Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Mino and Hayes (1)
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Two days ago,
Back when Captain Yujin was still at the recruit training center, carefully selecting the recruits she would take back to her unit...
"What's the deal with this one?"
She wasn't just eyeing Trainee Han Jeong-woo. Her gaze had also landed on another female trainee.
"Who?"
"Mino. Her name's Mino."
Captain Yujin and the Company Commander immediately launched into a brief conversation about her.
Of course, the talk wasn't all that important. The Company Commander didn't have eyes on every single trainee, so Captain Yujin had to judge based solely on the records on paper and their outward behavior.
"Interesting girl."
The documents in Captain Yujin's hands were filled with details on Trainee Mino. They were straightforward and unremarkable on the surface, but the lines written there seemed to prick at her sharp instincts.
"Beastkin, orphan, unknown background? Occupation: adventurer?"
"Well... Junior, you know the military gets folks with stories like that sometimes..."
Vague phrasing.
Too ambiguous to verify as true or false, yet hinting at some tragic backstory that made you hesitant to dig deeper...
"She's impressive. Grown so well despite all that hardship, huh?"
Captain Yujin's finger traced the paper. Despite a nagging unease, she was starting to feel a genuine interest in Trainee Mino.
"She's doing great in training too. I should keep an eye on her a bit longer."
"Heh, looks like she's really caught your fancy, Junior?"
The Company Commander didn't care who she picked anyway.
What the old woman was focused on at that moment was making sure rumors about Trainee Han Jeong-woo—[the Junior's boyfriend]—and the drama surrounding him didn't reach Captain Yujin's ears.
But Captain Yujin was different.
Gazing at Mino from afar,
she wore a complex, subtle expression.
"Hmm."
It was impossible to say exactly where that interest had begun.
But one thing was certain: Mino had shown the second-best training scores in the camp, right after Trainee Han Jeong-woo.
"18 out of 20 shots... Top marksman... 5km run in 15 minutes?"
Innate talent.
Even to an elite among elites like Captain Yujin, those results were strikingly impressive.
"Nice. Very nice."
But regardless of those scores,
the real reason Captain Yujin had taken notice of Mino was clearly...
"I really like her."
Han Jeong-woo.
He was No. 158, and Mino was No. 159,
so whenever she looked at him, Mino inevitably caught her eye too.
Tall and statuesque, with a solid, healthy build,
and those two horns sprouting from her head stretched out far too elegantly to simply call her a [Cow Beastkin].
"I'm looking forward to this."
Captain Yujin smiled.
She didn't know all the details of what went on in the training camp, but there were a few things she was certain of.
"As long as she doesn't cause any trouble. Right?"
That Mino was hiding something.
And yet, at the same time,
that she was protecting her boyfriend quite reliably.
As individual combat training dragged on, I was brutally reminded of the gap between men and women.
In this army, it wasn't just about running with rifles—they simulated all sorts of bizarre scenarios, forcing trainees to haul over 20kg rucksacks on their backs and run until they dropped.
They called it training for supply shortages. But it was insanely intense; no normal body could endure it.
If it had been a short 10-minute drill, I could've pushed through on willpower alone, but half a day of this bullshit was making my head spin.
No matter how much water I chugged, sweat drained it all out,
and as time passed, fatigue and damage piled up until even breathing felt impossible.
But Mino never tired. She ran without stopping once.
And this was uphill. A rough mountain path, poorly paved.
"Give me yours."
Even so, Mino was the one worrying about me. We were paired up two-by-two, so her pace had slowed because of me, but...
She didn't complain once,
and instead plopped my supplies on top of hers as I grunted along, then took off running again.
Unbelievable.
With mine added, that was over 40kg on her back...
Yet she climbed the mountain path as if defying the laws of physics.
"Huff... haah... hngh..."
Hunched over, barely catching my breath,
I lifted my head just enough to watch Mino's retreating back, utterly mesmerized.
What an incredible woman.
A holder of monstrous physical prowess, fitting for this so-called otherworld.
"Hoo... huff..."
But that's exactly why I was a little worried.
