Chapter 41
“…What?”
What is this nonsensical situation?
Neither Xenon, Yeriel, nor even Lyria or Eden—it’s me.
A procession of my teammates’ graves flashed through my mind.
Something must be wrong.
This must be some sort of divine trick!
To begin with, the role of the fort’s leader is typically not given to someone like me, a punching bag(?).
It’s generally someone strong like Yeriel or Xenon who leads.
That way, they can withstand others’ interference and protect the team from external dangers, guiding everyone to the next stage.
The constellations must have taken that into consideration when choosing the leader.
But did they all suddenly lose their minds?
Or are they just having some fun?
Yet, getting a majority of votes means…
It suggests that a significant number of constellations tacitly considered me as the fort’s leader…
‘There’s probably only Eros who would do something like this for fun, right?’
Even if someone who dislikes me chose me as the leader to get me killed, it doesn’t add up.
There wouldn’t be this many of them.
I’m not exactly someone loved by everyone, but at least I haven’t done anything to earn mass hatred either.
You could tell just by looking at the public opinion in the comments.
I’m not the whiny and useless villainess Wendy Porcelain from before.
Clearly, there must have been a miscount.
No matter how perfectly something is designed, there’s bound to be a hole or two.
“Wait a minute…”
Just as I was about to voice my doubts,
‘Ding!’
a familiar square window appeared before my eyes.
I swallowed the words I was going to say and watched it closely.
—Anonymous (081xxx): Did Wendy really become the fort’s leader? Hahaha
ㄴGreenDrinks (lohxxx): Yep, looks like it.
ㄴBreeze (yohxxx): Wow, amazing.
—DoubleZero (ee0xxx): Are the constellations stupid? Why’d they choose Wendy? Haha
—SoftPorkCutletLovers (kokxxx): But wouldn’t it be fun?
—Shiyun (seixxx): But doesn’t it feel more like a reader-influenced vote than a constellation decision?
ㄴKinky (kimxxx): This seems right? I was reading when a voting window suddenly popped up, and it looks like it reflected the voting results.
—Jasmine (mohxxx): Who the hell voted for Agatha?
ㄴDubaiChocolate (doaxxx): It was me? I just picked because he looked handsome.
ㄴFunnyCommentWriter (nojxxx): A pop-up suddenly appeared, and I thought it was spam, so I just clicked anything;;
As I scrolled through the readers’ comments, I couldn’t hide my shock.
It turned out to be true.
Apparently, even my constellations, being “constellations,” had exercised their right to vote.
That’s probably why the voting process took longer than expected.
If the readers had participated in choosing the fort’s leader, then this result made sense.
In this case, there was no room for objection, and I had no choice but to comply.
“Ugh…”
As I let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground, Lyria looked at me with a concerned expression and tilted her head.
“Sis, are you okay?”
Usually, I would have forced myself to nod to reassure my sister, but this time, I couldn’t manage it.
It felt like I was about to board a direct train to the afterlife.
“No.”
I shook my head weakly.
It felt like holding the handle of a runaway train that couldn’t be stopped.
I had no idea what awaited me on the pitch-black tracks ahead.
Behind me stood my cherished companions.
They believed in me wholeheartedly, standing by me and worrying for me.
That’s why I felt so conflicted.
It was no longer just about my survival.
Bearing responsibility for someone’s life was such a heavy burden.
Seeing my darkened face, Xenon hesitated to say something.
But he fell silent when a new notification window appeared.
[All candidates for the position of fort leader have been decided.]
[Currently, there are a total of 8 members in the White faction, 7 in the Black faction, and 285 unaffiliated members.]
[Approximately a thousand people have joined the Black-White War, and participants can choose to join the Black, White, or unaffiliated groups.]
Along with that announcement, my face and Agatha’s appeared prominently in the air.
No, but if they were going to show my face, couldn’t they have used a better picture?
They made Agatha look presentable.
Meanwhile, they showed me caught in an awkward moment, swinging a blunt sword.
Eden couldn’t hold back his laughter and coughed awkwardly.
“Pff.”
