Why Did You Summon Me?

“Yellow~!” A sweet voice rang out from behind Baiyi, and a moment later, he felt something warm and supple press against his back; the supple bosom belonged to the Assassin Walker ⁠— the first Voidwalker to heed his call. Her bestie, the Warrior Walker, had given her the Divine Leather suit, which could change its host’s physical appearance.

In Baiyi’s harem, Lady Assassin Walker’s facial features could not be called the best, but the Voidwalker was still as cute as a button. The fey-like charm and siren-like beauty of the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker was the reason why Lady Assassin Walker could not be considered number one in the appearance department. Amongst the female Voidwalkers, Lady Assassin Walker was not the most powerful, neither was she the most docile. In these aspects, she also paled in comparison to the Fairy Walker and the Warrior Walker.

Unlike the other two, however, Lady Assassin Walker was young at heart, and she often came off as a teenager falling in love for the first time. She was often vivacious and filled with wonder, and she had the body frame of an adorable, little girl; emphasis on the word ‘little’.

“Hee hee. It’s my turn to show off now, huh, idiot?” Lady Assassin Walker rested on Baiyi’s back and rubbed her cheeks on him. As though jubilating, she chortled. “Be ready for an in-depth insight into the way by which a true assassin obtains her intel. Haha!”

Cough! Baiyi did not share in her joy. “It would be nice for you came down from my back first; it’s embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing? Because of what? Our relationship is already known to the public!” Lady Assassin Walker grumbled, clearly unhappy. She pouted her lips and poked his face armor in puerile dismay.

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. Look at the length of your skirt, and, er, your current posture…” Baiyi hesitantly explained.

He was sitting on his couch, which was facing the opposite direction. Lady Assassin Walker was behind the couch, with her arms wrapped around from behind; she had had to lean in hug him, causing her extremely short skirt to ride up, leaving her booty ⁠— which was now facing the front door ⁠— exposed.

Lady Assassin Walker instantly took the hint, flashing him a sweet smile. She climbed over the couch and snuggled up beside Baiyi, leaving no gap between them — an unspoken announcement of ownership.

Cute as a button, yes, but she was also really clingy. ‘Only when her qualities are combined with those of the Warrior Walker would she be a match for the Fairy Walker,’ Baiyi thought. He admitted that his ‘Main wife’, the Fairy Walker, made for a far better girlfriend than Lady Assassin Walker and the Warrior Walker did.

While Baiyi was nursing these thoughts, the other Voidwalkers began to arrive. The Hitman Walker, who excelled in speed, arrived right after Lady Assassin Walker. The Blacksmith Walker, Engineer Walker, and Alchemist Walker arrived soon after. An unapologetic Archmage was, naturally, the last to arrive.

When the Archmage took his spot on the prime seat, Lady Assassin Walker finally tore herself away from Baiyi. It took the Fifth Walker some time to explain fill the other Voidwalkers in on the mission he had received. He was marveled at how long it now took to convey information to the other Voidwalkers. The Pseudo-Descent spell had provided a lot of benefits for the Voidwalkers, but it had come with its own cost. In the past, it took almost no time to share information with the Voidwalkers in the Void; they could even view the real world through Baiyi’s eyes. This was no longer the case, though.

“The dead that don’t stay dead? An oxymoron fit to intrigue a king. Would you like me to accompany you?” The Archmage chortled after Baiyi finished his speech.

“Not to be ungracious, but I would rather my seniors rest as much as possible,” Baiyi replied. Saying so, he pointed at Lady Assassin Walker and added, “You all take good care of my school while I’m away, okay? She will be my companion on this journey.”

“Ho? Fine, then. A senior knows when not to interrupt his juniors,” said the Archmage. With a more serious expression, he continued, “There is one thing I feel the need to remind you, though: this Assassin here is, at best, only fit to be a courtesan or a royal consort; do you hear me? She is not empress material, with her lack of decorum, terrible countenance, and pitiful political skills. You must not forget this!”

‘E-excuse me? This old geezer has gone off on a tangent already?! Are you seriously still thinking about your extinct Ancient Rohlserlian Empire? As for you, Huffing Piggy No. 2, what are you giggling about? Do you lack ambition so much that you’re content with being a consort?!’

The Archmage had more to say on the matter, though. “Have you even spared time to think about the heir to your throne, huh? For the glory of Rohlserl, this should be Issue Numero Uno for you! In fact, son, you really should begin to seek a female human suitable to birth our great heir. Ah, I know! That female dragon always looks very willing to receive your seed!!”

‘My see… What the hell?! Are you even listening to yourself? Why are you even thinking about heirs right now? Furthermore, to you, why is a woman always to blame for the lack of heirs? I mean, just look at your own heir, who is a Soul Armature, would you? As for you, Huffing Piggy No. 2, why are you looking sad? Are you that desperate to be a mother? As for Aya, who you have brought into this… Since when did dragons become part of the human race?!

A million thoughts raced through Baiyi’s mind, but he decided not to answer the Archmage, who was still wearing a serious expression. In the end, Baiyi had escorted the Archmage and the Assassin Walker out of his humble abode, after which he returned to the other Voidwalkers to continue discussing the matter at hand.

“My apologies. He’s always been like this. When people get old, they start to become confused, you know,” Baiyi said, apologizing for his teacher’s inappropriate rant.

