Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Squad Leader Trainee
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I swore I'd walk a different path from the dimwitted male leads in those gender-reversed novels, but in truth, that didn't change my daily life all that much.
Drill Sergeant Kate kept dragging me into the shower room, and once that was over and I returned to the barracks, the girls showered me with excessive attention...
Grope grope.
Even at bedtime, there was this crazy bitch who groped me without ever getting tired of it. Tonight was no different—her hand crept toward my lower half again.
Not wanting to stir up trouble, I quietly pushed her away, but her lewd hand only got more excited at my passive response and persisted with her relentless molestation.
In my mind, I'd already slapped her cheeks dozens of times over. Or maybe grabbed her by the hair.
"...Can't you ease up a bit?"
Still, I had to let it slide nicely. Just taking it was stupid, but snapping at the girls and provoking them was an even more foolish move.
I had almost no allies here. So I had to watch myself.
There were idiots pretending to look out for me just to get my attention, but they were useless when it came to actually solving problems.
Whether it was the girls groping me,
or the ones crowding around and slyly sticking close... they were all the same breed.
"Hngh—"
I warned her, warned her again,
but the girl next to me kept using me like a sex toy for her happy time.
She pressed right up against my temple, breathing raggedly as she fiddled away. The other squad members might even know about her antics, but no one bothered to stop her.
Considering how she acted when she was awake, it made sense. She was the type of delinquent you could openly despise. She already had a bunch of girls she was chummy with, spreading nasty gossip—that alone screamed typical thug.
"You like it too, don't you?"
She whispered so softly only I could hear,
and finally shoved her hand inside my pants.
Even using both hands with all my strength, I couldn't fend off her single hand. And like last night, I couldn't just bolt upright and head to the bathroom either.
She wrapped her arms around me tightly with the hand that had been fiddling, pinning me in place.
Her hand, digging into my armpit and coming right up to my mouth, reeked of something fishy and obscene. She used it to completely seal my mouth and started toying with me at her whim.
"What's this? You're hard...? Yeah, I knew you were enjoying it... Ungh?"
An erection was like an uncontrollable instinct, but the girls here lost their minds every time they felt my stiff lower half.
"Jeong-woo, you like it too, right?"
This wasn't easy. Now she was even trying to twist my body toward her. If we faced each other, who knew what she'd do.
"Isn't this good for you too? Hey, you could discharge before training camp even ends."
As I struggled desperately to hold out, she kept babbling nonsense. Discharge? I still had two whole years left before I could go home.
"So... let's help each other out. Yeah? Look at how hard you are—you like me, right?"
While getting molested, I picked up another new rule of this army.
There were no pregnant women in the Albatross Union army. If you got someone pregnant, both parties' military service ended immediately.
"Wanna live together? I won't let you starve. Just keep the house tidy."
It wasn't just a simple discharge either.
You got all the benefits soldiers received while being processed out. From a woman's perspective, hooking up with a guy in the army was like the [golden opportunity] to snag every perk imaginable.
"So... stop playing hard to get... and turn around...!"
My head was forced to turn. Now she pressed her nose against mine, lips smacking as she went in for a deep kiss.
But I had no intention of becoming a victim of this world's irrational gender dynamics. If I got careless with one girl and ended up forced out, would I even be able to return to Earth?
The tattoo on my wrist glowed red again. A warning beep blared in my head.
Only now did it all click. The tattoo and status window alerts were warnings for dangerous situations where I might impregnate someone.
Whether alone with Drill Sergeant Kate,
or getting done in by the girl next to me like this,
I was essentially swept up in a [terrifying crisis] where I might get stuck in this world forever, doing laundry for the rest of my life.
But this horrific situation ended thanks to an unexpected variable.
The spot next to me wasn't just home to a molester. Across from me, Mino had been sleeping in a rigid, mummy-like pose with steady breaths...
Swish—
For the first time, she shifted position and yanked me into a tight hug. A woman with the kind of physique even the molester couldn't dream of touching...!
"Ah...?"
Maybe caught off guard, the molester pulled her mouth and hand away from me right away. There was no way to pry me out of Mino's embrace.
I'd have to wake the sleep-talking Mino or somehow peel off the arms wrapped around my chest...
But Mino wouldn't budge no matter how hard the molester tried. She was just sleeping soundly, yet she displayed the insane strength that didn't even flinch at full-force efforts from other girls.
"Shit..."
The molester had no choice but to flip over and try to sleep. If she kept groping me and disturbed Mino, it might spark a fight.
So, just like that,
I ended up getting help from Mino by accident.
Of course, "help" meant...
becoming Mino's body pillow as she hugged me in her sleep...
