章節 19: Bonding

In a room that was neither too small nor too big, a single glass sat in the middle, with two sofas facing each other. At the end of the room, there was an empty office chair and a table.

Seated on the sofas was the guy who, for some reason, is always sleeping, the crazy girl Saiya, the cool guy Kitetsu, another guy whom I was seeing for the first time, and lastly, myself.

Saiya, holding a bunch of papers in her hand, stood up to address us. I couldn't see the contents, but I was certain they contained all of our documents.

"Since everyone is here, let's proceed—"

"Excuse me, Senior Saiya, not everyone is here."

Kitetsu interrupted. He's way too respectful to a crazy girl like her.

"You're right. The captain is currently in a meeting, so we'll have to carry on with the introductions without him," she said, then continued.

"For the new arrivals, we have Ko Kitetsu, Kagaya Haruchi, and finally, Tokita Ryuma."

I knew for sure I was the oldest in the room, but... I wasn't so sure about the sleeper guy.

"I am Lieutenant Benchiro Saiya. You can call me Saiya, and that over there is Lieutenant Aoi Nagato..."

He raised his hand, even though he was asleep. What a creep.

"He might be weird sometimes, but don't mind him. He's actually friendly. So, that's it for introductions. Now, let's move on to the next step..."

She dropped the papers on the table.

"Orientation. I'll tell you everything you need to know about the military, so please pay attention."

She then started rambling about rules, the obligations of a ranger, and other unnecessary things I didn't care about. What really got my attention was the pay—over a thousand Seri. I wouldn't need to worry about rent or food anymore. With that kind of pay, we're talking about vacations at luxury resorts with fancy meals and—oh yeah, those don't exist anymore. What a time to start making money.

"So that's everything for the orientation. I hope you all understood what I said?"

Like hell I did.

"With the end of the orientation, that's it for today. You can go and hang out, do whatever you want until you get a mission call."

"Thank you for your time, Senior Saiya," Kitetsu said again.

"Mmhm, I would've loved to join you guys, but I have something important to attend to."

We stood up and were about to leave when suddenly, a loud voice called out.

"Please go out with me, Mrs. Saiya!"

Ehh?

"..."

Everyone turned. Behold, it was the other guy. With one knee on the floor, his hand opening a ring case, he spoke with no hesitation.

"Mrs. Saiya, please go out with me."

***

"Damn it, I was so sure she'd accept me!" Kagaya Haruchi barked, a full cup of beer in his hand.

"She's so hot, I wish she were mine."

At this moment, the four of us were drinking and bonding in a bar within the residential base.

"Mhm haa..." Kitetsu gulped down a cup. "...But you've got a mind of steel… to ask Senior Saiya out. No offense, but what made you think she'd accept you?"

Ouch, that must've hit the spot. Being cruel in such a nice way—what an awful man Kitetsu is.

Haruchi stood up and flexed his green biker hair and nonexistent muscles.

"Can't you see all of this?"

"And you think Senior Saiya would fall for that?"

"Why not? She's strong, so it's only natural for her to fall for a strong man."

Haruchi kissed his flat muscles.

"Personally, I don't think that's the case. Senior Saiya is truly strong, but she's also zealous and intelligent. If you ask me, I think she'll definitely fall for a hardworking man."

"That's the same thing—"

"No, it's not. You can be strong but lazy. You can be hardworking but weak."

"Alright, I've heard enough, Mr. Smart Guy. Let's change the topic. What's your type of woman?"

Haruchi asked, finally bringing a breath of fresh air from all the Saiya talk.

"My type of woman?"

"Come on, man, like your ideal woman—"

"He means the kind of woman you're attracted to,"

I interjected.

On hearing my words Kitetsu's face flushed red

He is surprisingly dense. What a shock.

"Oh, is that what you mean? Any girl will do, but she should be smart."

"..."

Haruchi's face screamed disappointment.

But seriously, what kind of spec is that? 'Smart,' ahaha

"What about you, big guy?" he asked me.

"Hmm… athletic, with a well-shaped butt. I don't care about the boobs."

"Nice stuff you've got going. What about you... Sir Nagato?"

The sleeper guy, who had been with us the whole time without saying a word, finally opened his eyes. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a picture of a little girl with long dark hair, dark eyes, and a wide, bright smile.

Wait a minute. Is this guy who I think he is? No, no, no, he can't possibly be a pedo—

"Is that your sister?" Haruchi asked.

"Mmhm," he responded with a nod, then went back to sleep.

For a moment, I almost had a heart attack.

"Mm fair enough. As for me, I have no love except for Mrs. Saiya. I'll make her mine. If I don't, then I'll join Buddhism and stay chaste," Haruchi said with conviction all over his face.

Suddenly, Kitetsu collapsed onto the table with a loud thud, his face red and sweat pouring from him.

"It's definitely gotten to him," Haruchi shook his head. Kitetsu was finally drunk—but are these guys even allowed to drink? Judging from their faces, they all look young, probably high schoolers.

"I'll take him home,"

Haruchi said, lifting Kitetsu onto his shoulder.

"You know his house?"

I asked out of curiosity.

"Nah, me and dude stay in the same barracks. Where do you stay?"

"At the immigrant residence. My free three months will be over soon, and I'm looking to pay for the year's rent."

That's one of the reasons I joined the military.

"Dude, you don't pay rent at the immigrant base. When the three months are up, that's it. Go get a new house."

Haruchi's words hit like a bucket of cold water. I thought I could renew my stay at the house by paying rent. Now I have to leave that nice, furnished house with all that space. What a pain.

"Goodbye, guys. We should do this again," Haruchi said before leaving the bar.

I had fun today with friends. Is it safe to call them friends? I don't know. Regardless, I think i've made friends, something I couldn't do in the past. That's something to be proud of.