same location.
Training was scheduled for early February, after the cold winds of January subsided. Despite Team 3 experiencing major incidents and causing quite a stir, they weren’t exempt from training.
“Can he return to work before February?”
“It’s not impossible, is it?”
While training is good, Team 3 currently lacks a solid combat structure. Although Luche is in command, there is a need for someone to establish a clear system among the soldiers.
When Luche commands, the team operates smoothly, but once his command ends, everything falls apart. Having formed the team not long ago, their teamwork isn’t yet aligned.
The problem is that there is no one in the team now who can establish teamwork.
Klugger was the only one capable of this role, and his help was crucial for improving teamwork. However, given that Klugger had just regained consciousness after a period in bed, the possibility of him returning to training before it began was almost non-existent.
Evaluation is ruthless. The fact that Team 3 has many tasks does not mean they will be considered in the combat training evaluation. I worried whether the current team could be properly evaluated based on their combat capabilities.
Team 3, which has always achieved high results in training, would lose its identity if it couldn’t receive proper evaluations in training.
With so much to do and a new worry added, my enthusiasm was completely gone.
“Let’s go.”
I knew sitting and staring at the ceiling wouldn’t solve anything, so I grabbed my laptop and stood up to find Klugger.
“Senior! Sorry for being late.”
After packing my bag and putting on my coat, I met Alt and Roy outside, who were already waiting with sharp eyes.
“Stop making noise.”
Ignoring their complaints, I got into the car provided by headquarters. Theo sat in the driver’s seat, I in the passenger’s, and Alt and Roy naturally took the back seats. The car headed towards the hospital with just the men.
Having been surrounded by women for a long time, I felt uncomfortable being around men again, yet there was also a different kind of comfort compared to being with girlfriends.
“Don’t cause a commotion when we get to the hospital.”
Alt and Roy, known for their lively nature, were already raising their voices from the back seat since departure. I warned them about their behavior, but they didn’t seem to listen.
“It’s fortunate Klugger woke up. I thought he might not wake up until the invasion of Earth ended.”
“Exactly. I thought something must have happened after the visitation ban was lifted.”
Both Theo and I, having spent a lot of time with Klugger, viewed his awakening with great anticipation. Though he appeared physically fine, no one knew when he would fully recover.
Spacystro’s technology is impressive, but brain-related technologies remain a mystery. This applies not only to Spacystro but to all civilizations in the universe.
Scientists who create biroids also struggle with understanding the growth process of a biroid’s brain.
Fortunately, Klugger had awakened, and the thought of seeing him awake again after a long time filled me with a strange sense of expectation. Though Theo and I had reunited some time ago, it had been a long time since Theo and Klugger saw each other, and even longer since all three of us were together.
Although Alt and Roy were assigned to us together, it was the first time all four of us were together, making it even more anticipated.
“What will Alt say?”
“Probably starting with ‘Why did you tan like that?'”
I know Alt as a young man with fair hair and skin. When we met again, he had tanned his skin to a bronze color, and everyone, including me, reacted with “Why did you tan like that?”
Later, when I asked why he tanned, he replied simply, “It looks cool, doesn’t it?” Alt enjoys various cultures and mentioned being deeply into anime in Japan. Perhaps he saw a character with such skin and decided to tan himself.
“100%.”
As we speculated on how Klugger would react, our conversation continued as the car moved toward the hospital.
The hospital was bustling with people coming and going. Having seen Silver from Team SpecialForce before, I always wondered if she was around when I visited. Today was no different; I checked nearby for any sign of Silver as I approached the ward.
When I entered the room, Klugger, who was sitting on the bed reading a book, looked up at the sound of the door. Our eyes met.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m desperate to move.”
Despite not needing an oxygen mask or intravenous drip, Klugger looked thinner but overall healthier.
“You look better.”
“Senior!”
Alt, standing behind, greeted loudly, and immediately frowned upon seeing Klugger.
“Why did you tan like that?”
Seeing the expected reaction, Theo and I couldn’t help but laugh, and after a cough, we sat down on the chair beside the bed.
