Commander, Bloodsucking?
To understand how things ended up this way, we need to rewind just a little.
The uninvited guest who had arrived without warning vanished just as silently, leaving no trace behind. And just like that, the room that had become a sudden battleground fell quiet, as if none of it had ever happened.
"...It's over, right?"
"Yeah... we're safe."
"Haaaah..."
Utterly drained, I threw myself onto the bed and collapsed in a heap.
...What an exhausting day. The talks had felt almost relaxing by comparison. I'd been looking forward to wrapping those up nicely and actually enjoying myself afterward. Just when you think your luck's turning around...
...Life really doesn't make it easy.
I'm so tired...
Honestly, I'm at my limit. I feel like I'm going to die. Doing anything more right now is out of the question. It feels like chunks of my lifespan have been carved away.
Someone who'd been alive just minutes ago, reduced to a blood-soaked corpse. My own life hanging in the balance in a split second I couldn't even perceive...
...I don't want to go through that again.
Of course I know that as long as I'm the Commander, this is the kind of thing I'll keep having to face. I know that, but... at least for now, I just want to pull myself together.
We'd weathered the first attack well enough, but... that was as far as the good news went. Everything after that... just thinking about it makes me sick. It was horrific. I want to wipe the entire day from my memory.
"...She won't come back, will she?"
"I don't think so."
The anxious mutter slipped out before I could stop it, and Cardia — who'd been rubbing at her wound — answered immediately. A statement without a shred of doubt... or so it seemed. She's not just saying that to make me feel better... right?
"That dark-skinned woman must have hidden a clone inside this orb."
"...That's possible?"
"It was a little unclear before, but I can tell now. Don't you agree, Miss Shien?"
Shien, who had been listening in silence, nodded as well.
...I can trust them on this. These are the same people who reacted like lightning before the attack even landed. With instincts that sharp, I don't need physical evidence.
...Not that I want to go looking for any.
I don't have the courage to dig any further as it is. The one silver lining is that all of us saw the attacker emerge from that orb. The artifact's origin is unclear, but the fact that she came out of it all but confirms she's the one who killed Senator Garron. Judging by those thorns she used in the attack, the mutilation of the corpse... was probably her doing as well.
Berta holds the investigative authority, so dropping a hint to the vice president should be enough. That would also explain why she didn't retrieve such a valuable artifact. She must have used it as a medium to send a clone, intending to rattle me.
...And I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. I can hardly go around calling myself a Commander after that. If I'd been alone, I would have died right there... or suffered something even worse.
"Nngh... ugh..."
"Cardia!"
Cardia suddenly staggered and started to fall, and I lunged forward to catch her. She'd looked perfectly fine just a moment ago. Did she overdo it? Don't tell me she was putting on a front, straining herself just so she wouldn't lose a battle of wills?
"...Commander?"
"Cardia, are you okay?!"
"Ah... it's nothing."
I held her close, worry flooding through me, and the unfocused look in her pupils snapped back into place. She dusted herself off and stood as if she were perfectly fine, but I couldn't quite bring myself to relax. So I asked again.
"Really?"
"Really. It's just been so long since I last fought — I used a little too much blood, that's all."
"...Well, that's a relief, then."
I only let go of her after she'd calmly explained her condition. Right — she'd used so much blood she'd gone anemic. The amount pouring out of her had been pretty alarming, to be fair. Still, it seemed like she recovered quickly enough. That much blood, that fast, and her complexion hadn't even changed.
...Or had it? Her face was a little flushed. Was she running a fever?
"Um, Commander...?"
"Yeah? Want some water?"
"Commander, do you know how... delicious you look right now?"
"...Huh?"
...What on earth was that supposed to mean. Why is she talking about how I taste all of a sudden. No matter how I look at this, that's not something you say to a person. I've never heard anything about Cardia eating people. What's gotten into her.
...She's definitely not okay, is she?
"Commander."
"Y-yeah?"
"Today, when you dragged me in front of all those important people... you said there'd be a reward for that, didn't you."
"I... did?"