“It’s fine, though. I have to admit that Sir Archmage seemed more than just ‘confused’,” the Hitman Walker said gravely. “The mission you have told us about is a trivial matter, which can be solved without his help; on the other hand, the issue that Sir Archmage brought up is one that you cannot solve at all.”

Baiyi was unable to refute that logic; it was a load to crap, but he found himself unable to respond to it!

It was the Blacksmith Walker, a very level-headed person, that steered the conversation back on track. “Alright, break it up and go back to being professionals. Any ideas?”

As someone who hailed from a noble family, the Blacksmith Walker had always been professional. Even now, he knew how to prioritize issues!

Baiyi was about to resume from where he left off when the Blacksmith Walker continued, “I would love to showcase my mecha on the world stage, but there are still some key issues I have yet to solve. In the meantime, we can rely on some old but reliable weapons like tanks and battleships; however, so much is required to build them, so it will be quite the drag. Furthermore, the level of craftsmanship in this world is not insufficient to create these sleek weapons. Hence, the only thing we can present the army, and this world, for now, are assault rifles.”

After saying that, the Blacksmith Walker turned to the Engineer Walker and asked, “You agree, bro?”

“Assault rifles don’t have the oomph factor anymore, man,” the Engineer replied solemnly. “I think we should invent something like a one-man high-tech battle suit, outfitted with immense firepower. We should simplify its functions because we will be mass-producing; hence, we cannot work outside our budget.”

Listening to their exchange made Baiyi think, ‘Is this a concerted effort to troll me as hard as possible, just because we haven’t had a meeting like this in a long time? Or is this a subtle act of revenge because I made you all meet me at this time of the night? That aside, what is with all this talk of assault rifles and goddamned Ironman suits?!

When the Blacksmith Walker and Engineer Walker noticed the change in Baiyi’s countenance, the pair hurried changed the topic. “Oh, Sir Hope, you wish for us to make pretty normal weapons, don’t you?”

“What else? A gigantic, world-destroying robot?!” Baiyi replied, a gloomy expression on his face.

“Well, a bold suggestion, but I respectfully beg to reject it. A gigantic-world-destroying-robot is unsuitable for our objective,” the Engineer Walker said matter-of-factly. “However, if we put all our effort into building a futuristic, hi-tech battlesuit, the military will be sure of victory in all its endeavors. The Empire will be so shocked but pleased by the battlesuits’ capabilities that they would buy as many of them as possible, for the purpose of gearing up their fleet. If we create a backdoor in every one of these battlesuits, we can summon them back if our relationship with the Empire sours once more. With these battlesuits at our disposal, we would be able to train a fleet of supersoldiers, all at the expense of the Empire’s taxpayers! The loyalty that said fleet would show to us will be unwavering!”

“Yes, exactly! With Sir Engineer and myself, it’s not hard for us to implement a backdoor on every one of our products. I see now… This is the real reason why you’d decided to join the arms dealing project! You were not focused on the money at all, Sir Hope; impressive as always. I expected nothing less from you!” the Blacksmith Walker nodded.

‘My most sincere apologies, but no. I do not mirror your thoughts. I was too short-sighted to see as far as you two have. Oh, how I’ve failed to meet up with your expectations.’

‘Wait a minute,’ Baiyi looked at the pair, ‘Why did I have to apologize for not coming up with the same idea as you two crazy geeks, who have extremely unrealistic expectations of the world you are in? Forget about the gadgets; you two won’t even get past the design stage when you realize how inferior technology is!’

Feeling helpless, Baiyi dismissed their idea with a wave of his hand and said, “You know what? Just discuss your plans with Vidomina. She will be managing this part of the project while I’m gone.”

These Voidwalkers had exhausted him mentally. Let Vidomina handle them.

The Cleric Walker decided to help out, as a good cleric would; with a solemn expression, he said, “The way I see it, the issue with the undead poses no real threat to you, Sir Hope. With some of my divine scrolls and spells and help from the Lich Walker, who should be applauded for turning over a new leaf, the amount of undead in our path would matter not. We’ll blitz through them in no time.

“As for the issues regarding our new business venture, we have our most reliable Vidomina taking the lead, which is already a victory of its own. There is just nothing more to discuss on the aforementioned topics,” the Cleric Walker said.

“I see. Then what issue should we deliberate on, Sir Cleric?” Baiyi asked.

“Why, only the most important issue of all: the much-needed changes to the uniforms of our female student and staff! As you can see here, I have prepared a plethora of chic designs; they all go well with black silk socks, white silk socks, and even the bold technicolor silk socks. No matter what socks the girls put on, they would look very stunning ⁠— guaranteed!” The Cleric Walker said as he hurriedly produced rolls of blueprints, which he wished to give Baiyi.

Baiyi said nothing. He snapped his finger, and the pure ivory armor containing the Cleric Walker suddenly crashed to the floor, its parts scattering about. This caused the blueprints to fall, but before they could hit the ground, they were incinerated by a ball of mysterious black flames.

“Meeting adjoined,” Baiyi announced weakly. He pointed at the armor parts of the floor and said, “I would appreciate it if someone cleaned that up for me. Furthermore, someone should send Laeticia a message; tell her that, for this week, she will be the substitute principal for her faculty.”

“Um, what happened to Sir Cleric?” Someone asked.

“He’s banned from the chat for a week,” Baiyi answered coldly.