“Is this the place?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s more intriguing than I expected. It feels different from a movie theater.”
The theater they arrived at to see the performance was more fascinating than anticipated.
The entrance had a vibe reminiscent of a Greek temple.
Of course, only the entrance had that feeling; the rest of the building looked like a typical modern structure.
“I think it’s nice. The exterior of the performance venue is cooler than I thought, and I’m curious about the interior.”
“You can look forward to it.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re here at a pretty good spot. You can definitely look forward to it.”
“If you say so, Commander, I think I can get my hopes up.”
It was even more so because the Commander didn’t often say such things.
I guess I can really look forward to it.
Well, even if it was a ticket from that… girl former comrade.
“Hmm…”
“?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go in.”
I decided not to think about it for now.
After all, it was me who came to see the performance with the Commander.
Thus, I began to step inside together with the Commander.
Since I didn’t usually go to musicals, I naturally felt a bit excited.
We showed our tickets and went inside.
Inside, contrasting the exterior, it was very modern, as expected.
In fact, it felt stranger that it wasn’t.
“Commander, have you been to see musicals before?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Then, who else would I be asking?”
“Um… This is my first musical.”
I see… I was just curious and asked.
I was also a little intrigued about why the Commander received the ticket suddenly.
But then again, it felt a bit foolish to give up a two-person seat just because he was busy…
“Fufu…”
*
The Commander and I took our seats to watch the performance.
Well, the seats in the theater were no different from any other, so there wasn’t much to be excited about, but the stage was different.
“It’s huge.”
“Indeed.”
Although covered by curtains, the stage was certainly big.
We were in the front two-person seats of the second floor, so the stage appeared even larger from our vantage point.
“I’m glad you seem to like it.”
“I’m relieved we came to a nice place.”
I was genuinely satisfied as it was even better than I anticipated.
I hadn’t seen the performance yet, but it still felt good.
Even though there were various reasons I felt a little off until just now, I definitely felt better now.
Besides, hearing the Commander’s words lifted my spirits a bit.
And it’s embarrassing that he seems shy about complimenting me.
“Ugh…”
“Why do you keep smiling?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just having fun.”
“…?”
I couldn’t help but smile without realizing it.
It was just genuinely entertaining.
“More importantly, what was your relationship with that comrade of yours?”
“Uh, what?”
“You received a ticket from the Commander. Usually, you wouldn’t do that if you weren’t close, right?”
She did mention she was a girl.
I remembered having something going on with girls at my previous job.
I had shared a ride with them occasionally, and well… although I was a clueless fool and didn’t do anything strange, such things did happen.
But she had confirmed there was something there herself.
“Um, well… we were just moderately friendly.”
“…I see.”
“Is it really necessary to keep talking about this?”
“Is there a problem? You just suddenly received a ticket. I was just curious.”
“…That’s true.”
“Who exactly was she?”
What kind of relationship was it that warranted such a ticket?
What kind of girl was she?
“Do you not want to answer?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Not that?”
“…I think the show is about to start. Maybe we can talk about it a bit later.”
“Hmm…”
It seemed he didn’t want to answer.
I had no idea why he didn’t want to reply.
I was politely asking, smiling, and he was still reluctant to answer.
It definitely seemed like there was something more to it.
And since the performance seemed about to start, I didn’t press further.
“Ugh…”
“……..”
Something felt off…
Anyway, with those lingering doubts, the performance began.
With a majestic soundtrack commencing.
*
The content of the performance itself wasn’t anything extraordinary.
It was just a typical love story between a male and female protagonist, exactly that kind of story.
Of course, there were various elements hindering their relationship, but ultimately, it ended beautifully with a happy ending.
This made it impossible not to enjoy watching it.
“It was fun.”
“I think so too.”
“This is my first time seeing a musical like this… I think I understand why people like it.”
It was definitely grand.
It felt entirely different from watching a movie in a theater.
“If you think so… I’m glad.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
Actually, I couldn’t focus perfectly on the performance.
Specifically, I had many other thoughts while watching it.
