LIGHTNOVELSTORY “Ugh….”
“Midori, what’s wrong?”
“Writing the operation report after a long time is tough, I guess.”
Hmm. It was definitely that kind of level.
Unlike other tasks, the operation report required a lot more writing than usual.
Well, I was just managing, though.
“That’s not it!?”
“Then why? Are you at least writing the operation report well?”
“Ugh, that’s not it either!”
“?”
What is she trying to say?
Midori’s state had been off for a while, but today seemed worse.
She probably hadn’t taken her medication.
Of course, I wasn’t sure if there was medicine she needed to take.
“Why are you two lounging around like that!?”
“Huh?”
“Have you finished all your work!? Why are you sitting comfortably on the sofa when you haven’t even done everything!?”
Midori shouted loudly at us.
Commander and I were sitting on the sofa.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned to sit down, but the office chair was surprisingly uncomfortable, so I plopped down.
I had been placed here to sit anyway, and it was cozy, so I stayed seated.
Plus, the plushness offered a bit of stability, right?
“I’ve finished, though?”
“The remaining work can wait until the afternoon.”
“Ugh!!!”
Since I had finished all my work, there was no problem sitting like this.
I wouldn’t just lay on the sofa and chill if I hadn’t done anything.
Plus, I had already done part of the operation report last Sunday, so I got it done quicker.
“Commander.”
“What is it?”
“Once you finish your coffee, let’s get back to work.”
“…I can finish it by afternoon, you know?”
I sipped my coffee, saying that.
The Commander gave me a slightly grumpy look, but it didn’t sway me.
If they were ordinary agents, they might easily be fooled by that expression.
But I had no intention of falling for it.
I wasn’t dumb enough to fall for a guy’s fake pout.
“You need to finish quick so both Midori and I can clock out.”
“Ah!!!” Midori reacted angrily to my words.
Perhaps she had forgotten in the middle of all the work.
As I said before, if we finished all our tasks, we could leave earlier than usual.
So, it was crucial for the Commander to work hard.
“And if other agents come in and see us chilling, that wouldn’t look good, would it?”
I smiled while giving a bit of a threat.
The Commander was one to care about his image.
Especially how he appeared to the agents, and he had to take that into account.
“…Fine.”
“Yay! Joining the working comrades!”
“Heh.”
This was fun.
Maybe it was because we weren’t actually working?
The sight of him trudging back to his desk was a bit funny.
And Midori laughing at him was amusing too.
Wasn’t this all possible because we had already finished all our work?
Of course, I had come in and started working right away, and gave it my all.
“Oh dear.”
For some reason, I sipped my coffee while comfortably reclining on the somewhat empty sofa.
In fact, having furniture like a sofa in the office was something we could have done a long time ago.
After all, it was even a system available in the game, and there was no reason we couldn’t do it in reality.
Yet, the reason we just now got the sofa was simple.
I just… forgot.
“Oh dear.”
Well, that happens.
*
In fact, it wasn’t just the sofa I added to the personal room.
In the game Catharsis, you could buy skins, but you could also acquire them through a gacha system.
Of course, not every time you did a gacha would you get a skin; you’d get various things like player icons, furniture, backgrounds, and more.
You’d always get at least one on your 10th gacha pull, but there was no guarantee you’d get a good skin.
But now that it was reality, the skin gacha was practically gone, and you had to buy everything with cash.
So, I had just forgotten and could have easily bought the sofa from the headquarters’ homepage.
If I hadn’t forgotten, I would have decorated the ship with furniture immediately after recruiting an agent.
– Bzzzz~
“Ah….”
Anyway, a bit late, but I finally set up the coffee machine in the office.
Finally!
– Beep!
“It’s all set. You can try it first.”
It wasn’t coffee I brewed myself, but it was still probably better than what you get at a cafe, even if it’s a bit disappointing.
Because it was just coffee mix, after all.
Naturally, it wouldn’t have the taste or aroma!
“The aroma is definitely nice.”
“Well, the one you were drinking before was instant, right? The flavor is on a whole different level.”
“Is it really that good?”
“Huh?”
I was about to make the Commander taste the brewed coffee when suddenly I got questioned.
What’s up with that?
Doesn’t he want to drink it?
“You seem to be in a good mood today.”
“Really? I didn’t think I was particularly any different.”
I hadn’t noticed that myself.
I was just focused on using the coffee machine, nothing more.
“Well, you look good since you’re smiling.”
“Stop with the weird comments and just drink the coffee. If it’s bad, I’ll get a different product.”
