The sound of plates and spoons clinking quietly reached my ears.
Since they were using forks or knives to eat the food on their plates.
Of course, it was only the two of them, while I was just eating soup.
I like steak too, but Dolores insisted I just have soup, so I had no choice.
“…I want to eat steak too.”
“Ah.”
“No, aside from being sick, isn’t it okay to eat? Honestly, just eating warm soup and stew is tough.”
“You have to eat something warm to recover when you’re not feeling well. How many times do I have to tell you?”
But really, wouldn’t it be better to eat some meat instead of just soup?
Sure, some stew came out, and I ate a bit of meat from that, but what I really wanted was to eat steak, not stew.
Of course, the more she pushed it, the more I unconsciously couldn’t order steak.
I originally wanted to order it, though.
“Commander, does it suit your taste?”
“It’s good. It’s different from Soan’s food, and it’s delicious.”
“Ufufu… then that’s a relief. Lindera, how about you? The soup is alright, yes?”
As she said that, Dolores shifted her gaze towards me.
What did she mean by that?
Was she truly asking if it’s delicious and wanting my taste evaluation?
Or was it a subtle trick?
“It’s delicious.”
“Then it’s a relief. I’d like you to have steak or something else if possible, but your health isn’t great, right?”
“…Thank you for your concern.”
“Ufufu.”
Hmm.
I felt a bit annoyed.
Was it because I thought she wasn’t that bad until just a moment ago?
Continuing with this, it really didn’t sit well with me.
“Uh, if you really want to eat meat, just let me know.”
“Yes?”
“Of course! It’s not like I’m giving you a lot, just a piece or so!”
“…Huh?”
What on earth was she saying now?
Just a moment ago, she told me not to eat meat, and now she’s saying this.
It seemed like she was definitely not normal.
I wouldn’t say she had some weird mental illness, but most of the agents on our ship seemed odd.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any reason for this.
“Just eating soup and stew won’t do, right? That restaurant has delicious options too, but, um… don’t steal the Commander’s meat, I mean to say I’ll give you some!”
“Ah…”
“Did you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Hmm… So she was keeping an eye on me.
First worried about me before eating, then suddenly keeping an eye on me.
Did I really need to be watched so closely, as if I were some other agent?
If anything, it would be more appropriate to keep an eye on Soan or the other agents, not a totally normal guy like me.
Why was she watching out for me, an ordinary human?
“Then can you give me just one piece…?”
Anyway, I wanted to eat meat, so I said that.
My pride wasn’t as important as meat.
“You don’t need to give me much. Just one piece.”
If I was going to eat a lot of meat, I wouldn’t have even come to a restaurant like this in the first place.
Today, just tasting the meat would suffice to keep me going.
Dolores was right; I really wasn’t feeling well.
Period cramps, hangovers…
It was just a list of discomfort.
“You’re lucky, Commander. You can easily enjoy delicious meat.”
“Will one piece satisfy you?”
“No, I mean, someone like me who’s feeling unwell can’t eat meat, right? Isn’t that right, Dolores?”
“That’s right…?”
The Commander said he’d give it to me, but I politely declined.
Well, the maid said that, so I figured there must have been a reasonable reason.
Plus, since I was eating warm soup, my lower abdomen felt a bit better than before.
It seemed to be working somewhat.
“So, it’s fine.”
Really.
Seeing Dolores cutting a piece of steak actually made me feel satisfied.
I wasn’t the type to eat a lot anyway, so just eating a reasonable amount of soup would surely fill me up.
“…Here.”
“Thank you. It’s not my first time having meat… well, it’s in the stew, so…”
“Ah… Here, it’s just one piece, but eat up.”
“Thank you.”
That said, I wasn’t the sort to refuse a gift.
*
After the commander temporarily disappeared to the bathroom, I looked at the empty soup bowl and thought it wasn’t so bad.
It was actually better than I expected in terms of taste.
I felt a bit disappointed because it was soup, but the flavor was definitely good.
Because of that, I started wanting to try the other menus at this place.
“…Lindera.”
“Yes?”
In a situation where it was just the two of us, Dolores called me.
It felt like it was the first time she talked to me when we were alone, but surely that was just an illusion.
It was rare for it to be just us two anyway.
“…Never mind.”
“Yes?”
“I had something to say, but you’re not feeling well, right?”
“That is true, but…?”
“That’s why I just decided not to.”
What was she going to say?
I thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind.
There might be some work-related talk, but that had already been solved.
Because I had already done my job well during the weekdays, there was no need to discuss work-related topics.
“Really… Ha…”
Dolores let out a deep sigh as if feeling frustrated.
What could possibly be bothering her?
Hmm.
I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t pinpoint what was making her uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“…No. Is your health worse? You’re not feeling worse, are you?”
“I’m okay…? At least it seems like eating something has made my hangover a little better.”
“Why do you even have a hangover? Did you drink yesterday… Oh…”
Dolores sighed as if realizing something.
Well, I had casually suggested eating meat with the Commander before.
That must have come to her mind.
Since I had already mentioned it in the office, it wasn’t surprising.
“…Did you drink together?”
“The Commander can’t drink much, so I was the only one who drank.”
“I see…”
Well… It was a bit embarrassing, but I had to answer her questions.
Besides, drinking wasn’t a huge problem by itself.
The real issue stemmed from what happened afterward, of course.
But I had absolutely no intention of talking about that.
That was genuinely embarrassing.
“…Just a possibility.”
“?”
“I’m just asking because it’s a real possibility… are you dating the Commander?”
“…What?”
Suddenly, what nonsense was this?
Could it be that my lie to the Commander’s mother spread somewhere?
No, that couldn’t be it.
The Commander’s mother wasn’t that close to the agents, so there was no reason for Dolores to say such a thing.
“What the heck does that mean…? Am I dating the Commander?”
“Are you two dating?”
“…Why on earth would you ask that suddenly?”
I couldn’t help but ask why she was so curious because I genuinely didn’t understand.
Why?
“Uh… isn’t it true you’re dating? You’ve been together so much in the office, and whenever you go out for lunch, you’re always sitting next to each other…?”
“That’s just because I’m the Vice Commander, okay?”
“Then why did you talk to the Commander’s mother and keep going out together?”
“Those things definitely weren’t because we were dating.”
Why was this leading to the conclusion that the Commander and I were dating?
It was a bit of a stretch to think a combined outing and a few conversations with the mother would mean anything romantic, right?
I hadn’t even had a single date.
“…How do you feel about the Commander?”
“You mean the Commander?”
Why the sudden interest?
What kind of conclusion did she want to reach by asking me this?
I tried to figure out Dolores’ intentions, but honestly, I didn’t know.
If I said I didn’t think anything of it, would she assume I wanted to date the Commander or something?
Um… that might be a problem.
“I just think he’s a fairly good superior.”
“No, I don’t mean that… I mean, in a romantic sense.”
“He’s a man. Tall, good-looking… objectively handsome. Also, quite capable.”
That was a genuinely objective evaluation.
Because that was the truth.
At first, to be honest, I felt a bit envious when I saw him, but I also didn’t expect to turn back to being a man or return to my previous self.
I was able to evaluate the Commander without any biases.
Unlike the other agents who might see him as some perfect alpha male infatuated with women, he definitely didn’t fit that mold.
Ever since we started playing games together… he’d never looked like that.
My mental image of an alpha male was someone who only played famous online games and spent all his time with women, right?
But the Commander was nothing like that, making it impossible for me to think otherwise.
“With someone like that…”
“Is there a problem…?”
“If the Commander were to date someone… what do you think would happen?”
“Who are you referring to?”
When she said ‘someone,’ who could that someone possibly be?
An ordinary woman?
An agent?
A superior female officer of a higher rank in the same company?
“…Someone who can’t be specifically identified.”
“Hmm… First, you need to find out if the person he’s dating is truly a good one.”
“……”
“If the Commander ends up in a messy relationship that interferes with his work, that would be an issue, right?”
That was truly the case.
No matter how he dated, he needed to be with someone decent.
Someone respectable, who’d never cause problems while the Commander was working on the ship, and would understand if an operation ran late.
It was a bit of a difficult combination, but still a possibility that exists in the world.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Haha… yes, that’s true. Indeed, Lindera, you really seem to take care of the Commander well.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Surely, I realized Dolores was a surprisingly good person.
Though she suddenly asked a bunch of odd questions, she seemed to evaluate me quite objectively, right?
It wasn’t flattery that caused her to say that but rather genuine sentiment.
Besides, something changed… after the Commander returned from the bathroom, Dolores didn’t cling to him and blurt out weird things like before.
Perhaps I had been thinking too oddly about it all along.
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