Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 167

“Ugh…”

I had forgotten. No matter how much I summoned equipment from the game, my real body was just that of a fragile female middle schooler.

But then again, the same could be said for that Jupiter standing right in front of me.

Unlike her robust form in the game, she too had the fragile body of a girl in reality.

I stood up and scanned the surroundings.

Thanks to the sudden fight, people looked flustered, but no one seemed inclined to intervene.

I glared at Jupiter. The same pesky character who always showed up at critical moments in the game was now obstructing me in reality.

It was surprising to realize that Jupiter was just a small girl with a height similar to mine, but I wouldn’t let it shake me.

This stage was meant to be mine alone.

The other four randomly drawn participants should be just ordinary enough to make me stand out.

“Ugh… the Blood Demon King… is indeed strong…”

Jupiter stood up again, raising her Holy Sword.

I knew it was pointless. Our swords couldn’t hurt each other anyway.

Still, I had to go along with it. This entire situation was being broadcast over the internet.

I could never leave the impression that I backed down to a sparrow.

“Come on…”

The weight of the Demon Sword in my hand felt endlessly light.

Of course it did. It had no substance.

Yet, even so, Jupiter was taking this situation seriously, portraying a solemn expression as if we were truly in a game.

As she cautiously moved, Jupiter and I began to circle around the podium.

[W-What… is happening right now…?]

Shh.

I shot a glance at the director.

Doesn’t he see we’re in the middle of an important duel?

While Jupiter may not have been as skilled as I was, she was at least cute enough to be called a pretty girl.

If I lost to someone like her and ran away, I definitely wouldn’t be able to maintain my position in Deron Gallery.

Absolutely, absolutely not.

I had to be the best, always.

“Ha-yah!”

“Ha-yah!”

We swung our swords at each other, but no impact surged through my wrist.

My body swayed to the side with the force of our larger movements.

I hadn’t exercised and had only been cooped up in the capsule playing games, so I lacked strength.

But Jupiter was in the same boat.

We both stumbled in a similar fashion, searching for our footing.

My breath started to quicken. I gasped as I faced Jupiter.

If it were the game, I could swing my sword hundreds of times without a second thought.

But this was reality. I bit my lip at the overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

“Gah… guh…”

Jupiter too seemed out of breath, grimacing as she panted.

Instinctively, I recognized it was a good opportunity to finish her off.

I moved immediately. For just a brief moment, if I made a simple move, I could pull off the swordsmanship I used in the game.

“Ha-yah!”

With a short battle cry, I swung my sword. As the diminished Demon Sword swiftly aimed for Jupiter’s body—

Jupiter, who had been standing there with her sword pointed at me, staggered and fell into my arms.

“Gah…”

Contrary to the rigid appearance of the Paladin’s equipment, Jupiter felt soft and warm.

I collapsed down to the ground with her in my arms.

“Hey, hold on a second… Blood Demon King…”

Jupiter muttered, her face pale, as she leaned against me.

At that moment, men in black suits who had been watching from afar bolted towards the podium.

“Miss!”

“Wait, wait! You can’t come up here!”

Deron’s staff, who seemed to be desperately trying to keep them away, were no match for those who had been gaming all day.

The bodyguards in black suits tossed the Deron staff aside and approached me.

No, to be precise, they approached Jupiter who was cradled in my arms.

“It’s okay. I just felt a little dizzy for a moment. So… just rest a bit, and you’ll be fine.”

Jupiter spoke in a composed tone to soothe them.

Upon hearing this, the approaching guards bowed their heads and retreated.

I looked down at Jupiter with a strange expression. She was using a completely different tone than earlier.

Even in reality, she spoke like a character in the game; I thought she must use a similar tone in everyday life, but apparently not.

“Are you really Jupiter? The paladin character?”

Jupiter nodded with a pale face at my question.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t believe it? Do I look so different from my game self?”

I couldn’t believe it.

As she nodded, Jupiter sighed.

“I got a bit excited being similar to my game self. Sorry, Blood… Demon King.”

I stared down at Jupiter blankly.

Given her frail appearance, she clearly was weak.

To be winded just from moving a bit and feeling dizzy was too pitiful.

By the way, was Jupiter okay? She had created a character with a completely different male appearance.

It must have been a reflection of her desire to hide her true self to some extent.

However, everything she had shown here was being broadcast over the internet.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. My body is okay. It’s not time for my medicine yet…”

[Um, um… you two…]

“Shh.”

Stop butting in so cluelessly.

That chubby developer should just stay back.

I glared at the director, frowning.

Five minutes.

Jupiter lay in my arms for about five minutes.

When she rose from her seat again, Jupiter stopped the bracelet’s operation and handed it to the director.

“That was nice. It was a pleasant memory.”

[Ah…]

She then stepped down from the podium.

As she left, the guards waiting nearby rushed over to drape her coat over her shoulders.

Someone being dressed by others looked surprisingly natural.

“Hmm, ahem… Blood Demon King.”

“Uh…?”

“Thanks for today. But next time…”

That was as far as Jupiter got, slightly blushing and turning her head away.

And then she left.

Jupiter, along with the guards in black suits, exited the event hall, right in front of the cameras broadcasting live on the internet.

*

“Miss… are you really okay?”

“Shut up. I won’t drop dead from moving a little.”

Jupiter said that while recalling the memory from earlier.

Despite it being an accident, it was the first time she was held by a girl who looked to be around the same age.

