NOVEL NEXT WORLD To put it bluntly, the cleanup by the 2nd Squad wasn’t as bad as I expected.
In fact, it was a simple task, so I didn’t worry much, but the results were better than I’d anticipated.
Instead of moving the ship like before, we just used a self-driving car, and once we arrived, we handled the contaminated entities and mined the Krytianium ore. That was it.
“…….”
It wasn’t a bad outcome, but it was just one of those days when everything was giving me a headache.
I spent a few days assisting the 2nd Squad with their cleanup, but that wasn’t the reason for my stress.
“Ha….”
What am I supposed to do?
It’s just that I was overly worried about the Commander suddenly asking me to free up my weekend.
I seriously couldn’t comprehend why he tossed that request at me out of nowhere.
According to him, it was to help me not spend the weekend in a boring way.
He claimed it was about building rapport.
Honestly, I didn’t really get it.
Since we weren’t exactly close, it seemed odd for him to be concerned about me just like that.
Is he seriously trying to catch me off guard?
Compared to the agents, sure, he was weaker physically, and he was purely a subordinate.
Unlike the agents, his position made resistance practically impossible.
No matter if the Commander wasn’t an agent, he couldn’t possibly overpower me as a man with a woman’s body.
“No… that can’t be the case. If he had such thoughts, he would have definitely done something weird when he was drunk last time.”
Yeah.
Even I had to admit that was a bit of a stretch.
Just because I became a woman doesn’t mean I should jump to conclusions.
Logically, it didn’t add up.
Besides, didn’t the Commander have to go through some personality test before assuming his position?
Well, I didn’t know the exact details of the method, so I couldn’t be sure.
Common sense suggested that a Commander wouldn’t be the kind of person who was crazy about women.
“Right… let’s just keep this reasonable. I’m probably just overthinking this.”
Saying that to myself, I lightly slapped my cheek.
It didn’t hurt; it was just enough to snap me back to reality.
Tomorrow was the weekend, and it seemed even more intense since I would be hanging out with the Commander.
Of course, that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried at all.
But still, I had to worry in moderation.
“What is he seriously thinking?”
No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t figure out the real reason behind all this.
It couldn’t possibly be for genuine friendship or to make me happy.
There was absolutely no way that could be true.
No matter how much I thought about it… I just didn’t understand.
*
“…You’re looking different from usual.”
“I think so too.”
I had that conversation with the Commander right in front of my personal room.
In fact, this was the first time we’d met so close to my personal room.
Up until now, I had always gone to his personal room.
“I appreciate you coming to my personal room every morning.”
“It’s nothing. That’s my job, after all.”
“True, but doesn’t it get tiresome to always do that in the morning?”
The Commander came to my personal room to meet me, which was unusual.
Of course, I had prepared myself, so I was ready to step outside.
So there was no need to go into my room.
I had no intention of inviting him inside at all.
Oh, and for the record, I was obviously wearing a shirt.
I had no other clothes available, and the only alternatives were jerseys, camisoles, and pajamas.
So I had no choice but to stick with the shirt.
At least it was a relief that I had plenty of formal pants.
“Anyway, let’s move. We can’t just stay here.”
“Do as you please.”
“Sure, I’ll do as I please.”
“…….”
I couldn’t tell what was so amusing that he laughed at everything I said.
He wasn’t bursting out laughing, but he was smiling almost mischievously.
Anyway, I started walking slowly, following the Commander.
Of course, I had no clue where we were going.
“….”
“….”
We walked quietly without saying a word.
I wasn’t much of a talker, and neither was the Commander, so it kind of made sense.
Well, he was a bit chatty the other day when he told me to free up my schedule.
For now, we were just walking without talking.
However… honestly, staying silent was becoming awkward for me.
“Commander.”
“What’s up?”
“Where exactly are we going? Meeting up like this on a weekend is strange.”
“It’s nothing much. I’m just heading to my room.”
“…Huh?”
My expression instantly scrunched up.
I tried to hold it back, but that was hard to ignore, given the context.
After all, asking me to meet on the weekend just meant going to his room.
It was entirely different from waking me up during the weekdays for work.