“First, your stuff.”
“Thanks.”
I handed him a shopping bag containing his smartphone and a few other items. After placing these items down, I handed him a tablet next.
When Klugger received a call from his hospital bed, he requested his belongings and a summary of recent events be organized.
While investigating, I had gathered a lot of information, so I organized the data to ensure Klugger could understand the situation quickly. Without a word, Klugger scanned the content displayed on the tablet.
“After the terrorist incident, Team Guerrilla hasn’t been seen, and the radio base detected signals, while the Earth Defense Union faced embezzlement cases… A lot has happened while I was sleeping, huh?”
“Because of that, we couldn’t fight properly. I’m totally out of it.”
Except for the radio detection, all these were issues I had been looking into, and I couldn’t help but complain, releasing my fatigue.
“Everyone’s worked hard. So, Alt didn’t get his debut match either?”
“He didn’t participate in the last match. With the team’s poor teamwork, adding Alt would make it worse.”
I suggested not immediately involving Alt in the matches due to the team’s poor coordination, despite him being new to Korea.
Everyone understood the issue with teamwork, but they accepted my suggestion, and as a result, Alt did not participate in the last match, which was poorly managed.
Since the team leader’s decision was final, Alt accepted it humbly, although he was still discontent about not participating in matches.
“Back then, I would have caused a ruckus if I were told to fight.”
“I’ve also learned to navigate society, you know.”
Alt is one of the most hawkish individuals I know. It’s natural for him to feel discontent about not being able to fight, as Klugger pointed out. If Alt were still immature, he would have ignored orders and fought regardless.
“Oh, did they assign a caregiver for me?”
Alt and Roy, who didn’t know much about Klugger’s condition, were confused. Knowing the situation, Theo and I were puzzled by the mention of a caregiver.
“No, there was a caregiver?”
“Well… No. I was just wondering.”
“The cleaning is done by hospital staff, right?”
Seeing Theo hesitate in answering, I thought he might have felt uncomfortable because the room had been tidy.
Klugger did not respond further to the caregiver question. As silence fell, he turned his attention to the laptop I brought.
“What’s this laptop for?”
Though he might think I was just carrying it, Klugger, knowing I don’t usually carry many things, sensed there was a purpose.
“I have a favor to ask.”
If I intended only to visit, I wouldn’t have brought the laptop. I turned it on and placed it on the bedside table.
“Can you decrypt this encrypted file?”
This was about decrypting a file related to Gainesboro.
Previously, Klugger and I had created a hacking tool to decrypt information from our suits. Most of the programming was done by me, but Klugger joined because he excelled at encryption and decryption.
Theo, seeing the encrypted files for the first time, looked at the laptop and then at Klugger.
“Did you find this with the hacking tool you made before?”
Klugger, who had been examining the laptop, looked up, and both their gazes shifted to me.
“Hacking tool? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you two make one before? I found this recently when he asked me to.”
Was showing this to Theo a mistake? Understanding the general situation, Klugger glanced between the monitor and the tablet I gave him.
After a few moments.
“Huh.”
The calm voice made me break out in a cold sweat.
“Did you mess up?”
Knowing too much about what I had done with Klugger, pretending ignorance wouldn’t work. Theo, noticing the unusual event, looked disappointed.
“It’s not exactly a mess-up, more like I have a plan.”
Habitually, I tried to evade, knowing it wouldn’t work. Both Theo and Klugger sighed simultaneously.
“This.”
Pointing at the laptop.
“And this.”
Pointing at the tablet.
“Are related?”
Although the timing was perfect, seeing Klugger immediately connect the dots, I realized I couldn’t hide the truth from him.
“Alt. Roy.”
“Yeah?”
“Could you step aside for a moment?”
Alt and Roy, who had been silently observing, understood they weren’t involved and left the room without a word.
It felt unfair to exclude them, but Alt and Roy had never dealt with such matters, and involving them immediately would be inappropriate.
Theo, Klugger, and I.
In the silent room, only the three of us remained. They waited for me to speak.
Would it be possible to explain the situation to them without revealing the hidden truth?
