To cut to the chase, the operation was a clean success.
Evening came, and soon after, the bugs stopped coming out.
With the eradication of the contaminated bugs and the core also completed cleanly, it should be considered a successful operation for now.
The operation ended slightly later than expected, but there were no casualties, and since the operation was executed flawlessly, there were no issues at all.
The only problem was that we fought even after sunset towards the end?
Even that was handled well with preparation, and since it ended safely, there were absolutely no problems.
“Commander.”
“What is it?”
“The squad members have returned.”
“Oh.”
I was in the middle of tidying up the things I brought to the command room today, but since the squad members were back, just sitting here felt wrong.
“We should go right away. They fought hard out there, so sitting still is not right, don’t you think?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Midori and Dolores can clock out, and we’ll check in on the squad members before we leave.”
“Really!? Can I clock out first?!”
“Isn’t it already later than usual? Just grab your things and head home.”
“Yes!”
“…Understood.”
The commander said that and got ready to head outside. I put on the coat I had hung up in the morning and started going out slowly.
After all, there was no immediate reason to rush out.
“Are they in the recovery room?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll check on the agents and then we can head home ourselves.”
“Sounds about right.”
As I walked slowly down the corridor with the commander, we chatted. Since it was somewhat of a distance from the command room, we had no choice but to talk during the walk, but there weren’t any particular thoughts in my mind.
This wasn’t the first time we were chatting like this, and I was now quite used to it. Also, it wasn’t like the commander and I hadn’t been talking before.
“Thanks for your hard work today. You must be a little tired.”
“The agents who fought directly must be more exhausted than I am.”
“At least the agents have a solid physique. Unlike some people who are just plain civilians.”
“That’s true.”
Even though I only commanded from the command room, I still couldn’t help but feel tired. I couldn’t rest like usual and had to keep supplying and giving orders.
Especially this time, although there wasn’t a boss monster like last time… there were just too many contaminated entities to handle.
If this were a game, the screen would’ve been lagging from the sheer number.
“You should take it easy tomorrow. Not just you, but Midori and Dolores… they must be tired too.”
“Since they’ve been sitting still since morning, they probably are.”
“So, it would be best to rest properly for a day, then get back to work the day after.”
“You should also get some rest.”
“Yes.”
After chatting, we surprisingly arrived at the combat recovery room sooner than expected.
Even before entering, it was already noisy enough to hear the commotion.
“Oh! It’s the Commander!”
“Everyone! The Commander is here, so quiet down a bit!”
“There’s really no need for that… But can you focus on the conversation at least?”
As we walked in, all eyes immediately turned to the Commander.
It was honestly funny how everyone’s attention was solely on him while I stood right beside him.
It really made me feel a bit bummed to realize just how popular a handsome guy like him was.
“Today’s operation was a success, and everyone did great. Now, let’s make sure to get some good rest. The operation was completed smoothly, so there’s nothing left for us to do. The remaining things will be taken care of by another ship.”
“I have a question!”
“What is it?”
“What’s the compensation for this mission?”
“You’ll receive about 1.2 times more than usual.”
“Yay!”
Well, I can understand the interest in money.
Plus, the intensity of this operation was stronger than usual.
Naturally, they had to pay out more.
The Commander just said it straightforwardly.
“Anyway, we’ll talk about that later. For now, just lie back and relax here. When you feel like going home, do so on your own. Easter? Make sure to manage things well.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then we’ll be taking our leave. Rest well, and let’s meet again next time.”
With that, the Commander turned around and walked out.
I personally expected him to stick around longer, but he wrapped it up quicker than I thought.
The agents seemed to want the Commander to stay longer, but well… the Commander said so himself, so what could be done.
He hadn’t spent much time with the agents even on a regular basis.
It didn’t feel new at this point.
*
“Ugh…”
“What was that all of a sudden?”
“Oh. My back hurts… Just stretching for a moment.”
In the command room, the commander and I were left tidying up.
Honestly, it was less about cleaning and more about organizing things to carry back to the office.
“…Is it really painful?”
“Well, I’ve been sitting continuously. Of course my back hurts, and my shoulders are stiff.”
Seriously, it was a lot.
My shoulders were way more uncomfortable than my back.
I hadn’t felt like this when I was a man.
“Doesn’t the Commander feel the same?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you’ve been sitting still just like me.”
“……”
The Commander suddenly glared at me.
I didn’t understand why he was looking at me like that.
“What’s with the look?”
“Can I say something that might come off a bit rude?”
“Huh?”
“Well… is it just because your chest is… a bit bigger?”
“What.”
“It might really be something that could offend you… but I’ve heard that having a larger chest can cause shoulder strain. So, wouldn’t it be due to that?”
“…….”
He wasn’t wrong…
I did have a larger chest, and maybe that was contributing to the discomfort.
Most definitely…
“…”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh! Um… it’s nothing, I’m sorry.”
I felt my face heat up.
It was definitely an embarrassing feeling… a really embarrassing feeling.
I hadn’t meant to brag about it, but it felt like I had just unintentionally shown off my chest size.
It was indeed large, but still, it felt so awkward.
After all, bragging to a man about having big breasts… that wasn’t really appropriate.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It can happen. I… should apologize too.”
“Yes…”
Feeling a bit strained, I apologized to the commander again.
It truly felt a bit weird.
Even though I was in a woman’s body now, I had been a man.
I definitely didn’t want to boast about my chest to another man.
“Anyway… let’s get back to moving the documents.”
“Sure.”
“Um… I really apologize for what I said earlier. I didn’t mean to give that impression.”
“I know. I never thought of you as that kind of person anyway.”
That was a relief.
No matter how I thought about it, what I just did was so embarrassing.
Was it because it was the Commander I was talking to?
If I had said it to another woman, it might not have been as embarrassing.
But since it was the commander, it was an even bigger issue.
There was definitely a difference between guys casually showing off their muscles to each other and women revealing their chests to men.
“Ah, but Commander.”
“What is it?”
“If we leave all the documents and things in the office, the cafeteria will probably be closed.”
“That’s true… I think it might.”
“What will you do?”
It should still be open now, but time was slipping away.
If we brought all the documents and items to the office, the cafeteria would definitely close.
The agents in the cafeteria, including Soan, had to clock out too.
“Hmm… We’ve got to finish the work first.”
I felt it would lead to an even later clock-out if we suddenly went to eat now.
Of course, the clock-out was already late, but getting even more delayed wasn’t ideal.
There was a world of difference between leaving at 9 PM and at 10 PM.
I was sure Midori and Dolores had already clocked out, but that made calling them back feel like an inconvenience.
After all, they both worked hard today and I had let them leave first.
“What’s left to do now?”
“Moving all the documents to the office and cleaning up the command room. The moving preparations are almost complete now… but we should clean as well.”
“We should probably throw out the trash?”
“Yes.”
It was a bit annoying, but it was better to tackle the cleaning now rather than later.
Besides, I planned to seriously rest all day tomorrow.
“Let’s finish the work first, then we can think about things afterward. You’re not immediately planning to go eat, right?”
“……”
That held true.
But still, it felt a bit wrong to just leave without feeding the Commander.
After all, he listened to my words much better than most commanders.
“…Commander, how about you finish up your work and have some ramen at my place before you leave?”
So, I thought I could at least offer him something to eat rather than just sending him off empty-handed.
It was just too much of a hassle to step out and get something.
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