“…Hmmm.”
“It seems like there’s no game console we can use in the car…”
“Looks like there isn’t.”
“……..”
We were arriving soon.
It might take another two days to reach our destination from tomorrow.
Yeah, so we had two days left after all.
After talking to the Commander yesterday and shopping around in the next area, there really wasn’t anything decent to find.
I was so bored today I could die, and to think there was really nothing at all.
“What should we do…?”
“…I have no idea.”
“………”
“………”
We were both already exhausted.
Honestly, it was no wonder we were tired after spending such incredibly dull days… No, days like that we had been stuck in were just too much.
Sitting still in the car, really just sitting~ there was so boring.
The Commander felt the same, and I shared that thought too.
“Board games…”
“…Should we just buy something like that?”
“…But honestly, we probably wouldn’t even play it.”
“…I can’t argue with that.”
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t feel like we would actually play board games in the car.
We weren’t some grandpas or grandmas playing out at the park… Us playing chess or something was…
“…What do you think we should do?”
“…Maybe we should just drink some alcohol inside.”
“Isn’t that a bit… dangerous…?”
Even if the car was self-driving, drinking inside wasn’t the best idea.
Honestly, I just wanted to do something in the car.
We really had nothing to do, just sitting and resting.
But the problem was that we spent an enormous amount of time in the car.
Honestly, just sitting quietly with the Commander and looking around at the shopping mall felt like it would have been more fun.
“…Jenga?”
The Commander asked me while looking at the peculiar Jenga wrapped in pink packaging.
“…In the car?”
“…I feel like Jenga would just be funny, right?”
“That’s…”
Hmmm.
To be honest, it did seem a bit funny.
But the problem was that I didn’t think we would actually do it.
“Commander, do you think we would really play Jenga in the car?”
“That…”
“……..”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
To be honest, I didn’t expect that we would be playing board games at all either.
*
“………”
“Then you go first, Commander.”
“Sure.”
In the end, we bought it.
I wasn’t even sure what it was, but it was an expensive Jenga.
The pink wrapping was a bit funny, but oh well.
I figured something expensive must be good, right?
“Let’s start lightly…”
The car was a bit bumpy, but it wasn’t enough to knock over Jenga pieces, that was for sure.
It would just add a little challenge.
I guessed the Commander was thinking the same way, which is why we started with Jenga.
“Huh…”
“…Why are you making it so difficult when you said to go lightly?”
“…Got it.”
With that, the Commander pulled a piece from the left side.
And then…
“?”
“…….”
“What’s wrong?”
“…Uh, well… that…”
The Commander suddenly froze after pulling a Jenga piece.
Why did he stop?
I was puzzled by his motionless state while staring at the pulled piece.
I had no idea why he was just standing there like that.
“Since it’s my turn now, can I go?”
“Wait a second…”
“Let me just get this side…”
For some reason, the Commander tried to stop me, but I had already pulled a piece.
The target was to the right of the one the Commander pulled.
“…Huh?”
“……..”
I couldn’t help but pause when I saw the piece I pulled.
I understood completely why the Commander reacted that way.
Yeah, there was no way around it.
“What the hell is this…”
“……..”
-Deep kiss full on.
“What is this…”
Seriously… what is this?
“…What’s going on here?”
“…Well, you see.”
“Seriously… what is this…?”
I was so flabbergasted I kept repeating the same question.
What on earth was this…
Why on earth was there such a strange phrase written on a Jenga piece? I couldn’t understand at all.
Why?
“…It seems to be Love Jenga… but I really don’t know why it’s like this…”
“…Have you lost your mind…?”
“No, I had no idea this was what I was getting…”
“But… you were the one who calculated it, Commander…”
Aren’t you supposed to know what’s in it?
Suddenly I felt a headache coming on.
No matter what, Love Jenga…
Of course, we absolutely, really wouldn’t be doing the penalties written here… but still, it was strange for many reasons.
“…Let’s just throw it away.”
“…Fine, let’s tidy it up first.”
“…Yes.”
We carefully put it back in the box.
Even the Commander knew this wasn’t right.
We weren’t even in a romantic relationship, and doing something like this was just not cool.
Sure, we could skip the penalties, but still, this was just…
Definitely not something we wanted.
“……..”
“…….”
The atmosphere grew incredibly awkward.
Neither of us said a word.
All of this was because of that ridiculous Jenga.
If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t be sitting here in this silence.
“…Lindera.”
“…Yes.”
“Honestly… I’m worried about whether I’ll make a weird assumption, but I want to clarify that I didn’t choose it on purpose.”
“…….”
“Really.”
The way he said it felt genuine.
Still, I felt a bit funny.
To be honest, I didn’t think the Commander would seriously buy that.
