Ch.132[Chapter 132] Administrative Defense

Sir Dominic raised his shield and flag as his slot was restored.

A cool sensation he hadn’t felt since the enhancement.

Sir Dominic felt awkward with this subtle difference and swung his shield a few times to get accustomed to it.

[Critical hit! Air molecule ACTX0773 is stunned for 2 seconds!]

“Um… wait a moment. I need to adjust this a bit more.”

Leonardo stared intently at Sir Dominic’s shield, surprised by the bug that suddenly stunned the air.

After rearranging some code, Leonardo nodded.

“That should be better now.”

“Thank you.”

Sir Dominic swung his shield again.

For some reason, it felt like the attack range was slightly wider than the actual shield. He tilted his head in confusion but soon dismissed it as his imagination and focused on swinging the shield.

A shield mark appeared on the wall to Sir Dominic’s left even though it hadn’t touched it, but the trace disappeared before Sir Dominic could notice.

This was partly due to the Executive branch’s restoration ability, but also because Sir Dominic wore an eye patch on his left side and held the shield with his left hand, creating a blind spot.

After swinging it several times, Sir Dominic finally became accustomed to his newly enhanced shield.

“Master! Unryu Hime has awakened!”

Just as Sir Dominic had gotten used to his new equipment, Alice arrived with good news.

Hime was getting up, holding her head, while Alice munched on ice cream beside her.

“Where am I…?”

“Are you awake, Lady Hime?”

Sir Dominic extended his hand to Hime.

Hime naturally took Sir Dominic’s hand and stood up.

She staggered briefly as she rose, perhaps feeling dizzy, but quickly regained her balance with ninja-like equilibrium.

“Sir Dominic? Where are we? We were caught in an explosion…”

“We’re inside the Executive branch.”

Leonardo answered instead of Sir Dominic.

“It’s been a while, Hime.”

“…?”

Hime frowned, not recognizing Leonardo as she fell into thought.

Then, as if suddenly remembering who he was, she exclaimed with a surprised expression.

“Leonardo? How are you here?”

“Ah, well… it’s a long story.”

Leonardo explained everything that had happened to Hime.

How he had transferred to System Industries and was dispatched to install security programs in the Executive branch.

How he had misunderstood Sir Dominic due to the confusion caused by the Mountain Bridge Marsh attack…

Humans are self-protective creatures, and vampires are no different, so some wrongdoings were downplayed, but the context was conveyed accurately.

“So… we were harmed because of Leonardo’s misunderstanding?”

“Um… yes. That’s the most important part.”

Leonardo became extremely tense.

Coders could become omnipotent enough to interfere with the world, but compared to citizens living in Gachaland, they had incredibly fragile bodies.

If Hime became dissatisfied and threw a kunai, he would experience death once.

However, Hime was a civilized person who preferred to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation rather than violence.

“3,000 Gacha Stones.”

“Pardon?”

Leonardo, who had been prepared for death, asked stupidly.

“I’m 3,000 Gacha Stones worth of angry.”

“…What does that mean?”

Sir Dominic, who was standing nearby, asked Hime.

How could anger be measured by price?

“Oh, Sir Dominic. This is a magical phrase that everyone living in Gachaland knows. Here, try saying it: ‘I’m 3,000 Gacha Stones worth of angry.'”

“Um… I’m 3,000 Gacha Stones worth of angry.”

“That’s it.”

Leonardo finally understood what Hime meant.

Hime wanted to negotiate compensation.

And in this type of negotiation, being “3,000 Gacha Stones worth of angry” meant…

“I understand. As soon as this is over, I’ll give you both 1,200 Gacha Stones. In addition to the original compensation.”

“That works for me.”

“Wait, you said you were 3,000 Gacha Stones worth of angry, but you’re accepting 1,200 Gacha Stones? What’s that about?”

Sir Dominic, knowing it wasn’t polite, interrupted this incomprehensible conversation.

“Well, you see—”

Hime smiled brightly as she swung her hand that was holding Sir Dominic’s.

Wait, holding hands?

Hime’s gaze shifted to her hand, which was fidgeting with something.

Sir Dominic’s hand.

What Hime was holding was Sir Dominic’s hand.

Hime suddenly realized that she hadn’t let go of Sir Dominic’s hand since she stood up with his help.

“Eh?”

Hime’s face flushed.

Fox ears and a tail that had been hiding beneath her composure suddenly appeared, swaying chaotically as if expressing her confused heart.

“Why are you suddenly blushing… oh.”

Sir Dominic also turned his gaze to where Hime was looking.

And he saw their firmly clasped hands with his one remaining eye.

Sir Dominic hastily pulled his hand away.

Hime also withdrew her hand and hid both hands behind her back, fidgeting with them as if trying to unconsciously remember the sensation.

Sir Dominic cleared his throat a couple of times, as if the awkward atmosphere was suffocating.

Hime also blushed, not knowing what to do.

A sweet, pink atmosphere that anyone could see.

“They’re being disgusting.”

“What?”

“Ah, nothing. Just saying it looks nice.”

Alice questioned Leonardo’s muttering.

Leonardo hurriedly explained as if making an excuse.

In this sweet situation, only the coder Leonardo was inwardly shedding tears of blood.

…

As the awkward moment lingered, Sir Dominic asked Leonardo to break the tension.

