Chapter 23 - "Simple"
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Akane and I walked side by side down the quiet corridor toward the deployment hangar. The lights were dim—night cycle. My footsteps felt louder than hers.
I broke the silence.
"Akane… Yoon Taehyuk. Was he really alone?"
She didn't look at me.
"No. He had a crew. According to news and history, they were all strong. Very strong."
I nodded slowly.
"Then we should try to make contact. Form an alliance. Get them to fight with us against Mana Monsters."
Akane actually laughed—short, surprised.
"Hahaha… your mind runs fast when it comes to these things."
She shook her head.
"But he's already gone. His generation is long gone beside Monsters alone are not our enemy."
I sighed.
"Yeah… right."
We kept walking.
I glanced at her.
"But why is Ren getting punished? You said it's because he—"
She cut in.
"As I told you before. He had sex with Saki—his personal assistant. That's not allowed."
I frowned.
"If you sleep with your PA, they can't monitor you properly anymore?"
"Exactly."
I stopped walking.
"But you barged into my bathroom and… you know. Sucked me. Was that allowed?"
Akane didn't flinch.
"Yes. That was part of regular health checkup protocol. If one day your… function stops working, you become useless to the government. We have to verify."
I stared at her.
"So it's just… maintenance?"
She met my eyes.
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"Do you feel the same? About me? About all this?"
Akane stopped walking.
She looked at me—really looked.
"Then what do you think I should do? Start offering my body? My purity? To someone I barely know? I can't do that."
Her voice dropped.
"But here… you have to. For survival. If you become a personal assistant to a male, you get more pay than most soldiers. That's the reality."
I felt something twist in my chest.
"Are you afraid of me? Do you think I only want sex? That I came here just for enjoyment?"
She didn't answer.
I started walking again.
She followed.
We reached the deployment hangar.
The mechs stood silent—giants in the dark.
Mio was already there, stretching, ponytail bouncing.
Rei stood nearby, blades sheathed, arms crossed.
Then Saki and Ren arrived.
Ren walked up, hands in pockets, casual as ever.
"Okay," he said. "We go to the southern area. Kill the beasts. Come back. Simple."
He looked at all of us.
"Simple, right?"
No one answered.
The hangar lights hummed overhead.
The clock had already changed.
And now we were walking into the dark together.
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*End*