Dolores told me that we should start with a simple test.
After all, she probably knew better than I did… So I decided to follow her suggestion.
“Let’s start with some light physical contact. I think it would be good to know at what level Commander reacts to Lindera,” she said with a smile.
Well, at least it didn’t seem like a strange method.
I also wanted to know why I was doing this, so I figured having a consultation made sense.
Anything was better than sitting still, right?
“It seems like work has decreased lately.”
“Hasn’t it always been like that after a mission ends?”
“True…”
Today, I was just chilling in the office like any other day.
For some reason, I was left alone with the Commander after Dolores winked at me and left.
She didn’t go alone; she had left with Midori, so we were just two left behind.
“……..”
Is this the right time?
I felt a bit nervous…
-Creak…
“…Why are you suddenly coming over here?”
“…I just came. Is there a problem?”
As I pulled the chair closer to the Commander, he looked puzzled.
I guess he had every right to be… We had just been sitting in our respective chairs before this.
“……..”
So, physical contact, huh.
What on earth was she asking me to do?
“…Hand.”
“?”
“Let me see your hand…”
I said it lightly… really lightly.
It was something that could be said casually.
But somehow, I began feeling a strange sensation around my heart.
For now… I stayed quiet.
“………”
“I’ve given it, but why the sudden hand thing?”
“Just…”
The Commander’s hand was resting on mine, and I found myself staring at his hand.
It was larger than mine, and I was amazed that it completely covered my hand.
It was just… odd?
“Is there something you need to do?”
“…Your hand is big.”
“Naturally it’s bigger than yours.”
“…That’s true.”
He wasn’t wrong.
It was obvious his hand would be bigger.
My hand had always been on the smaller side, and it’s a given that a man’s hand is larger than a woman’s.
As I sat there, holding onto the Commander’s hand, I couldn’t help but wander off into my thoughts.
Well… I didn’t know what else to do here.
We made contact, but I had no clue what I should do next.
-Thump… Thump…
“…….”
“Lindera?”
“Y-Yes?”
“Are you okay? Your face seems a bit red.”
“…I’m fine. Yes.”
My heart was racing, but there was no issue.
Right.
It was just… weird having physical contact with a man all of a sudden.
I didn’t usually come into contact with men.
The only one was the Commander.
So… that was probably all it was.
Of course, I would tell Dolores about this later.
“How do you feel just sitting here, Commander?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“…Well, it’s just fine…”
“…Is that so?”
Am I the weird one?
Is my heart racing or something?
I glanced up at the Commander’s face, but he didn’t seem different.
I was told my face was red… So why did he seem completely unfazed, as though he felt nothing?
Watching the Commander’s indifferent face, why was I feeling this way?
“…Thank you.”
Anyway, I let go of his hand.
Holding onto it felt a bit strange.
“Um… I see.”
I let go of his hand.
Once I did, I felt a bit empty again… I guess that meant something was weird with me.
“But why did you suddenly grab my hand?”
“…I just did.”
“So why just…”
“…It’s nothing special.”
Being honest was a bit difficult.
*
“Hmm… This might be worse than I thought.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
When I mentioned what happened, Dolores hesitated a bit before responding.
What could be so serious?
I mean, my heart racing has happened before.
Now her saying it’s serious was a bit frightening.
What could be that serious?
“Hmm… I think we should observe this a bit more…”
“What do you mean?”
“Hmm…”
“Is there a problem?”
I was genuinely a little scared.
What on earth was she talking about?
It felt like when you go to a doctor and they beat around the bush without giving a clear diagnosis.
That made it even scarier.
“No, it’s not a problem, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Then…”
“Just sit and wait a moment. I need to prepare.”
“…Okay?”
With that, Dolores started picking up the remote on the table.
I had no idea what she was planning to do, but it was quite surprising.
-Beeep!
When she pressed the remote, a sound echoed, and the lights in the room went out.
Then came a second beep as the TV turned on.
“…What is this?”
“Hehe… Did you think I was just sitting around during my work hours?”
“I thought you were actually working…”
“That’s a misunderstanding! I finished all my work first, then did something fun!”
“…….?”
What appeared on the PPT was indeed a presentation.
“What?”
“Hehe… I even wasted my break for this!”
“…Why?”
“Because it sounded fun, of course!”
“……..”
I might’ve picked the wrong person for consultation, but it was already too late for that realization.
Still, I couldn’t help but appreciate her going this far to help me, even making a PPT.
“Please look at the screen.”
“…Okay.”
“First, this shows a simplified relational chart between you and Commander.”
On the screen were pictures of the Commander and me.
And below them were some words.
The problem was in those words.
“Both of you were each other’s first, had experience in relationships…? You care for each other, and your hearts seem a bit off during physical contact…”
“What do you think? It’s pretty interesting, isn’t it?”
“That…”
It was a bit embarrassing to say.
No matter how I looked at it, writing about first experiences was bound to be awkward.
I definitely didn’t expect something like this.
Seeing it labeled a relational chart was not what I anticipated at all.
“For now, this is your current relationship. Let’s go to the next slide.”
“…Sure.”
“This next page has the Commander’s profile, starting with his real name, age, previous workplaces, and other details.”
“……..”
“Lindera, you’ve always been in Sector 7, so you don’t have much to write about. But you know yourself best, right?”
“…Yes.”
Well, it was mostly info I already knew.
Of course, it covered age and name, things I was well aware of.
But again, I noticed that the Commander’s real name was obscured.
I wondered about the reason behind it.
It couldn’t be he was in a similar situation as I was, since he didn’t seem that way at all.
He seemed to have a lot more uncertainty with his work and showed a genuine family-like bond with his mother.
“And the next page includes profiles of people around you… friends, agents, and others.”
“…Is that so.”
“Yes, there might be some people you don’t know, but they’re all rather ordinary.”
“………”
I didn’t respond to Dolores and just stared at the screen.
What appeared was information about people she mentioned around us.
Codenames.
Ages.
Workplaces.
Roles.
Most of that was written down.
Like for Dolores, it said:
Dolores.
■■■
25 years old.
Sector 7.
Attached to the office…
Similar information was listed.
I understood everything else, but what could be up with the parts that weren’t showing clearly?
It wasn’t just Dolores; everyone else was likewise obscured.
Midori, Soan, Boss.
Noticing this recurring issue among all the agents made me increasingly puzzled.
I couldn’t figure it out.
“…Dolores.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“What’s with the line under the first row…”
“Oh, that’s my real name.”
“………”
Real name.
Real name…
“……..”
“What’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Only the real name was not showing up.
Everything else was visible, but just the real name was obscured.
It was the same with the Commander and everyone else.
But the only one whose real name was visible was…
“…Ha.”
What is this really?
No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t make sense.
While I did think the Commander might have a case like mine, when it came to the current situation, I couldn’t explain anything.
Why the heck can’t I see everyone’s names?
“Should we turn the page now?”
“…Yes.”
“I made this, but there wasn’t really anything explained in the front part.”
“Is that so.”
Dolores said something, but frankly, it didn’t register in my head.
Instead, my mind felt foggy.
Maybe it was because I was seeing so many odd things.
It felt like my head wasn’t working properly.
I only wanted to have a simple conversation about the Commander.
What on earth is this?
Seriously…
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