Getting married was a remarkably simple affair: filling out forms, paying the fee, taking photos, and receiving the certificate.
Within a few minutes, their relationship had officially transitioned from “friends” to “partners.”
Tregear tucked the marriage certificate into his pocket. “I need to get back to work; the current project is a bit busy.”
“Yeah, I have to get back too,” Taro said. “Brother Zoffy gave me a mountain of documents to process.”
Minutes earlier, they had arrived together; minutes later, they parted ways at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau. To any passerby unaware of the situation, it probably looked more like a divorce than a wedding.
During the lunch break, Hikari stood holding a cup of coffee and asked his subordinate, “Tregear, when do you plan on applying for your marriage leave?”
“I’m not in a rush to apply yet. Isn’t the project in a critical stage? If I take leave now, everyone else will have to work much harder,” Tregear replied.
“That’s true, though I thought given how much you usually hate working, you’d be eager to take time off,” Hikari remarked.
“Regular overtime is what affects my mood. I can handle a bit of extra work every now and then,” Tregear said.
“Hearing you say that makes it almost impossible for me not to approve your leave,” Hikari said.
“So, Chief Hikari, were you originally planning to block my request?” Tregear asked, somewhat speechless.
“Of course. Why on earth would anyone get married? And even if you do, why take three months off? The Science Bureau’s marriage leave policy is absurdly indulgent. How can we justify three months? We should be pouring all our energy into infinite scientific research!” Hikari declared with idealistic passion.
“Only to have the latest technology stolen again because the security was insufficient,” Tregear deadpanned.
Hikari felt as if an arrow had pierced his chest. He weakly defended himself: “That’s not my department. I’m only responsible for research and development. Security is Zoffy’s problem.”
“It is strange, though. Why does the Science Bureau always get robbed?” Tregear truly didn’t understand.
“It’s not that hard to understand. You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can’t be on guard for a thousand days. If they try to steal enough times, eventually they’ll find a gap in the defenses.” Hikari let out a sigh.
“And then the universe falls into chaos,” Tregear added.
“It can’t be helped. Technology can’t just remain stagnant forever.” Hikari shrugged.
“Speaking of which, I always thought you and Commander Zoffy would get married,” Tregear said.
“Him and me? Impossible.” Hikari waved the idea away.
“Why? You two seem to have a very good relationship.” Tregear stared at the marks on Hikari’s neck, not quite following the logic.
“It’s just… you know? An interaction between adults,” Hikari said, describing his relationship with Zoffy. “Besides, Zoffy isn’t my type. I like types like Arb.”
“So, Chief, are you ‘Planet-sexual’?” Tregear found this absolutely ridiculous more ridiculous, even, than Taro proposing to him.
“Let me ask you a question: do you think Zoffy likes me?” Hikari put down his coffee cup and asked.
“…” Tregear found it difficult to imagine. He couldn’t picture Commander Zoffy setting aside his mountain of official duties to wander around aimlessly with Chief Hikari, nor could he envision a wedding scene. Zoffy would likely be so busy with work that he’d miss the ceremony entirely.
“See? You can’t say it either,” Hikari said. “Feelings have to be mutual. If one person can’t feel the other’s affection, they naturally won’t fall in love.”
“But things seemed quite… intense between you two last night,” Tregear pointed out.
“You can think of it as a method for stress relief,” Hikari replied.
Tregear was astonished that Hikari could speak of such a thing so matter-of-factly. To him, it was impossible to view intimacy with such detachment.
“So, Chief, are you the one on top?” Tregear asked.
“Of course. How else could someone be pushed down?” Hikari answered naturally.
For some reason, Tregear suddenly remembered something Taro had once told him:
Brother Zoffy… he’s the type who looks kind but has a dark heart. He’s incredibly calculating. When I was bullied as a kid, Zoffy acted like best friends with the kid who apologized to me. Then, once the kid let his guard down, Zoffy lured him to a remote corner, put a bag over his head, and beat him up to get revenge for me. They’re still ‘friends’ to this day.
Tregear truly couldn’t fathom what kind of massive return Zoffy expected to get by “investing” so heavily in Hikari.
Tregear stole a glance at the still-oblivious Hikari and felt a fleeting second of pity for him. He had a feeling that Hikari’s future might be quite miserable.
Ah, this coffee is actually delicious.