Training was more… um… how should I put it?
I could say it was successful.
From the outside, just looking at it, I could really appreciate the abilities of the beautiful and cute agents.
Especially in the case of Agni, a 5-star character, he showed abilities that were on a completely different level than what I saw in the game.
It was fascinating to think that people could display such fantastical abilities because of this thing called kryteium.
“Impressive.”
“Indeed.”
The commander couldn’t help but acknowledge the agents’ performance during the training.
And rightly so, it was a flashy training.
Of course, the contents of the training weren’t flashy at all… but it was still flashy.
Agni wielding a massive sword wrapped in flames and massacring the dummy robots, or the strong tankers that withstood the charge of heavy dummy robots.
Not to mention Mary, who healed the fatigue of her teammates and cast blessings.
I couldn’t help but realize once again that I had truly entered the world of Catharsis.
“If today is any indication, I think we’ll handle the missions that come down from headquarters easily.”
“I think so too. This is my first proper operation, but with such excellent agents, we should be able to solve it easily.”
Nodding at the commander’s words, I acknowledged it once again.
Of course, we’d have to prepare the operation well for the missions.
“For now… let’s head back to the office. There’s no need to bother the agents who just finished training.”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Today… let’s finish our work before dinner and leave a bit early. You’ve been quite fatigued lately.”
“….”
Honestly, I was a bit startled by the commander’s words.
He casually mentioned leaving early without any signs.
Was he that handsome, knowing how to handle women?
Definitely… an ordinary woman might be swayed by such good looks and easily fall for some flirting.
Of course, I absolutely wouldn’t be falling for any man, so it was no problem for me.
“Thank you.”
I said this while bowing slightly to the commander.
After all… he remembered that I was feeling unwell because of my period? And he helped me leave early because of that.
Saying thank you like this… should be totally fine.
Even if he was my boss, I needed to show some courtesy.
*
“Ah… I’m exhausted….”
After washing myself clean, I plopped down on a chair.
Seriously… the day felt incredibly long.
If the commander hadn’t insisted that I should eat dinner even though I was feeling unwell, I could have come back to the accommodation sooner.
“Damn period….”
The feeling of wearing a pad in my panties was honestly more uncomfortable than I expected.
Having to change it every few hours because it kept flowing was absolutely terrible.
Getting my period for the first time was really not fun at all.
“My stomach hurts like crazy… and the blood keeps flowing out….”
Honestly, it wasn’t just my lower abdomen that hurt; my whole body felt like it was aching as if I had the flu.
The menstrual cramps spread through my veins, sending a wave of discomfort throughout my body.
Seriously… it’s no wonder why some women leave work early because of their period.
Plus, my chest felt weird too, which made it all the more unpleasant.
It really felt like I’d developed a strong aversion to this phenomenon known as menstruation.
It wasn’t just that my stomach hurt a lot at once; it was a continuous pain, which made it even worse.
“But still… tomorrow should be a bit better than today. Yeah….”
It had to be that way.
Since I knew roughly how periods work, the first day is typically the worst, and then it gets better from there.
And while it’s said that everyone’s period is different, still.
“Please… let tomorrow be a bit better….”
If the commander hadn’t asked Midori for a hot pack during the day, I would have definitely been more painful until quitting time.
“Still… is it a relief that he’s someone who’s used to dealing with women?”
After all, I wouldn’t ever end up liking that commander.
He might just be a charming guy who treats women well, which isn’t a bad thing.
Of course, he didn’t seem like a guy who would heavily flirt with women…?
But just looking at him, he seemed like a guy who would be quite the ladies’ man.
I should definitely refuse any drinks he offers at future gatherings.
*
– 8 km east of Zone 07, contamination detected….
As the boss’s face appeared on the large screen inside the office, he began explaining the contents of this mission.
If it had been a few days ago, I might have been glad to see the boss’s face after a long time, but… today, I was still struggling with menstrual cramps.
The gist of the mission was that there was a contaminated area to the east, so we were instructed to resolve it.
