“Lindera, don’t you think black would suit you better?”
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
“I just thought that while looking at the clothes.”
The Commander was saying this while looking at women’s clothing.
It’s not just any outfit, but activewear. It felt a little pervy.
By the way, black, huh? It’s true that I usually wear black clothes.
“Hmm… Is black better?”
“For now.”
“Then should I look for something in black? The outfit Dolores gave me was gray.”
“…That might be nice too.”
So, gray is good.
Or is black better?
Which one should I cater to?
The Commander was really frustrating.
If only they would just say what they want, it would be so much easier.
“Then let’s decide between black and gray.”
“Let’s do that. For now, let’s go deeper in…”
“Yes.”
The Commander had already chosen their outfits.
Now it was time for me to pick something to wear.
I did have the outfit Dolores gave me, but it didn’t fit, making it impossible to wear.
Even in the office, my chest would pop out over my underwear… It was a problem in many ways.
Wearing that would be… a serious issue.
I’m not a pervert; how could I wear something that revealed so much?
“What about this? It seems decent enough, right?”
“It’s a bit too plain. Doesn’t quite match the trend Dolores was talking about, does it?”
“…Do we really have to stick to trends?”
Trends aren’t always good; do we really have to conform?
Of course, I don’t have a huge aversion to trends, but honestly, I didn’t want to wear something silly.
It’s embarrassing, after all.
It’s not just anything; my chest and other parts would be so visible, how could I just wear that easily?
“Hmm… But wearing something trendy is generally nicer and prettier, don’t you think?”
“…Is that so?”
“Well, you have an objectively pretty face. You’d look good in anything.”
“…….”
Hmm.
Yeah.
It’s true.
The Commander’s compliment about my looks was accurate; I would obviously look good in anything.
“…I’ll just try it on. I won’t buy it, but I just want to check.”
“Then I saw something with a similar design over there. Let’s go check that out.”
“…Huh.”
I felt it was wrong, but I decided to go ahead and try it on.
I had already entertained the idea.
I had worn it before, but it could have been a size issue then.
If the size turns out alright… who knows?
That’s why I’d try it on.
So, I went into the dressing room and began changing, just like the Commander had.
“…Huh.”
Taking off my sports bra and putting on a new one felt a bit awkward, but it wasn’t difficult to wear.
Honestly, the hard part would come afterward.
-Swish…
“Oof…”
Even though it was a dressing room, I was still taking off my clothes, so I worried someone outside might see or the Commander might suddenly speak to me.
Well, it was unnecessary worry, but still.
“Phew…”
Anyway, I tried on the outfit, and what I saw in the mirror was just a girl in sports bra and pants.
It looked a bit pervy, but objectively speaking.
Objectively, I could say my appearance looked kinda pervy.
“…I’m dressed. I’ve got everything on, but…”
Even though I got dressed, I peeked my head out to look outside the dressing room.
Of course, the Commander was visible, and they tilted their head slightly in confusion at my words.
It must have been because I trailed off in speech.
But talking about this felt quite embarrassing in many ways.
“It’s hard to come out because it’s embarrassing in this outfit…”
“…So what am I supposed to do?”
“…Would you like to come in here?”
Wouldn’t that be better than me going out?
At least it was much better than showing other people in the store.
Besides, the Commander shouldn’t have an issue seeing it, right?
“…What?”
“I find it way too embarrassing to show outside. Just come in quickly.”
I pulled the Commander closer as they came near to chat.
Since they approached to talk, pulling them was no issue.
“What is this…”
“Isn’t it better for you to be here to objectively evaluate? Hurry and give me your opinion.”
“Hah… Seriously, think about it…”
“What’s wrong? Is it bad?”
Hmm… is it bad?
It does feel a bit risqué, but the size seemed alright.
Last time, Dolores had called the outfit normally pretty.
So, why were they stuttering now?
“…Would you step back?”
“Oh, it definitely makes it hard to see when we’re this close together.”
“…Yeah, so… just step back a little.”
“Yes, then I’ll stand near the mirror.”
So, I ended up at the mirror, and the Commander stood against the opposite wall.
Hmm.
This feels a bit embarrassing.
