Day 4.
We were still cruising down the road with enthusiasm.
Slowly, the unique landscape from our area, devoid of even a single blade of grass, was starting to fade away, and it seemed like we would arrive within two days.
“Something… feels surprisingly comfortable.”
“…I feel uncomfortable.”
“Shush.”
“…Fine.”
I was casually snuggled up against the Commander.
In reality, it was nighttime. Normally, we would have found accommodation inside the area, but today was different.
“By the way, driving at night like this is… kind of refreshing.”
“Is that because we took a break during lunch?”
“That’s true. We usually rest only at night, but this time we actually went into the area at lunch.”
“Well… it was kind of boring to just have light lunches.”
Normally, we would eat frozen meals or something similar in the car during lunch. Waiting around would just take too long. Our schedule was to eat light, then have a hearty and delicious dinner.
But today had turned out differently, just on a whim.
Suddenly, the Commander declared he was sick of instant food.
So we diverged from our path and headed inside the area… and here we were.
“Still, this is better.”
“Yeah, it felt nice having a good lunch for a change.”
“I think we should do this at least once while heading to Headquarters.”
“That’s… true.”
While talking, I looked up at the ceiling. What I saw was none other than the twinkling stars of the night sky. Maybe it was because we were on a road away from the area, but I found there to be more stars than I expected, and my eyes couldn’t help but wander.
“You can’t see such a pretty night sky during the day, can you?”
“Nope.”
“Thinking about it, today is… yeah, quite nice.”
Actually, I had just opened the sunroof. But lying with the Commander while gazing at the night sky brought some indescribable emotion.
Honestly, just chatting with the Commander at night was the most fun. In hotels or motels, we usually ended up doing… other things, so chatting felt a bit exhausting.
More than chatting, we mostly made other sounds.
“…”
“What?”
“Nothing at all.”
I lightly poked at the Commander, who loved doing bizarre things every night. Just a gentle poke, not enough to hurt.
“Lindera.”
“Yes?”
“By the way, the Boss said they’re coming to our area next time, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“If I get caught like this then… I might die, right?”
“…Hmm.”
“That guy I mentioned before. Looking at it, it seems like he’s a bit… um…”
“………”
I couldn’t come up with a response to the Commander’s concerned words. It was indeed somewhat worrying.
On the way, while casually browsing the internet, I stumbled upon a news story featuring a familiar company’s name and a familiar face, all blurred out.
It was your typical scandalous headline. Just a juicy tidbit involving me, that jerk, and a few corporate names.
Despite the flashy headline, the content wasn’t that spectacular or interesting. It was just…
“I never thought they’d sink the company so close to bankruptcy, and then take it over.”
“A bit frightening, indeed.”
“And that’s why I’m scared right now.”
“I get it.”
That jerk’s parents had driven their own company nearly to the ground. Of course, they were one of our Headquarters’ subcontractors now… but it was still terrifying.
For that CEO and that jerk, it must’ve felt like facing a natural disaster.
The company was on shaky ground, practically lost. Plus, the jerk kid, who had been a mid-level executive, got demoted and ended up working like a slave in the factory.
This was something I learned casually while cruising down the road after leaving Headquarters.
“If I did something wrong, should I apologize now?”
“You don’t have to.”
“I feel… pretty scared.”
“Well… I think if I just act well… but maybe not.”
“……..”
Still, despite the worries, it wasn’t a major concern. I already knew the Commander wasn’t a bad person. In fact, he was a good guy.
Except for the fact that he had a fetish for my heart?
“Eh, well, it’s not like they’ll be showing up anytime soon. So those concerns can wait, right?”
“Yeah.”
“As long as we don’t get caught, it won’t matter.”
“That’s true. In the first place, when we return to the ship, it’ll be like before.”
“Exactly, I think I was just worrying too much.”
We chatted about ordinary things.
With my head resting on the Commander’s arm, feeling the firmness of it, unlike my own.
“…Lindera?”
“Yes?”
I got up from my position, and the Commander called me as he saw my movement.
“Why are you getting up?”
“Well… my mouth’s bored. I think I’ll get something. Just stay there.”
“…?”
Saying that, I opened the fridge. Inside were some decent food items and sweet desserts. A few leftovers from lunch, and desserts matching the Commander’s taste.
Typically, I’d just toss these at the Commander when I brought them out.
But this time, I had a slightly, very slightly different intention.
