Stay-at-Home Summoner

Before summoning Elaine.

In other words, at the moment when Elaine was fiercely tackling the A-Rank Tower.

I summoned her.

Our third summon.

“…….”

The being that appeared with light was sending me a cold gaze.

It was a look directed at an ‘enemy,’ which I often saw in the game, and I didn’t even have the time to think if that gaze resembled her appearance in the game.

Different from Elaine or Kiharu.

No, perhaps they also sent such looks once, but it was a clear hostility that I failed to recognize.

The third summon, the android hacker ‘Agent’ who wielded a pistol, did not retract her hostility towards me.

And then—

Thud!

As I felt a great shock, I was flat on the ground.

“What are you doing?”

“And what about you?”

What kind of situation is this?

In that brief moment, Kiharu, taking the form of a goddess, was hugging me from behind, while above me, Agent was perched on top of me like she was ready to pounce.

On the surface, it looked like two women were sandwiching me front and back.

If one thought that Kiharu and Agent, fiercely glaring at each other, were merely engaged in a catfight for the summoner’s affection, they probably wouldn’t have seen what was placed in front of my heart.

In front of my heart.

Agent’s pistol was aimed directly at my heart, and Kiharu, lying on the ground protecting me, was gripping the end of that pistol with her hand.

“Are you going to pull the trigger? If you do, the third one will be permanently deleted.”

“…….”

“Aren’t you supposed to be thankful to the summoner, no, ‘Commander,’ who brought you out from that hellish world? Huh?”

“……So.”

Agent twisted her lips into a smirk directed at me.

“Are you saying that everything I went through, that was all planned by someone?”

As expected.

The concerns that had been nagging me about Elaine, Kiharu, and the next person finally erupted.

“Do you think I would simply accept that?”

“What will you do if you don’t? Are you planning to go find that original creator who crafted such a story and drill a hole in their head?”

“I was the one who tried to find the root cause of the terrible events. Whether it’s a high-ranking member of the Eurasian Federation or a scenario writer who set up such a character, what’s the difference?”

I felt a pressure on my chest.

Agent pressed the pistol against me like a knife.

“Isn’t that right, Commander?”

“…….”

“Isn’t it a bit strange to call you ‘Commander’? All the words, actions, and choices made by the Commander were predetermined by the script. Isn’t that right?”

“So, from now on, it will be different.”

I sent a signal to Kiharu’s body and slipped to the side.

“Partner.”

“It’s okay.”

As I made Kiharu’s hand, which was gripping the pistol, release it, the pistol made direct contact with my chest.

“Heh. What are you doing?”

“If you’re going to shoot me, then go ahead.”

“Are you insane?”

“I’m insane. The very fact that I awakened with such powers was insane, and the fact that I chose to summon you out of all those possibilities was insane.”

“……Ah, I see.”

Agent aimed the pistol not at my heart, but at my forehead.

“Do you think I’m just threatening you without pulling the trigger? That’s unfortunate. I’m actually very serious right now.”

“I’m serious too.”

“Really? Then answer me seriously. Why did you summon me?”

“Because I need you.”

“…….”

“I thought you were the most necessary choice, and perhaps I even chose to summon you knowing it would come to this. I take full responsibility for that.”

“…….”

Silence followed.

I’m not sure if an android can truly feel emotions like instincts, but through the changes in heart rate and breathing, she could make judgments based on algorithms.

“Honestly, I expected such radical behavior, but I didn’t think you’d go as far as to do this. But now that you’ve crossed that line, there’s no going back.”

“It’s as if the summon has revolted against the summoner.”

“Not every summon necessarily follows the summoner.”

Both Elaine and Kiharu are powerful beings who could easily eliminate me if they wanted to.

“Have you seen the movie? The Matrix.”

“…Are you saying I’m some entity that took the red pill in a virtual world and awakened to reality?”

That’s a relief.

Considering that this android is set in a near-future background, it seems she has some knowledge about that.

“So you’re saying you’re the one who awakened me to the real world? I’m not even human.”

“If you act like a human and live like one, then you are a human.”

“…Are you a philosophy major?”

“No. Even if I’m not a philosophy major, I can have some philosophy regarding humanity. Whether it’s just empty words or something I genuinely believe.”

I grasped Agent’s pistol and her hand.

It felt like touching silicone, entirely devoid of warmth, although soft.

“Since I summoned you, you are all the same summon and party members. As ‘people’ and ‘individuals,’ we have equal standing.”

“You’re in a position to give me commands unilaterally.”

“That’s not true.”

I pointed at Kiharu.

“Right here, for instance, she’s the ‘goddess who could destroy the world,’ yet I’ve never made her do anything against her will.”

“That’s true.”

Kiharu chimed in.

“…A goddess?”

“It’s probably easier for the android to understand this way.”

With a ‘pop’ sound, Kiharu transformed into a cat form and jumped onto my head.

“This body is set as the final boss who gauges humanity’s survival, but my identity hasn’t changed. Just like in the previous world, I think and act as a goddess in this world too.”

