Stay-at-Home Summoner

At that moment, in the U.S. Congress.

Once again, U.S. President Eisen A. Luigi found himself smiling as he watched the members of Congress staring at the large screen, which displayed the image of the tower, rather than at him.

“As you can see, our friend has successfully conquered the S-Rank Tower. I had faith in him.”

“P-President?”

Secretary Patrick was taken aback by the president’s laughter and applause. While everyone else was bewildered and gaping in shock, President Luigi was the only one clapping happily to celebrate the conquest of the S-Rank Tower.

“…Mr. President.”

An elderly gentleman with white hair called out to the president. Stopping his applause, President Luigi turned to respond to the much older politician who was the most senior member of the U.S. Congress.

“Yes, Senator Centariol.”

“It’s unclear whether it’s the elderly’s sense of time that’s distorted, or if this situation truly occurred. Did that S-Rank Hunter really conquer the S-Rank Tower in Korea?”

“As you can see.”

The large monitor in the U.S. Congress was playing breaking news sent from American reporters at the scene.

“My friend stated his intention to conquer this tower, and he sent his agent to achieve this. It took less than ten minutes from the moment they first appeared to when they emerged from the tower.”

Ten minutes. To be precise, it was even less than that.

“Experts will analyze the tower’s conquest, but it’s safe to say that the contributions of the Korean Hunters who successfully pushed to the point where the boss is located cannot be overlooked.”

A few Congress members nodded in agreement with the president’s statement. The path leading to the boss room is not a one-way street in other towers.

If one were to share the achievements of the tower’s conquest, it would be quite a headache when it comes to crediting contributions.

Is it those who pushed up to the boss room who deserve the higher contribution percentage? Or is it the one who appeared out of nowhere and took down the boss on their first appearance who has the higher contribution percentage?

Considering that the monsters in the lower floors won’t make the tower disappear even if they’re slain, the latter would clearly hold overwhelming merit.

“Mr. President.”

In that case.

“Did that Hunter receive help from the Korean S-Rank Hunters in the conquest of the Storm Dragon Shahaboot?”

There was one crucial verification that was of utmost importance to the members of this ‘U.S. Congress.’

“Are you saying that the truth is that our ‘American’ conquered the S-Rank Tower alone, without any collaboration with the Hunters in Korea?”

“That’s correct.”

“!!”

Several Congress members sprang to their feet. Some even began to pound their chests, as if relieved from some great burden.

“Oh, God! You haven’t forsaken us!”

“Finally, we have such a powerful Hunter!”

With the joy of having gained tremendous power, the symbolism of such an individual being American, and the belief that someone possessing extraordinary talent, who has conquered two S-Rank Towers, will one day come to America and conquer a tower for them.

“Mr. President, when does that person plan to come to America?”

“Senator, as I mentioned previously, at the latest, within three months…”

“If we can expedite anything, let’s do so.”

Normally, people who would politically oppose each other. Such individuals are now showing a willingness to ‘take immediate action’ on any proposal put forth to the president.

“This shouldn’t be the case. Yes, let’s create a party line and have the whole party lead the initiative…”

They even appeared somewhat impatient.

“Calm down, Senator. Visiting America requires some coordination with the parties involved and their schedules…”

“I’m speaking as an elder whose days are numbered, wishing to see at least one of those abominations torn down before I retire.”

“…….”

Some might have thought cynically about his urgency, but their mouths were soon sealed shut by what followed.

“May God bless all citizens living on this land.”

The senator began to pray, clasping his hands together.

Crumbling.

On the footage, the massive tower was disappearing with a loud roar, leaving no trace behind.

“Ah, by the way.”

In the solemn atmosphere, the senator once again opened his mouth towards the president.

“Is it truly the case that there’s no connection with the Korean Hunters?”

“Senator, what exactly are you trying to imply?”

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand. That expression was not a politically charged rhetoric.”

Since politicians tend to use a clouded dialogue, it’s essential to grasp the context of what is being said thoroughly.

“What I meant is, if the S-Rank Tower was conquered without the Korean Hunters’ involvement… wouldn’t the Korean government react rather sharply to this situation?”

“…….”

At the senator’s remarks, President Luigi slightly adjusted his glasses with one hand. The light from the spotlight made the glasses gleam, obscuring his eyes as President Luigi A. Eisen nodded seriously.

“That’s a valid point. They would certainly take more aggressive actions than before. Even if it’s in search of someone.”

“Even if?”

“There’s something that remains unchanged; she is a naturalized U.S. citizen.”

Even if she holds dual nationality with Korea.

Someone almost let that statement slip, but they managed to hold their tongues.

“More importantly, how did the one who suddenly vanished disappear? Do you have any insight on that?”

“…….”

In the U.S. Congress, the doubts surrounding the president were persistent, yet the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

Even though everyone harbored questions that could easily lead to a quarrel, none dared to voice their thoughts recklessly.

“They must have possessed the ability to disappear.”

Truly.

The reasoning behind it remains a mystery.

“We should start by sending them a few gifts as a thank-you for the trial that has vanished from Earth.”

