The operation was successfully concluded, and the Earth Defense Union made no public announcements regarding the secret facility, keeping it hidden from the outside world. Despite the success of the mission and Yubin’s comforting words, there was no dramatic change that caught the eye. I hadn’t had the time to individually check on my girlfriends’ opinions yet. It wasn’t that talking to them was difficult, but there were immediate tasks at hand.
“Have you finished the report?”
“Just a little more.”
After arriving at headquarters, I entered the conference room usually reserved for team leaders and began drafting the report to be submitted to the higher-ups. Esmeralda’s expression as she reviewed the hacked data on the monitor was tense, and I could clearly sense an inexplicable unease. I continued typing.
“Did you tell HunterKiller about this?”
“No, not yet.”
Esmeralda, who had been going through the Hyper-human-related content, asked me. Was she worried about the data leak? Even if I told my girlfriends, there was no concern about the data being exposed. They belonged to a group that prioritized security, and I had never revealed any critical internal information before my identity was exposed, so they were trustworthy.
“It’s the content itself… I’ll talk to them after reporting to the higher-ups and having things sorted out.”
The reason I hadn’t yet told my girlfriends about the Hyper-human-related content wasn’t due to security concerns. The problem was the content itself that I had seen in the lab, which made it impossible to discuss.
There was clearly an issue. I think my girlfriends had also subtly sensed that there was a problem with the Hyper-human-related content. Since there was no solution yet, I decided to keep quiet to avoid causing confusion.
The people who needed to know about the hacked content the most would be informed if a solution wasn’t found over time. However, even though I’ve organized my thoughts, just looking at the content still leaves me disoriented.
If even I, who am not a Hyper-human, feel this way, how much worse would it be for my girlfriends?
“If we report to the higher-ups, maybe they’ll find a solution.”
“That would be a relief.”
Sitting beside me, Luche occasionally glanced at the report I was writing before getting up and moving to the large screen to review the content Esmeralda was looking at.
“There’s no specific details, right?”
“No. There’s specific information about the transmission base, but the Hyper-human-related content is only summarized.”
Upon hearing there were no detailed records of the Hyper-human experiments, Luche nodded. With an unreadable expression, she stared at the screen, occasionally nodding or tilting her head in thought.
“Got something?”
Esmeralda, noticing Luche silently staring, seemed curious about what she was thinking.
“Since it’s a genetic experiment, I thought there might be similarities with Biroid experiments. But there’s not enough detail to compare.”
As a Biroid herself, Luche was comparing the experiments she had undergone with the general content of Hyper-human experiments. However, with no specific details, comparison was impossible. The Biroid experiments, which had clear procedures and ensured stability, were entirely different from the inhumane, unregulated Hyper-human experiments.
The only commonality was the genetic combination aspect, but since most biological experiments involve genetic combination, that alone couldn’t provide any insights.
“Didn’t they experiment with Predators before?”
“Yes, but it was quickly discontinued. It was confirmed that Predator-based experiments were harmful to living beings.”
Long ago, Spacystro had also conducted genetic experiments using Predators. However, the predatory nature of Predators made their genes incompatible with those of other organisms.
Though the experiments weren’t entirely impossible, it was decided that using Predators would cause fatal damage to the subjects, so the experiments were halted.
“Is there any data from those experiments?”
“I doubt it. Even if there is, Earth’s side would have more advanced information on Predator genetics.”
The Predator experiments were conducted a long time ago, even before I was born, and the data was stored in the lab that conducted them. As everyone here knows, our home planet was destroyed by Predators and Space Pirates. Amid the chaos, the data couldn’t be moved and was lost.
Having been in the military for a long time, Esmeralda had some knowledge of those past experiments. I, on the other hand, was a complete rookie back then and didn’t have the resources to look into such old data.
The Hyper-human experiments at Spacystro were conducted only for a few years. Even then, the threat of Predators was widely known, and the experiments were deemed dangerous and discontinued.
Meanwhile, Earth has been investigating Predators for over 20 years. Even if Earth’s technology lags behind Spacystro’s, having conducted research for so long means their data pool is vast.
“It would be faster to find similar experiments to compare with this data.”
“So there’s a chance for a solution, right?”
“I can’t say for certain that there is, but it’s also not impossible.”
Spacystro has conducted countless experiments. Among them, there must be something comparable to the hacked data.
“But… What’s going to happen to me?”
An unexpected question filled the conference room with silence.
Yubin. Red had come to Spacystro’s Seoul headquarters, and it was reported to the higher-ups that I was dating the entire HunterKiller team.
Given the secrecy of this operation, only a select few would know about the report submitted at the time.
Now that the operation was over, I was worried if the postponed disciplinary actions would resume.
