“Sigh….”
How long has it been since I’ve had a proper day off?
Since becoming Lindera, I’ve had weekends, but I haven’t really rested.
Of course, I wanted to relax, but there’s been so much work to do inside the ship lately, especially with operations this time.
I can understand a bit why Midori kept babbling about freedom and liberation when she was drunk.
Well, when the Commander, with that handsome face of his, whispered a little apology and promised he wouldn’t do it again next time in that lovely voice, my irritation instantly melted away.
“It’s all because that guy is good-looking.”
If the Commander’s face had been average, I’m sure Midori would have revolted.
But with that handsome face, everything gets resolved easily.
“Tsk.”
Back when I was a man, I was just an ordinary guy.
It felt a bit disgusting.
Not only was I intuitively sensing the life of an alpha male, but I was also witnessing it right next to me.
Especially since it’s a ship full of women!
“I think he’s over 180 cm tall… and has a slim figure.”
Well, he was indeed a guy that girls would find just right.
The problem was, it was so obvious how much they liked him.
Even not counting the agents, he was quite popular with the ladies.
Despite his looks, he didn’t weirdly flirt with women at all.
Most of the time, aside from going to the office, he didn’t really walk around.
“Hmm….”
But no matter how you look at it, isn’t the Commander not moving around too much?
I mean, he’s not a recluse; after work, he just stays holed up in his personal room.
And he doesn’t come out at all until I wake him up in the morning.
Still, he’s the Commander; shouldn’t he interact a bit with the agents and build some rapport?
The players from the dev game I know generally did that kind of thing.
He looked like he could fit women on both sides, not to mention some in between and under his butt, but he surprisingly wasn’t like that.
It feels a bit strange.
“Huh….”
But why am I even thinking about this?
It’s a beautiful day to enjoy the weekend, yet I’m wasting my thoughts on a guy.
This simply won’t do.
Though I did just have breakfast with the Commander.
“Let’s go do something.”
There’s truly no need for me to keep thinking about men, absolutely not!
I couldn’t let this rare weekend go to waste.
Time to stop thinking about the Commander and change my clothes first.
I returned to my personal room and washed up, but the clothes I wore yesterday still smelled of meat.
“…Tsk.”
As Midori said, I really seem to lack outfits.
Even if I wanted to go outside, it’s tricky without clothes.
Of course, it was usually unnecessary, but wearing formal attire just to spend leisure time like this…
“I’m just gonna wear a shirt.”
I really didn’t want to step out wearing just a camisole.
No matter how much I was a man before, I wasn’t the type to be shameless enough to expose myself like that.
Men don’t usually enjoy showing off their skin either.
*
So, in order to enjoy this long-awaited weekend, I left my personal room… and headed straight to the cafe.
“Easter-san.”
“Oh, Lindera-san! Did you rest well yesterday?”
“Yes, I suppose I did… somewhat.”
At least until I got to the Commander’s personal room.
Easter was an agent who, for some reason, operated the cafe among the others.
Even though there used to be a small cafe on the ship, it became a full-blown cafe after Easter was brought on board.
“Haha, I’m glad to hear that. The Commander had a good night too?”
“Yes. After a small gathering outside… we parted well.”
“A gathering, huh… What a shame. I wish our 1st Squad could have joined.”
“I’ll suggest it for the agents who participated in the operation.”
Since it was daytime, the cafe had a decent number of customers.
Of course, most of them just came to chat and were sitting down after ordering one drink or dessert.
Easter was just operating the cafe because she wanted to, not for money, so there was no problem.
If it were a commercially run cafe, they’d probably kick out a customer who was just nursing a single drink for an hour.
“Speaking of which, Lindera-san, what would you like to drink? Personally, I recommend the cappuccino.”
“Um… Since I haven’t decided what to drink anyway, just make whatever you want.”
“Hehe, okay. If you could just sit tight, I’ll bring it over?”
