Clearing an Isekai with the Zero-Believers Goddess

“Uh, um… Shizuma?” (Lent)

“What’s wrong, Lent?” (Shizuma)

“…If you can only summon one person, I was wondering…could it maybe be me? Or is that…not okay?” (Lent)

“Hmm… well…” (Shizuma)

To be honest, Lent was still underdeveloped. In the game, even if I sent her out to gather materials, she wouldn’t bring much back… In other words, she was still in a “not usable yet” state.

That said, she was probably still stronger than an average person in this world.

But…did she have some particular reason for wanting me to summon her?

“I want to be of help to you too, Shizuma. I know I’m weak and I’ve been left out, but I have strengths that only I possess! Right now, if you try to take someone along who can’t talk or react properly, it’ll be hard to do any proper testing. Everyone else is an adult, and they all know someone in some way. But me…! I’m a kid! I might be an elf, but they’ll just think I’m a small child. So I figured that’d make things convenient.” (Lent)

“Yes, that is precisely it, My Lord. This is quite convenient…especially at this particular moment, right after the war.” (Still)

I urged Still to continue, wondering what exactly he meant. “If you explain it like this: ‘After checking on the safety of an acquaintance, I found that person’s daughter, who had become a war orphan, and decided to take her in. However, her heart was deeply wounded, and she lost her human emotions.’ That would make it easy to justify having a silent person with you, wouldn’t it? And besides, a silent child would draw far less suspicion than a silent adult.” (Still)

“I see… You’re both pretty sharp.” (Shizuma)

I couldn’t help but praise Lent and Still, but at that moment…

“Oh my? Still, aren’t you forgetting something? When you were building the framework of that idea, I too provided advice…no, the foundation, in fact, was mine! Shizuma, please praise me as well.” (Hash)

“Hash… Yeah, thanks, Hash.” (Shizuma) The rıghtful source is novel-fire.ɴet

“You are truly an exaspera—no, delightful person, aren’t you?” (Still)

“Hehe, don’t praise me too much, Still. In return, perhaps I shall perform a hymn for you next time.” (Hash)

“I’ll pass.” (Still)

…These two don’t get along, do they? Their faces look quite similar, though.

I mean, Still was literally made by tweaking Hash’s creation data.

“In any case, I think I’ll go with the plan of you three. I’ll transform into Lent tomorrow, since I’ll probably need to fight at least once before I can issue an order.” (Shizuma)

“Yes! Finally, I can be useful…! Shizuma, if you’re going to fight, please at least fight until you can use my beginner-level magic yourself. It’s really handy…it can be used for keeping enemies at bay too!” (Lent)

“True. Having a ranged attack without needing to swing a sword motion is a big deal.” (Shizuma)

“R-Right?!” (Lent)

Maybe Lent had been feeling frustrated and even a bit bitter about not being used up until now.

The joy she showed after her appeal and being accepted…it made me think that way.

…Man, I feel bad now. Why didn’t I train her before?

“Alright, we’ve wrapped things up then. Let’s call it here. Shizuma is asleep during this, so his brain won’t be able to rest properly at this rate.” (Shilent)

“Yes, please sleep well, Shizuma.” (Lent)

“Such a pity, but let’s have tea another time then, My Lord.” (Still)

“Hehe, and when that time comes, allow me to provide the BGM. Good night, Shizuma.” (Hash)

“Shizuma, before you sleep, may I say one thing?” (Seimu)

It was then that Seimu, who hadn’t spoken a word until now, suddenly spoke up as if remembering something important.

“Shizuma, when you were exploring dungeons and all that, you were active on your own for a while, right? During that time…did your nails or hair grow at all? I know you’re still at an age where some people don’t grow facial hair yet, but…” (Seimu)

“Hm? Now that you mention it… Not my hair, but I did file my nails once.” (Shizuma)

Huh? I didn’t quite get where he was going with this.

“I see… Then maybe it’s fine… But still, why…” (Seimu)

“Seimu? What’s wrong?” (Shizuma)

“Well… I was considering the possibility that summoned beings might be frozen in time. And that maybe…Shizuma, you might also be ageless.” (Seimu)

“What…!” (Shizuma)

Ageless… That’s kind of terrifying.

It’d be like being left behind by the rest of the world.

So that nail and hair question was about checking for metabolism and growth, huh.

“Melt found that fried chicken, and your sports drink, Shizuma. From the temperature and taste, I thought time had stopped for them. And the bus too. Have you ever heard of the term ‘the battery’s dead,’ Shizuma?” (Seimu)

“Ah…yeah, I think my old man mentioned that once.” (Shizuma)

“Right. If you leave a car unused for even a month, sometimes the engine won’t start anymore. That bus was left in this freezing place for over three months. For its engine to start…that’s practically a miracle.” (Seimu)

“No way… So time on the bus really was frozen…?” (Shizuma)

That was a blind spot. If Melt hadn’t found that fried chicken, I probably never would’ve noticed.

But at least my own time wasn’t stopped… What did that mean?