There wasn’t exactly room for relaxation, but since I had taken charge of the mission, I thought nothing would happen until its completion. And it had been successfully completed.
While success is worth celebrating, it doesn’t excuse failing to report the numerous previous incidents.
My gaze turned to Luche. It was a concern even when submitting the initial report. Personally, I wouldn’t mind being disciplined, but I didn’t want Luche, my direct superior, to face any repercussions because of me. However, that wasn’t a decision I could make.
“Why, are you worried?”
Luche, who had been staring at the screen, turned her gaze to me. She pulled her chair over, leaned in close, and looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Yes, I am worried.”
Though I said I was worried, I felt somewhat assured. Rather than panicking, I first thought about how to handle the situation if it arose. If Luche were to suffer any harm because of me, I decided I would do my best to defend her.
Having sorted my thoughts, my expression didn’t show anxiety.
“The operation was a success. Let’s finish the report and grab some delicious food, shall we?”
“Sounds good.”
Luche also didn’t seem anxious. Even after reporting to the higher-ups, it would take some time before any orders were issued.
Since no immediate orders were expected, Luche suggested eating together, and I smiled as I agreed, thinking it would be nice to have a meal together after a long time.
Suddenly, I felt like the gazes of Esmeralda, Angelique, and Siera were on me. I turned to check, but their eyes were focused on their tasks.
“What sounds good?”
“Do you have any preferences, Team Leader? I’m fine with anything.”
“I’m good with anything too. I’m not picky.”
Since her time as Ati, Luche had always been this way. She didn’t have picky tastes and enjoyed most foods.
I was the same way. There were foods I didn’t prefer, but I’d eat anything put in front of me.
“Should we stroll around and find a place? If we want to go somewhere good, we’ll have to go a bit further, but we can also get some fresh air.”
“Sounds great!”
Luche responded excitedly, her voice raised. Her joyful demeanor made me smile.
“But we can’t stay out too late. Everyone will feel better if we’re back before sunset.”
“That’s fine.”
I was happy to spend time with Luche. Though she had been my superior for a long time, she felt more like a younger sister, especially after learning about her past as Ati.
Still, we couldn’t stay out too late. Even though we could stay in touch, given the tense atmosphere and the fact that we had only just completed the operation at dawn, it was better to get home early to see my girlfriends.
Luche seemed to understand this, as she didn’t object to the idea of returning early.
“Then I should finish up quickly.”
I thought she was about to wrap up the report and chat excitedly, but instead, Luche went back to her computer to finish writing.
“But how are you going to explain the girlfriends situation?”
“Huh? To whom?”
Siera, who had been glancing at me while writing her report, suddenly asked about explaining the girlfriends situation. I wondered who she was referring to, but as our eyes met, I understood.
“I’ll just explain it as it is. I think Klugger might be misunderstanding something.”
I answered politely, as we were in a room with only team leaders. I also needed to explain things clearly to Teo.
If the opportunity arose, I planned to explain to Alt and Roy as well, but the priority was Klugger and Teo.
For some reason, Klugger seemed to have some strange misunderstandings. Teo, on the other hand, had seen Yubin and me entering together on the day Yubin came to Spacystro’s Seoul headquarters but hadn’t figured anything out yet.
Having helped so much during this operation, it was impossible to keep it a secret from the entire HunterKiller team that I was dating them all.
In fact, I thought it would be better to disclose it sooner rather than later.
“What about living arrangements? Are you going to stay there?”
“Yes. Everyone would be uneasy without me. And I’m planning to ask Yubin and Hayang—I mean, Red and Blue—to move in as well.”
Currently, SuA, Milky Way, Yura, and I are living together. I had long thought it would be better to live all together, and those feelings strengthened during this operation.
The world is abuzz with scandals, and we’ve uncovered brief information about Hyper-human experiments at the transmission base.
It’s certain that more events will unfold, and living together is the best way to quickly check on each other in critical moments.
Of course, there’s also my personal desire to live with all my girlfriends.
Perhaps that personal desire is the strongest.
“It’s done.”
Having finished reviewing and organizing the report, I was ready.
“Me too!”
Luche, who had also just finished her report, jumped up excitedly.
“There are no more meetings today, right?”
After confirming with Esmeralda that there were no further meetings scheduled, Esmeralda nodded.
“Then A and I are clocking out!”
“You’re just going to leave without wrapping up?”
“Go on. We’ll handle the rest.”
Though I felt a bit uneasy about leaving the cleanup to them, Esmeralda insisted and gave Luche a smile.
But Luche, sensing something, suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the conference room.
“I’m sorry! We’ll leave it to you!”
From my subordinate position, it felt awkward to leave the team leaders to wrap things up, so I shouted back as the conference room grew distant.
