A collapsing Tower.
A conquered boss.
“Nothing more to see here.”
Our schedule at the S-rank Tower in Akihabara was finished.
The Tower’s boss had been taken down in a single blow by one of Justice’s many ultimate skills: [Sword Caliburn (SSR)].
‘That gacha ceiling-pull was worth it after all.’
Would you believe it if I told you there’s a game where you have to pull skills from a gacha?
Amazingly enough, the game that Justice came from—Great Robot Wars NV—was exactly that.
Good thing I had access to the cheat-code-level black card given to me by President Luigi.
I’d barely managed to fully Limit Break and fully Refine Elaine with trembling fingers—this system wasn’t just vicious, it was outright disgusting.
The fact that you had to pull skills through gacha…
If I’d been playing this game with my own money, I probably would’ve had a lot of moral crises over it.
‘But hey, becoming a Summoner let me try games like this just for the experience.’
Using a money cheat code in modern capitalist society is an absolute joy.
Sure, there are still restrictions on how freely I can spend, but someday, I’d love to pick a city and live as comfortably as I did back home—spending freely and enjoying life.
Which means—having cleared the S-rank Tower in Akihabara, I need to capitalize on it.
That doesn’t mean going around shouting, “I cleared Akihabara’s S-rank Tower—now give me 10 billion yen!”
No, I need to set the stage so this works to my advantage in a different way.
Exactly like now.
“Elaine. Follow me.”
“Yes. Anywhere.”
After reverse-summoning everyone except Elaine, I exited the Tower with her support.
“Ah! Master has returned!!”
“Did you really conquer the Tower?!”
“Master! Master! Master!”
The moment I emerged, the crowd erupted with cries.
Beyond the excitement of breaking news, everyone’s eyes were filled with curiosity and doubt.
“How did you defeat the Tower’s boss?!”
“Is it true that you have a fourth—or even a fifth—Summon?!”
“There’s a rumor that clearing the Akihabara Tower lets you summon your sixth Summon. Is it true?!”
As expected.
They were curious.
How I conquered the Akihabara Tower.
Which Summon I used to defeat it.
Whether I used my fifth Summon—Justice—to clear the dungeon.
“Hmm.”
I opened my mouth very slowly, and the moment all eyes focused on me—
“Shhh.”
I raised a single index finger to my lips.
“Questions will be answered at a press conference. That is all.”
“Uh… so…”
“Masterrr!!”
A Hunter emerged from the gate and screamed like a man possessed.
“We should’ve been the ones to clear the Akihabara Tower! Not you—a foreigner! We were trying to clear it first!!”
“You…!”
People around him were about to shut him down with a “What a lunatic,” but I raised my hand to stop them.
“Hmm. So the Akihabara Tower conquest, huh?”
What should I say?
To be honest…
“You can have it.”
“What…?”
“I’m not interested in the Tower I already cleared. You want the title of having cleared it? Then, sure. Take it.”
I pointed at the Hunter who had yelled at me.
“Let’s say you’re the one who cleared Akihabara’s S-rank Tower. Fine by me.”
With those words, I reached a hand behind me, and my body floated into the air.
In a flash, Elaine wrapped her arms around my waist and leapt through the crowd with a burst of speed.
Moments later, we were at the entrance of our hotel.
“Ah, w-welcome…”
“In three hours.”
I held up three fingers to the hotel manager who happened to be in the lobby.
“A press conference will be held in three hours regarding the Akihabara S-rank Tower conquest. That is all.”
* * *
[Two hours later.]
“Where’s the press conference going to be?”
“No idea. For now, they’re scrambling to convert the hotel’s grand ballroom into a conference room… But shouldn’t the Hunter Association be handling this stuff?”
“What’s the Ministry of Education doing? Damn it…”
Government staff rushed around the grand ballroom, setting up desks.
Since the Master had personally declared a press conference would be held in three hours, and two had already passed, they had to get things in place fast.
“How did the U.S. President keep up with this pace? Was he getting briefed in advance or something?”
“Apparently, he didn’t sleep. Rumor has it he managed by taking one-hour naps, aligned with 5 a.m. Korea time.”
“What? Why 5 a.m.?”
“That’s when the Master’s games reset. It’s the optimal time to complete daily tasks.”
“Five in the morning?”
“For the Master, that’s when the day ends. His life schedule’s different from us bureaucrats.”
The government staff continued organizing chairs and preparing the space.
It would’ve been nice to just throw down some desks and be done with it—but unfortunately, they had to deal with all kinds of headaches.
