episode_0009

The next day.

After finishing the morning roll call and finishing breakfast, I prepared to go outside right away.

Contrary to my efforts to draw pants diligently yesterday, I had to go out in uniform attire. Although there were no specific dress regulations, since we were going out for ‘guard duty,’ we had to dress appropriately.

I regretted postponing drawing the uniform pants to Monday. As they say, you never know what will happen.

“Hmm….”

And just like that, you never know what will happen.

I grabbed my tablet and pencil and headed out of the dorm.

*

At the academy’s main gate, Dakota was waiting for us.

With her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, a cold wind blew from Dakota.

As I tried to say something to Dakota, who was staring at me with closed lips, she spoke first.

“Dakota, what’s the misunderstanding….”

“Travel must be by subway. Taxis are not allowed. Report your location to the academy command center every hour.”

A strictly business-like tone.

Although it was just a matter of stating the rules, it made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Whether she knew about my discomfort or not, she nodded and reached out her hand to Dakota as if asking for something.

“I understand, give me the transportation card.”

“I was going to give it to you anyway. Here, take the work area too.”

A somewhat uncompromising attitude.

Dakota paused for a moment and then took out the card from her pocket.

During that brief moment, the chill emanating from Dakota subtly lessened.

Perhaps she looked disappointed.

“The return time is by 8 p.m. If you fail to return on time, you will have to write a statement and it may be referred to the disciplinary committee…”

“I know. Don’t worry.”

She shrugged her shoulders as if tired of it all.

“…I won’t let it slide this time.”

She said with a hint of resentment, holding back her feelings.

With those words, Dakota passed me and walked away.

I watched her retreating figure for a while.

She clenched her fists under her arms.

She never once looked back.

I didn’t quite like Dakota’s attitude, which seemed almost cruel.

“Do you really have to be like that? Because you like that guy?”

“What else can I do? If you were in this situation, could you handle it properly? When a guy keeps coming onto you?”

I understood too quickly to have anything to say. It felt a bit disgusting.

“Pretending to be just friends is a lie. You have no intention of doing well. How is that different from playing around?”

“Well, I guess.”

“Stop with the useless thoughts and let’s go quickly.”

Interrupting me, she grabbed my arm and pulled me along. Before I knew it, I was already out of the academy gate.

As I hurried to keep up with her, her platinum blonde long hair swayed, and her tail fluttered with each step.

Is this the difference between men and women preparing to go out? I didn’t even apply lotion, taking advantage of my experience of not wearing sunscreen even in the military.

As we walked to the end of the tree-lined street, we reached the entrance to the subway station. Dakota confidently entered as if she had been there many times before.

“Hey, do you know where we’re going?”

As I asked, Dakota took out the paper Dakota had handed me earlier and unfolded it while riding the escalator down.

“Here. Do you see the place marked ‘Lato’ at the top of the map? We need to go there.”

“Can we take the subway?”

“In the world we are in, the country we belong to, ‘Eckant,’ is about the size of Jeju Island. Except for the fact that there is an academy instead of Hallasan in the center, the territory looks almost identical to Jeju Island. The entire area is designed to be accessible by subway, circling the elliptical-shaped land.”

“So, it’s not a big deal to travel only by subway even though cars are available.”

“That’s right.”

Lager nodded and got off the escalator.

Tagging the card and passing through the gate looked no different from any subway station in Seoul. As we descended further underground on another escalator, we passed by numerous restaurants.

The academy, located in the center of ‘Eckant,’ was as massive as Seoul Station or Gwangmyeong Station, buried underground as if the station itself was.

“Follow me.”

Lager reached out his hand amidst the bustling crowd.

“Are you trying to act like a kid? Worried about getting lost?”

I lightly pushed his hand away and chuckled.

He’s trying to treat me like a girl. And I’m trying to act tough. Maybe I should kick him in the middle of his legs to give him a lesson.

Following Lager down the stairs, the screen door opened just in time. Since the seats were all taken, we decided to lean against the door until we reached our destination.

“But what if monsters appear while we’re on the move?”

