Stay-at-Home Summoner

[Morning, at a company in Seoul. Breakroom.]

“Yea-eun, you’ve really had a hard time with the team falling apart.”

“Hard time? Not really.”

In a breakroom of a company somewhat distant from a certain apartment, a group of men and women are gathered in small clusters, chatting.

“Thanks to the manager, we’ve survived instead of becoming irrelevant. Thank you.”

“It feels weird to call him manager. If that guy hadn’t run away, I wouldn’t even have gotten a promotion.”

“Hey, manager. You really need to specify who you mean. There’s one who left, and two beasts who left.”

“Oh, is that so? Hah.”

The rugged-looking man scratched his head at the female employee’s words.

“Beasts, huh… both the department head and the manager were definitely beast-like humans. One turned into a dog when he drank, and the other didn’t even think about buying beef for the junior who gave him 40 million won in prize money before leaving.”

“Is that really 40 million won?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe the 40 million won is just a cover for him awakening as a Hunter and he was just making excuses?”

“…That’s true. You think so, too?”

In typical companies, when someone leaves, the aftermath usually involves gossiping about the person for a few days, but since the cases of those who resigned were special, the discussions naturally continued.

“One ran away out of embarrassment for not managing his subordinates well, and the other left out of sheer anger for being unfairly treated by superiors… Ugh, it’s just so unfortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

“That friend was actually really capable.”

The manager sipped on a mix of coffee and kept smacking his lips.

“To be honest, when I saw what that friend was doing, I thought, ‘He could just become a full-time streamer.’”

“Streamer?”

“Yeah. He wore a mask and everything, so I thought he’d fit right in if he revealed his face and showcased his gaming skills.”

The manager pointed toward the office direction.

“Ah, it’s really unfortunate. He helped a lot every time he asked me to take a look at high-difficulty content of the new releases.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. The high score on Deep Beta? That’s his data. Right, Yea-eun?”

“Um… well…”

A woman, once part of a team with a certain young man, cautiously raised her hand.

“I’ve never seen him play games outside of work, not even once…?”

“You don’t know then. That friend plays games really well. Of course, during work, he wouldn’t play games from other companies. He must have played after work or during weekends.”

“He did mention playing games after leaving…”

“I guess so. Wow, a great star in the streaming world fades away before even shining. Just shooting a video of a level 1 character tackling the latest boss without getting hit should have been enough to go viral. Hey, should I try to convince him? My sister’s an editor, and she can make videos spectacularly. Do you know that friend’s number, Yea-eun?”

“Th, that’s…”

The woman frowned.

“Since he left, his number shows as unavailable. It suddenly happened from the day he resigned.”

“Unavailable number?”

“Yes. I tried to check, but it doesn’t show up at all. Like a person has completely disappeared.”

“…Could it be that he awakened a special power and contacted some other country to erase his nationality? …Hahaha! Like that, right?”

The rugged man burst into exaggerated laughter as he downed the remaining coffee in his paper cup and vanished.

“I also want to quit my job and just play games at home. If only I had skills like that friend, I’d really quit my job and just play games…”

“…….”

Like most companies.

“Oh, by the way. Did you hear the news? The government gathered S-Rank Hunters at the Blue House. They are probably going to officially tackle the S-Rank Tower.”

The stories about those who resigned are usually just one of the many conversations flowing casually in the breakroom unless they’ve done something particularly egregious before leaving.

Yet, should they later appear in the news or on the internet, there might be surprised exclamations, but until then, nobody knows whether the former employees are dead or alive.

For those living their daily lives, what matters is receiving their paycheck without dying day by day.

“Manager…”

The woman took out her wallet and pulled out a lottery ticket from a plastic bag.

“Surely you aren’t just playing games at home…?”

* * *

[Let’s begin the full attack!!]

[Princess Attackkk!!]

[This is strange.]

[Yeah, I’m a master….]

While Elaine and Kiharu were traveling to Ganghwa-do, I took the time to play various games displayed on a split screen and completed my “homework.”

Homework.

Completing daily quests every day, turning accumulated action points into resources for stage raids over time, and completing missions related to side stories or main stories.

“Leaving the company made this easy.”

After work, I used to play for three hours on routine, but now that I’ve quit, I can play a bit more leisurely.

Of course, most of that time was spent with Elaine.

Through a sub-account, I faced the game’s bosses with Elaine at the minimum specs, honing my control and gaining some confidence.

However, I couldn’t just be immersed solely in Elaine’s world.

“I need to check out Kiharu too.”

I usually didn’t dive into Kiharu proactively, but now that I had summoned Kiharu, I needed to grasp the background of this world as well.

Especially the community.

– Isn’t this guy a bit off?

– He definitely seems to have something. Just from his name, he looks ready to betray the main character at a moment’s notice.

– Water Kiharu Suyun.

– ??? : A pretender using the name of the saint. Die.

“…….”

Why didn’t I notice this when looking up information about Kiharu?

I couldn’t have known.

“I got played.”

The view count was only 39, and there were a mere 2 likes.

I posted a lengthy analysis about the clues, but even comments like “analysis push” didn’t exist.

What on earth had happened? I examined the context of that post at the time, but—

– No way, this leaked new character is an old man, right?

“…It’s buried under other clues.”

It was a somewhat plausible approach and setting regarding Kiharu’s true identity, but it failed to catch others’ attention and was buried by leaked materials from someone at the game company.

“An old man character in a gacha game. Unless it looks cool for an old character, it’s not easy.”

If a grandfather or grandmother character shows up in a gacha game?

