SS1 11.1 - Casual Night
As Torrak said, our living quarter was huge. Other than housing with 12 personal rooms, kitchen, and longue, it had huge garage with auto-workshop, open gym, open-air CQB quarter, and open-air 400 meters shooting range. It was also located in remote corner. That’s why it was very quiet like an abandoned old cemetery.
Initially, I thought we had to clean and furnish the room we would use, but turned out we could use it right away. Ariel chose the room next to mine, while Bae In-nu chose the room across ours. After that we spent our time in our room.
I called Ariel and Bae In-nu to gather at dining room only when it was time to have dinner. They already took a bath and wore T-shirt and shorts, and looked very casual. It meant they had a good rest and enjoyed their idle time to the fullest.
“Any idea for dinner?” I casually asked the two.
“Big serving of donkatsu and tempura shrimp for me,” Bae In-nu replied right away. “Along with small bowl of rice and kimchi soup.”
Ariel immediately turned her gaze to Bae In-nu. “Are donkatsu and tempura shrimp yummy?”
“They are super yummy,” Bae In-nu happily replied.
“Then, Ariel wants it too for dinner,” Ariel happily said.
“Okay,” I said. “Two donkatsu and tempura shrimp with small bowl of rice and kimchi soup.”
“What about you?” Bae In-nu asked while giving me curious gaze. “Do you not like donkatsu or tempura shrimp?”
“My faith prohibits me to eat pork and shrimp,” I casually said. “I will order spicy Korean fried chicken and ox-bone soup for myself.”
“I see.”
Wasting no time, I ordered our dinner from a store in Seoul and dinner began right away a moment later. Bae In-nu and Ariel ate their food heartily, so I waited until they finished enjoying a few bites of their meal before opening conversation.
“What do you know about wolforc?”
“They are first generation of demi-human,” Ariel replied. “It’s right before Ariel’s generation.”
“They are humanoid with head, neck, tail of wolf, body and limbs of orc, and human intelligent,” Bae In-nu added.
“I see.” After giving my ox-bone soup a sip I continued, “Torrak sent me a message this afternoon. We will have six wolforcs join our team tomorrow.”
“Six of them?” Bae In-nu curiously asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s the total number of wolforc in Kingdom of Farewell.” After a short pause Bae In-nu added, “Your luck is very good.”
Big question mark instantly popped-up in my mind. “Is wolforc a good hunter?”
“They are,” Bae In-nu firmly replied. “They have good night vision, super hearing, and super sense of smelling. These traits enable them to become good tracker both in daytime and nighttime.
They also excel at hand-to-hand combat, swordplay, dagger fight, and archery. Among the first generation demi-human, they have the highest monster kill.”
“I see,” I said before muttering, ‘It seems Kara has a huge expectation for my team.’
“Have you ever worked with them?”
“No.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Bae In-nu casually replied, while Ariel shook her head.
“I see.”
We then continued our dinner while having idle chat.
---
After dinner, we gathered in lounge. Across me, Bae In-nu sat cross-legged in chair, holding an acoustic guitar in her lap and playing old western love song in gentle and slow tempo. Here and there, she would give her beer a sip. She looked like a broke but happy uni student enjoying casual weekend night. It reminded me of my own uni life actually. The only difference was that I couldn’t play guitar so I spent my weekend reading manga the whole night.
Next to me, Ariel continued watching D-Frag! using her tablet and headphone. This was her second time watch D-Frag! since we left Sierra Lodge. She looked so happy, and here and there she would try her best to hold back her laugh.
As for me, I contacted Mike. I told him that I had to leave Pukin’ Dogs. His reply was, ‘We understand. Torrak have explained it to us.’
When I asked him when he would return to Karmen so I could return Matt’s ATV, he replied they would return to Karmen in a few days.
After that I tried to calculate the money I needed to equip the team. With additional six wolforcs, I could use formation of three vehicles three men each. It was my ideal hunting team. However, their equipment would require lots of money. Other than weapons, I had to buy another two HMVs, three EO/IR Balls, and also built two additional Orbiter 69s.
