“My name is Agni. So, you’re the infamous Commander? Well, I’ll be working here from now on, so don’t make things boring for me.”
“Haha. Nice to meet you. Thanks for applying to our side.”
The Commander was talking to a very pretty girl from the enemy faction in the office, someone he had never seen before.
Actually, it was true he hadn’t seen her in person before, but it wasn’t the first time.
After all, he had seen her in the game.
She had a perfect height for a girl, but she wielded a sword that was even bigger than she was.
He’d seen that kind of character quite often in the game, and she was a popular figure in the community.
Plus, she had horns on her head, which made her look even cooler.
Well, that might be partly due to how beautiful the illustrations were.
She wasn’t a character with an enormous role in the story, but she had a unique look and was pretty strong for an initial release character, garnering a lot of fans.
“So? What should I do in Babil 07?”
“Nothing is set in stone for now. I have only been here for a week, so please wait a little longer.”
“Hmm. Alright, but I hope to get tasks as quickly as possible. I hate wasting time.”
“Understood.”
Fortunately, the Commander didn’t seem flustered while talking to various agents.
In fact, he was surprisingly good at holding a conversation, more so than Agni expected.
He had a stoic demeanor when talking to Agni, yet he surprisingly continued the conversation quite well.
Could it be that he talked to women often?
After all, he was quite handsome, so it made sense.
Back when Agni was a man, he felt pretty average, but it wasn’t wrong to feel a hint of relative deprivation.
Maybe.
“Oh, by the way, can I get some ice cream here?”
“Ice cream is sold at the agent shop or the agent cafeteria.”
“Oh really? Thanks.”
With that, Agni casually strapped her fiery sword to her waist and left the office.
But didn’t he say to come in after tidying up the room…?
Anyway, now Agni had met the last 5-star character.
After a few days of so many agents showing up, he was a bit worn out.
But he was relieved to think that he could rest a little from now on.
“Phew… Finally, I can get some rest.”
“Commander, are you okay?”
“Ah, I’m fine. Just a little tired from meeting too many agents over the past few days.”
“Of course, it’s only natural after meeting about 30 people.”
In reality, he hadn’t really been that tired.
He had now gotten used to processing paperwork, and he was already familiar with caffeine.
And before officially starting work, he had added Midori to the office, which made things better than before.
Though she was chatty, she was quite competent.
“Phew… So, from now on, I won’t have to talk one-on-one with agents as much as I have been lately.”
“Of course, you’ll have to do paperwork for a while longer.”
“Ha…”
After observing how the Commander dealt with agents for a few days, Agni had a realization.
This guy was surprisingly introverted.
Despite looking like he’d be charming women left and right, he was more reserved than expected.
He seemed to tire easily from conversations.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was incompetent.
Meeting about 6-7 agents a day for interviews could be exhausting, but still.
If he were a super outgoing person, he probably would have had more conversations with various agents, but he definitely wasn’t that type.
“Uh, um… Lindera?”
“Yes?”
“Can I go to the bathroom for a moment!?”
“You can go, but why are you suddenly asking?”
“No, it’s just that the person from earlier made it really difficult to go now!”
Suddenly, Midori stood up and spoke to Agni.
It was true that leaving suddenly to use the bathroom during an interview seemed a bit odd.
“Just go. You’re making great progress with the work you’re in charge of, aren’t you?”
“Okay! I’ll be back quickly!”
Saying that, Midori dashed out of the office with her signature gray hair flowing behind her.
If she wanted to use the restroom, she could have just gone.
Even though they were a bit formal with her, they were people who would normally let that slide.
“Let’s take a break for a moment. We haven’t rested since morning.”
“Shall I brew some coffee? What do you think?”
“Add some sugar, please.”
“Yes.”
The Commander began to lean back comfortably in his chair while Agni got up.
There was a coffee pot in the office, so making coffee wasn’t difficult.
After all, they weren’t using beans, just instant coffee mix, so it wasn’t hard.
Of course… personally, Agni preferred brewed coffee since it was richer, but both were just for waking up anyway.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Oh, and Agni noticed one more thing: the Commander really liked sweet stuff.
He even added sugar to his coffee mix.
He also brought back pastries from the shop as snacks, and well, that was that.
It wasn’t particularly important or something Agni cared deeply about.
But since he was his boss, he couldn’t help but notice.
“Now… Sending agents out will also be easier.”
“Yes, that’s right. We can also conduct external reconnaissance and likely secure logistical support.”
“Honestly, when I first arrived, there were too few agents to send out…”
“You won’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s really a relief.”
Agni pulled a chair next to the Commander’s and continued the conversation.
The spot where his computer was located was a bit distant, making casual chatter difficult.
