Chapter 7 : Ack!!!!!

Nunu is, in a way, like a gentle puppy, but sometimes, they also seem like a terrifying beast.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re difficult to deal with, just…

We haven’t known each other for long, but both the commander and Nunu approach me without any sense of distance, and it makes me a little nervous.

They keep showing me endless affection. Even earlier, with the chicken…

Why are they like this?

Hmm…

Even after holding my soft head and thinking it over, I can’t reach a conclusion.

Maybe it’s better to just sleep today and think about it tomorrow?

Yeah, let’s do that. That sounds like a good idea.

The room is a bit dark… Where’s the light switch…

Come to think of it, did my room have a bed?

I remember there was a chair and a mirror, but I’m not sure about the other furniture.

Even when I was showering, I was too preoccupied with the discomfort to notice anything.

‘Ah, found it.’

Click!

The room instantly brightens. Maybe because I was in the dark, my eyes sting a little.

First, I should check if there’s a bed in the room…

Huh?

What… What is this?!

I immediately burst out of the room and ran straight to the command office.

‘Commander! Commandeeeer!’

“Maru? What’s wrong?”

As I opened the command room door, I saw the commander sitting at his desk, looking exhausted in front of the computer.

It seems like he’s been working at the desk non-stop since dinner.

The commander looked a bit surprised at my sudden visit, but soon relaxed and welcomed me with a smile.

‘Well, um… My room has boxes, no bed, just boxes… Mountains of boxes…’

“Calm down, calm down. Do you want a pudding?”

Oh, I can’t resist pudding.

Yes!

I immediately reached out to grab the tempting pudding sitting in the commander’s hand.

But then…

Oh no, I made a mistake. A late-night snack isn’t a good idea. Hmm.

The pudding, which was shining brilliantly before my eyes, vanished in an instant.

The commander took it back.

‘No way…’

A surge of anger made my whole body tremble.

I am an adult. Adults can eat snacks late at night.

But what is this? Confiscating an adult’s snack?

Of course, I may be a child right now, but… there’s something called mental age, isn’t there? Anyway.

I seriously considered lunging at the commander’s desk to snatch it back.

No need to be too disappointed. If you give up today’s pudding, I’ll let you have two tomorrow.

The commander proposed that if I resisted eating today’s pudding, I could have two tomorrow.

This sounds familiar.

This is the marshmallow experiment, isn’t it?

R-really?

“Of course.”

I am a real man. Waiting a day is nothing.

I will demonstrate my superhuman patience.

‘Then, let’s sleep and see each other tomorrow.’

See you tomorrow, commander!

With a determined expression, I left the command room.

And then, a moment later.

“Commandeeeer!”

“Uh, huh? Maru?”

I burst through the command room door again.

I didn’t expect this from the commander, but he is really good at changing the subject.

Using pudding as bait to send me away— I almost fell for it.

“Huff, huff…”

I can’t let myself be tricked again. After quickly catching my breath, I got straight to the point.

My room is filled with weird boxes! What is going on?!

“Ah, that…”

The mysterious cardboard boxes filling my room. What are they?

Hearing my question, the commander scratched the back of his head as if feeling guilty and avoided my gaze.

What is it? What did they do? That kind of reaction only makes me more anxious.

Is there pudding inside the boxes?

“No, the boxes are empty.”

Hmm…

Then what are they for?

“Well… for comfort level.”

Comfort level?

Comfort leveel?!

“What do you mean, comfort level?! “

“Ah, well, depending on the furniture placed in the dorm, the comfort level increases, and as the comfort level rises, character affection also…”

What’s the point if I’m not comfortable?!

Comfort level, my foot— my room is packed with boxes, and there’s no space to even stand properly!

And what? If the comfort level rises, so does character affection?

Right now, I can’t eat pudding, I can’t find my bed, I can’t eat pudding, I can’t eat pudding, and my affection level is about to hit rock bottom.

Does this even make sense?

“Ugh, you have a point.”

…You’re not telling me to keep living like this, are you?

“Uh, well… Until we gather enough gems to buy proper furniture…”

Aaaagh!!!!

Living in that box-filled dorm? Indefinitely?

No way, I can’t live like that!

With my room so packed with boxes that I can’t even move, what am I supposed to do?!

Maru, calm down and listen to me—

Aaaagh!!!!

