“…”
Morning had come.
I greeted the morning as usual and, out of habit, reached for my smartphone.
“…It’s not morning.”
It was noon.
The sun was already high in the sky, and for the first time since becoming a Summoner, I had overslept, breaking the disciplined lifestyle I had maintained.
Why?
“My stamina…!”
I wasn’t talking about physical fatigue in reality.
Stamina.
A resource that accumulates over time in-game.
Some games have stamina systems that fill up in 30 hours, while others require you to log in twice a day just to farm resources efficiently.
Why bother burning stamina?
Because it’s wasteful not to.
In fact, when mobile game streamers play certain games, if their stamina is full — or worse, over the cap — viewers will openly comment things like “Uncomfortable…” just from watching.
Sometimes, even in the middle of progressing through the main story, people would rather see you banned for breaking the mood than endure the sight of wasted stamina, saying things like, “Please, burn your stamina first.”
I had set up my schedule so that the first thing I did after waking up was to log into every game and burn stamina across all the worlds I managed.
The routine was.
Wake up, do a light workout, have breakfast, then, while digesting with a coffee in hand, focus completely on clearing stamina in my games…
“Hoo.”
It couldn’t be helped.
Due to some irreversible event, missing the perfect timing for just one day wasn’t the end of the world.
I didn’t even completely miss a whole day — I had simply overslept a bit.
In that sense—
“Kiharu.”
“What’s up, nyah~?”
“I really need to thank the developers of Fermata. They upgraded you to a humanoid form, and thanks to that, while I was unconscious, you’ve been handling all my daily quests.”
“So the greatest advantage of my humanoid form is doing your homework, nyah?”
Seeing Kiharu sitting at the computer, managing multiple windows at once while clearing daily missions, was truly a moving sight for me.
“Of course. You really are a Goddess. You’re protecting not just one world, but many.”
“Good morning, Master.”
“?!!?”
The voice behind me made chills run down my spine.
“E-Elaine. Uh, hmm.”
Elaine, who appeared behind me, was just as perfect and immaculate as ever — the embodiment of the Perfect Maid she was, unchanged from last night.
“I refrained from waking you as you were deeply asleep. However, your morning routine was handled by Kiharu. What would you like for your meal?”
“…Just a light sandwich and coffee. What about Drei?”
“She is currently monitoring the situation in Japan with Illinois.”
“…Japan?”
“Yes.”
Elaine expertly manipulated my smartphone and made a call.
[Hmm? Commander, you’re awake? I thought you’d still be sleeping~]
“What’s going on? You’re not in your room.”
[Heheh, what’s this? Were you hoping to see my face the moment you woke up?]
“…At least being in the room would’ve been less disorienting.”
[Ah, it’s nothing major. The Japanese government called in all the developers.]
“What?”
For a moment, a chill ran down my back.
“Don’t tell me… like what happened in China?”
[Pretty much, but it’s not just mobile game developers this time.]
“…Could it be…”
[You’re right. They even summoned the developers from the game companies you loved as a kid and in college.]
“……Why?”
[Well. It might be a little shocking to hear.]
Drei’s hesitation only made me even more nervous.
[TS.]
“….”
[Looks like the government is trying to push a TS initiative.]
“Hah.”
It was far more shocking than I had expected.
* * *
Meanwhile, while China was issuing “strip it down” orders to mobile game companies under Party command…
In Japan, where the Master had declared his “Tower Geek Manifesto” and departed, people were gathering to figure out how to win him back.
“Ah… originally, the Deputy Prime Minister was supposed to attend, but I’ve come instead.”
An old man, completely bald, stood at the podium with a microphone.
“Regarding how we might bring the Master back to Japan — does anyone have any special ideas?”
“…”
Gathered in a venue resembling a banquet hall, the Japanese developers couldn’t bring themselves to say anything.
Well, what could they say?
Not only were mobile game company directors summoned, but even developers from major console game companies with world-famous reputations had been dragged in.
“Miyamoto-san. Any thoughts…?”
“We are creators of games, not politicians.”
A middle-aged developer, called Miyamoto, firmly shook his head.
“If you intend to use us for some scheme, I must tell you — it will be utterly meaningless. Isn’t that right, Kojima-san?”
“Indeed.”
The developer named Kojima also agreed with Miyamoto’s opinion.