Suddenly, the compliments came.
While compliments are supposed to make even whales dance, I felt a bit good, but the coffee was the priority.
I wanted to drink first, but it was fine.
I had to handle these things well.
If I managed these aspects well, I might receive bonuses next time.
“Ah….”
The Commander took a sip of the coffee I handed him.
Honestly, if it didn’t taste good, I was thinking of swapping it out for another product, but that was highly unlikely.
After all, this was the third most expensive product, right?
I had brought several coffee machines, but this one was the third most expensive.
In game terms, even at the lowest, this would probably be a 4-star coffee machine, right?
“How is it?”
“It’s good. At least compared to the coffee mix we had until now, it’s definitely better.”
“Well, it’s expensive, after all.”
Anything expensive usually had a price that matched its quality.
Just like how in gacha, 5-star items were always better than 3 or 4-star ones.
And just like how a fancy chair is better for your back than a cheap wooden one.
“But will we still use paper cups?”
“Huh?”
Since only three of us used the office, wasn’t it a good opportunity to switch to better cups…?”
“No way.”
I immediately cut off the Commander’s pointless statement.
Well…
“Paper cups are cheaper.”
Besides, the cup didn’t even matter.
A cup was merely a vessel for holding coffee; there was really no need to buy a new one.
Even if a new cup were to be bought, there was another problem attached to it.
“And where would we wash the dishes? I’m not going to go all the way to the cafeteria just to wash the cups we use.”
“….”
“It seems the Commander lacks in household matters. Let me handle this side.”
Well, he probably thought it was a good suggestion.
But still, I thought it wasn’t necessary.
Sure, regular cups would maintain the warmth of the coffee better and wouldn’t be as hot to hold.
But I still had my reservations.
It seemed the downsides of paper cups outweighed the advantages.
“Ha….”
“Why are you sighing again, Midori? Come over here and have some coffee.”
“No… I don’t think I can. I feel so blocked up… I think I need to go outside and buy some soda….”
With that, she trudged out.
What’s with her?
It’s been a while since lunch, so why is she acting like this?
Today’s lunch wasn’t a particularly heavy menu, after all.
“Hmm… Lindera?”
“Yes?”
“How about we prepare some other drinks besides coffee in the office?”
“That sounds necessary.”
Coffee is great for working, but it seemed a bit much to only have coffee here.
I recalled Midori just mentioning feeling blocked up.
Sodas might not be a bad idea, even though alcohol was a no-go, right?
“Commander, do you need anything else? If you need material for your personal room, I can order it.”
After all, setting up the office involved what was needed for the ship.
I could get a small discount, and this was the first time the Commander was doing this job, so he was doing pretty well for a Commander who was just a gamer.
“Games are a no-go, but if it’s something we can get from headquarters, I’ll order it.”
This was pretty much a reward.
Working hard and progressing, buying a few pieces of furniture wouldn’t be too much trouble.
Of course, if it were for personal use, I’d need to buy it with my own money without any discounts.
But he wasn’t the kind of guy who would be stingy about even that.
*
“Hmm.”
I was alone in my room, thinking seriously.
Naturally, since no one had ever come to my room, I was by myself.
“Hmm.”
Today I was really pondering seriously.
And it was only natural since it was truly an important issue.
I hadn’t thought it through much in the past, but now I simply couldn’t hold back.
“I really need to buy new underwear.”
After finishing work today, I looked at the container holding my old underwear and suddenly thought of this.
My underwear was way too revealing.
Sports bras were too scanty, and I had a bunch of weird ones.
Did the original Lindera have a more mature taste in underwear?
Well, given her figure, I could understand it, but I couldn’t wear these.
“What’s with all this lingerie?”
It wasn’t even typical lingerie; most of it was sexy lingerie.
Though the names were somewhat similar, I wouldn’t feel confident wearing that around.
“…Wait a minute.”
I had a total of four sports bras.
The one I was currently wearing.
One I wore the day before and put in the laundry basket, one that had stretched out and went in the trash, and one that was slightly mismatched in size.
Until now, I’d been wearing mismatched sizes and stretched ones without really caring.
After all, I hadn’t paid much attention to underwear until now, thinking anything basic and not flashy would do.
“…This is bad.”
But the problem was, the one I was wearing was getting old, and the one in the laundry remained unwashed, while the undersized one was uncomfortable and hurt.
The only thing left in my drawer was the stretched-out one in the trash.
“…Oh.”
This is a problem.