LIGHTNOVELSTORY It didn’t take long for a new agent to join the office.
After all, we had a decent amount of money saved up, so recruiting one new agent wasn’t too difficult.
“Hi everyone, I’m Dolores, and I’ll be working with the Commander in the office starting today. Please treat me well!”
“Oong…”
“Hmm.”
It was a bit awkward to see a new woman greeting us in the office.
Very awkward, actually.
We had an agent named Dirtystone before, but back then, she didn’t really look like a woman, so I didn’t notice.
“Where should I sit?”
“You can use the seat over there on the right. If you have any discomfort, just let me know.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
She looked like she was wearing a maid outfit… Yeah, it felt like that.
Honestly, I didn’t understand why she was wearing it, but the fact that agents usually dressed normally was even weirder.
So, I decided it was fine for her to work in a maid outfit.
Considering that the nun outfit she wore before was way more provocative than any real nun’s outfits, it shouldn’t matter.
“Dolores! Can you come over here for a second?”
“Yes, what’s up?”
“I’ll give you a quick overview of the office. Since it’s my first time working on the ship too… I’ll help you as a senior!”
Midori called Dolores and started chatting away.
Honestly, it was something you could easily pick up over time, but since Midori was so enthusiastic about helping, I just let it be.
It wasn’t a bad thing; in fact, it was a nice gesture.
Plus, I was busy reorganizing the workloads of the office staff, so I had my hands full.
“Hmm…”
“Why are you looking at Dolores like that?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just… a little curious since she’s a new agent.”
“Oh.”
Well, I suppose that was understandable.
After all, she was a stunning silver-haired beauty in a maid outfit.
I, too, felt a bit taken aback.
Sure, the other agents were intriguing as well, but seeing a maid outfit in an office… that was a different story, right?
Midori had silver hair too, but Dolores’s hair was shinier, giving off a special glitter.
“Is that your type?”
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
“She’s pretty. I mean… it would be nice to be with someone that beautiful.”
“Is liking girls your type…?”
“Excuse me?”
What’s with the sudden questions?
Why was he asking about my sexual preferences?
But I couldn’t easily respond to that question.
After all… I was in a woman’s body now, right?
If it were the old me, I would have naturally said yes to that pointless question, but now it felt off.
“Hmm… That’s probably not the case.”
My belief was that women liked men, and men liked women.
We were moving toward a more open-minded world when it came to various sexual preferences, but that still felt the most normal.
Well, I was a guy, so I didn’t fit into either side now.
“What’s with that ambiguous response?”
“Exactly.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure either.
Being a girl made it feel strange to date girls like before.
I also didn’t even have the urge to do so.
But thinking about dating guys felt just as weird.
“Well, there’s no problem with it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m saying you don’t need to worry about it.”
I replied and placed a stack of papers on one side of the Commander’s desk.
I’d already finished distributing today’s tasks, after all.
“Here’s today’s work. Let’s wrap it up before we leave.”
“…Shouldn’t I be the one doing this normally?”
“How about you wait until you can do this better than I do before saying that?”
“…I see…”
I gave the Commander fewer documents than usual.
After all, a new agent had joined, and I needed to distribute tasks to her as well.
Of course, it wasn’t challenging work; it just required filling out some basic documents.
If I typed a bit alongside other materials, that should be easy work, right?
“Dolores, here’s your task for today. I’ll also give you the manual, but if you find anything difficult, feel free to ask me or Midori.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Linhera! What about me? I’m getting less work too, right?”
“Hmm… Do you actually want more?”
“Not at all!?”
I chuckled a little at Midori’s reaction.
After all, I had no intention of giving her extra work either.
I had only made that comment jokingly, but she reacted so well that it was amusing.
While Midori wasn’t exactly the best at her job, she certainly had the gift of lifting the atmosphere.
Despite how tired she looked from work, it would definitely be a shame to take Midori out of the office.
The Commander right behind was also smiling.
“Commander?”
“What is it, Dolores?”
“This part is a bit tricky for me; can you help me?”
“…?”
Just then, as I was passing today’s tasks to Midori, I suddenly heard a noise from behind.
I turned a bit and saw Dolores asking the Commander about something around my desk in particular.