I grabbed onto the commander’s desk leg and started yelling.

This is a form of protest.

If they don’t fix my room immediately, I’ll cry.

So hurry up and get rid of those ugly boxes.

Otherwise, I’m going to burst into tears.

I’ll cry very sadly.

“Ma, Maru…”

“Ahhh!!!!”

And the protest only subsided after a considerable amount of time had passed.

Hmph.

“At the very least, please clear the boxes so I can find the bed.”

“T-That’s right.”

Fortunately, the commander and I were able to find a compromise.

The commander, looking so exhausted that he might collapse at any moment.

I approached the commander…

Pat, pat.

“H-Huh? Maru?”

“Shh.”

I placed my hand on his head and gently patted him.

There wasn’t any particular reason. Part of it was guilt from buying way too much pudding when we first met…

And also, well, I felt bad for barging in late at night and causing a commotion.

That’s all.

Normally, our height difference would make this impossible, but since the commander was sitting on the ground, looking like he could fall asleep at any moment, I could reach him.

“Since you worked late today, this is my way of repaying you.”

“…That’s quite a big repayment.”

“Then at least buy me another pudding.”

“That’s a bit much.”

“Tsk.”

I thought he would give in since he was so tired, but he’s more stubborn than I expected.

Pat, pat.

Come to think of it, the commander and Nunu would always pat my head whenever they had the chance, but this is the first time I’m doing it.

It feels strange. It’s nice, but doing it myself instead of receiving it is a little…

‘No, no. What am I even thinking?’

I shook my head.

Of course, patting is nice, but—no, I’m not saying it’s nice. Anyway, it’s not allowed.

…Huh?

I turned my gaze towards an odd noise, only to see the commander had fallen asleep.

Looks like he really enjoyed my patting—he completely passed out.

“Snore…”

“If you sleep here, you’ll catch a cold.”

He must have been extremely tired because he was sleeping soundly, even making drill-like snoring sounds.

“Commander, Commanderrr.”

“Snore…”

Sigh.

No matter how much I shook him, he showed no sign of waking up.

He must be in a deep sleep.

I even clapped my hands and shouted next to him, but the commander remained unresponsive.

In the end, exhausted, I dragged him over to the sofa in the corner of the command room.

“Ugh, why is this guy so heavy?”

Since I’m small, his arms and legs dragged on the floor the whole way… but whatever.

That’s the commander’s fault for not waking up.

It’s still better than letting him sleep on the cold floor.

Hmm…

“…?”

Lying on the sofa, the commander shivered slightly.

Is he having a nightmare, or is he just cold?

Should I find something to cover him with?

With small, hurried steps, I went to the corner of the command room and grabbed a blanket that had been haphazardly folded.

Then, with my tiny hands, I slowly unfolded it and covered him.

His expression relaxed a little.

Good, good. He looks much better when he’s smiling.

“Goodnight.”

Even though he was deep in dreamland and wouldn’t hear me, I still whispered my farewell.

Then, carefully, I turned off the lights in the command room and left.

I returned to my room.

But…

“…Oh.”

I was greeted by the sight of mountains of boxes, still stacked high.

Tsk, Commander. You should’ve cleared the boxes in my room before going to sleep.

Now I can’t sleep.

“Ugh, when will I even find my bed at this rate…”

I move one box. There’s another box.

I move another box. Another one appears.

I feel like I’m trapped in a maze made of boxes.

Just how many are there…?

I keep pushing and clearing boxes, making my way forward.

Tap.

My hand hits the wall, making a cute tapping sound.

That’s weird, there’s no bed here either.

My body feels sluggish. My eyes are slowly closing.

“Uuu…”

No matter how much I rub my eyes, I can’t keep them open.

Now that I think about it, a lot happened today. It would be strange if I wasn’t tired.

I can’t do this anymore. I need to find a box big enough to sleep in. I really can’t hold on any longer.

This one should be okay, right…?

I tore open a box slightly larger than myself and crawled inside.

It was better than I expected.

Since all the sides were enclosed, it felt surprisingly cozy.

The box was a bit tight, so I curled up in a “loaf” position, just like my cat at home always does.

Like this, I really do feel like a cat.

Goodnight, everyone.

Ah, I really can’t stay awake anymore.

Smelling the faint scent of cardboard, I slowly drifted off to sleep.