“Oh…”
“Oh…”
I was wandering around with the Commander.
Unlike Zone 07, there were definitely a ton of people around… Honestly, it was uncomfortable.
The streets were clean, and the buildings around here were fine, but there were just too many people.
I had no idea it would be this crowded, and as a result, I ended up bumping into people while walking.
The Commander right next to me was doing the same.
“Are you okay?”
“…There’s too many people.”
“That’s true.”
“…Can we go back to Headquarters?”
“Not happening.”
“…I feel like I could skip dinner, though.”
“But you were the one who wanted to go out!”
“……..”
That was true.
I had suggested going out because I was bored staring at my phone since it was getting close to dinner time.
But I didn’t expect it to be this crowded.
Maybe I should’ve taken a proper look outside before coming?
“Is there anything you want to eat, Commander?”
“I think anything filling would be fine.”
“How about… meat?”
Nothing particularly came to mind.
Something filling, right?
Maybe because I’ve just been finishing off light frozen meals after skipping dinner lately, I wasn’t used to it.
“Meat should be fine. Just not a place where we have to grill it ourselves.”
“Yeah… The smell would stick, and that’d be awkward. We’d have to wash up again when we get back.”
“Hmm… Let’s just look around a little more. If we find something good, we can decide then.”
“Okay, got it.”
Well, we had only been out for about 5 minutes.
Besides, the street full of restaurants was just in our sight now.
“…Lindera.”
“Yes?”
The Commander suddenly called me.
His expression looked a bit silly, so I wondered what was up.
Did he find a good shop or something?
“…Give me your hand.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s just… There are so many people, and we’re bumping into each other all the time.”
“…?”
“So, I’ll lead the way, and you follow behind… I thought it might be better that way.”
“…So, you mean you want to hold hands…?”
For a moment, I seriously questioned if I heard that right.
If I misunderstood, I really misheard it.
After all, it’s not like the Commander would suddenly ask me to hold hands and walk together…
But he said it.
“…Uh.”
“………”
I became a bit embarrassed.
We weren’t kids, after all, so suddenly asking to hold hands felt odd.
“…Is that not okay?”
“…Okay. Let’s do it. It’s not a big deal.”
I decided to follow the Commander’s lead.
As he said, we kept bumping into people, and it would be awkward if I didn’t hold his hand and ended up losing him…
So, there it was.
“……..”
“……..”
We walked through the bustling crowd, still holding hands.
The Commander walked ahead, not even looking back, while I just kept my eyes on his back.
For some reason, my heart was racing, but the noise around us was louder.
For now.
We just kept walking.
There were so many things around, but I ignored them and kept staring at the Commander’s broad back.
He didn’t say much, just walked ahead.
Ah, along the way, he did ask if that store was any good.
“…Commander, there’s a knife here.”
“Oh.”
“…And a fork…”
Maybe it was because we were holding hands like fresh students that it felt even weirder to treat the Commander normally.
Anyway, we finally entered a place.
It wasn’t a weird shop or anything, just…
“What should we order?”
“I’ll take the spicy hamburger steak.”
“Got it.”
“You should have the mild one, Commander.”
“Alright.”
We came to eat hamburger steak.
They didn’t just sell that, they had ribs too, but I preferred something softer.
Besides, eating the same thing wasn’t really my style.
“……..”
“……..”
“Did your hand hurt while we walked?”
“Nope.”
“Then… that’s good.”
We chatted awkwardly like that.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice, the decor was good, and the seating was just right, but my mind wasn’t functioning well.
I kept recalling how I was holding the Commander’s hand moments ago.
It probably wasn’t something to fuss about.
Was it just because it was the first time holding his hand?
“…If you didn’t like it, I would apologize.”
“Oh, no. It… wasn’t particularly uncomfortable… at all.”
I said that for now.
If I said something weird about it, I felt like it would just annoy the Commander.
Plus, it wasn’t like I disliked it.
I was just surprised by the situation.
By the way, why the heck was it so hot?
It was definitely warm outside, but I felt even hotter indoors.
There was no more outerwear to take off…
“Ha…”
So, I fanned myself with my hand.
