Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 28

“Don’t you want to try broadcasting?”

Before heading to school, Harang tossed that question at me while we were eating.

Broadcasting, out of the blue? I stared blankly, not having thought about it even once.

“Broadcasting?”

“Yep.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Uh… you’re pretty famous, you know…”

I frowned. My impression of broadcasters wasn’t exactly positive.

If there’s a broadcaster in the guild, things get tiring. Famous or not, that’s just how it seemed.

Just because we share the same guild name, why did I have to share a mindset with that broadcaster?

Why did they want to drag everything that happened with that person into a problem for the entire guild?

A blurry memory stirred, and my brow furrowed. Seeing my expression, Harang hurriedly added,

“I’m not saying you have to…”

“I’m not interested. I’m not a fan of broadcasters.”

It’s not that I hated them; I just preferred to avoid them.

What was I doing at that time?

I vaguely remembered wasting time on the Deron gallery. I brought that memory back and asked Harang.

“You’re not posting weird stuff on Deron Gallery, are you?”

“Huh? No way…”

“Why’s your voice trailing off?”

“N-No, really.”

“Hmm…”

Just because I knew him doesn’t mean denying it would cover it up.

I gave Harang a subtle smile as he glanced nervously and shoved his phone deeper into his pocket.

I knew he wouldn’t show it anyway. I could just look it up myself.

“I’m heading out first.”

“Huh? Not eating more?”

“I’m full.”

Leaving Harang, who was dawdling behind, I stepped outside.

Walking alone to school was no longer awkward. I had also gotten used to my skirt lightly swaying as I walked.

Pulling at my slightly rolled-up stockings, I strolled along.

It was the start of the last week of June.

The rain that had fallen in the early morning left the surroundings humid.

A subtle warmth rose from the ground, and the damp air made it feel stuffy.

Harang, who was still growing, eats a lot. So he takes longer to get ready at home.

I immediately accessed the Deron gallery on my phone.

I lazily skimmed through the gallery’s topics, glancing at the featured posts.

As expected, most of the topics related to my guild and the “Ssing Ssing” guild.

Even the first page of featured posts was cluttered with discussions about Ssing Ssing and Soft & Chewy Cow.

While browsing through the posts, one title captured my attention.

[Sniping ㅁㅌㅊ?] [121]

(GIF of a barely visible opponent being sniped from a high hill)


(GIF of someone sniping an opponent while hiding in heavy snowfall)


(GIF of a thief attempting an assassination, only to be pushed away and turned into a hedgehog)

Never underestimate an archer.

[Comments]

[This is just setup, right?]


ㄴ[Are these guys just lucky few getting taken out sometimes?]

[Is that the Ssing Ssing opponent? Must have been the one smashing their heads this morning, lol]


ㄴ[OMG; so this person is Soft & Chewy Cow middle school girl?]


ㄴ[No way is a middle school girl playing a character like this.]

The post was made by a dynamic nickname rather than a fixed one.

But I knew. I had to know. This was Harang.

What was he up to? Posting his brag-worthy plays.

I almost burst out laughing in disbelief.

Reading through the comments, it looked like he was even starting arguments.

I hurriedly copied the link and sent it to Harang.

Me-[Hey https://gall.dciOOOOe.com/board/lists?id=DeronOnline…. You wrote this, right?]

He must be fiddling with his phone while eating.

His response came back quickly.

Harang-[No way!]

Me-[Oh really? Do you want me to tell Mom if you keep posting weird stuff?]

Harang took a long time to reply.

After about 2 minutes, a message finally came.

Harang-[I’ve never posted anything weird, so don’t tell Mom.]

Checking Harang’s text, I went back to the gallery.

Just as I expected, his post that had been featured was gone.

He must have hurriedly deleted his post.

There was nothing wrong with the post, but it seems he was embarrassed that his little brother saw it.

I smirked and let out a chuckle.

*

Arriving at school and zoning out during class, I found the time for the school day was winding down.

In the past, this time felt long and boring, but now it didn’t feel quite the same.

As I focused intently on catching up with the renewed studies, time flew by quickly.

“Ugh…!”

After sitting for so long, I started stretching to loosen up my stiff body.

As I wriggled my short limbs around, Sohee leaned in with sparkling eyes.

“Want me to help you stretch?”

“Ugh… no, I’m good.”

Her closeness was oddly awkward. It was specifically Sohee who did this.

Other friends would only high-five me or something, but Sohee seemed to enjoy sneaking closer and cuddling up to me.

Though I was surprised by the sensitive touch, I had become somewhat accustomed to the skinship by now.

“But, have you decided yet?”

“Uh… what are you talking about?”

As I got up and twisted my waist, Sohee said,

“School trip.”

“School trip?”

“Yep.”

A school trip? Hadn’t I heard about that? Was such a day already upon us?

“Didn’t you hear during class?”

“I guess I must have missed it?”

“Check the school app; you can vote there.”

Hurrying to open the app and check the announcements, I found Sohee was right.

Voting was indeed underway to decide the destination for the school trip.

The trip was scheduled for this month on the 26th, 27th, and 28th.

A two-night, three-day trip—talk about a nightmare for someone like me, who was entrenched in gaming.

