“Yaaawn…”
“Feeling tired?”
“Isn’t it like this every time we have a mission? There’s more to do and think about than usual… Well, it’s not like I’m super tired or anything. No need to worry.”
“Worry? I never did.”
“Oh really?”
Yeah, why would I worry…
You just sneezed over there and asked out of nowhere.
Besides, right now I’m busy working, so there’s no time to worry.
“You look a bit tired too. How about taking a short break?”
“…Please don’t blame me if you want to rest.”
“…Did it show?”
“Yes.”
It was obvious you wanted to rest.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been around the Commander for so long, but reading expressions had become easier over time.
They all looked pretty similar anyway.
Just going through the motions like this, it happens.
“…Let’s take a break for about 10 minutes. You seem like you can’t concentrate, and Midori’s been nodding off since a while ago.”
“Really!?”
“…Yes.”
Are you really that happy about it?
Anyway, I just suggested it because everyone looked tired.
Dolores and I were fine, but the real troublemakers in our office were the other two.
Besides, taking a 10-minute break wouldn’t magically change anything.
“Haah…”
“So… you were really tired?”
“A bit.”
Maybe it’s because I was really tired; the Commander moved to the sofa as soon as I suggested a break.
And not just sat, but actually lay down.
Of course, since the Commander was tall, he couldn’t stretch out fully and had his legs hanging down.
“……..”
What is it… why do I feel a bit disappointed?
I just couldn’t shake off that feeling while looking at the Commander.
What exactly was disappointing about it?
I thought about it but couldn’t find the answer.
I just… felt that way.
-Thud… Thud…
“…”
Am I losing my mind?
Why does it feel disappointing that the Commander is lying on the sofa and trying to catch some sleep?
“Ha…”
In the end, all I could do was press my eyes and let out a sigh.
I don’t know why I was having such thoughts, but waking the tired Commander was… not an option.
Just watching was more than enough…
“Ha.”
Am I really losing it…?
“Dolores… the Commander took my sofa!!”
“Well, it’s the ones in power who are the strongest.”
“Ugh…”
“Technically, I didn’t bring it for lying down… but, you seem really tired.”
If it were a normal day, I would have told the Commander not to lie down on the sofa and to sit instead.
But today, I just… had no thoughts but to leave it as is.
If I sat on the sofa, Midori or Dolores would sit next to the Commander, and that would… probably not be a good idea.
I have no idea why I would think like this.
“…Would you like some coffee?”
“…….”
You.
Seriously… you?
I heard you’re about to take a nap, but I didn’t expect you to fall asleep this quickly.
I thought you’d just close your eyes for a bit…
“And now you’re fully asleep…”
“…….”
I reluctantly decided to make the Commander’s coffee a bit later and went back to my seat.
After all, the sofa and my seat weren’t that far apart, and it was a good spot to watch the Commander sleeping.
“Hehe…”
“This is amusing.”
“Right…!”
Though the other two who weren’t sleeping kept talking, it probably wasn’t a big deal.
They could just chat among themselves.
*
Surprisingly, the operations related to the mission progressed quickly.
Of course, we sent scouts to the contaminated areas and did more research than usual, but it wasn’t dangerously hard this time either.
“Commander, here. The reconnaissance squad has brought back information.”
“The contaminated entity… is a rabbit?”
“Yes, one of the most frequently seen ones is the snow rabbit.”
Of course, those snow rabbits weren’t the cute, small friends you’d like to meet in the wild.
Honestly, if we met outside… um.
One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t want to face them one on one.
Calling them rabbits in the first place was overdoing it a bit.
“Hmm…”
“What will the operation squad do?”
“Let’s go with the 1st Squad. It’s a snow terrain after all, and Agni’s been pestering me about when we’re having operations lately.”
“Pestered… you?”
I don’t normally keep in touch…
“…You often contact them?”
“?”
“I’m asking if you keep in touch with the agents often.”
“Well… they tend to contact me quite often. They ask me things that could easily be found by just looking online. And they talk about operations and training all the time?”
“…Is that so.”
Somehow… I started feeling a bit off.
I don’t even know why, but something didn’t feel right.
What is it?
