The faces of the two girls drew closer.
Oh, this is the start of the story— Alex figured.
No matter how you looked at it, one of the girls was most definitely an Elf.
The other one had pointy ears on top of her head, just like a cat.
Both of them were more beautiful than any actual human.
Then, the realistic sensation of lips.
He felt the softness of their lips on his cheeks.
He could feel the almost burning sensation of their body heat.
It was enough to make him feel like he was melting.
The scent of the two girls gave off a faint sweetness.
As the torrential waves of these previously unknown experiences crashed over him, he knew this was something that was going to happen but coming from sit on a gaming chair to here.
And he came to realize that this was all happening in reality.
It was happening too fast for him to comprehend.
Alex spaced out as he stared at the sky. The two girls were now gone from his field of vision.
The sky that spread out before him was fantastically blue. This was not the ceiling of his room that he was used to seeing. Even the way he was dressed had changed.
Do I have a cape on?
Instead of the usual T-shirt with loose collar and frayed shorts he always wore, he was clothed in jet-black garments and an extravagant cape. In his hands, he held a staff that was emanating a pitch-black aura.
He viewed his surroundings.
No matter matter how many times he checked, this most certainly was not his room.
Shaped like an octagon, the place was not too large—perhaps five meters long from edge to edge.
Alex sat upon a stone altar in the center of the area, surrounded by four stone pillars.
The light coming from the tips of these pillars was not from fire or electricity, but had a soft, phosphorescent glow, not unlike the magic FX you would find in a video game.
Beyond this, that vast blue sky spread out before him.
The two girls.
One of them was an Elf. Though he wandered his eyes, that was all he could think she will be mine.
Her ears were long and pointed. Elves were so well known for this particular feature that they could almost be called the "long ear" species.
Her hair looked as if it were made of melted gold, and she wore a hair decoration fashioned from grass.
The green tunic she wore was only tied together with bits of string, and her skin showed through from time to time.
On her back she carried a large bow, with a quiver for arrows at her waist.
Her arms, legs, and neck were long and slender, which fit with what Alex already knew about Shera looks. However, her incredibly robust and ample breasts were the one feature that did not fit the usual Elf image.
Then, on the other hand—
There was Rem with cat ears growing out of her head.
Her hair reached down to her waist, and was the same glossy black color as her ears.
She had a slender body, and from what little he could see of her legs, it was clear that she was in great shape.
Her eyes slanted like a cat's, with highly arched brows that conveyed the strength of her will. She stared at Alex with an expressionless face.
She wore a vest over her jacket with a wide leather belt coiled around her waist, and a skirt made of layered cloth. Because he was on top of the altar, he could not see anything else below that.
Alex was the top player of Cross Reverie, his knowledge of the game far surpassing that of a normal player, and he already watched the amine .
He tried to look at this building, while also carefully taking in his surroundings.
The feeling of the stone.
The remains of a dried up puddle of water.
The clouds that floated in the ever-expansive blue sky.
Because he was so high up, the strong gusts of wind made loud whooshing noises as they passed over him.
The light from the sun was brighter than any PC monitor would be able to render.
There were also the smells.
The wind carried with it the scent of mold and dirt, just as you would expect from an old building.
The design of the stone patterns on the ground were scattered everywhere.
What kind of hi-spec computer and monitor would you need to replicate this? It all looked far too authentic.
But, he was sure that he had seen these surroundings in the game before. But nothing make it feel so real than real life experience.
"...That should be the end of the "Enslavement Ritual"."
In the MMORPG Cross Reverie, there were numerous skills with effects that made you wonder why the developers even bothered adding them at all.
These kinds of inefficient skills were labeled as "cool, but impractical." For Alex, and others like him who insisted that "Online games are serious business!" and only focused on winning, these were the skills they would never pick.
For example, you could find two patterns of these kinds of skills in the "Sorcerer" skill tree, the job class that Alex was using.
The first was called the "Brawler Sorcerer." These skills focused on fighting at close-range, despite the fact that you were just a squishy Sorcerer.
The other kind was called—
"The summoning was a success! That means I'm a Summoner now, too!" the Elf girl joyfully proclaimed.
Author: This is for people who didn't read the light novel.
That's right, a "Summoner."
It was already well-known that Sorcerers who used spells based around the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, light, or darkness were the strongest. Despite this, a Summoner rejects these elemental skills and spends all their skill points from leveling-up on summoning skills. That is what it meant to be a Summoner.
Their way of fighting was to "summon and enslave beasts to make them fight for you."
However, the damage their Summons dealt per attack was relatively weak, and an Elemental Sorcerer of the same level was way more powerful.
For defense, they would have to do things like: rely on their Tank to protect them try running around in circles; or beat their opponent before their adversary could hit them.
Because of this, summoners were called weak, and they were regularly made fun of with typical jeers like: "Summoner (lol);" and, "If you want an in-game pet, go play another game!"
This place had a deep connection with Summoners—
The summoning point: "Starfall Tower".
It was here that you could call Summons to enslave them to your will. Though, there were also special events where you could obtain Summons. This was the place you would normally come to get them.
The altar that Alex had been laying on was the spot where the Summons were supposed to appear...
The Pantherian girl spoke up.
"...I would appreciate it if you would not mistake yourself. I'm the one who summoned this Summon. Your magic was a failure."
