Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 183

Once a week, it was finally the day to meet Ellie.

As usual, I headed to the Future Digital Comprehensive Center with Sohee.

Inside the digital center, the area with the reaction speed testing machines was surrounded by large red tape, as if to prohibit access to the general public.

The only people allowed in were me, Sohee, and Ellie.

“Yeo.”

“Yeah?”

“Should we grab lunch after this?”

I checked the time at Sohee’s suggestion. It was 12:10 PM.

Just the right time for lunch. Although I had no idea how long today’s test would take.

I nodded.

“Sure.”

Speaking of lunch, where was a good place to eat?

Lunch was the most important meal of the day. Ideally, I wanted something warm and hearty.

I imagined various menus that came to mind and smacked my lips.

“O-”

As I was indulging in my thoughts and heading toward the testing device, I spotted Ellie, who had arrived first.

She had a sly smile on her face, as if she was up to something good.

Did something pleasant happen?

“Ah, um, how long have you been watching us?”

Noticing Sohee and me looking at her, Ellie jumped in surprise and hid her phone behind her back.

She looked like a child caught doing something naughty.

Was she watching something inappropriate?

I crossed my arms and nodded.

At this age, I could understand all too well.

“You’re early today?”

“Um, I happened to have something to do nearby…”

“Then shall we get ready?”

“Sure.”

Ellie said that and stood up. She then removed her coat.

Her white hair spilled out over her white neck.

Ellie’s test would take place after mine.

I also took off my coat.

“Shall I go in first?”

Just like last week, I crawled into the large capsule to start the test.

As the reaction speed testing game increased in difficulty, the speed of incoming targets increased.

Today would be no different. I prepared to dodge the targets with familiar movements.

As the stages got harder, the white pain stimulating my head grew stronger.

Just then, I was immersed in the test when I heard Sohee’s voice from outside.

[Yeo, can you hear me?]

“Ah, I can hear you.”

I happened to be taking a breather since I finished the current stage.

I twirled the sword in my hand and replied.

[Usually, this is where it ends. But we added one more stage up ahead.]

“You added another one?”

[Yeah, think you can handle it?]

I rubbed my throbbing head and nodded.

I still had plenty of energy left.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

[Then shall we start? It’s okay to stop if it’s too hard.]

I swung the sword in my hand while getting in position.

Suddenly, a large number appeared in front of me, and the countdown began.

It’s okay to stop if it’s too hard, huh.

I chuckled lightly and focused ahead.

As the number counting down from 5 hit 1, the test began.

Fifteen targets emerged from afar, just like in the previous stage.

In that moment, the targets started moving.

And they moved really fast.

“Ugh!”

I swung my sword in panic. Thankfully, I hit two of the targets, but the others zoomed by my body.

I couldn’t respond properly to their unexpectedly rapid speed and erratic movements.

“You’re too fast!”

[Is it hard?]

“Is it hard…? No way!”

It’s not hard. In fact, this is what I wanted. I felt the white pain stimulating my head as I rotated my wrist.

This isn’t the game Deron. My physical abilities here were not very different from reality.

If this were Deron, I would have easily blocked it.

“Again.”

[Are you really okay?]

I nodded at Sohee’s worried question.

Then, the test began again.

The fifteen targets emerged again.

I exhaled quietly and aimed my sword.

In that moment, the targets started moving.

Winning this test is simple. Just swing the sword to cut through the flying targets.

As long as they don’t touch me, there’s no way I could lose.

My legs stretched out to steady my body as I aimed my sword at the air.

The sword would reach the bullets’ path before they even hit me.

Thwack!

I felt a clear sensation at my fingertips. I rotated my body and hopped slightly.

In that instant, a new target hit my blade while the other targets zipped past me.

They didn’t touch me.

As my slightly airborne body landed, new targets flew toward me.

Thwack! Thwack!

Once again, twice—

As long as I didn’t get greedy, this wasn’t a particularly difficult challenge.

I laughed lightly while moving my body.

As the number of targets flying toward me decreased, I started to feel more relaxed.

Bouncing around and eliminating the targets, I successfully passed the last test that Sohee had prepared.

Since my body was quite similar to that of reality, I was a bit out of breath.

“Done!”

[Does your head hurt?]

“I’m fine!”

