“Baby’s name. I’ve decided.”
“Finally decided, huh?”
I came back from work, and since I walked in with a super serious expression, I wondered what was going on.
So, you finally made a decision.
“So, what did you choose?”
“Um… I’ve decided, but pick from the candidates.”
“…Pardon?”
“Natalia, Aria, Ellie… how about these?”
“…Aren’t they a bit ordinary?”
I didn’t really get why he kept asking me about it after saying he had made a decision.
But I answered like that for now.
Honestly, I didn’t think they were super fitting or beautiful or anything.
But at least they were picked from the candidates.
“Is it still too ordinary?”
“Yes.”
“Then I thought about another name while working.”
“…Working?”
“Uh-huh.”
“…Um. I’m glad you didn’t get caught by the boss.”
Well, it’s not like you can’t think at all.
Plus, honestly, it was better for me to decide the baby’s name before dealing with work.
Since I had been stuck in this process for a while, it was a serious face now that he said he had decided.
A little distraction during work could be overlooked.
“So I thought of a name other than the previous candidates.”
“What is it? Speak quickly.”
“Charlotte.”
“Hmm…”
“What do you think? Since it’s our daughter, I think it fits because she’ll probably grow up quietly.”
“Hmm…”
“Not great?”
“Um…”
“…Lindera?”
“Let’s just go with that.”
I thought about it, and after some thought, it seemed fine.
Despite the effort put into it, it felt rather ordinary compared to how hard he had been thinking.
But honestly, isn’t it better to have a common and simple name than a completely weird one?
I just agreed with that kind of thought.
As long as it fits well enough, that’s sufficient.
“So, Charlotte…”
“Uh-oh?”
“Um…”
It was my first time giving a name to a baby, so I didn’t know what kind of reaction would be appropriate.
I called out to her using the name Charlotte, but it wasn’t because she knew she was Charlotte…
She was probably just curious because something was talking over her crib.
It felt like we still had a long way to go.
Well… I guess it would be okay.
The analogy is a bit… very weird, but… if you keep calling a pet by one name, they will eventually understand it, right…?
“From today onwards, let’s keep calling her Charlotte.”
“That’s the way.”
“…Someone took too long to decide our daughter’s name. We might have a harder time adjusting to calling her.”
“…Sorry.”
In fact, it was more awkward for me to call out my daughter’s name, but I thought time would solve it.
Honestly, for something decided by a Commander, it was a beautiful name.
It should just adjust normally.
“Charlotte, Daddy has finally named you, I’m so sorry.”
“…Shouldn’t it have been me?”
“Charlotte likes me more. I think that’s quite possible.”
“…She doesn’t know yet…”
“Heh. Do you know how well Charlotte follows me? Charlotte loves me just as much as your chest.”
“…That’s just appetite, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it the same as basic hunger?.”
“…Um… I guess?”
That somehow made a somewhat reasonable statement.
Hmm.
Anyhow, surrounding Charlotte, we started calling her name and playing around.
Fact is, when Charlotte was awake, she reacted to sounds rather than just her name, but still.
I wanted to familiarize her with her name, you know.
*
We decided on Charlotte’s name, and as the boss said, I went to the office after a long time.
Actually, it was more like visiting than working.
Since I woke up early and came out differently than usual, it didn’t really matter.
“Seriously! Why haven’t you been showing us such a cute baby?!”
“Ha ha…”
“Exactly! It was really curious, but you only showed us a peek of the baby’s head. Honestly, that was too much!”
“But you brought her here now, right?”
In fact, until now, I intentionally hadn’t shown Charlotte’s face to the staff in the office other than the boss.
Simply because the reactions were fun?
Every time I sent pictures of Charlotte’s tiny fingers or her head without fully-grown hair…
The reactions were genuinely entertaining, which is why I kept sending those pictures.
Anyway, it was quite a while since I came to the office.
And this time with Charlotte.
It was my first time pushing Charlotte in a stroller and wandering around, and I was getting a little excited too.
“Isn’t she cute?”
“Seriously cute! I expected her to be cute, but this is cuter!”
“Hehe.”
“What’s this little lady’s name?”
“Charlotte.”
“Oh my, it suits her so well. She’ll definitely grow up beautiful, just like Lindera!”
“Of course.”
You know, I realized it from texts, but hearing compliments about my daughter like this…
It felt really fun!