I slightly nodded to Easter and sat down.
To be honest… I really felt relaxed for the first time in ages.
There were various agents around, and I could hear their voices, but still, it felt nice.
Was it because I wasn’t working?
Honestly, ever since becoming Lindera, I’ve felt like I’ve been doing nothing but working, so I might be tired.
“Um…”
But why do I feel so empty?
Is it because I’m just sitting around doing nothing for the first time in a while?
It felt…. a bit strange.
More accurately, it was an unfamiliar feeling.
“Sigh…. This is all the Commander’s fault for keeping me busy since day one…”
I muttered under my breath, ensuring the other agents didn’t hear me.
It was a slightly malicious remark, even if it was my inner thoughts.
*
“Slurp….”
After downing my seventh cup of coffee, I resumed working on my pad.
Well, since I had nothing to do and no hobbies, what else was I supposed to do… other than get some work done?
I spent my time filling out an operation report that Midori had left unfinished on Friday.
Of course, it wasn’t during regular work hours; it was just something I was doing because I had extra time.
I was doing it slowly and adequately.
Nobody told me to do it, and even though it was technically Midori’s job, I didn’t really mind.
I mean, knowing Midori’s personality, she would definitely be happy I did her work for her.
“Um.”
To be honest, the operation report wasn’t all that hard.
I just needed to write down when we had the operation, the participating agents and Commander, and then summarize the operation itself.
The boss isn’t that strict about these things, so as long as I do it decently, it’s fine.
“Um….”
“Uh, Lindera-san?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t just work; would you like some cake? I just made some.”
“Oh, thank you.”
While I was busy working, Easter offered me a slice of cake.
Specifically, carrot cake.
Probably because I had just sat there, ordered coffee, and worked the whole time since arriving.
“Hmm….”
I guess I look like I’m just working all the time.
But I had no choice.
I didn’t really have any hobbies.
Is this how the adults felt when they had nothing to do so they went fishing?
Of course, even if that wasn’t the reason, they could also find joy in fishing itself.
“First…. let’s finish this and then think about what to do next.”
Since there wasn’t much left to do, I thought I could manage to finish it in about 30 minutes.
*
“….Lindera-san?”
“?”
“It’s closing time.”
“…What?”
I was reading another document that felt ambiguous.
Having finished writing up Midori’s operation report, I had a bit of coffee left, so I was just reading it out of boredom.
Before I knew it… I had worked until dinner time.
I had finished the amount of work I had for tomorrow without even realizing it.
Easter was looking at me with strange eyes, but… I couldn’t really argue against it.
Honestly, even I thought this was a bit much.
“….”
For now… I accepted Easter’s farewell and left the cafe.
I felt a bit embarrassed, but I couldn’t just stay there.
“….”
Am I a workaholic?
No, I thought that couldn’t possibly be the case.
Of course, I like caffeinated drinks and worked mindlessly today, but…
That was all because I had no distinct hobby or work to do.
I’m definitely not the strange one!
“….”
Damn.
This time I really felt a sense of reality setting in.
Even as a woman, I still feel this way.
So I left the cafe and slowly walked around the inside of the ship.
Even if it was evening, the agents inside the ship were hanging out in the lobby, walking, chatting, and having fun.
There shouldn’t be any problem with me being here.
“Hmm….”
It felt like the agents were looking at me.
But it was probably just my imagination.
This is also just self-consciousness.
Of course, Lindera is really beautiful with a great figure, but the female agents wouldn’t be staring at me.
It’s better for them to be watching the Commander anyway; that would pass the time better.
“…By the way, I wonder if he has eaten dinner.”
I had never heard of the Commander coming out of his office outside of work hours.
If he had, there would have been something posted on the bulletin board the agents use.
“…Hmm.”
The Commander shouldn’t be living in an odd pattern, skipping meals.
That’s the only reason I’m doing this.
So I’m simply on my way to the Commander’s personal room.
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