When I Become General, My Injuries Will Heal

Within the Elysian Realm, Ms. Firefly seemed to have found the meaning of life.

However, despite having a wonderful time, certain issues weighed on her.

For instance... her conscience wouldn't quite let her rest easy.

After all, while she was borrowing Jiang Qiao's body, Jiang Qiao was using [Firefly]'s. And this was clearly not an 'equivalent exchange.'

No one knew better than Firefly herself how much her body, afflicted with Entropy Loss Syndrome and confined within the SAM armor, yearned to experience the outside world.

Of course, perhaps Jiang Qiao faced fewer troubles than she would have. But some things remained unchanged—at least, Firefly didn't think they could change.

"What are you thinking about?"

A sweet voice chimed in beside her. The fairy-like, pink-haired girl, Elysia of the Elysian Realm, looked curious.

"...I was wondering if he, using my body right now, is enduring the flaws inherent to it," Firefly murmured, gently touching her chest. Although she currently manifested as Firefly through her will, the true 'shape' of this body belonged to [Jiang Qiao].

With her naturally empathetic nature, almost like the archetypal considerate girlfriend, she couldn't ignore the feelings of others. Thus, she worried about Jiang Qiao, who had gotten the short end of the stick in their body swap.

"Mm-hmm~ So that's what you were thinking about?" Elysia's smile widened considerably. The reason she was so fond of this child, besides her being a beautiful girl, was precisely this trait she shared—caring deeply about others' feelings.

"While I doubt he minds, and the things you worry about likely aren't problems for him, if you're really concerned, why not ask him yourself? After all, contacting each other is quite convenient for you two~"

"Mm." Firefly nodded in agreement.

Chat Group, online!

Firefly: @Jiang Qiao, um...

Qingque: What is it? What is it? Regretting it already? See, I told you not to trust that guy!

Seeing Firefly appear, Ms. Qingque, her hands cramping from processing endless paperwork, immediately popped up, eager to hear about Ms. Firefly's experience as a victim.

But clearly, the Acting Master Diviner's 'sinister intentions' were not realized.

Firefly: It's not that bad... I just wanted to ask him if using my body is... uncomfortable...

Ms. Qingque instantly sat bolt upright upon seeing this message!

Oh, I know exactly what this is! I know this feeling!

Witnessing Ms. Firefly's 'crisis of conscience' phase, Qingque was instantly reminded of her own painful past. She too had been that naive, believing her 'good buddy' in the group wouldn't screw her over, just help cover her shift while she enjoyed a rare vacation.

The result... looking at the mountain of paperwork that had somehow grown larger, Ms. Qingque's expression instantly turned tragic, filled with bitter resentment.

Qingque: Listen to your sis who's been there: turn back now before it's too late. Maybe there's still time.

Feeling a sense of déjà vu with Firefly, who had even more conscience than herself and a distinct 'naive' streak, Ms. Qingque earnestly tried her best to help her escape Jiang Qiao's clutches.

However, Ms. Qingque's entirely well-intentioned advice only served to annoy Ms. Firefly.

What's wrong with this person? Jiang Qiao lent her his body, taking the loss by using her body stuck in a can, yet this group member named Qingque kept 'slandering' him. Even the gentle Ms. Firefly couldn't help but feel indignant.

Firefly: While there might be some misunderstanding between you two causing some prejudice, Jiang Qiao is a very good person!

After sending this message, Ms. Firefly exhaled, feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction, as if she'd chewed on extra-strength gum.

Ms. Qingque's expression, however, became rather serene.

This child... is beyond saving.

Sighing, Qingque finally gave up trying to stop Jiang Qiao from corrupting the good sisters within the group. It couldn't be helped; Jiang Qiao's manipulative skills were just too advanced! Of course, the main reason was that as Acting Master Diviner, drowning in the mountain of paperwork at the Divination Commission, she barely had time to worry about herself.

Sigh... paperwork, paperwork... when will this ever end!

Face etched with misery, Qingque slumped onto her desk. Just then, a certain Master Diviner happened to observe her work ethic.

"Hmph! Qingque, slacking off again?"

"Have you completed the divinations for the Martial Hymn?"

