Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Bravado
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"Strutting around all cocky like that, and now your mouth's suddenly glued shut?"
Training camp, week 4.
The final week, with only the grueling march and field training left—the ones said to be the toughest.
"Hey, say something, at least."
The schedule is exhausting enough just from the training alone, but unfortunately, I've got one more problem hanging over me.
"Scared now?"
This is the shower room.
A space where everyone stands around naked, facing each other.
"The kid's scared."
"Jeez, that's why you keep acting up. A dickless wonder like you."
And right in the middle, I'm surrounded by the girls, letting out deep sighs.
"Sighing? This guy's lost his mind..."
"He still hasn't grasped the situation."
The real danger in the military
is that completely absurd things happen every now and then.
And the biggest reason those sudden situations pop up? Probably because the military gathers every kind of person imaginable into one group.
My issue with Instructor Kate is more or less wrapped up,
but there's still a full week left until my training camp life ends.
On top of that, I'm a squad leader trainee, in charge of a squad.
Like it or not,
I'm stuck rubbing shoulders with nearly a dozen women.
"Everyone, make sure to clean your assigned areas properly. We got called out yesterday, so today we really have to do it right."
It's not even an order—
I'm asking super politely.
"Yeees~~"
The squad members,
especially the ones close to Hayes, are too busy teasing me.
Of course, they don't want to get punished by the instructors either, so they do pitch in with the cleaning. But even as they sweep or mop, they toss in a snide remark or two my way.
"Gonna be too embarrassed to even open your mouth after discharge. Taking orders from a guy."
"It's not an order. I'm the squad leader trainee, so I'm just double-checking the instructors' notes..."
"Oh, sure, sure."
No matter what I do, the women look at me with disdain.
If I try to get things done right, they tear into me for 'giving orders like a man should.' If I talk back even a little, they dismiss me with 'what does a guy know?'
"If you're gonna boss us around, at least give us some ham."
"That's what I'm... Pfft..."
They interfere with everything. It's too blatant to just let slide, so holding back my anger isn't easy.
But there's one thing keeping my frustration in check.
Just one person.
"Shut up."
Mino speaks up for me.
The moment "shut up" leaves her mouth, the atmosphere in the barracks turns ice-cold, like someone dumped a bucket of ice water.
Of course, after spitting out the harsh words, Mino gets a bit embarrassed, her cheeks flushing red, and her movements awkward...
But it's more than enough to shut the others up.
With those two horns sprouting from her head and her massive build, she can project intimidation effortlessly.
"Fuck."
But then, out of nowhere, cursing echoes from afar.
Most people usually didn't mess with Mino,
but the blonde Hayes has started picking fights with her too, bold as brass.
"Always grabbing aura like that. A bitch who can't even fight properly."
Whoa.
The frozen atmosphere starts heating up hot again.
The moment the verbal sparring ignites, the women freak out, eyes darting between the two.
It's like high school boys rushing over the second they hear someone's about to throw down.
If not for the military setting and needing to watch out for instructors, this place is no different from a rowdy all-boys school. Except it's packed with girls.
"Acting tough just 'cause of your size bracket? Keep it up, and you'll really get wrecked. Looks can be deceiving—I've made a name for myself out there."
Anyway, Hayes glares at Mino with murderous eyes the whole time. She even yanks off her top...
"See this?"
And flashes some weird tattoo hidden under her underboob.
Only I'm flustered by the heart-pounding exposure, while the other women...
"Eek!"
"Eek!?"
They freak out and tumble backward.
What the hell?
What's that about all of a sudden.
What's
that tattoo, exactly.
"Th-that's...!"
"Black Rose...!"
"Haha. Yeah, you know it. I've kept it secret till now. Didn't wanna scare you all. But this horned bitch keeps acting up, so I can't hold back anymore."
One squad member blurts out "Black Rose" in terror, and suddenly all the women are shaking in their boots.
From the reactions, it's like Mexican cartel or Italian mafia level. Well, isekai world, so stuff like that exists, I guess.
"Black Rose?"
"Wait, that's real...!?"
