The Military

\Thud

"You are using that like an old person, you know."

"Shut up, I am trying here. Th-this thing is really difficult."

I sat in my office chair as my finger thudded against the tiny object. Kuroi always told me to use these things, but no matter how many months I tried, I still couldn't understand it because there were just too many things inside such a small device.

"Damn phone."

"I received this phone when I first met Tanaka, but it was inside a box, so no one actually taught me how to use it."

It had already been a month since my visit to the academy. When the students and staff used their phones to take my photo, I never knew a phone could also be used as a camera, which made me want to try it myself. I was trying to use it carefully with my fingers, and yet Kuroi just called me an old person.

Crack.

"Ah, it is broken."

"What?"

Approaching my desk, Kuroi looked at what I was staring at. The glass on the phone was cracked, and I could see the colors warping into a rainbow or something similar. Looking up, I saw Kuroi had her palm pressed against her face as she sighed.

"You really are a brute."

"W-what? That is not very polite! And I do not even need one anyway."

"No, you still need one because I refuse to send you paper letters every single time."

"Well, just give me a few years, maybe five to ten, and then I will be able to use it properly. Fufu."

She gave me a look that clearly said this was not the time for jokes. I immediately avoided making eye contact with her.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on my door, and Kuroi went to check. I could hear some talking before she came back in front of my desk. Judging by her expression, it seemed like she was bringing bad news.

"You have received another subjugation request from the military."

Personally, I wouldn't put that in the "bad news" category. It was still annoying to go out there, but it wasn't that bad.

"Also, Mr. Tanaka's representative wants to meet with you."

"Hmm? Not Tanaka himself?"

"No, it is not him."

"And is that supposed to be the bad news?"

As I pondered that, Kuroi left the office and shortly returned with a man in a suit. He had slightly sun-bleached brown hair and took a seat across from me.

"Good afternoon, Miss Asteria. I am here as Mr. Tanaka's representative."

"Uh-oh, okay."

As he greeted me and introduced himself, Kuroi brought in some drinks, while I simply nodded like usual.

“Damn it, I really need to stop this nodding habit.”

"I am here to inform you about Mr. Tanaka's progress on opening a new branch in the western country. We have already purchased several buildings for it."

"Hmm, hmm. Okay."

.

..

…

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"The new branch can begin operations as early as next month."

"That is important, but can you repeat what you said right before that?"

I touched my ear, making sure I was hearing things correctly, but the man in front of me just kept saying the exact same thing no matter how many times I asked him to repeat it.

“What does he mean by that?”

“Why is he making this company bigger?!”

“I never knew about this?!”

I reached out, grabbed the man's collar, and violently pulled him across the desk. Then I turned to look at Kuroi, who simply let out a heavy sigh. Just from seeing her reaction, I realized something and slowly released the man's collar.

I slowly turned toward Kuroi.

"Kuroi... did I know about this?"

Kuroi took a slow, deep breath and adjusted her glasses.

"We held a four-hour executive board meeting on this exact topic six months ago. You sat at the head of the table and stamped your official corporate seal on the authorization forms."

My soul evaporated. My shoulders slumped so low that my chin touched the desk.

“I really should never sleep through meetings and sign documents without reading them.”

Whenever I did that, I thought I was getting away with it. During meetings, I would sit up perfectly straight with my eyes wide open, but in reality, I had completely dozed off. But even so, this time it was not entirely my fault…

"You are right, Kuroi, I should have known about it, but…"

"Damn you, Tanaka! Why do you do this to me?!"

As I stood up and screamed, Kuroi politely asked the man to leave. I clutched my head, overwhelmed by how stressed I was. I aggressively swung my right fist down toward my desk but forced myself to stop a mere inch before impact. Then, I glared at Kuroi.

"The next time you see Tanaka enter this building, make sure he never escapes. I want to tortu- I mean, I want to have a very long meeting with him."

"Damn you, Tanaka!!"

.

..

…

"Do not forget, you still have your regular paperwork and the subjugation request to handle."

"Damn you, evil!"

"Who exactly are you calling evil?"

"E~eh… nobody."

Averting my eyes to avoid her gaze, I sighed heavily. Too many things were happening today. And now there was this subjugation request. Every now and then, the military needed my help to fight monsters.

"Ugh, I just want to escape."

I planted my face flat on my desk. I really just wanted to have more holidays. Looking up at Kuroi without lifting my head off the desk, I asked her a question.

"Is it the usual group?"

"Yes, it is Capsaicin and the others."

"Really... what kind of ridiculous name is that?"

"…I am fairly certain that is not his real name. Did you seriously not know that?"

I made a genuinely shocked face hearing that.

"Wha-? I never knew that! I honestly thought it was his real name!"

"I always felt so sorry for him having such an unfortunate name... wait, then what is his real name?"

While I was pondering this revelation, Kuroi informed me that he would arrive later to provide the mission details.

"Hah~ alright. He will probably arrive in a few hours, right? Meanwhile, I am going to grab a soda from the iron box."

"Sure. But make sure you come right back, because you still have work to do."

"Okay."

Walking out of my office, I looked down the hall and found the iron box. I selected a soda I liked and inserted some money into the machine.

"Hmm, what should I do now? Fufufu."

Smiling deviously, I already knew exactly what my next step would be.

♦ ♦ ♦

[Kuroi's POV]

Knock. Knock.

"Oh, hello Miss Kuroi."

"Hello, Mr. Capsaicin."

As I greeted him, I let him into the office. He replied by giving a crisp military salute. Even though he looked rather soft with that friendly smile of his, I fully believed that with his military background, he was tough as nails on the inside.

"I apologize, but Miss Asteria just stepped out to get a drink."

"I have no problem waiting."

"Did you not pass her in the corridor?"

"Hmm, I am sorry, maybe I just walked right past her."

"Hmm, that is strange. Well, she should be back any minute now."

I offered him some coffee, which he gladly accepted, and decided to wait with him inside the office.

.

..

…

"It has already been an hour. I sincerely apologize, let me try calling the lobby staff first."

"Hmm, no problem at all."

With that, I quickly opened my phone, searched for the contact number of today's lobby receptionist, and called her.

"Oh! Yes, Miss Kuroi. About fifty minutes ago, she bought a can of sparkling cider from the vending machine. Then, as usual, she left the building through the front lobby and flew off somewhere."

Click.

I slowly lowered the phone, my grip tightening until the plastic casing audibly creaked.

"That damn CEO!"