Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 270

“Thus, the Paladin Jupiter was able to drive out evil…!”

Eli began to listen intently to the adventure story.

Her tale was filled with the content of quests anyone could experience in Deron.

In other words, it was a well-crafted account of a quest anyone could proceed with.

However, the unexpected details that occasionally slipped out made Eli’s story quite intriguing.

“Isn’t it said that every time you complete a quest, a small light shone upon that goddess statue?”

“Ah, yes.”

Eli.

Her name in Deron is Jupiter.

She has been deeply engrossed in playing Deron as the Light Paladin.

According to the setting Eli created, the Light Paladin Jupiter could not stand injustice and had a nature that could not pass by those seeking help. That was Jupiter’s general setup.

It seemed the specific details changed from time to time, but this was the basic framework.

Because of that, Eli’s character Jupiter possessed thousands of quest items, and she couldn’t remember the route to obtain the starting items for the quest in Door Force.

“The Goddess Lunaris, huh…”

I tapped my small notebook and mumbled.

Eli’s stories often mentioned the small goddess statue.

Gamer instincts were kicking in. That goddess statue would surely play a crucial role in obtaining Door Force.

“Do you remember where you got it?”

“Y-yeah…”

Eli, who had been sharing her story with confidence, looked away and wore an uncertain expression when asked how she acquired the statue.

Well, what could be done?

She couldn’t possibly remember.

Considering Eli’s personality, it didn’t seem like she was deliberately hiding anything.

It was just that she had completed so many quests that she couldn’t remember some of them.

“Thank you.”

“W-was that helpful?”

“Better than knowing absolutely nothing. Now that I found out what the important item for the quest is, I can search for information on it.”

I had obtained the keyword of the small goddess statue.

If I continued to investigate this item, maybe someday I could also obtain Door Force?

Of course, that was just a hopeful thought.

At that moment.

A bit away from our table.

The lid of a large capsule opened, and Seongsin-senpai crawled out.

“Hah, ha… Did everyone watch my match? How was it…?”

Seongsin-senpai, having emerged from the capsule with a proud smile, asked us.

I turned my gaze away, awkwardly smiling at her.

Honestly, I hadn’t watched it. How could I explain that we had left Seongsin-senpai to play a different game while the three of us ran a raid in Deron?

This time, even the audacious Eli fell silent.

Sohee was the same.

But Seongsin-senpai, unaware of our circumstances, beamed and approached the table.

“I think I did a bit better this time… I want to hear Hayun’s opinion. You’re a VRS expert, right?”

“Um…”

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.

I was just pretending to contemplate what to say.

In reality, I was ready to say anything.

“Well, you’ve improved a bit compared to the start.”

“R-really…? I felt that way too.”

Since I hadn’t seen it, I couldn’t really say.

But if she felt that way, then it was true.

I nodded, leading into my next comment.

“However, there are many areas that need improvement, especially regarding swordsmanship…?”

“Oh, swordsmanship…!”

“Yes, I think it would be appropriate to say it’s awkward swinging the sword? You’ll have to either gain practical experience or learn swordsmanship professionally in VRS.”

“I see…!”

My advice ended there.

Since I hadn’t watched Seongsin-senpai’s gameplay, I couldn’t say anything more.

When I stopped speaking, Seongsin-senpai threw her gaze toward Eli, who was sitting next to her.

“Eli, what do you think…?”

“I… I see… hmmm…”

Caught off guard, Eli nodded her head.

But that was only for a moment; she quickly regained a concentrated look and spoke up.

“Seongsin, you lack resolve.”

“Resolve…?”

“If you’re a VR gamer, you’ve heard this before, right? You need personal settings to immerse yourself in the game.”

“I have heard that…”

“Indeed. You lack that.”

“What does resolve and setting have to do with each other…?”

“Rather, I’d like to ask. What does VRS mean to you?”

“Um, sword fighting…?”

Eli, who had seemed blank, showed a rather sharp side as she started to engage in a conversation with Seongsin-senpai.

Seeing the two of them lost in their own world, I guessed this discussion would last a while.

I stood up and told Sohee.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Let’s go together.”

Was Sohee also in a hurry to go?

I nodded and took Sohee’s hand as we exited the VR game club.

Since afternoon classes weren’t over yet, the corridor was quite empty.

Walking while listening to the sounds of teachers’ lessons coming from behind the closed classroom door took a while.

Finally, we reached our destination—the restroom.

Just as I was about to enter the restroom, a familiar yet uncomfortable scent brushed against my nose.

“Is that… cigarettes?”

