episode_0047

After a brief communication with Alexander Valentine, I headed to Kaien’s office.

According to Scarlet, her office was located in the central administration building, which managed security for Terminus Sector 7.

‘It would be polite to express my gratitude for her help last time.’

Kaien’s office was not as large or luxurious as I had expected, but it was practically well-organized.

On the walls, several hologram screens, displaying what appeared to be real-time surveillance footage, flickered busily alongside detailed maps of each sector of Terminus.

“Kang Jin-woo-ssi? Welcome. Kaien-nim is currently away for a moment due to some business.”

A uniformed man, who seemed to recognize my face, spoke to me familiarly.

It was the same soldier who had handed me the mercenary ID card last time.

“Ah, is that so? Will she be gone for long? If it’s alright, I’d like to wait.”

“Hmm… I can’t promise, but it might take a very long time. If you’d like to wait, this way.”

“It’s fine. I’ll wait.”

Just as I was about to settle onto the sofa, the inner automatic door slid open, revealing completely unexpected figures.

“Huh?”

It was none other than Nix and Dutch.

“Kang Jin-woo? What are you doing here?”

Nix, who had spotted me, was the first to widen her eyes and ask, looking puzzled.

“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”

In response to my question, Nix pressed her lips together and stared at me for a moment, then shrugged and replied gruffly.

“I started working under Kaien-ssi.”

“What? You? Under Kaien?”

“Sounds like you have a problem with that?”

Nix’s brow furrowed sharply, and she strode towards me.

“Why, why are you coming closer? Are you going to throw me again?”

As I involuntarily took a step back, she chuckled and abruptly extended her right hand towards me.

“Thanks for everything.”

Her voice was gruff but sincere.

Before I could grasp her hand in my daze, Dutch, who had been standing idly by, shouted loudly.

“No, Hyung-nim! To thank a guy like that, it’s too much! If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been so miserably beaten by those Nemesis Corporation bastards!”

As he grumbled, Nix, without hesitation, struck Dutch squarely in the solar plexus with her elbow.

“Guh-! H-Hyung-nim…!”

“Shut up! If you hadn’t caused trouble in the first place, the request wouldn’t have gone to Kang Jin-woo!”

Dutch shrieked and miserably knelt on the floor.

‘Serves him right, absolutely.’

Dutch, just as my first impression suggested, only ever picked the most foolish things to do.

What’s more, he’d cut off Scarlet’s livelihood, which made me dislike him even more.

“What happened to the other mercenary squad members?”

“Half of them scattered to become freelance mercenaries, and the other half said they’d return to their hometowns. Well… they had a lot of complaints about me from the start, so it seems they didn’t want to be with me anymore.”

“Then what about Dutch? Why is he with you?”

“I don’t know. He just said he’d follow me on his own accord. Kaien-ssi didn’t seem to object either.”

Nix said that, then poked Dutch’s side with her toe as he lay on the floor, groaning.

“Why on earth does this foolish pig want to follow me, I wonder.”

“A soft chuckle… Hyung-nim, anywhere as long as it’s by your side…”

‘No matter how I look at it, isn’t he just a pervert? His eyes look deranged, don’t they?’

Seeing Dutch’s face, faintly flushed, I was truly disgusted.

His preferences were highly suspicious, and something was definitely very wrong with him.

“So? Kang Jin-woo, why are you really here? Did you have an appointment with Kaien-ssi?”

“No, I came to officially thank her for what happened last time.”

“Hmm… really? I was completely fooled into thinking all those troops were under your direct command. To tell such an easily exposed lie.”

Nix scoffed, but her expression didn’t seem entirely displeased.

“Anyway, it’s true that I owe my life to you. I have to repay you somehow. Otherwise, it leaves a really unpleasant taste in my mouth.”

“What, are you going to give me money? That’s what I’d like most.”

A large sum of credits had instantly evaporated from buying parts.

Moreover, if Scarlet requested additional parts, more money would be going out.

Even though I had received a massive amount of money from Icarus, it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar [a fruitless effort].

“Money…”

Nix narrowed her eyes for a moment, looking troubled, and avoided my gaze.

“Honestly, I don’t have much that’s presentable right now. Just this body… and, well, some pretty useful fighting skills, I suppose.”

‘This body… and some pretty useful fighting skills.’

I unconsciously scanned her arms and shoulders.

Large and small scars remained like stains on her well-toned muscles, hardened by combat.

“Why are you staring like that? It’s embarrassing.”

Nix noticed my gaze and snapped.

“Ah, no. It’s just… you seem to have a lot of scars.”

I quickly pointed to the scars all over her body, making an excuse.

“Oh, these?”

She casually ran her hand over the long scars on her forearm, shoulder, and near her ribs.

At first glance, they might have looked grotesque, but they strangely suited her appearance, making her look even more natural.

“They’re all honorable scars.”

Nix lightly clenched and unclenched her fist, grinning.

“If you’re okay with it, I could teach you some of the techniques I know. What do you think? What do you have to lose? No matter how skilled a pilot someone is, if they’re thrown in bare-handed, it’s all for naught, isn’t it?”

‘That’s true. Especially in this world.’

I had already witnessed Nix’s skill firsthand during the last surprise attack, so there was no need to say more.

“I’d like that. It seems I have plenty of time until Kaien-ssi arrives anyway. Especially since the chance to learn practical skills from someone as capable as you is rare.”