I thought about covering my chest with my hands but decided against it and just stood still.
I only stood at attention, looking at the Commander, doing nothing else.
There’s no one else to evaluate me at this point except the Commander.
I definitely didn’t want to hear opinions from someone I didn’t know.
“What do you think…? Am I pretty?”
“…Um.”
“Hmm… the fit is definitely better than last time. Though the exposure is still a bit much.”
“…Got it.”
“Can I go now? Standing like this feels a little… uncomfortable.”
The Commander said that slowly as they began to move towards the exit.
Why were they trying to leave?
“Why are you doing that?”
“Wait…!”
“Shouldn’t we finalize things after looking properly?”
I grabbed the Commander, who was trying to leave.
They weren’t even looking closely and were ready to skedaddle right away.
I didn’t expect them to finish evaluating within a minute. Truly a frustrating Commander today.
“No, but, h…”
“Why are you closing your eyes? Are they itchy?”
“…What are you expecting me to do when you come this close wearing something like that?”
“Hmm…”
It was true; I had gotten quite close to the Commander.
This isn’t an ordinary outfit either; right now, I’m practically wearing just a sports bra.
I unintentionally got closer than I intended.
I never meant to be this close, but I found myself there.
“But, is that a problem?”
“What…?”
“Aren’t we already close enough to share a bed? I think there’s no need to feel burdened about this now.”
“…Stop with the weird talk and just step back.”
“…Got it.”
Although I found it a bit disappointing and boring, I stepped back as per the Commander’s request.
So, we were both back at opposite walls in the dressing room.
If only they would say a bit more clearly, I wouldn’t understand why the Commander was feeling awkward.
Is there really a reason for awkwardness between us now?
“So, what do you think? Besides saying I’m pretty.”
“…….”
“Come on, answer. The Commander who suddenly hugged me while I was lying on the bed?”
“Why are we pulling that incident up now…”
“Because you’ve been so quiet and didn’t say anything at all. You should’ve just spoken up.”
Honestly, all they needed to do was say something, yet they remained silent.
Really, it could’ve been a topic for us, being the parties involved.
We are the ones directly in this situation, after all.
“Can I speak honestly?”
“Go ahead.”
“…It’s a bit lewd.”
“…Huh?”
What on earth is this person saying?
Leud? Out of nowhere?
“What do you mean…?”
“Isn’t it objectively a little much? A girl with a nice figure… wearing such revealing clothes while getting that close…?”
“…….”
The Commander covered one eye with their hand and pressed their temple.
They looked rather worried.
But honestly, the Commander’s words were a bit… surprising.
I didn’t expect them to think like that.
Up until now, they had never said anything like this…
“I’m sorry.”
I quickly apologized.
Honestly, I didn’t think the Commander would think of me that way at all.
I hadn’t even considered that before since they had never treated me as an object of that sort.
“I didn’t realize you’d see me like that, Commander.”
“…It’s fine.”
“But, um… when you say it’s lewd, I thought I would feel really bad about it. Surprisingly, I don’t feel too bad.”
Honestly, it didn’t feel that bad at all.
I thought I would feel awful when a guy said I was lewd.
Perhaps it’s because I’m friendly with the Commander?
After all, we’ve known each other for quite some time and kept things casual.
“Um… did you… get excited?”
“Please, don’t say things like that casually to a man…”
“…I’m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit…”
“…Got it, so just stop for now.”
One thing was clear: I was terrible at making jokes.
Truly, on a serious level.
“So, I’ll take this one. Let’s just buy a coat and head back.”
“…Yeah, let’s do that. Just get changed and come back out…”
“…Yes.”
I felt a sense of awkwardness in our conversation that was even more pronounced than usual.
Was it because I became aware that the Commander had seen me in that way?
Until now, I never thought of myself in that manner when interacting with the Commander.
I’d only thought of us as somewhat friendly, like decent colleagues, you know?
Nonetheless, aside from my own thoughts, the Commander clearly thought of me differently.
I was honestly surprised by that revelation.
“…What to do?”
I genuinely didn’t expect the Commander to think of me in that way… not at all.
Now, I’m left wondering what comes next.
This was more to think about than when the Commander suddenly hugged me in bed.
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