Chapter 9: Weekend Border Duty(1).

The next morning, after roll call and breakfast, I prepared to head out immediately.

Despite my efforts drawing pants last night, I had to wear the uniform for the outing. There’s usually no dress code, but since we were on “patrol duty,” we had to be properly dressed.

I regretted putting off drawing uniform pants for Monday. You never know what’s coming.

“Hm…”

And since you never know, I grabbed my tablet and pencil before leaving the dorm.

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

Arms crossed, eyes narrowed, she radiated a chilly aura.

I tried to speak, hoping to clear up any misunderstanding.

“Hey, Dakota, about the misunderstanding…”
“Travel by subway only. No taxis. Report your location to the academy’s command center every hour.”

Her tone was strictly business.

It felt like she was just doing her job, but that made me more uneasy.

Unaware or indifferent to my discomfort, Lager nodded and held out his hand as if expecting something.

“Got it. Transit card.”
“…I was about to give it to you. Here’s the patrol area too.”

Lager’s attitude left no room for negotiation.

Dakota paused, then pulled a card from her pocket.

In that brief moment, her icy demeanor softened slightly.

She must be upset.

“You must return by 8 p.m. Failure to do so requires a written statement and may lead to another disciplinary committee.”
“Got it. Don’t worry.”

Lager shrugged, as if annoyed, prompting her to retort.

“…I won’t let it slide this time.”

Her words carried suppressed hurt as she brushed past him and walked away.

I stared at her retreating figure.

Her fists were clenched tightly under her arms.

She didn’t look back once.

Lager’s cold attitude didn’t sit well with me.

“Do you have to be like that to someone who likes you?”
“What am I supposed to do? Could you handle it if a guy kept coming onto you?”
His point hit too hard to argue. Yeah, that’d be gross.

“Even being ‘just friends’ is deceptive if you’ve got no intention of trying. How’s that different from stringing someone along?”
“…Fair point.”
“Stop overthinking and let’s go.”

Cutting me off, Lager grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. Before I knew it, we were past the academy gate.

Hurrying to keep up, my platinum blonde hair swayed, and my tail swished with each step.

Lined neatly along the gate were rows of trees. A breeze rustled their leaves with a soft whoosh. Lager’s short hair, meticulously styled, didn’t budge.

The difference between a man and a woman preparing to go out, I guess. I didn’t even bother with lotion, drawing on my military days of skipping sunscreen.

At the end of the tree-lined path was the subway station entrance. Lager strode in like he’d been there countless times.

“Hey, do you know where we’re going?”

As we descended the escalator, he unfolded the paper Dakota gave him.

“Here. The place marked ‘Lato’ at the top of the map. That’s our destination.”
“Can we get there by subway?”
“In this world, our country, ‘Ecant,’ is about the size of Jeju Island, with the academy in the center instead of Hallasan. The layout’s almost identical to Jeju, and I set it up so the entire oval-shaped country is connected by subway.”
“Cars exist, but you can get by just fine with the subway.”
“Exactly.”

Lager nodded as we stepped off the escalator.

Swiping the card and passing the gate felt no different from Seoul’s subways. Descending another escalator, we passed countless eateries.

As the central station of Ecant, the academy’s stop was massive, like Seoul or Gwangmyeong Station, practically buried underground.

“Keep up.”

Lager extended his hand through the crowd.

“What, think I’m a kid who’ll get lost?”

I swatted his hand and scoffed.

Always trying to treat me like a girl. Acting all macho. One day, I’ll kick him where it hurts to teach him a lesson.

Following him down more stairs, the platform’s screen doors opened. The train was packed, so we leaned near the door for the ride.

“What if a beast appears while we’re moving?”

I asked, staring blankly out the dark window.

“Our job is to report threats quickly so the academy can respond. Even if a beast shows up, we never act alone.”
“No initial response protocol?”
“Depends, but if it’s something we can handle, we can step in. Still, we report to the academy first.”

So we’re more like scouts than fighters.

Knowing we wouldn’t have to engage directly like last time eased my mind.

As we passed a few stations, the crowd thinned, and seats opened up.

“Let’s sit.”

Lager pointed to empty seats and headed over. I sat beside him, glancing at the pitch-black window as the train sped by.

Normally, subways surface at some point, but this line stayed underground.

When I asked Lager if there was a reason, he said, “If it’s above ground, beasts could damage the tracks during a fight.”

He considered even that in his world-building. I was impressed but also exasperated. If he’d put that effort into his story instead of settings, imagine the results.

Sometimes, it feels like settings matter more to him than the novel itself.

I nagged him endlessly about that, but he never listened. Stubborn guy.

“How much longer?”
“About an hour.”
“Still? Ugh, so far.”
“We’re hitting the farthest point first, then working inward. It won’t take this long after today.”

Lager pulled out his phone and made a call, likely to report to the command center.

While he did his thing, I took out my tablet and pencil to doodle. The quiet subway and dark windows felt like returning from military leave—especially if it smelled like livestock.

That thought sparked an idea to draw.

As I started sketching—

“What’re you drawing?”

Lager, done with his call, leaned over.

“Hey, I found an awesome ability. I can materialize stuff I draw on the tablet!”
“So you’re drawing a gun?”

I nodded.

“Pulling a trigger’s safer and more efficient than stabbing with a blade.”

A sniper rifle.

Pistols or submachine guns might be cooler in a fight, but cool, thrilling moments are for movie heroes.

As a mere extra, I’m all about safety first.

I sketched the rifle’s shape, carefully adding the scope and trigger, referencing photos to make it as realistic as possible.

Just in case I need to use it.

[This stop is Lato. Lato. The doors on the…]

Lost in drawing, we arrived at our stop. Lato was the line’s terminus.

We exited the subway and left the station. While Lager made another call to the command center, I looked around.

Before me stood a three-story-high iron fence, stretching endlessly to both sides, rusted and dotted with sparse lights. A bleak wind blew through.

Beyond the fence lay a barren plain, not a blade of grass in sight. The desolate view triggered a familiar memory.

The GOP. The border fence.

It was just like what I saw during my military service.

“Pretty cool, right? The whole country’s surrounded by these fences.”

Lager, done with his call, joined me, pointing at the vast barrier.

“They’re built to block beasts from invading.”

Like a fence protecting sheep from wolves, the entire nation was encircled by these imposing barriers.

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

Then—

Chirrrr.

A chirping sound.

How could there be crickets in a place without grass? The thought hit me, and a chill ran down my spine.

Beyond the fence, a massive praying mantis rolled its red eyes, its long antennae twitching.

“Lager. There.”

His face hardened as he saw the beast.

“Not good.”

As he pulled out his phone to call the academy—

Chirrrr…!!

With a thud, the ground shook.

A shadow loomed over Lager’s head.