Their in-game performance might be fine, but within the lore, they would likely be around tier 1.5 to tier 2.

If that weren’t the case, there would be no reason to incorporate an elderly character into the roster.

“And there’s no reason for me to summon an old person.”

There’s no need to summon a senior citizen.

Even if it’s a grandmother in a wheelchair, who stands on the wheelchair’s handlebars holding rifles in both hands and shooting, there’s simply no need to summon them.

“I’d rather have a 400-year-old succubus than an 80-year-old grandmother.”

If something like Elaine the [Succubus] came out—

…….

“Ugh.”

I paused the game for a moment and stood up.

“Now that I think about it, this past few days, I couldn’t do this because Elaine was around.”

No wonder my thoughts kept drifting that way.

“The time until Elaine arrives… there’s still some left.”

Good.

“To regain my focus, that’s definitely the best way.”

With my current scattered mental state, I wouldn’t be able to effectively support Elaine and Kiharu in tackling the S-Rank Tower.

“A healthy mind, a clear heart.”

I spent the remaining action points of the games I had on, leaving them on auto-hunt.

“…As quickly as possible.”

Quietly, I raised my right hand.

* * *

A short while later.

Near the bridge entering Ganghwa-do, a woman in a black suit stopped near a park with a sigh.

“That’s the S-Rank Tower [Tower of Storms].”

Whew.

Was it the wind flowing out from the tower?

There weren’t many cars running over the concrete bridge, yet those cars seemed to move slowly, cautiously, as if worried their bodies might be turned over by the wind.

“What do you think, goddess?”

“Calling me goddess at this time is amusing.”

Kiharu, which peeked out from the briefcase, stretched like a real cat after coming out of the bag.

“I have no particular thoughts. The trials bestowed upon humanity over there and that tower are fundamentally the same.”

“Fundamentally the same?”

“I don’t know what kind of being delivers the trials, but ultimately, it is a trial given to humanity by a transcendent being. It might be due to the restriction of power, but… it is a high-dimensional existence that is difficult for me to even comprehend.”

“…….”

“Is that something difficult to grasp for just a maid?”

“No. Not at all.”

Elaine responded with a smile despite Kiharu’s teasing remarks.

“Regardless of the trials, even if it’s a trial that I cannot overcome with my ability, if my master guides me, I can overcome any trial.”

“What if it’s impossible?”

“Then I would…”

Elaine grabbed Kiharu.

“With your help, or the next one, another summoned creature, I will find a way to break through.”

“Despite being from a medieval fantasy, you seem to have adapted to this world better than I, a modern being.”

“You’re not even human, are you?”

“I’m learning how to be human.”

Elaine and Kiharu briefly gazed at each other.

“…Whatever you are hiding from your master, I will protect him. That is the role of a servant.”

“Isn’t it mutual when it comes to hiding things?”

“…….”

“In that sense, I feel like you have more to hide than I do. I could easily pretend to be a youkai cat, but you—”

“Quiet.”

Elaine leaned closer to Kiharu.

“If the day comes when I am to reveal it, it will be on the day I tell my master myself.”

“Seems like it’s not that major of an issue.”

“…….”

“Rather, if you are a partner or master, you would worry about something else.”

“Something else?”

“Yes. I know the answer, but I won’t say it… Gyaaaah!”

Elaine seized Kiharu by the scruff of her neck and started shaking her violently.

“I will speak! Just hold on!”

“Speak, or I will contact my master immediately for permission regarding measures against you.”

“Tch… Even I, learning to be human, was able to catch that.”

“…What did I miss about my master?”

“Are you a virgin?”

“……!!”

Elaine suddenly gripped Kiharu’s neck tightly.

“Y-you…!”

“That’s why you don’t know. Tch, tch. A man must have his moments of being a man.”

“……N-no way. My master looks at me in that way…?”

“I’ve never heard my master have such thoughts regarding you and fulfilling desires.”

“…….”

“Instead, he thinks of the goddess’s beauty… Gyaaaah!!”

Thud.

“This is animal abuse!”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh, this is why virgin girls…”

“And what experience might you have?”

“W-what!!”

Kiharu stood tall, bristling with all her fur and extending her claws.

“I am divine itself! Only those recognized by me may touch this divine body!”

“So how long has it been? You talk so proudly…”

“……I can just say that no one has marred my complete purity up until now.”

A brief silence.

“…You don’t mean?”

“…….”

Beep beep beep.

The smartphone rang.

“…Yes, master.”

[Where are you now? You should be arriving shortly.]

“I’m by the entrance of the bridge to Ganghwa-do.”

[Okay. Contact me again when you arrive at the tower entrance. We’re all set on this end.]

Click.

“……My master speaks in such a clear voice, we shouldn’t be arguing like this.”

“Mm. I agree.”

“Let’s work well together as comrades.”

“Let’s do that.”

What does it mean to be comrades?

It probably means allies who fight together.

“Regardless of who else shows up later…”

“Let’s agree not to fight among ourselves for now.”

With an unspoken agreement.

“But Elaine, do you have any basis to think more will come out?”

“Although the world my master is currently protecting is about eight.”

Elaine briefly clenched her fist.

“…There might be worlds that were once protected but can no longer be guarded.”

“Hm?”

“It’s a secret from my master. I checked through the accounts linked to their sub-phone. I believe they are aware to some extent that I’ve been searching and investigating those matters.”

“What do you mean…?”

“My master’s ‘first’ is not me, even though they have fully enhanced and awakened me.”

“……What?”

Elaine looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh.

“My master’s ‘favorite’ isn’t me.”

---