To cut to the chase, it was more annoying than I expected.
Telling someone else’s parents that it’s annoying would create a whole different problem, but it was a bit annoying.
I’d never seen their faces, and this was the first time hearing this story, but that was genuinely the case.
“So, does that mean your parents keep asking about your dating or marriage?”
“Exactly. To be precise, it’s my mother who keeps bringing it up, but she’s not entirely wrong.”
Yesterday, we chatted a bit and then went back to our rooms. I was tired, and it was late, but today was my day off.
“I don’t really know, but… it does sound fairly annoying.”
“Definitely annoying.”
Well, if they openly said it was annoying, I didn’t see a problem in me thinking it was annoying too. Other people might understandably think it was annoying if they heard it.
I’d never had anyone push me to date, and while I couldn’t empathize much with the Commander’s words, I could definitely see it being annoying.
It was a situation that just screamed annoying. It was like being told to study constantly back in school, then having to answer questions about jobs, and finally marriage.
It might be a common story, but it still seemed annoying.
“Ah.”
“What’s up?”
“Umm…”
Thinking about it for a second, I remembered the Boss had said something like that to me before. She mentioned I needed to start thinking about dating or men.
Of course, I brushed it off back then and didn’t pursue it further, but I had heard similar words from the Commander.
“The Boss mentioned that too.”
“The Boss…? Why on earth?”
“Oh, um… you didn’t know?”
Thinking it over again, it made sense that he wouldn’t know. After all, our relationship wasn’t officially recognized on paper either.
Naturally, the Commander wouldn’t know. I knew the story, so that’s how I figured it out.
“Well… I don’t have parents.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, the Boss took me in when she was younger, and… that’s basically it.”
There was more to the story, but in short, that was it. It was a story from a long, long time ago.
Now that Lindera was in her twenties, it had been about 20 years since then.
“…..”
“I didn’t mean to make it heavy, but you didn’t know, Commander.”
There’s a reason why knowing can be a burden. The Commander genuinely didn’t know, which is exactly why this conversation happened.
It wasn’t that heavy of a topic to begin with, but perhaps I was taking it a bit too seriously.
The world isn’t completely peaceful either, and there’s bound to be orphans… I mean, it happens.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It was so long ago that I don’t really remember it anyway.”
“…..”
“Anyway, that’s what I wanted to say.”
The atmosphere had grown a bit heavy, but we had to keep the conversation rolling. We hadn’t just met up to talk casually after our chat yesterday; we were actually at a café in our district, just the two of us, to dive into a real discussion.
I was a bit interested in the chat too, and curious about a few things as well.
The Commander, who had a significant fanbase aboard the ship, was actually hearing about dating and relationships at home. I mean, it was really hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it.
“Ha… Anyway, it’s just exhausting. It’s not that I don’t like my parents, but it’s just too annoying.”
“That’s true. I also find it a bit annoying every time I hear it.”
“I guess it’s a relief that I’m not the only one hearing it.”
“…Just do what makes you comfortable.”
Well, since we were both victims of the same torment, it wasn’t a huge deal to share these thoughts. Plus, they were just thoughts; it wasn’t such a big issue anyway.
There was absolutely no reason for the Commander to be furious about feeling sympathy for me. I was kind of thinking along those lines too.
“So, there’s nobody to talk to about all this, so it feels rather frustrating, but I guess I’m lucky in a way.”
“But can’t you just date someone?”
Really.
He’s handsome and has a great personality, so why is he stuck in this dilemma?
I had no intention of dating a man, but the Commander ought to consider it.
“With looks like yours… I think you’re objectively good-looking, and there’s no reason for concern.”
“Really…?”
“Absolutely.”
Is he just incapable of self-reflection, or is he simply without any thoughts?
Well, given his track record of bizarre comments, I decided to just roll with the punches.
“Well, I’m not completely opposed to dating. It’s just that I don’t have a preference for men or anything like that.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Just that I don’t have anyone to date.”
“Ah…”
Hmmm.
Maybe he had too high standards, or was there something else going on?