“By the way, didn’t you say there was an attack from the Mountain Bridge Marsh? How is it now? If you’re being pushed back, I’d like to help.”

“Ah.”

Leonardo, who had been grumbling that couples should all die, rolled his eyes at Sir Dominic’s words.

The situation had been quite difficult to handle before he came to stop Sir Dominic.

Leonardo also became curious about how things might be now.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll make a call.”

Leonardo took out his phone and pressed a speed dial.

The ringtone played peaceful bird and stream sounds, and someone answered immediately.

“Hey, Chunsik. It’s Leonardo. Ah, I’m fine. There was an issue with Sir Dominic, but it’s resolved. No, it was my fault. Yeah. No, that’s not the problem—can you update me on the situation there? No, I told you I’ll handle things with Sir Dominic! Just tell me the situation— Oh. I see. You seem busy. No, it’s nothing major, just wondering if Sir Dominic and I should come support you. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Got it. I’ll hang up. Fighting!”

Leonardo, who had been talking earnestly with the receiver to his ear, ended the call and looked at Sir Dominic.

“We’re in trouble. They broke through the first defense line, though we’re holding them back.”

Leonardo spoke calmly, but the content was extremely serious.

“…Should you be saying that so casually?”

Sir Dominic asked incredulously.

“Well…”

Leonardo briefly pondered why he was so calm.

Hadn’t he been running around like a madman when fighting Sir Dominic?

And finally, Leonardo realized the answer as he looked at Sir Dominic.

“Maybe it’s because you’re so reliable, Sir Dominic?”

The thought that if Sir Dominic went to support them, it wouldn’t matter if the first defense line was gone.

This showed how much Sir Dominic’s status had grown in Gachaland.

“That’s… true.”

“If it’s Master…”

Hime and Alice nodded as well.

Tank, high stats, excellent skills.

These were some of the criteria by which people in Gachaland judged Sir Dominic.

And even just these three aspects showed how dependable Sir Dominic was.

Moreover, those present knew that Sir Dominic had become even stronger by enhancing his equipment.

The psychological stability this created was indescribable.

Sir Dominic nodded.

This must be true, given that it was the conclusion reached by the analytical Leonardo, the thoughtful Hime, and the bright Alice.

Sir Dominic realized that such faith was both burdensome and encouraging.

He was a knight after all, and not without ambition for honor.

“Hmm. Anyway. Didn’t you just say the first line was broken? We don’t have time. Let’s go support them immediately. Before it’s too late.”

Sir Dominic tapped his shield with his sword, seeming a bit embarrassed.

Unlike the dull tapping sound of the past, it now made a clear clanging noise.

“Ah. Right. We don’t have time. Let’s hurry. I’ll guide the way.”

Leonardo realized that Sir Dominic was embarrassed and answered with a smirk.

Leonardo got up first and started walking.

Sir Dominic, Hime, and Alice followed behind him.

…

“Enemy behind us! The flank…ugh!”

“There are too many enemies!”

“Cast area magic anywhere! No matter where you aim, it’ll be high wizard-level contribution!”

The lobby of the Executive branch.

People who had retreated to the second defense line guarding the stairs and elevators after the first defense line at the narrow entrance of the Executive branch was breached were shouting to hold back the flood of Mountain Bridge Marsh attackers.

“Where did so many of them come from?”

As Senator Muscleman, covered in bandages, staggered to get up, someone in a nurse’s outfit tried to stop him.

“You need to rest until you’re fully healed!”

“But the current battle situation—”

“If you move clumsily, your recovery will be delayed even more! It would be more helpful to recover properly!”

The nurse irritably laid Senator Muscleman back on the bed.

The nurse also knew how difficult the current situation was.

The lack of tanks.

And because of that, once they started losing ground, they would keep losing it with terrible sustainability.

Muscleman wasn’t the only one participating as a tank, but most were either seriously injured and recovering like him or on the verge of injury.

“If only we had one more tank, things might have been better.”

“…Indeed.”

Muscleman moved his jaw as if tasting something bitter, then sighed and lay down on the bed.

As the nurse said, he needed to recover quickly to help on the battlefield again.

The nurse, knowing this, was frantically inserting 15-minute reduction tickets that cost 200 Gacha Stones each into the recovery device for the fastest recovery.

“Who are we!”

“We are! The spears of Gachaland!”

“…Right now we need shields more than spears.”

Outside the recovery room, shouts meant to boost morale mixed with screams.

Muscleman quietly closed his eyes and began to listen to each cry.

“Damn it! Enemy at the rear! Enemy at the rear!”

“There are too many enemies to see the lobby! Floor is 3! Enemy is 7! I repeat! Floor is 3! Enemy is 7!”

The battle situation seemed to be turning increasingly unfavorable for the people of the Executive branch.

The recovery room was getting more and more crowded.

But there was nothing Muscleman could do now.

He could only listen to their cries and raise his hand to greet those entering the recovery room.

At this rate, the Executive branch would fall into the hands of the Mountain Bridge Marsh—

“It’s Sir Dominic—!”

That’s when it happened.

Muscleman jumped up from his bed at someone’s shout.

Could it be? Is what I’m hearing true?

“Sir Dominic has arrived!”

“Sir Dominic is pushing back the enemies at the first defense line!”

Hearing those words, Muscleman covered his face with both hands in joy.

He hadn’t misheard.

Sir Dominic had appeared on this battlefield.