Chapter 1: We Are an Evil Organization, But We Are Not Bad People.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: We Are an Evil Organization, But We Are Not Bad People.
Beep!
The sound of barcodes being scanned echoed repeatedly at the convenience store counter. I watched as the prices of the items I’d set down climbed one by one on the display.
“That’ll be 12,800 won.”
“Here you go.”
I handed my card to the part-timer. Dressed in her uniform, she took the card to process the payment. As she packed my lunchbox and drinks into a bag, I stole glances at her, scanning her up and down.
Sensing my gaze, she seemed to become conscious of me. I took the bag and walked straight out of the store.
“I guess coming here at the exact same time every day for a month was too suspicious.”
My name is A. I’ve been monitoring her for over a month. I’m a member of the space pirates known as Spacetro, and it’s been exactly twenty years since I arrived on Earth.
After losing our homeworld to an alien invasion and fleeing into the cosmos, we survived our long lives by invading other planets. Eventually, our ship’s power core failed completely, and the place we made our final landing for invasion was here: Earth.
Though we engage in planetary invasions, we aren’t ruthless monsters. Even when we invade, we follow the rules of that planet and seize what we want only by winning through the methods proposed by its inhabitants.
At the time, Earth only had the technology to scout nearby planets; deep space navigation was still a long way off.
We assumed we would win no matter what challenge they issued. Surprisingly, the method the people of Earth proposed was a "duel." They declared that if we could achieve a total victory in physical combat against humans selected by Earth, they would admit defeat and permit our invasion. Given the gap in technology, we thought it would be an easy win. We were wrong.
Earth might not have had the tech to explore the universe, but they had been busy developing technology to counter invasions from outer space—and their technology worked on us.
Ultimately, unable to complete the invasion for twenty years, the members of Spacetro began to blend into human society, scattering across the globe to carry out their activities.
The humans of Earth had also dispatched individuals to every region to counter us. My daily visits to this convenience store at the same time for a month were part of that struggle.
The part-timer who was scanning my barcodes just moments ago—she was one of the humans we had to face.
As "Grunt 1" of Spacetro, my role was to keep her under surveillance. Since I couldn't follow her every second of the day, I came to check on her movements on the days she worked at the store.
The Spacetro mothership is currently stationed in the waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. Our forces are scattered everywhere. I was sent to Seoul, in the country of South Korea, to keep an eye on her.
“Hard at work again today, I see.”
Standing outside the store, I watched her through the glass window while unwrapping the hot bar I’d just bought.
One of the representative groups the Spacetro Seoul Branch deals with is "Team Hunter Killer." To protect their identities, they use color-based codenames.
That young lady working in the convenience store is a member of Hunter Killer. Her codename is "Red." Privately, I call her "Convenience Store Red."
Ring~
Right on cue, a melody drifted from the smartphone in my pocket. I pulled it out, checked the name on the screen, and answered.
“Hello?”
—A. Where are you?
“Monitoring the target.”
The person on the other end was one of Spacetro’s executives and my direct superior. She was the one who assigned me to watch Convenience Store Red.
—It’s an operation. Get over here.
“Yes, ma’am...”
I hung up with a sigh, stuffed the rest of the hot bar into my mouth, took one last look at Red inside the store, and headed to work.
The distance to the Seoul Branch wasn't that far. It was a quick trip by car. Sometimes I walked to save on taxi fare, and since it wasn't an impossible distance, I’d occasionally thought about how much easier it would be with a bicycle. However, I always gave up on the idea because buying a bike felt like a waste of money.
Once I arrive at the branch building, my job is simple. I change into a featureless black suit and put on a helmet that covers my entire head. With that, I’m ready for deployment. All that’s left is to hop in the car with the others.
I squeezed into the van. We’ve been pulled over and ticketed before for exceeding the passenger limit, but it seems my boss is intent on sticking to this method.
“Is everyone in?”
A woman with grey hair turned around from the passenger seat to check the headcount. She wore a daring outfit that exposed her midriff and chest, topped with a cape and heavy makeup. Since we all looked exactly the same in our gear, she wasn't checking who was there, just how many.
“Where are we going today?”
“The Han River.”
We carry out our invasion activities according to the rules set by the target planet. Because of that, the days we can launch an attack are fixed, and our opponents show up for the duel at the scheduled time.
In truth, if we mobilized our full military might, crushing a planet like this would be child's play. While I don't have a problem with the peaceful approach, it can be frustrating.
The van set off. Unable to even breathe properly in the cramped space, we headed toward the Han River. Convenience Store Red was working until just a moment ago; I wondered if she’d make it to the duel.
After a thirty-minute drive, we arrived at the Han River and poured out of the van to escape the stifling interior. Even after getting out, breathing was difficult because of the full-face helmets.
“This is harder than the actual fighting. They really need to improve our welfare.”
“Tell me about it. I heard the branches in San Francisco and London have amazing benefits.”
