Sure, just close your eyes and call me “unnie.”
All it takes is enduring a moment of embarrassment.
Maru, you can do it. You’re a manly man.
Show me! Show me!
…Nunu, unnie.
Ugh. I want to kick myself under the blanket the moment I say it. Uuuugh.
But I can’t help it. This is the sacrifice of a cow for the sake of the family.
But…
‘Heh heh, I’m just kidding. This is partly my fault too… huh?’
What?
Huh?
…What did I just hear?
It was a joke? I didn’t need to call you unnie?!
Ah.
The thread of reason snapped.
Where there was embarrassment, anger filled its place, and my hand holding the fox rain surged with power.
…I’m going to destroy everything.
I’m going to destroy it all!!!
Ah!!!
‘M, Maru, calm down! Unnie was wrong! I’m sorry!
…After that, I don’t know.
I remember screaming while wildly swinging the hand holding the fox rain.
I guess because I was consumed by rage, there were gaps in my memory.
When I regained my sanity, what I saw was Nunu with her disheveled hair, panting heavily.
‘Heh, heh… Are you finally coming to your senses?’
Nunu? Why do you look like that… Are you okay?!
‘I’m fine. I’m fine, so…
The disheveled Nunu actually apologized, saying she was sorry.
She didn’t expect me to get that angry over a joke… She even lowered her head.
I tried to wave my hand saying it was okay, but she kept apologizing.
If she keeps doing that, I’m going to feel guilty. It makes my heart soft.
…I can’t let this happen.
Nunu unnie.
‘Really sorry… Huh? Wait a minute. What did I just say…?
Since it seemed like Nunu’s apology would never end, I hugged her tightly and said “unnie.”
So what? Calling her unnie won’t make me any less of a manly man.
I can do this much.
What matters is the inside, not the outside.
…That’s right. Yeah! What’s important is the inner core of me, the manly man, not this fragile little body!
Thinking this way, my lost confidence began to return. I knew it!
No matter how weak this body is to compliments and pats, the fact that I’m a manly man never changes!
Sometimes, I’ll call you unnie like this. But really, only sometimes. It’s still a bit embarrassing to say it too often…
“Really, really thank you, Maru! You have a big heart!”
…Nunu, you also have a big heart.
In a slightly different sense.
Yay~”
“Ugh, eww. I feel dizzy…”
At some point, the gloomy expression on Nunu disappeared, and in front of me was Nunu, smiling happily while spinning around, holding onto me.
But, since my feet don’t touch the ground, I feel so dizzy. It’s like riding a Viking… Ugh.
Knock knock.
After spinning for a while, someone knocked from the other side of the large door to the mercenary dorm.
Is it the commander? Looks like it’s time to go out.
‘Hey, are you guys ready? It’s about time…’
The commander’s voice carried a lot of exhaustion.
Looks like he didn’t sleep much last night.
I slept like a rock though. I have my invincible sleep box. Hehe.
Oh, has it already been that long? Maru, let’s go.
“Yes.
“… “
“…Alright. Unnie.”
When I answered in a barely audible voice, Nunu’s mouth curled into a soft smile.
Does she like being called unnie that much? It’s the happiest expression I’ve seen on her face recently.
Oh, that was close. Did you all remember everything?
When I opened the door, what I saw was the commander, wearing hiking clothes, something you’d expect an old man to wear, which was odd.
Why is he wearing that? Why not just wear a suit?
Of course. I just saw something amazing, so my condition is at its peak right now!
Something amazing…? Well, at least you look fine, so that’s good.”
Nunu winked at me as she looked at me.
“I kept hearing strange noises from the dorm, so I was worried, but you look fine too, Maru. By the way, that thing in your hand…
Ah, right. Now I remember.
I was going to show off the fox rain yesterday, but everyone fell asleep, so I couldn’t.
Ta-da!
I proudly stuck out my chest, straightened my back, and raised the fox rain in one hand to the sky.
Then, I closed my eyes to savor the upcoming compliments.
“… “
“Wow, Maru, you’re so cool! Amazing!”
Well, of course.
Praise me more! Lift me higher!
“Wow, amazing!”
…Wait a minute, there’s one voice missing.
Where did that commander go? Why isn’t he cheering?
What’s going on? I felt a bit puzzled and slowly opened my eyes.
The commander, holding his phone horizontally, made a strange sound and turned his gaze.