"With such laziness, how can I entrust the position of Master Diviner of the Divination Commission to you?"

"Master Diviner, how could I possibly be suitable material for Master Diviner...?"

"Besides, when are you finally coming back to handle the Commission's affairs! Are your injuries still not healed?"

"Ahem, as the Vidyadhara doctor said, my injuries are spiritual in nature and require extensive rest and recuperation!"

"As for the Commission's affairs, your achievements during this period are plain for all to see, and I have taken note. The diviners below also praise you greatly... Therefore, please continue serving diligently as Acting Master Diviner!"

As for when my injuries will heal, and when I'll return... Fu Xuan thought internally. That will be after I become the Xianzhou General!

---||---

In the previous battle, Jing Yuan had been severely injured, requiring a longer recovery period than Fu Xuan. Recognizing the lack of immediate successors on the Luofu, he had intended to open up 'Xianzhou General' trial positions to see if there were other talents besides Fu Xuan.

And indeed, talent was found. But it wasn't the seemingly brilliant and heroic young Sushang whom Jing Yuan had initially considered. After discovering the young lady from the Yaoqing was lacking in both literary and martial prowess, Jing Yuan had mostly given up on her.

However, he noticed that Guinaifen... especially her sworn brothers who were dragged along by Sushang... were truly talented individuals, shockingly so. Their potential rivaled his own youth... perhaps even surpassed it, if he were being modest. Jing Yuan felt that, putting aside the blessings of the Reignbow Arbiter and his master's teachings, if placed on the same starting line, he might only slightly edge them out in strategic thinking.

It was just their resumes... Jing Yuan couldn't help but comment internally while reading them. Seriously, talents like you resorting to piracy and robbery is such a waste!

Appreciating talent, Jing Yuan already viewed Lang Shile as a potential 'right-hand man' and had placed him within the Cloud Knights for training and experience. Currently, the administrative duties of the Seat of Divine Foresight were already being handled primarily by Fu Xuan.

Fu Xuan was quite happy about this. In her eyes, this was a clear signal that Jing Yuan, that old loafer, wanted to pass on the position. Soon, she would become the Xianzhou General. With a successor already in place for the Divination Commission, such a wonderful start made even the usually stern Fu Xuan feel like letting loose and singing a song.

She also discovered that Qingque was remarkably useful. Citing her need to recuperate, Fu Xuan had tentatively added some duties from the Seat of Divine Foresight to Qingque's workload.

Although Qingque sometimes wondered why the Divination Commission's work included tasks from the Seat of Divine Foresight and the Cloud Knights, thoroughly brainwashed by Fu Xuan that the Divination Commission's decisions influenced all Six Charioteers and thus naturally involved them, she could only lament her fate, assume this was part of the Master Diviner's job, and tearfully do it all.

The unwitting Ms. Qingque continued to work diligently.

---||---

Meanwhile, Jiang Qiao noticed Firefly's message in the chat group.

Jiang Qiao: Hmm?

Jiang Qiao: Do you want to switch back?

Seeing Jiang Qiao's message, Firefly's eyes lit up instantly, but upon reading the content, she felt a pang of reluctance. Yet, driven by her conscience, she couldn't refuse and could only say evasively:

Firefly: If my body is making you uncomfortable... then let's switch back...

Jiang Qiao: How could it? Your body is quite comfortable, Firefly~

Firefly: Um... you don't have to spare my feelings...

Jiang Qiao: Not at all, I'm telling the truth~

Jiang Qiao: Firefly's body is cute and suits me well. How could it possibly be uncomfortable?

Reading this, Firefly's cheeks instantly flushed red. Why does it sound like he's talking about my body like it's a piece of clothing... Still, being called cute made Ms. Firefly quite happy. After all, she had always felt her body was useless, devoid of any merits. But in Jiang Qiao's words, it sounded so charming... This was undoubtedly a huge plus point for the incredibly pure-hearted Ms. Firefly, highly susceptible to such compliments.

Firefly: That's good then... If you ever feel uncomfortable and want to switch back, please be sure to tell me...

Firefly: If there's nothing else, I won't disturb you!

