– Bubble bubble…
Today feels like one of those days that just drags on forever, but it’s probably not my fault. At least, it definitely couldn’t be my fault.
I wasn’t the one causing the pollution; I was just your average vice commander character, right?
I carried out the operation normally today, but the problem was it just took a long time. It simply took forever to wrap up things afterward.
“What kind of ramen do you like, Commander?”
“I just eat anything. Spicy is okay too.”
“Since I can’t handle spicy, I’ll go for something mildly spicy.”
Honestly, the instant ramen in my room didn’t offer much variety anyway. I decided to stick with the most basic option.
I made that decision as soon as I started boiling the water.
Sure, my room wasn’t exactly equipped like a professional kitchen, but it had a gas stove at least. Not that I used it often.
“If you’re tired, you can just lie down on the bed for a bit. I doubt it will smell. I’m not doing anything weird on the bed; I’m just going to sleep.”
“…I think I’ll just sit on the floor.”
“Well, do as you please. I still have to boil this.”
“More to the point, aren’t you tired? You’ve been working nonstop. I’m exhausted, but what about you…?”
“Yeah, I’m tired. I’ve been working the whole time, haven’t I?”
Why was he suddenly asking such a dumb question? Of course, I’m a person too, and being tired is just commonplace, right?
It had already been more than 12 hours since I started working, so obviously, I had to be tired.
“I can boil it if you want.”
“No thanks. I’ve already added the seasoning. Now all I need to do is throw in the noodles.”
“That’s true, but…”
“I think you’d be better off just sitting and resting quietly.”
You’d be tired too, I’ll bet. I just wanted him to sit still for a bit.
He’d been busy talking into the microphone and thinking all day long as commander.
Better yet, it would be nice if he just lay on the bed.
Having him keep giving suggestions was mildly annoying, and I found it a bit tiresome to deal with him when I was already fatigued.
“Alright then…”
“…But don’t give me that guilty look. You look like a fool.”
It was kind of funny how he’d shrink a little as soon as I said something.
It was amusing, but at the same time, I felt bad for mentioning it.
The water, which had been bubbling slowly, was now boiling vigorously, so I put the noodles in.
I couldn’t just watch the water boil forever, after all.
I tossed in three packs of noodles; we were both pretty hungry since we had skipped lunch and settled for cup ramen.
Plus, it was a little past dinner time, adding to our hunger.
“The smell is nice.”
“Didn’t I tell you to sit still?”
“I’m sorry, but when a vice commander is cooking dinner, how can I just sit idly? Hand me some utensils and a bowl.”
“…You really are a fool.”
Am I really that silly? I asked him to go sit down because he clearly looked tired.
The fact that he wandered over to help me was genuinely foolish.
But I guess that’s what makes him likable.
“Here, carry this. I’ll take my chopsticks.”
“Got it.”
I got a bit surprised when he suddenly came up behind me. I didn’t expect anyone to comment on how good the smell was, either; at first, I wasn’t sure what he was about.
Well, he must have been talking about the ramen smell, I assumed.
Anyway, I passed him two plates and utensils.
“…Commander.”
“What is it?”
“It would be best if you didn’t do things like that with others.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, talking suddenly from behind like you did just now.”
For a fleeting moment, I was startled, but anyone else would have probably been really shocked.
After all, he had also made that odd statement about the nice smell from behind him.
If it had been someone else, I was sure they would have been really surprised and angry.
*
“Hu… huh…”
It wasn’t super spicy, just moderately-seasoned ramen.
I couldn’t brag that I cooked it well, but I certainly didn’t think I had messed it up either.
I had prior experience living alone and couldn’t say I was horrendous in the kitchen, either. Occasionally I cooked things like pasta, aside from just ramen and fried rice.
I could assure you I wasn’t a total klutz who couldn’t even taste properly.
“…Ha.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My hair is bothersome. I’ve tied it up, but the stray hairs are kind of annoying, so I might have to move them aside.”
Overall, having long hair felt more like a drawback than a perk.
It looked nice, sure, but that was where the advantage ended.
It was a hassle when washing it, even worse when drying it.
Plus, eating food with soup was a challenge too, because I had to be careful not to let my hair touch the broth.