I had no choice.
“Is it hot for you?”
“Ah. Just… a bit warm.”
“Then, let’s order some drinks. Alcohol is a no-go.”
“…Sure.”
Right, alcohol was definitely not an option.
I wasn’t planning on drinking at all right now.
“Then one spicy and one sweet dish. And after that, let’s just get a drink… should we order like that?”
“Yeah. That seems fine.”
“…Alright, I’ll be back with the order.”
“…Okay.”
The Commander went to the counter to order, and I stayed at the table.
By the way, the warmth from the hand I had held a moment ago was still lingering, making things awkward.
The Commander probably didn’t care at all about holding hands earlier.
But I felt like I was the only one fixating on it, which honestly made me blush.
It’s just holding hands, yet why am I feeling so shy?
I even did something more daring before, but just holding hands had me all flustered.
“Ha…”
I really didn’t know why I was acting like this…
“Why are you sighing?”
“…You’re back.”
“…Yeah.”
The Commander suddenly sat down and started talking, surprising me. I thought he had come back quickly from ordering, and he must’ve caught my sigh, too.
“……..”
“…It’s not because of you, Commander.”
“Oh.”
“…So, please don’t make that face.”
The Commander looked so glum that I ended up trying to console him without thinking.
It didn’t feel necessary, to be honest.
But seeing the Commander looking so gloomy was… off.
If he were just smiling, that would be fine, but seeing him look all apologetic and uncomfortable felt wrong.
“…By the way, how was Headquarters?”
“It was big…”
“…Not that. Give me a proper answer.”
“Just… it felt like a company.”
Hmm… That’s a pass.
I mean, I thought it really felt like an office building.
I didn’t check the entire inside, but there weren’t many peculiar aspects either.
“Well… that’s true.”
“I was surprised at how tall the building was, but other than that, nothing really caught my interest.”
“It felt a bit different from our place, but it wasn’t anything spectacular.”
“Just… a really big company vibe.”
Talking about it like this made the atmosphere feel much more comfortable.
Maybe it was better to have such a conversation during the awkward moments.
It’s better than having a weird atmosphere…
Yeah, this is better.
Much better than that strange, awkward feeling earlier.
“…By the way, about holding hands earlier.”
“…?”
I thought it best to speak casually, as nothing special.
Just chatting normally.
“What did you think?”
I asked with a vague smile.
I meant to be casual, but suddenly felt shy about it.
“You held on tighter than I expected.”
“That’s… probably just in case I thought you might slip.”
“Is that so…?”
“…Yeah.”
“Right then…”
What should I respond with?
I just asked somewhat jokingly…
I never anticipated getting such a serious answer.
It wasn’t the type of answer that was an issue, but the overall atmosphere felt too serious.
Definitely different from the usual casual replies.
“……..”
“……..”
“Uh… it’s noisy here because there are so many people.”
“…Yeah. We probably should have gone into a room instead.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s necessary. It’s just dinner, after all…?”
I was surprised at how serious the Commander responded.
I just wanted to casually mention how crowded it was and sweep it under the rug…
I had no clue why he was acting like this.
He usually laughed it off so easily…
“…In case you go out to the accommodation, just tell me first.”
“Excuse me?”
“What if something happens? You can come and let me know when you go out. I can keep an eye on you since you don’t know this area well.”
“Um… that’s true, but…”
But moving around every time with the Commander felt unnecessary.
It’s not like I was walking a dog, and there really wasn’t any reason to go out together all the time.
“Isn’t that a bit too much…?”
It’s not like this is some lawless zone or anything.
Nothing would happen at all…
Why is he suddenly so worried?
“Just do it.”
“…?”
“It’s not like it’s hard, right?”
“That’s…”
“…Didn’t you insist on going out together today?”
That was because we needed to eat…
What was up with the Commander all of a sudden?
Did holding hands give him some strange ideas?
I could only see his back while walking, but it didn’t look dangerous at all…?
Why?
“Understood. So, let’s just quit the staring part…”
“Alright.”
“…?”
As soon as I agreed, his expression melted into a smile different from before… Honestly, it left me bewildered.
What on earth is going on…?
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