Having received the answer directly, Ms. Firefly felt incredibly relieved. Even her previous feelings of guilt and unease vanished, replaced only by relaxation and the carefree enjoyment of her respite. Yay~

---||---

On the other side, [Firefly], after dealing with the chat group matters, was handling the affairs of the newborn Glamoth Empire.

A nascent nation was undoubtedly extremely busy. Especially since everything was being established from scratch, and its citizens had just completed the evolutionary leap from insects to humans.

Fortunately, due to the Swarm's instincts, their loyalty to the Empress made the citizens of the Glamoth Empire incredibly obedient to all directives and arrangements from her.

This allowed Jiang Qiao to successfully avoid the predicament of dealing with unruly citizens. After all, although the nation was nominally an empire with a centralized imperial system, it actually functioned more like a gestalt consciousness or a philosopher king regime.

Aside from obeying the decisions of the highest authority, the Glamoth Empress—[Firefly]—the nation placed considerable emphasis on the well-being of its populace.

Housing allocation, identity registration, zone division, planning for future development...

Ms. Silver Wolf, on the other hand, had undoubtedly entered the 'regret' phase. As the co-creator of this nation alongside [Firefly], although she wasn't the Empress, her role as creator naturally led to her taking on primary administrative responsibilities.

And the experience of governing such a fledgling nation... looking at the mountainous workload, Ms. Silver Wolf felt somewhat overwhelmed. How is this playing a game? I'm clearly the one being played!

Yet, Ms. Silver Wolf couldn't just drop everything.

After all, [Firefly] was sharing this 'suffering' with her. Seeing how tired Silver Wolf looked, [Firefly] even offered to help shoulder some of the burden. Ms. Silver Wolf was deeply touched, and could only swallow her complaints and endure silently. Her partner had said as much; could she really just become a hands-off boss and do nothing?

If she actually took Jiang Qiao's suggestion and dumped all the work on [Firefly], Silver Wolf herself would feel too guilty and couldn't bear it.

Since she couldn't bear to let her partner suffer, the only option was to suffer herself.

The resentful Ms. Silver Wolf could only try to gamify the documents, turning them into things like 'Resolutions,' attempting to lessen the pain of work. Simultaneously, her 'team'—her various personalities/constructs—became the main force absorbing the pressure. Several personalities entered overtime mode, and even a new virtual personality, '19c,' was created specifically for working overtime.

"...Argh, why is the work never-ending!"

"Hmph hmph, that must be because you're not serious enough."

A lively girlish voice mocked the wailing Ms. Silver Wolf, instantly worsening her mood. She gritted her teeth and glared at the speaker—a white-haired, blue-eyed girl bearing a striking resemblance to Brunhilde—retorting dissatisfied: "You're so serious, are you finished with your work?"

"I'm working on it~" The girl stuck out her tongue, making a face.

A gentle girlish voice interrupted them just as they were about to argue.

"Alright, Pheebe, don't disturb Silver Wolf."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing the silver-haired girl, she instantly became respectful.

Undoubtedly, this was the [Mercy's Bane] Swarm King's Guard who had previously argued with Silver Wolf, blocked her path, fought alongside her, and then promptly got knocked out. With the Swarm's evolution, she too had undergone a transformation.

And not just a simple transformation. [Firefly] had directly allocated a portion of the Propagation Path's power to her, making her a new Emanator of Propagation, bestowing upon her the name: Pheebe.

Unfortunately, Pheebe seemed inept at handling official duties. Just like when she was a Swarm King's Guard, she was still better suited for guarding. Thus, Pheebe became the commander of the Empress's personal guard. However, her relationship with Silver Wolf remained poor.

"You really need to control this one better!" Silver Wolf shot Pheebe a venomous glare and pouted.

"Mm, I'll consider it," [Firefly] smiled, then turned serious. "But there's something more important right now."

"Huh? What?"

"We need to announce our existence to the outside world. The universe needs to hear the Glamoth Empire's own voice."

The nation's founding had been swift, yet it remained unknown in the cosmos. Whether reclaiming the former territories of the Glamoth Republic or pursuing other goals, the powers of the universe needed to know of the Glamoth Empire's existence. Legitimacy was crucial for any power in the universe, and most went through this process.

And right now, the timing was perfect.

The Corporation's people... had arrived.