Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Our Jeong-woo is Cute~
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Mino truly doesn't feel any sense of crisis from Hayes' gang, but that doesn't mean things are flowing smoothly between the two of us.
Hayes' crew shows no signs of stopping their reign of terror. They cleverly toe the line just shy of getting chewed out by the instructors, but whenever the trainees are left alone together, they never fail to hassle me and torment Mino.
The bullying gets especially bad in the back of the shower room, where the instructors can't easily peek inside.
"Whoops, sorry."
Pretending to drop the soap right in front of me, then sneakily groping my lower half...
Or blasting me with cold water from the showerhead to make me jump.
"Gyaak! Wh-who is it?!"
"Ahh, my bad. Sorry~"
They don't stop their harassment even when I snap and vent my frustration. If anything, they seem to relish my reactions and cling even more doggedly.
"No, you fucking bitches-"
"Oh dear, our Jeong-woo is mad."
No matter how much I grit my teeth and scowl until my veins bulge, they refuse to back down. They actually look satisfied at having provoked me, pinching my cheeks and stretching them every which way or smacking my ass with sharp slaps as they walk off.
I'm starting to reach my limit on putting up with this. Sorry, but unlike the guys who live here, I can't let bullshit slide without calling it out to feel satisfied.
Those guys might tremble and grovel before women, but I'm different.
"...Apologize right now. I'm not letting this one slide."
So I lay it out straight.
My fuse has completely blown, and I can't take it anymore.
The women's faces stiffen for a moment.
Yeah, for idiots like these, a direct warning is the way to...
"What are you gonna do if we don't?"
Yeah...
Suddenly, my boiling rage meter cools right down.
Thud, thud...
The women close in around me. Looking down at me with faces that have darkened as if they've just heard some [idiotic nonsense they can't tolerate].
"Huh?"
Getting angry was fine.
A real man has to stand up to injustice sometimes.
"Uh, um."
But this situation is a bit different.
The women stride over boldly, cornering me against the wall and growling. Strangely enough, my body just won't muster any strength.
It's instinct.
It's not that I've gotten weaker from being dragged into this gender-reversed world. I'm not some frail twink either.
It's just...
I'm straight-up intimidated in front of humans far stronger than me.
My body won't obey.
My mind freezes up, unable to think straight.
Whether it's the memory of getting thoroughly thrashed by Kate, every time women crowd around me, I get scared preemptively.
That experience with Kate's raw power taught me the [rule of this otherworld].
Men can't beat women, even if they come back from the dead.
Women don't usually go around beating men without cause, but if you cross that line and put yourself at risk of getting pummeled by them...
Run for it immediately.
If you get hit wrong...
You'll really die.
Drip... drop...
The constant shower spray pauses for a moment. At the same time, Hayes—who had been quietly watching the scene from off to the side—starts walking toward me with deliberate steps.
"Did I just hear that wrong? Girls, what did this guy just say?"
The most dangerous thug among the thugs.
The woman you absolutely must never tangle with.
"...For a boy, that's some awfully cheeky talk."
Squeeze!
Hayes' index finger presses against my bare upper chest. She pokes and shoves me, pressing the attack even more ruthlessly.
There's no room left to back away. Fleeing step by step in terror, I've already backed right up against the slick stone wall.
"Jeong-woo, why don't you say it yourself? What'd you say? Look me straight in the eye and repeat it."
Hayes glares at me even more ferociously, egging me on.
She deliberately picks the most aggravating moves. She starts off just jabbing around my collarbone, but now she's outright targeting my nipple with her finger...
Swipe...
Fuck, I can't even put it into words.
Born a man, and getting treated like this.
"Why don't you pull out that weird magic like last time?"
Is she mocking me?
Or needling me to pay me back properly for last time...
Hayes hooks her fingertip under my chin and lifts it, forcing me to meet her eyes, but I can't muster a proper comeback to her taunt.
I can't slap her across the face. I can't kick her away.
The other women are already gripping my wrists tight, and they've surrounded me in a scary ring...
If I act out recklessly, I might really get my ass handed to me.
Last time, I didn't know how strong these women were, and I had my [Forced Climax] skill, so I mustered some courage.
Not now.
The spots Kate beat still throb, and the sensation of my hair being yanked taut is still vivid.
I can't win with brute force.
Regrettably...
I'm way weaker than these women.
"S-sorry."
"Hah?"
So I fire off an apology quick as a flash. Escaping the crisis comes first.
There's no woman around here to save me anyway.
I wasn't counting on help in the first place. Getting tangled up with Hayes could drag me into some crime syndicate like Black Rose, and I'd vanish without a trace...
"..."
So...
I shoot a pleading look at Mino—the only one staring this way with a frozen expression.
Please just stay put.
Don't do anything stupid.
One screw-up from me is enough.
"Sorry... I, I'll apologize."
"You're joking!"
But even as I apologize, Hayes' expression hardens even sharper.
No clue why...
But she looks even more pissed now that I've tucked tail so fast.
Of course, the other girls start cackling at my [tactical retreat]. Only Hayes wears a screwed-up scowl, spits right at my feet—pthoo—and turns to stalk off.
