Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 272

“Um…”

Late in the evening.

I logged into Deron and checked the connection status of the guild members.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the new season update, and we had conquered the raid.

Now, it was possible to clear it not only with fixed parties but also with pickup groups.

As a result, some people began to lose interest in the game and log in less frequently.

My guild was no exception.

“Hmm…”

Two days without logging in.

Should I kick this person or not? I pondered briefly, but that hesitation didn’t last long.

Considering they had left the chat room recently without a word, it was clear they had quit the game for good.

I booted the player from the guild.

Although I was used to this task by now, it still stirred a sense of unease in me to watch people leave one by one.

As I drifted into thought, a sudden message arrived from the alliance guild.

Jeongsinahnim – [Yeo, are you there?]

A connection that started from the Korean server.

Jeongsinahnim, the guild leader of Requiem.

Usually, when this guy contacts first, it’s not likely to be good news.

Requiem.

A guild populated by players heavily inclined towards PvP.

Though it’s on a decline now, it used to be a powerful guild all on its own.

If I hadn’t been here, this guy, Jeongsinahnim, might have been the leader of the alliance instead.

Of course, the server merged and that alliance was disbanded, but still.

Yeo – [What’s going on?]

Jeongsinahnim – [Is the Soft & Chewy Cow participating in this war?]

Yeo – [War…?]

Jeongsinahnim – [Looks like you haven’t received notice yet.]

I tilted my head at Jeongsinahnim’s words.

War? I wondered if a new event had begun, but it didn’t seem like that.

I typed the keyword “war” into the community site, just in case.

But there was no information to be found.

It seemed something was spreading secretly.

Feeling a bit curious, I crafted a message.

Yeo – [Sounds like a huge war is about to break out?]

Jeongsinahnim – [Looks that way. The biggest guilds from the America side have started fighting.]

Yeo – [Isn’t guild vs. guild fighting pretty common?]

Jeongsinahnim – [It started as a guild-level conflict, but it seems to be expanding into a coalition war now.]

No matter how entertaining watching others fight might be, that’s only true when you’re on the sidelines.

If I were involved, it would naturally be quite exhausting.

I frowned and typed a message.

Yeo – [It’s just them fighting among themselves. I don’t think we need to worry about it.]

Jeongsinahnim – [It’s a bit complicated, to say the least. The fight seems to have evolved into a conflict between the Demon Clan and the Human Clan.]

A battle between races?

What on earth could have caused something like this?

I licked my lips in anticipation as I focused on the story Jeongsinahnim was sending me.

The contents of Jeongsinahnim’s message were as follows.

The largest Demon Clan guild in America, Satan, and the largest Human Clan guild in Europe, Babel.

As these were large guilds, the alliances formed with them were also quite massive.

According to Satan, Babel suddenly appeared and stole the field boss they were hunting.

Babel, in turn, claimed that Satan had stolen the field boss they were hunting.

Two opposing opinions.

Neither side had evidence.

What had started as a word fight had quickly escalated to drawing swords.

No matter how you look at it, it sounds suspicious.

I frowned as I entered my reply.

Yeo – [I don’t think we have any reason to join that fight.]

Doesn’t seem like we do. After all, it’s just a field boss.

If Deron had powerful items that dropped from field bosses, things might be different, but Deron is mainly a raid-focused game.

The merits of getting something from a field boss were just too minimal.

I thought there was no need to fight or even a reason to fight.

Jeongsinahnim – [Satan said they want to wipe out the Human Clan completely this time and take all the field bosses for the Demon Clan.]

I couldn’t help but let out a snort while reading Jeongsinahnim’s message.

Yeo – [Are the Satan folks out of their minds? They want the Demon Clan to take all the field bosses? So, does that mean they’re not letting the Human Clan take any?]

Jeongsinahnim – [It seems that way…]

Yeo – [I guess there are a lot of people agreeing to that crazy proposal?]

Jeongsinahnim – [Anyway… I hope you and the Soft & Chewy Cow Guild will fight alongside us.]

Fight alongside?

Could it be that this guy has already put a foot in that crazy fight?

I rubbed my aching forehead and sighed.

Yeo – [For now, I’ll think about it. But I have no intention of joining right now.]

Jeongsinahnim – [You’ll have to think it over. They said they won’t share field bosses with those who don’t fight alongside them.]

I closed the chat window with Jeongsinahnim after that message.

If I had my way, I would’ve liked to send a message saying, “Enjoy those field bosses!”

But since he’s someone I maintain a good relationship with, I decided against it.

Ah.

If it were the old me, I would’ve lashed out with a few curse words by now.

It seems the rumor that the mind follows the body is true after all.

Becoming a cute girl must also mean becoming a gentler person.

*

Early in the morning.

I started looking up information about the guild called Satan on my phone as I headed to school.

Although there was no detailed information about the war they were planning to start, there was surprisingly a lot of information about the guild itself.

