Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 287

“Hey… wait a second!”

The moment we left the stadium, a group of people blocked our path.

Neatly dressed in suits with simple smiles.

They looked unfamiliar, yet I didn’t feel any sense of rejection.

“W-what is it…?”

I took a step back and hid behind Sohee.

I was a bit scared since the men, who were larger than I, were gathering closer.

I wasn’t the only one backing away.

Everyone in the VR Game Club, except Sohee, wore bewildered expressions and stepped back as well.

The men closing in began rummaging through their pockets as if recalling something.

From their pockets came business cards.

Each man had one, and with five of them present, five business cards were handed forward.

I squinted and examined the business cards.

[Night Raven Lee Yong-cheol]

010-XXXX-XXXX

[email protected]

Night Raven…?

Night Crow?

As I tilted my head, I suddenly remembered.

The professional team of the VR game, VRS, named Night Raven.

“Please accept this…”

“Me…?”

The employee from Night Raven nodded at my question.

What in the world was his purpose standing here handing me a business card?

Could it be a scout?

When I turned my head, I noticed others seemed to be thinking the same.

They were casting wary glances at each other.

“Ah…”

A smile unintentionally crept onto my face.

I knew this day would come eventually. Isn’t it obvious? A super cute girl with my kind of skills wandering around without a team.

My skills were solid, and my character was good too.

Any sensible team leader would want to recruit me.

“I’ll be waiting for your call.”

The Night Raven scout who handed me the business card left those words before disappearing quickly.

Is the important conversation meant to happen over the phone? I didn’t mind talking over the phone rather than meeting face to face, but…

No matter how long I waited, no contact would come.

I wasn’t even planning on going pro.

Of course, I didn’t voice that thought.

Other scouts, just like the Night Raven scout, handed me their business cards and left the scene.

However, there was one persistent scout who lingered, wanting to talk about something important.

“I’m not interested.”

“N-no… don’t turn me down so firmly… let’s at least discuss the conditions…”

It had been five minutes since this guy stuck around.

I clearly showed him the business card I had tucked into my pocket, yet he was still hanging on.

What team did he say he was from? Knight Soldier?

I had never heard of that team before.

Just as I was about to scowl and get angry, a group of large men started approaching from a distance.

Tall, well-built, all clad in black suits.

With sunglasses on, they projected an intimidating presence.

The men intercepted the lingering scout, grabbing his shoulder and preventing his movement.

“We need to verify your identity for a moment.”

“W-what?! Who are you?!”

The scout, who had been clingy, started getting dragged away by the rough hands in black suits.

I stood there, mouth agape, watching the scene unfold.

“W-whaaaaat!!!”

The scout, with a horrified expression, screamed as he was led away into a deserted alley.

I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be seeing him again.

There was a bit of a ruckus, but the situation eventually settled down.

I fiddled with the five business cards now in my pocket.

I didn’t plan to contact anyone, but for some reason, I felt proud.

“Ha, Hayun…”

“What?”

“Could you show me all the business cards you received?”

“This one?”

I tilted my head at Ellie’s request and took out the business cards.

Laid out were five crisp, shiny business cards.

“Is there a second card missing?”

“Nope? Just one each.”

“I can’t believe it… Why did only you get recruitment offers…?”

Ah.

This white-haired lady seemed envious of me.

But what could she do? The scouts who came looking for me were focused solely on me.

It seemed that Ellie, as a presence herself, wasn’t even on their radar.

“Ugh…”

Ellie suddenly looked gloomy.

She turned her gaze to a distant point.

That direction was where the scouts had vanished.

I held out the business cards towards Ellie.

“Here.”

“This… isn’t this yours?”

“I don’t need it. You take it.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow… whoa…”

It seemed Ellie really wanted the scouts’ business cards.

She took the card I handed over and beamed with joy, like a kid who just pulled a rare Pokémon card.

“Hayun… are you sure it’s okay to just give that away? They all gave it to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be part of VRS.”

Since I wasn’t going to use them, what good were those business cards?

I only accepted them because I didn’t want to deal with the persistent scouts.

“That’s right. Our Hayun only cares about Deron anyway.”

Exactly.

I nodded vigorously at Sohee’s words.

Sohee, who had been with me for a while now, understood me very well.

When we returned to the hotel, Ellie came up with a new way to play with the business cards and came to our room with Sohee.

The game she discovered was a business card tossing game.

It involved holding a business card in your hand and snapping it lightly to send it flying, a sort of skillful play.

