Chapter 124

Episode 124. The Wristband Conscription Order. (4)

Of course, in response to those wristbands, some rankers reacted as if their minds had been blown in a different way.

“Wait, isn’t that kind of obvious…?”

“How on earth are we supposed to capture that here?”

Seeing the rankers’ reactions, the operator’s headlight dimmed slightly.

Then, in a half-dead tone, they calmly sent us a telepathic message (?)…

<<“...You’ll understand once you try it. We don’t know how they brought it here or how they made it either.”>>

“Huh.”

Of course, that deadpan tone didn’t last long.

Soon, the operator returned to their cheerful tone and gave us a very simple and clear answer on how to manage things.

<<“Anyway, for everything else, if you feel like it crosses the line based on *your* standards, you can handle it yourselves!”>>

“Hmm.”

“Oh, so does that mean if it doesn’t cross *my* standards, it doesn’t matter if it gets deleted or not?”

<<“That’s correct. However, even if one person doesn’t delete it, someone else might.”>>

And as the slightly shocking topic disappeared, the rankers, forgetting their previous demeanor, started raising their hands and bombarding the operator with questions about additional management permissions.

“Hey, can we restore deleted posts or something?”

<<“For restorations, if you let us know, we’ll review it and restore it if we determine there’s no issue.”>>

“What if a user threatens us or something after deleting a post in the gallery?”

<<“That’s exactly why we selected those of you in the top ranks.”>>

Other questions like these flew back and forth.

Of course, most of the questions were about community management, so the operator answered them smoothly.

“But what if we refuse the wristband position? Will there be any penalties?”

Finally, what could arguably be the most important question at the moment slipped out of someone’s mouth.

The glowing-headed operator took a moment to ponder deeply.

Then, as if they had finished their deliberation, they emitted a light from their head and calmly responded.

<<“No, refusing won’t result in any penalties from the management team.”>>

“Oh?”

“Ah, I see.”

“It’s a bit burdensome, though…”

<<“However, if you refuse the management position, in the future, if someone else tries to do something against that Commander… wouldn’t it be impossible for you to resist?”>>

“…”

But faced with such a question, the operator’s calm and bold attitude—no, *warning*—left everyone speechless.

Not only the ranker who asked the question but also the others who had been whispering all fell silent.

And with that ‘warning’ as the final word, the operator confirmed that no further questions were coming.

The operator turned their glowing head like a lighthouse, scanning the surroundings one last time.

Then, as if confirming that the decision was final, they blinked their light a few times and spoke.

<<“Then, I’ll take this as all rankers understanding the terms and agreeing to become community managers.”>>

<<“From now on, as soon as you leave this space, you will all have the authority of community managers, so please keep that in mind and act accordingly.”>>

And right after hearing those words…

I was once again bombarded by a swarm of bright white lights, delivering a flashbang-like assault to my unprepared eyeballs.

==========

Fortunately, that flashbang effect didn’t last too long.

As the blinding light around me faded, I found myself not in the strange white space from before, but in the now-familiar scenery of the Astral Base’s command center.

‘Ah, the familiar ceiling.’

And as I was thinking that, Jessica’s voice came from beside me…

“Huh, Commander? Did you go to the bathroom or something?”

“…Huh?”

Her completely random question made a flood of questions surge in my mind.

After all, the time I spent with the management team and the rankers… had to be at least an hour.

Even though I had been gone for that long without a word, she just asked if I went to the bathroom?

“I…”

“Huh?”

But to my short, puzzled response, Jessica quickly gave an answer.

“Yep, you suddenly disappeared like you teleported, so I tried to look for you, but you came back in less than a minute.”

“…Less than a minute?”

‘The time I spent with the admins felt like over an hour, but it was only a minute?’

“Well, to be exact, it was barely over 30 seconds.”

Hearing Jessica’s answer, I couldn’t help but suspect that the admins who had kidnapped and confined us users in this “game” might actually possess some transcendent abilities, despite their utterly ridiculous management and human-like flaws.

But unfortunately, exactly 14 seconds after I started having that suspicion…

“Jessica! Why did you think the Commander went to the ‘bathroom’?”

“…Huh?”

“The Commander’s bathroom is me! Pashtira can take full responsibility for that role…♡”

Thanks to Pashtira’s sudden and bizarrely inappropriate comment, the suspicion in my head vanished in an instant.

Instead, my mind was now occupied with figuring out how to respond to Jessica’s strange gaze after hearing Pashtira’s remark.

==========

Anyway, Pashtira, who had suddenly charged in like that…

—————————————-

<Pashtira>

<Level 59>

<Type: Long-range Artillery>

<Traits: Explosive, Ultra-long-range, Bombardment, High Firepower, Focused>

<Stats>

Health: A

Attack Power: A+

Physical Defense: B+

Magic Power: SSS+(+S+)

Magic Defense: SS+

Mobility: B+

—————————————-

<Partia>

<Level 33>

<Type: Close-range Combatant>

<Traits: Fanaticism, Close Combat, Iron Will, Pure Madness>

<Stats>

Health: SS+

Attack Power: SS+

Physical Defense: SSS-

Magic Power: A

Magic Defense: A-

Mobility: SS-

—————————————-

“Pashtira, you need some time for reflection.”

“Ughhh…”

“I apologize, Savior. I’ll take Pashtira away immediately.”

“Hmm.”

Despite being lower in level and technically her senior in the base, our Pashtira The Hentai was being dragged away by Partia, who was technically her senior in the setting.

As I watched Pashtira being dragged off like that and plopped down on my command seat, a new message from the admins popped up right in front of me, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

—————————————-

<Announcement>

<Congratulations!>

<As of this moment, Commander ‘Icarus’ has been granted administrative privileges for the ‘Community’!>

<Privilege List>

˪<Can delete other users’ posts>

˪<Can block users from accessing the community for up to 15 days (see details for more blocking options)>

˪<Can unblock blocked users>

<Notes>

<Deleted posts can only be restored by the admins.>

<Access blocks can be customized as follows:>

˪<Block by nickname only>

˪<Block by nickname and IP (to prevent duplicate nicknames)>

˪<Can restrict posting in galleries, commenting, or using chat functions.>

<If the admins deem that unacceptable posts are intentionally left unchecked or proliferated, the administrator’s privileges may be forcibly revoked.>

—————————————-

There were a lot of other things too, but as I looked at the flood of messages that felt like insurance terms, I couldn’t help but feel a bitter realization that I had been forcibly conscripted into wearing the admin armband.