“Still, it suits you to be blonde. Long hair definitely fits you better than short.”
“Where is this coming from…?”
“Just saying don’t even think about cutting it because it’s inconvenient.”
“I won’t. If I were going to cut it, I would have done it ages ago.”
I was a bit taken aback by the sudden compliment but had never even thought about cutting my hair.
This was Lindera’s identity, after all.
There was no significant reason to chop it all off; it was merely some inconvenience.
Not to mention, I looked good with it.
I wasn’t overly into primping myself, but I liked being pretty too.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Yeah.”
I took another bite of my ramen.
It was quite satisfying.
It was merely a decent ramen, nothing to rave about.
Still, it was definitely better than the ordinary cup ramen I had for lunch.
Even though I made three packs, there was no way I could finish them all.
Considering I had turned female, plus Lindera’s stomach wasn’t that huge either.
“Have some more.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I probably won’t eat much anyway. Plus, you worked hard today, didn’t you?”
I served more ramen into his bowl.
Given this exchange, I felt pretty good about having changed clothes.
The commander was just in a t-shirt under his shirt, while I had switched to pajamas I usually wore at home.
To be honest, it felt a bit early to wear pajamas, but changing into anything else felt like too much effort.
Plus, I always wore pajamas when I was alone in my room.
“If you give me more, I’ll be grateful.”
“Sure, eat up. If you need more, I can boil some more.”
“Even so, I’m not some pig who could eat three packs of ramen by myself…”
“I know. Judging by your body, you don’t seem like someone who devours lots.”
The commander’s body didn’t have an excessive amount of fat on it, that was for sure.
Of course, it didn’t mean he was some buff muscle-bound guy though.
He didn’t seem overweight at all.
He just looked tall and had a nice frame, so it might come off that way.
“Well, I don’t see a ton of muscles either. You look more on the squishy side.”
Since he was wearing a t-shirt, it was easy to notice his arms.
Clearly, he wasn’t working out, sitting all day at a desk.
I definitely didn’t imagine those pale arms could exert any significant strength.
It didn’t look like he was into exercise at all.
“……”
“Looks like I hit a nerve.”
“Ha.”
The commander chuckled as if he was taken aback.
There was no way he didn’t feel a hit there!
After all, he seemed even less active than I was!
I’m not one to hit the gym much either, but still.
Plus, it seemed like during work hours, the commander was just so quiet, far removed from anything related to physical exercise or strength.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”
“I used to do fieldwork back in the day, you know. Are you saying I look weak now?”
“Judging by your skin, it’s way too pale, and your arms don’t show any muscles to back that up.”
Was it some sort of male pride he had?
Did he really feel that way?
Well, I used to be a guy too.
So I could totally sympathize with feeling a bit touchy when hearing stuff like that.
Despite that, I never thought the commander would be particularly strong.
“No way, I don’t believe you should listen to what I say about that.”
“Well, you’re a man, right? You should definitely be stronger than me!”
“That’s not true; you just look weaker than me.”
“What are you talking about? I’m just a regular office worker on a ship, not a special agent.”
Why was he suddenly coming at me with these lines?
I found it ridiculous he was saying this when he didn’t even seem particularly strong himself.
He wasn’t some muscle-bound fellow, doing triple-digit arm curls.
“Don’t underestimate me. Just because I might look like this doesn’t mean I couldn’t easily just overpower someone like you.”
“I don’t see you overpowering anyone. Plus, I wouldn’t have a reason to get overpowered by you.”
“Well, that may be true, but it would be nice if you didn’t say such things in front of men.”
“So it’s okay to say that to you, Commander?”
“…Just do what you want. Hah…”
Not entirely sure what he meant, but it didn’t seem like there was a problem.
Anyway, just looking at the commander’s arms didn’t give the impression he had any great strength either.
“How about a friendly arm-wrestling match?”
“All of a sudden?”
“I’m just curious. Besides, I’m not going to eat any more anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a little fun, right?”
“I haven’t finished eating yet…”
As the commander said, he still had ramen left in his bowl.
I had just replenished it, so that’s why it was still full, but honestly, that was none of my business.
I mean…
“Are you afraid?”
“……”
I had already made up my mind to arm-wrestle him, you know?
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