The leader entered the room with the guests and stood in the middle of the living room. Four personal sofas were placed in the living room; Esmeralda (Female), Angelique, and Siera were seated there, and the sofa that appeared to be Luche’s was empty.
“Come in. Would you like some coffee?”
“Yes.”
Angelique (Female), who had a smile as usual, got up from her seat and headed straight for the kitchen. The cozy feeling after a bath seemed to spread throughout the living room, indicating that the leaders had not been here for long after cleaning up.
“Why are you standing there? Sit down.”
Siera, noticing I was standing there unsure where to sit, said this while looking at me. The four sofas seemed to be for the leaders.
I thought about sitting on the floor when Luche suddenly hugged my waist from behind.
“Senior! Sit here. Right here.”
She pointed to the empty sofa that appeared to be hers.
Since she told me to sit, it made sense to sit on the sofa she indicated. I sat down right away.
“!”
As soon as I sat down, Luche stared intently at me and sat on my lap.
Next to me, Siera looked surprised and glanced at Luche, and Esmeralda (Female), who was holding a tablet, also glanced over.
“I called you here to discuss post-training procedures.”
Unaffected by the gazes of the two, Luche picked up the tablet that was on the table.
“Yes, I thought you would.”
It felt awkward to tell Luche to get off my lap or to say I was okay with it, so I didn’t say anything about her sitting on my lap.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Angelique (Female), who had somehow brought coffee, put a cup filled with coffee on the table, and I thanked her. Smiling, Angelique (Female) sat on the sofa she had just vacated, and everyone’s attention turned to the tablet.
“How was the training content?”
“It was good. There were many things that worried me, but everyone worked hard, and it seems to have wrapped up well.”
Although I designed it, I couldn’t confidently say it was great. I believe the success came from all the participants focusing on the training situation and doing their best.
While I think the participants’ engagement contributed more than my ability, I couldn’t fully accept Esmeralda’s (Female) praise.
“I was worried about missing rule breaks.”
“How could you miss it if they’re making such a fuss from the beginning?”
Spacystro has various trainings, and most have rules.
The rules are meant to confirm if a situation can be overcome without using specific methods, but they don’t necessarily have to be followed.
If during training, there’s no way to break through, breaking the rules and using limited methods isn’t considered an issue.
However, all trainings are evaluated, so breaking the rules will affect the evaluation.
But breaking the rules, inducing rule breaks, is also part of the training.
If it’s judged that the rule can’t be followed within the rules or the conditions for following the rules aren’t met, breaking the rule is acceptable.
It’s unclear whether you must follow or break the rules, but judging this is also part of the training, so being aware of it is very important.
At the start of this training, I announced it would be conducted using the communication system, and immediately after starting, I disabled all communication systems.
Originally, there was no structure for communication.
It started as a training to see the coordination between the headquarters team and the rescue team, but the headquarters team became non-functional from the beginning. This allowed us to assess the headquarters team’s response capabilities.
The four teams quickly realized they couldn’t rely on communication and abandoned the headquarters to focus on the original mission: rescue.
“I was good too. It seemed like those ahead were struggling.”
“I just got hit by a few punches earlier.”
Hearing Luche, I felt pain where I had been hit by colleagues earlier.
Esmeralda (Female) seemed to anticipate I would get hit, and chuckled slightly when I mentioned getting hit.
“But there were many flaws.”
“What specifically?”
Luche, who was looking at the tablet, leaned back against me and spoke.
I knew there were many flaws in the training content, but it was hard to pinpoint what needed supplementation. Luche showed me the screen of the tablet she was holding.
As Luche leaned against me and I slightly lowered my head to look at her tablet, our bodies became closer, and everyone’s attention shifted to us.
“Hold on. No matter what, we’re having a meeting. Isn’t it too close?”
Seeing this, Siera finally voiced her discontent, and Luche looked proudly at her.
“Why? Are you jealous because you want to sit on the senior’s lap?”
Seeing Luche confidently assuming she was on my lap, Siera, feeling provoked, blushed.
“No way! There’s a folding chair in the bedroom and chairs in the kitchen. Why not use one of those instead of sitting on A’s lap?”
“Because sitting on the senior’s lap is better.”
Unable to hide her frustration, Siera looked at me, and Luche, still looking proud, turned to look at me, startled.
I couldn’t meet her eyes.
Avoiding Luche’s gaze, which was now reddened, I felt a physical reaction that I couldn’t ignore.
“Don’t take it too seriously. We’ll have a proper meeting back at headquarters, and this is just a quick check.”
Esmeralda (Female), usually serious during meetings, stepped in to mediate between the two. As she said, we weren’t officially meeting, but rather gathering to review the training briefly after it ended.
There would be a detailed meeting back at headquarters, so it wasn’t urgent.
Seeing Siera lose, her face full of frustration, Luche, who was still looking proud, was lifted by Esmeralda (Female).
