Here is the translated text:
It wasn’t that I was just playing around, but the days passed without me doing much. Waiting for an order from above, which could come at any time, was more tense than I thought. It felt like sitting in a classroom hoping they wouldn’t check homework on a day I hadn’t done it, like during school days.
Not knowing how deeply the higher-ups were reviewing the data, waiting every day made me feel like my heart was shrinking. Just when I thought they would give a response.
Time had quietly passed, and it was February.
Although not much time had passed since the radio base raid operation, entering a new month brought various feelings.
There was nothing I could say to the superiors who hadn’t responded yet. It wasn’t just about the response; there could be talk about my punishment, so I couldn’t really speak up.
Even if I could speak, with what I had done, there was no way I could freely express what I wanted to say to the superiors.
When I thought this might be the case until the next battle date arrived.
I rushed to headquarters upon hearing that the order from the superiors had finally come down.
“Is this all?”
“Yeah, that’s all that has come down so far.”
I sat down with the team leaders in the headquarters meeting room and confirmed the instructions from above.
The instructions were trivial.
“The data collected through the relevant operation is being continuously reviewed by the higher-ups, and the personnel involved in the operation are prohibited from making statements about the operation until further orders.”
I read the topmost content aloud. Expecting some insight into how the review was proceeding, I was disappointed to find nothing I wanted.
In essence, it was just telling me to maintain the current state.
“Seoul Branch Team 3 is to cancel the confrontation with the HunterKiller Team. It is recommended to push for confrontations with other teams, and in certain cases, not to proceed with confrontations.”
This was somewhat unusual. The Spacystro upper echelons had always required confrontations to occur weekly unless there was a special reason.
With low barriers for special reasons, many confrontations were skipped on rainy or snowy days, but generally, confrontations were always conducted.
An order allowing no confrontation without special circumstances was something I had never seen in the past ten years of participating in confrontations.
“What should we do about this?”
My gaze naturally went to the team leader of Team 3, my direct superior, Luche.
Luche was also at a loss due to the unprecedented command.
“The order has been given, but is it okay to proceed like this?”
“Team 3’s confrontation schedule can be adjusted.”
Stopping the confrontation between Team 3 and the HunterKiller Team didn’t mean that Team 3 shouldn’t have confrontations. There were several teams in the Earth Defense Union Seoul Branch besides the HunterKiller Team, and their schedules could be coordinated.
But it wasn’t something I could take lightly.
While Team 3 had fought against other teams a few times over the past few years, confronting the HunterKiller Team was a specialty of Team 3.
“How about the HunterKiller Team?”
“Luckily, they are very busy.”
The girlfriends were having a hectic life, and fortunately, one burden could be lessened.
If the girlfriends said they weren’t going to have confrontations, they would likely show a surprised look, but with their busy schedules, not having confrontations for a while might be better.
Not having confrontations could be burdensome for hyper-humans.
Originally sent to the field for confrontations with the Spacystro, not having them could lead to people pointing fingers.
But thankfully, the target is the HunterKiller Team.
Since the embezzlement scandal, there has been much sympathy, and if we don’t conduct confrontations temporarily to handle the scandal, it could be a reasonable excuse.
“Then, let A deliver this message to the HunterKiller Team.”
“Yes. This is something I should do.”
Answering Luche, I glanced over the command.
I found content related to me. I had been given instructions in this operation and was the one who triggered the issues involving the hyper-human. I thought the superiors must have issued some command.
Scanning the content, most of it concerned internal matters of the headquarters. It did not pertain to me, and mostly concerned the team leaders.
Just when I wondered if there was still nothing concerning me.
At the bottom, an item caught my eye.
“There’s something related to A too.”
Just then, it seemed Angelique was reading the same item.
Listening to her voice, I focused on the last item.
“The general soldier ‘A’ who was assigned the instructions for the relevant operation is to halt all confrontation activities. Additionally, until further orders from above, they are to remain in a standby state.”
As I read, I heard Angelique’s voice.
Halting activities. In effect, it was like a suspension, similar to being placed under house arrest before receiving disciplinary action.
It seemed the superiors had decided to punish me and were currently reviewing the details of the punishment.
Overall, the content concerning me was not significant, explaining why the decision was delayed.
It wasn’t particularly good news, but at least it was clear now.
Letting out a light sigh, all the team leaders’ gazes turned to me.
“I’m fine. I was prepared for this.”
The team leaders seemed to think I was under house arrest because of the punishment. Especially Luche, whose expression was quite poor.
As a superior, she felt some responsibility, but I was grateful that there was no mention of her.
It was solely my actions, and Luche only knew that I was investigating the hyper-human.
Superiors bear responsibility for their subordinates’ mistakes, but in this case, I was fully responsible, which was truly fortunate.
“More importantly, I’m worried about the team. We’ve only just started again.”
Simultaneously, I began worrying about Team 3. While missing one person wouldn’t make a big difference, Team 3 was currently in a precarious state.
