Liliana covered her mouth with both hands.
“Damian~ Will you finally be my friend?”
“I don't know what to call this relationship if it's not a friendship.
Did you think I couldn't be your friend, Liliana?”
He smiled faintly, and the corners of Liliana's lips also curled up.
"Well, I guess so.
It would be weirder if we weren't friends.
Now are you going to call me Lily?"
"..."
Damian remained silent with an ambiguous expression, and Liliana said sheepishly,
“Then at least drop the formalities.”
“It's still a little embarrassing for me.”
Damian lowered his eyebrows apologetically.
This wasn't an excuse, he was really embarrassed.
He's never had an older girlfriend.
He had female subordinates who were older than him, so he felt comfortable talking to them informally, but his older girlfriend was...
Feel different.
It was acceptable for him to impose his control over female subordinates a little.
But he is not allowed to do that with his female friends.
If he spoke informally, he feared that his old domineering habits would resurface because he had not yet completely shed his military mentality.
"I will do it when the time is right."
"Okay, do as you please, Damian."
Liliana closed her lips, looking a little disappointed.
“If you think about it, you won't find that we did anything useful today.
We didn't solve your financial problem, and we didn't practice your handwriting either.”
“Don't we need days like this sometimes?”
When Damian thought about it, he realized that days like today were completely new to him.
Because he had no friends, he rarely spent time in a café to chat with someone close to him.
He didn't feel the need to do that either.
He was also an outcast while at the academy, so he never had lively conversations with people his age.
This was the first time he had become friends with someone, and exchanged trivial conversations and personal information with them.
“But I wonder if I'm taking up too much of your time.”
"I don't have anything else to do anyway."
“Don't you have any friends to meet?”
"I don't have any friends."
“Why?”
"It was that way."
Liliana looked at Damian with a complicated expression as he gave the same evasive answer he gave when asked about her parents.
He was concerned about whether it was acceptable for a social creature to live in such isolation.
Even in the army, Damian tended to be alone without much interaction with others.
People his age avoided him because they felt uncomfortable around him due to his high rank.
Older NCOs like Nicole treated him like a younger brother, but they weren't exactly friends.
Damian said awkwardly,
“Since we're friends now, Liliana, can you go out with me sometimes?”
Liliana's face lit up.
"Of course!
I was the one who asked you to take me around Nishio, remember?
So I should be the one to say it!"
“By the way, have you found a place to live in Nishio?”
“My aunt found me a boarding house near the hospital.
It's two tram stops from here.”
"Show".
“The rent must be expensive there...”
Damian becomes increasingly curious about Pascal's career and financial situation.
But he couldn't honestly ask her if she was rich, so he pretended not to ask.
"Looks like it's time for me to leave.
I'll walk you."
“Uh...has it been that long already?”
Liliana stood, and Damian followed her.
“By the way, do you need any help moving your luggage?”
"I'll hire movers."
He would offer to help her if she needed an extra hand, but she responded again with a money-based solution.
Liliana turned around and said with a smile:
“Let's come out the day after I move and unpack!”
“Are you going to be okay in just one day?”
"I don't have a lot of things anyway.
I'll just bring the essentials, and my aunt will send the rest later."
"I wasn't asking about that.
I meant, do you have enough energy?
Moving can be very stressful."
"Yes".
Liliana thought for a moment, then said:
“I think I'll be okay?”
But Damian shook his head.
“You must rest for three days.”
Hearing these words, Liliana's eyebrows lowered.
"What?
I'm going to die of boredom!
Then I'll go out on my own!"
"No, you can't.
You wouldn't be able to enjoy your life properly without me anyway."
“But still...”
Liliana stared at Damian like a cornered mouse.
“I won't bother you, so please get enough rest for three days.”
“Oh, no~ You're not my mother, Damian, I can't stand this tyranny~ Oh~.”
“Then you can do it if you're sure you'll never see me again.”
"Wow, that's cool."
Liliana felt terrible, but Damian's facial expression remained the same as he escorted her to her room.
Before entering, Liliana let out a loud "Hmph!" loudly and closed the door forcefully.
“A rabbit is still a rabbit, even if it jumps here and there.” Damian wasn't afraid of her at all.
***
A few days later, a handsome young man entered a flower shop early in the morning, and the shop owner, who was just preparing to open the shop, greeted him with a smile.
The young man stood among the colorful flowers, looking as beautiful as a painting.
His dark brown hair, which looked black in the shadows, and his clear gray-blue eyes made even his slightly calm face appear captivating.
“Do you have lilies?”
The florist found a bunch of lilies from a large bouquet and took them out, asking,
“A date?”
"Not really.
Oh, do you sell vases too?"
“To put lilies in it?
Then this vase will be simple and beautiful.”
“I'll take it too, please.
It's a gift, can you wrap it?”
The owner placed the lilies and a matching glass vase in a box and wrapped them separately.
“Whoever it is for will be happy all day long receiving flowers from such a handsome young man.”
"...Thank you for the compliment."
The young man who received the vase and the wrapped bouquet was missing one of his arms, so he hung a shopping bag over his arm and left the store.
Damian grabbed the note with the address and checked the building number to make sure it was in the right place.
He stopped in front of an apartment building with a café on the first floor.
After confirming the address, he paused for a moment and looked at the name plates on each floor.
The nameplate of the unit Liliana was on bore a badge, a badge only given to those who had contributed to the independence movement or were on colonial installations.
But Damian wasn't particularly concerned about that.
He glanced at it once and then the doorbell rang.
As if on time, the main entrance door opened.
Liliana looked excited.
"Hey Damian!
Let's go!"
She quickly ran out of the building without even greeting him properly.
Because of her hasty behavior, Damian pulled her sleeve and reached for what he was holding.
“How have you been the last few days?
This is a housewarming gift, but...”
"Oh, my God!".
Liliana covered her mouth with both hands and laughed.
In her usual impatient manner, she immediately tore off all the wrappings, then hugged the lilies and said:
"Did you choose the lilies on purpose?
They would look great on the table, which was looking a bit empty."
“Is Mrs.
Pascal not here?”
“My aunt came on the moving day and left immediately.
Thanks to that, I was bored for three days.
Someone told me not to move an inch for three days.”
“I understand.
I wanted to at least say hi to her.
Please send my regards.”
“Okay, but that's not important now...”
Liliana thanked him for the gift and said she would prepare it quickly, then hurried back to the building and returned a few minutes later.
"Liliana, don't run."
Damian's warning made Liliana look at him in disbelief.
"What?
Am I your friend or what?"
“It's not good for your heart.”
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Liliana stood there, her hands on her hips, a sassy look on her face.
This allowed Damian to keep a close eye on her.
He was used to seeing her in hospital clothes, so her different outfits seemed unfamiliar.