“Ugh…!”
“Hum.”
“Ahhh…!”
This is some seriously newborn strength… Of course, I don’t remember breastfeeding at all since I was born, but I was really trying hard.
Well, it was super freaking difficult!
Really, this damn Lindera’s body is so weak that I couldn’t even get past the Commander’s arm!
“Huff…!”
-Tremble…!
It was truly like arm wrestling against a fortress that wouldn’t budge.
The Commander seemed stronger than I expected, so I thought I needed to adjust our date.
He’s clearly just a… regular office worker like me.
So why is there such a huge difference in strength?
“This is the difference in power.”
“Ugh!”
“With you saying that, aren’t you the one struggling to muster any more strength?”
“This is! I’m…! Ugh…!”
At this point, I decided to accept defeat and pulled out my left hand to start pushing against the Commander’s arm.
I figured I could never push it with just one hand!
Even though I was already trying super hard, and it wasn’t moving at all, of course, I’d have to put in even more effort.
But honestly, it didn’t feel like I’d be able to make it work with two hands either.
I was clearly giving it my all, and yet…
“Huff… huff… ugh…!”
“Hum.”
“Don’t laugh…! I will definitely push it over…. Gahhh…!”
I was truly trying my best… really trying hard to get that arm over.
But the Commander, completely contrary to my thoughts, was casually withstanding my attacks with a relaxed face.
“Hah, ha! Aren’t you feeling a little tired…! Since I’m trying so hard… it must be tough for you.”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Huff…!”
As soon as I heard his reply, I moved my arm again.
My target was obviously to push the Commander’s arm over.
Since I spoke up, the Commander should have been caught off-guard, right?
This was the best shot I had… Of course, the very first moment was my best shot, but back then, it was just with one hand.
-Squeeze…!
“Ugh…”
“How about you just put in that much effort? We’re still holding hands.”
“Then…! Can’t you just let it go a bit!?”
Really!
It just wouldn’t budge at all.
-Bang!
“Uh!? Ah, um… sorry.”
“……”
I got stomped on.
And by that Commander.
I thought I could at least put up a bit of a struggle at first, but…
I just got toyed with.
“I just went a bit hard since you weren’t budging at all.”
“That’s just cruel…”
“Haha…”
“I was really putting in a lot of effort but you… you made me…”
Even though I worked like crazy, the ending was my hand slammed onto the table with a bang.
I thought I could at least manage not to lose, if I played my cards right…
“That’s really too much…”
“Uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go that far….”
“Even if I talked a lot, that was just too much…”
My hand hurt a little.
Not a pain you’d get from a normal arm wrestling match.
In fact, there wasn’t even a cushion underneath and it was just a regular table, so that must have been why.
But it hurt, and so it couldn’t be helped.
“…It hurts.”
“…I’m really sorry.”
“It hurt a lot.”
“…I truly apologize…”
But since the Commander was genuinely sorry, I felt a little better.
It wasn’t just a simple apology; he was practically on his knees in posture!
And his expression was really something.
“…It’s fine. I asked to do this first, and I won’t bother you anymore, sir. Yes.”
“Are you hurt badly? If you’re hurt badly, I could go get some medicine…”
“That’s not necessary at all. It’s a little red, but… it’s not like it’s so painful I can’t stand it.”
Apologizing was fun, but it wasn’t to that extent.
Maybe I looked like I was in more pain than I really was; it was quite an exaggerated fuss.
“Anyway, I’m saying I’m okay for now.”
“…Then I’m glad. I was a little worried. I thought you might have been hurt because of me.”
“It’s nothing serious. I didn’t think the Commander would be so nervous.”
I said with a little laugh.
After all, I didn’t expect the Commander to react so much to something like this.
And plus, the pain had cooled a bit now.
I felt a bit better now.
“Hah… Well, if you’re okay, then that settles it.”
“Yes, by the way, Commander, shouldn’t you grab some ramen soon? It might be hard to eat soon.”
“Isn’t that because I couldn’t eat due to you? What’s with the arm wrestling all of a sudden? Am I stupid?”
“I’d say I’m less foolish than someone who slams a lady’s hand on the ground.”
“Well, I can’t win a debate. Think what you want.”
I won.
I might have lost in arm wrestling, but thinking about it, I actually won in conclusion.
