I explained it earnestly to Midori and Dolores, but they just said… to do things normally as usual.
They insisted there was no need to do anything special, and that things would naturally get better with time.
“Here are the documents…”
“Thanks.”
“…Yes.”
So, I decided to just… act normally.
I chose to treat them like I used to, just like the old days.
Even though it still felt really awkward, I thought it would be better than making things weird unnecessarily.
Following their advice seemed better than anything else.
“Commander, we’ve received an official document from headquarters regarding the operation.”
“Where?”
“I’ll send it to you as a file. It’s in the email, but since we’re linked anyway…”
It was just easier to upload it haphazardly onto the server.
The Commander wouldn’t even need to check his email.
“But… this operation is a bit peculiar.”
“…?”
“If you take a look, you’ll understand.”
“Is that so?”
Yeah, this operation was honestly a bit interesting.
I had seen something like it in games a few times, but experiencing it in real life made it all feel even more surreal.
For me, it was familiar from games, but for the Commander and others, it must be their first experience, which made it even more fascinating.
The contamination was definitely unlike anything they had seen before.
This operation was…
“Snow…?”
“Yes. The contamination occurred a few kilometers from here. Suddenly, it’s snowing like it’s winter, which is a characteristic of this contamination area.”
This operation clearly had a different aspect than before.
In the past, the terrain or climate wouldn’t change.
Only the surrounding creatures would change a little, that was it.
But suddenly getting a lot of snow in a place that usually doesn’t see it was definitely unusual.
The contamination level must be a bit high.
“What about the people around?”
“We haven’t pinpointed it precisely, but they probably evacuated. Usually, when things start changing, they take cover to the zone.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But we’ll need to conduct proper reconnaissance. Doing the operation based solely on the documents would be…”
“Difficult.”
Yeah, it couldn’t be helped.
This one was definitely different than previous operations.
Zone 07… we call it Babil, but anyway, our area didn’t usually have winter.
It wasn’t entirely like a desert, but for most of the year, the weather was between warm spring and summer.
So, a sudden winter-like contamination was understandably confusing.
“Snow, huh… this is the first time seeing it here.”
“Yes, but the contaminated entities will likely be stronger than usual.”
“…Well, it seems we should research the materials properly and come up with a solid plan afterward.”
“…Yes.”
It was easy to talk about stuff like this.
There was no pressure at all, and I could just have a normal conversation.
Other everyday topics were tough, but talking about this felt really fortunate.
“Oh, by the way, I heard you went shopping for clothes the day before yesterday. How did that go?”
“…You know about it?”
“I was resting over the weekend when suddenly Midori sent me a message about it. So I found out.”
“…Is that so?”
I couldn’t believe Midori had mentioned it.
I did buy some clothes that day, but I didn’t contact the Commander to let him know.
Honestly, it was just hard to reach out.
Suddenly saying I bought clothes was a bit awkward…
“I just bought regular clothes.”
“Well, new clothes are probably better for you than the ones you always wear.”
“Then what about you, Commander?”
Does the Commander also prefer new clothes over the ones he always wears?
Not the usual suit, but something new…
“Me?”
“…Yes.”
“You’ve got good looks, so wouldn’t anything suit you?”
“That’s…”
“Well, I don’t really know what kind of clothes the new ones are.”
Something felt a bit weird about that.
It felt like my heart was racing a little faster.
Lately, I’ve been feeling this way a lot. Am I developing some kind of heart condition?
Of course, I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee, and I haven’t really taken care of myself…
“…It’s really nothing. I just bought clothes, that’s all.”
“In the first place, you usually only wear suits or training clothes. I just assumed you bought something similar.”
“Well… you’re not wrong.”
I didn’t talk much about the clothes.
It wasn’t for any particular reason; it was just that the Commander didn’t seem to think I’d wear anything different.
Though, in reality, I hardly ever wear different clothes.
But still… I didn’t want to be seen that way.
“Just like you said, Commander, I bought ordinary clothes.”
“If you say so, then that must be it.”
“…Yes.”
Next time…
I don’t know when it’ll happen, but if I wear those clothes I bought over the weekend next time… will the Commander be surprised?
For some reason, that thought kept popping into my head.
*
I had anticipated it, but due to the sudden operation, I had no chance to wear casual clothes.
No matter what, I couldn’t just work in civilian attire.
I had to wear my usual formal suit while dealing with operation-related tasks.
