“Commander, we’ve received orders from headquarters.”
“Is it another operation this time?”
“Ah, not exactly. It’s not the usual purification operation we conduct.”
It was indeed an order from headquarters.
In fact, it was still technically an operation, but what we usually referred to as operations was mostly about purifying contaminants.
So this time, it was a bit different.
Of course, it wasn’t anything complicated.
“Um… It’s nothing major. We’re just sending support to another Babil. Recently, the contamination around Babil 06 has worsened, so that’s the recommendation.”
“If it’s 06… it’s not that far.”
“Yes, that’s right. It can be said to be relatively close to us.”
Considering we were Babil 07, it made sense to be close, and the level of contamination wasn’t drastically different.
Of course, our area had less pollution.
“Naturally, there’s no need to send important resources from our ship’s agents.”
“Then?”
“According to the official document, it just mentions sending support personnel. Um… we can just send any suitable agents.”
Honestly, I was a bit lost this time too.
In games, military support was just about sending a level 1 agent and calling it a day.
But now, levels weren’t visible, and this was reality.
Still, we had to send some capable fighters.
“This time… I’ll leave it up to you, Commander. I’m not entirely sure myself.”
“What? You saying you don’t know?”
“Well, what can I do? It’s my first time receiving a military support request.”
“Well… the previous person was quite…”
“A complete loser. Couldn’t do their job, couldn’t manage the agents—just a total failure.”
I hadn’t personally experienced it, but I definitely had a sense of it.
After all, the game’s background was that the player gets assigned to Babil 07 due to that mess.
They were such a loser that they got fired, and that was the story of how the commander ended up in their position.
“You at least manage the agents well, don’t you, Commander?”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Yes, it’s a compliment.”
Today, the command center was unusually devoid of Midori.
In fact, Midori had taken the day off, so we had no choice.
Well, honestly, even without Midori, there wasn’t any serious issue with the work.
I usually had the most work and finished it the quickest anyway.
“By the way, Lindera.”
“Yes?”
“Why did Midori take the day off today?”
“Uh… I think she’s probably just enjoying herself about now. She said something about going to a concert.”
To be honest, after working hard for two months, I felt we owed her a break.
Originally, I was reluctant to approve a day off just for a concert, but she had been putting in a lot of effort.
I figured some reward was necessary.
Of course, once she returned, I planned to make her work just as hard again.
“…”
“Don’t be too harsh. You’ve been working hard lately. For you, taking a vacation might be tricky, but you can still use it someday, right?”
“Yeah… someday I’ll take a vacation.”
Given the commander’s position, it was a bit awkward to take time off.
As a result, I felt awkward about it too.
In fact, it would be worse for me to take a vacation compared to the commander.
Since the workload I managed in the office was massive.
Easily over 50%, I figured.
“How about we make a day with no work at all?”
“Yes?”
“Hasn’t the office been busy for two months straight? Maybe we could take one day off each month…”
“Do you want to take a break?”
“…….”
Silence was affirmation.
It seemed like I really wanted a break.
Well, this was my first time being a commander, so I could understand.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I felt wiped out after two months of doing something for the first time.
“Hmm… How about we just stop work here today and take it easy?”
“What?”
“You said you wanted to take a break. Since Midori is off, let’s just relax.”
Honestly, taking a day off on another day would’ve been fine too, but I thought today was the right option.
There wasn’t much work today anyway; I just had to pull together some people to send to Babil 06.
I could just gather some personnel and inform them tomorrow, and that would be that.
*
“Have you ever tried Tanghulu?”
“Never. You?”
“Neither have I. Let’s give it a shot.”
I dragged the commander into the district.
Being cooped up in the ship was getting boring, and since we weren’t working for once, it was time to enjoy ourselves.
Anyway, we stepped outside together.
Like last time, we took the self-driving car and headed out.
There’s usually no one coming to the office, and employees rarely cared about the work going on in there.
I figured they’d understand if we took a day off.
