I don’t know if it’s madness or what, but… I couldn’t quit my job.
The Commander was nice about it, but still.
I didn’t even know the cause of all this or how to solve it right away, so I had to just get on with my work.
As always.
I didn’t even know if this was happening because of Lindera’s body… or because of me.
I didn’t really know why I became Lindera in the first place.
As always, all I could do was keep quiet and pretend everything was normal.
“You’re asking me to create a garden…?”
– I wish my friends could be on the ship too.
“Those… friends are plants, right?”
– Yes.
“U-uh… Uhmm… C-Commander Lindera?!”
“……..”
While I was handling some simple internal complaints of the ship, Dolores came looking for me.
By the way, it was the first time I saw Dolores flustered, which was kind of fascinating.
– In my personal opinion, I recommend placing stone friends brought from nature in the garden. This would make it more eco-friendly and create a life-filled space. If we do this, our friends will whisper blessings, and our ship’s combat power will surely increase, even if just slightly. Moreover, nature, which is becoming strange due to pollution, will definitely recover, so I think it’s a great choice.
“Uh… Thank you for your words…? But… that…”
“Isn’t it interesting?”
“Certainly.”
“It’s quite novel to see Dolores, who usually laughs a lot, get flustered like that. Maybe it’s just not her type like Dirtstone.”
“Aren’t most agents somewhat unique?”
“True that.”
It was actually rare for agents to have ordinary personalities.
If I thought about it that way, Midori and Dolores working in the office were quite normal in comparison.
Midori was just a bit noisy and liked to play, while Dolores was just a slightly suspicious maid.
Though now she was more of a reliable and kind maid than suspicious.
“Um… I’m not the person in charge of this, so… even if you say that to me…”
– Hmm…? Didn’t you go around asking the agents about this? That’s why I’m intentionally talking to you.
“Well, that’s true, but… I’m not the head… I just wanted to gather a bit of information before this whole thing started… It’s not me but someone else…”
Dolores couldn’t really respond easily, listening to Dirtstone.
In fact, Dirtstone’s way of talking was a bit unique.
It was hard to understand at first.
Even Nana and the Commander didn’t get it at first.
“Aren’t you supposed to help soon?”
“That was the plan. I was just watching because it seemed fun. Didn’t we come to watch together, anyway?”
“That’s true.”
Maybe both the Commander and I had similar tastes?
Not that it was a problem, though.
Honestly, seeing Dolores being swayed by Dirtstone was entertaining enough.
Anyway, since Dolores kept looking this way asking for help, I had to stand up.
She had helped me a lot, and I felt bad for leaving her in a troublesome spot.
“Dirtstone.”
– ?
“Dolores is not the person in charge as she says. How about you talk to me? You might get the story you’re after.”
After all, I was the one who brought it up first.
Extra facilities inside the ship had been a topic for a while now.
It had just been delayed a bit due to operational reasons, but I was still thinking about it.
In that situation, taking the initiative to come and offer help could reduce our side’s effort to think things through.
*
“Hmm…”
I listened to Dirtstone’s words.
It was a bit weird to talk about, but the content wasn’t hard at all.
In conclusion, he was simply asking for a garden to be made.
“I told you his way of speaking is hard.”
“Yeah, right. By the way, when do you think you’re going to take off that fireproof suit?”
“…How would I know?”
The Commander and I were talking like that in the office where Dirtstone had left.
Honestly, it was quite fun to chat about work when there was nothing to do.
Is it true that you start to dislike things when you do them too much?
Anyway.
Now that we heard Dirtstone’s story, it was time to have a little meeting ourselves.
It would be strange to just blindly add facilities based on only Dirtstone’s words.
“So, what do you think we should do?”
“Well, it’s just a garden. One should be okay, right? Just like Dirtstone said… there are no plants around.”
“Hmm…”
“If it doesn’t go inside the area, the surroundings are too… empty.”
“…That is definitely true. There isn’t anything around our ship, is there…?”
“……..”
Listening to the Commander and Dolores, I casually glanced out the window.
It was genuinely… too empty outside.