‘It will be a bit above 1.5 million mollar,’ I muttered.
I had the money, but I won’t buy everything in one go. For now, I would buy only two additional HMVs. The additional Orbiter 69s had to wait until I secured fresh fund for them. That way, I would have enough money in case unforeseen emergency arise.
I then turned my gaze to Bae In-nu. “Hey Bae, can I ask you something?”
Bae In-nu immediately stopped her guitar play and turned her gaze to me. “What is it?”
“I want to use formation of three vehicles three men each. Do you have suggestion how I should distribute the firearms?”
After a moment of ponder Bae In-nu said, “Vehicle: Mk.19 on the skeletal roof, MG on passenger seat. Individual weapon: MPX, P320, Flux Raider P320, a pair each. Squad weapon: Sako TRG M10, LMG, HK M320, and RPG.
As for the edge weapons, I think the wolforc prefer to use their old pieces.”
“I see,” I said while lightly nodded a few times. “Thanks.”
“No prob,” Bae In-nu casually said before continuing her guitar play.
Wasting no time I bought the firearms. For pieces that I already used, I used the exact set up with mine. As for Mk.19, I bought the standard version. The HMV would also need weapon-mounting kit.
Japanese auto-maker didn’t make mil-grade roll-cage for HMV or any of cars they produce. Fortunately, a small auto-workshop in Aussie had specialized themselves in manufacturing mil-grade roll-cage for Japanese car. It cost me 2000 mollar for one set of HMV’s roll-cage, including two pieces of weapon-mounting kit.
As for the MG, I built it using MPX as the baseline. The result was, MPX with 12” heavy barrel, bolt assembly, and firing pin with consideration for heavy use. I ran it with EoTech 553, thermal extension scope, 100-round drum magazine, and bipod, and named it MGX. The gunner had to limits their rate of fire below 500 rpm, but it would still produce accurate and decent volume of fire.
Then, Ariel suddenly turned her gaze to me. “Berg, can Ariel watch another two episodes of D-Frag?”
“Nope,” I casually replied. “Two episodes per day, that’s our deal.”
“But when we in a hunt Ariel has no time to watch anime,” Ariel protested. “If Ariel watches only two episodes a day when we are not in a hunt, it will take for a while before Ariel finishes it.”
“After we operate as 9-man team, we will have longer resting time. You will have chance to watch anime even when we are in a hunt.”
“But for this once, can Ariel watch another episode?” Ariel genuinely begged while giving me expectant gaze.
“Nope,” I casually said. “If you still want to enjoy something to relax your mind, you can read manga. I won’t limit your manga reads as long as you do it in your spare time.”
“No,” Ariel vexingly said. “If Ariel can’t watch another episode, Ariel will go sleep.”
“Okay, but don’t you try to watch another episode in your room. Don’t forget I can check your tablet’s activity. If I find you break our deal, I will cut your access to anime for one whole month,” I firmly said.
“…”
From Ariel’s dark expression right after she heard my warning, it seemed she really plan to continue watching D-Frag! in her room, but I said nothing. She then walked to her room with sluggish steps.
Once Ariel entered her room, Bae In-nu suddenly turned her gaze to me. “Despite her age, Ariel is a seasoned hunter. You shouldn’t treat her like a kid.”
“I know.”
I understood Bae In-nu’s point. From the first time she met with Ariel, it was clearly visible she didn’t looked at Ariel as a kid. However, when we were not in a hunt I wanted to give Ariel familial affection and guidance as much as I could. It was not only my obligation, but also my joy and pride as her older relative.
“But other than hunting,” I said firmly. “Ariel has lots of things she need to learn.”
“Well,” Bae In-nu casually said. “If you want to play parent I won’t stop you, but don’t count me in. Parenting is uncharted area for me.”
“Got it,” I calmly said. ‘No worry, Doggie-chan. One glance and I can see you don’t have parenting material I can use.’
We then continued our stuff in silence until midnight before going to our room to have night rest.
*****