“…A cat is talking?”

“Because I’m a goddess. You might not understand, but this is a slightly different world, similar in some ways yet different in others, with modern fantasy elements.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Agent furrowed her brows.

It doesn’t seem like she can’t understand it logically—she just lets out a hollow laugh and speaks without conviction.

“So, are you trying to persuade me through your fellow summon to give me commands?”

“That’s incorrect. I’m only relaying this man’s words.”

Kiharu declared in response to Agent.

“If I hadn’t been here, this man would have summoned you anyway. Even if he summoned you by chance for the first time, he would have spoken to you with the same feelings as mine.”

“What kind of feelings?”

“That’s something you should hear from his own lips, right?”

“…It feels a bit awkward to set everything up and then talk.”

While still holding onto the pistol aimed at my forehead, I directed it downward to aim at my heart.

“From the moment I summoned you, you became a new being. Although you had that ‘setup,’ now you are a companion living in this world with us as a completely new existence.”

“…….”

“The comrades who have fought alongside you and other dolls… The only reason I chose you among all those countless individuals is not because of sympathy for your unfortunate past, nor because your appearance is to my taste, nor because I was led by an emotional module towards the Commander.”

I lightly tapped my temple with my index finger.

“Your intellect. Your operational circuits. The hacking abilities you displayed in that world. That’s the biggest reason.”

“…If you just needed a simple hacker, wouldn’t there be several others?”

“I assessed it comprehensively.”

Simply being a hacker wouldn’t suffice.

“I selected the most optimized individual capable of living as a human in this world, adapting to modern civilization, and surviving the threats this world poses alongside us. It was with great care.”

An android who is also the one who understands humanity best.

“I don’t need a mere puppet who only follows orders. It might be rude to say you act like a person, but those actions are proof that you are a human. Living together in the same world as me.”

“…….”

“You can call me whatever you like. It’s fine if you say ‘Hey’ or ‘You.’ As for titles, let’s keep the basics—”

“Commander.”

A term used to refer to the player in the game.

“…’Commander,’ huh? Well, I don’t mind that.”

Agent lowered the pistol and stepped back.

“I initially thought I really should shoot you, but did you know and are pretending to be bold?”

“What?”

“……? Heh, is that really true?”

Agent turned her gaze to Kiharu.

“Don’t you know?”

“If it’s not something Elaine or the first one mentioned, I don’t know. I never intended to attack.”

“Really?”

“You genuinely seem like you don’t know. …Heh. So, you risked your life trying to persuade me through conversation? Or were you pretending not to know?”

“Who knows? I’ll let you know the answer to whether I did it knowingly or unknowingly later, once you achieve your most vital mission.”

If Agent had fired a bullet aimed at my heart, would that bullet have pierced it?

That matter remains unknown since Agent withdrew her gun.

“First, before accessing the internet, I will explain the situation we are in. And what you need to do. Basically, it’s hacking, but there are a lot of things to handle with hacking.”

“…You.”

“You?”

“Don’t keep calling me ‘you.’ Hmm, I don’t want to use terms like entity number, model name, identification number, or code name from over there…”

Agent, or rather she, smiled at me while pointing to the left side of her chest.

“Create a name for me. You can do that, right?”

“…A name?”

“Well, you’re saying I’m a person who was trapped in a virtual space and awakened in reality, right? Then, until now, I was called a lie, and from now on, this is the truth, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a complete lie, but…”

“So, will you create one for me? Or will you just keep calling me that?”

“…I can’t just name you on the spot. Let’s think about it a little more.”

I quietly raised both hands.

“Once I decide on a name, it has to be the one engraved on my ID, so I can’t just arbitrarily decide right here.”

“What’s so hard about naming?”

“That’s right, Kiharu.”

“…….”

Kiharu dove at me and messed up my hair, while Agent laughed in exasperation at the sight.

“Hah, seriously. I have a lot to say, but first, let me make a joke.”

Agent formed a heart shape with her hand while holding the pistol.

“You know that affection stats start from zero, right, Commander?”

“…You have a genuinely fierce sense of humor.”

That’s how it went.

Thanks to Kiharu’s support, I successfully brought in the third companion without incident.

“Then, I’ll call Elaine.”

* * *

And after some time, now.

“Wow, sis. Did you just sit there waiting until the summoner woke up? Then you have no idea what happened while the summoner was sleeping?”

“As a maid, it is my virtue to wait for my master to awaken without doing anything.”

“Really? Then you just waited without any thoughts? Hehe, if it were me, I think I would have poked you at least once!”

“You have no trouble making pointless remarks towards your master, do you, Kiharu? Really, this woman, didn’t she resort to threatening actions after being summoned by the master?”

“Oh? Poked you? Was I supposed to pinch your cheeks and go, ‘Master… you must wake up…’?”

“I am but an invisible cat… A blind megami….”

“…….”

Summoner.

This is the party you chose.

‘I must endure with will.’

Even if the worlds we came from are different, we can all be friends.

…The deeper it goes, the better.

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