[Good. Then I’ll end the test.]

As Sohee spoke, the white space began to collapse.

After blinking a few times, I opened my eyes inside the large capsule.

As if waking up from a long nap, strength flowed back into my body.

“Oh…”

Just as I tried to get up, I spotted the gleaming screen of my phone.

A message had arrived from my secret friend.

Guide of Light – [Soft & Chewy Raccoon, have you eaten lunch yet?]

The meeting was a bit strange, but they weren’t a bad person.

Getting close to someone who shared a common purpose felt quite nice.

I chuckled lightly as I typed a message.

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [I’m about to go eat. Have you eaten, Guide of Light?]

Guide of Light – [Not yet. Once I’m done with this task, I think I’ll go eat.]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Are you working on something?]

Guide of Light – [You could say that.]

As I read Guide of Light’s message, I tilted my head.

Following what I told them, Guide of Light was often rotating through various accounts to post on the gallery.

Since he was always posting like that, I assumed he was just a jobless person, but I guess not.

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [What kind of work do you do?]

Guide of Light – [Various things, mostly helping my parents with their work.]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [I see…]

“Yeo? You can come out now.”

At that moment, I heard Sohee’s voice from outside the capsule.

I jumped, quickly stuffing my phone into my pocket.

“I’m coming!”

As I scrambled out of the capsule, I saw Ellie standing next to Sohee.

Ellie was grinning at her phone.

This was perfect timing. I grabbed Ellie’s hand before she could get into the capsule.

“Hey, Ellie.”

“Yeah…?”

Ellie, distracted by her phone, looked up with a puzzled expression.

What could be so captivating to make her react so slowly?

Her usual cool demeanor seemed to have vanished completely.

“Did you eat lunch?”

“Uh, lunch…? I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Then let’s eat together.”

Ellie blinked her large eyes at my offer.

Her light sky-blue eyes slowly swayed.

I chuckled lightly as I watched her.

Even though we maintained adversarial relations in the game, there was no need for that to carry over into real life.

I wanted to befriend this small girl.

“Really…? You want to eat with me?”

“Yep. Sohee here is joining us too.”

I pointed to Sohee as I said that.

Ellie turned her gaze from me to look up at Sohee.

Since Ellie was shorter than me, she had to look up at Sohee.

At that moment, I caught a glimpse of Sohee’s expression changing.

Sohee’s elegant eyebrows were twitching slightly.

Was there some itch she needed to scratch?

“Sounds good…”

Ellie nodded enthusiastically.

Then she entered the capsule.

Sohee and I watched her silently.

“Hayun.”

“What?”

Sohee called me but was quiet for a moment.

What could she possibly want to say?

“Never mind…”

Did she forget what she wanted to say?

Finally, Sohee sighed and turned to start the test.

At that moment, my phone, which I had shoved into my pocket, vibrated weakly.

I pulled out my phone to check the screen, and a message had arrived from my secret friend.

Guide of Light – [Soft & Chewy Raccoon, I need your help.]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [What’s up?]

Guide of Light – [I have an important appointment, a lunch date, and I’m not sure what to do…]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [An important lunch date? It seems like your date is significant?]

Guide of Light – [That’s right. A very important one.]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [What do you want to do with them?]

Guide of Light – [I-I want to get closer with them…]

I paused for a moment while contemplating the message from my secret friend.

He wanted to get closer to someone he had an important lunch appointment with.

Could he possibly be talking about a blind date?

The way he talked and wrote made him seem like he was an older guy.

It wasn’t impossible.

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [First, do you share any common interests with that person?]

Guide of Light – [Common interests…!]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Sit as close as possible with that person and keep the conversation going around that topic. Complimenting the person naturally will yield better results, too.]

Guide of Light – [Oh…]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Of course, make sure not to overstep and keep it comfortable for them.]

Guide of Light – [You seem to know a lot. You’ve been really helpful. Thank you very much.]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [I hope you get close!]

Guide of Light – [Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve got to go now, got some work.]

After this message, Guide of Light stopped sending anything else.

In that instant, Ellie’s capsule began to hum with light.

It seemed the test was about to start.

I turned my gaze to where Sohee was sitting.

She looked furrowed, as if something was bothering her.

She was tapping the keyboard in front of her in a fidgety manner.