“Report… report… ugh…”
“Are you okay?”
“No… I’m not okay…”
Coming back from vacation and jumping straight into work was definitely exhausting.
Watching Lindera struggle through lunch made me think it was best to let everyone off early today.
After all, there was no reason to suffer on the very first day back from vacation.
“Are you okay, Dolores?”
“I’m fine.”
Well, even the Commander was rubbing his eyes a bit since morning, so I suspected the maid wasn’t feeling 100% either.
We had to get back to work after lunch, but there was no reason to push ourselves like before, so easing up on the workload seemed appropriate.
There was no need to make it hard from the get-go.
“Commander! Can I have one more bowl?”
“…I’ll let Soan know.”
“Thanks!”
Still, the atmosphere was better than before the vacation.
It wasn’t just the mood; everyone’s energy was noticeably higher than usual.
Of course, Midori had improved the most.
“What can I do for you?”
“Um… Sorry, but could you give Midori one more bowl?”
“…If it’s the master’s request, then of course.”
“Thanks.”
Honestly, being popular among women seemed like a pretty good thing.
I briefly called Soan over to ask for more food.
To be honest, it felt a bit trashy.
Maybe it was fortunate that the yandere Soan hadn’t shown any real yandere tendencies yet.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing.”
I thought it but didn’t say it out loud.
To be honest, I was reaping quite the benefits from being the Commander too.
I wouldn’t be fool enough to complain about always eating delicious food.
“More than that, Commander, how about we leave a little earlier today?”
“Suddenly?”
“It’s the first day back, there’s no need to work hard right from the start. It’s not like we have a report that needs to be rushed.”
“That’s true, but are you sure that’s okay?”
“Yes.”
I understood everyone was tired, and taking an early leave wasn’t a big deal for one day.
Besides, the Commander looked slightly tired too.
Today should be a day to leave early…
If we insisted on pushing through while exhausted, tomorrow wouldn’t be any better either.
“Don’t you want to get off early today, Commander?”
“Cough.”
“Don’t cough weirdly.”
“If I want to leave early… that’d certainly be nice.”
“Then let’s leave an hour early today.”
Of course, we still had to get some work done.
But no one was slacking off anyway.
*
“Lindera, drink this while you work.”
“It’s not coffee.”
“Drinking coffee all the time is a bad habit, so just have some fruit juice.”
I was alone in the office.
Before dinner, Midori and Dolores had gone home, and I just planned on finishing a bit more work.
I could’ve left it for tomorrow, but I was almost done typing, and I just needed to send it to the Commander.
So I wanted to wrap it up quickly and get out.
“By the way, what are you doing here?”
I thought the Commander had left when he came in all dressed up.
“Since my Vice Commander is working alone, how can I leave?”
“Well said.”
I accepted the fruit juice the Commander offered.
Although it wasn’t coffee, I wouldn’t complain since it was a nice gesture.
It was neither warm nor lukewarm, so I didn’t mind drinking it.
“Isn’t it good that I can at least talk well? If I can’t even do that while not getting any work done, it really would be a problem.”
“…Yes, I’m glad you know.”
He certainly did talk well.
But it seemed like he couldn’t handle important situations properly.
He was capable in these pointless ones.
“Don’t stand there; sit next to me. I’m almost done.”
Since the Commander was standing and staring at me, it was hard to concentrate.
It was uncomfortable having someone watch so intently from the front.
Anyway, at that, he sat next to me.
Good thing he could at least listen well.
“Isn’t there no need to finish everything? Everyone left earlier than usual.”
“Didn’t I say? With my Vice Commander working alone, it’d be weird for me to leave.”
“…….”
He really did have a knack for saying strange things.
If he were good at talking, he would’ve handled that situation with my mother much better last time.
Well, it wasn’t that I felt bad hearing it, so I didn’t think too much about it.
“I’m not even done yet, and I just don’t feel like finishing it. It won’t take many hours anyway.”
“Isn’t it taking longer than expected? It feels like it’s been at least an hour since you left.”
“It’s… probably not an hour.”
Not that I was looking at a clock, but I didn’t think it had taken an hour.
I had focused on my work, and it felt a bit long because of that.
There was still time before the deadline, but I needed to finish this report quickly to move on to other tasks.
That’s why I wanted to knock it out fast.