Right... when was that. Last night, around dinner? Shien's combat power made the other side uneasy, and Lucy's so naturally high-spirited there was a real chance she'd commit some diplomatic faux pas. I felt a little bad for them, but it was a setting where public and private had to be kept strictly separate. I didn't have much choice. Anyway, I didn't have anyone else I could put in a formal setting on such short notice, so I left it to Cardia — she at least had some experience with that kind of social navigation. It was only a verbal agreement, but she'd accepted those terms along with everything else.
But... why bring that up now...?
"I'd like to collect that now."
"Ah, huh?"
...?
Well, I mean, she did finish the job... so she's entitled to ask whenever she wants. But why now? The only thing I have on me at the moment is that pitch-black orb over there. If it's a bonus or something like that, I'd have to get back first to actually give it to her.
I was about to say as much when Cardia's demand came first.
"...What?"
...That was something entirely different from what I'd been thinking.
...And that's how we got here.
I still had no idea how things had taken this particular turn. ...Or rather, I hadn't been given any time to think about it.
"W-wait, Cardia!"
Before I could even answer, Cardia strode right up to me and started stripping off my uniform with rough, impatient hands. She undid the buttons with enough force to tear them off, flung the front of my jacket open like a curtain, and shoved me straight onto the bed. It was the complete opposite of the precise, delicate movements you'd expect from the head of the Medical Department.
"Stop! I-I'll do it myself! Please!"
Despite my desperate pleading — my outer layer already gone in an instant — her hands reached for my dress shirt as well. Unlike the uniform, where she'd at least undone the buttons one by one, maybe the sheer number of buttons on the shirt was too much for her patience. This time she didn't even bother with them. She grabbed the collar and ripped it open with a sharp yank.
Pop, pop, pop—
Three or four buttons, evicted from their home by the simple logic of superior force, bounced across the floor. I struggled desperately to at least keep her from destroying the clothes... but of course I was no match for her.
"...Got you."
"Ca... Cardia...?"
The clothes... weren't the end of it? Cardia, having toppled me with ease, climbed on top of me without a moment's hesitation. I thrashed, trying to get up in a panic, but it was useless. She'd pinned both of my hands above my head, leaving me with nothing I could do.
"At the very least, hngh, on the bed...!"
The only thing I managed was a single phrase that tumbled out without passing through my brain. And then, the next moment...
Chomp.
She bit... my nape...?
"Ah, hngh...?!"
What, what, what is this. So that's what she meant by looking delicious? Couldn't she have just said so honestly? There was no need to be this aggressive about it.
It hurts, it hurts, but — it doesn't hurt. This feels strange. Something warm is flowing out of my body, and something else is coming in through the bite. It feels... good...?
No, no, no...!
This feeling good is ridiculous. That doesn't make any sense. Where in the world is there a Commander who gets pinned by her own operative, half-stripped, bitten on the nape, and enjoys it...?!
I can't take any more. Let go. I can't endure this. You can stop now. If it's blood you wanted, I've given you plenty, so now, please, stop...
"Nnh, haah, nngh."
But nothing that came out of my mouth could form itself into actual words. In that moment, a single thought dominated my mind.
Why isn't anyone stopping this...?
...I had no idea how much time had passed.
"Thanks for the meal."
"...Could you not phrase it like that."
Cardia, who'd pounced on me, stood up as if nothing had happened. Not only had she recovered from the blood loss — her skin even looked plump and glowing.
...The contrast with me, collapsed in complete exhaustion, was a little too stark. And whose fault is that, exactly.
My clothes...
Groaning, I forced my unresponsive body to sit up and clutched the gaping front of my shirt closed. ...I can't wear this anymore. The buttons are gone — my underwear is practically showing. Whether in the real world or this one, other women walk around confidently in outfits far more revealing than this, but that's them. Just having my skin showing is enough to make me want to die of embarrassment. I have zero immunity to this.
"Hey, Commander."
That's when Lucy approached. Unlike earlier, when she'd been frantically throwing daggers, she was properly dressed now.
"...What."
"Earlier, when you said 'at the very least, on the bed'... what exactly was that about?"
"..."
Did I... say that? Me? Have I lost my mind? Had I been looking at Cardia sexually? Or had I, without even realizing it, processed what just happened as a sexual act? It was the kind of thing that could easily be misunderstood, sure, but still...
...No, but. How am I supposed to explain this.
"...J-just forget it."
...Should I just resign?
I'm serious.