Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 176

After the dungeon ended, the party disbanded.

It was because the Elf Priest, our healer, had left.

Honestly, I wanted to keep going, but our ranged dealer, Tristan, also said something came up and took off.

So, only Arthur, Merlin, and I were left.

At that moment, Merlin, who had been observing the situation, approached me cautiously.

“Yeo, could you possibly call the owner of the Holy Sword?”

“Huh…?”

“Oh, just creating a space would be enough. I heard about the Demon Sword, and this time I want to hear about the Holy Sword…”

The old wizard said this with a glum expression.

I stepped back, feeling a little taken aback. I couldn’t tell how old the person inside was, but seeing him plead like that, I couldn’t just ignore it.

Unwillingly, I moved my finger to open the friend list.

Fortunately, my friend, Sparrow Jupiter, was online.

I had heard she was busy completing quests recently, but I wondered if she would come here.

“I’ll go ahead and ask, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“Oh, oh… Thank you.”

Hearing Merlin’s gratitude, I wrote the message.

Yeo – [Jupiter.]

Jupiter – [Blood Demon King…? What do you need?]

I briefly explained what had happened. An old wizard was curious about the story behind the Holy Sword.

Jupiter replied.

Jupiter – [You… want to hear my story? The story of Jupiter, the Holy Sword?]

Yeo – [Yeah, that’s what they said.]

Jupiter – [I’ll come right away.]

Her reaction was better than I expected. I thought she might not show up due to her occasional prickly demeanor in real life, but of course, wanting to boast about her Holy Sword was undeniable.

“She’ll come.”

“Oh, really? Thank you so much!”

Merlin’s face lit up with joy at my response.

I shook my head and let out a small sigh at the sight.

If you’re a user on the Korean server, you’d know how Jupiter got her Holy Sword.

At that time, Jupiter couldn’t do a raid, so she hopped onto a raid bus and bid on the Holy Sword item with gold.

I wondered what reaction Merlin would have if he found out about this.

The corners of my mouth turned up slightly.

“Hmm…”

“Is Yeo here too?”

“Yeah. We need to hear her story.”

I responded to Arthur and sat down on a large log nearby.

Just maybe, a very slim possibility, but Jupiter could tell a lie to Merlin.

So, I was here to ensure a fair account of the story.

Not at all to prevent the tale of the Holy Sword from being remembered more gloriously than the Demon Sword’s.

“Should I wait too?”

“Arthur too?”

“Yeah, I planned to disband the party and hang out with Yeo.”

“In that case…”

So Arthur sat down beside me.

Old wizard Merlin seemed incredibly anxious during that short wait, getting up and down repeatedly, fidgeting around.

Although he had dressed like an old, hunchbacked grandfather, his actions were those of a child.

How long had it passed? From a distance, I spotted a girl emerging from the path through the forest.

Clad in full Plate Mail and a long white cloak billowing behind her, her face radiated confidence in a bright smile.

It had to be Jupiter, the owner of the Holy Sword.

Jupiter was approaching with a big grin, and when our eyes met, she froze in huge surprise and backed away.

“Wha-, the Blood Demon King? What are you…?”

“Oh, oh…!”

At that moment, Merlin, who had been anxiously moving around, shouted loudly and ran toward Jupiter.

His deep blue robe fluttered wildly.

“Are you the owner of the Holy Sword?”

“Y-You are…?”

“Oh, I’m Merlin. A wizard from the Round Table Knights.”

“M-Merlin…? The Round Table Knights…!”

Jupiter’s gaze flickered from Merlin to Arthur beside me.

Then, as if she realized something, she nodded.

“Ah, I see… so that’s how it is…”

Jupiter’s little head bobbed up and down. And then, her lips curled into a smirk.

“I am Jupiter, the owner of the Holy Sword and a Knight of Light.”

Jupiter placed a hand on the Holy Sword hanging at her waist, presenting herself with a pose that suggested she had practiced hard when no one was looking.

I bit my lip, glaring at the scene.

Merlin was nodding in admiration at Jupiter’s pose.

On top of that, Arthur sitting beside me was also looking at Jupiter with intense interest.

“Then…!”

Just when Merlin was about to share a story.

Jupiter shook her head and extended her hand forward.

“I’ll decline the proposal.”

“Proposal…? What do you mean by that?”

Jupiter squinted her eyes, alternating her gaze between Arthur and Merlin.

Then, she whispered with her tiny lips.

“Were you trying to scout me as a member of the Round Table Knights? Unfortunately, I have no intention of leaving this guild.”

“W-What do you mean…? Are you saying…?”

Merlin turned to Arthur with a puzzled expression.

I looked up at Arthur too. Did he really intend to scout that little Sparrow into his guild?

But Arthur shook his head with a worried expression.

“N-No? I’ve never sent a message to Jupiter.”

“Then, Yeo…? Did you…?”

“Me? I’ve never brought that up either…?”

As my response continued, Arthur and Merlin’s gazes turned to Jupiter.

