Waking up a bit late, it was obvious that the Commander had already started his day.
I knew he’d leave first, but it still felt disappointing.
I wished we could at least say good morning to each other.
“Chirp…”
Oh well.
“Yawn…”
Anyway, I was just as late as usual today.
In fact, it felt like I was slowly getting used to this oversleeping thing, which was a bit concerning for later.
Still, it was comfortable, and honestly, nice.
While I did want to talk with the Commander a bit more in the morning,
Slowly, I got out of bed and began my morning routine.
Even if I was pregnant, I couldn’t just do nothing.
“Yawn…”
First, I walked over to the fridge.
I needed to grab something for a light breakfast… Just a glass of milk?
My body felt heavy, making it slightly uncomfortable to eat.
“Glug… Glug…”
To be honest, milk wasn’t really my thing.
But it was better than drinking plain water, and it felt like it might fill me up a bit more…?
“If I contact the Boss… they said they’d send a taxi…”
Yesterday was the first time I came home and actually slept here, so everything felt a bit awkward.
But honestly, living here wasn’t much different from when I was in my personal room.
It was just that it took a bit longer to get to the ship from here.
…Which was slightly tough.
Anyway, it wasn’t a huge difference.
“Should I leave around lunchtime…?”
I wasn’t quite sure.
Back in my personal room, I could come and go freely, but now it felt a bit tricky.
After all, I had to take a car to the ship.
It was kind of tricky all around, and now that the Boss was also working in the office…
“…I feel bad about just going freely.”
I was the one who made the situation this way, but I still felt a bit guilty.
What could I do?
“Well… should I take a shower?”
No matter how tired I felt from being pregnant, showering was important.
I didn’t want the Commander to complain about me smelling, after all.
Anyway, I resolved my breakfast with just milk and decided to take a shower.
Even if I was late to meet the Commander, I overslept, so it was better to get ready a bit faster.
*
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door just before entering the office.
Honestly, I didn’t need to knock, but since the Boss was here, I felt a bit bad about barging in.
“I’m here.”
“Lin… De… Ra…”
“Please… let me in…”
“…?”
As soon as I opened the door after knocking, I saw a dazed Dolores and Midori.
…Eh.
Caught off guard by the situation, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.
What in the world were these two doing like this?
It felt like watching my sister when she first started working in the office, which was a bit strange.
“What’s going on?”
“N-no, it’s nothing…”
“…?”
Dolores dodged my question.
What in the world was going on?
Uncertain about it, I moved toward the Commander’s desk.
The Boss was typing away at the computer, but I had already greeted them.
“Commander…?”
“Ah……..”
As I got closer, the dazed Commander greeted me weakly.
What was up with everyone?
“Boss, what’s going on?”
“Hmm. I really don’t know.”
“…?”
Something was definitely up.
It felt like they were hiding something important.
But I had no idea what it was.
What I could say for sure was that the Commander and my colleagues seemed a bit dazed because of the Boss.
Other than that, I was at a loss.
“…How’s work going? I heard things were piling up at Headquarters, are you doing okay?”
“Well, the work they sent isn’t anything big. It’s just the final approvals and a few important things.”
“Really? That’s a relief. I was a bit worried because they kept contacting us.”
Honestly, I was a bit anxious because the people from Headquarters were calling us a lot.
So it was a relief that everything seemed to be going smoothly.
Both my sister and I had been hearing a lot from Headquarters, so it was good that the Boss was here to take care of things.
If she hadn’t showed up, I was sure we’d still be getting bombarded with calls.
…That would have been a bit much.
Despite being pregnant, dealing with annoying calls like that daily was not the best.
“How’s my sister? I saw her helping out the Boss a bit.”
“Oh… I’m fine. I’m just doing a bit of what I did at Headquarters here, actually, it’s easier now.”
“Is that so…?”
It seemed like my sister was working more comfortably than the others.
When she used to come to the office, she often looked exhausted, but now she seemed more at ease.
What could this mean?
“Hehe…”
“…?”
My sister suddenly laughed.
What was going on?
She was working with a relaxed expression, while the rest of the team looked dazed, and the Boss claimed to be clueless.
It all felt a bit strange.
…Hmm.
I didn’t quite get it, but it seemed like it wasn’t my fault.
Probably.
“Boss, can I borrow the Commander for a bit?”
“Now?”
“Yes, or I’ll just sit here and relax.”
“Hmm…”
I had taken a taxi here, but the timing felt a bit off.
