Ah.
Damn.
“……..”
“…So you finally woke up?”
“Um… I’m really sorry.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the Commander beside me in bed.
Faint memories of yesterday came to mind.
And then the splitting headache and stomach cramps.
Technically it was menstrual cramps, but the hangover didn’t help either.
“…I think I might have overdone it on the alcohol yesterday.”
“You seem to know that well.”
“…I’m really sorry.”
“Rather than being sorry, can you please help me out here?”
“Oh.”
I still hadn’t fully regained my senses and had completely forgotten that I was holding onto the Commander.
And I was clinging to him with all limbs.
How did I end up like this…?
Anyway, I loosened my arms and legs that were wrapped around the Commander and stepped back towards the wall.
I was sure that I had been pressed up against the wall last night… so how come the Commander was lying at the foot of the bed?
Seriously… what on earth happened?
“…Haha.”
Neither of us knew what to say anymore.
This was embarrassing beyond anything that had happened before.
In the past, it was always the Commander who was drunk and caused such situations, but this time it was entirely my fault.
I had always lectured him about drinking too much, and yet yesterday I…
“…I truly apologize.”
“Ugh… First, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
Of course… I had been holding on to him so tightly.
He must have really needed to go.
Just a moment ago, something below my waist had… looked like it needed to be addressed; it was probably my fault.
It wasn’t that I felt bloated; I really needed to pee.
Since I had been holding him back, that must be why.
“Dammit…”
Seriously, contemplating my own demise was about all I could do right now, and I was genuinely considering it.
No matter how drunk I was, asking for a hug out of nowhere…
“I’m such a crazy bastard…”
Even if my body had turned into a woman’s, the fact that I had uttered such words to a man was enough to drive me insane.
If the Commander had even a smidgen of lust in him or was a bad person, I could only imagine…
“Hik…”
Thank goodness the Commander was just an herbivore today.
If he had been the complete opposite, then it would really have been…
“I need to drink less too…”
I felt guilty for teasing the Commander about drinking too much before, and wanted to erase the events of yesterday from my memory.
After all, it was a man I had gotten drunk with.
I already had the pain of my period starting, and the bizarre situation that began yesterday was just making it worse.
Seriously.
“…First, let’s clean this up.”
“N-No, I’ll clean up. I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was just having too much fun and… I drank more than I realized. You should go to your personal room and… rest.”
I stopped the Commander from tidying up the table and spoke.
I really felt sorry, after all.
Sure, I was embarrassed by what happened yesterday, but it was more about feeling guilty.
“And the time is already… 10 o’clock…”
I couldn’t recall when I fell asleep last night, but it must have started in the evening, and it probably hadn’t been that long since then.
To put it simply, I had gone to sleep before midnight.
The fact that I had slept for over 10 hours while clinging to the Commander was honestly… super embarrassing.
If someone heard about this, I might actually make some big life decisions out of sheer embarrassment.
“…I’m sincerely sorry.”
“…No, let’s clean up together. We ate together, so it wouldn’t be right for you to do it all alone.”
“No, it’s because if I hadn’t made such a mistake yesterday…”
“Enough. Just help me clean this up, will you?”
“…Yes.”
I decided to comply.
After all, it wouldn’t be right for the drunk Vice Commander to vomit everywhere while the Commander insisted on cleaning.
It made more sense for me to follow the Commander’s lead here.
“Commander, don’t you have a lunch appointment today…?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then you need to prepare… You should do that and go…”
Even with that, I tried to offer advice while hinting that I wanted to do this alone.
“Come on. What’s so hard about it? Besides, it won’t take long for a man to get ready, so it’s no big deal.”
“……..”
Well, it was clear that the Commander, being clueless, wouldn’t catch on.
I had grown used to it now, so I didn’t think it would work anyway.
Let’s just clean up for now.
We had to tidy up the grill from cooking meat and the soju glasses that were stacked in the sink… At least it was a relief there was no raw meat lying around.
The cooked meat was all put away safely in the fridge.
“…Let’s go inside.”
“Yeah. You should take something for your hangover too. You look a bit off.”
“…Yes.”
The reason I didn’t look well wasn’t just the hangover but also the aftereffects of my period.
Nonetheless, I bowed my head in thanks to the Commander, who was worrying about me.