Jupiter stood there frozen in her earlier posture, her face turning beet red.

Her lips and eyebrows trembled. She was clearly struggling to suppress the embarrassment washing over her.

“Hmm…”

Jupiter slowly took a breath, glancing at Merlin and Arthur.

Then, she cautiously moved aside and perched herself on a suitable rock.

“You said your name is Merlin. You wanted to hear about the Knight of Light and the Holy Sword, right?”

Like pretending the earlier conversation hadn’t happened, Jupiter acted brazenly.

Merlin, who had been listening, eagerly nodded and sat down next to her.

Thus began the tale of Knight of Light Jupiter.

Merlin became engrossed in Jupiter’s story, which was shaping up pretty well.

I watched with narrowed eyes. It was almost time. The part about Jupiter participating in a raid to obtain materials for the Holy Sword was about to come out.

“So, I participated in the raid. To thwart the ambitions of the Red Orc Empire, the Knight of Light lent them strength.”

“Oh, oh…!”

“Wait a moment.”

“…What? Blood Demon King, this is actually an important story right now…”

“Strength to support a raid? You hopped on a bus to get there, didn’t you?”

“W-What…! How do you know about that…?”

Did she think I wouldn’t know?

Jupiter jumped up in shock at my remark.

The face of the little girl had flushed bright red.

I rose from my seat, crossing my arms as I stared at Jupiter.

“The tale should have no falsehoods. You, who calls yourself a Knight of Light.”

“Gah, ugh…”

Jupiter bit her lip, glaring at me.

What did she think she was going to do with that look? Just glaring at me wouldn’t change a thing.

I smiled victoriously at Jupiter.

Watching her like this made that little Sparrow look a bit cute as she squirmed.

“W-What? Is it true? That you… went there as a guest… on a bus?”

Jupiter swallowed nervously at Merlin’s question. She shook her head, denying it.

“That’s not it. It wasn’t like that!”

She was really brazen. The people in that guild had testified about it.

Jupiter had come in as a guest and bid a significant amount of gold for the Holy Sword item.

Even now, if you searched the conceptual posts in the Deron Gallery, that post would still be there.

“So you’re not a Knight of Light, but rather a Knight of Lies.”

I didn’t say it loudly, but Jupiter surely heard me.

As proof, Jupiter trembled and shot up from her seat.

“Blood Demon King…!”

“Oh…? Why the stare?”

“You…!”

“Me…? This year is…!”

Jupiter, who had been trembling, suddenly seemed to realize something, blinking and subtly raising the corners of her mouth.

That smile looked annoyingly smug.

Jupiter, looking at me, confidently proclaimed.

“I get it, Blood Demon King. Now I know why you’re reacting like this.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The Deron Online Gallery.”

“You…!”

“Recently, the users there have been saying… that the real owner is me, Jupiter.”

Jupiter looked down at me, arms crossed.

That condescending gaze was really irritating.

A hot feeling boiled up from within me to my head.

“Jupiter…!”

“I understand, Blood Demon King. It’s human nature to feel jealousy and envy when facing someone superior… no, you’re a Demon, so I suppose it suits you well.”

The moment those words ended, my body moved on its own.

Swish—

I drew the Demon Sword that had been stuck in my back and aimed it at Jupiter.

My head was heating up, but my mind was cooling down.

“Draw your sword.”

At my cold voice, Jupiter raised her own sword.

Swish—

The Holy Sword, surrounded by a platinum aura, pointed at me.

“Blood Demon King, are you confident?”

“Confident?”

“What you faced then was nothing compared to my true strength.”

“Nothing compared…?”

In that instant, a huge banner fell from the sky.

The settings of the Duel System appeared before my eyes.

I bit my lip, confirming the system.

I hadn’t requested the duel. That little brat in front of me did.

The victory conditions for the duel were death.

The penalty was a one-hour suspension from logging in.

“Blood Demon King. Give it your all, just like back then.”

“All out…?”

What a ridiculous thing to say. How could an idiot who couldn’t even control his own abilities possibly defeat me?

But.

Fine. I’ll accept.

“Jupiter. There’s one thing you’re misunderstanding.”

“…”

“I’ve never once shown my full strength in front of you.”

So this time—

“I’ll go all out.”

The moment I said this and accepted the duel request, a black lightning bolt fell from the sky.

My arms and legs began to contort, and the horns sprouting from my head grew significantly.

The transformation didn’t stop there.

I quickly opened the costume window and donned the Demon wings.

“Awakening—”

Jupiter, I will face you with all my strength.

At that very moment.

Jupiter, standing with the Holy Sword aimed at me, exhaled softly and quietly intoned.

“Limit Release—”

In that instant, a golden divine aura rose above the Holy Sword, and Jupiter’s demeanor changed.

Like a sharply honed blade, Jupiter’s cold gaze pierced towards my neck.

“30 seconds. Blood Demon King. That’s how long it’ll take for you to fall.”