Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Don't Get the Wrong Idea, I Dumped You
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Drill Sergeant Kate's face draws closer and closer. Her red eyes are so huge that they reflect my entire face.
"Answer me."
From this insanely close distance, where I can even hear her blinking, Kate coldly demands a response.
Her rigid expression,
and her tightly clenched fists press down on me terrifyingly.
But no words come easily from my parched mouth.
I'd have to nod vaguely and brush it off for Kate to let me go.
But my body won't obey.
Even in this suffocating situation,
I just can't spit out a lie.
"Well, you see..."
"Yes or no. Nothing more."
I know escaping this moment is the top priority. But there's only one reason I can't say anything.
As time drags on,
and the misunderstanding grows,
when I finally reveal the whole truth,
what tears will flow from those pretty eyes of hers?
My heart sinks. I wish she hadn't forced an answer out of me.
"Just nod. Got it? That's all."
Kate presses on boldly and relentlessly, as if trying to give me confidence.
In that instant, I sense it.
No matter how much I dodge and weave around answering, she'll stick to me until the end.
"Sorry! S-sorry!"
So I answer.
"It seems like there's a misunderstanding! I-I've never thought of Drill Sergeant Kate and me as anything like that...!"
"What?"
The red tattoo flickers.
The number inscribed on it vibrates and begins to change shape.
"Didn't I tell you...! I'm not from this world. I don't know what kind of dicks the men here have, but where I'm from, it just stands up on its own sometimes! That's normal! It wasn't because I like Drill Sergeant Kate!"
Those beautiful eyes tremble helplessly,
and her eyelids and brow twitch.
"What?"
She tilts her head ten degrees to the left, wrinkling her brow as if she can't believe what she's hearing...
"...What?"
She says it again.
That's three times she's repeated the same word.
Kate's expression twists in real time. Her face hardens so fast it's painful to look at, squeezing my heart.
"Cut the jokes. I'm getting annoyed."
Still, Kate doesn't believe me yet. I mean, how many idiots would buy crazy talk like isekai transfer?
"It's true! I've been telling you since day one. I'm not from this world!"
The more fervently I explain, the weirder the mood gets.
"It's not just you—it happens with other girls too! Of course, they have to be pretty and the vibe has to be sexy, but anyway...! That's normal in my world!"
But I can't stop now. I've already said it; I have to push through to the end.
"So... this just isn't right. I didn't mean to deceive you. I'm sorry. I didn't expect things to turn out like this either."
Praying my sincerity reaches Drill Sergeant Kate,
I bare my honest feelings.
But,
before our conversation can even finish...
Click-
"Kate, something wrong?"
Another instructor opens the shower room door and steps in. The timing is impeccable.
"..."
Kate doesn't even glance at her fellow instructor, keeping her eyes fixed on me.
But,
that gaze is so ambiguous.
I can't tell what she's thinking. Or what emotion she's feeling.
"Nothing's wrong."
But Kate releases my wrist. A dull ache sets in late, but luckily, no bruise.
"Trainee No. 158, get changed and return to the barracks."
One layer of the piled-up misunderstanding peels away.
...No problems for now.
It's the future that worries me.
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That night,
during CQ duty.
"What you said earlier... was that sincere?"
Kate patrols the hallway, occasionally speaking to me.
To the other trainees, it looks like nitpicking. Her low voice is directed only at me.
"Yes."
After this brief exchange, Kate walks back and forth along the hallway again.
Her tail taps irritably against the floor, revealing her mood plainly. Everyone's on edge, watching her every move.
Clack-
Clack-
Another minute passes,
and Kate approaches me again.
The vibe is off. I run through scenarios in my head—what if she slaps me? Her strength could snap my neck outright. Best case, I pass out.
Or maybe she'll correct my posture right here to assert control.
Is this the start of endless harassment?
Am I doomed to be her punching bag until training ends?
"..."
But Kate exhales shortly and
places her hand on my shoulder.
"Fine."
Huh.
Nothing like what I imagined.
Surprisingly gentlemanly.
No, wait.
She might explode suddenly. Pretend to let it go, then show me real hell...
"It was a misunderstanding."
But Kate just purses her lips, smirks, and heads back down the hall.
No nitpicking the others,
no harsh corrections for me.
If she'd just told me to slam my head into the floor, I'd feel better.
Kate...
shows remarkably mature handling.
Clack-
Clack-
She patrols the hall once more,
stops in front of me, and says,
"It's not your fault. Not mine either. Just a mutual misunderstanding."
Oh my god.
Was my brain pickled in low-rent smut novels? Is this isekai world actually as rational and sensible as Earth...?
Kate even chuckles and smiles.
This wasn't in my scenario.
"I'll believe you came from another world now. You said it so seriously; it must be true."
Emotion wells up. Tears wouldn't be out of place.
This is a place where people live too. Plenty of annoyances and inexplicable crap, but sometimes problems resolve nicely like this.
"Let's call our 'relationship' nonexistent. Best for both of us."
Kate ties up the incident perfectly.
No grudges, no anger, no irritation.
Cleanly done.
"Other world stuff... anyway, good luck sorting it out. Can't help you there."
She even consoles me.
"Hang in there~"
"...Understood."
I'm grateful for that alone.
Drill Sergeant Kate isn't some foul-tempered sadist—she's just a model soldier devoted to her role as instructor.
Her military spirit outshines anyone,
and as a person, she's mature too.
Clack-
Clack-
Drill Sergeant Kate's footsteps echo down the hall.
The other trainees finally sigh in relief. They'd feared her picking on them, but at 2 a.m., the hallway stays quiet with no incidents—just the still night.
"No. 117."
But the silence breaks.
I glance over, wondering what's up,
and there she stands in front of one trainee, beaming.
"Is that the proper posture for CQ duty?"
Her voice is crisp.
The same light tone she'd used leaving me,
Kate addresses No. 117 and...
Crack-!
joints her.
The sharp sound echoes through the hall.
"Argh...! Ack...!"
No. 117 screams in unexpected pain, body doubling over instinctively.
But Kate smiles brightly in front of him.
"Your discipline is a mess. Yeah. Total dogshit."
Me included, we all sense the bad vibe and straighten up.
The whole hallway freezes instantly.
It's not the first time Kate's cracked down on discipline like this, but today it feels even scarier.
Her lips still hold a faint smile.
Looks fixed in an upward curve.
We all break into cold sweats, gulping saliva, praying silently a hundred times she skips us.
But the clacking doesn't stop.
She strides quickly,
right up to me and...
"Oh, you know? I dumped you."
smirks and says,
"I'm not losing anything anyway? I got all the fun I wanted. I dumped you first. Don't get the wrong idea. Okay? I dumped you? From my side?"
Now I get it.
That's not a smile,
just her face muscles cramping.