If not, well, then they could work in the office themselves.
“Commander, you don’t come to the area often, do you?”
“Honestly, it’s a hassle to come. Plus, there isn’t much point in coming.”
“You seem like you’d have fun in the district. It’s surprising.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing at all.”
I decided not to elaborate since it might sound offensive.
“Two Tanghulu, please. One with candy and one with green grapes.”
“Sure thing~”
I placed the order at the Tanghulu stand.
In truth, I’d also never tried it, so I was a bit curious.
Now seemed like a good opportunity.
Plus, the commander hadn’t tried it either, so I figured it was a good chance for both of us to experience it.
“Hmm… it’s harder than I expected.”
“Well, it’s probably frozen. Naturally, it would be hard.”
“Hmm… this is my first time.”
“You mean eating it?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, I didn’t quite understand why we were eating this.
I tried it, but it was basically just a hard fruit skewer.
And extremely sweet.
So sweet, it almost gave me a headache.
“It’s way too sweet for me.”
“…Is that so? I think it’s fine.”
“Is this really okay?”
I was momentarily taken aback by the commander’s response.
It was just too sweet for me!
“Isn’t it too sweet? Eating this might give someone diabetes.”
“…….”
There was no reply.
Silence confirmed that…
The commander really seemed to enjoy sugary things.
The fact that he found this acceptable was surprising.
I had already thought it was weird how he always asked for extra sugar in his coffee.
“If it’s too much for you, just give it to me. It’s not bad.”
“……Just eat it all. I’ve only had one.”
I quickly handed over the rest of the Tanghulu to the commander.
Since I honestly couldn’t stand how sweet it was!
I didn’t completely hate sweet things, but this was overboard.
“So, where to next? I haven’t wandered around the area much, either.”
“Then why did you suggest coming?”
“Isn’t this better than just sitting in the office all day? And it’s you who said you didn’t want to work.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to avoid work…”
Wanting a break and not wanting to work were basically the same thing.
“Isn’t this way better?”
“I won’t argue with that.”
“Quickly decide where you’re going. Since you said you wanted to relax, that’s why we’re out, right?”
“Hmm… how about watching a movie?”
A movie.
It had been a while since I entered the world of Catharsis, but I hadn’t seen one yet.
I mean, we had a TV in the room, but I hadn’t bothered to watch.
The reason? Just sheer laziness.
After work, I would just lay in bed, fiddling with my pad while checking tasks or set up for the next day.
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
So I began to feel a little excited.
Of course, movies were just movies.
“There’s a nearby theater, so let’s go check it out quickly.”
I was excited, but I didn’t want to risk missing the start, so I gently nudged the commander forward.
I pushed him gently, but my strength was rather weak, so the commander didn’t budge… Thankfully, though, he did start walking.
If he suddenly said he didn’t want to go, well, there was nothing I could do about it.
*
“There are quite a few movies to choose from. But… I don’t know anything.”
Honestly, I expected that.
It was a different world, after all.
Naturally, the movies wouldn’t be anything I recognized, and they were bound to be foreign to me.
Even games were all new to me.
In a different world, it would be strange if things were the same.
So even after arriving at the theater and checking out the movies, I had no idea what to watch.
“Really don’t know a thing?”
“Yes.”
“This is your first time here?”
“That’s right. It’s my first time here at a theater with you, Commander.”
At least here, I hadn’t been to a theater with the commander before.
I’d been to theaters back in my old world, but this was truly my first time here.
Not a single word of that was a lie.
“…”
“Why the silence?”
“Never mind. Can I choose the movie then?”
“Please pick something fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
“That’s a lot of pressure.”
The commander said that while starting to interact with the interface.
The movie titles were entirely unfamiliar to me, leaving me nothing to contribute…
“What’s that about?”
“If you know, it’s a spoiler.”
“…I understand.”
I asked the commander but immediately got shut down.
I figured he’d pick something entertaining anyway.
If not, I’d just make him increase the workload from tomorrow.
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