Stay-at-Home Summoner

[Late at night, in a quiet room of the Reception Hall at the Blue House in Seoul.]

Here, four men and women with different appearances are gathered.

One man and three women.

The man with blue-dyed hair is known as [Blue Lightning] among the public. He sits in a somewhat relaxed manner, with his legs propped up on the desk, dressed in an outfit that does not quite match the ambiance of the Blue House.

“Put your feet down.”

The woman in a black suit sitting across from him uttered a sharp warning in a harsh tone. Despite sitting, her commanding presence resembled that of a soldier, and indeed, a specially crafted emblem resembling the Mugunghwa flower was attached to her shoulder.

“Yes, yes. If Ms. ‘Minjeong Kim’ is speaking, we should comply.”

“Hey.”

“Stop arguing…”

A woman with brown long hair sitting next to the tall lady, Minjeong, reached out to intervene in their quarrel.

She looked like a rising star among the most popular entertainers, resembling a female idol and appeared freshly into her twenties.

“Arguing? Is this what you call arguing? Do we look like we are fighting?”

“Y-Yes…!”

“We don’t threaten our juniors, Dalram.”

“Ugh. I’m not a squirrel!”

“Yes, Ms. Dalram Park.”

“Ack!”

“…Hmph.”

Blue Lightning, sitting next to Dalram, let out a low chuckle at the exchange.

Unlike the others, the small girl with white hair and a peculiar mix of purple and blue highlights reminded one of a character straight out of a game, looking as if a virtual YouTuber had stepped into reality.

“Hey. Did you just laugh?”

“Karya didn’t make any noise.”

“Talking nonsense like Karya. Your name is ‘Jia Hwang’—”

“Do you want to die?”

The girl calling herself Karya’s eyes flashed as she clenched her fists.

“Red potion spraying is banned.”

“Ugh, seriously. How did we end up with all these women?”

Dalram paid no mind to the three women’s glares and covered his face with both hands.

“This kind of thing didn’t happen when Jo-cheol hyung was around.”

“…….”

Jo-cheol.

The now-deceased S-Rank Hunter.

Originally the leader who sat at the head of the table where the four were seated, but now, that seat was empty.

In its place…

“The President is entering.”

With the secretary’s words, a man, the President, stepped into the room, pausing briefly before slowly taking a seat in the spot where the former S-Rank team leader used to sit.

“It’s been a while, everyone. I believe this is the first time the four of you have gathered in one place since the national funeral.”

“Get to the point.”

“…….”

As Dalram told the President to get to the point, the President exchanged glances with Minjeong, who stood up and bowed slightly towards Dalram.

“Show some respect. He is the head of state.”

“I didn’t vote for this guy in the last presidential election.”

“You…!”

“Isn’t it because this guy created that ridiculous Hunter Management Law that even the awakened hunters are fleeing? That made Jo-cheol hyung’s life hell and then…”

Dalram openly displayed dissatisfaction, grinding his teeth as he pointed at the President.

“You were the one who forced people from TK into reckless campaigns at Mungyeong Saejae to get some votes. Isn’t that right?”

“Watch your words.”

“What is there to watch? The press keeps attacking us S-Ranks for their mistakes, and they mock Jo-cheol hyung’s death, saying it was because he overexerted himself tackling towers without managing his condition.”

“Ahem. How would the President exert pressure on the press?”

The President appeared uncomfortable but avoided Dalram’s gaze.

“Let’s forget the trivial matters and discuss the bigger picture. If we stay quiet, the prestige of this country will be shaken.”

As the President gestured, aides placed something resembling a booklet in front of each S-Rank.

“No way, what era is this? You’re handing out printouts…?”

“Shall I answer that it’s because electronic devices might get short-circuited?”

“What? This lady…?”

“This lady?”

“Enough with the fighting.”

The President opened the booklet in front of him.

“Now is not the time to argue, but to consider which S-Rank tower we should tackle as soon as possible. Do you think I called you all here for no reason? I didn’t send the Minister of Preparedness but called upon you myself.”

“…….”

At the President’s words, the four S-Rank Hunters began to look at each other.

“So, who will take the lead?”

“Mr. President, that is…”

“Someone has to step up and fight. Are we going to put an A-Rank in front? Alright, let me borrow the words of my young aides.”

The President pointed at each of them.

“Dealer, dealer, dealer, dealer.”

“…….”

“We’re disregarding healers since none existed anyway. The only ‘tank’ we had is now deceased. Someone has to be the tank.”

“That is….”

“Who’s going to be the tank? Someone needs to change their position and face the enemy head-on. Say something!”

“…….”

“Are we just going to hand over the next S-Rank tower to that black-haired American?!”

The echo of the President’s voice filled the ceiling, yet the S-Rank Hunters remained silent.

Someone had nothing to say.

Someone feared they would face the consequences.

Someone was worried they might be the one chosen.

“Mr. President.”

“Oh, right! Jia Hwang!”

“It’s Karya.”

And then someone…

“I’m only 15, you’re not asking a middle schooler to be a tank, are you? Among the dealers, I’m the strongest!”

