Commander, The Summit (1)
"Mmh..."
The moment I registered that I was awake, my consciousness drifted slowly up through the surface of sleep.
It was my first night away from home, but the bed hadn't been uncomfortable in the slightest. If anything, I'd slept more deeply than I had in a long time. No blaring alarm dragging a half-dreaming body upright by force — just warm sunlight, and my eyes opening on their own.
Yeah. This was it. How long had it even been?
"...I slept well."
A pleasant clarity ran through my whole body, and I took my time savoring the plush softness cradling my back. The place I was lying in proudly billed itself as the finest hotel in Berta, and it lived up to the name. It wasn't a night-and-day difference, but it was definitely a cut above the bed in my own room.
The first meeting with the vice president had been a disaster, but I had to give the man credit for the lodging he'd arranged. It really was nice. That didn't mean the insomnia I'd been wrestling with was the bed's fault, though.
This place was an unapologetic luxury hotel stuffed with every high-end amenity they could find. My room at Firma, if you actually thought about it, was closer to a dormitory. Wasn't it impressive enough that a mere dorm could even hold a candle to a hotel on anything? I could match it if I wanted to, but why bother? I was a complete amateur when it came to that sort of thing, and starting to furnish the room now would be a hassle besides. More than anything, living it up by myself would look terrible. It might even stir up friction I didn't need.
Granted, my room sat somewhere past "modest" and well into the outskirts of "barren"... but it wasn't uncomfortable. I'd simply inherited the room the Commander had used, as-is. Honestly, it already had everything I needed. Why change it? Force a change of environment on yourself and you'll drop dead. If it ever became necessary, Rielly would put something in for me.
...Should I get up?
Once the idle morning thoughts ran their course, I found myself suddenly, sharply bored. I'd woken earlier than planned, so I had time to spare — but getting ready early couldn't hurt. I needed to eat, check on the girls in the next room, and dress neatly enough that nobody at the summit would have anything to pick at...
...Yeah. That was a disgusting amount of work. Better get moving.
I told myself that, and started to ease myself up.
...Huh?
...It didn't work?
No matter how many times I tried, I could not achieve the simple result of "sitting up." What? What was holding me down?
It wasn't me, at least. I might be weak, but that was only in comparison to the superhumans around me. I wasn't some invalid who couldn't even get through daily life. The problem seemed more external. Both arms felt quite heavy, as if something had caught on them — a weight significant enough to feel like people were hanging off them. And the right side was cool, the left warm, which felt rather nic—
...
Wait. What was that?
"Mmh..."
"Hehe... Commander..."
...Ah.
This was why I couldn't get up.
I turned my head to either side, and found the thieves who'd broken in last night sleeping like the dead. What those thieves had stolen was, of course, my arms. ...None of this was "of course," but thinking of it that way made me feel a little better.
Ugh.
Lucy and Shien. These two thieves had each taken hold of my arms as if they were treasure, and fallen into a sleep so deep the rest of the world might as well not exist. They were clutching so tightly that the arms buried in their chests couldn't even twitch. Which meant, quite naturally, that a certain soft... part... that every woman possesses... was pressing against them far too explicitly...
And that, well, was not something I could just ignore... you know?
...On top of that, there was this alien sensation around my legs and waist. I was pretty sure someone had wrapped their tail around me, too. Had I really slept like this? Had I been that exhausted?
"..."
"Ah, you're awake?"
And as the finishing blow... Cardia, emerging from the shower with impeccable timing, wearing nothing but a towel.
...And why, exactly, are you coming out of there?
"...Don't just stand there staring. Untangle me, would you?"
"Me? Why?"
...That one actually made me a little angry. The sheer nonchalance of treating her superior's room like her own after breaking in uninvited. And listening to that faintly sarcastic tone first thing in the morning, all sorts of unkind words were bubbling up...
"They're both awake, so wouldn't it be better to ask them yourself?"
The words that followed immediately after sent the arrow veering in a different direction.
"..."
"..."
Neither of them showed any particular reaction. Their breathing was still that of deep sleep, and they didn't move. But what had I said earlier? They'd been clutching so tightly that my arms were buried deep against their chests. Which meant that even though it was faint, I felt it perfectly clearly when both of them flinched at the exact same time.
...You little...
"...Both of you. Up."
After giving last night's illegal trespassers a proper scolding, I finished getting ready and headed for the summit venue.
I'd brought you along as escorts, that much was true. I had not, however, ordered close protection. ...And "close protection" doesn't even mean that.
"Why am I..."
"Be quiet."
For the record, I scolded Cardia too. Don't you dare try to slip out of this like a bat. You snuck in without me knowing, same as they did. The other two at least intended to hide it. You were far too shameless about it.
The original schedule would have been tight, but waking up early had given me plenty of time for a lecture. I'd even extracted a promise that they wouldn't do it again, so they'd probably restrain themselves for a while. The trade-off was that they were all watching me so carefully that nobody was saying a word.
I didn't particularly call them on that. They looked uneasy, but a single warm word would probably clear the air... and it was an important day. A little tension on a day like this wasn't a bad thing. ...The cause did seem to be concentrated in one direction, but anyway.
...Whatever.
In the car rolling along at a steady speed, I leaned back against the seat. And promptly sank into thought.
Should I be giving these kids some kind of etiquette training? The world had gone to hell once already, and social common sense seemed to have gone strangely off-kilter along with it. I'd gone to the trouble of putting them in individual rooms, and they still crawled into mine. What was that about? As for how they'd gotten in... a seasoned instructor had probably given a demonstration.
