Here’s the translated text:
I wasn’t sure if writing such words to a girlfriend was appropriate, but if I had to use the most fitting expression for the current situation, I could say that I put out the urgent fire first.
Although the mood of the Milky Way still hadn’t improved, she seemed to have completely lost the thought of staying locked in her room, as she held hands for quite a long time before coming out to the living room.
While I was the one who caused the reason, YuRa ultimately cut the Milky Way’s bangs with scissors. YuRa, who remembered the exact sensation, immediately apologized profusely like a criminal when the Milky Way came out.
It seemed YuRa knew how precious the bangs were to the Milky Way and that she had been taking care of herself.
Seeing YuRa apologize to the point where the person being apologized to felt sorry, the Milky Way didn’t want to get angry either and ended the situation by saying, “It’s okay.”
Of course, knowing that it’s not okay, YuRa headed to the bathroom with the Milky Way again. It seemed they were trying to make a suitable style given that the bangs were already cut.
Although I wanted to watch from the side, seeing the culprit just a moment ago, I decided not to go to the bathroom and sat on the sofa in the living room instead.
“Do you know how much Green endured?”
“I know. But among the appearances of the Milky Way I’ve seen so far, this was the scariest.”
It’s usually more frightening to suppress anger than to express it. While I couldn’t tell how much the Milky Way was angry, just knowing she was angry meant it wasn’t an ordinary anger.
And the Milky Way didn’t express that anger outwardly.
She seemed to have expressed it in her own way, but from my perspective, it looked like she was trying to suppress it as much as possible.
Seeing the Milky Way come out of the room, Yubin had the same complex and subtle expression.
As we sat next to each other, numb, SoA, who was playing a game nearby, turned her head slightly.
“We have to wait until her mood improves. What else can we do?”
“Right. Maybe dinner out would cheer her up?”
“I don’t think that’s a bad choice.”
Gaining confidence from SoA’s words, I took out my smartphone from my pocket.
The first thing I checked after turning on the screen when I woke up this morning was the date.
“It’s a weekday today.”
“Why?”
As I muttered to myself after checking the date, Yubin seemed to think something was wrong and spoke up.
“No, today is the day for the four-team match.”
Although it had been a while since I last checked the schedule, I remembered the upcoming matches very accurately. Since I wasn’t participating in the matches, I tried to memorize the schedules of our team and other teams as much as possible. Today, there was a four-team match.
“Who are they playing against?”
Yubin, who had been focused on investigating rather than participating in the match activities, didn’t have the chance to check the schedules of other teams within the Seoul Branch.
In response to the question about who the Milky Way was playing against today, I tried to recall the opponent by piecing together my memory since I only checked the schedule but didn’t remember it precisely.
“Probably Team Endurance.”
“Oh. That team.”
After hearing about Team Endurance, Yubin seemed to lose interest and shifted her gaze to the game screen SoA was playing.
“What do you think about Team Endurance? Drask. He’s part of that team.”
“…Are you starting to show interest in guys now?”
“No.”
I said firmly that it wasn’t the case. Yubin didn’t mean it seriously either.
She, like me, was also quite focused on Team Endurance.
Since Team Guerrilla was dissolved and they arrived during the chaotic period at the Seoul Branch, there was no time to gather information. As a result, they lacked information, and it was impossible to confirm whether anyone was behind them.
This was inevitable. As mentioned earlier, Team Endurance arrived after Team Guerrilla was dissolved.
Considering the numerous problems and the lack of positive outcomes since Team Guerrilla, it was natural to be cautious. Even suspicions arose that they might be related to Gainesboro.
“I don’t know much either. I’ve passed by a few times, but they’re around less often than they’re here.”
“Seems like they keep patrolling. For show?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t heard anything specific about what they’re doing.”
If it were for show, news wouldn’t be lacking.
If they had ill intentions, there would be no reason to hide their actions. On the contrary, it would be more beneficial to publicize and demonstrate their actions to build an image.
However, even Yubin, who is part of the same branch, didn’t know any news related to Team Endurance.
“For now, we’ll have to keep an eye on them. Once the match starts again, we’ll collect relevant data.”
Unusually, SoA, who usually doesn’t pay much attention to such matters, talked about the future.
“Yeah. We should start the match soon to feel better.”
Smiling, I approached SoA and glanced at her, making her look away and turn her head.
“What? Why?”
“Just.”
Feeling a sense of pride because SoA, who usually doesn’t talk about future plans, said something like that, I felt a bit proud. Just a few months ago, SoA wouldn’t have said such things. It seemed somewhat like she was showing some enthusiasm.
“!”
When I was feeling proud while looking at SoA, a loud sound from beside startled me, and I turned my head.
Yubin, who was looking at her smartphone, was frozen and staring at the screen.
“Why, why are you like this?”
Unable to calm down my trembling voice due to the second loud sound heard today, Yubin remained still. Gradually, I approached her and looked at the screen she was watching.
“…Salary.”
When I saw the same screen as Yubin, she quietly said this.
Today is the day of the match, and it’s also the day when the girlfriends’ salaries are paid.
Even though the embezzlement case is ongoing and they couldn’t recover all the embezzled money immediately, they assured that the salary would be paid normally.
Last month, they didn’t receive a normal salary. The announcement of paying the salary normally was made a few days before the salary was supposed to be issued, but it seemed the processing wasn’t done properly in between.
Although I was angry that they didn’t give the promised salary immediately, I didn’t vent my anger by looking at the girlfriends who were probably angrier than I was.
“!”
Finally realizing that today’s salary was deposited normally and looking properly at the smartphone screen,
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“One hundred thousand ten million.”
About 5 million won was deposited.