Today was a weekday, and this was definitely not about waking me up.
“What on earth does that mean? Why would I be going to your personal room right now….”
“You spend your weekends so boringly. If I hadn’t called you, you would’ve just sat in a cafe working all day anyway.”
“What does that have to do with going to your personal room? Answer me properly.”
I said it seriously.
I honestly believed he couldn’t possibly be the kind of person to invite me for some weird reason, then suddenly he threw this out.
Did he seriously think of bringing me here for such a purpose?
“Are you planning to do something strange by bringing me to your room?”
“As I said before, there’s no way that would happen.”
“Then why suggest going to your personal room?”
“…….”
The Commander didn’t answer.
But at the same time, he didn’t avoid my gaze.
He was staring back at me without saying anything.
Was he unwilling to answer?
If that’s the case, why?
The reason was pretty straightforward.
There was definitely something he didn’t want to divulge.
“Answer me.”
“Ha… it’s a bit awkward to say this, but…”
“…?”
“It’s definitely a strange situation. So let me just tell you.”
What on earth could be the reason for bringing me to his room?
Is he going to suddenly attack me?
Could that truly be his intention?
“Games.”
“Pardon?”
“I thought it’d be nice to play some games together, so I called you.”
“…What?”
Did I hear that right?
I momentarily doubted my sanity.
Games? Why on earth would he suggest playing games… oh.
Come to think of it, one of the reasons he called me was that he thought I was wasting my weekends.
I had completely forgotten about that; it had slipped my mind.
“Are you serious?”
“I am. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“……”
Could that really be true?
I don’t know.
First impression-wise, it didn’t look like a lie.
Well, a face alone can’t reveal everything.
“Ha… let’s just go then. If you try anything strange, I’ll call for help immediately.”
“I truly won’t. You can stop worrying about that. I know you’re lovely, but I’m not that kind of scoundrel to do that to a subordinate.”
“……Okay.”
With that, I had nothing more to say.
But still… isn’t it only natural to be suspicious?
Or maybe… not?
*
“….”
“First, sit somewhere comfortable. We’re going to play anyway, no need to be uncomfortable.”
“Okay. I will.”
We entered his personal room.
Unlike the usual mornings when I just woke him up, this time, I was here to hang out.
Anyway, as the Commander said, I sat in one of the chairs inside the room.
Though he said to relax, it was quite hard to feel at ease in the personal space of my superior.
“Hmm….”
The Commander took something from the fridge and began pouring it into a cup.
It was probably water.
It didn’t seem like he’d put any weird substances in it, so I didn’t pay it much mind.
Anyway, I turned my gaze from the Commander to inspect the room.
Honestly, the sight of the room was pretty ordinary.
Perhaps too simple for someone in his position.
There was a computer, a bed, a TV, a fridge, a bathroom… you know, the usual stuff.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh.”
“Go ahead and drink some water. You don’t usually drink tea or coffee…. I know you don’t like caffeine, but it’s still good to hydrate.”
“Thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude as I took the cup filled with water.
The Commander handed me the water, then pulled a chair closer to me and sat down.
We weren’t facing each other directly; we were just sitting close.
Speaking of games.
The fact that he took me here to play games struck me as suspicious for several reasons.
I mean, he didn’t seem like the type to enjoy them.
If he enjoyed anything, it was likely something more hedonistic.
“By the way, I think you’ve been to my personal room more than anyone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just couldn’t think of anything else to say. But it’s actually true.”
Well, that’s because I came here every day to wake him up.
So, it was just common sense.
“Anyway, do you enjoy games?”
“I haven’t played much.”
That was me speaking as Lindera.
The old me hadn’t been obsessed with games, but I had definitely encountered them enough.
After all, most of what kids these days enjoy consists of games.
“If that’s the case, I’ll just have to teach you one step at a time. In business, you always taught me, after all….”
“…?”
“I’m somewhat an expert in this stuff.”
The Commander handed me a gamepad or something and said that.
I had never touched one, but I was familiar with the concept of a gamepad.
But really… he genuinely meant to play games, didn’t he?
Of course, I had kept that in mind about coming here, but that didn’t make my suspicions go away.
Really.