Saying something that sounded plausible yet offered no help to the current situation.

“Damn, how much would that be? Should I just pay 20 billion a month? Huh? Should we provide tax reductions for those who succeed in tackling the S-Rank tower? Huh?!”

The President pounded his chest in frustration and began to blurt out.

“Well, the American President promises to have no taxes for ten years.”

“That’s because that guy is a crazy populist!”

“Then… after tackling the S-Rank tower, is it too much to ask for that?!”

The brown-haired woman, looking timid, waved her hand and asked, but the President merely straightened his tie with a startled expression.

“Ahem. Administrative matters… There are aspects that require consensus between parties…”

In the Reception Hall of the Blue House, only empty words echoed like a refrain.

With no signs of a fundamental solution.

Currently, S-Rank Hunters in Korea could form a party,

But only had dealers, no tanks.

No healers either.

* * *

“Master, I will take my leave now.”

Elaine bowed politely towards me from the living room.

Dressed not in a maid outfit but in a suit, she held a briefcase, in which a cat (realistic) peeked out with just its head.

“Don’t worry; even if you get hurt, you’ll recover.”

“Of course, it’s best not to get hurt at all.”

Elaine had taken no damage during the A-Rank tower raid or when fighting the S-Rank boss Ouroboros. Even when left to her, she skillfully avoided enemy attacks and dealt damage.

“Then why did you choose a healer?”

“Insurance.”

“Am I just a simple insurance policy?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, but it’s best if a healer situation doesn’t arise at all.”

“Um… then wouldn’t it be better for me to stay here? Just in case an enemy shows up…”

“Protecting Elaine is more important than protecting me. There’s no way someone would ambush here.”

Still, I had not publicly revealed my identity.

While there were suspicions about Elaine’s master, no one knew whether he was Asian, Korean, or the ex-employee A who was rampaging with a black card from the American President.

However, investigations were quietly ongoing.

In forums, people speculated about “potential targets for the master,” suggesting that “those who mysteriously disappeared or resigned after the million awakenings might be cosplayers or the master themselves?”

“If possible, I wish I could go near Ganghwa Island, but that’s difficult right now.”

“Please stay home, Master. Tackling the tower is our responsibility. That will be more beneficial for us.”

Elaine bowed her head to me once more.

“You must be in the safest place so that we can fight the enemy without worry.”

“That’s true. The partner should stay safely inside this house, ‘Barrier,’ and not leave.”

Elaine lightly tapped on the window.

While it might not be visible from the outside, a wall of magical energy was spread right in front of the glass.

If someone outside were to shoot bullets at the window, the glass would break, but the bullets would be stopped by the magical wall behind it, preventing them from entering the room.

Such safety measures existed in this house.

“Then I will take my leave, Master.”

“Right. If the situation gets dangerous, I’ll support you right away, so if you feel danger, call me home immediately.”

“Yes. Of course, when I return… I’ll bring news of tackling the S-Rank tower in Ganghwa.”

With those words, Elaine opened the large living room window and jumped out.

Tap-.

While she couldn’t fly, landing safely from the 20th floor to the ground and running between buildings was a piece of cake for her.

“…Huh.”

I had one concern regarding our future direction.

What if I wasn’t near when they tackled the S-Rank tower?

Would there be any strong advantage in being nearby while holding a smartphone for managing summoned creatures when tackling the S-Rank tower?

“I might need to do reverse-summon contingency plans if need be.”

Yes.

In a matter of seconds, or even less than a second, the life and death of summoned creatures can hang in the balance.

“Alice, can you tell me again about the ‘death’ of a summoned creature?”

[In the event a summoned creature dies, it can be resurrected.]

Systemically, ‘re-summoning’ was not impossible.

“Then what about the pain or death that Elaine and Kiharu… the ones to be summoned will feel? Is that sensation just like reality?”

[That is correct.]

Just because re-summoning or resurrection was possible didn’t mean the harm was absent.

“No matter how much control I have over the summoned creatures from home, I can’t just make them fight while they’re in pain or dying.”

If this were a soul-type game, I might have tried over a hundred times.

But this was not a game, and death for summoned creatures was real.

Moreover, there was no need to force them into choosing death.

“What are the penalties for a summoned creature’s death?”

[As of Earth time from the time of death, the re-summoning waiting period is 72 hours.]

“Got it.”

It became even more unreasonable to let them die.

Now I couldn’t imagine a life without Elaine.

“I need to be as careful as possible to avoid death.”

[Recommendation. It is recommended to increase the maximum number of summonable creatures and find a summoned creature for the ‘tank’ position.]

“Summoning a tank, huh.”

Is a tank needed in the current party?

…….

“Tanks are indeed great beings, but knowing that they might suffer and be in pain or die means we should handle it differently. It shouldn’t be about letting just one person tank and bleed…”

Before being a summoner, I had been called various titles in different worlds.

“Player.”

I picked up something different, not a keyboard or mouse hooked to the computer.

“If the dealer can clear without taking any hits, isn’t that what we really want?”

Up, down, left, right.

ABXY.

“Let’s go, Elaine.”

Me.

I believe I’m capable of control.

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