The newly formed team members had yet to establish good teamwork, and they needed to fight other teams besides the HunterKiller Team for the time being.
Perhaps this situation could work out well, leading to better teamwork among colleagues, but it was an overly optimistic view.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. We’re also considering bringing back Klugger.”
The mention of Klugger left me speechless.
Since returning without properly talking to Klugger, I hadn’t visited him yet.
Thinking we’d talk properly, I had become preoccupied with the situation and forgotten about visiting Klugger again.
Seemingly, there was a misunderstanding, but he was a simple enough person that I believed the issue would be resolved once we talked.
Deciding to meet Klugger soon and discuss things, I stretched.
“Let’s wrap up today’s meeting here.”
Everyone nodded at Esmeralda’s words.
Since the meeting was hastily called due to the order from above, there was no need to continue after confirming the content.
While scheduling confrontations was necessary, that could be handled in a confrontation-related meeting, and this wasn’t a meeting I should be involved in.
“What a headache.”
Feeling frustrated, I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling.
There was no change in having to wait for orders, and I couldn’t even do what I was doing.
After a long break, returning and almost immediately going under house arrest made me worry I might lose my sense of direction in the future.
Worried about the future, I raised my chin and stared into the void when I noticed a gaze from the side.
After the meeting, none of the team leaders left the meeting room, and Esmeralda was looking at me.
Our eyes met briefly, but Esmeralda quickly looked away, picked up her smartphone and cigarettes from the table, and left the room.
“LuChe, there’s something to talk about regarding the confrontation.”
Siera approached LuChe, and my gaze followed her voice, landing on Siera. Sensing my gaze, Siera looked at me cautiously, then averted her eyes with an awkward expression.
“…Alright.”
In a moment, LuChe was watching the scene between Siera and me. With a stern look, she alternated her gaze between us before leaving the meeting room with Siera.
Only I and Angelique remained in the meeting room, and it felt more awkward pretending not to notice her, so I turned to look at her.
Meeting my gaze, Angelique smiled at me as she continued to watch me blankly.
“How have you been lately?”
“Huh?”
“How are things with your girlfriends?”
“We’re doing well. Recently, they’ve been busier, so they look tired.”
Hearing my reply, Angelique nodded softly and said, “I see.” She had a peculiar feeling that she couldn’t look away from me.
“Is something wrong?”
Angelique seemed worried about something.
Without any change in expression, Angelique shook her head after a brief pause.
“No, I just thought it was good that A was doing well.”
Could she be reminiscing?
Many people had worried about me over the years, but among them, Angelique’s words had struck me the deepest.
Before and after my parents passed away, Angelique, my first direct supervisor, had the most influence on me.
Especially after my parents’ passing, she visited me daily to check on my condition, despite her own difficulties.
She stayed with me until I fell asleep after terrible nightmares, and she checked on me even when I couldn’t sleep until morning. Thanks to her care, I was able to recover.
After transferring to the aviation unit, I became Esmeralda’s subordinate, but we kept in touch, sharing our situations.
“Thank you.”
Hearing my words, Angelique widened her eyes in surprise.
“Huh? What for?”
“For various reasons. I think I might have become a strange person if you hadn’t been there.”
Hearing me, Angelique shook her head.
“No, even if I wasn’t there, A would have made the right choice. You’ve always done well.”
That was her habit. Whenever I was in trouble or struggling, she would always say I was doing well. I had always thought she was encouraging me, but suddenly, I wondered why she kept saying that.
“You always say I’m doing well, but am I really doing well?”
“Of course. I’ve never seen A make a wrong choice.”
I assumed there would be differences in opinion. However, in Angelique’s eyes, I had never made a wrong choice.
Though I’ve made mistakes and errors, Angelique meant that the choices I made were always correct.
“Really? I’m not sure…”
As the one involved, hearing that made me feel embarrassed, and it was hard to simply accept it.
Seeing my awkward smile, Angelique smiled back, understanding me.
Then she stood up and slowly approached me.
“Angelique?”
Looking up, I saw Angelique spread her arms and pull me into a hug.
“A, you’re doing well. Don’t worry. If you have any tough times, I’ll help you.”
Angelique had always shown me kindness. Today, her voice and actions felt warmer, perhaps because she saw through my attempt to act unaffected after receiving the order.
I knew there would be a punishment, and I was sure of the command coming, but knowing didn’t make the punishment feel any better.
“Angelique always treats me well.”
Hugging me, Angelique released the embrace and looked down at me sitting.
“That’s because A is cool.”
“Am I cool?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t think she meant it superficially. Angelique had never judged me based on my appearance.
People often say we should judge the inside rather than the outside, but most people tend to judge by appearances.
Angelique always saw people’s inner selves, and I believed she saw my true self.
Did she think I was a person with a cool inner self? Feeling a surge of gratitude, my confidence grew.
“Thank you.”
Hearing my quiet words, Angelique continued to smile and gently stroked my hair.
