“…Did you sleep well?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“My bad…”
I had slept in the commander’s room and had come back to change for the conquest.
I also wanted to check on the two of them a bit.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that, but… um… maybe drink a bit more moderately next time? Yesterday was a bit… you know, chilly.”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t intend to drink that much, but…”
Anyway, both of them looked somewhat washed up.
It was my room, but… um.
Well, I had to go to work anyway.
Isn’t it better to get ready than to be late for no reason?
“How about you two go to your own rooms now? I don’t really have a hobby of undressing in front of others.”
“Ah.”
“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I… I’ll find a way to repay you…”
“No need for that. It was just me listening to Midori’s troubles. You don’t have to be too concerned about it.”
“Still, I’m sorry…”
Dolores kept apologizing to me.
To be honest, thinking back to how she was yesterday, I understood, but she didn’t mean anything bad by it.
She just seemed a bit pathetic because she wasn’t in a relationship.
Maybe it was because I had seen Dolores cry for the first time, but she did look a bit pitiable.
“Anyway, let’s get going now. We need to change clothes…”
“Got it! Sorry!”
“Really sorry…”
The two kept repeating their apologies until they left.
Of course, while what they did yesterday after drinking wasn’t really serious, it was still a nuisance.
But I didn’t really feel like they had been a nuisance; it didn’t bother me at all.
“…Should I introduce them to someone next time?”
Rather, I felt that way about Dolores.
I actually didn’t know any men myself.
Thinking of Dolores crying when I came back to the room yesterday made me feel a bit sorry for her.
Should I ask the Commander if he knows anyone?
But I wasn’t sure if the Commander had friends he would introduce.
“Ugh… First things first, I need to get dressed.”
I was already somewhat clean.
I had washed up with the Commander in the bathroom… well…
“…Hehe.”
I couldn’t help but grin a bit.
It didn’t seem all that bad that we ended up sleeping in my bed yesterday.
Looking at it from the retrospective view.
Chatting until we fell asleep was nice, and it felt better to hear what he had to say directly rather than just talking over the phone.
Anyway, changing clothes was the priority.
I had woken up the Commander, but I needed to have breakfast and get to work.
I put aside any strange thoughts and properly started my morning preparations.
I needed to get dressed, do my makeup a bit, and tie my hair up.
“Are you done?”
“Yes, I’m all set.”
Finishing my preparations, I stepped out of my room, and the Commander was waiting for me.
As always, he was in a suit, with his hair neatly parted.
Personally, I liked it better when he let it loose.
Of course, always keeping his hair covered could feel a bit stifling, so maybe just occasionally letting it loose like this was a good idea.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. More than that… come this way.”
“Okay?”
The Commander seemed curious about my words but came closer anyway.
I wondered if it was because he was a bit clumsy at managing his own hair that I unconsciously wanted to help him.
Something about his parting didn’t sit quite right with me.
“You’ve just thrown your hair together.”
“I’m just going to work, so there’s no need to fuss over it…”
“But don’t you feel it’s a shame? You have a handsome face; there’s no need to look so lackluster.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes.”
I was playing with his hair in front of my personal room as we chatted.
Honestly, this was something you would typically do inside a room, but I just wanted to do it.
Besides, everyone already knew I was dating the Commander, and I didn’t need to be cautious about it, right?
Moreover, the Commander didn’t seem to mind our little public display.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes, I think we should be off.”
“Was my hair really that bad?”
“Uhm… it wasn’t terrible, but I think it could look more handsome with just a little more effort.”
“I guess I’ll need to put in more effort next time.”
The Commander said that, but I couldn’t quite agree.
After all, it was fun to touch his hair… right?
“Oh! Lindera!”
“What?”
“Hey!”
While we were heading to the cafeteria, Midori approached us with a bright smile.
She looked different from when she was in my room earlier, wearing her usual hoodie.
Dolores was nowhere to be seen.
She was probably still getting ready.
“Going to eat?”
“Yes.”
“Hehe, then I want to join too! Oh, and Commander, I’m really sorry about yesterday! I didn’t mean to… hehe…”
“No worries. It wasn’t like we caused a huge accident.”
“Hehe…”
In truth, neither the Commander nor I were overly concerned.
It happens when you drink too much.
We hadn’t done anything outrageous, just hugged each other and cried a bit.
And besides, I actually enjoyed spending the night alone with the Commander in his room.
