Chapter 41

Chapter 41
Leaving my private meeting with the Commander behind, I headed back to the military academy while feeling an odd and inexplicable sense of discomfort.

What on earth was going on?

Why were the fellow cadets gazing at me with such sticky, lingering expressions?

The explanation came from Platon, who was standing by the entrance of my private quarters.

“Those are not sticky gazes, Lord Haydam. They are expressions of deep respect.”

I furrowed my brow at his remark.

“Respect, all of a sudden?”

“Following this recent training simulation, the quantity of cadets who hold you in high regard has grown substantially.”

Ah. Because I had triumphed in the exercise once more by wiping out the entire opposing squad?

The previous time I won, they had simply sneered at me. Pull off two victories in a row, and they finally grasp that it wasn’t just luck, huh.

Even so, true respect felt like quite a stretch.

“I am glad the outcome of this drill was acknowledged at least. Still, it wasn’t some masterstroke worthy of being called ‘respect,’ was it?”

I had secured the win, yes—but as the Commander had pointed out, employing a child as bait was hardly a tactic the academy cadets would look upon favorably.

It would have been entirely standard for them to label it underhanded or unethical.

Yet the cadets I had crossed paths with just moments prior had been surprisingly forgiving about it.

Platon’s subsequent words, however, proved even more bizarre.

“I have been waiting here specifically to offer you an apology concerning that very matter.”

“…What?”

Apologizing because people were respecting me instead of criticizing me?

The sole agreement I had ever made with Platon was… that he would serve as my adjutant after graduation?

“Are you implying you can no longer become my adjutant?”

“No. That remains something I desperately wish to accomplish.”

Then what was it?

“So which promise did you end up breaking?”

“You instructed me not to discuss your injury.”

I had completely dismissed something so minor from my mind.

“I did.”

The instant I replied with composure, Platon bent forward from the waist into a flawless ninety-degree bow.

“I am deeply remorseful. I spoke to the other cadets. I revealed to them that your wound has not yet healed. Those who learned of it grew to revere you—regardless of their age—for still throwing yourself into the simulation for the sake of another cadet’s honor, despite carrying a body like that. The fault lies entirely with me.”

Hmm.

The substance of his apology was strange, but…

In other words, Platon had taken it upon himself to manage my public image among the cadets without any prompting from me.

I was certainly fortunate that Platon was the sort of stubborn fool who prized his personal code far higher than a mere promise.

Everyone at the academy knew better than anyone that Platon was far too rigid to ever fabricate praise for someone.

Coming from him, the story carried genuine weight.

Thanks to Platon, I received free reputation management, while he simultaneously shouldered a burden of guilt for breaking his word. A complete victory on all fronts.

Even so, it was wiser to act the magnanimous superior here.

“If that is all, put it out of your mind. Even if you had kept quiet, everyone would have caught on eventually.”

“Lord Haydam…”

“If it continues to weigh on you that heavily, there is a single favor I would like to ask.”

Platon’s face genuinely brightened.

“What sort of favor would that be?”

A second later, his expression clouded over once more.

“If you are about to command me to go around spreading gossip behind people’s backs again…”

He already looked petrified at the prospect of being ordered to distribute more rumors.

Apparently, backbiting individuals went entirely against his fundamental character.

Naturally, I had zero intention of making him do anything of the sort. This episode had thoroughly demonstrated that Platon possessed absolute zero talent for malice.

“Nothing of the kind. Graduation is approaching fast, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yes. That is accurate.”

Platon spoke with evident pride.

“I will soon finish my time at the military academy. Following our initial subjugation campaign, we are permitted to select our own postings, and when that moment arrives I will undoubtedly apply to be your adjutant, Lord Haydam.”

I still held no official rank whatsoever, yet he was already talking about applying for the adjutant position.

Well, I was slated to receive a rank beginning with this upcoming campaign. Whatever title my dictatorial father chose to assign me, as an operations officer I would at least operate at the battalion level—perhaps a captain or a major.

However, the favor I desired had nothing to do with the period after graduation.

His transition into my adjutant was already a settled matter in my mind.

“What I wish to ask is not related to post-graduation.”

“Then…?”

“I am told you will be delivering the valedictorian speech this term. Is that correct?”

Platon looked as though he had just absorbed something utterly unforeseen.

*The graduation speech, sir?*

“Yes.”

“I am indeed giving it, but… what kind of favor could possibly involve that…?”

Already wearing a countenance full of anxiety, Platon received my smiling reply.

After dismissing Platon, I threw myself onto the mattress inside my private quarters.

At last, a moment of repose.

I had spent quite a stretch confined to the hospital after getting shot by that Unicorn player scum, but there had been far too many watchful eyes on me there to truly unwind.

Come to think of it, even within the Commander’s estate I had constantly been forced to maintain an act and put on a performance. This private chamber might genuinely be the most liberating space available to me.

That brings to mind… I still needed to devise a countermeasure against that Unicorn player.

The target he had attempted to assassinate was Shut-In Girl, and he had asserted that he had “no intention of harming me yet.”

Still, I could hardly sit idly by and trust that he currently harbored friendly feelings toward me, could I?

It was right then that an alert chime echoed from the public chat room.

SHIN
I have a little proposition for everyone~

A proposition?

Shin, the Love Area player.

Something about him always felt off.

It was akin to someone forcefully cranking up their artificial enthusiasm every single time they opened their mouth.

Even Home Protector had remarked that the individual made him uncomfortable, so it wasn’t just me.

He had maintained a low profile up until now… and all of a sudden he drops a proposal?