"Our Jeong-woo’s even learned to play cute now. Yeah, yeah, that's nice and manly."
"Puhaha! Yo, this guy's about to bawl. Cut it out."
The women's lips curl into big grins. They stroke my head like I'm some cute pet and pat-pat my ass.
"You're cute as hell, seriously. At this point, you must be acting up on purpose to charm your big sisters, right?"
I can't say a word.
My pride is shredded, my face boiling red—none of it matters right now.
I don't have the weapon to give these thugs the schooling they deserve.
"Huh? Jeong-woo, why're your eyes bugging out like that again? What're you gonna do?"
With three or four closing in around me, it even feels like a threat to my life.
I can't man up and throw a punch either.
"...No. Sorry."
I'll endure for now.
No need to bruise my ego over something this trivial.
This is the otherworld...
My priority is surviving and getting back home.
So no getting all high one minute and low the next.
These are just vermin I won't see again after training ends anyway.
Endure.
As I grit my teeth and let it slide...
I can put up with most things.
I get mad when it's time to get mad without holding back, but I also know how to grovel flat when I sense real danger.
But the incident that completely shattered the relationship between me, Mino, and Hayes erupted from the most unexpected place.
"In just one more week, you'll all become proud soldiers."
The instructor says this while crossing the barracks corridor.
"Pour the emotions you're feeling right now into a letter to your parents. Begin."
Strangely enough, they have you write a letter to your parents in week 4 of training here. Normally, you'd write it around week 1 after arrival, and from weeks 2-3, they'd even give you chances for direct contact, but...
"Write about your resolve for the military life ahead, your thoughts on the training so far, and how you've changed—leave nothing out. Your parents are probably worrying about you more than anyone."
Here, all outside communication is completely banned.
So they only let you write one letter right at the end of training.
"Sure, you'll get recruit leave and go home to show off your healthy, spirited selves, but that's still almost two months away. Fill it with gratitude and respect for your worried parents."
I start scribbling on the blank paper too.
I know full well my letter won't reach my parents, but I can't just kneel there twiddling my thumbs to kill time.
That'd look even more suspicious.
It's better to just follow what everyone else is doing.
I can't blend in well with the girls...
But I don't want to stand out even more than I already do.
But the moment I grip the pencil to write the letter, my mom and dad's faces start floating in my mind. Even back in basic training on Earth, I teared up a bit writing like this, and now my heart wells up here too.
I wonder how everyone's doing right now.
They aren't freaking out over my disappearance, are they? Maybe printing stacks of missing person flyers and pasting them on streetlights late into the night or something.
Fuck.
What the hell am I even doing here right now?
This sucks.
But I can't cry.
The women would make a huge fuss over it.
"..."
So I gaze up at the ceiling for a bit to settle my emotions.
Someday, I'll get to see them all again. If I rack up 50 Military Life Points, maybe a way to communicate with my original world will open up.
Lately, just keeping up with training has been tough, so my points aren't climbing much, but once I ship out to my unit, some opportunity has to come along.
"Why aren't you two writing?"
The instructor doesn't miss the brief opening and picks on us.
But this time, it's not just me getting the short end.
The thug to my left...
Hayes is also staring at her blank paper, lost in thought.
"Tch."
It's the total opposite of Mino. The second Mino got her paper, she sat primly and started writing away steadily, but Hayes...
"Yes, yes~ I'll write."
"Good. Put something down. I'll be back in 10 minutes."
Visibly irritated...
She scrawls some ugly handwriting.
"This fucking sucks."
It's atrocious penmanship, but I can make out her short sentence.
She didn't want to write it...
But scribbled it reluctantly anyway.
[Stay well.]
That's it. All of it.
Hayes writes just those three characters, then scowls up at the ceiling.
She's got some story behind it, no doubt.
No one's born trash from the start.
"...Hey, what're you staring at?"
But no matter how heartbreaking her backstory...
Hayes remains the biggest pain in the ass tormenting me and Mino.
"What'd you write?"
She snatches my paper right away.
She won't give it back even if I ask. It'd been a while since I thought of my parents, so I'd written a pretty heartfelt letter.
"To my parents. Mom, Dad, not sure if this letter will reach you. But I'm writing it with all my longing feelings~"
With the instructor gone for the moment...
Hayes starts reading my letter aloud in front of the whole squad.
"Don't worry too much~ I'm doing fine~"
The gloomy, heavy mood lightens a bit, and now everyone's joining in to tease me with giggles.
Yeah, whatever, it's just a letter...
I hand it over to Hayes and sit back down to wait quietly. Reacting would just egg her on more, so I decide to stay meek.
Whoosh—
But in my place...
Mino in the seat next to me stands up abruptly.
"Huh?"
I don't even have time to stop her.
I grab at her pant leg just in case...
But Mino's already dashed up front and clamped down on Hayes' wrist.
"Give it."
"...Hah? What's it to you?"
The atmosphere turns tense in an instant.
"Mi-Mino...! I'm fine. Stop it!"
Worried Mino might get jumped, I rush to hold her back.
"Give it."
Crack—
A weird sound comes from Hayes' wrist gripped in Mino's hand.
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