Chapter 78: Late-Summer Sea, Training, and... (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: Late-Summer Sea, Training, and... (3)
Even if someone is close by, you can tell yourself not to pay them any mind—but honestly, that’s impossible. For instance, if there were a wild beast like a lion or a tiger within a hundred meters of you, would anyone actually believe they’d be safe just by completely ignoring it?
Of course, I didn't think of the Hunter Killer members as wild beasts. Since each of them had become precious to me, most of my thoughts regarding them were positive. However, that was just my perspective; the other executives felt differently.
While they didn't view the girls as terrifying predators, the tension between the two factions was exactly like a standoff with a wild animal.
One might think that Hunter Killer, upon seeing us at the beach, would have no reason to come out here. But the only beach nearby that was easily accessible was this one, currently occupied by over a hundred Spacetro members.
"Do we really have to go this far?"
"If we want to go somewhere else, we’d have to drive a long way."
Red calmly soothed a grumbling Pink, her gaze fixed on the Spacetro forces. Since this was their first trip together, she had been full of hope for a relaxing, fun time, but the moment they encountered Spacetro at the sea, all those plans crumbled.
Actually, it was hard to say they had completely crumbled. Even if they occupied the same space, they had crossed paths outside of a duel, meaning they couldn't really exert any influence over one another. However, it’s not exactly easy to say "Let's play!" when the opponents you trade blows with every week are standing right next to you.
"Let's just do our own thing. They probably came here for a vacation or something similar."
"I guess so?"
And so, the Hunter Killer members were also trying their best to ignore Spacetro.
The first day of a training schedule is usually treated as a day off, but I wasn't particularly interested in playing. Even though I was deeply involved with Hunter Killer, they were technically the enemy, and now that we’d run into them, I didn't have the mental leeway to focus on recreation—something I hadn't cared about in the first place. However, there was one good thing about this encounter.
The swimsuits look good on them.
The members were all wearing various swimsuits. Among them, the only one I recognized was the one Yubin was wearing. If you're wondering why I knew it, it's because I was there when she bought it.
Anyway, it was certainly a treat for the eyes. As I was glancing toward the Spacetro side, Luche poked me in the ribs.
"? What is it?"
"Do you really think it's okay to just leave them be?"
It seemed Luche was constantly bothered by the fact that we were sharing space with Hunter Killer right before our training. Tomorrow, the training would be so intense that there wouldn't be a moment to play, and the final day was for heading back, so there wouldn't be any free time then either.
"Does it bother you?"
Still, I understood why she was annoyed. As I mentioned, the first day of training is usually for leisure. While I didn't care much, my other colleagues did. Even now, those who hadn't heard about Hunter Killer yet were enjoying their free time, men and women mixed together, playing ball or splashing in the water.
"Of course it bothers me."
Luche, who didn't know that the Hunter Killer members had truly come for a vacation, probably suspected they were planning something. But since Spacetro was usually the one plotting and scheming, I couldn't help but think her worries were unnecessary.
"What do you think we should do?"
"I'm inclined to agree with Lady Esmeralda. If we don't pay them any mind, they probably won't bother us either."
"No, I'm asking if it's even possible to ignore them."
It wasn't. It was likely impossible for Luche in her own way, but for me—living in constant fear of my identity being exposed—just seeing the members gathered together made anxiety start to take root. Why hadn't I felt this anxiety when I heard the members talking about dating?
The reason was simple. Back then, I hadn't thought about building a proper relationship like I was now. Subconsciously, I might have thought it was a relationship I wouldn't regret losing at any moment.
No, to be precise, back then I only cared about my own situation if I got caught. I thought I’d be the only one suffering if my identity was revealed, but now, whether I liked it or not, my first thoughts were of Yubin, Yura, and Hayoung.
I even felt a bit concerned about Su-ah. We had just become friends; what would happen if she found out I was with Spacetro?
Surprisingly, I wasn't that worried about Green. It wasn't that I was indifferent to her; it was just that I felt the other members would have a much greater influence on her now than I would.
"It's impossible."
Ignoring them was impossible. When I spoke honestly, Luche lowered her head, lost in thought.
"Is there no way to kick those pests out of here?"
I almost asked her if she wasn't being a bit too villainous. As a man involved with them, that's what I thought, but as a member of Spacetro, it wasn't entirely unreasonable to want to prevent a situation where our information might leak. Let's say I could understand the sentiment. The problem was the method.