I don’t know why, but at least I felt a bit better?
*
“By the way, I’m really tired. Honestly, by the end of the operation, my eyes were a little heavy.”
“Well, we’ve been conducting operations since the morning. Plus, we didn’t get to rest during lunchtime.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
After finishing dinner, I had a suitable cup of tea.
I mean, there was coffee too, but since it was evening…
Coffee isn’t great if it interferes with sleeping, so I intentionally handed him tea.
No matter how much tomorrow was a day off, I needed to sleep properly, right?
“You really did well today. During the operation and after it too.”
“That’s my job as the Vice Commander. It’s natural for me to handle the things that bother you.”
“Speaking of which, you do make me work a lot, don’t you?”
“Honestly, that’s not even my job, but yours, Commander.”
“That’s also true.”
The commander and I both chuckled.
Well, it was actually funny, wasn’t it?
In fact, it was usual for the Commander to give me tasks and make me do something.
But now, we were in a situation where I was assigning work to the Commander and some other members so it couldn’t help but seem strange.
Of course, no one thought it was weird.
“Honestly, I’m not too accustomed to the work yet, and you’re doing so well that might be why. If you weren’t so good at your job, I might feel differently.”
“Hah, so now you’re getting defensive on me? Your tongue seems more nimble than before.”
“When I hang around with you, it’s only natural I’d pick up some slack.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but talking with the Commander was surprisingly fun, and sometimes, I’d smile without realizing it.
Seeing the Commander laugh too confirmed that there was nothing weird about our conversation; it was just plain fun.
“Anyway, tomorrow we should just relax… let’s rest a little, and then focus on work again starting Tuesday.”
“Yes. We also need to write reports and ask for money, right? At least it’s good we don’t have to handle the follow-ups ourselves.”
“Yeah, definitely… that’s a relief. Honestly, that could be a bit annoying.”
Work talk.
In fact, it wasn’t particularly detailed or special, and it was just a conversation not much different from everyday life.
After all, our daily lives were so close to work that it couldn’t be helped.
We were literally in the same place as our workplace.
“What do you think is a good time for our next operation, Commander?”
“At least a week should pass. It might be a bit quick, but this operation is primarily to recruit new agents after all.”
“I’ll proceed in that direction. Of course, it won’t be exactly a week, but I’ll try to have us operational around that time.”
“Thanks, you really are my only hope.”
“……”
Strange words.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the Commander did seem a bit empty-headed.
If Soan had heard this, she definitely would have raided the dining support and used it all to buy ingredients for the Commander.
Well, sometimes agents related to the cafeteria would complain about Soan’s favoritism, but that couldn’t be helped.
Soan wasn’t bad at her job; she was great at it, and we simply couldn’t interfere.
And besides, it wasn’t like we were focusing so intensely on the Commander’s meals to warrant a huge issue.
“If you’re going to spout nonsense, how about you sleep instead?”
“Suddenly?”
“…Yes.”
If he kept wandering off on these tangents, that might turn out to be a disaster.
The agents could easily misinterpret what the Commander said and end up doing something strange because of it.
“Oh, I thought you might be familiar with dating or something, so I asked.”
“Yes?”
“Do people our age date often, anyway?”
“…Yes?”
What kind of nonsense question was that?
I really didn’t understand why the Commander was asking me this.
What kind of madness is this?
“….Yes?”
“Ah, it’s just that my mother called suddenly, and the conversation shifted to dating… it’s nothing major; you can just give a vague answer.”
“Why are you asking me that?”
I really didn’t get it.
I couldn’t comprehend why he was asking me all this.
The question of whether we date often was lost on me.
Of course, the Commander and I were kind of the same age.
It wasn’t a problem at all to group us in the same category.
After all, there was only a one-year difference… but still, why was he asking me?
“You seem pretty and popular with guys, so naturally, I thought you’d have dated often, right?”
“…Dating? I’ve never done it.”
“…Liar.”
“I’m serious.”
Between Lindera and me, neither had ever dated, so I found it bizarre.
Sure, it was true that I was pretty, but this question felt truly awkward.
“With a face like yours, you’ve never dated?”
“That’s right… Is there a problem with that?”
Being praised suddenly made me feel a bit good, but why on earth was he asking?
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