Shien — I'd personally sent this one back, so why did she come in again? If you're going to keep twitching your tail toward me over there, maybe don't do things that would make your conscience sting.
...That's what I said, anyway. They all looked as miserable as rain-soaked puppies, and part of me wanted to comfort them...
...Hnn.
Honestly, it wasn't easy. During the lecture, their gazes had drifted not to my face but below it, so I'd glanced down myself...
...The front of the bathrobe I'd worn in place of pajamas had fallen wide open, skin showing clearly through. I'd hastily fixed my clothes, so I'd at least held the last line of what a woman(?) absolutely should not put on display. But my dignity as their superior... and my pride... had gone... where, exactly...
Ugh, my head...
The memory was so mortifying it had been branded into my brain. The moment I tried to say anything, that scene would flash back and I'd want to die of embarrassment. No — I'd definitely fastened it properly before lying down. So why...?
I didn't know which of the three... no, the four of us had done it... but catching the culprit would be far more trouble than just letting it go and quietly forgetting. If I made an issue of it and it turned out to be my own sleeping habits... I might just throw my resignation on the table today, summit be damned, and walk out. I usually stayed in whatever position I first lay down in, but I hadn't been sleeping well lately. You never know.
...This one goes to the grave. Yeah. That's the right call.
...
But even while you're getting scolded, you could at least tell me that much. You just sat there and watched...?
"Uugh..."
And so my private, unspeakable dilemma continued all the way to the summit venue.
The venue wasn't far from the hotel. About ten minutes by car? Somewhere around there.
There weren't journalists lining the route. In terms of the scale of the powers involved, it was practically a meeting between heads of state... but on the surface, we were just one of the companies that had a business relationship with Berta. In the real world, too, people only went looking for which contractors a government had used when that government had screwed something up. The rest of the time it was quiet. Same idea. It wasn't a big deal to begin with, and it wasn't something the public would take much interest in.
Anyway, the venue for today's not-quite-secret meeting was...
"Wooow..."
That building right there.
From the top floor of that impossibly tall building — the symbol of Berta — they said you could see the entire city through the windows. Commonly known as the Verta Skyscraper. The naming sense was remarkably straightforward, but it was also a building for which that straightforward description was a perfect fit.
Ah, and that reaction was Lucy's. I'd thought something similar myself, but I hadn't made a sound that vacant.
"You like it that much?"
"Hmm... It's less that I like it, and more that it brings back memories?"
"Hm?"
I chuckled and went over to ask, and got an unexpected answer. So it wasn't just that she'd found something fun to look at? She'd even put together a sightseeing itinerary for the first day, so I'd assumed it was that kind of thing.
"Commander, you wouldn't know what it means for someone from Berta's back alleys to come here."
"...What does it mean?"
"You don't need to know!"
Well. Talk about a letdown.
Whatever the reason, the place clearly meant more to Lucy than a tourist attraction — in a generally positive direction. She wouldn't be this energized otherwise. It was a government-controlled zone, so you needed Berta's permission even to look around, which made it a bit of a hassle as a tourist spot. Well, she was back to her usual self, and that was much nicer to look at. The little hops were cute, too.
Unlike a certain someone who was still moping.
"Cardia."
"...Yes?"
The way she walked a step apart looked exactly like a child who'd been scolded by a parent. For someone who'd always said whatever she wanted, appropriate or not, getting chewed out once had done this to her. She seemed to think she was hiding it as best she could, but not in front of me.
"You didn't want to come on this trip, so thank you for coming anyway. It's made things a lot easier."
"..."
"I'll give you a reward, so hang in there a little longer. Okay?"
"...Yeees."
I bent my knees to meet her eye level, then rested a hand on that distinctive white hair of hers. She seemed a little surprised at first, but she didn't pull away, so I stroked it gently. Her face was gradually turning red — so she was aware of her own behavior. Good. Be a little more embarrassed.
"Shien."
"Com... mander..."
And last. After giving Cardia a few strokes, I turned to Shien, and her condition was worse than I'd expected. Her body trembled faintly, her tail hung limp and dragged on the floor, and the light in her eyes was slowly fading. Add a conspicuously shaking voice on top of that, and she looked precarious at a glance. I'd known her mind was somewhat unstable... but I hadn't expected it to be this bad. Was she completely absorbed in the fact that I'd scolded her? Not good.
"I, I..."
"What are you doing? Come here."
"...Huh?"
"Aren't you going to protect me?"
As I said that, I gently took Shien's hand. It had been fidgeting with nowhere to go, and I hadn't liked the look of that. We'd somehow ended up with our fingers laced together, but that probably didn't matter. There'd be a bit of sweat, but that was a small price to pay for comforting her.
The old me would have been horrified, but these days I didn't have much resistance to this kind of thing. Had all the extra physical contact dulled me? Lately, a hug was the default whenever I ran into the girls. It hadn't been by choice... but hey, if it works, it works.
"Let's go. We'll be late."
"...Okay."
I didn't offer any particular persuasion or words of comfort, but I think my meaning got through. Someone of Shien's caliber could have shaken me off without a thought, but she let herself be led along along without resistance. She even tightened her grip on the hand I'd taken.
...Though the way she was fidgeting in this state felt a little strange. There was something about it.
"..."
...Hm.
By the way, the stares are piercing. Girls, why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?