“Good morning, Yuu-sama.”

“Mm…”

Half-asleep, my vision is blurry and my head is still foggy. In front of me, I see something fluffy.

Autumn has arrived, and though it’s fairly warm during the day, it’s getting chilly in the mornings.

Instinctively, I reach out and grab the fluffiness in front of me.

I thought it was the Kon #2 plushie Kotomi gave me as a present, so I pulled it closer.

“Ah… Yuu-sama, that’s…”

The fluff I grabbed stiffens and then noticeably warms up.

The sensation in my hand is clearly a different kind of softness than a stuffed animal.

“Whoa! Sorry! It was you, Hayami-san?”

Feeling the obvious warmth of a living being, I wake up completely in shock.

Hayami-san, standing before me with an embarrassed look, is wearing a cute, fluffy nightwear.

I was confused in my sleepy state.

“No… it’s understandable. Even though you bear the heavy responsibility of a Major General, you’re still a teenage boy. In the morning, that… happens, right…”

Hayami-san blushes and averts her gaze.

Even though she’s a beautiful older woman, Hayami-san is surprisingly shy about these things, making me feel incredibly guilty.

“Sorry, I mistook you for a stuffed animal.”

“…So Yuu-sama sleeps with stuffed animals.”

Hayami-san mutters, glancing at the Kon #2 plushie beside my pillow.

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s a bit embarrassing to be seen like this.”

I give a vague, evasive answer to her question.

It’s not that I can’t sleep without a stuffed animal or anything.

If that were the case, I wouldn’t be able to sleep on the battlefield.

The reason I sleep with it is because Kotomi strictly ordered me to make sure my scent is embedded in Kon #2.

She checks it periodically and gets angry if the scent is too faint.

But since I can’t tell how strong my own scent is, I’ve recently been using it as a hug pillow while sleeping.

It’s the most efficient way.

“No, I’m happy to see this private side of you, Yuu-sama.”

“By the way, that nightwear is really cute. So fluffy.”

“If you like it, Yuu-sama, I can get one for you too.”

“Really? They have men’s versions too?”

“Yes. It’s mainly for women, but there’s a popular brand that offers matching pajamas for men and even baby sleepwear.”

“As long as it’s not baby-sized, I’d like one.”

It really did look soft and warm. I doubt this stylish brand would sell anything that fulfills Hayami-san’s desire to baby me, but I make sure to clarify just in case.

“Yes. I’ll order it online later, Yuu-sama.”

Hayami-san happily opens her smartphone.

“By the way, it’s not good to maintain military hierarchy at home.”

“What? But you’ve already allowed me to call you Yuu-sama…”

Hayami-san answers, confused.

Well, I also want to relax and unwind at home.

“Wouldn’t it be suffocating for you, Hayami-san? It’s okay. At home, be casual with me, like treating me as your nephew.”

“Nephew…?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Me as Yuu-sama’s aunt… bathing together to wash off spilled juice… an unexpected reaction… and then…”

“Yeah, let’s not go with ‘aunt.’ There seems to be a big discrepancy in the interpretation of that role.”

Hayami-san, getting excited to the point of steaming, really shouldn’t be bringing such scenarios from certain books into reality.

Handling her babying tendency is hard enough; adding the aunt role would be too much.

As I reflect on this, I hear the sound of the front door opening and footsteps running down the hallway.

“Good morning, Yuu-kun! Let’s go to school.”

“Good morning, Mina. You’re early.”

Earlier than usual for her morning visit.

“I just happened to wake up early. Besides, haven’t you made breakfast yet, old lady? Guess I’ll have to make it.”

Mina, still in her pajamas, snorts at Hayami-san, who is lost in her fantasy of aunt-nephew play with me, and heads to the kitchen.

“What… why are you here, little girl?”

“Why? Because making Yuu-kun’s breakfast is my job.”

Coming back to reality a beat later, Hayami-san rushes to stop Mina.

“What!? Making Yuu-sama’s breakfast is my duty as his aunt.”

“Aunt? What are you talking about, old lady? You should really get checked at a hospital.”

Watching the two of them bicker, I head to the bathroom to wash my face, wondering if today’s breakfast will end up being canned rations.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Mu~~~!”

“Come on, cheer up, Mina.”

Mina puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased.

Instructors need to be ready before the students arrive, so we ended up arriving about 20 minutes earlier than usual to match Hayami-san’s work schedule.

Since it meant getting to school early, I suggested to Mina that we could go separately if waking up early was tough for her, but she immediately rejected the idea.

So, we came to the Soul Armor Research Club room until the start of classes.

It’s definitely not because I feel like an outcast in my class and need a place to hide.

“At home, that old lady was in the way, so I couldn’t do the usual. I was waiting all this time because of my double duty in the music corps… and I couldn’t even reach you on the phone, Yuu-kun…”

“Oh, sorry about that. I had some work.”

“Meow~~ purr purr”

To divert from the mission’s topic, I stroked Mina’s throat, and she happily closed her eyes and purred.

“So, how was the music corps?”

“It was really fun. We did serious voice training in the studio and learned some dance moves. I even participated in a garrison event right away. Videos are up on the military’s official channel, want to watch?”

“I’d love to see that.”

Mina opened the video app and played the video.

“I didn’t know the military had a music corps channel. Oh~ cool, ceremonial uniform.”

In the video, Mina was wearing a white ceremonial uniform for events and singing the soprano part of a chorus.

“Were you nervous?”

“Yeah, a bit. But I enjoyed singing.”

I was worried that juggling the duties might be tough for her, but it seems the music corps suits her well.

“Mina is singing a J-POP song that was popular about six years ago. I thought they’d make you sing military songs or go full idol mode.”

“We practice those too. The goal is to appeal to a wide age range and eventually attract younger people. That’s why we upload videos for publicity.”

The military allocates budget and personnel to music, which doesn’t directly help in national defense, for image improvement.

A better image makes other activities easier and aids in recruiting young people.

“I’m not very familiar with online videos. My classmates talk about their favorite channels, but I don’t get it.”

“Start by watching channels related to your interests.”

“Maybe I’ll look for cat videos.”

“…Yuu-kun, cheating on me?”

“What? Is that considered cheating?”

“People who can’t have cats watch those videos as a substitute! You already have me, Yuu-kun!”

While equating herself to a pet was odd in many ways, I managed to cheer Mina up.

I’ll secretly watch cat videos at home when I’m alone.