“What do you mean I can’t come in?! I’m a Fuji-san TV reporter!”
“Do you really not know why you’re being blocked?”
“This is tyranny! It’s not just me—everyone wants answers! I’m not ashamed!!”
Since it was a press conference, they couldn’t just let in any journalist.
Even for urgent government press briefings, reporters receive pre-distributed press kits, don’t they?
Reporters who get those kits know to hold back until the official statement—
They’ve built trust over a long period, and they don’t leak stories prematurely.
But here and now?
There wasn’t even an embargo in place.
“No, seriously—how is this even possible?! You’re telling me no one knows what Master plans to say at the press conference?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s true. No one in the government—not even the Prime Minister—knows what Master is going to say in just a little while.”
“There’s gotta be someone who can contact him, right? A liaison or something!”
“Do you really think such a thing exists?”
For reporters, covering Master was practically a 100-meter sprint.
Whoever got the scoop first.
Whoever reported accurate information first—not just rumors—would suck up all the traffic in Japan… no, the entire world.
And so—
“Damn it! Prep different article versions by type!”
“Uh, huh?”
“Use your imagination! Like—’Breaking News: Master summons Onmyoji Seimei as his 6th Summon!’ That kind of thing!”
Whether shady or not, everyone here had one instinct: Do whatever it takes for views.
“If you post something wrong…”
“Just keep them in draft! Make a bunch of sample headlines, and once Master announces something, pick the one that matches the closest and fire it off!”
As the shouting match continued, Hunters in formal suits began entering the press room one by one.
“Who are they…?”
“The Hunters who were outside the Tower. A few who went inside are here too, but… they’re keeping their mouths completely shut.”
These Hunters had come to the ballroom at the government’s request.
Most were B-rank, even when averaged out.
They could easily cross the distance from the hotel ballroom to the penthouse suite where Master was staying in under three seconds.
But none of them even thought about going upstairs.
That was Master’s domain.
They’d even cleared out all the hotel rooms below his floor to make sure no one would so much as hear the sound of his footsteps.
Most importantly, this grand ballroom wasn’t even in the same building as the hotel.
Though a long passage connected the two buildings on an upper floor, the ballroom was effectively part of a separate annex.
– Never, ever cross Master. Anyone who does, I’ll personally turn into Ironblood.
A direct warning had been issued.
From someone considered the most powerful person in the country.
So of course, no one dared to provoke Master.
“Tch… This whole country’s bending over backward for one man…”
Someone muttered under their breath, annoyed by the frantic preparations—
“What did you just say?”
“H-Huh?!?”
“W-Wait, isn’t that…?”
“Isazoi Akira?! The Red Witch who never leaves her home—why is she even—eek!”
A chilling silence fell as an S-rank Hunter stepped into the press room—
[Red Ruler].
The murmuring journalist quickly turned pale and stepped back.
“You should be grateful to Master. He conquered an S-rank Tower that we’ve never managed to clear—not even while on official duty. And he did it while on vacation.”
“V-Vacation…?”
“You think he’s here on business? If it were official, diplomatic channels would be managing everything. They’d be coordinating with the U.S., negotiating with Korea, scheduling events properly.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Just wait quietly. Until Master steps into the press room and speaks.”
With that, Red Ruler released a wave of mana, her intent crystal clear.
“Anyone who tries to harm Master… will answer to me.”
* * *
2 hours and 50 minutes passed.
“Commander. Everyone downstairs is waiting for you. Aren’t you heading down?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? The press conference.”
“Oh, right.”
I adjusted the angle on the front-facing camera, properly propping up my smartphone, then sat upright.
“Here I am. Press conference.”
“…Hey.”
“To be honest, calling this a press conference might be a stretch. It’s not just journalists down there. A bunch of random people showed up too, so it’s more like a general Q&A.”
Click.
“S-Rank Tower Conquest Afterparty Vlog. What do you think?”
“Commander… have you ever considered that maybe the concept has consumed you?”
“Hey now. It’s not a concept, and I’m not consumed.”
This press conference was really more of a declaration.
“Think of it like asking a local for food recommendations. I’m here to get recommendations for the next S-rank Tower to visit.”
“And where exactly is this press conference being held?”
“Anyone can be a reporter.”
Live stream—start.
“If you’re willing to send a Super Chat.”
“…”
“Ah—Ahh. Mic test.”
The viewer count shot up instantly.
Languages from all over the world flooded the screen.
“Ah—ah.”
I opened my mouth to address the entire world.
“Tower recs.”
…
“I’m accepting recommendations for the next S-rank Tower.”