Since there were cities nearby, we were repeatedly told not to cause harm to them, and as I listened to this, I held a hot pack against my stomach.
“Hmmm….”
“What’s wrong?”
“It just seems like the mission is easier than I expected.”
Ah, that made sense.
Well, it was true.
The difficulty level wasn’t that different from the virtual mission I did during the tutorial.
Since this mission was Stage 1, there was no reason for the difficulty to be high.
But that was all in the context of a game; the commander couldn’t help but think that way.
“It’s only been about a week since you were appointed commander, so I think they’ve assigned an easy mission to start.”
“That could be it….”
“You don’t need to worry too much. Even if this mission is easy, more difficult ones will come down the line.”
“Thanks. Since it’s my first time doing something like this, I get a bit anxious.”
I understood.
When I first started working as Lindera, I had a lot of anxious thoughts too.
Of course, I still do, but since I’m not in a super important role, I’ve been able to let those thoughts go.
While the commander and vice commander definitely operate on a different level, still.
I could at least offer some advice.
“For now, I think it would be best to read up on the materials related to the contaminated area and prepare the operation.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. After all, you’re more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am.”
“Then… I’ll make some coffee first.”
It was common sense to charge up on caffeine before starting work.
I began making my usual coffee mix inside the office.
Since there weren’t many people working in the office today, I comfortably made three coffees.
If it were up to me, I would have liked to prepare three just for myself, but I wasn’t the one paying for the coffee.
“Commander.”
“Thanks.”
Anyway, I handed the coffee first to the highest-ranked person, the commander.
Oh, by the way, I stopped the boiling water midway because it could be too hot to drink right away.
It was mostly because my tongue has always been sensitive.
“Midori.”
“Thanks! But is there nothing else in our office apart from coffee?”
“What else do you need?”
“Cocoa!”
Hmm.
Cocoa wasn’t bad.
On cold winter days, it was warm and sweet, which was nice, but there was one issue.
It lacked caffeine.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely absent, but it was at such a minuscule level.
“I think you could buy cocoa at the cafe inside the ship.”
“Oh, really!”
“If you had mentioned a caffeinated drink instead, I could have made an effort, but that’s not happening with cocoa.”
By the way, speaking of caffeinated drinks, I suddenly felt like drinking energy drinks, which I hadn’t had in a while.
It was different from coffee… more like a fizzy drink, so I didn’t particularly enjoy it, but it wasn’t bad.
It still had caffeine, and it helped clear my head.
Anyway, we casually sipped on our sweet coffee mix and started working.
The morning’s task was to read up on the materials for the operation, and in the afternoon, we would outline the operation.
It probably… wouldn’t be at an extremely difficult level, but looking over the materials was still important.
*
“This operation seems to be taking place at a mountain a few kilometers away. The core has formed at the summit, and contamination is gradually spreading from there.”
I began my announcement while looking at the sitting commander and Midori.
“What’s the level of contamination?”
“It is likely at Level 2. By next week, it will probably progress to Level 3, and the rate of spread is likely to accelerate.”
Level 2 was hardly anything to worry about.
Level 1 meant no contamination had even started, while Level 2 was when the land and flora and fauna began to be contaminated due to the kryteium core.
By the time it reached Level 3, the contamination would worsen, surpassing ordinary levels, and once it hit Levels 4 and 5… it would become nearly impossible to cleanse.
“In that case, it would be best to resolve this quickly. At Level 2, there’s no issue executing the operation with the squad we just trained.”
“That’s right. I also believe that destroying the core won’t be that difficult.”
“Hmm….”
The commander was tapping his fingers on his temple while staring at the large screen.
Since it was his first real operation, it was clear he had a lot to think about.
Even in a game, I figured I should help where I could since I had some knowledge about operations.
“Commander, at Level 2, destroying the core would cleanse the contaminated area, so I think it’s best to avoid the contaminated materials and advance towards the core.”
In game terms, it was the strategy of ignoring challenges and focusing on mission completion.
There was no need for complicated thoughts; it was the simplest and cleanest method.
Sure, the rewards might be a bit less?
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