“Linda?”
“……..”
As usual, I was tapping away at my keyboard in my office, minding my own business.
What I saw was data, and what I was typing was data too.
“Linda~?”
“……..”
Since new agents had just joined, I needed to assign them to positions and prepare for an external exploration.
So, there was more work than a few days ago, and I was diligently typing away since morning.
The Commander next to me wasn’t saying much either, focusing on paperwork, pondering which agents to assign to which positions.
It was odd for me to continue doing what I had been doing alone.
To help the Commander act more like a Commander, I decided to delegate those responsibilities to him this time.
“Linda!!”
“Yes? Midori…?”
Out of nowhere, Midori shouted loudly from the side, causing me to jump and respond involuntarily.
Why was she shouting so loudly when she was right next to me?
“Why are you acting so strange…?!”
“I was planning to keep talking to you, but you weren’t responding!”
“Oh… Is that so? My apologies.”
What was going on?
Even though Midori had been trying to talk to me, I couldn’t hear her.
Maybe I was too focused on work?
Something felt a bit off.
“Ugh… Are you ill or something? Why are you so out of it?!”
“I’m sorry. What do you need?”
“Oh, I just need some help!”
“…Sure, I’ll help.”
Despite being startled, I had work to do.
For a moment, I had been zoned out, but I wasn’t sick or anything out of the ordinary.
It was more like a strange feeling of inability to concentrate?
“Commander, why are you staring over here?”
“What do you mean…”
“…Not that I was staring.”
Suddenly, Midori said that, and the Commander replied.
He was looking this way?
Clueless, I had to turn my head towards the Commander.
“Did you see something?”
“…I didn’t see anything.”
“If that’s the case, then why did Midori just mention that..?”
I didn’t quite understand why the Commander had been looking this way, and curiosity made me ask.
I mean, it wasn’t that weird of a question.
I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t think of a reason for him to look this way…
Ah, maybe it was because I hadn’t heard Midori calling me.
That could very well be it.
In the end, Midori had shouted a bit louder– the Commander must have glanced over due to that.
“It’s nothing… really.”
“Oh… okay then. Midori?”
“Uh?”
“What’s the issue? I’m here to help.”
“Thank you! I’ll show you at my desk. It’s not too difficult… just the external exploration…”
Anyway, I stood up and went over to Midori’s desk to assist her.
Even though the Commander kept looking over here… well, technically at Midori and me, it was a bit distracting, but the important thing was work.
*
“Are you okay, Linda?”
“Yes? I’m fine, I think…?”
“You don’t seem fine. Have you got your period or something?”
“Definitely not…”
So today, was there something off with me?
I didn’t feel particularly weird.
Yet, Midori and Dolores kept asking me how I was.
What was going on?
Was I really that strange?
“Dolores, isn’t it peculiar? The Commander, too, both of you seem off, right?”
“Um…”
“Were you two weirdly eating something together yesterday without us?”
“We didn’t really eat anything…”
Even though we met up over the weekend, we didn’t eat anything substantial.
Just drinks and snacks?
We hadn’t shared a meal, just… that was it.
“…”
“…”
“Why are you staring like that?”
Suddenly, Midori and Dolores were giving me these intense looks, and I was questioning what was up.
Did I get something on my face or in my hair?
When I went to the bathroom while working and tied my hair back, I didn’t see anything wrong.
Since I had blonde hair, I might miss something, but I had been careful, so surely there was nothing.
“Linda… hmm…”
“Did you meet up with the Commander over the weekend?”
“Yes? Well… I went to the Commander’s room because I was bored. Why do you ask…?”
“Ha…”
Midori and Dolores sighed simultaneously.
Are they trying to shun me while the Commander was out for a breath of fresh air, all sitting on the sofa together?
Was it weird for me to be the only woman here… well, I guess I’m a woman too.
I’ve never had an all-female conversation like this before; it felt a bit awkward with them both sighing at me.
It was 2 to 1 in conversation, which made it even weirder.
“Why the long faces…?”
“What… um…”
“Midori, please stop sighing so much. I’m feeling it too…”
“Why are you suddenly asking me that?”
“What did you do in the Commander’s room over the weekend?”