I asked, curious, as I stared out the window for a while.

“Our role is to quickly detect and report crises at the academy. Even if monsters appear, we must never act alone.”

“No preemptive action or anything like that?”

“It may vary depending on the situation, but if we can handle it together, I don’t mind taking the lead. However, we must report to the academy first before anything else.”

In other words, we’re not here to confront monsters but more like reconnaissance soldiers.

I felt relieved knowing that I didn’t have to deal with dangerous situations directly like last time.

As we passed several stations on the subway, people gradually decreased. Before we knew it, the seats had become quite empty.

“Let’s sit over there.”

Lager pointed to the empty seats and walked ahead. Sitting next to Lager, I quickly glanced out the window at the passing scenery.

Usually, even underground trains run above ground at some point, but this line consistently ran underground.

I asked Lager if there was a reason for that.

“If monsters appear above ground, they might damage the railway during the battle.”

He had even considered this when creating the world. I was impressed, but at the same time, it seemed a bit excessive. I couldn’t help but imagine how great it would be if he had put that effort into the novel story instead.

Sometimes it seemed like Lager valued setting more than the novel itself.

I advised him that it wasn’t important, but Lager didn’t listen at all. He had a subtly stubborn style.

“How much longer do we have to go?”

“About an hour.”

“Still? Wow, it’s really far.”

“We’re starting from the farthest point and heading towards the academy. We probably won’t have to wait this long from the next stop onwards.”

With that, Lager took out his phone and made a call. It seemed like it was time to report to the command center.

Lager was busy with his work, and I took out my tablet and pencil to start doodling. The quiet interior of the subway and the dim view outside the window. Occasionally, when the door opened, the smell of livestock would waft in, making it feel just like returning from vacation in the military.

As I was lost in thought, suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

Just as I was about to start drawing swiftly.

“What are you drawing?”

Lager, who had finished his call, leaned his head over.

“Hey, I discovered a really cool ability. I can draw on the tablet and bring it out into the real world!”

“So you’re drawing a gun?”

I nodded in response to Lager’s question.

“It’s much safer and more economical to pull the trigger than to stab with a knife.”

A sniper rifle.

While handguns or submachine guns may look cooler in a fight, I am satisfied enough with the adrenaline rush and excitement of movie protagonists.

As a mere extra, I prioritize safety above all else.

After roughly sketching the shape of a sniper rifle, I meticulously filled in the scope and trigger. Referring to photos, I tried to make it look as realistic as possible, just in case I needed to use it.

*

[This is Rato station. Rato. The doors will open…]

Lost in my drawing, I suddenly arrived at the station where I had to get off. Rato was the terminal station of this line.

I got off the subway and went outside the station. While Lager made another call to the control room, I took a moment to look around.

In front of me was a fence as high as a 3-story building. The rusty fortress walls stretched endlessly to both sides. The wind blew through the gaps between the fences with sparse lights.

Outside the fence, there was a vast barren field with not a single blade of grass. As I looked at the landscape beyond the fence where there were no traces of people, a familiar scene flashed through my mind.

GOP. Border fence.

It resembled what I had seen during my military service.

“Isn’t it fascinating? The entire country is surrounded by fences like this.”

Lager, who had finished his call, suddenly approached me and pointed to the vast fence in front of us.

“It’s a facility built to prevent monsters from invading first.”

Like a fence built to protect sheep, the entire country was surrounded by stern fences.

Is humanity in this world really standing on such precarious ground?

That’s when it happened.

“Zzirrr.”

The sound of a cicada chirping.

In a place without a single blade of grass, the thought of what kind of cicada it could be suddenly crossed my mind.

At the same time, a chill ran down my spine.

Outside the fence, a giant fox with red eyes was rolling its eyes and stretching its long whiskers in all directions.

“Lager. Look over there.”

As Lager saw the fox outside the fence upon hearing my words, his expression stiffened for a moment.

“This is not good.”

As he took out his phone to call the academy.

“Zzirrr…!!”

With a thud, the sound of the ground being pounded.

The sky above Lager darkened.