I couldn’t help but feel my lips curve upwards.
Even though it wasn’t my compliment.
“Whoa?”
“Midori, look over here.”
“Ooh… she has Lindera’s eyes.”
“Right? I thought the Commander’s eyes would be dark too.”
“But her eye shape seems more like the Commander’s than Lindera?”
“I think she resembles both of you well.”
Midori and Dolores were chatting a lot in front of Charlotte.
Since it was the first time Charlotte was seeing other people besides Corbin and me, she… didn’t cry or anything; she just looked at them with great curiosity.
The situation where they looked at each other with curiosity was funny in many ways.
But anyway, that was the goal of today.
So I just left it as it was.
“Thank goodness the Commander doesn’t seem to be totally empty-headed.”
“I guess you like the name Charlotte?”
“Heh.”
“It fits, right?”
“I never said that.”
“Hehe.”
The boss was also staring at Charlotte quite seriously from their seat.
Well… since the other two were watching Charlotte so intently, they probably couldn’t see it properly?
“Does your sister not want to see her?”
“I’ll see her after those two over there leave.”
“You can take a look now.”
“No. It’s more than seeing…”
“…?”
Suddenly, my sister pulls out her phone from her skirt pocket.
What’s this?
“I’m going to take a lot of pictures.”
“Oh.”
“Ah, um, is it not allowed to take photos…?”
“No, it’s perfectly fine. Just don’t use flash.”
“Hehehe…”
Hmm… well, I guess everyone seems to like it, so that’s a relief?
At least I didn’t catch anyone giving Charlotte a hard time.
Well, our Charlotte was too cute to dislike.
“How’s work going?”
“Tiring.”
“How long have you been working to say that?”
“…It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything.”
“Is this really tiring when Charlotte’s watching?”
Honestly, even though I wasn’t looking at Corbin, we were about the same level, right?
Since we were in the same office.
Anyhow, after quite a while, I began to do a little work next to the Commander.
Originally, I was just going to come and introduce Charlotte and chill like usual.
But surprisingly, everyone was so interested in Charlotte.
So I decided to just take this opportunity to work.
Since I needed to go back and do my job anyway.
Hmm… Should I really consider raising Charlotte in the office like Midori said before?
I didn’t think it would be great for her education.
But honestly, if I got tired from working, it could be nice to look at Charlotte for some relaxation.
Of course, if Charlotte suddenly had a biological need while I was working, it would get troublesome in many ways.
I just thought about it.
“Rindera, how is it to work after a while?”
“I’m managing. It’s not like I was bored with work back then.”
“That’s true. You did take almost a year off, right?”
That was true.
As Corbin said, because of the pregnancy, I’d been away from work for almost a year, and it truly was a long time.
But still, since I had done a lot back then, I still felt the touch of the work.
It wasn’t difficult for me.
“Still, I have some experience, don’t I?”
“That’s true.”
Meanwhile, Charlotte fandom over there kept gazing at Charlotte and giggling while we were busy working.
Honestly, I didn’t mind it that much.
Not that I had possessive feelings over a baby, nor did I need to feel weird about others liking my baby.
I just found it pleasantly normal.
“Hehe… I wonder how this cute little baby would grow up!”
“…That sounds a bit odd.”
“…It was a joke.”
“But she’ll certainly grow up looking pretty, just like you two.”
“That’s for sure. Hmm… but whichever side she takes after, she’ll probably attract a lot of attention!”
“…….?”
…Is that a good thing?
Midori left a prophetic statement that seemed quite troublesome.
Clearly, our daughter would grow up beautifully, but it’s obvious that attracting too much attention could be uncomfortable.
I mean, that’s reminiscent of those guys we saw at the headquarters party.
…Definitely not good.
Just imagining it made me want to pull out the gun in the boss’s pocket and bang it on my head.
Of course, I wasn’t actually going to do that.
I’m not a psychopath or anything.
“…Rindera? What’s with that scary expression?”
“…Ah.”
“…Are you not feeling well?”
“…No. I just had a briefly unpleasant imagination.”
“…?”
Corbin looked at me a little strangely, but it couldn’t be helped.
Honestly, I absolutely strongly oppose anything wrong happening to my daughter thanks to weirdos.
Wanting to create a bodyguard team out of the agents might be a good idea, though.
Although I knew I couldn’t decide on those things.
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