The Commander's Business Trip (3)
After all the twists and turns, my business trip was finally approved. Thank goodness. For all the fierce opposition I'd run into, things had resolved surprisingly smoothly. I wanted to give myself extra credit for not forcing it through and actually winning everyone's consent. It didn't mean much of anything, but it felt good.
And the most important part.
There'd been no shortage of arguments and complications, but the departure date for the Berta Federation was set for three days from now. I'd been thinking next week or the week after, but they wanted to meet as soon as possible, so I went along with it. They said anytime was fine — provided Berta supplied the venue.
It's not a trap... probably...
We were tangled up in a relationship of mutual interest, so they wouldn't actually try to hurt me — but I couldn't shake the unease. Still, this was the kind of thing I needed to experience. Yeah.
...But don't people usually prepare thoroughly before a summit? Why the rush? I couldn't figure out what they were plotting.
Then again, as Calia had said, this vice president clearly wasn't normal. I mean, I sent a message and the reply came back in almost a second. Was a sitting vice president just... not doing any work? Meanwhile I get a title slapped on me out of nowhere and I'm working myself into the ground. Felt a little unfair.
I'd definitely collect on this debt at the summit. I didn't actually owe anyone anything, but I was collecting anyway...!
"...Ow."
I was standing under the shower spray, entertaining these bizarre little fantasies, when a sharp sting suddenly flared. I looked down at the source — a vivid red mark still ringed my wrist.
...I'd thrashed around so much while cuffed that I'd ended up like this. It had been fine until now. Maybe the water was irritating it. It wasn't terribly painful, just a faint burn. A little stingy.
"...Could you have gone a little easier on me?"
The sting wouldn't fade, so I worked another layer of body wash over my wrist. Okay, half of this was my own fault for overreacting... Even so — you don't normally restrain your boss against her will. Or, you know, tackle-hug her like you're pouncing.
Wasn't this a little too close for comfort? I'd been doing a great job of maintaining professional boundaries as their superior. Why were they the ones punching through that line...?
Is this just... normal between women...?
I had no idea. Having never been a woman before, my guesses were always going to be pretty limited.
It was true that some of the operators in the game I'd played, Phirma, had lines that came pretty close to confessions directed at the Commander... But honestly, that alone wasn't nearly enough evidence to go on. Since we were the same gender, the odds of those being actual expressions of romantic affection were basically zero.
Whatever. Not knowing doesn't change anything.
I folded up the train of thought and quickly washed my hair. I didn't need to worry about it right now anyway. Whatever feelings they harbored toward me, there was zero chance of the relationship developing any further. At most we'd be a close boss and close subordinates. That's just how rank works. Unless one of us quit, we'd never get past being business partners.
And if they confessed? That would never happen, so what was I even worrying about. Well, if someone actually wanted someone like me, I might've given dating a shot...
No. I couldn't do that either.
"...Dating? I have work to do."
For the foreseeable future, even four bodies wouldn't be enough. Ah, that feeling of being crushed by a catastrophe I'd brought on myself. Depressing as hell.
...Forget all of it. I just needed to get some sleep.
I knocked out the backlog of work, patched up the plans that had gone a little sideways, and before I knew it, the day of departure for the Berta Federation had arrived.
"So it's today...?"
Before leaving, I checked my outfit and the luggage I'd be bringing. The distance from here was considerable, so I'd need to stay at least one night. Rielly had packed just about everything for me, but you never know.
"...Yep, it's all here!"
That's Rielly for you. Reliably excellent. Even just cracking the bag open and glancing inside, I could tell everything I needed was in there. ...Honestly, I didn't have the confidence to unpack it all "just to check" and then pack it again. Rielly had surely done a perfect job.
But why was there a pistol in here? Was this mine too?
"Crap, the time..."
I glanced up at the clock — barely five minutes left until eight. Not much time until I was supposed to meet the others, so I picked up my pace. Dragging a suitcase like this, it almost felt like I was going on a trip. In reality I was just going to work again... but I could at least enjoy the vibe.
...I might be walking into a quagmire of my own free will. This much was allowed.
I'd limited my escort and attendants to the bare minimum. This was a diplomatic summit. I couldn't show up swarming like some back-alley gang. It wouldn't even look good, and politically it'd put us at a disadvantage. No reason to do it. Sure, the Firma of today could flex a little without any real consequences — but there was no need to go accumulating bad karma on purpose.
