“Beep!”
“….”
In the morning… I would’ve just opened the door with a master key and walked in casually.
But it wasn’t morning now, and I certainly wouldn’t be sleeping either.
So, I purposely pressed the doorbell.
It felt a bit awkward to come here to call a man to eat, but I had to check on him nonetheless.
“This is Lindera. If you haven’t had dinner yet, would you like to eat together?”
I said that in front of the door.
There was no intercom, so I thought this would suffice, but he probably could hear me from inside.
After all, I was using a personal room similar to the Commander’s, so I expected that to be the case.
The personal rooms were all pretty much the same, and unless you were one of the few peculiar agents, there was really no need to have different types.
Naturally, they were all the same type.
“……”
Hmm.
No response, huh?
I wasn’t really sure why there was no answer.
Maybe he was sleeping?
The Commander certainly hadn’t mentioned wandering outside.
If that had been the case, the lobby would have been noisy about the Commander while I was coming over.
“Is anyone there? Are you asleep?”
If he was sleeping, I wasn’t particularly inclined to wake him up.
I mean, why would I wake someone who was asleep? It was actually better for me that way.
Honestly, I preferred eating alone, and my intention to check on him was more of a managerial thing.
He was my superior, after all, and it would be awkward eating with a man.
Of course, we did have some hangover food together this morning.
“Hmm….”
Well, he must be sleeping.
Seeing no response, it was likely he was indeed napping inside.
Waking someone in the morning is necessary since you have to eat before work, but I felt no need to wake him now, so I decided against ringing the doorbell again or saying anything further.
“I guess I’ll go eat by myself….”
I turned my body and decided to head off to eat.
It was dinner time, after all, and I wasn’t satisfied with just coffee.
“You’re awake….”
“…?”
And then, suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind.
Recently, while working, I had heard this voice the most from Midori, and to be honest, even before Midori entered, I had heard it quite a lot.
“Commander…?”
When I turned my head, there was the Commander looking… extremely worn out.
He was wearing a pajama-like shirt, and his hair looked like he had just woken up.
Seems like…. I must have woken him up.
“What’s going on…? Why did you suddenly ring the doorbell…? Is there something wrong?”
“Umm… have you eaten?”
“No.”
“…If you haven’t had dinner, I came to invite you to eat… is that okay?”
He looked like he was in a pretty bad state.
Clearly, when I woke up earlier, he looked perfectly fine after washing up.
What was happening here?
Maybe he just woke up, but he looked really exhausted.
If Mary had seen him like this, she would’ve probably jumped in and healed him immediately.
“Just wait a bit longer. I’ll get ready and come out.”
“Alright. Take your time; you can come out slowly.”
“Thanks.”
With that, he went back into his personal room.
I thought he was asleep, but maybe it just took him some time to get out?
I rang the doorbell, and it seemed I had woken him up, although the interval felt longer than I expected.
Anyway, I leaned against the wall next to the personal room and waited for him to come out.
Well, it seemed he hadn’t eaten dinner because he was sleeping.
So, it felt like a good thing that I had come to check on him.
If I hadn’t come, he would probably still be sleeping until morning.
Of course, if he had been sleeping this long, he wouldn’t have woken up until dawn, right?
*
“By the way, when did you fall asleep?”
“I had breakfast with you, went back to my room, and fell asleep right away.”
“……”
It was a bit late for breakfast, but at that time it was barely lunch.
It was breakfast, after all.
So, it was odd for it to turn into lunch.
But to think he started sleeping from then… how long did he actually sleep?
“Are you okay?”
“?”
The Commander gave me a puzzled look at my question, but honestly, I was dumbfounded.
He had clearly fallen asleep after drinking, and here he was, saying he had slept until dinner.
Isn’t that a bit odd?
Anyway, it was clear that if I hadn’t woken him up, he would have surely slept through until dawn!
He seemed incredibly fine with sleeping a lot!
“Master…! You’ve come to visit me today again!”
“Oh, hello there.”
As soon as we reached the dining hall, Soan, the maid in a chef outfit, greeted the Commander.
To be honest, it didn’t look much like a maid’s uniform… there were slits on the sides, and it fit snugly, giving more of a sexy… chef vibe.
But in reality, there were many agents openly showing affection towards the Commander, so it was nothing special.
Well, as I’ve always said, it’s only natural since he was handsome.
“I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Is it still okay?”
“Of course! If you desire, I can always prepare your meals whenever you want, Master.”
“No need for that; just hold on a bit.”
“…Understood.”