"How?"
I asked, wondering if she had a concrete plan, but Luche didn't answer. She probably hadn't thought as far as the 'how' yet. The situation itself was so sudden, and there were more restrictions on our actions than expected, so a solution didn't present itself immediately.
"Team Leader!"
As I stood beside Luche, watching her ponder, I saw one of our colleagues running toward us urgently. Luche looked up from her thoughts and asked what was wrong. The colleague, arriving breathless, gasped out his words.
"O-over there. Hunter Killer is...!"
He must have just noticed them, as his eyes were wide with shock. I patted his shoulder to calm him down.
"Ban. Calm down. We already knew."
Ban, a regular soldier like me, looked at me with eyes asking if I was serious, then turned to Luche. She nodded, confirming my words.
"Besides, the Team Leaders already know."
"Who else among the regular soldiers has seen them?"
When I asked how many people knew Hunter Killer was here, Ban counted them off in his head, folding his fingers one by one.
"Rondo, Jack, Kruger... at least three from our team."
Including Ban, four of our colleagues had confirmed Hunter Killer's presence. It seemed Ban had come to Luche as a representative to avoid causing a panic.
"What about our team? Do the other teams know too?"
"I'm not sure if they've spotted them. But there were members from other teams surfing with us."
At Ban's words, I looked toward the shore and spotted the people with surfboards. Rondo, Jack, and Kruger. Along with the three from Team 3, I saw female members from other teams.
"Were you playing around with the girls?"
Even though I had girlfriends, I felt a twinge of jealousy toward my teammates who were playing with girls from other teams, oblivious to my plight of being surrounded by female Team Leaders. However, hearing my words, Ban glared at me with narrowed eyes.
"You are definitely not going to have a peaceful death."
"Where did that come from?"
I reacted strongly to the sudden curse, but Ban didn't care about my reaction at all.
"What should we do?"
"I was just worrying about that."
Luche, still unable to think of a way to secure a peaceful space to play, stared at the sea before letting out an "Ah!" as if something had occurred to her. She then headed toward the parasols where the Team Leaders were gathered, leaving me alone with Ban.
"Is it fun?"
I wasn't sure what he meant by the subjectless question, but he was probably asking if playing at the beach was fun. Since I hadn't played and wasn't having fun, I shook my head.
"To think Hunter Killer would be here of all places. There goes any chance of relaxing."
"Lady Esmeralda said to ignore them for now. It looks like they're just here for a summer getaway too."
"A getaway? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I ran into them at the mart earlier when I went to buy drinks. They all had suitcases with them."
One way or another, as Ban said, as long as Hunter Killer was here, the chance of our colleagues playing comfortably was gone. I was likely the only one who knew that if both sides truly had no intention of harming each other and ignored one another, we could all have a good time. But I couldn't use that to persuade anyone.
I knew both sides' positions, but explaining that would take too long, and I might end up saying things I shouldn't. Especially since my direct superior, Luche, had assigned me to them under the guise of surveillance; she might lose her mind if she heard I was dating them without having reported any significant results.
I had no intention of reporting it anyway, but if I were to, it should be when I'd obtained internal secrets from the Earth Defense Union.
I saw Luche finishing her long discussion with the Team Leaders and explaining something to Seira. Soon, Seira began walking toward me.
"I'm out of here."
Ban, who was never comfortable around a Team Leader, saw Seira approaching, gave my shoulder a tap, and headed back to his colleagues with the surfboards. What was that? Was he wishing me luck?
"Hey."
At Seira's firm voice, I looked at her with a blank expression, my face hidden by my mask. She was surely about to carry out whatever plan the Team Leaders had come up with, and she wanted me to come along.
I just hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't something with a high risk.
"Let's go."
"Where?"
"Just follow me."
I followed behind Seira as she led the way, and I realized we were getting closer to where the Hunter Killer members were gathered. As the sight of the Hunter Killer members in their swimsuits—which I had only seen from a distance—came into full view, I couldn't hide the smile spreading across my face.
As I mentioned, I had already seen Yubin's swimsuit. However, seeing her in it under the hot sun at the beach gave off a different feeling than before. The light blue swimsuit with lace accents perfectly accentuated her toned figure.