I glanced at Eden with a sideways look.
Meeting my gaze, Eden quickly turned away, feigning ignorance.
[Everyone, please proceed to the next phase and choose from among the Black, White, or Neutral factions.]
[You can review the rules at any time, and those without a chosen faction by the time limit will be disqualified.]
[Time to choose a faction: 180 minutes]
In other words, if you don’t want to die, you had better join one of the three factions.
While there are three factions, the Neutral faction is practically non-existent.
Everyone wanted to join the Black or White factions where the strong gathered.
Though the Neutral faction offered double the rewards if they won,
very few people were willing to forgo the chance to take cover under the powerful and put themselves forward as leaders.
No one did so in the original story either.
[Now, let’s move to the location for the second stage, the Black-White War.]
A familiar blue rune pattern began to appear beneath everyone’s feet, one by one.
Since this was the second transfer, people stood their ground without showing much surprise.
Some yawned lazily and gazed at the sky.
Others loosened their stiff shoulders, doing warm-up exercises.
There were even those chatting with their teammates, boosting morale.
Even in that short moment, each had their own story.
Countless small worlds sprang up.
I took in the scene for a moment.
[May luck and peace be with you all.]
I had heard those words before when I first arrived here.
Luck and peace…
‘Peace? In a place filled with screams and suffering, what peace?’
Back then, I had thought in such pessimistic terms.
But now, I thought I understood a little better why they had said those words.
“Hold on tight, everyone. We might end up scattered in different places.”
Holding hands, my teammates slowly stepped onto the runes that had appeared under their feet.
“It seems more turbulent than last time.”
Eden squinted against the intense waves and muttered.
“Looks like we’re going somewhere intense.”
Though they spoke casually, both Lyria and Eden were trembling.
I gently stroked the backs of their hands.
The powerful magical waves emanating from the runes caused my hair to flutter upwards.
It was hard to see in front of me.
Squinting, I looked toward the source of the light.
The bluish light gradually wrapped around our bodies.
The scenery around me flickered like a strobe, slowly fading out.
In that brief moment, I prayed.
Hoping that the luck I held onto wouldn’t slip away.
—
When I opened my eyes, a massive barrier greeted me.
It looked like a translucent dome of aurora-like colors covering a vast area.
It resembled a giant snow globe.
“Wow, that’s quite a sight.”
Eden mumbled softly as he stared at it in awe.
No one disagreed with him.
Maybe they were all feeling a bit overwhelmed by the vast scenery.
If I hadn’t read the original description, I might have been a little nervous myself.
Judging from the faint silhouettes, that place would likely be where the Black-White War would unfold.
[The Black-White War will begin in 3 hours.]
With that announcement, an hourglass-like illusion appeared above the massive barrier.
It probably meant that the war would begin once all the sand had fallen.
When the time came, I would become the leader responsible for my teammates’ lives.
Could I really do it properly?
If I made a critical mistake, if I misjudged even once, then…
“So.”
Lost in a moment of complicated thoughts, I was startled back to reality by a large hand ruffling my hair.
“What’s the first thing we should do, boss?”
Xenon’s lips curled up slightly into a faint smile.
It was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
“Probably just do what we always do.”
And yet, for some reason, that playful expression and the strong hand pressing down on my head made me feel more at ease.
He was right.
I just needed to be myself and do what I always did.
Whatever the outcome, there would be time for criticism later.
“You’ve always led us well, so I’ll trust you again this time!”
“My life belongs to my benefactor, so use it as you see fit.”
Then came Lyria and Eden’s words, filled with deep trust.
“With Wendy as our leader, everything will be fine.”
Yeriel’s gentle and reassuring voice followed.
“Looking forward to it, boss lady.”
“I’ll do my best too!”
Even Sylvester’s cheeky grin and the unexpectedly enthusiastic Celestine.
Yes, they were no longer just characters from a story.
They were my comrades.
Comrades who had to survive alongside me.
I couldn’t just stand here blankly.
That wouldn’t befit Wendy’s image at all.
“Alright! Let’s start by planning our strategy.”
—
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