“Dolores? The Commander is also quite inexperienced with work just like you. It might be better to ask either me or Midori.”
“Oh, is that right? Since you were both talking, I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s your first day, so take your time getting familiar with things.”
After all, it wasn’t like I had brought her over with a huge amount of money; I recruited her for a reasonable price.
Though I hadn’t pulled her from a game, I assumed she was probably a 4-star agent… one with decent performance, at that.
It should be sufficient for her to just help with the Commander and Midori’s work a bit.
*
“What kind of food does the Commander like? I saw you having steak for lunch.”
“Well, I like all kinds of food that are decent to eat. I wasn’t in a position to be picky in the past.”
“Oh really? You look like you’d typically only eat those kinds of foods. It’s a bit surprising.”
“……”
What’s this?
After lunch, and before the afternoon work hours began.
It was just a simple and unremarkable time spent relaxing comfortably in the office.
Because of that, I was sitting at my desk, while Midori was enjoying a game from hers.
“By the way, what do you do on weekends? I enjoy driving around or reading books.”
“I just relax in my room. Why are you asking?”
“Oh, just curious? Now that we’ll be working together, I’d like to know more about you.”
Unlike us, the Commander and Dolores were chatting eagerly.
And they were sitting pretty close together.
The Commander’s arm was literally almost touching her chest, and he seemed oblivious as he stayed still.
It felt… strangely uncomfortable to watch.
“Hmm.”
“By the way, do you do anything after work?”
“Not really different from weekends. I just spend my time normally at home.”
“Wow… you seem really diligent. I can’t help but feel jealous since I can’t do the same.”
What’s the jealousy about?
I really wondered what was so “diligent.”
After all, I was the one waking him up every morning because he couldn’t get up.
I didn’t understand why Dolores was lavishing compliments on the Commander like that.
It really didn’t make any sense to me.
“Hmm…”
Do they really need to sit that close?
I couldn’t tell.
If the Commander wasn’t deaf, there’d be no real reason for them to be sitting like that… right?
“By the way, I’ve heard the Commander is quite handsome, but seeing him in person, wow, he’s really good-looking, isn’t he?”
“Thanks for the compliment. You’re pretty too.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that before, so… I’m really happy to hear that.”
“……”
What the hell are they talking about?
Honestly, I found it hard to believe.
I didn’t even know why I was listening to that conversation.
“Tsk.”
I stood up from my seat.
After all, lunch break was still ongoing, and I didn’t want to keep seeing that scene.
Who would want to watch their boss flirt with a coworker during lunch?
So, I decided to head outside.
At least if I went outside, I wouldn’t have to watch that nonsense.
*
Tap-tap-tap…
“Commander, that’s not how you do it.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Ugh… Really. When do you think you’ll be able to handle this on your own? Since Dolores sat next to you, I feel like my managing duties have doubled.”
I noticed him making a mistake while working.
After all, I was seated right next to him, so everything was visible.
“Well, you’re my vice commander, aren’t you? Isn’t it your job to help me with these things?”
“That’s… true.”
It wasn’t wrong.
He was indeed my vice commander.
“So, please make an effort to reduce my workload a little.”
“Understood. Got it. By the way, it’s quite comfortable sitting next to you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s convenient for me to provide feedback when mistakes happen while working. And you’re definitely a helpful vice commander.”
“…Even if you say that, it won’t change the workload.”
I was caught off guard by the sudden compliment and didn’t know how to respond.
Just do your job better.
I didn’t know why he was changing his tone suddenly, but helping him do his job well was my responsibility.
Let’s put an end to the strange chit-chat during lunchtime and just focus on work like this.
“Haha, I know that.”
“Speaking of which, Commander, here… another mistake here.”
“Oh, right. I got distracted and made a mistake.”
“Well, you’re the vice commander. Mistakes can be fixed slowly.”
There was no need to show immense improvement right away.
As long as he could gradually get better, that would be enough.
He wasn’t absolutely useless and was actually doing okay with his work, so he would be around to keep working here.
Unless something major happened, I’d also be working here peacefully.
So, I hoped he wouldn’t end up getting into any trouble with the agents.
“Hmm…”