As we stood there inhaling fresh air and grumbling to relieve the frustration, our boss, Luche, who had stepped out first, shouted at us.
“Then produce some results! You guys get knocked out in one hit every single time. How can we get funding when there’s no performance?!”
Getting knocked out in one hit can’t be helped. Honestly, Team Hunter Killer’s attacks hurt way too much. I don’t know what kind of technology they use, but every single one of their blows is incredibly effective against us. Once you get hit, you just lose all your strength.
While we waited for Team Hunter Killer to arrive, I could hear people passing by the Han River whispering about us. We’re still unwelcome entities, but after twenty years on Earth, our activities have turned into something of a public event. It’s not my place as an enemy to say this, but their lack of a sense of danger feels a bit pathetic.
Last time, Luche even gave an autograph to a little kid who asked for one. Apparently, the kid told Luche they were a fan. I still find it hard to believe.
In the beginning, reporters used to chase us around taking photos, trying everything to find our base. Now that time has passed, they don't show much interest. It feels like we aren't even news anymore in human society. These days, I’m almost happy to see a reporter.
“Spacetro!”
While we were gathered and chatting, Team Hunter Killer arrived. The team, composed entirely of women, used the codenames Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink. Getting thrashed by just five of them was our daily routine. As I said before, it really hurts.
They wore suits in colors matching their codenames. Looking at their flashy, transforming outfits compared to our suits, which only have basic defensive functions, I felt a twinge of envy.
“So you’ve come, Team Hunter Killer.”
Luche completely wiped away her previous chatter, greeting them with a commanding presence as she drew a large scythe.
Red is here too.
The Red I had seen at the convenience store was now standing before me in her suit. The reality that we, who were just in a part-timer and customer relationship, were now facing each other as enemies was somewhat amusing.
Of course, she had no idea who I was, so it was a sentiment I kept to myself.
“Now, go!”
At Luche’s command, the soldiers armed with weapons—myself included—charged at Team Hunter Killer.
“Not so fast!”
One of our guys was sent flying by a strike from Red’s sword. Watching that, I thought it was business as usual and kept up my momentum, sprinting toward Red.
The other members of Hunter Killer also engaged us. Our sixteen men, who had charged in with such spirit, were literally being dismantled by just five women and their powerful strikes.
Luche, wielding her scythe, swung at Green, but Green, armed with a spear, lightly parried the attack and threw a kick at her.
One of the grunts jumped in the way, sparing Luche from injury, but the grunt who took the kick collapsed to the ground, unable to get up from the pain in his solar plexus.
“Take this!”
I was sent sprawling by an explosion after being hit by a shot from Blue. Our suits might only be good for defense, but at least that defense is solid. I’m truly grateful for how sturdy they are.
Sixteen grunts and one executive. Luche was defeated soundly without much of a fight. From a distance, it was an overwhelming loss—a fight that looked almost like a joke—but we were desperate to win. We simply had no choice but to kneel before the strength of Team Hunter Killer once again.
One of the conditions Earth set for Spacetro’s invasion was the "No-kill Rule." Since the leaders of Spacetro weren't people who enjoyed meaningless slaughter anyway, the proposal was accepted immediately. In the end, neither the humans fighting us nor we fighting the humans were permitted to kill our opponents.
“Now! Get out of here!”
At Red’s shout, we picked ourselves up one by one and climbed into the van the driver had brought around. Luche, seemingly having one last thing to say, stood outside until the very last of us had boarded. Once the final grunt was in, she pointed a finger at Team Hunter Killer.
“Team Hunter Killer! You’ll pay for this next time!”
I wondered if she really had to use such a third-rate villain line. It felt like a massive defeat flag for the next battle, but I wasn't in a position to say anything. I just watched her as she threw out the line and hopped into the car.
With Luche on board, we left Team Hunter Killer behind at the Han River and headed back to base. The actual fight at the river had lasted only ten minutes. That meant we traveled thirty minutes to get wrecked in ten, only to travel another thirty minutes back.
“Sniff, ugh!”
The car ride back after a defeat was always filled with silence. As usual, the quiet was broken by the sound of sobbing from the front seat, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Everyone... hic, I’m sorry. Next time... I’ll definitely win...”
Luche crying after a loss wasn't a new occurrence, so we just watched her, unsure of what to do as her tears made us feel awkward.
“And... I’m sorry for getting angry earlier... waah! I’m the boss, I have to do well for us to get results...”
Even if it happened every time, when your boss cries and says something like that, you can’t help but feel bad and want to help.
“We’ll get stronger too.”
“That’s right. It’s only natural for you to be angry, Lady Luche. It’s a fact that we got beaten.”
“Let’s definitely win next time!”
Feeling too guilty to stay silent, we each added a word of comfort. Luche wailed until we reached our destination.
She continued to cry for a good while even after we arrived at the base. We consoled her until she finally stopped, and after our usual round of beers to pledge victory for next time, we disbanded for the day.