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes. I’m fine…”
“You were silent all of a sudden, so I was a bit surprised.”
“…It’s nothing important.”
Right, it’s nothing important.
It was just… some casual contact.
Even though the only person I contact privately is the Commander.
There’s no reason for me to feel off about it.
“…Hmm.”
“What… is it?”
The Commander was looking this way with a slight smile for some reason.
What’s so funny?
“It’s just… never mind.”
“…?”
“I was just thinking we should start working out together after this mission. We had talked about it before but never had the time to do it.”
“With me…?”
“Wasn’t that the point? The agents need to exercise.”
“…….”
That was true.
We had indeed discussed exercising before.
It’s not like I didn’t want to but it was just a matter of having no time…
“Spending a weekend with you might feel like a long time since.”
“…Is that so?”
“Didn’t you hang out with the other agents more than me lately?”
“That’s…”
True, but it felt a bit like an inquiry.
It almost felt cute the way the Commander was saying this…
Though it probably wasn’t true, I found it a bit amusing that I felt a hint of jealousy.
“Anyway, let’s plan to do it after the mission. Right now, we should focus on operations.”
“…That’s true.”
“…You look good when you smile.”
“…Huh?”
“I just thought so.”
“…….?”
What was that about all of a sudden?
The Commander just said something odd out of nowhere.
What on earth…?
“You haven’t looked that happy lately.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that why?”
“That… makes sense.”
There was no point in the Commander saying I was prettier than her.
Well, it was definitely possible.
I was just surprised because I hadn’t expected the Commander to say something like that.
Was that really the reason I smiled earlier…?
“Linda?”
“Yes?”
“Could it be… no, never mind.”
“…What is it?”
Suddenly starting a sentence and stopping isn’t fair.
Surely, that’s a bit weird.
You create curiosity and then don’t finish.
“I just had a thought, but it didn’t seem necessary to mention…”
“I don’t know about that, but just tell me.”
“Isn’t it unnecessary?”
“Tell me.”
For some reason, I wanted to hear it.
There’s nothing worse than someone starting to say something and then just stopping.
Plus, I was just curious about what the Commander was going to say.
Was it some weird story involving an agent again?
“I just thought it might be nice to go play outside a bit after the operation.”
“…Huh?”
“Just like you said, we can’t see snow around our area. Why not take a break after dealing with the contamination and go out a bit…”
I was a bit surprised, caught off guard.
Suddenly suggesting we go out…
I never thought we’d talk about going outside right after the cleanup operation.
Going outside and going out there are definitely different things.
“But is it okay to go out…? Even if we destroy the core, the contamination won’t be completely cleared… If it’s snow caused by contamination, it would surely be harmful.”
“That’s what the gear is for, isn’t it?”
“Uh… that’s true, but…”
How should I react?
More than that, I don’t see why it has to be me specifically who’s going out.
“Are we really going out…?”
“Why not?”
“It’s not that I’m saying we shouldn’t…”
Given that we’d go out safely in gear, it wouldn’t be a huge issue.
If we went out after the core was destroyed, the contaminated entities surely wouldn’t be as many.
But did we really need to go outside the contamination zone…?
“Let’s go outside, I said.”
“…Why are you coming so close all of a sudden?”
“I just wanted to go out with you; is there a problem?”
“Not really, but…”
It was just sudden.
It’s just that the Commander rarely suggests going out first, and whenever we did, it was usually me who said it first.
Still, for some reason, the Commander’s suggestion to go together intrigued me a little.
It was probably just the Commander casually suggesting we go out.
Yeah, it’s just that… That’s probably why.
“Then let’s make a plan to go out together once it’s all done.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Don’t worry, we already have protective equipment on the ship.”
“…Understood.”
In a way, it does feel like a date, but it’s really just going out.
There’s no way the Commander and I would be on a date.
It’s just… we’re just going out for a stroll.
Midori asked the last time if she could go out and have some fun, so it’s just an extension of that.
We can’t see snow around our area anyway.
“…….”
So, it’s really just a stroll… right?
For some reason, the way the Commander was looking at me felt different from usual, and it was awkward.
There shouldn’t be much difference from usual, but something felt off.
The atmosphere, the situation, the Commander…
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