The Elf angrily voiced her objection.
"What!? I don't understand what you're talking about! I used the summoning magic, didn't I!? A-And... I did the Enslavement Ritual, too! Even though it was super embarrassing, I did k-k-kiss him, after all!"
"...I-I did it, too... Although, I have never seen a Summon shaped like a human before. Compared to the normal Summons, this one must be many times more powerful. There is no way an Elf's magic would be able to conjure someone like him. So, looking at this logically, it would make sense that he is my Summon."
"No! You're wrong! He's mine!"
The two girls began fighting with each other.
It was then Alex understood this is the moment he will introduce himself.
"...I was the one who summoned Diablo!"
Alex —no, now "Diablo"—had been summoned to another world.
Alex reflected on what he remembered about The anime and summoning in Cross Reverie.
In opposition to other monsters and magic-type enemies, Summons were a class of their own. They were beings who existed to be summoned and controlled by Summoners.
Though they could not speak, they possessed high intelligence, and were able to unleash fairly powerful attacks. There were even types of Summons who could use healing magic.
But, because it was difficult to control them, you had to bind them using an "Enslavement Collar" gained from performing an "Enslavement Ritual."
Any Summon with an Enslavement Collar on them would be completely dominated by their Summoner. The girl with the cat ears spoke first.
"...Can you understand what we are saying?"
"Of course I can understand you."
His response was confident.
As if they were not expecting this, the Elf and Pantherian opened their eyes wide.
"He can talk!?"
"...This is a surprise. I have never heard of a Summon that could understand our language, let alone speak it..."
"Way to go, me! Even though it was my first summoning, I summoned something super amazing!"
The girl with cat ears glared at the Elf.
"...I will say it again, but I am the one who summoned Diablo, not you."
"And I'll say it again, too! Diablo answered my summons and came for me, got that!?"
The two continued to stare daggers at each other.
They were still fighting over who was the actual Summoner.
"...Fine. If you're going to go that far, then let's confirm who Diablo is enslaved to." The Elf looked down at the cat-eared girl as she gave her response.
"Fine by me, let's do this! He is my Summon, after all, so of course he'll obey me!"
Things had definitely taken a turn for the weird here.
The Pantherian girl approached Takuma.
"...By the name of Rem Galleu, I command you to raise your right hand."
Alex obediently raised his right hand.
The Elf started to protest.
"Anyone would follow an order like that! If you're going to order him to do something, make it a little more ridiculous!"
"...It pains me to see you act like a sore loser, but as you wish. Diablo, I command you to pinch the cheeks of that Elf over there."
"Is that something you would normally order someone to do!?" the Elf said, dumbstruck.
Alex tilted his head.
"No I'm good..."
Rem was shocked at his reply. Because he was able to resist her command, this meant that she was not the Summoner.
—Or something like that, I guess?
With her face positively beaming, the Elf stuck out her chest. Noticeably.
"See! See, see, see! Looks like I was the Summoner after all! So, my Summon, Diablo! I order you in the name of Shera! Give that Pantherian girl over there a good spanking!"
"...Ordering him to use violence against others makes me doubt the value of your character," retorted Rem.
You told me to do something similar just now, remember?— Alex thought to himself.
"I don't want to do that either well for right now."
"Why!?"
The Elf's eyes were as wide as could be.
Even Alex was tilting his head a little.
"...It seems that something has gone wrong since you tried to take over my summoning."
"Um, wrong!? I was the first one who thought to use this place, you know! I was the one who thought the elevated amount of magic here would be able to call a Demon Lord from another world!"
"...I should have chased you away from the beginning... And it's still not too late to do that. I will make you leave here by force and redo the ritual. The Demon Lord is mine..."
Rem reached into a pocket on her leather belt and pulled out a transparent crystal.
Shera reached for the bow on her back and took a stance.If things carried on this way, there was going to be a fight.
Turning to face Rem and Shera as they continued to get ready to fight.
"Cease your pointless squabbling. You are in the presence of Diablo."
The two girls instantly stopped moving and turned to face him.
—All right! That's it!
It was the tone of voice he used as the Demon King when someone came to challenge him. If he just talked like that, he should be able to get his point cross.
"I am not partial to such futile quarrels. It is incessant, like the noise of two insects fighting with each other. And so, I order you two: Make peace by shaking hands...and with a smile!"
Rem narrowed her eyes.
"Who would want to make nice... with such a foolish, useless Elf like——!?"
Shera raised her eyebrows.
"What!? It's that little Pantherian pipsqueak who's at fault here! She owes me an apology, and I won't forgive her until she——!?"
The girls' expressions started to change in strange fashion.
Their eyelids started to close in awkwardly, and the corners of their mouths began to twitch upwards.
The changes did not end with just their faces.
While still holding the crystal in her left hand, Rem offered out her right hand. Shera lowered her bow, and also reached out with her right hand.
One step at a time, they slowly began walking toward each other.
"...How... How could something like this..."
Usually devoid of any kind of expression, it was only now that you could call what Rem had on her face a "smile."
Shera was afraid.
"No... Stop...! Why... Why is my body moving on its own!?"
It looked like she was about to cry. However, the girls' faces stayed as they were, lips curved upwards.
An exchange of handshakes.
Though their odd facial expressions clearly showed that they didn't like it...just as Alex had ordered, the girls shook hands, smiles and all.