Guild Name: Satan

Formed just before the server merge, created by players from a game called Eldorado.

Before the server merge, they had no special activities, but after merging with the global server, the guild became very active, and now they are one of the guilds that come to mind when users in the Western world think of the Demon Clan.

Their only peculiar point is that they are a bit aggressive.

Still, it was noted that they were very friendly to other Demon Clan users.

Players who had transitioned from another game.

I noted that part and searched for the game Eldorado.

Eldorado was primarily an MMORPG, but its nature differed from Deron.

The benefits obtained in the field were substantial, and the competition among players was maximized.

In short, it was a game where those who spent a lot of money could play king.

And that’s when I finally understood Satan’s behavior.

Players who had come from another game.

Guess they haven’t changed a bit and are pulling some strange stunts again.

“What are you so absorbed in?”

“Oh, Sohee.”

When I lifted my head slightly, Sohee was already standing in front of me.

I had been so focused on my phone that I didn’t even realize I had arrived at school.

“Just got curious about something.”

“What kind of thing?”

I showed Sohee the screen of my phone and explained what had happened.

“Are they bad people?”

“Bad? That’s a bit different…”

I shook my head at Sohee’s question.

The guild called Satan isn’t inherently bad. Their actions are just one way of enjoying the game.

I respected all gamers, as long as it didn’t cause harm to my side.

“From what I hear, they’re trying to control the field boss, right?”

“Sure, let them.”

I chuckled at Sohee’s words and shook my head.

Controlling field bosses in Deron? That’s a ridiculous notion.

Sure, they could, but what would the benefit be?

Who would bother taking items that were weaker than raid items?

Of course, it’d be different if it was before the raid was conquered…

After arriving at the classroom with Sohee, I slumped over my desk and let out a yawn.

Isn’t there a rule somewhere that grants mandatory vacations to distinguished guild leaders?

As I spent time during the morning classes, I was finally looking forward to lunch.

The instant the class ended, the now familiar chime rang out, signaling the start of lunchtime.

“Ugh…”

I got up and stretched my stiff body.

After sitting in one position for so long, my whole body felt sore.

“Sohee, what’s for lunch today?”

“Sausage and vegetable stir-fry with spaghetti.”

I salivated at Sohee’s words.

Come to think of it, today is Wednesday.

The day when delicious school meals are served.

After finishing morning classes, the school’s schedule basically wraps up.

Sohee and I waited for Ellie before heading to the cafeteria.

“Hayun, do you know?”

The moment we sat down and began eating, Ellie spoke up.

With her low, husky voice and slightly dazed eyes.

It looked like she was about to unveil a secret.

“What is it?”

“I think a huge war is about to break out in Deron.”

A huge war?

Could it be about Satan and Babel?

My heart raced, and I pulled out my phone to search the Deron gallery for keywords like Satan, Babel, and war.

Sure enough, several people were mentioning those terms and making a fuss.

Control and war. Massive powers.

Such an eye-catching title couldn’t go unnoticed.

The gallery’s topic seemed to have moved on already.

I frowned and shook my head.

There had been no talk until this morning, but now it seems the fight has finally started in the game.

“I know.”

“Hah, I knew you were keeping an eye on the Deron gallery too.”

I didn’t. I just happened to know in advance.

I sighed and said to Ellie, “Wipe that sauce off your mouth.”

“Ah, oh no…!”

Ellie, flustered by my comment, hurriedly wiped her mouth.

Red spaghetti sauce smeared across the tissue.

After cleaning her mouth properly, Ellie put down her fork and said, “Hayun, are you planning to participate in the war too?”

“Why would I?”

“But… isn’t it a conflict between demons and humans? It sounds like a cool picture in my head.”

“I’m not joining some pointless fight. And our Soft & Chewy Cow isn’t a PvP-oriented guild, you know?”

“But the users in the gallery seem to be anticipating it.”

“They’re just getting their hopes up and will be disappointed again. This time will be no different.”

“O-oh… that was quite a profound statement…”

I stood up as I said that.

Sohee and Ellie’s trays were completely empty.

They didn’t seem to want to eat anymore, so I planned to move.

“Let’s go.”

After exiting the cafeteria, we stopped by the store to buy drinks and snacks before heading to the VR Game Club.

As expected, Seongsin-senpai was already immersed in her capsule.

Had she rushed in here without even eating lunch?

I gazed worriedly at the capsule where Seongsin-senpai was situated.

But my worry didn’t last long.

I had to enter the capsule too.

“See you in Deron!”

Just before I closed the lid of the capsule.

I shouted to Sohee and Ellie, who were left in the classroom.

As the lid began to close, I caught a glimpse of their expressions through the slowly narrowing opening.

Sohee was wearing a subtle smile, while Ellie looked slightly tense.

Was there something going on between them?

As that thought crossed my mind, my consciousness flew into the world of Deron.