The guild had just been created not too long ago, and our party was still relatively new. If I were to leave for an extended period now, the impact could be significant.

“Are you going?”

Suddenly, Sohee grasped my left hand, which wasn’t holding my phone.

Feeling the soft and squishy grip, I stared blankly, as a small crumpled piece of paper slipped into my palm.

[Soft & Chewy Cow]

“Sounds fun, right?”

To maintain a smooth school life, my relationships with classmates also had to be amicable.

I forced my unresponsive head to nod.

“Uh…”

After school, by a stroke of luck, I found myself crossing the playground with Sohee.

If I had to name my closest friend in school, it would definitely be Sohee, but this was the first time we were walking home together.

Sohee wore a bright smile beside me.

Her laughter was nothing short of beautiful.

Though she talked continuously until we reached the end of the playground, I barely registered anything she said.

I was simply captivated by her enchanting smile.

As we stepped beyond the playground and crossed the school gate, Sohee waved at me.

“I’ll head out first, okay?”

“Huh? Oh…”

“See you tomorrow, Hayun~”

As Sohee waved goodbye, a luxurious black sedan was waiting for her.

When she approached, a man in a black suit jumped out of the driver’s seat to open the door for her.

They didn’t look like family. The suited man seemed incredibly respectful towards Sohee.

After entering the car, she rolled down the window to wave at me one last time.

I stood there, unmoving, until her figure disappeared from view.

Suddenly, I remembered the Soft & Chewy Cow candy that was left in my pocket.

My mind started to race.

Scattered clues began to merge into a single conclusion.

Could Helena be Sohee?

But… Helena had never acknowledged me even once in the game.

Nor had Sohee ever mentioned Deron Online in reality.

Why was that?

I fumbled with my phone before turning around.

There must be a reason. Perhaps, just perhaps, it could simply be a coincidence.

But…

When I returned home, I logged into Deron.

Pushing aside the plethora of messages that flooded in, I checked the members online in the guild window.

Yet Helena was not connected.

The guild chat was loud. Harang, who got home before me, was excitedly chatting with the guild members.

Could it be due to not being able to join the guild until reaching maximum level? Harang sure had a lot to say.

Iyap-[The guild leader has arrived.]

Yeo-[Hello! I logged in straight after school.]

Iyap-[Sticking rigidly to your character, I see.]

Harang-[Are we doing that again today?]

Yeo-[How about it? New area? Are Ssing Ssing still bothering us?]

Priscilla-[No, they just avoid us now, lol.]

Iyap-[Looks like they surrendered after Harang tormented them all night.]

I nodded.

If the Ssing Ssing side had bowed down first, there was no need for further provocation.

At least not at this moment.

Last night, before bed, I had dug up some information about the Ssing Ssing guild.

The Ssing Ssing guild, born from a small social guild, likely wasn’t used to this kind of situation.

Being unilaterally beaten would probably cause internal fractures.

The number of Ssing Ssing guild members had indeed been dwindling, confirming my suspicions.

They weren’t a carnivore guild. They had only accidentally grown in size as a herbivorous guild.

Their cohesion was bound to be weak, especially with the guild master unable to log in for extended periods.

Their internal dynamics must not have been good for some time.

If one continues to get beaten in the field, they eventually develop resistance. In fact, it might actually boost the opponent’s resolve.

So a decisive strike was needed.

I recalled a vague memory. After the first new area was released, guild raids and guild-conquest mode were scheduled to be updated between July and August.

The rampage against Ssing Ssing was far from over.

We had merely just begun.

Now it was simply a matter of biding time.

Farming during event periods was crucial.

I had to gather as much [Divine Blessing of the Sun] as possible, which wouldn’t be obtainable later.

This little buff item would become a key strategy item for future raids.

What was once impossible would become feasible with this item.

The speed of our progression would increase drastically. The buff of the Divine Blessing of the Sun was a must for speedruns.

That day, I didn’t leave the dungeon.

I spent the entire day holed up in a small dungeon, farming event items.

At 10 PM, the city shutdown time kicked in.

Eventually, Helena never logged in during that time.

Stepping out of the capsule, I took a shower and sat on the edge of my bed.

I could never stand being puzzled and curious, so I was planning to directly ask Sohee.

Me-[Sohee]

It had barely been 10 seconds since I sent the text when her reply came straight away.

Sohee-[Hmm?]

My finger hesitated, poised to ask a question.

– Is Helena you? I deleted the message that had just been written.

Me-[Why didn’t you log in today?]

Sohee-[My dad returned. So I couldn’t log in.]

The moment I read Sohee’s reply, a sigh of relief escaped me.

I felt cold sweat trickle down my back.

So Helena was indeed Sohee. Moreover, she must have known that Yeo was me.

No, she would have known even before I created the character Yeo.

Since I had another character that Hayun had been raising on my account.

Sohee-[So, is the game of pretending not to know finally over?]

My fingers froze at her message.

They had become stiff and unmoving.

Just then, I received another message from Sohee.

Sohee-[Sorry… I don’t think I can reply anymore. I have to go eat with Dad.]

Me-[Oh, okay. Enjoy your meal!]

I nearly slipped up and exposed that I wasn’t Hayun.