Due to her frailty, she had always been alone, solving all her studies at home without ever going to school.

‘She felt soft and warm.’

That first touch was unforgettable.

Jupiter shook her head lightly.

She wouldn’t allow herself to feel this way towards her rival.

It was evident she would hesitate at crucial moments when she needed to be cold.

“Tell Dad to buy as many shares of Deron as possible. Anything will do. Just make sure to establish some connections.”

“Yes…”

“Let the center director know I’m leaving… I want to sleep because I’m tired.”

“Okay, I will do that.”

Jupiter took a slow breath and exited the center.

Once outside, she boarded the prepared car.

“Did you have a good day today?”

As soon as Jupiter got in the car, her aide asked her.

Having been with her for a long time, he was the person she felt most comfortable with.

“I went there for work. How could I have enjoyed it?”

“Haha… I thought you were smiling, so I wondered if something good happened.”

Upon hearing that, Jupiter frowned. Smiling? Me?

She had thought she had forgotten how to smile in reality, but apparently not.

Jupiter sighed as she fiddled with her lips.

“Just start driving.”

“Yes, understood.”

Inside the quietly moving car, Jupiter took out her phone.

Unlike her small, frail, and delicate self, the version of her online was the Knight of Light.

Even if everyone pointed their fingers at her, that fact remained unchanged.

Jupiter accessed the Deron Online gallery.

She intended to engage in argument with those who were pointing their fingers at her today as well.

But…

Today’s Deron Gallery felt a bit off.

“Nong… dong? Tweet?”

Wacky wacky ho-hum.

Most users in the Deron Gallery were people who couldn’t be understood, but at least they were people who could articulate the language.

However, today, there were few who could speak human language.

Posts containing “nong” and “tweet” appeared as if they were under some alien invasion, as people seemed to be bewitched.

Jupiter frowned and checked the concept post.

Fortunately, a few were still written in a comprehensible language.

[Deron Online Gallery]

[Is today’s fight between the Holy Sword and the Blood Demon King real? Hahaha] [152]

(Image of Blood Demon King Yeo and Holy Sword Jupiter pointing their swords at each other)

My chest tightens, haha (it’s right because my chest is small)

Jupiter, hahaha, crazy sparrow, hahaha, Blood Demon King for real

Tweet tweet, haha!

[Comments]

[What? Jupiter is a middle school girl?]

ㄴ[The height looks similar, so it’s probably true?]

ㄴ[Nong hahaha]

ㄴ[Nong? Nong nong?]

ㄴ[Wacky wacky haha]

[Jerk haha]

ㄴ[Tweet tweet haha]

[Jerk haha]

ㄴ[Jerk haha]

[Jerk haha]

ㄴ[Jerk haha]

[Is this the Jupiter? No way?]

“This, what is this…”

These posts are not normal.

While it felt good to see posts mentioning her in the conceptual thread, Jupiter felt an overwhelming confusion as she read the comments.

The content of what had seemed like a normal post contrasted sharply with the incomprehensible comments beneath it.

When was this photo taken?

Jupiter scowled as she moved on to the next post.

[Honestly, is it a crime for the Paladin to bid with dual swords?] [77]

(Image of Jupiter being cradled by Yeo)

I don’t think so, right? Haha

Our cute little sparrow might just want to have dual swords!

[Comments]

[Seriously… those Deron noobs were too much haha]

ㄴ[For real, how could our cute little sparrow want something?]

[The sudden role reversal is so funny haha]

[Nong nong, nah nah haha]

[Jerk haha]

[Is this sparrow the new gallery master?]

[There’s dual sword mastery in the Paladin’s upper tree.]

[Light and Dark Sandwich O_o hahaha]

ㄴ[Wacky wacky haha]

ㄴ[Nong nong haha]

ㄴ[Jerk jerk hahaha]

[Don’t these jerks fear coming across me if I’m right next to Jupiter?]

ㄴ[I opened the Asgard portal after seeing this.]

ㄴ[Huh… was that not from a game?]

ㄴ[Hahaha.]

Jupiter lightly touched her slightly reddened cheeks.

It seemed that everything from the event was broadcast online.

Still, calling it a Light and Dark Sandwich was too insulting, not just to herself but to the rival she recognized.

“Hmm…”

Jupiter instinctively began to smile as she checked the next post.

This one had a title she quite liked.

[Jupiter is the new gallery master, so give it a thumbs up ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [72]

(Image of Jupiter aiming her Holy Sword at the Blood Demon King Yeo)

Well, let’s give it a thumbs up first, haha!

[Comments]

[Jerk hahaha]

[Isn’t this staged? Our sparrow flew up with her wings flapping haha!]

[Sparrow haha.]

[Jerk hahaha]

[Crazy sparrow group is insane!]

[I never thought the old man wouldn’t be him… now all the actions I couldn’t understand make sense!]

ㄴ[For real, hiding down the hill at first, if it were her true form, she could have genuinely hidden!]

ㄴ[That was it, hahaha!]

[Jerk jerk hahaha.]

Sparrow and tweet.

I didn’t like these two words, but I was satisfied with the situation.

The rival she recognized, the Blood Demon King, had overwhelming influence in the largest Deron community.

Unlike her.

But look at this now.

Isn’t everyone acknowledging it?

That the Knight of Light, Jupiter, had defeated the Blood Demon King Yeo and become the master of the Deron Gallery?

Everyone was accepting it.

Jupiter covered her mouth, sinking deep into the plush seat.