Lost in thought, Kanata ponders. Then he awakens to a hellish scene. Where is tranquility?
In my half-sleep, I ponder.
…Am I human? Or a clone…?
Thinking about it won’t give me an answer… The only thing I know is that I want to be myself.
I don’t know where I’ll die, but… I want to be myself until the very end.
…Something’s on my chest. It must be Lilith again!
No matter how many times I tell her, she sneaks into my bed. That’s why the suspicion of me being a lolicon won’t go away!
I start the alarm app and awaken my consciousness.
Alright, it’s lecture time!
I open my eyes wide and start lecturing the head on my chest… Huh!? Black hair? Did you dye it?
No, no, your hair is short too! This isn’t Lilith!
“…Mmmph… Morning…”
“Yes, good morning. …Natsume, why are you sleeping in my bed?”
“?? A bed is for sleeping. What’s so strange about that?”
That’s true. A bed is for sleeping. There’s nothing strange about… wait, that’s not how it works! A-and!
“You’re not even wearing underwear!”
“…This is new, does it suit me?”
It suits you so well in light blue sports bra and pants, but that’s not the point!
“What are you so noisy about in the morning…!!”
…Lilith was next to me too?! Why are three of us sleeping in a single bed!
“Natsume! Where did you come from!”
Even Lilith, who’s weak to mornings due to her low blood pressure, woke up instantly apparently.
“…Where from… from over there.”
Where Natsume points, there’s a hole in the wall, small enough for a human to crawl through.
Are you Yotsuya from Mezon Ikkoku!
“Hey! Why did you make a hole!”
“…Why? I made it with a high-frequency vibration knife. The construction was cheap, so it was easy.”
…Our conversation is completely mismatched.
“I’m not asking for the tool! I’m asking for the reason!”
The moment Natsume opened her mouth, the door was kicked down with a blow! What is it now!
“Captain! Are you alright!”
“Just now, Shion’s head was hit by the doorknob she kicked down. It hurts a lot.”
My luck, the unlucky man this morning, seems to be as strong as ever.
Shion, who completely ignored my report of damage, grabbed Natsume and Lilith and made them sit in front of the low table.
“You two! What do you think you’re doing!”
Shion’s lecture time began, but Natsume yawned sleepily, and Lilith started cleaning her ears with an ear pick made from her hair.
Seeing their unrepentant attitudes, Shion’s golden hair stood on end like a Saiyan.
“Listen up! I won’t allow this kind of thing from now on! My room is next door, so I’ll come over anytime!”
“…Um, Shion-san. Isn’t Sergeant Cooper’s room next door?”
“When I asked him to switch rooms, he happily did. He said he wanted to escape from the war zone.”
“…What a coincidence. Major Campbell said the same thing.”
“Eh!? That means Shion is to the right, Natsume is to the left, and Lilith’s room is across the way!”
I’m completely surrounded! Are you telling me to throw down my weapons and come out!
“…Let’s have breakfast for now. Natsume, put on pajamas. Otherwise, you might become a different kind of side dish.”
Stop it! Don’t spread such damaging rumors!
“…Understood. I’ll go get them.”
Natsume crawls like a caterpillar to the next room.
“Captain! Please stop staring at Natsume’s butt!”
Sorry, I couldn’t help but look. Ouch, don’t pull my ear, it’ll become a donkey’s ear!
We sit around the small low table in the not-so-spacious room for singles and have breakfast.
“…The grilled horse mackerel is cooked perfectly. The miso soup is also delicious. Another bowl of rice please!”
Natsume energetically holds out her rice bowl to Lilith.
“Eat heartily… no, serve yourself! You’re not a child anymore!”
Complaining, Lilith serves her another bowl.
“But it’s really cooked well. Modern rice cookers are amazing.”
Shion, eating her rice bowl elegantly, is already on her second helping.
“Praise Lilith’s cooking skills. It wouldn’t be like this if I cooked it.”
“Lilith is a culinary genius too. The rice tub is empty, I’ll toast some bread. Captain, do you prefer your fried eggs sunny-side up or over-easy?”
“…Sunny-side up.”
“…Warrant Officer, go buy the biggest rice cooker at the electronics store by the end of today.”