Indeed.

The faint smell of cigarettes wafted from inside the restroom.

I reached out to block Sohee’s approach.

“Hmm…”

Cigarettes in a sacred school.

In a first-year restroom no less?

Do they have guts, or are they just ignorant?

I pondered while stroking my chin.

“What’s up?”

“Looks like someone is smoking inside.”

“… In the restroom?”

“Yep.”

I said that while slightly opening the restroom door.

Inside, the ventilation fan was running, but it was clear that it wasn’t fully blocking the spreading smell of cigarettes.

My eyes quickly scanned the restroom stalls.

“That’s the spot…!”

“Hayun, you hate the smell of smoke, right?”

“Yep.”

Cigarettes.

Not exactly something that brings good memories.

I frowned and stared at the firmly closed restroom door.

“What do you think we should do?”

“What do you mean? Just…”

“Just what?”

I stroked my chin, considering.

In this case, it would be faster to inform a teacher.

That someone was smoking in the restroom.

As I was deep in thought, Sohee suddenly started walking toward the firmly closed door.

A sudden straight charge.

Sohee stood in front of the locked door and spoke.

“If you put out the cigarette now and leave, nothing will happen.”

Sohee spoke calmly.

But the person inside did not respond.

They merely rustled about, making small movements.

“But if you stay, it might get a little uncomfortable.”

How long had it been since she said that?

The sound of a toilet flushing came from beyond the door, and the locked door opened to reveal a female student stepping out.

Looking at the name tag on her chest, it was clear she was also a first-year student like us.

The annoyed-looking female student froze in place, mouth agape, as soon as she saw Sohee’s face.

“Are you leaving?”

Sohee asked with a bright smile.

At Sohee’s question, the female student who had been smoking nodded her head slightly and quickly exited the restroom.

A hasty passing body. Along with that, a subtle scent made me grimace.

The smell of cigarettes mixed with the heavy perfume used to mask it.

Two scents swirled together, making my head spin.

“Now the nuisance is gone, Hayun.”

“Nuisance…?”

“Yep. Now we can do our business freely, right?”

Did she really have to express that so explicitly?

I cleared my throat and entered an empty stall.

Just as I was about to close the door and pull down my skirt, Sohee’s question came flying in.

“Hayun.”

“Yeah?”

“Is it a big one…?”

It’s a small one, you idiot.

I didn’t answer.

Why was she curious about that?

*

A week had passed since signing up for the competition.

Of course, I had only logged into VRS once during that time.

This led Seongsin-senpai, who was part of the same club, to start questioning me.

“Hey, Hayun.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you practice VRS?”

“Do you think I need practice?”

“Of course… I know you do well, but…”

“Um…”

“But if you’re not playing VRS, what have you been doing all this time?”

What have I been doing, you ask?

When I think back, I had done quite a lot.

I logged into Deron for raids, logged into Deron to farm, and I even went on a date with Sohee in Deron.

So I could confidently say.

“I’ve been playing Deron.”

“Deron…? That’s the game my uncle plays… were you playing it too?”

Seongsin-senpai responded in surprise at my answer.

I knew that students in this age group tended to distance themselves from Deron, but was it that surprising that I played it?

“It’s fun, you know?”

“Ah, of course… I didn’t mean to say Deron isn’t fun. I was just surprised. But… we’re preparing for a competition, so is it okay to play a different game?”

“I’m fine with it. I’m the expert.”

“Well, it might be okay for you, but it might not be the case for our VR game club. Since a week has passed, we need to submit some results to the school…”

“Results…?”

Do I even need to show anything?

I stared blankly at Seongsin-senpai’s words.

“That wasn’t the case in the past… It’s because the upperclassmen would apply for competitions and often skip classes, so this rule came about.”

Why is she telling me such an important detail just now?

I swept my face and let out a deep sigh.

Having been lost in Deron for the past week, there was no way I had any results to show.

“Ah… what do those results refer to?”

“The tournament we’re participating in is a school vs. school match, right? That means we need to contact each school’s teams to set up a scrim. We then submit the results from those scrim matches to the school, showing that we’re putting in effort.”

“If we don’t submit such results… what will happen?”

“Then the school will probably ban you from participating in the tournament?”

That’s the worst.

If I couldn’t participate in the tournament, it meant I wouldn’t be able to skip afternoon classes legally.

“No way…”

“I thought you all had your heads in the game… you seemed way too relaxed…”

This is serious.

I jumped up from my seat and rushed to Sohee’s capsule, knocking on the door urgently.

“Sohee!!!”