“Oh, indeed. As a commemoration…!”

“I’ve already sent the gifts.”

President Luigi spread his arms wide and smiled broadly.

“A very special gift for them.”

* * *

Party formation window released.

Party reorganization.

I underwent the summoning process after the ‘reverse summon’ from elsewhere.

With no miraculous magical phenomena, I merely pressed a few buttons on the summoning application for managing summons with my fingers.

Then, with a flash, two figures appeared before me.

“We’re back, Master.”

Elaine.

“Hmm…! So this is how it works. I must say, this isn’t really a pleasant sensation.”

Kiharu.

“Welcome back. You both worked hard.”

I sincerely thanked them for their safe return.

While I believed in their skills, if something had gone awry and there were any variables as expected, it could have become extremely troublesome.

While I outwardly presented an air of ‘I didn’t think of that,’ I was genuinely concerned about the possibility of something unfortunate actually occurring.

What if they had failed to conquer the tower?

What if they sustained serious injuries?

“It seems both of you want to discuss something about this conquest, but let’s talk while enjoying something delicious to celebrate first.”

Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong, and the conquest was successful.

So successful that some individuals might feel a tad uncomfortable about the results.

– They succeeded in conquering Korea’s S-Rank Tower without the aid of Korean Hunters.

– What were the S-Ranks doing while receiving their salaries and taxes?

– Some can conquer S-Rank Towers alone, yet others are slow on the uptake, right?

This might seem reasonable from a foreigner’s perspective, but for Koreans, it might be viewed a tad differently.

“There will be various remarks directed at the existing S-Rank Hunters. And comparisons will be made between them and you two. Up until the conquest of the tower at Mungyeong Saejae, everyone probably had their doubts, but now, this conquest confirms something unequivocally.”

I gave the two of them a thumbs up.

“Elaine, Kiharu. You both have become the strongest Hunter party in this country.”

S-Rank Tower conquest achievement, first place.

The government’s chanting ‘ineffective!’ since they weren’t registered with the Korean government was far too unreasonable given their excellent and exceptional results.

“No, it’s a three-person party including you, Master. We were combatants fighting directly on the field, but thanks to you, our excellent commander, we managed to win easily.”

“I just pressed the buttons at the right timings.”

“Master watched over us, allowing for a clean hunt. Had it just been me or Kiharu trying to face that Storm Dragon alone, even taking off would have posed a challenge.”

“That’s a valid point, partner. I felt that this time, your miraculous power overlays the laws of this world with the ‘world of 0s and 1s.'”

“Must you put it so grandly?”

In the moments when the field was on the verge of destruction, we transformed the world into a game-like reality, preventing the ground from breaking apart.

“Regardless, it’s great that we conquered quickly.”

“If the timing had been off by even a little, we would still be at it, and if that happened, the Korean S-Rank Hunter would have arrived in the lower floors of the tower and would have attempted to intervene in the boss fight.”

Elaine wrote numbers in the air with her finger.

“If we achieved a pure 100% contribution in the boss fight as ‘Master’s Party,’ and some S-Rank Hunter just barely attacked from behind, our dungeon conquest contribution would drop to 99.9%—that’s a serious issue, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

Does achievements put food on the table? No, it doesn’t.

Is there anything like unlocking hidden stats when achieving anything? Not really.

Just honor.

The symbolism of having cleared this trial alone.

And the significant achievement of having completely thwarted the attempts of S-Rank Hunters trying to appropriate a share of the glory.

“They’ll definitely want to put their utensils on the table after having their spoon in the pot. Elaine, Kiharu. Both of you need to be careful, especially with high-ranking Hunters as that’s quite a prevalent thing.”

After-parties.

Young female Hunters. Beauties.

Those in high positions within the country often attempted to pour drinks during celebrations of such milestones.

“I heard that some Hunters were dragged into an after-party only to end up pouring drinks here and there, leading them to seek asylum abroad.”

“Is that really true?”

“That’s just a tale. Surely such a thing wouldn’t happen in real life?”

The ugliness behind it is truly beyond comprehension.

“It’s somewhat inappropriate to discuss in public. Rather… too chaotic, you know.”

This is a well-known fact; even I have heard about it to some extent.

“So whenever we do anything, we’ll mainly keep it among ourselves. The celebration for the conquest as well as future tower conquerings will be handled the same way.”

They will try to dig into it.

The reality of Elaine.

The still-unknown existence of Kiharu.

And my presence, the summoner who can call them to this world.

“I think we should observe how the S-Rank Hunters operate before deciding our next steps.”

It’s like having cleared the main story on the first day of a mobile game’s update and having to wait six weeks until the next update.

“In that sense…”

Ta-da!

“We’ll celebrate together. The conquest of the S-Rank Tower. And…”

I showed Elaine a piece of breaking news that just emerged moments ago.

“Your patch.”

“……?”

“It’s been announced that the game company is introducing a new system. It’s a skill enhancement event. The first recipient is… you.”

In the game, Elaine.

Buff scheduled.

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