I wanted to hang out with the Commander and help him since he looked a bit tired, but if that wasn’t possible, I figured we could spend time together during lunch.
“Is it not okay?”
“What? If my daughter wants to spend time with her husband, how could I say no to that?”
“So you’re saying it’s fine?”
“Of course.”
Phew, that’s a relief.
The Commander looked really tired, so it made sense.
I hadn’t seen him look this worn out compared to all the times we’ve worked together.
Anyway, I had managed to drag out the slightly dazed Commander and stepped outside.
…It felt a bit silly that the Commander needed help from a pregnant person.
But he looked too worn out.
I wanted to help him and tease him a bit, too.
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just so exhausted… It’s tough…”
“…?”
As soon as we entered the cafe, he slumped over in a chair.
Even for him, that was a bit sudden.
He usually didn’t look this rundown.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just tired… so tired…”
“…Huh?”
Had there ever been a time when the Commander looked so beat?
I wasn’t sure.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t been tired before while working, but not like this, especially not by morning.
But today, he looked completely drained.
His tiredness made me worried before we even ordered.
“Well… let’s order something first.”
“…A chocolate latte.”
“…Got it.”
One thing was certain: it seemed like this was the most tired I had ever seen the Commander since he started working.
The reason why I knew this was simple.
A chocolate latte.
Normally, he would drink a cafe latte or a caramel macchiato, but today was different.
He opted for the sweeter chocolate latte.
The Commander was the type to soothe his exhaustion with something sweet.
Seeing him choose such a sweet drink confirmed that for me.
He might have games to play, but those were for after work.
On regular days, he often resorted to sweet coffee to get by.
Fruit drinks were no match for coffee when it came to refreshing him.
“Sigh…”
The tired Commander rested his head on the table as I stood to order.
The other agents in the cafe glanced my way, but I was used to it by now.
After all, I was over seven months along.
Seeing agents look at me in my condition felt completely ordinary.
Besides, there weren’t any agents glaring at me as if I had stolen the Commander away from them anymore.
“Easter.”
“Lin-de-ra, welcome! It feels like it’s been forever.”
“I’ve been avoiding coffee at the cafe lately, so I didn’t have a choice.”
Compared to before, I had been visiting the cafe less frequently.
Instead, the Commander had been coming more often.
Traveling back and forth had become a bit tiring, and since I had stopped drinking caffeine altogether…
“Should I get you lemonade and a cafe latte?”
“You can give me the lemonade as usual, but today let’s go with the chocolate latte. And put a bit more syrup in it than normal.”
“Got it! Oh, and I wanted to ask you if you like strawberry cake? It’s just a slice…”
Easter’s unexpected mention of strawberry cake during my order probably stemmed from a desire to celebrate my pregnancy.
The Commander loved sweets, and I occasionally enjoyed cake with him.
So having something sweet would be perfect, especially since the Commander looked so tired.
“Of course, that sounds great.”
“Glad to hear it! Congratulations on your pregnancy! We might have expressed it a lot with words, but receiving a gift like this feels nicer, doesn’t it?”
“I appreciate that, even without the gift, I’m well aware of everyone’s support. Thank you.”
With that, I wrapped up my order and headed back to my seat.
As I returned, the Commander seemed a little more alert.
He probably felt a bit better after resting his head.
“Feeling better now?”
“…Yeah.”
“So, what’s got you so worn out? I thought you went to bed early yesterday.”
Aside from that drink, anyway.
He had no reason to feel this tired.
Besides, if the Boss and sister weren’t sharing any details, I had to ask the Commander.
“…Well, we started working with the Boss, right?”
“Right.”
“…The temporary Vice Commander complained about the workload, saying we got more tasks dumped on us.”
“…What?”
“He said he was shifting some of his responsibilities onto us…”
“………”
Whoa.
“And there were more checks on the work than I expected…”
“…Oh.”
“Compared to when I work with you, I feel like I’m doing almost double…”
“…Keep it up.”
I felt bad for him.
Those were technically the kinds of tasks the Commander was supposed to handle…
Sure, I felt sympathetic, but…
“I’ll talk to the Boss. I’ll ask them to ease off a bit on the workload…”
Seeing the Commander, who was practically like a husband to me, struggle with work made me want to help.
It seemed like a good opportunity for him to get used to a more balanced workload, too.
“Just take a break for now.”
“…Yeah.”
I gently ran my fingers through the Commander’s hair as I settled down beside him.
After all, I had come here to let him rest while still engaging in conversation.
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