“Ha! You sure are good at flattery.”

Nix smiled with satisfaction, then gestured with her chin towards Dutch, who was still grinning foolishly on the floor.

“Dutch, either wait here quietly or follow, whatever you prefer.”

“Heh heh, of course I’ll follow you, Hyung-nim! And Hyung-nim, if by chance, would it be alright if I dealt with that guy myself? I’ll teach him some manners!”

Dutch had somehow straightened up, stood, and was banging his fists together, burning with eagerness.

“Hmm, well… he wouldn’t be a bad sparring partner. Alright.”

Nix lightly placed a hand on Dutch’s shoulder and nodded.

“Dutch is learning from me too. He gets beaten up every day, but he says he’s happy even though it’s painful, who knows why he likes it so much.”

‘That’s because he’s a pervert who feels pleasure from being beaten by you… you dense person.’

My mouth was itching to speak, but I held it in.

We arrived at a fairly spacious training room set up within the facility.

It was fully equipped with various training gear and safety mats.

“Alright, warm up first. Don’t you want to properly avenge the humiliation you suffered last time?”

Nix lightly stretched, a provocative smile on her face.

“You’re awfully bold, after having fun with a surprise attack.”

“Ha! Don’t you even know the basics of fighting? Your movements weren’t bad at all, though. Have you learned somewhere?”

“Something like that. I’ve been through some rough places.”

In my original world, I had to serve nearly two years of rigorous mandatory military service, even if I didn’t want to.

I learned quite a few effective survival skills there.

Of course, before that, during my school days, I had trained in mixed martial arts for a few years and occasionally competed in amateur tournaments.

It was uncertain how much of that sense remained after coming to this world, but it meant I wasn’t a complete beginner.

“If you’ve warmed up, shall we start?”

Nix lightly rotated her wrists and ankles as she asked.

She was already expertly putting on the open-finger gloves that had been placed on one side of the training room.

I also followed her lead and put on the gloves on both hands.

“Hyung-nim! I-I’ll be the fair referee then!”

Dutch had somehow approached us and shouted in an overly excited voice, but Nix didn’t even glance at him, shooing him to the corner with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Be quiet and just watch over there. I shouldn’t have told you to follow.”

“Yes, y-yes! Hyung-nim, fighting!”

“Kang Jin-woo, ready?”

“Anytime.”

We lightly touched gloves.

Almost simultaneously with taking a fighting stance, she attacked first.

A sharp left jab flew like a bullet towards my face, and I reflexively twisted my head, narrowly dodging it.

But the right-hand straight that followed without a moment’s pause, I couldn’t dodge in time, and it struck the side of my head.

“Ugh!”

My head rang slightly with the dull impact.

However, I immediately lowered my stance and delivered a counter-punch with all my might towards her abdomen.

Whump-!

My fist clearly connected with her abdomen, but Nix didn’t even let out a short groan, instead using the recoil to attempt an elbow strike.

‘This woman, she really isn’t holding back! An elbow strike, isn’t that too much?!’

I barely managed to dodge.

“Not bad, are you?”

A faint smile appeared on Nix’s lips.

“You’re the one who’ll really take someone out, haah!”

We exchanged fierce blows several times.

I was completely out of breath.

Nix always clearly held the advantage, and I was struggling just to endure her attacks.

“You’re quite good? You’re holding up better than I expected. It reminds me of the old days.”

“Gasp, gasp… Does it remind you of your military days?”

“Don’t even bring up the military.”

Her expression suddenly froze, becoming chilling, and she abruptly lowered her stance, attempting a tackle towards my legs.

Losing my balance and falling to the floor with her, I was instantly caught in her dazzling Jiu-Jitsu techniques.

Nix, with movements as fluid as water, twisted my arm and pressed her body against mine.

“Urgh…!”

If this continued, my joints would break, or I would suffocate and faint.

I thrashed my entire body, desperate to escape.

‘Damn it, she can even do Jiu-Jitsu, this monstrous woman!’

The scent of sweat emanating from her body and her ragged breathing were vividly felt right next to my ear.

Our bodies tangled, and as we rolled on the floor together, I frantically flailed my arms.

To somehow break free from this suffocating pressure, I was seized by the instinctive thought that I had to grab onto something.

Clutch-!

“Eek?!”

With a short yelp, Nix’s body instantly stiffened.

Though I had not the slightest intention, my frantically flailing right hand accurately grabbed her left breast.

Through the thin tank top, the soft yet firm sensation was transmitted vividly into my grasp.

‘I’m screwed…!’

“T-t-that… I’ve never seen such an enviable bastard! That guy, that guy!”

Dutch’s belated cry, which could have been a shout or a cheer, echoed through the training room.

At that moment, Nix’s technique, which had entangled me, slowly uncoiled.

She stared down at me blankly for a moment, without a word or movement.

“I absolutely didn’t do that on purpose! It was a genuine mistake, a mistake! I was just trying to get away and I unintentionally…”

I desperately made excuses. My voice came out trembling.

Nix didn’t reply.

She just kept looking at me silently.

However, I could see her black pupils faintly widening and quivering.

“O-oh, let’s stop for today… and do it again next time…”

It was the moment I barely managed to speak.

“No.”

Nix cut me off with a voice as cold as ice.

“The finish… has to be definitive. Don’t you think?”

A chilling smile hung on her lips.