"Hayes is in Black Rose...?"
Only Mino tilts her head.
The others react identically, like they rehearsed it.
"What's that?"
Mino demands more explanation from Hayes. Not to provoke, but she genuinely seems to have never heard of Black Rose.
But that nonchalant response only pisses Hayes off more.
She pulled out her ace in the hole—the tattoo—and the opponent doesn't even know it!
My face heats up instead. Mino's seriously clueless. At times like this, just fake being shocked and move on.
I wouldn't know harsh crime syndicates either, coming from another world.
Still, getting tangled with a girl linked to some shady organization spells trouble, so I just pretend to be scared and let it slide.
"You don't know Black Rose? Bullshit."
"Don't know it."
But Hayes and Mino genuinely don't get each other.
Hayes even looks more flustered now. Sweat trickling down her forehead says it all—bewilderment and embarrassment.
"...You really don't?"
"Nope."
"Stop grabbing aura! How do you not know Black Rose? The Albatross Union's most vicious, worst crime syndicate!"
Hayes screams at the top of her lungs, face beet red. The barracks erupts in chaos again.
"Acting all tough in front of a guy. What gives a horned beastkin bitch the right to keep fronting? Front all you want—I'll call the organization and have you properly stomped."
They kept up the tense verbal battle until the instructors showed up, and in the end, the winner of the spat was...
"Hayes, for real?"
"What, you think it's fake? Tch... That's why I wanted to keep it secret..."
"Whoa... insane... Scary..."
Hayes.
Thugs who joined the military after a life of crime all pull that kind of swagger.
There was one guy like that back in my training camp too. Eventually we got along fine...
"Don't worry. We don't touch civilians."
"Ooh..."
After spilling her secret, Hayes actually bonds tighter with the other girls.
In training camp, where time drags, stories from trainees with unique backgrounds always draw huge crowds.
"Black Rose is a real historic organization. Not like those small-time crews. Drop a sister's name, and you're golden anywhere decent. We own all the shops in our turf."
During mental training sessions in the barracks,
or the downtime between drills.
Hayes exploits those gaps to brag wildly about her glorious life.
Honestly, I can't buy it.
If it's the most vicious crime group, shouldn't they ship her straight to prison instead of the military?
"One time, some punk asses picked a fight. I was the youngest, so I went alone to sort it. But a big sis grabs my shoulder and goes, 'Kid, call the church priests. Those punks'll bleed out in five minutes.'"
But Hayes's tales ring undeniably true.
No way to verify evidence in the military anyway, and that Black Rose tattoo's right there on her underboob.
"Pfft, idiots."
So some girls start believing in Hayes and her group, strutting even more.
Especially annoying is the bullying aimed at me and Mino.
"Buddy, ditch this loser and hang with us?"
"Let's make up~ Yeah? Wouldn't it be nice to patch things up all friendly? Give me ten minutes, and I'll suck you off proper. Deal?"
I can handle it. Even if they threaten to fuck me over, it's not that scary. Just close my eyes and imagine an orgy party?
"What're you staring at, you dumb bitch. Fucking annoying."
Now they're spewing filth at Mino too.
Mino hasn't done anything wrong,
yet she's catching flak because of me.
Watching from the side, it boils my blood even more.
"Those bitches..."
I've thought about snapping back on Mino's behalf a few times.
But with all the crime syndicate talk, yeah, I'm scared. Girls with trash lives cause all kinds of accidents.
I might get dragged into some weird crime and offed quietly before even returning to my world.
"Mino, it's fine. Ignore them. Those types just talk big but can't actually fight..."
But,
I didn't need to get mad for her.
"?"
Mino tilts her head.
Like she's asking why I'm getting angry.
It deflates me.
I worried she'd be hurt, but she doesn't care about the other girls' abuse at all.
"...Never mind. If you're okay, I'm okay."
No matter how I look at her,
Mino's kinda weird.
Too nice,
or maybe not human.
I don't know.
Are horned beastkin different from cat beastkin?
Instructor Kate wasn't like this,
but Mino's weird in a frustratingly dense way.