Whoosh— whoosh—

The business cards slipped from our hands, spinning rapidly as they flew around the room.

I joined in, watching as I tossed cards alongside Ellie.

We started a competition to see who could throw the cards further.

But the room was too small for tossing cards.

And obviously, we couldn’t go tossing them in the hotel corridor.

In the end, Ellie and I had no choice but to head to the terrace and throw the cards over the railing.

“Ready?”

“Of course.”

Gulp.

A strange silence descended between Ellie and me.

There was nothing particularly special at stake for this contest, but I absolutely didn’t want to lose to Ellie.

It seemed Ellie felt the same way.

“Whoosh…”

Ellie’s breath softly escaped.

With widened eyes and pulled-back arms.

Everything was prepared.

Whoosh-!

The forcefully tossed business card sliced through the wind and flew off.

Swish—!

The spinning card landed softly in the parking lot below the hotel.

Even from a distance, the crisp and shiny card was visible, allowing me to judge who threw further.

Now it was my turn.

“Here I go!”

Swoosh-!

The card launched from my fingertips with a rapid spin.

Go further! Go stronger! Further than Ellie!

But contrary to my hopes, due to the strong wind, my thrown card fell far short of Ellie’s.

“Ugh…”

Not yet.

I had handed Ellie five cards.

Since I had used two, three remained.

I reached out to Ellie and shouted.

“One more!”

“N-no way!”

“Give it to me fast!”

“No! I won!”

Ellie shook her head and stepped back.

I bit my lip watching her.

“Accept the result, Blood Demon King…!”

“There are still three left!”

“I can’t give this one up…!”

It seemed words weren’t going to work.

I charged at Ellie.

With arms stretched out, I pulled her into an embrace.

“Yikes!”

“Hand it over!”

Soft belly, warm skin, but there was no time for savoring.

I rolled with Ellie on the terrace floor, feeling around for her.

“Found it!”

“Ugh!”

“Is it here?!”

“Yikes!”

“Or here?!”

Everywhere I touched felt soft.

Ellie flinched and screamed as I made contact.

How long did we roll around?

In the end, I managed to find three more business cards.

“Yikes…”

“Huff…”

I was already out of breath after just this much movement.

I stood panting as Ellie lay on the floor, also breathing heavily, glaring at me.

She looked exhausted.

Now was my chance.

“Ha!”

I threw the remaining cards over the railing as if squeezing out the last of my energy.

Swish—! In an instant, the three cards flew away.

Two of them landed further than Ellie’s card.

There was no denying my victory.

I looked down at Ellie with a victorious smile.

“I won.”

“You cowardly Blood Demon King…!”

“Coward? Those cards were originally mine.”

“You gave them to me…”

“Just lent them for a moment.”

“This…”

Is she feeling wronged? But what could she do? I was stronger.

I smiled at Ellie.

The powerful are the truth, and that is justice.

“Yahh!”

In that moment, Ellie sprang to her feet and charged at me.

Can I evade? No, I can’t dodge.

With Deron, or even VRS, I might have had a chance.

But here, in reality, I was just a cute girl who was exhausted and panting.

“Yah!”

In the end, I had no choice but to roll around on the terrace floor with Ellie holding tight to my waist.

Roll, roll, roll.

My vision spun wildly.

Stay calm. The opponent is just a soft high school girl.

Drawing on my past life knowledge, I grabbed Ellie’s arm.

With her strength apparently drained, she wouldn’t escape.

I spread my legs and clung to Ellie’s arm.

The armbar position was complete.

I pushed my legs and arms with all my might, and Ellie screamed.

Of course, knowing the risks of this technique, I didn’t apply too much pressure.

“Yeeek!!!”

“Tap out!”

“Haahh!”

“Give up!”

“F-fine!”

Was that a definite surrender?

Had Ellie truly lost her fighting spirit?

Seeing the look on her face, it was clear. I nodded and released my grip.

Ellie lay limp, not wanting to move.

I was just as tired.

Like melted mochi, we were both sprawled out and unable to move.

All my energy had been exhausted.

*

Ellie panted, staring at her arm.

Though it was a short moment, Hayun had wrapped her arms and legs around her.

She understood what that position was.

She had seen her bodyguards practicing several times before.

What kind of life had Hayun lived that would allow her to use such techniques?

An ordinary high school girl like Ellie wouldn’t have access to grappling techniques like the armbar.

But what concerned her even more was the warm, soft sensation that touched her arm in that brief moment.

Ellie thought.

Hayun’s thigh was incredibly soft and warm.