Chapter 151: A Date and a Duel
Come to think of it, he hadn’t gone home yesterday or the day before either.
"Do you even talk with the captain? Do you eat meals together?"
"I... I ask him to sign documents, answer letters, things like that," Shiao Yi said.
"That’s... work, isn’t it? What I mean is... at night... do you... you know?"
Louis’s face turned bright red as he stumbled over his words.
A big bear acting shy was surprisingly adorable.
Now that he thought about it, Shiao Yi realized they hadn’t had any personal time together with Dominic for a while.
He had simply never had the chance.
He remembered the slightly lonely look on Dominic’ face when he had asked, "You’re not going home yet today?"
At that time, Shiao Yi had been completely consumed by work.
He didn’t even think about feeling lonely, even though he spent most of the day in the office with Dominic.
For his part, whenever he looked up from the documents and saw Dominic’ face, he would think, "Yeah, he looks so good today," feel satisfied, and immediately return to his work.
But for Dominic, maybe there was something he wanted to say.
As Shiao Yi pondered this, Louis pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture.
"Please! Please, Shiao Yi! You have to ask the captain to go on a date! You have to help us!"
"A d-date...?" Shiao Yi muttered.
A date... what exactly do you do?
He vaguely remembered someone once mentioning tea or going to see a movie.
But what did that mean in this world?
It was something you did together, right?
Not searching enemy bases or anything like that.
Making bombs together probably didn’t count either... right?
"The captain’s back!"
A soldier poked his head in through the door and called out.
He can heard the shuffling footsteps followed, as a few others seemed to be waiting nearby.
These people really...
"Come on, Shiao Yi! You can do it!"
Louis pushed Shiao Yi from behind.
Still a little stunned, Shiao Yi stumbled forward and rushed to stand in front of Dominic, who had just entered the room.
Dominic grabbed Shiao Yi’s shoulder before he could fall and, in a quiet, intimate gesture, he pressed a kiss to his lips.
When Shiao Yi glanced back, Louis was mouthing "Hurry up! You can do it!", practically shoving him along with his eyes.
"Um... so... Dominic?" Shiao Yi began, his voice a little hesitant.
"Hm? What is it?"
Dominic tilted his head slightly, waiting for him to speak.
He looked impossibly handsome, as always—effortlessly perfect no matter what he did.
"T-this time... w-would you... go on a date with me?"
Dominic’ eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled—a bright, genuine smile. He looked truly happy.
You Louis! Don’t make a victory pose or anything like that behind me!
"That’s unusual. You coming to say it first," Dominic said.
"I-I just... I realized we’ve never gone on a date together, just the two of us," Shiao Yi replied feeling a little flustered.
"That’s true. So, Shiao Yi, what do you want to do? I’ll go along with anything," Dominic said warmly.
"Eh? M-me?"
Shiao Yi tried to think clearly.
What did he want to do?
Honestly, he had never been on a date before.
He didn’t even really know what to do.
Drinking tea and eating cake like a girl?
No thanks.
Shopping for clothes?
He didn’t need that.
Movie theaters didn’t exist here.
Training in the simulation facility?
That didn’t count either.
Ah! What should I do? Seriously, the only thing I can think of is making bombs!
"Let’s make time bombs together!" Shiao Yi thought, but that didn’t really sound like a date.
Dominic stood in front of him, his eyes sparkling with expectation and they are shining with excitement.
Behind him, Louis’s silent pressure pressed sharply into Shiao Yi’s back.
I-it’s supposed to be just the two of us... that’s what a date is, right? Just the two of us...
"J-just the two of us..." Shiao Yi muttered.
"Just the two of us?" Dominic asked.
"Let’s spar!"
Behind him, Louis fell over with a thump.
Somewhere down the hallway, something else toppled as well, but Shiao Yi ignored it.
"Dominic, we’ve both been doing a lot of desk work lately, and I haven’t moved much either. I just thought it would be nice to get the body moving a little," Shiao Yi said.
He knew Dominic was strong, but he had never fought him directly.
Shiao Yi was curious—he wanted to try just a little.
He didn’t think he could win, but he wanted to see how much his skills could actually work against him.
Ah... this might be fun.
A wave of excitement ran through him.
Dominic led Shiao Yi to the equipment room next to the training grounds.
Various training weapons were lined up, creating an impressive sight.
Some of the weapons still had sharp blades that was meant for realistic combat training.
There were also many types of spare armor.
Normally, someone would use their own armor, but having all this prepared showed how thorough the arrangements were.
Shiao Yi, being light in weight, chose the lightest leather armor available.
Honestly, finding the right size was difficult.
He picked the smallest one, but even that was too big for him.
Seeing this, Dominic quickly turned his face to the side.
Shiao Yi could clearly tell he was holding back laughter—his shoulders were shaking slightly.
Sigh... it’s probably meant for children, Shiao Yi thought.
Even in his original world, Shiao Yi hadn’t been very tall.
In this world, he felt like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old kid.
He had realized that many times! It’s fine! I’m not worried about it! He told himself.
Worrying wouldn’t help anyway. But he still held onto the small hope that he might grow a bit taller.
From the many weapons available, Shiao Yi chose six wooden throwing knives.
He attached them to the sides of his armor belt, three on each side.