The conversation that unspooled afterward managed to capture even my interest.

SHIN
So listen up, I verified that our Love Area has completely zero inter-zone barriers!

The zone nearest to the Love Area was… the Tobacco Zone, where Home Protector resided.

Following the First Apocalypse, the territory remaining for humanity was severely restricted. Excluding the floating landmass of the Unicorn Area and the massive submarine of the Beer Area, everyone was essentially crammed into a region roughly the size of the Korean Peninsula, compartmentalized into various zones.

If the Cola Area situated at the furthest northern tip roughly aligned with North Hamgyong Province, then the closest sector to us would be the Cocaine Area around Gangwon Province.

Hovering above that was the Unicorn Area, while the vicinity of Busan housed the Knife Zone.

The Love Area and Tobacco Zone were roughly positioned around Gyeonggi Province, whereas the Chicken and Candy Zones sat close to Jeju Island?

Regardless, the closest player to Shin within the Love Area was Home Protector.

Yet even after Shin’s message confirming the absence of any barrier, Home Protector still failed to surface in the chat.

Normally, that guy checked notifications the second they materialized…

He was no longer unemployed, so perhaps he simply couldn’t afford to be the initial respondent. Still, the notion that he just “happen to be” occupied the exact second Shin dispatched such a message felt improbable.

He hadn’t even reached out to me lately.

Either an incident had occurred, or he had already established direct contact with Shin… one of those two possibilities?

When silence met his words, Shin transmitted another line.

SHIN
So I wanted to pitch a proposal to all of you~

His commentary paused there.

Only then did the remaining players begin emerging one by one.

DENTIST
What exact sort of proposal are you talking about?

SSAPASUBLE
Just spit out what the proposition is already.

So the others had been monitoring Shin’s messages as well.

When pressed on the nature of the proposition, Shin offered his reply.

SHIN
Let us all meet up!

Meet… up?

What on earth was running through his mind?

I was not the only one caught off guard—the chat completely froze for a moment with zero subsequent messages.

Druggy was the first to break the stillness.

DRUGGY
Meet up……?

DRUGGY
You mean physically meet in person?

SHIN
Yeah! We are all curious about each other, aren’t we?

DRUGGY
And what are we supposed to do once we meet?

SHIN
Haven’t any of you ever participated in an offline meetup while gaming? lol

He wanted to convene with fellow players merely for a casual offline hangout?

IWONTCRYITSCARDIO
Oh! I have never done an offline gathering before. Sounds entertaining!

The Chicken Zone player provided an enthusiastic response, but the remainder of the reactions to Shin’s casual suggestion were far from welcoming.

SSAPASUBLE
This guy has flowers sprouting inside his skull.

DRUGGY
I never bothered with offline meetups even before this happened……

DENTIST
I hate to voice this, but you sound like someone with a mouth full of cavities.

While the chat room flooded with vicious counter-replies, Ssapasuble seemed convinced that Shin was making the offer simply because he was a scatterbrained flower-child. I held a different view.

There was zero chance he could have confirmed the dissolution of the barrier this rapidly without harboring a hidden objective.

Shin had undoubtedly formulated this meeting proposal with a specific goal in mind.

The fact that he had even verified the barrier status beforehand made his underlying intent glaringly obvious.

Why on earth does he want to interface with the other players?

If I had verified that the barriers were gone, my absolute first priority would have been bolstering my own fortifications.

I harbored zero inclination to contact players from external zones prior to the arrival of the Second Apocalypse.

At the present juncture, we were all merely ten-year-old youths lacking in both raw power and infrastructure.

Shin… what is the probability that this guy also possesses an adult handler like that Unicorn Zone bastard?

While I remained deeply suspicious of Shin’s underlying motivations, Druggy chimed in once more.

DRUGGY
If you possess some underlying objective, I would much prefer you simply be honest about it.

SHIN
An objective?

DRUGGY
You are acting insanely suspicious right now, do you realize that……?

SHIN
Oh my, I merely made the offer out of pure goodwill.

Even in the face of Druggy’s accusation, Shin responded with breezy nonchalance.

SHIN
We are all a fated community who suddenly transmigrated into a video game one day.

SHIN
If we cannot even trust one another, how are we supposed to halt the apocalypse down the road?

DRUGGY
How on earth am I supposed to trust you, or anyone else in this room? We only just discovered there were two Dopamine Addicts present in here not long ago.

Ah, so now I was being dragged back into the conversation?

DRUGGY
Dopamine Addict is a notorious hedonist and—

That came as absolute news to me. I had no idea I possessed a reputation for that.

DRUGGY
No, observing how he never uttered a single word of explanation even when the entire chat room was in an uproar over the existence of two Dopamine Addicts, it is glaringly obvious he has no intention of cooperating with any of us, right?

SHIN
I also happen to doubt that Dopamine Addict will prove cooperative—

DRUGGY
And that Tibalom character supposedly stationed in the Knife Zone? The fact that he exclusively communicates with Dopamine Addict has felt suspicious from the very beginning. Home Protector, who still hasn’t bothered to show his face, is notorious as a Dopamine Addict follower as well, and so is Ssapasuble.

SSAPASUBLE
Why on earth are you dragging me into this when I am just sitting quietly in the corner?

This marked the inaugural occasion I had ever witnessed Druggy speak at such length.

SHIN
Um, I did mention at the very outset that I was a Dopamine Addict fan—but I am simply a good-natured player—

Shin was in the middle of formulating some excuse when Druggy dropped an absolute bombshell.

DRUGGY
Shin, you seem under the impression that I do not know your identity.

DRUGGY
I know who you are.