Did he take a photo? No, wait. If that were the case, there would have been a click sound.
Could it be…
“Commander! You filmed it, didn’t you?! Delete it now!”
Ah, I got caught. And it’s so cute… Pfft. Oh, no. It’s a weapon that suits me.”
“I heard you laughing too!!
The commander had a faint smile, as if he was about to laugh but held back.
He looked exactly like a father admiring his daughter’s cute antics.
That made me even more annoyed. I’ve told him so many times that I’m not a kid!
My cheeks puffed up on their own. I planted my feet firmly as if I was about to leap forward.
The target… is the commander’s phone!
Eiit!
Grab.
Got it.
Hehe, you underestimated me too much!”
In an instant, I snatched the phone from the commander’s hand and flashed a victorious grin.
…Honestly, I was surprised at how fast I moved, but at least I didn’t fall.
“Huh, huh? Maru, how did you— No! I was wrong! I’ll delete it, just give it back!”
But wait, the commander’s reaction seems… a little extreme?
What is it? Could it be that the commander is also a man and keeps those kinds of pictures on his phone?
“Heh…”
“Maru… What’s with that suspicious smile… Please. I’m begging you, just give it back, okay?”
His reaction was getting more and more desperate.
As expected, I was right.
I nodded slightly and started messing around with the commander’s phone.
“Maru, please! I’m sorry! Give it back!”
The commander was now practically in tears, frantically trying to grab me.
But I easily dodged his hands and continued fiddling with the phone until I finally found the album.
There was no lock, so a single tap opened it. Nice!
“Bingo.”
“Alright, time to check out the commander’s dark and amazing collection of—”
Wait.
Hold on.
What… is this…?
“Commander… What is this?”
“Ah…”
The commander slumped down, looking like he had lost all hope.
But my eyes were not on him—they were fixed on the phone.
The album contained two types of pictures.
One half was filled with work-related screenshots.
And the other half… was filled with pictures of me.
There were pictures of me taking a big bite of a hamburger with sparkling eyes,
Pictures of me sleeping peacefully with my head on someone’s lap,
Even pictures of me curled up inside a box, purring in my sleep.
…Wait, how did he even take that last one?
“Commander…”
“Ah, no! Maru! There’s a reason for all this…!”
I gave him a cold, unimpressed stare, and he frantically waved his hands, strongly denying it.
No matter what the reason was, this was not okay.
Ugh, trash.
As my gaze grew colder and more lifeless, the commander started sweating profusely, stammering.
“It’s true! There’s a reason! Maru, actually, all of these were sent to me by—mmph! Mmph!”
“…Huh?”
“Commander! You promised not to say anything about that!”
“Mmph! Mmph! Pwah… But I’m about to be socially destroyed! How can I not say anything?!”
What on earth is going on?
“Commander, that’s a really dumb excuse. You were totally on board with it too, saying, ‘Let’s do it right away!’ weren’t you?”
“T-That’s…!”
I blinked in confusion, looking between the commander and Nunu.
They both froze mid-conversation, realizing their mistake.
“…You two. Explain. Quickly and simply.”
“So, you were trying to make me the mascot of the command center or something, and that’s why you took these photos?”
“No, I just took them because you were cute. But then the commander saw them and suggested submitting them for the application…”
“Everyone, quiet.”
So basically, they were planning to register me as a mascot without even asking me.
If they had just given me five puddings and asked nicely, I wouldn’t have refused!
This is entirely their fault for not telling me first.
Hmph.
Flick.
“Ugh.”
“Ouch.”
I flicked both of them on the forehead as they knelt in punishment.
Sneaky adults. Ganging up to mess with a child like this.
At least they seemed genuinely remorseful, bowing their heads and even raising their hands in surrender.
“Sigh. Next time, just tell me in advance. I was really shocked, you know.”
“We were going to tell you, but Nunu said she wanted to see your reaction when you got the mascot outfit, so…”
“Ahem. No excuses.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The commander shrank at my words. Wow, this felt kind of nice. Like being a king.
So in the end, it was Nunu who started this whole mess.
I found the culprit.
“Nunu unnie.”
“M-Maru… It’s nice that you’re calling me ‘unnie,’ but why do your eyes look so scary…?”
“Unnie, I think we need to have a little talk.“
“W-Wait! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Too late. Hold out your hands.
In the end, I scolded her thoroughly until it was time to leave, right before the alarm went off.
Scolding, scolding.