I had bought civilian clothes, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary to wear them all the time.
“Those going on the operation must be having a blast!”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because there’s no chance to see snow around here, right? You can see it often elsewhere, but not here…”
“Oh.”
That was definitely true.
I had lived in other zones before, but in our zone, we could never see it.
There simply wasn’t winter.
Having worked for six months now, the weather had rarely gotten cooler; it was just… a back-and-forth between summer and spring.
“I love snow too. Maybe this time I can join the operation…”
“Midori.”
“I know! Hahaha… I have to work in the office…!”
I understood why she suddenly reacted like that, but Midori was our diligent… administrative assistant.
Of course, recently, she had been doing work at a level similar to the Commander, which was helpful.
Thinking back, my burden had definitely been reduced.
With Dolores coming onto the ship and both of them improving their work performance, things got easier.
“If you want to have fun in the operation area, you can do so after the mission is complete.”
“Really?”
“Of course, as long as you deal with the core first… there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
“Oh…”
“Just because the core is gone, it doesn’t mean the contamination disappears 100%… but for agents, there shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
It might be tough for normal folks like the Commander and me, but for agents, it was no issue at all.
They were originally altered by Krytienium, so a little problem wouldn’t be strange at all.
“Oh… seriously?”
“Why would I lie?”
“No, uh… I just didn’t expect it…?”
Do I come off as a bad person?
I’m not the type to scold someone for taking a break after finishing work.
Isn’t treating me like this a bit unfair?
“No… it’s just that…”
“?”
“I thought Lindera would definitely insist on returning to the zone quickly. She would probably fuss a lot…”
“Not at all. Have I ever said that after the work is complete?”
“That’s true, but it surprised me!”
Do I seem so thorough?
I don’t think I’m that rigid.
Still, I understand when Midori takes a day off or a leave.
I didn’t think she’d think like that about me.
Honestly, it felt a bit unjust.
“Am I such a bad boss…?”
“Hehe, you do have that vibe, Linera.”
“…What?”
Suddenly, Dolores joined in to frame me.
Why does everyone see me as such a terrible person?
To be honest, the way I always speak formally and act could indeed come off as a bit… cold.
But the problem is, they were supposed to be my office colleagues for a decent amount of time.
“What the heck are you talking about…?”
“Hmm… Linera has a lot of surprisingly particular sides, you know? Always telling the Commander to do well, work, and talk with other agents…”
“……..”
Is that really the case…?
No, the things I said to the Commander seemed reasonable enough.
After all, the Commander was the one who wasn’t doing his part, yet kept babbling about random things and trying to have discussions with other agents instead.
Isn’t it strange to focus more on playing around than working, even in a café sometimes?
-Seeey…
“Oh, Commander! You’re here?”
“…What are you all sitting on the sofa talking about?”
Just as I was about to continue the discussion while seated on the sofa, the Commander walked into the office.
He was holding a pastry that looked obviously sweet.
“I was just saying how Linera is quite particular and thorough in many aspects.”
“…Is that so?”
“……..”
The Commander entered with the pastry in his hand and sat not in his seat but in mine.
It could’ve been because my seat was closer to the sofa, but more than that, I was curious about how the Commander would respond.
No matter what Midori or Dolores said, the one who spent the most time with me was the Commander.
“I think overall, he tends to let things slide rather than being uptight.”
“…Eh?!”
“Is that so?”
The Commander glanced at me and then spoke again.
“Sure, when working, he might be a bit strict, but normally, he’s surprisingly lenient…”
“…Where?”
“If I ask for just 5 more minutes of sleep in the morning, he usually accommodates. Not just that, he also…”
“……..”
Well, that’s true.
I do act that way, to be honest.
It was weird to hear people label me as cold or strict.
“Wow…”
“Why do you look at me like that again?”
“Hehe… it’s nothing!”
All of a sudden, Midori began laughing strangely from the side.
I didn’t know what was amusing her, but at least it felt a bit nice that the Commander viewed me more positively.
Not super nice, though…?
“In fact, when working, we keep having work discussions and they always end up stealing mine.”
“Oh, really?”
“I didn’t steal it. It’s just you weren’t able to do it… so I was just trying to leave work early.”
She only couldn’t do the job properly, that was all.
It wasn’t based on anything like the Commander looking cute; it was just… a real attempt to leave work faster.
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