“Lindera. What are we going to do tomorrow?”
“Uh?”
The operation just ended, and I was spending the day diligently writing the operation report.
Of course, I had to write the report since the mission was over!
“Isn’t it the weekend? Are you going to stay in your room tomorrow too?”
“Uhh!?”
“Oh.”
So that’s what you meant.
When you suddenly asked what I was doing tomorrow, I was a bit confused.
To be fair, I had been thinking a lot lately due to the mission.
“If the Commander is okay with it, I’ll go.”
“Is that so? Then, should I come pick you up again?”
“Um… No, I already know where your room is, Commander. I’ll come see you in the morning.”
“Alright, let’s do that. I also find it a bit hard to get up in the morning anyway.”
Well, that was a given.
I was the one who had to wake the Commander up every time we went to work.
There was no way I wouldn’t know that he struggles a bit in the morning.
He frowns a little and sounds completely croaky every time he wakes up.
Of course, it’s normal to be like that when someone wakes you up suddenly in the morning.
“Uh, eh…? Huh?”
“Midori, what’s wrong?”
“Uh, huh!? Why!? Ah! Yeah!?”
“…”
What’s going on?
Is Midori finally losing it?
Though she’s always a bit noisy and a handful, I never thought she’d be in such bad shape like this.
“How about leaving work early?”
“Uh, why!? Why should I!?”
“You don’t look so good today… I think you should head home early.”
The Commander made a really rational judgment.
From what I can see… Midori isn’t doing well today.
It was strange since it had been off since the last operation when she suddenly asked me to cheer for her.
She really seemed off.
“I’m fine, I tell you! I was doing just fine until a moment ago! I’m completely fine!”
“That’s an order. Leave work.”
“Eeeeh!?”
And so, Midori was sent home early.
I didn’t know why Midori was feeling so unwell today, but since the Commander made a reasonable judgment, it was only right to let her rest.
“Speaking of which, Midori has been working a lot lately.”
“Ah… definitely. Since that first day, I haven’t had a vacation, and I’ve been working hard for a whole month.”
“It seems you’ve been a bit inexperienced with paperwork. You’ve actually done really well so far.”
What the Commander said was absolutely true.
This was the first time Midori was doing this kind of work in the office.
I was honestly surprised by how well she handled it despite it being her first time.
Of course, I pushed her to work, but still, saying she exceeded my expectations wasn’t wrong at all.
“Hmm… If I could give you a bonus, maybe you’d feel better.”
“Oh… Are you a genius?”
“Not a genius, but at least an average guy, right?”
“I agree.”
We shared a little laugh.
Neither the Commander nor I were being serious; it was just a joke.
Except for the bonus for Midori, that was probably genuine.
“Commander, are you really going to give me a bonus?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Midori will definitely work harder now.”
I could imagine she would really like that.
After all, the other agents participating in the operation often got bonuses, while Midori hadn’t received one.
Thinking about that made us feel a bit like a cruel corporation, but since the salary is pretty solid anyway, she probably smiles slyly each payday checking her account.
“Anyway, tomorrow let’s just play games in my room.”
“Yes.”
“This time… I hope I can at least escape from last place.”
“…….”
In that moment, I pressed the keys harder than necessary.
It touched a painful memory suddenly.
I only remembered I was playing a game, but I had forgotten the details of my miserable history.
It was embarrassing!
How can someone have a rank of 10 against an AI?
No matter how I think about it, that wasn’t just bad at games; that was a lack of talent altogether.
Seriously.
“I… left my phone behind!”
“That’s… just because it was my first time…!”
“Huh!?”
While I was making a half-hearted excuse, Midori suddenly came back into the office.
Well, she couldn’t help it since she had left something behind.
I didn’t pay too much attention to that.
“It’s on the desk. Take it and see me again on Monday.”
“Uh, okay…! Uh… um… do your best!”
With that, Midori dashed out of the office like she was escaping.
Seeing her back, I thought again… her condition really wasn’t good today.
