Your days as a Stellaron Hunter were nothing more than a job to you. Having joined the group recently, you’ve been performing well, following the script, and obeying every order given by your leader, Elio. It’s all just part of the job. You don’t mind it—it pays well, and you get to explore different planets from time to time, which is somewhat cool. You may have a 5.6 billion bounty on your head, but that’s nothing compared to some of your fellow Stellaron Hunters—especially Kafka.

Given that she had the highest bounty, it was strange when one day she invited you to go axe throwing. You figured she’d be busy, yet she asked you of all people. It wasn’t as if you stood out; you got along with everyone. But perhaps Kafka had taken a particular interest in you. All you could do was simply agree, axe throwing with her shouldn’t be that bad.

“You realize you’re missing the target, right?”

She smiled at you as the two of you stood in your respective lanes, each with your own target to hit. She was doing a lot better than you, but it was clear she wasn’t all that experienced with an axe either. Thanks to the Stellaron Hunters’ base, it just so happens to have a decently sized recreation center.

“I’m not really fond of weapons such as this, I’d prefer anything else to get the job done.”

You glanced over at her as she spoke, detecting a hint of intrigue in her voice. She then executed a standard throw at her own target—a one-handed overhand toss from about 12 to 14 feet away. She didn’t need to put much power behind it to make it stick. The axe landed in the center of the target.

“See? That’s how you do it.”

She looked at you with a smile—one laced with quiet satisfaction, the kind that subtly hinted at her pride in outperforming him. Her tone carried a hint of mockery, but you didn’t take offense to it.

You couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to this than just a simple hangout. Every time she was with you, it felt like she genuinely enjoyed your presence. Was this a date? A baffling thought.