“Just think about your health while working. You work a lot without taking a break; do you really need to do this?”
“The regular clock-out time hasn’t even hit yet.”
“That’s not what I meant… sigh.”
“You don’t need to feel too frustrated. I’m almost done anyway.”
Seeing him sigh like that, I noticed he was a bit bothered… but I was genuinely fine.
Even though I was working on my first day back from vacation, I wasn’t feeling overwhelmed in the slightest.
After all, that was why I took the vacation in the first place.
Most of the work was paperwork, so it wasn’t really physically taxing.
“How about focusing on yourself a bit while working?”
“I’m fine. I’m comfortable enough right now.”
“Really… you seem quite stressed.”
“Yes, if the Commander does his job better in the future, there won’t be a problem.”
The report I was currently working on wasn’t very connected, but he nagged me too much.
I said it out of frustration since I was constantly being told to do my job properly.
“…”
“If that struck a nerve… I’m sorry.”
“No, I should do my best so that I can help you.”
“Normally, it should be the other way around.”
“But what can you do? You work better than I do.”
Well… that was true.
I was definitely better at my job than the Commander.
He acknowledged it, and everyone else in the office would agree too.
“Geez… what will you do if you wear yourself out?”
“Then I guess the Commander will take care of me when I can’t work.”
“Isn’t it a bit weird for a woman to say that to a man?”
“What’s the problem with that? It’s just between the Commander and me. It’s perfectly fine to take care of each other when we’re sick.”
At least, I thought so.
Taking care of someone when they’re sick isn’t weird; I wondered why he felt that way.
Could it be embarrassment?
It didn’t seem like he had any reason to be.
“… Ha.”
“Stop sighing. It’ll just give you more wrinkles. Besides your face, there’s nothing else to boast about.”
“…….”
The fact that the agents followed him probably had something to do with his face.
If his looks declined, the agents would definitely be less enthusiastic.
Though with that face… adding wrinkles or facial hair wouldn’t make him ugly anyway.
“With the lack of muscle, you should at least take care of your face.”
“Are you suggesting a good old arm wrestling match?”
“… I can’t right now; I still have work left.”
It wasn’t that I thought I’d lose again; I was genuinely busy.
That’s why I replied like that.
Though even if we were to arm wrestle again, I wouldn’t win.
At least I didn’t want to participate in that again.
“Okay, just finish up already.”
“But… seriously, why are you still here?”
You could just relax at home since you’re off work.
That’s why we even got off earlier than usual in the first place, so why was he still sitting there?
He wasn’t doing anything else, just fiddling with his phone beside me, making it even more confusing.
“I just came to check on you because I was worried.”
“…?”
“I saw you say you’d be done in a bit but didn’t come out, so I thought you might be pushing yourself too hard.”
“Is that so…?”
I understood a bit, but it probably would’ve been annoying.
Though I appreciated that he had come to check on me.
Not in a romantic or weird sense, but just as a colleague.
The Commander was dressed in a casual white t-shirt instead of his work suit, which felt different and awkward.
“Oh, your mother sent some meat for us to share this time.”
“Really?”
“She was so happy when she met you last time… She sent it for both of us.”
“Ah…”
I didn’t know why she sent meat, but it seemed like I had scored some points that day.
Of course, I wasn’t a real daughter-in-law; I was just a fake one… but I was relieved that she was happy.
“Just enjoy it.”
“What are you talking about? She sent it for both of us, so it’s only right to eat together. It was certainly sent because of you, not me.”
“…I’m fine with it, though.”
Honestly, I didn’t need to force myself to eat meat.
Listening to my mother, it was clear that she had hoped her son would just enjoy the meal.
That’s why I was intentionally saying that.
“Don’t decline too much; we should eat together. How about today? You probably haven’t had dinner yet.”
“…We have work tomorrow. I think eating meat is best on Friday or during the holidays.”
“Is that so?”
It wasn’t an issue, but personally, I liked to enjoy a bit of booze with my meat.
Eating right now would be fine, but my room was a mess, and I hadn’t showered since the morning.
“Then let’s save it for this Friday.”
“…Yes.”
Though it was sudden, it was a gift from my mother.
I should enjoy it and at least call her afterward.
No matter how fake it was, it was still a meal sent because of me, as the Commander said.
It was only natural to express gratitude.
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