I had no idea why they were asking me this, but I couldn’t answer anything that would cause a problem.
It really was nothing odd, and it would simply be me answering.
“I just hung out in the Commander’s room. We didn’t really eat anything; I just lay on the Commander’s bed, fiddling with my phone, and played some games.”
“……..”
“……..”
Yeah, there really was nothing special, hence the silence from Midori and Dolores.
There were genuinely no peculiar happenings; I had just wasted time in his room.
Even if I asked the Commander, I’d imagine… I’d imagine he’d say the same thing.
“Nothing happened.”
“Why the bed…?”
“Well, there weren’t any proper chairs, so I just sat on the bed… and surprisingly it was comfy lying down.”
“Wow…”
Dolores let out a slight exclamation.
Well, even I thought that was a good move.
Lying on the bed was definitely better than sitting on the floor when there were no chairs.
It was all the Commander’s fault for not having chairs around.
And he, even with one chair available, decided to come lie on the bed instead…
“Linda…?”
“…Yes.”
“Uh… what did the Commander say?”
“He just said to make myself comfortable. At first, the Commander lay down next to me, but… well… after that, nothing much happened.”
After he had come into the bed… he had unexpectedly acted weird then didn’t come back in again.
He simply sat in front of his desk chair.
“…I see.”
“Why the bed…?”
“I just laid down on the bed since there wasn’t a spot to sit.”
“Wow…”
What was going on?
I felt odd with Dolores suddenly impressed.
Why was she impressed, anyway?
“What’s up with that?”
“Oh… nothing. Just… um…”
“…Haha.”
“…?”
What was going on?
Suddenly, Dolores mumbled her words, and Midori was laughing in a really strange way.
Why were they not answering me properly after asking the questions?
What could this be…?
*
“Die!”
“You trash.”
“…….”
Linda’s temporarily vacated office was experiencing unusual violence.
Without knowing a thing, Linda had gone out to guide the newly arrived agents on the ship, leaving behind two agents including the Commander.
“You’re doing something strange to pure, clueless Linda!!”
With that, Midori lightly tapped the Commander’s shoulder.
Of course, her weak tapping was still a different kind of weak because she was an agent…
“…….”
“What on earth were you thinking going into the bed!?”
“Exactly. And didn’t you just say that you unexpectedly hugged her on the bed?”
Linda had skipped some parts, but both Midori and Dolores figured it all out and began to ‘interrogate’ the Commander.
Though it wasn’t really torture where nails and claws were pulled out, or food deprivation, the Commander couldn’t help but listen to their questions.
He knew well enough what he had done wrong.
That moment was truly a mistake, and he couldn’t even muster words to defend himself.
“Commander, even if it was Linda in that position… going to bed with her like that is…”
“I know…”
“Then why did you do it! You trash!”
-Slap!!!
“…That was a bit more painful than expected.”
But even so, the Commander wouldn’t make excuses.
He had unintentionally gotten into bed, and while listening to Linda, had suddenly hugged her.
Had it been a regular girl rather than Linda, he might have even considered making a report.
Of course, there’s no thought hovering over lying in a man’s bed and yapping otherwise if it wasn’t Linda.
“Commander… I think you should be a bit more cautious when dealing with Linda…”
“I think I’m being cautious enough…”
“More cautious is better.”
“…….”
Both Midori and Dolores had already acknowledged Linda’s innocence and idiocy.
After knowing her for over two months, it was inevitable.
Moreover, in the office, Linda retained more influence than the Commander, as she often had a lot of work.
“Linda is…”
“Innocent…?”
“Dim-witted.”
“Hey, she’s smart! She does her job remarkably well. That doesn’t mean she’s dim-witted!”
Innocence and stupidity are a razor-thin line, and that’s precisely Linda’s type.
Already within the working members in the office, it seemed they thought that despite her doing her job well, Linda had many dim-witted aspects.
“At any rate… while she may act like that quite often… I think the Commander puts up with it pretty well…”
“Isn’t that enough already? Even halting midway that day took significant effort…”
“Commander!!!”
“…Alright, I get it.”
The Commander’s words weren’t completely off, but since Linda held a higher rank in the office, it really didn’t sway.
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