“Why chocolate? Are you going to eat it?”
“Kind of similar.”
I was quite close.
It was indeed something to eat, but I also wanted the Commander to enjoy it.
“…?”
“Um…”
“Why something sweet all of a sudden?”
“Um…”
I looked at the Commander while having chocolate in my mouth.
It truly didn’t match my taste at all. I wasn’t someone who enjoyed sweet things on a regular basis, and suddenly doing this made it even less enjoyable.
But I hadn’t put it in my mouth to actually eat it.
“Why so close all of a sudden…”
“……..”
I just ended up watching a random video.
I stumbled upon some ordinary couple’s channel video due to the algorithm.
It was just a trivial video from about a year and a half ago?
Something in it looked fun, so I thought I’d try it out of curiosity.
“Chomp…”
“Eep?!”
“Chomp… chew…”
With the chocolate still in my mouth, I kissed him.
It felt like the chocolate was slightly… mixing with saliva and flowing, so it was easier to pass it to the Commander.
By the way, this… felt kind of nice.
“Chomp… guhh… chomp…”
I mixed my tongue with the Commander’s tongue, now covered in chocolate.
Although, there was definitely more chocolate on my tongue, the sweet flavor was clear.
“Chuuue… ahh…”
“Why all of a sudden…”
“I just wanted to try it out.”
After the kiss, the Commander looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, but I just answered normally.
After all, it wasn’t a difficult question, was it?
There wasn’t any deeper reason, I just saw the video and got a bit curious.
It was slightly different from the usual kiss.
So I thought, what would it feel like to actually do this?
Well… it did feel sweeter than the typical kisses.
Since I literally had chocolate in my mouth while kissing, it was bound to be sweet.
“Did you like it?”
“That part was nice, but mostly, I was just surprised?”
“I came across this video, and I thought the Commander might enjoy this sort of thing.”
“……..”
“Don’t you think so?”
Aside from my slight curiosity, the Commander indeed liked such things.
He wasn’t as fond of kissing as he was of embracing, but he certainly enjoyed skinship to some extent.
Both the Commander and I.
Thanks to that, the positions changed every time we had sex…
Anyway.
“Did it feel good?”
“…Um.”
“Glad to hear that.”
Saying that, I lay back down.
I was merely trying it out once.
“…Lindera.”
“Yes?”
“I used to think you were a bit more… how should I put this… modest.”
“…Yes?”
“But I find it interesting that you have more fiery aspects than I expected.”
“…Is that so?”
Was I modest…?
I couldn’t really tell.
I probably wouldn’t know even after thinking about it now or back when I was reminiscing.
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I think there’s not much difference from before.”
“Seems like your expressions have improved compared to before…”
I only sort of understood after hearing the Commander’s next words.
I hadn’t been acting modest on purpose, but I had been trying to keep that “Lindera” vibe in my behavior.
Of course, when I was just with the Commander, it felt more like I was being myself.
“Anyway, I act like this only in front of the Commander.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
In front of the Commander now, I was simply being myself.
Despite being a Vice Commander and all, this was genuinely me.
That’s probably why the Commander perceived a bit of a difference.
“I don’t behave like this in front of anyone else.”
“………”
“Oh, by the way… do you think it would be good to treat others like this too…?”
I thought there was indeed a slightly rigid vibe around me.
Besides, there was also that time Midori had mentioned I was overly stiff when working, it scared her…
“Not really. It’s fine as you are now. When it comes to work, it’s right to do it properly.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Honestly, playing the “Lindera” character while working was more comfortable for me.
I sometimes felt like taking breaks in between tasks, but in the end, there were only work-related things I had to do.
“So, this way is only when I’m with the Commander.”
“…Uh-huh.”
“But why are you smiling?”
“Eh?”
For some reason, the Commander was chuckling.
I thought I was asking a perfectly valid question, did he find it amusing too?
I couldn’t quite grasp the funny point.
Of course, he wasn’t laughing out loud, it was just a slight curl of his lips.
“Just… being with you like this is really nice?”
“Gwaah…?”
“Does Lindera dislike it?”
Suddenly, he pulled me closer, holding me a bit tighter as he said that.
The pressure from his embrace felt quite different than when lying side by side.
“Well, that’s not it. I like it too.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Well… that feeling was genuinely true.
If we stayed like this a little longer and then fell asleep… it would truly be nice.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