It was more than ten times the usual monthly salary.
Seeing Yubin and me standing still without any reaction, SoA, who was curious about what happened, put down the gamepad and approached us.
Though she didn’t exclaim in surprise, SoA also seemed quite surprised and stopped.
“Should we really go out for dinner?”
“…Yeah.”
YuBin, who couldn’t properly understand the words spoken blankly, mechanically nodded in response.
I don’t plan to buy anything for the girlfriends with the increased salary. To celebrate receiving a proper salary, I want to have a proper dinner.
—
Meanwhile.
In a mountainous area located in Gyeonggi Province.
The Spacystro soldiers and Team Endurance were fiercely engaged in battle in a place where people don’t usually go.
Amidst the chaos, Siera, wielding a sword, was blocking Drask’s fierce attack aimed at her.
‘It’s definitely not comparable to the skills I’ve faced so far.’
Siera, who had previously fought against Team Guerrilla, felt that Team Endurance’s skills were incomparable to those of Team Guerrilla.
When Siera’s sword clashed with Drask’s armored fist, a sharp sound echoed, and sparks flew.
To seize the opportunity when they were close, Siera stepped forward, but Siera, who couldn’t allow the enemy to approach, immediately created distance and kicked Drask’s head.
“Ugh!”
Although he blocked the quick attack, Drask couldn’t withstand the force and stumbled backward, barely maintaining his balance.
“They’re different from the ones I fought while circulating in Gyeonggi Province.”
Comparing the opponent’s strength to those he had fought before wasn’t just Siera’s experience. Drask also realized that the members of Team Endurance he had fought were different from those in Gyeonggi Province.
“I was puzzled hearing that Team Guerrilla never won once. Now, I understand a little.”
“…You talk too much.”
Seeing Drask muttering to himself, Siera replied coldly, devoid of warmth.
“Sometimes I hear such remarks.”
Drask clenched his fist and ran towards Siera again. Seeing the swift attack, Siera retreated to find an opening.
But the distance narrowed quickly, and after blocking Drask’s punch, Siera struck his helmet with her knee.
Just as she was about to lose balance again, Drask, who hadn’t lost his composure, noticed Siera performing a spinning back kick in mid-air.
“Gah!”
Siera kicked Drask’s helmet forcefully, pushing him back several meters.
Despite being pushed back, Drask managed to regain his balance and prepare to attack Siera again.
“You’re persistent.”
“That’s a compliment to me.”
What I thought silently came out, and hearing Siera’s words, Drask smiled inside his helmet.
“We’re fighting to protect the Earth. We can’t afford to be unyielding. If I fall here, people will lose someone they can rely on.”
“…I’ll take back what I just said. Instead of saying you’re persistent, I’d say your perseverance is remarkable.”
“Those are indeed grateful words.”
Siera began to understand the situation of the hyper-humans to some extent. It wasn’t just because A’s girlfriends were hyper-humans.
Through joint operations and monitoring various news reports, Siera realized that they couldn’t fully focus on the battle due to their circumstances.
Although Siera had experienced relatively peaceful invasions for a long time, she wasn’t entirely cold-hearted. Despite being enemies, she sometimes sympathized with them and found moments of laughter in their conversations.
Knowing that the enemies were fighting to protect something, Siera wasn’t cold enough to speak harshly to those who were determined and had a will.
Lifting the sword, Siera prepared to strike, and the relentless combat resumed.
—
The sun had set. Worried that someone might recognize the girlfriends’ faces from the news, I was concerned that someone might notice them.
There was a person who recognized Luche on the street, and I wondered what would happen if something similar occurred again, but fortunately, nothing like that happened.
People remembered the faces of the perpetrators and knew there were victims, but they weren’t conscious of them.
We reserved a restaurant with a separate room, but I wondered if anyone would recognize us on the way there or back, yet no one approached or stared persistently.
Surprisingly, we had a smooth meal and returned to the apartment, getting into the elevator.
“Milky Way, how are you feeling?”
Before entering the house, I asked her how she was feeling, considering it was both an apology for cutting her bangs and a celebration of receiving a proper salary.
“Now I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
Although her bangs were cut, YuRa did her best to style them in a way that wasn’t awkward. More importantly, she received an unusually large amount of salary, which significantly improved her mood compared to earlier.
“The best treatment must be financial therapy, huh?”
“Indeed. I never knew this before since I hadn’t experienced it.”
Hayang replied with a joke, responding to YuRa’s lighthearted comment.
The elevator quickly ascended to the top floor.
Usually, we would go straight through the open door to the entrance, but upon the elevator doors opening, everyone stopped before they could all exit.
“…”
Several people in black suits stood in front of the entrance.
Recognizing the unknown opponents as enemies, tension filled my body and that of the girlfriends.
At that moment, the person in charge of the group, who appeared to be the highest-ranking among those in black suits, approached.
“Spacystro 6th Fleet, 1st Ship, Seoul Headquarters, 3rd Team. A. Are you the right person?”
They were the ones who knew my affiliation and came looking for me.
“Yes.”
Out of caution, I unconsciously responded informally, but he ignored it and continued speaking.
“I am from the Military Security Department of the Spacystro 6th Fleet.”
After revealing his affiliation except for his name, he glanced at the girlfriends behind me.
“Are the ladies behind you all members of the Earth Defense Union Seoul Branch, Team HunterKiller?”
For the girlfriends, they were subjects of suspicion, but for me, it was impossible not to answer or lie.
“Yes.”
“Would you kindly accompany us to the Spacystro Fleet Headquarters?”
“…What?”
Stunned by the sudden request, all I could do was exchange glances with the girlfriends.