Honestly, it must have been really… tough for him to deal with me, so I was grateful that he had been patient and helped me out before he left.
“Ugh…”
With that, I exhaled a long sigh alone in the room.
It had been so overwhelming.
Even if I was drunk, that wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Suddenly, I realized I was wearing the same outfit as when I first turned into Lindera.
“No way.”
When I glanced down, I saw my cleavage.
There was no significant change since my first transformation into Lindera, except for the fact that my chest now seemed huge enough to not need to look down.
With just a camisole on, I wasn’t wearing anything on top.
I had been wearing a normal cardigan while grilling meat just a while ago.
I must have lost my mind completely when I got drunk last night.
The ivory-colored cardigan was carelessly tossed on the floor.
“…Damn.”
I never expected to be hit with cramps and a hangover at the same time; it was hell.
Besides my arms and legs, it felt like every part of me was aching.
Given that my period started after a tough schedule, was it that wrong to feel somewhat lucky?
“By the way, about that lunch appointment…”
I was supposed to eat lunch with a maid, which was just a simple and normal promise.
Why was I so focused on it?
If I hadn’t suddenly thought about that thing yesterday, none of this would have happened.
For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It was so frustratingly persistent.
“…No.”
Thinking about barging in after doing such ridiculous things yesterday was just wrong, no matter how you looked at it.
I was worried about something I couldn’t quite place, but interrupting was… absolutely not the right move.
Yeah, given how much trouble I’d already caused, it would probably be best to just rest at home today.
As my body didn’t feel well either, staying cooped up in my room like a mouse seemed like a wise choice.
Why did I keep getting the thought of interrupting despite having slept for over 10 hours, clinging to a man?
My head was seriously hurting, and my lower abdomen was aching; I just wanted to relax.
“Ugh…
*
“…What is going on?”
“Ah, Lindera wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t had lunch, so I brought her along.”
“……..”
This really wasn’t my fault.
I felt a little guilty, but genuinely, this time was not my doing.
Because the Commander brought me with him.
“…Hah. What the hell…”
The way Dolores was looking at me today seemed slightly terrifying, and I knew it wasn’t my imagination.
It must be true.
We were currently in a car.
We were supposed to head to a restaurant within the district for a lunch appointment.
I somehow ended up involved in the plan, but we were still headed to the same destination.
Honestly, I was fine with anything to eat, but that wasn’t the main point.
“…What’s wrong with you?”
“Menstrual cramps and a hangover.”
“…There’s no helping it, really. When we get there, avoid spicy food and maybe have some warm soup.”
“Thanks…?”
To be honest, I was a bit surprised.
I didn’t think Dolores would say anything like that.
It might have been because the Commander was present, but even so, her tone was genuinely caring.
I had expected her to get mad for crashing what seemed like a date with the Commander.
Sure, it wasn’t the kindest tone, but she definitely wasn’t angry.
Honestly, she was calmer than I had anticipated?
“And if you’re feeling cold in your stomach, we can stop for a hot pack on the way…”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t need to stop for that.”
“Absolutely not. Commander, if there’s a pharmacy or convenience store on the way, please stop.”
“Got it.”
“…….”
Was I really thinking too negatively…?
Honestly, seeing how unexpectedly kind Dolores was making me realize I might have underestimated her.
Until now, I had just seen her as a strange person who always said weird things in the office.
But maybe she was actually a nice person, separate from that.
“Lindera? Have you taken any medicine?”
“Medicine… is there any?”
“…Hah. Seriously, this won’t do. Commander? Just take her directly to the pharmacy.”
I couldn’t believe there was actual medication for menstrual cramps.
I was more stunned that Dolores was treating me nicely than anything else.
Given how far medical technology had advanced, I had never considered that there would be medicine for cramps.
Whenever I was in pain on the ship, I only relied on healing from the agents, so it never crossed my mind.
“Honestly… drinking the night before your period starts; do you even think?”
“…I apologize, Dolores.”
“Originally, drinking before your period can make you more susceptible to hangovers and increase cramps. You really didn’t know that?”
“…I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
Watching Dolores sulk while looking out the window made me feel like I had been too harsh until now.
Maybe she was honestly a better person than I assumed.
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