And, of course, a small number didn't mean weak firepower.
"It's been a while, Commander!"
The moment I arrived in front of the command building, a figure that looked for all the world like an oversized puppy came barreling into me. Maybe it was because I'd been hugged so much lately — I'd gotten reasonably used to people throwing themselves at me, so I hugged her back without panicking.
Looking down, I found the usual sight: a black animal-ear hoodie, and well-kept ivory hair spilling out of it. The first member of this business trip: Lucy of the Reconnaissance Battalion.
Berta was her hometown, and she'd been in and out of the place until relatively recently, so I'd included her in the party. She'd know the geography. That would definitely come in handy. And if we needed to run, she'd be useful for securing an escape route.
"Why... am I even here..."
Second was Cardia of the Medical Department.
You might ask why I'd randomly dragged along someone from Medical... don't get the wrong idea. I didn't pick her. Calia sent her.
...And what was Calia doing right now, you ask? She was probably parked somewhere as acting Commander. She was the Adjutant, after all. She'd thrown a fit trying to come herself, and when that didn't work, she'd sent her own little sister. For surveillance, or so she claimed.
Calia had said the Medical Department wasn't busy so it was fine, but... well. I'd checked the schedule, so work-wise it was probably okay...
Then what exactly...
What did Cardia do to deserve this...? Not that Cardia wouldn't be a huge help in all sorts of ways. That was a separate issue from dumping unnecessary work on her little sister and then shipping her off on a business trip on top of it. This was... a pretty steep price to pay for the crime of having a lousy older sister...
Sorry, Cardia.
I'll do my best to make this easy on you... If you want, I'll even cut Calia's pay... just please don't quit... Calia's opinion? Didn't seem particularly important right now...
"Hello... Commander."
And last. The one whose mere existence had put every operator worried about my safety completely at ease. The centerpiece of this trip.
A native of the Far East, and currently one of the asymmetric strategic assets in Firma's arsenal.
The Venomous Dragon, Lin Sien.
"Hey. We meet again?"
"...Mm."
I gave Lucy a few pats on the back and released her back into the wild, then exchanged greetings with the green Half-Dragon in front of me.
Long, dark green hair draped over one eye, and jade-green eyes of an even deeper saturation. I was taking in those mysterious colors when my gaze snagged on the horns rising straight from her head. Unlike her hair and eyes, which at least possessed color — however dark — the two horns growing near her ears were a pitch-black that seemed to swallow every scrap of light in the world.
That alone made it obvious she was no ordinary person. But the tail swaying behind her was all the proof anyone needed of exactly who she was.
That tail, though — it looked far longer than Sien herself. How did she even walk around with something that heavy...?
"Want to... touch it?"
"H-huh? Come again?"
"You've been... staring at it. This whole time."
The instant she finished speaking, the tail that had been way over there a moment ago coiled around my arm. I jumped. She'd definitely been several steps away. When had she gotten right in front of me...? I'd had my eyes wide open the whole time...
Oh — I'd expected it to be rough, but the tail was surprisingly soft... wait, that's not the point.
"...You don't want to?"
"Th-that's not it. We have to leave soon, so I'll touch it next time..."
"Is that... a promise...?"
"Yeah, yeah."
I soothed the somewhat dejected Sien, then headed for the vehicle already parked and waiting.
Firma had every kind of transportation befitting an organization rated on par with a nation-state. There was a reason I'd ignored the helicopters and the private jet and chosen a car. Flying in openly... the odds of getting shot down were just too high. The chance of minor variables cropping up would be higher, but even accounting for that, overland was the better call. We could punch through that much without any trouble. We had the firepower to handle it.
"...Shall we get going, then?"
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
...When we arrived, Cardia was already sitting in the driver's seat with a look of resignation. Apparently it had been silently decided that Cardia would be the one behind the wheel. Well, given the party composition — the supreme commander, a tactical nuclear weapon, and a minor — I supposed it couldn't be helped.
I'd originally planned to drive myself... but that probably would've just made them more uncomfortable. ...Sorry. I'd said I'd make this easy on her, and somehow I'd ended up putting her on driving duty from the jump. I'll let you rest properly once we get there, so just hang in there a little...
"Well then. Shall we go?"