Maybe because there was no winter, but the scenery outside was definitely not friendly to living beings.
The ground was made of red stones, and instead of grass, it was more about sandy winds.
On top of that, there were only dead, twisted trees, so really…
“I think I understand now why Dirtstone was so eager to talk about the garden…”
“…I agree.”
“…Why are we living in a place like this?”
“…Midori, that’s not entirely incorrect, but it is quite miserable.”
Was this really the only place we could dock our ship?
Thinking back now, there was a reason we always drove to the area.
Seriously.
“…We should make a garden, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Yeah.”
“…Sure.”
It was unanimous.
Looking around, it definitely seemed like we needed at least one proper garden.
For various reasons, it felt like we were lacking greenery.
“…But now that I think about it, I don’t have a proper memory of walking outside.”
“We can’t do that anyway…”
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone out without taking a car.”
Honestly, I should have at least gone out once.
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I’ve never actually walked outside of the ship.
Rather, I had walked around inside the area.
But I’ve never actually walked around my own living space.
“…Let’s build the garden bigger.”
“First… don’t we need to consult with the Headquarters?”
“That’s true, but let’s make it bigger than the gym. I don’t think I’ve seen grass inside the ship apart from during meals…”
“…That is a problem.”
*
“Let’s set up a casino.”
“…Even so, a casino is a bit of an issue…”
“I think the request made by that newcomer from earlier was fine.”
“That was for the garden…”
“A casino is a game where people can achieve the most intense pleasure, and so it will definitely yield great results when we create one.”
“………”
Well.
While what he said was better than before with Dirtstone, I couldn’t understand why it was more challenging now.
“If not, a casino would work too. If it’s for entertainment, I’d be willing to go that far.”
“…Isn’t a casino the same as a gambling house?”
“The name is different.”
“………”
“I heard the contractor also likes games. If the contractor loves gambling, maybe opening a casino would be great to gather profits as well…”
“Wait a minute.”
As I was listening to Aihihorn, something piqued my interest.
“…Do you like gambling?”
“?”
“Commander, I asked if you like gambling.”
“Suddenly… me?”
“Yes, do you like it? Just so you know, if you answer yes here, I will confiscate all the games you have in your room.”
Having the Commander of our ship like gambling would truly be problematic.
It was right to address any worries as soon as they popped into my mind.
“…No. Why are you suddenly asking me…”
“…It seems that way. Apparently, creating a gambling house and casino might be difficult.”
I smiled and told Aihihorn that.
Even if the Commander had said he liked gambling, he wouldn’t have permitted it anyway.
How could you set up a casino on a ship?
No matter what, that wasn’t happening.
“Tsk…”
“Uh… But I promise to make an area that can meet the expectations of the agents, so please bear with me a little longer. Something legal, healthy… and entertaining.”
“…Fine. If the contractor’s contractor says so, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“Sorry about that.”
Still… I was relieved that he seemed to back down so easily.
Hmm.
“By the way, about the contractor’s contractor…”
“?”
“Hmm…”
“?”
What was going on?
Aihihorn suddenly seemed to gaze at me quietly.
What was it?
“Why do you ask?”
“Nothing. But why are you two sitting so close together?”
“…Pardon?”
Suddenly…?
I had no idea what this person, who had just been talking about casinos, meant by that.
We weren’t even that close; why were they suddenly asking about it?
“It seems a bit closer than last time. There used to be a boundary between your seats, but now you’re practically glued together.”
“That’s not true.”
“………”
“Hmm… if you think about it that way, it’s a bit disappointing.”
“Is that so…?”
I had no idea what they were disappointed about, but Aihihorn was difficult to understand in many ways.
I just let it be.
“Weren’t we sitting like this before?”
“…Well, I guess so.”
“Hmm… not a bad amusement. I will come to visit again.”
“Take care…?”
After saying that, Aihihorn turned around and left.
A sudden visitor said strange things and then suddenly left, which was a little… perplexing.
“Hmm.”
Well, it wasn’t serious compared to some of the recently stranger matters that had happened.
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