With the team now nine, night watch duties could be more relaxed. Excluding Candice and Lianne, seven members could guard.
"45 drives better than me. You'll drive tomorrow, so no night watch for you."
"As for AA-12, I hope you can rest at night. The car is cramped, and you need energy for potential combat. Your shotgun is excellent for close combat."
"If it's your order, I'll follow… though I lack motivation during the day."
AA-12 leaned lazily against the wall.
"I'll try to avoid day combat for you."
She didn't object.
"You'll take first half of the night, M99 the second."
Lux assigned duties.
"Ah wah wah!"
M99 squeaked like a startled rabbit.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"I… I can't guard alone. I'm… afraid of ghosts."
M99 looked sadly at Lux.
"Uh… then…"
Lux considered fairness.
"If you don't mind, M99 and Lianne will share the second half of the night. I was just sleeping in the VIP room to conserve energy. I'm rested now, so I can keep you company."
Lianne smiled, eager to take part in the team's duties to integrate herself.
"Alright… with two, I'll try to overcome my weakness!"
M99 nodded seriously.
"Then that's settled. M99 and Lianne will guard together. Tomorrow, me and Sten. The day after, HK416 and MDR. Rotate every three days. Fair?"
"No objections~"
Everyone nodded.
"Now, gather to reload bullets."
Lux put several boxes of system-supplied ammo in the center. The tactical dolls quietly reloaded.
Lianne glanced enviously at HK416 and others' weapons. She wanted a gun too but held back, considering it was her first day.
HK416 placed her sleeping bag beside Lux, crawled in, and silently watched him.
"Anything to say?"
Noticing HK416's gaze, Lux spoke up.
"C-can we hold hands while sleeping? I… today, when I saw you about to be hit by that crossbow bolt, I was really scared. I was afraid that when I wake up tomorrow morning, you'd be gone. So… can we hold hands while we sleep?"
"Sure. I've never tried sleeping while holding hands with someone before."
Lux smiled and extended his hand. HK416 also reached out, interlacing her fingers tightly with Lux's right hand.
The tactical glove that HK416 usually wore was gone at some point without him noticing. The softness in his grasp made Lux's heartbeat speed up, his face growing warm.
Turning his head, Lux saw MDR staring at him as well, her face flushed red. HK416's passionate look in her beautiful golden eyes made it impossible for him to look away.
"Hey, calm down, calm down. Don't overload your neural system again."
Lux reminded her helplessly. He could feel the temperature of HK416's hand rising noticeably.
"I-I-I'm trying!"
HK416 answered in a fluster.
"H-how about loosening your grip for a bit?"
"I don't want to!!"
HK416's grip instantly tightened from emotional agitation, as if afraid Lux would run away. Her once soft, boneless-like hand surged with strength, clamping tightly around Lux's right hand. Even with his reinforced bones, Lux felt pain shoot through them. After all, he was still human, and his bones couldn't compare to those of a Tactical Doll.
"Oho! Showing off your affection, huh? I can smell the sweet-and-sour scent of young love. Ah, I want to sleep holding hands too."
MDR jeered from the side.
"There's only space for two sleeping bags side by side in this greenhouse corridor! You're not allowed to come over! Tonight, the Commander is mine! He already agreed!"
HK416's emotions flipped instantly. Gritting her teeth, she glared at MDR with intense hostility.
"So scary, so scary. I was just joking. But you'd better relax a bit once you calm down. If we use full grip strength, we'll crush hand bones. I think I just heard bones screaming."
Seeing that HK416 was no longer overheating from embarrassment, MDR reminded her.
"Huh? S-sorry, Commander, I lost control again. I'm really immature… I hurt you again. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it."
Reminded by MDR, HK416 immediately relaxed her grip. With a deathly pale expression, she apologized repeatedly while trying to pull her hand away.
"Hey now, I'm already hurting. Won't you let me get a little compensation? Honestly, girls' hands really are soft. Let me feel it a bit longer."
Lux didn't let go of HK416's hand, smiling as he teased her.
"Eh? If you like it, then feel as much as you want!! Actually, please just keep holding my hand! Wait—if we do that, I won't be able to kill enemies to protect you…"
HK416 fell into a dilemma.
"Heh, during the day we still have to let go. Holding hands all the time would be inconvenient. Let's just sleep for tonight."
"Yes! Understood!"
After experiencing emotional highs and lows, HK416 unconsciously switched to formal speech.
"Then good night. Sweet dreams."
Lux closed his eyes, feeling the warmth coming from HK416's hand, and soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
The night passed quietly.
When Lux woke up, HK416 hadn't woken earlier to stare at him like usual. Judging from the smile at the corner of her lips, she must have had a nice dream.
Looking at HK416's adorable sleeping face, Lux's mood improved as well.
Sensing Lux's gaze, HK416 slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning, Lux. Today, I won't lose to anyone! As long as it's your order, I'll do anything!"
"Yeah, that's reassuring. I'll go prepare breakfast."
"Alright, let me help you."
Reluctantly, HK416 released Lux's hand. The two of them then crawled out of their sleeping bags.