Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 172

As soon as I exited the Rock Mountain, I immediately used the Summon Order to call forth Guild Members.

From the beam of light descending from the sky, countless people poured out.

“Guild Leader?”

Given the suddenness of the summons, everyone looked pretty surprised.

However, there were no complaints. I quickly set Sohee down and opened my mouth urgently.

“There’s an enemy in front, at the foot of the Rock Mountain. It’s the Exorcist Guild.”

Since the day of the server merger, we had encountered various skirmishes with the Exorcist Guild, big and small.

Because of that, our guild members were utterly terrified of the Exorcist Guild.

The summoned Guild Members, having no clue, were seething with anger.

Thank goodness. I thought there would be fewer players online due to Christmas, but more showed up than I expected.

As I sighed in relief, a Snow Mage approached, her blue robe fluttering.

In her always playful eyes, I could see the flicker of curiosity.

“Hey, Blood Demon King!”

“Yes?”

“Who is that person?”

“Ah…”

The Snow Mage pointed to a small girl who had plopped down behind me.

As expected, just a change in appearance was enough for others not to recognize her.

Even though the nickname ‘Jupiter’ was clearly floating above her head.

“Could it be, could it not be?”

“Yep. It’s Jupiter.”

“Whoa…!”

The Snow Mage looked shocked at my answer and cautiously approached Jupiter.

However, Jupiter’s reaction was strange.

She seemed utterly deflated, sitting on the ground without any response.

Although Jupiter’s odd behavior was concerning, it was time to deal with the Exorcist Guild.

“Everyone, form a party!”

After quickly assembling the party, I handed over command to the Snow Mage.

I would have preferred to take action myself, but I had to check on Jupiter’s condition.

“Take care. Wipe those guys out.”

“Got it!”

The Snow Mage led the guild members into the depths of the Rock Mountain.

“Jupiter.”

Jupiter didn’t respond. She sat on the ground, merely exhaling blankly.

What on earth happened?

I sat down on the ground and locked eyes with Jupiter.

Her gaze darted around rapidly. The small girl in white kept scanning her surroundings intensely.

The speed of her eye movement was unnaturally fast.

“Could it be…”

I suddenly remembered something Jupiter had said.

Was her question about how to handle things referring to this?

Could it be that she couldn’t control her own abilities?

Was she still feeling that white-hot pain?

I reached out and grabbed Jupiter’s cheek.

Her soft, white cheeks squished under my grip.

“Snap out of it!”

In this state, I had no way to help her.

We had to escape this moment.

“Jupiter!”

She probably couldn’t hear me. Everything around her seemed frozen in time.

But the sensations in her body were intact. I held her cheeks and pulled them to the sides.

Stretch—

The white cheeks, which stretched like glutinous rice cakes, made Helena, watching nearby, gulp and turn her head away.

Her trembling shoulders showed she was trying hard not to laugh.

“Jupiter!”

“Hnngh.”

A voice slipped out. Jupiter, who had been floundering in the other time, was slowly beginning to descend to reality.

I shook her cheeks wildly.

“Wake up!”

“Ugh…!”

She finally fell. She fell completely.

Jupiter groaned faintly and gripped my hand.

“Are you okay? Are you back to normal?”

“H-hi…”

She was still not herself.

I gently tapped her head.

I had to keep stimulating her body. I needed to distract her and touch unexpectedly sensitive spots.

At that moment, Jupiter’s body went limp, as if her consciousness had slipped away.

“Uh…”

[Standby Mode]

[Slow Party]

[Knight of Light]

[Jupiter]

Above Jupiter’s nickname, the words “Standby Mode,” implying a temporary logout, appeared.

It seemed she momentarily disconnected from the capsule.

I cradled her limp body and stood up.

Helena’s worried gaze followed behind me. She didn’t seem pleased carrying the supposed enemy, Jupiter.

I moved Jupiter to a safe spot and gently set her down.

Despite her small frame, she felt surprisingly heavy.

It was probably due to the thick full plate mail draped over her.

The more I looked, the cuter she became. Why had Jupiter hidden this appearance while playing as an old man in the game?

I sat down near her and looked down at Jupiter.

Although it couldn’t be the same as reality, the sensation of her soft cheeks lingered on my fingertips.

It was about five minutes later that Jupiter returned.

“Gasp…”

Once she regained her bearings, Jupiter fumbled around her body and glared at me.

Why was she looking at me like that? I furrowed my brows and glared back.

After a lengthy, pointless staring contest, the first one to relent was Jupiter.

The white girl averted her gaze with a weak sigh.

“Blood Demon King… You must have seen that, right?”

“Are you talking about that white-hot pain?”

Jupiter must have been referring to the acute acceleration that came with the white pain.

I nodded.

“Blood Demon King, how are you able to escape that pain?”

I bit my lip at Jupiter’s question.

If someone suddenly asked how to breathe, how many could explain it easily?

It’s a natural talent. From the moment one realizes their talent, they learn how to use it too.

There was no way I could explain how.

“Please. Blood Demon King, help me…”

Her last words fell away helplessly. The tone she had maintained crumbled.

Jupiter looked at me with desperate eyes.