“Sorry for confusing you. I’m still not sure myself. Maybe living beings are exempt? But then again… Shizuma, do you have your smartphone with you here in the mental world?” (Seimu)

“Yeah, I can just take it out from the menu screen.” (Shizuma)

“Oh, you’re right. We can use ours too.” (Seimu)

When I took out my smartphone, the battery was still in decent shape…probably because it had been stored in the menu all this time.

“Shizuma, did the battery drain when you were in the Mansion of Greed?” (Seimu)

“Uh… Sorry, I don’t really remember.” (Shizuma)

“Yeah, I figured… Then I’m out of ideas for now.” (Seimu)

It wasn’t something that would cause problems right away, but it was still something to think about.

Then this time, Shire raised her hand to speak.

…So now we’re doing hand-raising?

“Shizuma. Tomorrow, please keep your smartphone in your pocket while walking around. You can store it back in the menu once the battery drops even slightly.” (Shire)

“Got it. Some kind of test, right?” (Shizuma)

“Yes. I want to check whether ‘time is stopped for everything except humans,’ or if ‘time stops unless certain conditions are met.’” (Shire)

“Certain conditions?” (Shizuma)

“Yes. But this is still just speculation…not even a proper hypothesis yet.” (Shire)

Shire looked thoughtful as she proposed that.

Hmm… So the battery’s charge and certain conditions, huh.

“Alright, this time for real…I’m going to sleep. I wonder if my consciousness will just fade automatically?” (Shizuma)

“Yes, probably. Shizuma, once you’re done testing the Order Summon mechanics, summon me next time…I’ll cook you a meal.” (Seira)

“Oh, that sounds great! Seira, I’ll count on you then.” (Shizuma)

“Aw, I can’t cook anything for you though…” (Lent)

Lent pouted a little, but her smile still looked happy.

…Yeah, I need to make sure I really make use of everyone properly.

As that thought settled in my heart, my consciousness slowly began to blur…my eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

…Ah…it’s really nice, having everyone here…

I felt a bit lighter than usual when I woke up.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the bus. Right…I have been sleeping on one of the overturned bus seats.

“Gotta love modern conveniences… Well, it’s not that great, but still better than a tent…” (Shizuma)

Looking toward the back seat, I saw Melt still snuggled up in a blanket, sleeping comfortably.

I don’t know why, but…beastkins just look right when wrapped up in blankets.

There’s just something so natural about it…like that fluffy coziness suits them perfectly.

I had quite a few furniture housing items, so maybe I should try pulling out a kotatsu next time.

Electricity probably wouldn’t work, though… Guess I’ll have to use a magic tool as a substitute.

“Hey, Melt, it’s time to get up.” (Shizuma)

When I looked out the window, the sun was already up.

We needed to head for Melt’s home village today, so I had to steel my heart and wake up this fluffy fox girl.

“Mmm… Nooo… this spot’s too comfy… All bouncy and soft…” (Melt)

“I’ll make it go Vrooom, you know.” (Shizuma)

“Uuugh…”

She squirmed and sat up, still half-asleep… Looks like she is not fond of the engine noise.

Now, let’s wake up, wake up.

“Morning, Melt.” (Shizuma)

“Morning… I want this big seat in my house…” (Melt)

“Hmm, yeah. I’ve got a few different sofa types, so maybe I’ll test them out when we get back.” (Shizuma)

I did have a ton of furniture. I’d like to actually try them out properly.

“Alright, let’s use the stored food for breakfast.” (Shizuma)

“Seimu’s storage really is convenient… It stops time, right?” (Melt)

“Yeah, pretty much completely.” (Shizuma)

…Speaking of which, was the bus’s time also stopped?

I moved my smartphone into my pocket to help with Shire’s test.

Ah…right, I also need to transform into Lent.

“By the way, Melt, I’ll have to take on another form again. I’ll probably stay that way until we reach your home. I just want to test fighting in that form.” (Shizuma)

“Oh? Who, who? Shire? Or maybe Shilent?” (Melt)

“Nah, someone new. A mage.” (Shizuma)

“Wow! You can even become a mage!” (Melt)

Also, since that body’s smaller, I was hoping it’d get full faster when eating…another bonus.

I still had plenty of food stored in the menu’s item box, but I want to save whenever possible.

I selected Lent from the character list in the menu.

A brilliant light enveloped me, and my viewpoint lowered.

When it faded, I was once again in Lent’s body…the bus ceiling now towering far above.

Probably around 120 centimeters tall, give or take.

That was about the minimum height setting in the game.

“Alright, transformation comp—whoa!” (Shizuma)

“So tiny!!” (Melt)

The next moment, Melt hugged me tight.

My face was buried right around her stomach area…can’t breathe!

“Small! So small! You can turn into such a tiny little girl!” (Melt)

“Stop, stop! It’s still me! I’m Shizuma on the inside!” (Shizuma)

“Eeh?” (Melt)

“Today I’m using this body to learn magic, so that Shizuma can use magic too. Then afterward, I’ll summon her like Shire and test things while traveling.” (Shizuma)

“I see, I see… So we’ll be together for a while, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you!” (Melt)

…Apparently, Melt likes little kids.

Really, I hope someday the characters I summon will each have their personalities properly in them.

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