Seeing how the Commander was quick to decline her advances, he didn’t seem to have a totally Casanova-like personality.
Besides, if he had, he wouldn’t be sleeping in like this today.
Or maybe… did he secretly sneak out in the early morning to have a wild time with a woman, then returned feigning sleep?
“….”
Maybe I drank too much coffee today?
Suddenly, strange thoughts began swirling in my mind.
Of course, drinking seven cups of coffee was a normal part of my daily life.
It was just because I didn’t really know much about the Commander that these thoughts sometimes popped up.
If he had been fooling around with a female agent, wouldn’t something have been posted on the board or something?
“Lindera? Why are you just standing there?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“Don’t just stand there; come sit down. You haven’t had your dinner yet either.”
“Yes.”
For now, I’d put aside those odd imaginings and take a seat.
It was a little late, but there were many agents seated in the dining hall.
Normally, meals had to be served buffet-style, but… since there were so many agents who liked the Commander, it didn’t always work out that way.
“Well… is there anything you want to eat?”
“No. I’m fine with whatever the Commander is having.”
“Then… how about steak?”
“If the Commander is having it, then truly, I’m fine with whatever.”
So while other agents took their plates, she simply took an order instead.
Hmm.
So envious.
Of course, I could order separately now, instead of going through the buffet too!
“So, Soan?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Two tenderloin steaks, please.”
“I will bring them to you with the finest taste.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Upon hearing those words, Soan acted all flustered, like, ‘Oh my, you’re saying such nice things to me, how wonderful…’ before she dashed off to the kitchen.
She moved excitedly but swiftly.
It must have been because the Commander thanked her and gave a small smile, causing her to feel giddy…
“Sigh….”
I let out a small, quiet sigh that the Commander likely couldn’t hear.
He, on the other hand, seemed totally oblivious to the situation.
“By the way, what did you do today? I was just sleeping in my room.”
“Are you asking me?”
When he suddenly directed the question at me, I was caught off guard.
He normally didn’t ask personal questions like that.
What was going on?
“Yeah, you.”
“Um… I spent some time at the cafe.”
“The cafe?”
“Yes. The one run by Easter….”
“Oh.”
The Commander tapped his temple as if he remembered, realizing perhaps he hadn’t memorized all the agents’ names yet.
I guess he’s still getting used to having so many new agents on board.
“It seems you’re quite diligent. Spending weekends like that.”
“And what about you, Commander? You slept the entire weekend.”
“Ha ha. That’s true.”
The Commander didn’t seem too worried about the fact that he had slept all day.
Most ordinary folks would be concerned or appear not too well if they slept a whole day.
But here was the Commander, not paying it any mind at all.
It seemed he was used to sleeping such long hours on days like today.
“It looks like you’re quite accustomed to sleeping for long periods, Commander.”
“Well, weekends are meant for resting. I should spend them comfortably at home. Although, this isn’t technically my real home, it’s my home for now.”
“Do you usually sleep that much? Is there perhaps a health concern…?”
“It’s not that. I just don’t sleep in during the weekdays, so I make up for it on weekends.”
“…Huh?”
What does that even mean?
You don’t sleep in during the weekdays, so you catch up on sleep on weekends.
What kind of statement is that?
“What do you do during the weekdays that makes you so tired?”
“Just… a little hobby work.”
“Hobby… work?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing that the Commander had a hobby was a surprise to me.
It was the first time I had heard of the Commander having a hobby.
After all, it was the first time I had ever heard of him having any personal interests.
I couldn’t glean anything from games, and we hadn’t discussed anything personal while conversing.
In fact, this was essentially the first time we were meeting on a personal level.
“What kind of hobby do you have?”
“Hmm… that’ll be later. Once we’ve gotten to know each other a bit better, I’ll let you know.”
He said that with a little smile.
“What does that mean…?”
“Master? I’ve brought your meal! Also, I’ve brought some 30-year-old wine to enjoy with your steak.”
“Thank you.”
“……”
Just as I was about to ask, Soan suddenly returned with the meal.
There was so much I wanted to ask, but the timing felt off, making it awkward to bring it up.
Moreover, not saying anything to me seemed equivalent to saying he wouldn’t discuss it in this situation with Soan around.
“Let’s eat first. Didn’t you ring the doorbell so that dinner wouldn’t be delayed?”
“…Understood.”
Reluctantly, I began my meal.
Even though I wanted to ask, the atmosphere didn’t seem like he would answer regardless.
By the way, the steak was delicious….
It was the best meal I had eaten on the ship so far.
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