Why would some girl give me a ticket to a story filled with love?
And why did she give it to me the day before the performance when she knew she couldn’t make it?
No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for that.
“So, you’re not going to tell me who gave you the ticket?”
“…I won’t, so stop asking.”
“It seems she’s someone important to you.”
“Haha…”
Despite enjoying the show, hearing the Commander’s words for some reason made me feel uncomfortable.
He could just say it, couldn’t he?
It should be enough to just tell me how he used to get along with that former comrade and what their relationship was.
It didn’t make sense.
“I thought we had gotten a bit closer, but I didn’t expect you to hold back on something like this.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Why is he holding back?
If I could, I would really want to figure it out, like some kind of hypnosis.
“But the performance was fun.”
“Thank you.”
“Please say thank you to that person I don’t know.”
“…I’ll make sure to.”
Well, I let it go for now.
After all, the performance was good.
I even enjoyed the fun of stealing glances at the Commander’s face from time to time.
“If you ever get tickets for another performance like this, make sure to invite me.”
“…If you say so, then of course.”
Regardless of what kind of girl invited me to this sweet musical, there was no need to overly worry about it.
Yeah.
After all, the person who came to see it together was me.
The next person to go would also be me.
I felt a tinge of reality check in my competitive feelings here, but… I didn’t stress much about it.
It’s someone else’s fault for not giving clear answers, after all.
“So, what’s your plan? Are you going back?”
“What about you?”
“Hmmm… There’s still plenty of time… How about a game in your room, Commander?”
“…In my room?”
“Yeah. It’s been a while.”
*
*
“…Hah.”
After finishing the game with Lindera, she returned to her room.
The Commander was left in his room, letting out a deep sigh.
The reason was, of course, himself and Lindera.
To be exact, it was largely the Commander’s fault, but Lindera’s influence was significant too.
“How do I explain who gave her the ticket…”
The Commander found it difficult to answer Lindera’s persistent questions.
And understandably so, because answering that question…
“I bought it myself in the first place.”
The question was strange.
He had told Lindera that his former comrade gave him the ticket, but in reality, it was completely different.
From the very start, it was a ticket the Commander had purchased, and he simply couldn’t admit it out of embarrassment.
“…I should have just asked her out directly.”
His original plan was to buy the ticket to go on a date with Lindera.
However, they had already had dinner together the night before, so it felt awkward to suddenly ask for another date the next day.
The Commander had made quite a foolish mistake, bordering on cluelessness.
He himself thought so.
“If only I had just complimented her skirt right away…”
Lindera wouldn’t have gotten mad.
The Commander continued to regret his actions.
Having never dated before and having had little interaction with women made it even worse.
Even with his unnecessarily handsome face, he had never been in a romantic relationship.
He always came home after work, retreated to his personal space, and played games instead.
“What should I do…”
Having never dated and never having shown interest before, he wouldn’t know anything about romance.
Even more so than Lindera.
“Did I even like her?”
The Commander began to think about the date from yesterday and today before anything else.
After all, no matter what, he couldn’t answer her question.
‘If only I had just said I bought the ticket from the start…’
That’s what the Commander thought in his room.
Had Lindera seen him like this, she would have found him utterly ridiculous.
“By the way, why has my guard been down again…”
After that incident, Lindera kept a bit of distance from the Commander.
Of course, it was likely due to the shock from what had happened while drinking.
“I meant to go on a date, but… was it too thoughtless to just walk into my room?”
The Commander recalled Lindera entering his room as if it were simply a common occurrence.
In reality, it had been a long time since Lindera had entered his room for personal reasons, aside from waking him up in the morning.
Naturally, it was the first time since that incident that she had come in for personal motives.
But Lindera hadn’t spoken about her own thoughts in that regard, so the Commander could only guess at her feelings and behavior.
Just like how Lindera wanted to understand the Commander’s thoughts, he too was merely in a position of conjecture.
“…Hah.”
In any case, both of them were becoming increasingly filled with their own thoughts.
While they couldn’t be honest with each other either.
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