Stay-at-Home Summoner

Elaine’s comment about a chilling tale aside, the current world is pure chaos.

“Yay!!”

“I’ve awakened! I’ve really awakened!!”

Just the sounds coming from outside this apartment where I’m currently staying are enough to illustrate that.

Just like the phrase ‘the blessing of the gods,’ one million people have awakened around the world.

There must be many others out there besides those shouting that they are awakened on the roadside.

On news websites, social media, and community boards, there is a flood of people certifying their awakenings.

“…….”

And among them, I haven’t heard anyone say they awakened with abilities like mine.

“Ugh….”

Summoning.

Not just summoning some being from another realm, but summoning a being from a mobile game.

This is clearly a situation that should be called an ‘anomaly’, and I should report it to the Awakener Management Bureau to explain the current situation, but—

“Master, would you like some fruit?”

“Um, thanks… for going this far?”

“Yes. You’re currently busy gathering information.”

Elaine peeled an apple into a rabbit shape and aimed it toward my mouth.

If I had seen this scene in a drama or a comic, it would be the typical ‘aang’ feeding scene, but since Elaine is doing it, it seemed like the end of the apple with the fork peeking out was aiming at me.

“…….”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

“You don’t have to apologize; I just happened to think of it.”

“Thinking….”

At my words, Elaine pulled the apple off the fork and picked it up with her hands.

“What were you thinking?”

“…About that time you were destroying monsters with a fork during the Valentine’s event.”

Since she knows she’s a character in a game, I could only talk to Elaine, corresponding to ‘my abilities.’

It’s a direct confrontation.

There’s no need to hesitate and waste time.

“Is being my master related to my abilities? Or is it about the game?”

“…….”

I pointed to the executable button of the game that Elaine should have originally existed in.

The character, which could be said to be the core of the game, wasn’t Elaine, but once you loaded the game and entered the character setup screen, she would appear immediately.

And as a player of this game….

“Would you prefer to be called ‘Captain’?”

I was the leader of the mercenary group, and Elaine was joining as a maid, referring to the captain as the protagonist.

“I prefer calling you Master.”

“Why’s that?”

“As a servant serving you, the title is an important part of being the perfect maid.”

“That’s….”

Clack.

“Are you afraid that if other members of the mercenary group are summoned, it will form a ‘team’?”

“…….”

Elaine fell silent at my question.

If I say the precise words in this situation, it could be dangerous in many ways, but I still had to ask.

“I think I could summon some other beings besides you….”

“Is there something lacking in me?”

Elaine urgently offered me the apple.

“I will fill everything perfectly without any shortcomings. You just need to stay comfortably in this house.”

“…….”

“So, please….”

Should I call it an external strength with an inner weakness?

On the surface, she appears to be a completely perfect maid, but if you get into the event story, you can catch a glimpse of that tender inner self.

“…Hah.”

This is complicated.

As my experiences in-game and reality keep overlapping, I find it increasingly painful to figure out what rhythm to follow.

“Okay, so let me ask you one last thing.”

After starting the game, I pointed seriously at the screen.

“I played as the ‘Lieutenant Commander’; does that mean I’m still your Master?”

“……Ahem.”

When I pointed to the screen that appeared after logging in, Elaine slightly turned her head away, her face reddening.

That makes sense.

It seems I—

“Ah.”

Now that I think about it.

“Wait a moment.”

I forgot that I had just equipped the recently released swimsuit skin on the lieutenant commander.

Clack, clack.

I quickly unequipped the skin, then pointed to a character that clearly looked like the leader of a mercenary group.

“In-game… I played as a female character?”

“I decided to think that way.”

Elaine clasped her hands together like she was praying.

“When gods descend to earth, they don human forms; the distinction between genders is not important to the divine. The choices you made while fighting alongside me are undoubtedly yours.”

“…….”

Some of the choices did exist, but since it was a mobile gacha game, the protagonist’s choices were primarily created by the game’s scenario writer.

“I understand what concerns you, Master. So how about thinking it like this?”

Elaine looked at me earnestly.

“From now on, we will build our story together.”

“…Ahem.”

“Do I feel like a person chatting in a game event to you right now?”

Elaine placed her hand over mine.

“I am alive like this. Even if I say that I was summoned due to your powers, I am a ‘person’ who can serve you and become your strength.”

“…Yeah.”

She is a person.

“At least it’s a relief that androids or demon beings haven’t been summoned.”

“……Master?”

“Elaine, I’m really glad that you were summoned.”

What was there to worry about?

Elaine isn’t aiming a knife at me; even if she did have that thought, it’s important to ensure it doesn’t happen.

“Elaine.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I have a very important mission for you from now on.”

“Please tell me. I will handle anything perfectly.”

“Then first….”