["Just kill them all."]
Her chilling words kept echoing in my ears.
She didn't even seem to see Hayes and her thug crew as human.
Maybe that's why Mino hadn't snapped at them...
She just saw other women as insignificant.
No one harbors killing intent over a fly buzzing around. You just swat it away casually.
Maybe that's all Hayes and her gang were to Mino—flies.
What kind of life has Mino lived?
"Trainee No. 159, report to the Company Commander's office."
...Anyway, Mino caught the eye of the higher-ups.
The dangers she carried weren't something outsiders could pick up on.
Even if I were in charge of some special forces unit, I wouldn't pass on talent like hers. Superior physical abilities, quick learning, steadfast personality...
"Getting called in like that means you're headed to a prime unit. Not interviews or anything—they just pick who they want from the top."
"For real? Damn, jealous."
The squad mates watched enviously as Mino left the barracks.
There were grudges between some,
and they weren't exactly on good terms for well-wishes.
But as the end of training camp approached, it all started feeling pointless.
We'd be going to different units anyway and never see each other again.
What really mattered was something else.
Which unit we'd be assigned to,
who we'd spend our military life with...
That was far more important.
The training camp was just a tiny slice of military life.
"That cow bitch got lucky."
"Man, wish I'd been born a Beastkin. Honestly, isn't this discrimination against humans? Should've applied for the magic talent track if I'd known."
That's why everyone envied Mino.
If you weren't specially selected, you'd be randomly shipped off to any unit, so now it was all about leaving it to fate and praying.
"...Tch."
But Hayes, sitting next to me, scowled the moment Mino left.
Inferiority, envy,
and a spike of jealousy.
"Fucking bullshit. Every unit sucks anyway. Even wherever that bitch ends up, it'll be full of moronic crap."
Especially Hayes, who'd clashed hard with Mino, started spewing venom without restraint.
"And even if she gets there, that mute retard won't even speak properly and'll get her ass beat. You guys wanna live with a fucked-up bitch like that?"
"Yeah, fair."
Now they were openly mocking Mino.
As I organized my locker inside, their trash talk rang crystal clear in my ears. I tried ignoring it, but the annoying noise kept buzzing like flies.
"If she were my junior, I'd beat her ass every damn day. Military's all about rank, right? Socially inept fucks like her need a good thrashing to wise up. I'd whip her into shape before discharge."
I didn't need to worry about Mino.
She could protect herself just fine, and she didn't give a damn about Hayes's crew's bullshit anyway. She was a weird one.
But it still weighed on me.
No matter how many secrets or suspicions she had, Mino was my first friend here—the closest thing I had to a buddy among the trainees.
Hearing them trash her right in front of me like this pissed me off for no reason.
Thud—
"...Look at Jeong-woo, face all stiff just 'cause we're ragging on his milk cow? Hmm~"
But Hayes switched targets quick, leaning against my locker and zeroing in on me.
"What, now that cozying up to the cat instructor's gone south, you settling for the retard next door? Smart boy. Selling your body like a pro—world-class."
The vibe turned ugly.
Maybe I should've been worrying about myself,
not Mino.
"Oh, right! Jeong-woo. That cat instructor was a total bitch to me. Weird, huh? No grudge or anything, but she singled me out for shit."
Hayes's eyes weren't normal.
Rage and anticipation,
burning with vengeance...
"Strange, right? Why's everyone been such dicks to me lately?"
Hayes wasn't stupid.
She'd already drawn her own conclusions and was plotting how to screw me over.
"Probably just your imagination? Right?"
A member of the crime syndicate 'Black Rose',
a thug with nothing to lose.
"Whatever. Thinking about that crap gives me a headache~"
Hayes was seizing the moment Mino wasn't around.
"Let's hit the showers?"
"Uh, no thanks. I'll go later."
"What kinda bullshit is that? Can't do that to your squad mate."
I couldn't refuse.
Hayes had already grabbed my wrist.
Just like that time Mino held me through the humiliation.
Hayes gripped it tight...
"You gotta come, right?"
And signaled her crew with a glance.