“Now we have about 70 agents on our ship. The amount we gain from exploring for Crytienium should increase, and we should also get more support from headquarters.”
“Yeah, that’s really good news.”
Crytienium was a vital resource in Catharsis.
At the same time, it was something that polluted the environment and transformed people… worse than radiation.
But it was too valuable to ignore, so it was widely used.
For example, it was used as energy and as weapons.
Of course, processing was necessary.
Also, to acquire Crytienium, agents transformed by it were essential.
Regular humans couldn’t endure the Crytienium-contaminated zones.
“Once we notify headquarters that we’re ready, we should be able to deploy to large contaminated areas to gather Crytienium, and we’ll handle the cleansing of nearby contaminated areas.”
“Especially with the new agent Agni who just joined, she’ll be helpful.”
“Indeed. Her specialty seems to be combat, so she will surely contribute.”
“It seems I made a good pick for this task. If it had been me, I might have just let it slide.”
“Haha.”
But honestly, it felt like a good choice.
Selecting one 5-star agent from around 50 applicants was impressive.
If it were a gacha game, he might have been reported for cheating.
The ceiling was 90, yet he picked from 50, so he seemed luckier than when he played the game.
But still… what on earth had the Commander been doing that all the newcomers heard rumors and came over?
“Hmm.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Agni wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t seem necessary to bring it up.
It didn’t seem that important anyway.
Besides, since they came over, it was best to just say thanks and move on.
“By the way, Lindera. Agents keep mentioning some rumors. Do you know what they are?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Just as Agni was pondering, the topic came up.
But the issue was… she really didn’t know.
“This is troubling. There seems to be some ongoing rumor I don’t know about, and it makes me feel a bit uneasy. I worry it might affect the atmosphere on the ship.”
“Nya-ha~ I’m back!”
“Ah, Midori. Why don’t you come here and grab a coffee?”
“Really!? Yay~!”
Agni understood what the Commander was talking about.
But for now, it was important to get coffee to Midori before it completely cooled down.
Besides, since he was a man, there was no need for him to treat the Commander overly nicely.
Just… treating him like an average boss was enough.
“By the way, what were you two talking about? You didn’t say anything weird about me behind my back, did you?”
“Not at all. We were just discussing some troublesome matters lately.”
“Troublesome matters? Are we having steamed eggs for lunch today?”
“…”
“…”
“No, it was a joke! I understood what you meant!?”
Right, it was a relief if it was just that.
If Midori really hadn’t understood, Agni would have started considering swapping out a different agent to work in the office.
It wasn’t easy to replace someone who had gotten used to working in the office, especially now that the number of agents had increased.
Moreover, they couldn’t just assign too many agents to the office anyway.
“If that’s the case… thank goodness.”
“Exactly.”
“Still, just because I checked my phone while working doesn’t mean you toy with me like this, right!?”
“Haha.”
“I’m serious!!”
Well, she wasn’t a bad agent after all.
She had decent social skills compared to the others and did her job well.
“So, what’s this troublesome matter? Is your body feeling uneasy or something?”
“It’s not that; we have many new agents on our ship lately.”
“That’s right.”
“But every time new agents join, they keep saying they’ve heard some rumors about the ‘rumored Commander.’ They keep talking about that.”
The Commander spoke seriously.
It seemed he hadn’t been here too long, and he was genuinely focused on organizing the ship and the area.
Although it was a bit introverted, he had a positive outlook on those parts.
Anyone who worked hard could only be viewed positively.
“Ah… that…?”
“What?”
“Do you know what it is?”
Midori’s reaction was so strange that they couldn’t help but react.
It seemed like she knew something.
Of course, she might not, but it sure looked that way.
“Um? What… a bit?”
“Could you tell me?”
The Commander took Midori’s hand and asked with a serious look.
And… like any other character from a cute girl game…
“Hu-huh?”
Midori blushed and seemed surprised.
Yeah, it was typical of a cute girl game.
Usually, when a super-handsome Player does something, the cute girls react dramatically.
Although it could never be understood without seeing the Player’s face, the Commander’s face was undeniably handsome.
Damn, incredibly so.
“Um… so… there’s this… bulletin board that we agents use….”
“…?”
“On there, they’ve been posting that the Commander joining us for Babil 07 is….”
The Commander joining them for 07.
That was the Commander holding Midori’s hand right now.
Agni was aware of the bulletin board’s existence, but hadn’t actually visited it.
To be honest, lately, he had been too busy to click through it, and he didn’t really see the need to either.
But then, what on earth had they been spreading rumors about regarding the Commander on that bulletin board?
Perhaps dangerous rumors?
It didn’t seem likely, but if by chance the rumors were meant to slander the Commander… actions would definitely need to be taken.
“Many posts are saying he’s incredibly handsome….”
“….”
“…….”
What?
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