“Why, why?!”
“If you keep sitting there, A will be uncomfortable.”
“The senior is fine! Senior, am I making you uncomfortable?”
I couldn’t answer Luche’s question as I turned away.
Her presence caused a physical reaction that hadn’t subsided, and Luche seemed to notice this, blushing and not asking further questions.
Esmeralda (Female) lifted Luche under her armpit and returned to her seat, placing Luche on her lap.
“It’s uncomfortable because my chest is pressing against your back.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you sit on A’s lap or mine; something is touching either way.”
Coughing to change the atmosphere, I tried to lighten the mood. But Siera’s expression was already stiff, and Angelique (Female) found Esmeralda (Female)’s comment amusing, covering her mouth and giggling.
Particularly, Luche, who already felt something pressing against her buttocks, sat quietly on Esmeralda’s (Female) lap without saying a word.
“Let’s quickly review and wrap up.”
We briefly reviewed the post-training content via the tablet.
I intended to keep it simple, but with five people concentrating intensely, it didn’t end quickly.
We discussed all aspects of the day-long training and the situations and environments of each team in sequence.
Even though we took a meal break, we continued talking during and after the meal, and the discussion extended back into the guest room.
After taking appropriate breaks, we eventually talked until night fell.
“It’s nighttime.”
“Yeah.”
Following Esmeralda (Female) to the terrace to smoke, I went out to enjoy the breeze.
Luche and Angelique (Female) went to the convenience store to buy snacks, and Siera remained alone in the room, browsing her smartphone.
“We wanted to finish quickly, but it took longer than expected.”
“It was hectic, and we need to summarize the workload for the subordinates, so there’s still a lot to do.”
“I trust you with that.”
“Just leave it to me. It’s routine for me.”
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Esmeralda (Female) spoke casually.
“Should we go up to the third floor now?”
“Yes. I can’t stay away from my post forever.”
I stayed in Team 1 only during the training period. Since there was no immediate work for Team 3 and no confrontation was planned, I moved to Team 1 to design the training. Returning to Team 3 after the training was over was natural.
Though I knew this, when the time came to return to Team 3, Esmeralda (Female) showed signs of reluctance.
“I can see you whenever I come to the headquarters.”
“There’s a big difference between your office in Team 1 and Team 3.”
During my time in Team 1, Esmeralda (Female) could see me right away when she arrived at work. She didn’t need to come to Team 3 to see me.
But if I returned to Team 3, she would have to come to Team 3’s office to see me.
While it might seem trivial, over time, such a small action can become bothersome and make someone sensitive.
“…Sister.”
I decided not to call her “Sister” until the end of the training, aiming to focus on designing the training. Today’s training had ended.
With no reason left not to call her, I gently called her, and Esmeralda (Female), who was smoking, turned in surprise.
“Why, why?”
Our eyes met, and she had a flushed face, which was rarely seen.
“Even if I return to Team 3, it’s different from before.”
My relationship with her had changed. Now, we understood each other’s feelings, and we no longer felt the awkwardness of seeing each other as before.
We could now look at each other comfortably, and every additional step in our interaction would add to the warmth between us.
“Say it nicely.”
Seeing my intention, Sister smiled and leaned against me.
For a moment, we felt each other’s body heat, and she extinguished her cigarette, then we kissed.
After the short kiss, we continued looking into each other’s eyes.
“Cigarette smell.”
!”
Her face turned red at my gentle remark.
“Let’s brush our teeth.”
Esmeralda (Female), who was closely standing, hurriedly entered the room, and without looking back, went to the bathroom.
Smiling, I entered the room through the door she left open and found myself alone with Siera.
“What did you do outside?”
“Just chatted.”
“…and kissed.”
“Did you see?”
“The window is completely transparent. Did you think it wouldn’t be seen?”
Looking at Siera’s expressionless face, I saw the transparent glass window and looked back at her.
Her expression didn’t soften, and she glanced at me while looking at her smartphone.
“Siera.”
“Yeah?”
Sitting on the sofa, I quietly called her, watching her gloomy expression.
Reluctantly, Siera approached me at my gesture, and I pulled her waist toward me, making her sit on my lap.
“Ah! What, what? Suddenly?”
“Huh? Didn’t you want me to hold you?”
Smiling playfully, I noticed Siera’s face turning red, but she couldn’t hide her smile.
“When did I ever think that? I never thought that.”
“If you didn’t, there’s nothing I can do.”
When I tried to release my arm around her waist, Siera grabbed my face and suddenly kissed me.
Although it was sudden, since I expected it, I didn’t panic and kissed her back calmly, letting our tongues intertwine.
“That’s what you wanted.”
I couldn’t hide the laughter when words slipped out after the kiss.
Siera’s face, realizing she was caught, showed no sign of returning to its original color.
“Cheating.”
She kissed me again, and embracing her waist tightly, I pulled her closer to me, kissing her passionately.
