“Lindera, hello!”
“Greetings.”
Today, I woke up the Commander again and entered the office like any ordinary day.
The Commander’s expression didn’t look great, but… it must be because it’s Monday.
“You two hung out yesterday!”
“What? It was just that.”
“Wasn’t it fun?”
“It was fun.”
“Really?”
“Yup.”
Well, it wasn’t exactly an extraordinary day.
We just watched a musical and hung out in the room. Nothing amazing happened, we just had a normal time.
“We just enjoyed the musical.”
“The musical!”
“It just so happened that the Commander got tickets. There probably isn’t any other reason.”
He’s such a clueless fool.
There’s no way the Commander asked me to go for any other reason.
Honestly, he probably just got the tickets from his former colleague and invited me since he had no one else to go with him.
It wasn’t like there was an agent he was closer to than me.
“Commander, what would you have done if I said I wasn’t going to the show yesterday?”
“Why do you ask that suddenly?”
“I’m just curious.”
I really was.
I wasn’t asking for any particular reason; I was genuinely curious.
“Um… I guess I would have just rested in my room. Or gone alone.”
“Is that so? What about going with someone else?”
“…I didn’t really think about that.”
“Hmph…”
For some reason, I felt a bit happier.
Even though it was Monday and I should be in a bad mood.
“Commander.”
“…Don’t say anything strange, Dolores.”
“Oh, what do you expect me to say?”
“Just… talk among yourselves.”
“Hehe…”
I didn’t really understand, but the Commander sat down in his chair.
Maybe he was just tired since it was Monday morning.
If that weren’t the case, there wouldn’t really be any reason to be tired…
Ah, maybe he spent some ‘happy time’ alone last night.
“Did you have fun yesterday, Lindera?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a relief. If you enjoyed yourself, then I’m sure the Commander did too.”
“Is that so?”
For me, it was just a lucky chance to see a free performance, so I was fine with it.
Honestly, even if I had to pay to see it, it was a decent musical.
“Oh, I received the opinions from the agents regarding the additional facilities to be installed in the ship.”
“…When did you do that?”
“Um… just when I had some free time?”
Dolores suddenly handed me a few sheets of paper, and I could only be surprised.
It’s astonishing that she worked on something outside of work hours, and she did it without even being told!
They decided to install facilities like a gym, originally there was a different name for it, but…
That was delayed a little because of operations.
The fact that she worked on this alone surprised me more than I anticipated.
“Let’s take a look at it after I read it a bit.”
“Sure, take your time. I just did it because I was bored.”
“Got it.”
I answered quietly, but I was truly amazed.
I never thought Dolores would work this hard.
“But why does the Commander look so tired?”
“I also don’t know.”
I simply stated that I didn’t know.
It could be that he was just tired because it was Monday, or maybe he did something weird alone last night.
If it wasn’t at night, then he wouldn’t have had the chance to do anything strange since he was with me.
“You two yesterday…”
“…Nothing strange happened.”
Suddenly, Dolores leaned in close to my ear, but I answered that nothing weird had happened because nothing strange occurred.
Yesterday, there was only a frustrated Commander and a fun performance.
And those kinds of things…? Besides the one time, it would never happen again.
*
“I organized everything better than I thought. The Commander can read it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I classified the subjects in a decent way, so it’s better. It might even be better than what the Commander would investigate and analyze.”
“…I’ve been doing well lately too.”
“That being the case, Dolores, you did exceptionally well this time.”
She truly did well.
I knew before that Dolores was good at her job, but she excelled this time, and I couldn’t help but say it.
“There are calm places like the garden and also many dynamic places like a small arcade. We could have possibly…”
“…….”
“We also have DVD rooms and movie places. There’s also an opinion that we hope there will be something like a bar instead of just a restaurant. Yes…”
Looking at the list brought back memories from that day, but I decided not to think about it.
That would be something to avoid while working.
“…How many facilities can we set up with the funds available in our ship right now?”
“Probably… about two… should be possible.”
Three would be too many.
“I see…”
“…Yes.”
Suddenly, when the topic about the incident came up, the atmosphere felt awkward.
If I’d known this would happen, I should have just kept Dolores and Midori in the office.
I genuinely thought that I shouldn’t have let them rest just because the morning work was over.