She was stuttering when she left too, confirming it.
“… I really need to give her a proper bonus…”
“Let’s give her 1.5 times what you thought…”
Did we perhaps make her work too much?
There’s no way her state could be that bad otherwise.
I really needed to take care of her.
If only I could help, but since the Commander was in the position to give her the money, it wasn’t really my place.
*
– Murmuring…
“?”
After having dinner with the Commander, I was wandering around the lobby.
The Commander bolted off to his personal quarters, claiming tiredness, while I just strolled about.
I wasn’t just wandering aimlessly; I was thinking about stopping by the convenience store or the cafe.
“… What is that?”
Suddenly, I felt a strange murmuring from the vicinity.
Well, it was the lobby where many agents were moving around, so it wasn’t a problem at all.
But somehow it felt… a bit different than usual.
I could feel some glances on me too.
Of course, I wasn’t some martial arts master or anything, so I knew it wasn’t that significant. I just had that feeling.
“Hmm…”
Well, even if the agents were looking at me, I’m just the Vice Commander.
I was someone well-known on the ship, so I thought they could be glancing at me as I passed by.
Besides, what mattered more now was my thirst for coffee.
“Ah….”
Now that I think about it, it’s probably not café time right now.
After dinner, Easter would be finishing up her dinner or taking a break.
So, the café would be closed.
But the thing is… I really wanted the coffee made by Easter.
“… Huh.”
If I had thought about it a little more, I could have moved differently.
I was too caught up in enjoying the delicious dinner with the Commander.
Of course, the steak was so good that it was hard to blame myself.
I felt a bit bad for the other agents who were enviously eyeing my steak, but delicious food is just something that can’t be avoided.
“I guess I have no choice.”
Since the café is closed and I can’t go there, I decided to change my course a bit.
Instead of heading to the café on the ship, I simply went to a nearby convenience store.
– Beep beep~
“Uh… welcome…!”
“Good day.”
As I walked into the convenience store, I was greeted by a platinum blonde girl.
She looked like the typical “loli” type, but I just referred to her as a girl.
Because calling her a loli would be slightly too criminal in nature.
“Um, uh… if you look at it like that, I feel embarrassed….”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Actually, it was the first time I had been to a convenience store, so it was my first encounter.
I had encountered her a lot in games, but this was the first real-life meeting with the NPC Angel after becoming Lindera.
So, seeing her for the first time, I couldn’t help but stare.
But since I didn’t come just to see Angel, I headed further into the store for my coffee.
“Hmm….”
Maybe it’s because it’s a convenience store, but there was a wide variety of coffee.
Even if they had the same taste, they differed by brand.
“Hmm….”
When I normally had coffee made by Easter, I always opted for latte.
That was her recommendation, and it just fit my taste.
It had that perfect mix of bitterness and sweetness that made it taste so good.
“First, I’ll just grab the same one.”
Then if it doesn’t taste good, I won’t have to get convenience store coffee ever again!
I’d probably be better off having coffee at Easter’s café as usual.
So, I grabbed a coffee and paused for a moment.
Normally, just getting coffee and leaving would have sufficed, but for some reason, I hesitated while holding the coffee.
“Should I buy a couple of drinks too?”
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Last time when I played games at the Commander’s place, maybe I didn’t play well, but my throat was pretty dry.
I had been playing continuously since before lunch and only had water in my room.
When I got back in the room, even water was the only thing I had.
“Since I’ll just be playing games tomorrow too, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Anyway, the Commander is fine with anything sweet.
I don’t know about cakes or desserts, but something like strawberry milk or chocolate milk should suffice, right?
“I’ll take this. Please ring me up.”
“Uh, four!”
So, I placed a can of soda and strawberry milk on the counter.
I don’t know if it suits his taste, but he likes sweet things.
He probably wouldn’t mind, I guess?
Plus, he didn’t seem like the type to get angry just because it wasn’t his preference.
Although I didn’t know him all that well.
“Heh…”
If he truly didn’t want to drink it, I could just drink it myself.
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