I figured… it was just a mistake.
After all, there was nothing on the packaging that said Love Jenga; it just looked like a normal Jenga.
Sure, it had pink wrapping, but…?
“…I understand. I was just… really surprised.”
“…Sorry.”
“That’s all I needed to know.”
We just let it go.
The Commander must have made a mistake, and I felt bad for saying too many things, especially since his expression looked so pitiful.
“…But how on earth did you manage to pick that one?”
“Right?”
“What about the penalty it says here? It says deep kiss too…”
“…….”
There was an element of surprise in so many ways.
The Jenga I knew was just… trivial things like sharing embarrassing stories.
“Oh, Commander, what did you pull?”
“…Do I have to say?”
“I already packed it and tossed it behind me. I have nothing to hide now, do I?”
There was really no need to keep it under wraps.
Since we had nothing to do anyway, talking was our only option.
“…I’m just a little hesitant to share.”
“What in the world could it be? Something worse than deep kiss…”
“…….”
“…Worse than that?”
He had a gloomy expression, which made it impossible not to ask.
What could it be?
I wracked my brain, but no clue came to mind.
“…Um.”
“Hmm.”
“Just say it boldly. You already pulled something more embarrassing… so what’s the hold-up?”
“……..”
Although it was a seriously awkward secret, the Commander and I weren’t the types to be shy about such things.
I mean, calling it a “thing” seemed awkward, but still.
Either way, it wasn’t so scandalous that we had to act like children.
After all, it was just something written on a penalty Jenga.
Its content was just slightly overboard.
“Just… um… slapping the butt…?”
“…We should throw that somewhere.”
“…….”
“…Seems like I picked something with a rather unusual taste.”
“I didn’t know either.”
“Still, it’s a bit unusual taste.”
Regardless, this kind of taste felt a bit perverted.
What kind of slapping the butt…
Did that include what they call SM play or something?
I wasn’t into that sort of thing, so I wasn’t sure, but well…
“I completely respect your taste.”
“I’m not into that kind of thing…”
“It’s okay. You know, um… I’m sure you’ll find someone who matches your taste someday.”
Was this what the Commander was talking about yesterday?
It’s true that SM play is a little…
“Maybe.”
I gave a thumbs up as encouragement.
That seemed like the right thing to do.
Later on, if you met a good connection… um.
Something felt a bit off but probably just the Commander’s taste.
“But in that case, which side are you on?”
“I’m really not into that kind of thing.”
“Since you’re bored, just answer quickly.”
“Hah…”
Though I had nothing to do, it was much more fun than yesterday.
No, to be accurate, I was enjoying teasing the Commander in a way I hadn’t before.
Was it that the reactions were amusing?
“By the way… I really want to arrive soon.”
“…Well, at least the view is better than when we first started.”
“That’s true, but…”
As the Commander said, the landscapes outside were better than before.
At least now we could see mountains and grass… and various buildings in the view.
It was definitely better than just endless flatlands with nothing but dirt.
Yeah… that was really ridiculously boring.
Sure, even now it didn’t look all that exciting.
“By the way, I’m curious about what we’ll do at the party soon.”
“You think we’ll be dancing like it’s the medieval times or something?”
“That feels a bit too imaginative.”
“……..”
But the thought of actually dancing like in medieval times was kind of funny.
Who would think like that? Not even elementary school kids would.
“What a cute imagination you have.”
“…Why are you calling a man cute?”
“At least anyone who thinks they’ll be dancing at the founding celebration is cute to call out.”
“……..”
It was so funny that I couldn’t argue back.
Anyway, there was a bizarre incident, but still… the mood wasn’t bad.
At least it was better than being bored stiff, just sitting and resting.
Just chatting casually with the Commander was better.
We did this even when working, and also often talked like this when we weren’t working.
“Yawn…”
Even though we were talking, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bored.
I was a little sleepy too.
“…I might as well take a nap.”
With that, the Commander fiddled with his phone.
I wondered if I was annoying him with my chit-chat now.
Well… we had talked a lot over the past few days.
I guess it was inevitable.
“Nap… I still need to nap later tonight. What if I sleep now and can’t wake up for dinner?”
“Can’t I just wake you up in an hour?”
“Umm…”
Is that so?
Hmm.
It was true that there was no reason not to sleep when feeling sleepy.
There was nothing to do and we were just… moving.
“…Then I’ll sleep for just an hour.”
“Okay, I’ll wake you in a bit.”
“…I think the soft music played continuously is making me sleepy.”
“Then just sleep peacefully to your favorite songs.”
“…Understood.”
Anyway, with my eyes closed, I listened to the gentle music while drifting off.
Indeed…
“…This feels nice in its own way.”
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