Yura was wearing a quite daring swimsuit. It was a black bikini, and I couldn't tell if the fabric was just sparse or if her chest was just that large. Or maybe it was both. It felt like it was barely covering the essential areas. I’d have to make sure she didn't wear a swimsuit like that next time.
Hayoung was wearing a light blue checkered one-piece. Unlike the one-piece Lady Angelica wore, which had many cutouts despite being a one-piece, hers had almost no exposed skin. It was a swimsuit that suited Hayoung's quiet atmosphere perfectly.
Su-ah's was, at first glance, a normal bikini, but was it because of the pattern? The leopard print gave off a strange yet erotic vibe that caught the eye. The thin cardigan she had half-draped over her seemed to emphasize the exposed areas even more.
Green was wearing black bikini bottoms with a rash guard on top. Many men complain that rash guards aren't real swimsuits and that the person who invented them should be killed, but honestly, I couldn't sympathize. Why don't they understand the aesthetics of concealment?
Anyway, it covered a lot, and the rash guard—typically worn for active water sports—contrasted with the passive Green, making it feel even better.
As I was admiring each of their swimsuits, I felt their gazes snap toward me, as if they had sensed my eyes on them. Thanks to my mask, my face wasn't visible, but I found myself avoiding their familiar stares.
"What is it?"
Su-ah's voice was sharp as she stood on guard against Seira and me. Unable to speak, I just looked around, wondering why Seira had dragged me along. If she had something to deliver, she could have come alone, and if she wanted someone to help, wouldn't it have been better to bring someone much more imposing than me?
"Aren't you getting a bit tired of us all watching each other?"
At Seira's words, the Hunter Killer members looked at one another, and Yubin took a step forward as their representative.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Since we're going to be watching each other anyway, I thought we should settle this with a match to see who gets to keep the spot."
"You want to play for the spot?"
This was something that happened often in street sports. To use a limited space, teams would compete, and the winning team would get to use it. Usually, this led to teams who didn't know each other playing a game and having fun, but in this situation, it was truly about claiming the beach.
Of course, it was impossible to completely monopolize a beach that wasn't private property, but at the very least, one side would move out of sight, providing an environment where the remaining side could play comfortably.
"Yeah. It's not a duel, just a fair match. There's no problem, right?"
"..."
Yubin was silent. She was clearly debating whether it was right to accept Seira's proposal. For the Hunter Killer team, this trip was very special. The members, who hadn't been able to get close for three years since the team was formed, had suddenly become close and even come on a trip together; naturally, they didn't want to ruin it.
However, it was obvious that if they left the Spacetro members alone, they would be constantly bothered. On the other hand, if they accepted the proposal and had a match, the time they could enjoy among themselves would be reduced.
"Let's do it."
Yura said, placing a hand on Yubin's shoulder. Yubin, who had been lost in thought about what to do, turned her head at the low sound of her voice.
"If it's going to be awkward either way, let's just make sure we secure a time where we can actually enjoy ourselves."
"...Is everyone okay with that?"
I agreed with Yura's words. But I didn't know if the other members felt the same. I wondered what would happen if their opinions were divided, but the members all nodded.
When everyone chose to settle it with a match, strength returned to Yubin's eyes, and her intense gaze shifted to Seira.
"Fine. We accept. What are the events?"
"Your side picks two, our side picks two. From those, we each pick one we want to do, and from the remaining two, we pick one at random for a total of three events. Best of three wins. How's that?"
"Fine. Can you pick yours in about thirty minutes?"
"That's plenty. Let's go."
Seira took me, who had just been standing there silently, and headed back to where the Team Leaders were. To summarize, we were going to play three games and the winner would be decided by a best-of-three match... but why did she bring me along?
Once we were a certain distance away from Hunter Killer, I couldn't contain my curiosity and asked Seira.
"...Why did you bring me?"
"Because you're going to be the referee."
"Excuse me?"
Based on physical ability alone, I could roughly guess what the Team Leaders and Hunter Killer members would do in a match, but the sudden statement that I had to be the referee made me stop in my tracks.
"Why? You don't want to?"
"It's not a matter of wanting to or not. Me? A referee? Why?"
"We decided it among ourselves."
It seemed the Team Leaders had decided to set me up as the referee. Since it was an order, I’d do it if I had to, but the burden of being the referee for a match where I absolutely couldn't show any bias felt even heavier.