…Yeah, I understand.
After finishing my individual training and squad drills, I browse for rice cookers at the appliance store in the shopping district.
Hmm. This one might be good. Shion eats about three bowls of rice and five slices of toast.
Natsume and I eat a lot too, so we should get the biggest one.
Perhaps I should dedicate my current rice cooker to Shion, and we three can share the new one?
“A big guy contemplating a rice cooker? Are you a housewife?”
“Marika-san, due to extraordinary circumstances, our household’s Engel coefficient has skyrocketed…”
“Engel coefficient? What’s that?”
Ah! Ernst Engel doesn’t exist in this world!
“Uh… it’s the proportion of food expenses in household finances…”
“That’s the Benkul coefficient. Kanata, you sometimes make strange mistakes. Why has the Benkul coefficient skyrocketed? You eat quite a bit for a middleweight, but Lilith is a light eater, isn’t she?”
It seems there’s a similar coefficient in this world.
“Somehow, it’s become a trend for Shion and Natsume to eat at my place… Shion can eat on par with Vodka, and Natsume also eats a lot for a lightweight.”
“…Come to think of it, Natsume moved into the room next to yours, didn’t she? Kanata, hold off on choosing appliances and come with me for a bit.”
I can’t disobey the boss’s orders. I follow Marika-san as she walks away.
Marika-san lights a cigarette at the smoking area on the outskirts of the shopping district and starts talking after confirming no one else is around.
“Kanata, what do you think of Natsume?”
“When she smiles, she’s incredibly cute. If she switched from being a killing angel to just an angel…”
“You’re saying Natsume wasn’t cute when she didn’t smile? Do you mean that my younger sister isn’t cute unless she smiles?”
Ah, she’s starting her sister brag…
“She is cute, of course. Is something wrong with Natsume?”
“Since she started smiling, haven’t you thought she’s become strangely aggressive?”
…Now that you mention it. Ah, maybe…
“Isn’t it rebound? Someone who had weak relationships becomes weirdly aggressive when they change their way of life.”
I can relate. I decided to change my way of life, but I feel like I’ve become too meddlesome because I can’t grasp social distance…
“I see. Since you were a loner, you seem to understand that psychology well.”
“…Who told you I was a loner until I came here?”
“Shuri. I find it hard to believe someone as goofy as you was a loner.”
My friend, your mouth is too loose. My loner past is classified information on par with Commander’s age.
“Putting me aside, there probably isn’t much to worry about. Natsume just can’t grasp social distance yet, she’ll get used to it soon, I think?”
“I wonder about that. Natsume now seems to be leaning on others a bit too much.”
“It’s fine for her to lean on me. …But it seems she’s also leaning on you.”
Isn’t she playing with me rather than just leaning?
“I don’t mind either. It’s my honor to be leaned on by an incredibly cute angel.”
“…Kanata, let me tell you, Natsume is my sister. Just because she approaches you without defense, don’t casually lay a hand on her, or my one stroke of… ”
“I’d rather not be the ending for that. There’s someone in my heart, Marika-san.”
“That casualness is what worries me, you idiot!”
I was hit with a fist on my head, and sparks flew from my eyes.
“Ouch, I’ll be very careful, yes.”
“Is she going to be alright…? Natsume will be entrusted to Kanata’s Comma One from now on.”
“Is that okay? It’s a kind offer, but Natsume is essential to the unit, isn’t she?”
“She’s not leaving Crystal Widow, so there’s no problem. Until now, Natsume was sent to necessary locations alone, but now it will just be a squad.”
“I see, we in Comma One are the filler putty unit.”
“We’ll add more putty. Comma Two squad will also be formed. The captain will be Rick, with Usura and Tonkachi as his subordinates, and Nozomi. You’ll also command Comma Two.”
Usura and Tonkachi are the two followers Rick brought with him. Nozomi is the sister of theバイトマスター.
Rick should have had three followers… one either ran away or was too weak to join the unit.
“Understood.”
“That’s all. Also, I have something to give you, Kanata.”
Saying that, she handed me several worn notebooks.
What is it? Hand-written notes are unusual these days. They look really well-used…