I mulled it over, and with his looks, he could easily date three girls if he wanted.
“I’m not sure what your type is, but you might be aiming a bit too high.”
“I don’t really care about looks…”
People who always say that are usually the ones with the highest standards.
When I was a guy and surrounded by guys, I definitely noticed that.
Generally, among guys claiming they didn’t care about looks, they had way too high expectations.
Well, that applied to women too, obviously.
“I just want a girl who can understand my hobbies…”
“Does that mean gaming again?”
“Haha…”
Seeing him smile awkwardly, I wished I had suggested something like lemonade instead of coffee.
Ugh… he was just a frustrating Commander in many ways.
Of course, there weren’t many women who didn’t understand gaming as a hobby.
After all, it’s a game.
It’s not exactly your run-of-the-mill hobby to begin with.
While I, being a guy, could see it as a suitably average hobby, for many, it just didn’t register.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind, Commander.”
“Something wrong?”
“Usually, if there’s a super handsome guy, most women will overlook even the oddities in his hobbies.”
“Really…?”
“Yep, definitely.”
That was how it was with the people I knew.
I once had a friend whose hobby was fishing. Once he started dating, even if his girlfriend said she didn’t like it, he still went fishing.
The problem was, she hated fishing, yet they continued dating for over a year, which was utterly ludicrous.
If that guy wasn’t good-looking, they wouldn’t have lasted even a month.
“Sure, the girl won’t genuinely understand or engage in it, but…”
“I’d appreciate someone who can relate to my hobbies.”
“I think it’s true that the pool of people who understand gaming is pretty small.”
It was definitely a restrictive condition.
Not many people had the combination of good looks, great personality, and a love for games.
“So it’s complicated. My mother keeps pushing me to meet someone every time we talk, but finding a person like that isn’t easy.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
I sipped my coffee.
Even if the Commander was burdened by the annoyance, I couldn’t do anything to help.
He wasn’t going to just find someone he liked instantly.
In the end, it’d likely loop back to where it started.
“I still don’t have baldness, but on a serious note, I might eventually reach that stage.”
“Baldness…?”
Definitely not ideal.
I mean, he’s in his twenties and worried about going bald?
Even if the Commander ended up bald, he’d still be handsome, but it just wasn’t something to worry about yet.
Of course, just because you start losing hair doesn’t mean you go bald instantly, right?
“Is that really your concern?”
“Yep.”
“And you’d like your mother to stop nagging about it?”
“Absolutely.”
Through all this time spent with the Commander, I learned one thing.
That he had a surprisingly high number of unanswered questions for someone with his appearance.
By now, I was used to such comments and could brush them off easily.
But for the Commander, hearing his mother’s nagging really seemed to burden him.
That definitely wasn’t a good long-term situation to be in.
“…….”
One thought crossed my mind, but it felt a bit too crazy.
For good reason, it was a bit off.
While the Commander was under stress, the idea of getting involved with a guy was absolutely off the table for me.
Yeah, no matter how I thought about it…
“Ha…”
“…..”
“These days, I can’t even go on dates like I used to, thanks to work.”
“Dates?”
“Oh, back in the day, my mom would sometimes forcibly introduce girls to me.”
“Ah…”
That definitely sounds annoying.
It wouldn’t be easy to refuse a setup like that when you weren’t even interested.
“…So, if that’s the case…”
“What’s your point?”
Seriously, I felt a little off saying something like this, but seeing the Commander stressed while we were on a ship wasn’t good for anyone.
It was certain that the Commander would continue working on our ship for a long time.
He was capable, after all, so he was bound to stay with us for a long time.
In that situation, if he was bogged down by his mother’s nagging, causing stress that impacts his work efficiency—well, that wouldn’t be ideal.
“Just tell your mom you’re dating someone…”
“I don’t have anyone I’m dating; if I say that, it will get found out.”
“If she asks who it is… just say it’s me.”
“…What?”
I felt an overwhelming urge to curse.
But having my superior right there made it tough to voice my frustration.
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