“Let’s head to the cafeteria first. Chatting in the hallway like this is a bit awkward.”
“Okay!”
We all moved toward the cafeteria together.
If Dolores were with us, it would’ve been a nice change to have breakfast together as a team, but it couldn’t be helped.
Honestly, if Dolores bumped into us for breakfast, I figured she would feel a little shy, or at least I thought so.
Normally, she kept quiet and composed, but she had been drinking and crying with Midori yesterday…
“Pfft…”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing, just… I was reminded of yesterday.”
“Aha, that definitely makes sense.”
Both the Commander and I couldn’t help but understand that.
Honestly, it was funny.
Seeing coworkers suddenly break down and cry after drinking…
“Hehe…”
“But how did you end up drinking so much beer?”
“Oh, that?”
I was honestly a little curious.
Beyond Dolores’s love fantasy stories, I wanted to know why she drank so much.
Why did she start crying so suddenly?
Before the Commander and I left, it didn’t seem that gloomy at all.
I actually thought they’d be happily chatting when we walked in.
Though that hadn’t been the case when we arrived.
“Um… It just… um… we ended up sharing some painful stories…?”
“…?”
“Dolores talked about a childhood friend she knew who got a girlfriend as soon as he turned 20… and here I am still in contact with Nana, but I have nothing going on…”
“And that led to all the drinking?”
“Well, sort of?”
“Um….”
Now I understood to some extent why Dolores was filled with romantic fantasies.
A childhood friend, huh.
I hadn’t expected that kind of story from her.
From what I knew, childhood friends usually don’t end up winning, so…
But it was still a little sad.
That reminded me of two little kids who promised their futures but then ended up dating someone else as adults…
“…I think I should treat Dolores a little better.”
I felt somewhat saddened.
“Yeah, I think you should.”
“…Do you happen to know someone around here…”
“Do you think I would?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Just as I thought, the Commander had a pretty narrow social circle.
I had already sort of known this, but it hit me afresh how true it was.
I mean, I’ve been narrow too, but I have my reasons…
The Commander’s narrow social life was personally… relieving.
At least he wasn’t super friendly with others, suddenly contacting them or anything.
When I had heard from the Commander before, I was told that sometimes female colleagues would ask him for rides, or to go get ramen…
Although it didn’t seem like he had actually dated anyone.
Still, it felt a little uncomfortable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing really.”
“Um… usually when you say that, it means you’re thinking something weird.”
“Really, it’s nothing.”
“………”
The Commander continued to gaze at me suspiciously, but he couldn’t read my thoughts anyway.
So, I just looked at him playfully.
It was a bit amusing, unconsciously feeling glad that I was the only person he kept in contact with from his old workplace.
“Hey, Lindera.”
“Yes?”
“I have friends.”
“Oh really?”
“…I do have them; I’m not lying.”
“Hmm…”
Is that so?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure.
During the time I spent with the Commander, I barely saw him interacting with anyone besides me.
The only thing that came to mind was when we went to see a musical, and he mentioned some girl had given him something.
…Could it be?
“Why?”
“………”
“Lindera?”
“Is it a girl?”
“No, that’s obviously not it.”
“…Then that’s fine.”
As long as that wasn’t the case.
The Commander definitely didn’t like men; he had a clear liking for my chest.
There was no way he would ever like men.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t be so pleasant when he touched my chest.
Every night without fail…
“Pervert.”
“What?”
“…Why are you and him talking about this in front of me?”
Midori chimed in as we arrived at the cafeteria and took a seat to continue our conversation.
“Oh.”
“…Are you teasing me? That I’m a virgin and someone I like only sees me as a friend…?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Getting caught up in my chat with the Commander, I had forgotten all about Midori.
As a result, I ended up sharing romantic topics right in front of her.
But… it was truly a mistake.
“I want to talk about romance too, you know?!”
“…You can.”
“…But it’s not exactly romance…”
“…If you try, maybe one day it’ll happen. Didn’t you get a lot of advice from Dolores yesterday?”
Maybe… something good would happen.
Midori wasn’t unappealing either; she was actually super cute and nice.
Though being the same gender could make things a bit challenging, I still thought it wasn’t impossible.
If things went well, who knows…?
“…That was more whining than advice…”
“Oh.”
Well.
Uhm…
Honestly, this didn’t really feel like advice.
If I told Dolores that, it would probably hurt her feelings a bit.
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