I pointed to Elaine’s maid outfit.

“You have to hide that you are Elaine.”

“……?”

Absolutely.

I will never, ever, open an R18 illustration tagged as Elaine on X.

And I will also not let others find out about Elaine’s existence.

If they found out—

“I don’t know what the entire global otaku would do to me.”

Especially those who love Elaine.

“Or I might get a copyright lawsuit, and the game company could entangle me legally.”

It’s too hard to think of her as just some being summoned from another realm; Elaine in front of me is too much like Elaine.

“Listen carefully, Elaine.”

I took Elaine’s hand and got serious.

“From now on, you are going to be a perfect and thorough cosplay hunter portraying Elaine.”

“…….”

“So—”

Bzzzzing.

My smartphone rang.

With a sound distinctly different from the government’s disaster emergency alert.

[Attention, awakeners.]

“Alice?”

[In five minutes, 300 towers will rise across the globe.]

“……!”

Suddenly, the words that passed with Alice during the moment of awakening flashed through my mind.

Humanity’s awakening stage is too low.

Thus, we will awaken as many people as possible.

That statement essentially means—

-You are still not ready!!

Humanity lacks the power to prepare for the impending new calamity, so it’s almost like a divine being has come to work miracles to elevate humanity’s overall strength.

Therefore—

[We wish you luck, awakeners.]

“…Elaine.”

“Yes, Master.”

I need to confirm.

“What level of power can you produce? …Will we be able to fight?”

“Master.”

Elaine pointed to the game I had opened, or rather, the world of that game.

“Have you forgotten what my basic class was?”

“…Battle Maid?”

“Yes.”

Elaine.

“The cleaning of filth is truly what I do best.”

She smiled brightly.

* * *

Did the gods bless humanity with a blessing to endure the trials before bestowing the trials upon them?

Or did the gods give a blessing because humanity would be unable to endure the approaching disaster?

In either case, the world is currently in emergency mode.

The most extraordinary state of emergency is occurring at the ‘tower,’ which can be considered the trial for all of humanity, and the place where that tower will rise.

“Hey, people over there! Move! Don’t film here!!”

Agents in black uniforms shouted at the crowds gathering in the square.

People, pretending to listen to the agents’ shouts, were engrossed in taking pictures with their smartphones.

“Damn, when will the hunters appear in the Hunter Bureau…!”

“Until the monsters reverse out of the tower, it’s just a tower.”

“Team Leader!”

The leader of the agents pointed to the tower shimmering like a hologram over the fountain and shrugged his shoulders.

“Still, people aren’t immature. They aren’t crossing the minimum line. There used to be people who would go over and touch the towers being built, and some who would dive in before they opened.”

“Those who did lost their hands, and those who dove in ended up dead.”

“If citizens hear that, they will be ridiculed later.”

“They won’t hear it. Everyone is busy listening to the live broadcast about the tower. Or they are too busy filming.”

The team leader pointed to the citizens gathered beyond what seemed like wide duct tape and regular box tape instead of a no-entry sign and scoffed.

“The most problematic aspect is the Awakener Management Committee. Think about it. They say one million people have awakened worldwide, but how many have awakened in Korea?”

“…100 people?”

“Hey, even for us Koreans, 100 is too low. There should be at least a few thousand, or even ten thousand.”

“…For now.”

One of the field agents pointed ahead.

“I can already see concept enthusiasts emerging.”

“…Oh.”

Step, step.

A maid walked through the crowd parting left and right and effortlessly jumped over the tape.

“Excuse me—”

“I just awakened.”

“…Um.”

“Yes?”

“What’s your name?”

“…….”

The maid with black hair and golden eyes closed her eyes for a moment.

“Elaine.”

She referred to herself.

“…Cough.”

The team leader covered his face with one hand and extended some device forward.

The device resembled a metal detector, and as soon as it scanned the maid named Elaine, it instantly lit up in blue.

“You’re summoning while cosplaying and setting out for the tower. Hunter… Cough.”

“…….”

“Hunter, verification complete. Registration is still….”

“Please register me as Elaine, and I will be heading into the tower to raid it. Then—”

“Um, um!!”

The team leader swallowed hard and asked with an excited look.

“Are you going to do that?”

“….”

With a blank expression, Elaine walked toward the tower and slowly opened her mouth.

“For my Master.”

“Yay!!! I’m getting chills!! Wow, even your voice! The synchronicity is insane!”

“Team Leader….”

“…….”

Pah—.

A tower formed near a fountain in some apartment complex.

The black-haired maid was the first to enter it.

* * *

“… Thank goodness it’s the day of the Seoul Cosplay World; that’s a big relief, phew.”

I almost sent someone wearing a man’s outfit instead of a woman’s because I didn’t have a dress.

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