“No matter how much this is the Age of Towers or the Era of Hunters, and no matter what miracles the Master achieved through the ‘realization of games,’ those are just phenomena that occurred — it’s not something we can forcibly manipulate from our side.”
“So you’re saying we should just sit back and do nothing? China’s already mass-producing female characters designed solely to seduce the Master!!”
“Ah, but that’s just China’s approach. If it’s that important to you, why not have the government make a mobile game directly?”
A man who had been silently listening finally spoke up.
“Terada…!”
“If it’s so important, why not have the government develop one themselves? Word is, the U.S. has already started.”
“W-What…?”
“You haven’t heard? Developers over there are pumping out games under the excuse of ‘summonable comic book heroes,’ hoping to have them summoned by the Master. Full of Yankee flair — who knows if it’ll suit his tastes, though.”
“The Master is Korean. If the performance is good enough, he’s the kind of person who could summon from any game. Isn’t that right, Tajiri-san?”
“Mm….”
Everyone turned to a bespectacled developer who had been quietly listening.
“That’s true, but isn’t the U.S. side getting a bit out of control? They’re releasing gacha games where every pull is like launching a nuclear warhead.”
“…”
“I believe that in games, balance is the most important thing. From what we’ve seen, the Master seems to genuinely enjoy games. I don’t think he chooses based solely on destructive power and influence. We should—”
“No, but—!”
The official, standing in for the Vice Minister, scratched his flushed scalp in frustration and interrupted.
“Is it that hard to make a female character the Master might want to summon?! Huh?! Is it that hard to turn all your countless IPs into mobile gacha games?! Who cares if balance gets a little wrecked?! He’s just going to summon a powerful, balance-breaking being anyway!”
“That’s just speculation—”
“Or what, maybe make some babe he’d want to dote on! Or even—!”
The official pointed at a man sitting calmly with arms crossed.
“Just turn some random guy into a girl and have her seduce him!”
“…Tsk.”
The bespectacled man who had been pointed at clicked his tongue and stood up.
“So this is what you dragged us here for? To spew such nonsense?”
“W-What…?”
“You seriously think that just throwing a random gender-swapped character at him will make him slobber all over it? Not a chance.”
“Once summoned, the beings the Master calls forth are seen through the eyes of a ‘Hunter of Earth,’ not just as cute girls.”
The man in the yukata sitting next to him also stood.
“Trying to bait the Master by tossing in a bunch of pretty girls is an insult to us.”
“Indeed. If the Master were someone who could be swayed by women so easily, he would have stayed in Korea or moved to America long ago.”
“W-What…?”
“Do you even know how many celebrities have tried to reach out to the Master since he conquered the S-rank Towers? Even without government involvement, actresses have been—”
“The Master only cares about the realization of 3D anime girls!!”
The official’s loud outburst made all the developers widen their eyes in shock.
“Therefore—”
Though they were startled…
“Wouldn’t it be easier if the government just made the game itself?”
“Or maybe spend billions to hire a loyal studio to craft an ‘official’ game.”
They sneered at the official, offering only cynical remarks without a hint of genuine cooperation.
“Sure, some people might brag that ‘being summoned by the Master’ means they succeeded in appealing to him, but that’s not us.”
“If we were going to make female characters, we’d make them from scratch. You want us to forcibly gender-swap perfectly fine male characters? Just to serve as the Master’s ‘females’? That’s an insult to our fans.”
“If anything, we’d rather create brand new female characters and let the Master choose from them — even if not now, eventually.”
“B-But it would be meaningless unless it’s now!!”
“Even if not that…”
Some of the developers exchanged glances and whispered among themselves.
“Even if we can’t get summoned by the Master, there are ways to at least prevent our country from becoming his enemy.”
“W-What…?”
“Something just as good as pretty girls.”
Nod.
“And that is—”
* * *
“Master. They’re asking if you want to try out the Switch 3 and the new Po*mon game early?”
“……Isn’t the release still half a year away?”
“That’s why. Early access.”
“…Hah.”
It was ridiculous.
“You think I’d go to Japan just for an unreleased console and title?”
“You’re heading that way anyway, right?”
“True. Tell Illinois to adjust course.”
Illinois, docked in Jeju Island, now steers towards a new destination.
“Before we head to Australia, I guess I can do some pre-release testing.”