Still better than being forcibly groped.
Mino didn't treat me sexually.
"..."
So,
I quietly closed my eyes, nestled in her arms.
"Daddy."
The much larger girl hugged me tight,
calling out for Daddy.
It was just fleeting sleep-talk, but it weighed on my heart for no reason. Just moments ago, I'd been racking my brain over how to avoid impregnation attempts and safely discharge...
"...Daddy."
Mino's words suddenly brought back memories of my old military days.
The training camp back then wasn't laced with this weird sexual tension, and I didn't have to worry about guy-girl dynamics.
I was too busy regretting my past life choices, missing my family, and appreciating the things I'd taken for granted.
"..."
Strangely,
the emotions these women felt in training camp didn't seem all that different.
Even a tough girl like Mino longed for something.
Sure, there were weirdos trying to seduce me into discharging and marrying them, but the fact that this was the [army], where you gave your youth, didn't change.
Yeah, this was the army in the end.
No matter how many damn women there were,
it was the same as the army where I'd busted my ass before.
No need to overthink it.
Now I got it.
Tucked in Mino's arms,
I came up with an idea to escape this godawful situation.
"Today, we'll select a Squad Leader Trainee."
Before the end of the first week of training,
the recruit training center picked Squad Leader Trainees to manage each squad more smoothly.
"Any volunteers?"
Of course, they also picked Platoon Leader Trainees, Company Commander Trainees, and all sorts of other roles. But whether in Korea or here, they were all [annoying positions] through and through.
Most just eyed each other, hoping someone else would take the hassle.
Sure, there might be girls boldly raising hands to show off their leadership, but in our 2-2 barracks, there wasn't a single one.
"No takers? Fine, then I'll pick one myself."
Drill Sergeant Kate strode between the bunks, scrutinizing each squad member carefully. Picking a capable trainee would make the rest of training camp easier.
Her eyes met mine briefly, but no way she'd pick a guy. It'd be a huge hassle, and I'd just end up more exhausted.
"No. 159. You'll do it. You seem capable."
So she tapped Mino right next to me.
Drill Sergeant Kate's choice was spot on. No trainee in our squad was as ace as Mino. Hell, maybe not even in the whole training center.
Unlike me, already used to army life, she handled everything perfectly despite it being her first time.
She learned fast and had top-notch stamina.
Thinking back to the broom incident, she didn't flinch even in front of superiors.
"Ah..."
But for the first time, Mino hesitated awkwardly. No idea why, but facing the Squad Leader Trainee role turned her pale as a ghost.
"Squad Leader, ma'am, I'm not... suited for that kind of duty..."
"What? Quit mumbling and speak clearly."
She had some backstory, apparently.
Whatever.
While Kate and Mino bickered,
I cleared my throat and...
"Trainee No. 158, Han Jeong-woo!!!!!"
...belted it out loud enough to echo down the hall and into the other barracks. My throat burned, lungs about to burst.
"Nyaaak!?"
Drill Sergeant Kate jumped in shock,
and all the other girls gawked at me with wide eyes.
"Ahem, hem! No. 158...? What's this about?"
I declared boldly amid them all.
"I'd like to try being Squad Leader Trainee!"
To get respect in the army,
you had to become that important.
Right now, I was just an easy mark of a guy. But soon, I'd be someone too intimidating to touch.
With so few men,
and men weaker than women to boot,
you could become a target for mob bullying and mockery...
"What?"
"I'd like to try being Squad Leader Trainee!"
Unlike my fellow trainees who saw men as breeding stock,
the instructors, Platoon Leader, and Company Commander were definitely [male-friendly].
This world had ideologies scorning men as inferior and sweet humanists treating them well, coexisting.
But higher-ups and officers surely had orders to take good care of men. Probably scared of sexual scandals in the ranks.
Or maybe for PR, to show the army as super equal and great to men...
Didn't matter which was right.
I just picked whichever benefited me right now.
"You're not doing it. No. 159 will be Squad Leader Trainee—"
"Is there a law saying a man can't!?"
Drill Sergeant Kate was at a loss for words.
The bold declaration from a powerless guy rang through the entire training camp. The ones thrilled by this were the Platoon Leader, Company Commander, and the training center commander overseeing it all.
"I'll do it!"
I'd never forget this moment.
The squad members' gaping mouths,
Drill Sergeant Kate clutching her temples,
and...
"..."
right beside me,
Mino's shocked expression.
Maybe she thought I'd saved her. I'd snatched the Squad Leader Trainee role that was about to land on her.
Sure enough, Mino just blinked her big eyes...
Pfft,
and smiled.