The shining knight she envisioned was crumbling, revealing only a powerless girl in her place.

“I want… to be like you…”

What do I do?

I slowly glanced at Helena.

Helena was also looking at Jupiter with a complex expression.

“Jupiter.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

At that moment, Helena, who had been silently watching, suddenly spoke up.

It was quite unusual for her to address Jupiter first.

Jupiter seemed equally surprised, gazing at Helena.

“Can you find me in reality?”

“You…? You mean find you, not the Blood Demon King?”

“Yeo will naturally be with me.”

“Are you saying you could help me? If we meet in reality, can I really control this?”

Helena didn’t answer that question. But Jupiter seemed satisfied with that, smiling brightly.

“I’ll go. I will definitely go… so please help me.”

I looked up at Helena without a word.

I had said I would go without hesitation, and while looking so confident, what would happen if I hid away?

*

After wrapping up the brief war in Deron, I returned to reality and met Sohee.

She took me to the Future Digital Comprehensive Center.

It was the first time for Sohee to volunteer to help someone.

I looked up at her with a questioning gaze.

“Do you really know how to control it?”

I couldn’t put it into words, so how could Sohee help Jupiter?

“You know Hayeon has the method.”

“I know, but I don’t know how to do it. Can you explain how to breathe to someone else?”

At her question, Sohee fell silent.

How long did we walk? The place I arrived with Sohee was the machine where we had tested reaction speed before.

It seemed to be under inspection now, with a red tape surrounding it, and a huge tarp covering the machinery.

“Why are we here? Planning to test reaction speed again?”

“Something like that. We stopped during the last test, right?”

“Hmm…”

I recalled a vague memory.

Indeed, it had ended abruptly as the difficulty was ramping up.

While examining the machinery, a girl began to walk slowly from a distance.

White hair danced softly over a smooth cashmere coat.

It was just like yesterday.

Sohee spoke to Jupiter.

“You heard the explanation over the phone, right? All the data coming from here is mine.”

“Yep.”

“Don’t let anyone outside know.”

“Okay.”

“You must keep Hayeon a secret as well. Got it?”

“I know.”

As Jupiter responded to Sohee’s words, she looked at me with a complicated gaze.

Why was she looking at me like that? I crossed my arms, faking confidence, and looked down at Jupiter.

As I thought, I was slightly taller.

“Hayeon.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you go inside?”

It’s a request from a friend. And it’s about helping Jupiter.

Even though we’re adversaries in the game, having learned her situation, I couldn’t just stand by.

“So I just need to test my reaction speed?”

“Something like that.”

It wasn’t too complicated.

As soon as I nodded, Sohee began activating the testing device.

A faint light filtered through the thick tarp.

“Both of you come inside.”

Sohee said that as she stepped inside the tarp.

I silently stared at Jupiter.

As expected, my eye level was slightly above hers. I smirked down at her.

She was really small.

“Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“Nothing.”

The moment I stepped into the tarp with Jupiter, I immediately connected to the virtual world.

Through a huge screen, the figures of Jupiter and Sohee appeared.

[Ah, Hayeon. Can you hear me?]

“Yep.”

[Just think of it as a reaction speed test. It won’t be anything hard.]

“Really? Is that it? Can this help Jupiter?”

[Don’t worry about Hayeon.]

Easier said than done.

I gave a slight nod with a grimace.

Then the reaction speed test began.

The weapon I used was the familiar sword.

Holding the long one-handed sword, I moved my body and swung it just like before.

As the stages increased, the speed of the targets began to quicken.

I had thought about it before, but indeed, this test was not particularly difficult.

With nothing out of the ordinary, the test concluded.

It felt a bit anticlimactic.

“Is that it?”

[Good job. You can come out now.]

As I exited the virtual world, Jupiter immediately crawled into the capsule.

I sat down in a nearby large chair, watching her with concern.

*

[Can you hear me?]

“Ah… I can hear you.”

The girl called Jupiter in Deron, Ellie, nodded at the voices coming from all around.

She arrived in the virtual world without a hitch.

[Check your body first.]

Ellie followed the voice’s instructions.

She moved her arms and legs slowly, feeling her body.

The short limbs felt just like reality, and even the soft skin was the same.

At that moment, black hair swayed right in front of Jupiter’s eyes.

“This, this is…?”

[Did you notice? That’s…]

“The Blood Demon King’s body…!”

[That’s right. It’s Hayeon’s body.]

“What on earth are you doing…?”

[I’m going to replay Hayeon’s memories for the next 30 minutes.]

“30 minutes…?”

Just as Ellie foolishly asked that, her arms and legs began to move uncontrollably.

“What, what’s happening?!”

*

“What is this…?”

Why couldn’t I see anything?

I stared at the pitch-black screen that appeared after Jupiter entered.

Could it be broken?

Glancing back at Sohee, she waved at me with a light smile.

“Hey, Sohee?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t see the screen.”

“Oh, Jupiter asked me. She doesn’t want to show it.”

“Gasp…”

It seemed like the game and reality were completely different.

The once confident Knight of Light, Jupiter, was a shy girl in reality.

How cute…

I nodded while picturing Jupiter’s face.