“…Let’s talk about this later. When Midori and Dolores are here…”
“…Sure.”
“……..”
“……..”
The office fell silent again.
How am I supposed to handle this?
It feels strange to contact them so soon after they went out…
“…If you have any additional facilities you want, please let me know when that time comes.”
“…Understood.”
“…Yes.”
*
It was really frustrating in many ways.
I clearly didn’t intend for it to be this way, but somehow things kept feeling weird because of the Commander.
I couldn’t even understand why I was feeling this way.
I clearly had no reason to think like this.
“…So, you want me to consult you?”
“…Yes.”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear something like this from you.”
That’s why I came to Dolores to seek consultation.
Because it felt like things could really get weird if this continued.
I couldn’t help but feel strange for having these thoughts about the Commander.
I needed to find an answer somehow.
“…Is that not okay?”
“Hehe, of course, it’s possible. It’s not a difficult task, right?”
“…Thank you.”
Honestly, it was my first time visiting Dolores’ personal room, so I felt a bit amazed.
Until now, I had never been to anyone else’s private room aside from the Commander’s.
While all personal rooms are the same size, the decor was definitely different from the Commander’s and mine.
It had this real maid-like feel.
Tea and sweets were prepared, and each plate felt luxurious, with expensive-looking paintings hanging on the walls.
“What are you so worried about?”
“…I just feel awkward…”
“Hmm… I don’t think there’s any problem at all.”
“But… it feels too awkward, it’s strange.”
Ever since that incident with the Commander, most situations had felt weird.
I didn’t know if it was the same for him, but I really found it hard to interact with the Commander.
Playing games together felt different from before.
Even a simple meal felt strange.
“I keep finding my eyes wandering towards the Commander…”
“Hm…”
“Sometimes getting jumpy when other people talk…”
“Hehe…”
“…It feels a bit odd.”
I was telling Dolores, but feeling a bit embarrassed wasn’t exactly my fault.
Really.
“Maybe you just like him normally, right?”
“…That wouldn’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“Well… that’s…”
Because I was a man.
No matter how I thought about it, liking a man just felt wrong.
I was a man, so liking men… just wasn’t right.
I absolutely was not!
“…Anyway, that’s how it is.”
“Is that so?”
“…Yes.”
I requested the consultation, but I felt a bit sorry for answering this way.
But it was still the truth.
“Then if it’s not that you like him… what do you think it is?”
“Hmm… a mental illness?”
“Ahaha…”
“Don’t laugh… I’m serious.”
“Okay, okay… I’ll be serious… Hehe…”
“…Dolores.”
“I’m sorry… really.”
Isn’t the treatment a bit too shabby?
I was being serious.
Looking at Dolores laughing while I explained made me feel how foolish I truly was.
It was almost cringe-worthy.
“Ahem. Let’s focus back on this. So, Lindera, you’re constantly worried about the Commander, but it absolutely, completely isn’t liking him… that’s what this is, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm… difficult indeed.”
“…Indeed.”
I’m not the strange one here.
This is definitely a tough problem!
It’s strange that I’m suddenly so concerned about a man.
Or maybe not concern… but still.
“So maybe some sort of experiment…?”
“?”
“How about we conduct a test to see what you really think about this?.”
“…….Eh?”
Dolores’ suggestion of a “test” took me by surprise.
I was expecting just a consultation, some sympathizing maybe, but…
“It’s not a bad idea, right?”
“Um…”
“Right?”
“I suppose so… but what kind of test…?”
“Hehe… leave that to me. I’ll prepare really well…”
“…?”
What kind of test is she planning here?
Dolores had a mischievous laugh that felt villainous, which was a bit… scary.
It’s not just a regular laugh; she’s squinting her eyes while grinning, and it really felt intimidating.
“Hehehe…”
“…I hope it’s nothing strange.”
“Hehehehehe…”
“…Can you stop laughing like that for a moment?”
“When I’m squinting my eyes, this is how I laugh.”
“…Yes.”
I don’t really know, but since she said she’d help…
I guess it’s best to trust Dolores for now.
“Okay, try to follow me.”
“…?”
“Hehe.”
“…Hehe?”
“With slitty eyes too, okay?”
“…….”
I feel like I might have chosen the wrong person to consult… but isn’t this just my imagination…?
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