Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Era of Overflowing Towers (3)
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Resolve the crisis in America, but make sure to exploit them thoroughly—until you no longer need their help.
After hearing President Luigi's pointed words, we returned to Illinois and settled into the captain's quarters.
-A five-star hotel in California...!
They had even offered to put us up in a hotel in America.
But after the assassination attempt during our stay at a hotel back on Jeju Island, I decided to pass on staying at an American five-star hotel and just relax comfortably in the captain's quarters aboard Illinois instead.
"There's no place like home, after all."
Illinois had essentially become my home.
"Master. Shall we head to the operations room?"
"Operations room?"
"It's equipped with your computer and tablet, Master."
"Not a PC bang, but an operations room?"
"Yes, please follow me."
Some of the computers and furniture from my house in Korea had been moved entirely into the captain's private quarters—not the bridge, but his personal room.
"It's not wrong, but I didn't expect it to change this much in such a short time."
"I referenced various spaces on the internet."
How should I describe the layout? It felt like my own personal gaming room had been created.
'This is what a successful gamer's setup looks like.'
I'd seen things before like a [40-year-old married man's dream gaming room] or a [comprehensive game streamer's broadcast studio] for work, and it gave off a similar vibe, drawing an exclamation of admiration from me.
'I could just eat, game, and tackle Towers for the rest of my life.'
The captain's quarters on Illinois were now my home.
There was no reason to leave this house anymore, and I hadn't come here to enjoy personal time anyway.
'No reason at all to step outside.'
I wasn't the type to go out meeting friends, I didn't have any friends in America to begin with, and there weren't any friends so desperate that I needed to meet them right now.
I was curious about what messages my old contacts—blocked by Dray—might be sending, but there was no need to peer into that abyss.
Right now, I had four things to take care of.
One: Supplies and daily necessities coming into Illinois.
"Elaine. How are the supplies?"
"No issues, Master. If we purchase items using the account on this smartphone provided by Aide Patrick, they'll deliver them the next day."
Daily necessities would be supplied periodically via courier, just like when I first made contact with President Luigi.
They'd send whatever we requested immediately, but since we already had the black card and our own standards for picking items, this method was more convenient.
"It's like the same-day delivery from your homeland, Master... or should I say rocket delivery?"
"They'll airlift anything we need and deliver it right away, but with at least minimal screening, right? Okay, got it."
What Illinois needed most were daily necessities.
Even back when I left my house in Korea and stayed in hotels, the biggest hassles had been food and clothing.
"I'll leave all clothing and food matters to you, Elaine. That okay?"
"Of course, Master. Entrust all household affairs to me."
I handed off all daily life matters to Elaine.
As a Perfect Maid, she pursued perfection in everything from housework onward, no matter who employed her, so she'd handle it all flawlessly without any problems.
"Master."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"May I equip all the appliances as I see fit?"
The one thing that concerned me slightly was her obsession with modern appliances.
"Rest assured. I'll only procure appliances suitable for each section of Illinois."
"Do whatever you want. Washing machines, refrigerators—don't worry about power outages; bring in as many as you like. But..."
I wasn't trying to indulge in pointless nationalism, but...
"Minor stuff aside, make appliances domestic-made where possible. Especially white goods."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. And the most important part... make sure power cords and such match Illinois's current specs. Right, Dray?"
"That's right, Commander. Incompatibility would be a hassle~"
The second thing on my list: Figuring out the capabilities.
"In those anime the Commander watched before, they do everything inside a spaceship, right? Illinois has tech from this era, so we can use any electronics."
This involved assessing the servers Dray managed, all of Illinois's facilities, and grasping the full extent of her performance.
"Better to bring in metric-system Korean appliances than risk Americans spotting something suspicious."
There were many secrets about Illinois we had to keep, but unfortunately for the Americans, her internal systems and data were all in metric units.
Not the yard-pound system rooted in American history—Illinois calibrated all her length, weight, and data to me, the Summoner.
It was basically like the game specs had been 'localized,' which let me confidently state her length as '270m.'
"Compatibility is key. Don't buy weird stuff like you're from some medieval fantasy world. Got it, Maid? Mismatched specs wasting power is like draining Illinois's mana."
"If Illinois runs low on mana, I'll replenish it. Fortunately, I can share some through that 'core.'"
"...She has her own generators; what are you even worried about?"
Kiharu snickered as she sat at my keyboard, pawing at it wildly with her cat hands.
"She has solar and wind power too, and the core isn't just mana—it's nuclear fus... Mmph!"
"Hey now. That's a secret. If word gets out, the Americans will come investigating immediately."
There's a world of difference between casually saying "nuclear bomb" and actually having one.
Especially since Illinois had something I knew was insanely dangerous: a fusion engine.
Not just that, but her self-contained core—what I'd call a 'mana engine' for convenience.
That's right.
Illinois currently had energy to spare.
There might be limits on max output, but as long as we didn't suddenly use more than it regenerated, her energy wouldn't run out.
So, Illinois—our 'home'—had no issues.
Even if problems arose, Elaine, Dray, and the U.S. government under President Luigi could handle them to some extent.
'And we've got some unexpected allies too.'
One person cleared to enter the green sector—specifically, to board Illinois with permission.
-Ooh, this is...! No regrets in death now, guhk!
-Senator!!
An elderly senator whom President Luigi had earnestly requested permission to let onto the bridge as a political ally.
I'd been a bit worried seeing his flushed face and heavy breathing even before boarding, but surprisingly, he turned out to be a Navy veteran and military expert who'd served over 26 years as a senator—and he got excited just looking at Illinois.
Just summoning her had won me the favor of the U.S. Navy, military officials, and warship otakus.
That made the next choice crucial.
"Partner."
"What?"
"You've cleared all the story content; time for you to handle the rest."
"No way. We're in the middle of something important. I'm grinding quests like you humans sending trials down on us."
"Kyaaack!!"
Kiharu screeched as she hammered the keyboard.
It was just auto-battle on a pay-to-win gacha game with spam-clicks, but she was diligently clearing a gacha game I hadn't touched before.
That's right.
The third task for me (or rather, my summoned beast Kiharu): Playing various gacha games, raising characters, grasping their backstories and settings, and doing full pulls and rerolls.
Who else but Kiharu, the goddess strictest in judging humans, could handle this?
"You're probably the first to slack off homework against a goddess. Is this why you summoned me?"
"As if. I need you to revive me if a bullet comes flying and I'm about to die."
Anyone hearing this would think I summoned Kiharu just to offload my online game homework, but I'm innocent.
I didn't just dump it on her—I did my own grinding alongside.
Third: Games.
In other words, finding the most suitable candidate for our fifth summon.
More firepower was always better.
For that, as a Summoner—and globally, a Tower conqueror known as [Master]—I had to make the fourth decision.
"Currently, there are 8 Towers generated across America's 50 states."
Start with the closest one.
"Let's show the Americans how fast someone with Korean blood can move."
Until now, we'd supported from outside, but from here on, that would change.
"Illinois, scramble."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [A short while later. Government office in Los Angeles.]
"...What?"
President Luigi, gathered at the government office with various congressmen waiting for someone, jumped in surprise at a message that flew in via SNS.
"What is it, Mr. President?"
"W-Well."
I wonder if Korean politicians felt like this.
"Strengthen control around the Golden Gate Bridge immediately and keep people from gathering nearby. Hurry!"
President Luigi showed the DM message directly to the other congressmen and requested their cooperation.
"In 3 hours, Illinois will enter the S-Rank Tower at the Golden Gate... Huh?"
He double-checked the message content.
"...Illinois will enter?"