The soldier - Following orders.

I am left speechless by the absurdity of the situation; it doesn't make any sense.

And yet I can't deny that I was saved, the bizarre situation that some random holographic panel appeared in front of me, encouraged me to accept being saved, and then summoned a woman in a space marine…

"Who?" I can just ask in my stupor.

"I ask you once again, at you and only you, are you my contractor? The designated Atlas."

Her voice is stern, concise, and gives me the impression of someone who always goes straight to the point. There's a certain charm of it, as if I were to follow her to the depths of hell, I wouldn't be afraid only for the mere fact that she is here.

Biting my lips with some strength, I manage to pull myself out of my trance, and with dripping blood, I answer.

"I am not sure, but everything tells me I am."

A pretty lame answer, but she seems satisfied.

"Son!? Are you here!? Answer me!"

Him? Once again? Is he unable to just buzz off? He has a dying girl over there for the Empire's sake…

"Hm" the woman, that I haven't been able to see her face, scoffs and prepares a strange submachine gun that I can't even recognize.

"Wa-wait, they are friendly" I stammer as I see them in the distance, the girl appears to have woken up and the man is looking at me. "I am fine, just go back!"

But my hoarse exclamation doesn't seem to deter his need to see me in safety.

Damn it, old man.

"Preparing to engage, awaiting orders contractor"

"No orders! No attacking! Please." I retort with my eyelids twitching.

"Very well" and she returns to a resting stance.

And then, she finally turns her head back at me, leaving me completely stunned.

Long golden hair tied into a ponytail, strong-willed eyes that even if they are sharp, give a sense of calmness and reliability, being as blue as the deep-ocean. Her face is perfect, her lips are full but delicate, it even feels unreal that she is someone wearing such a heavy piece of armor.

"The Hero of Loyalty, Nevola, reporting. I have received your summons of someone…" she appears to be smiling at the idea of being summoned, "that wanted to be saved. It appears that I came in time."

Trying to regain my wits I only end up responding with a nod. Thankfully the bearded guy seemed to have found us.

"Sh…" he was about to curse when he stumbled into the fallen debris but bit his tongue because he had a child in his arms. "It appears something big happened… It was the right choice to come back to you."

"S-see!? I didn't want the big brother to die… and I am totally fine!" the green-haired girl complains to the geezer.

"A soldier?" the guy doesn't even acknowledge her reaction. "Thank the Empire, we need help, things have been heating up over there!"

Nevola's eyes sharpen, she seems to be eager to go for some action, but then looks back at me, as if waiting for permission.

"Um, before that, could anyone get me out of this?��� I point at my trapped leg.

"Ah, yes of course" the blonde stutters a bit for her blunder, maybe she expected a more tragic situation.

Yeah, it is a bit pathetic that I am just trapped in such a tiny environment hazard and almost dying because of that.

"What is going on? Why did you come back!? You know she even passed out! That's not normal" I can only vent at him, getting some stress out of my shoulders.

"Streets are blocked, I could have looked for another way out, but I wasn't going to leave you behind, would you?"

"Yes, yes I would! I am not someone important at all!"

The three people in front of me appear to be weirded out by my outburst.

"Never mind… I… thank you."

Avoiding his gaze is the only thing I can do, he shouldn't do this, truly.

[Are you done?]

[Things are still nasty around.]

[Ding]

[Quest activated:]

[Alien menace. Complacency has triggered a tragedy in Calisto, all around the planet invaders have come for revenge. You can't stop it, or maybe you can with the emergency bonus summon, but your priority is to survive.]

[Objective: Survive the waves of enemies and volleys of laser for an hour]

[Side objective: ???]

[Reward: 200 Life Points]

Life points? As in health points from a videogame?

That deal is kind of sweet, I just have to hide and…

'Explain to me what is the emergency bonus summon.'

I can't help asking while I signal Nevola to go forward with us as we heard more explosions around.

[After giving up the equivalent of 100 Gacha rolls, you can do an Emergency Summon, it has the bonus of giving you an SR/SSR weapon of character at their max potency until the current crisis has passed]

'D-did… did I have enough points?'

[Indeed!]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving someone at the risk of your life - 500 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Facing the threat of death head-on - 800 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 1 person - 50 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 10 people - 500 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 100 people - 750 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 1000 people - 1000 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 10000 people - 1500 LP]

[Achievement unlocked: Saving 20000 people - 2500 LP]

[Grand Achievement Unlocked: Chain of favors (Trigger a situation where you lead by example, in that way more people follow you in doing the right thing) – 4000 LP]

[Life Points remaining: 100]

What?

I can't even process this, when did I save so many people?! This isn't realistic at all, especially the last one, I am sure I didn't lead anything, why would people even think that I am worth noticing?

"Cont… hmm how should I call you?" Nevola, who I haven't given the attention that she needs, asks me.

She is sensible enough to know that calling me contractor would arouse more than a bit of suspicion.

At first, I want her to call me Atlas, just like the… system?

[System is okay for me]

Oh, she can read my mind, marvelous.

[You are welcome]

'���'

Well, in the end, I refrain because it is embarrassing.

"For now, Stelo might do."

The space marine frowns at the idea of calling me by first name basis but that might be for the best.

"Oh yeah, I am Portobello" the man chimes in while winking me.

The dude is creepy, he should stop.

"Beryl" whispers the green-haired girl with shyness.

Hmm? She is acting different, weird.

"I didn't ask for your names" I answer in a dead-pan manner, trying to cut off any friendliness they tried to have with me.

Both of them are taken aback but I don't pay attention to them.

"Nevola, let's sortie to a higher location, can you do that?"

"For now, my propulsion systems are working, I can do it."

"Why…?" Portobello is about to ask about our relationship but I cut him up.

"You, shelter, now."

Without looking back, I accept Nevola's hand and stand in her armor's foot.

She has such a stable grip that I feel embarrassed as a man, but social norms are just a suggestion after all so I try to brush it off.

"Tell me, what are you? I barely understand anything?"

I ask while she slowly brings up to the roof of a still-standing tower.

"Hm, it appears the Throne has not given you enough information"

[There is not enough time, go into action, young Atlas! You have a lot of responsibilities]

"It appears to be in a hurry, but I must know about you on the least, you are important after all."

[Life Action: Surprised your new partner - 250 Life Points]

[Life Action: Aroused interest in your partner - 50 Life Points]

[Life Action: Ignited hope in your partner – 550 Life Points]

I wish I would know what criteria are needed to get more Life Points, and what exactly they are, but, it appears I made a good impression.

"Indeed, a good commander needs to know himself and his troops well. You are a young yet wise contractor."

"Y-you give me too much credit! It was for a silly reason; I was just curio…"

But I stop in my tracks, left mouth-agape by the situation.

It looks like a hellish landscape, any shelter or form of protection tailored for the population might not be enough. Fire spreads around, but not only that, clouds of purple smoke, troops with hellish intentions, and aerial machines attack the surface of Jupiter, my city.

"This is horrendous…" I can only exclaim.

But before saying anything else, I stagger on my feet from the threatening aura that I feel at my side.

Almost falling from the edge, I look in surprise at Nevola.

She is fuming, no, she is about to go on a murder spree. I can feel it under my skin, that she can't contain herself much longer.

"Give me your orders Contractor, and I will follow them as best as I can."

Denying her request seems like an impossible feat, a normal person shouldn't have the guts to do so.

And yet, there's some doubt in my heart, someone so beautiful has to dirty her hands with blood; no, someone so beautiful has dirtied her hands all of her life.

But that is only a stupid notion of mine, no matter the gender or appearance when you have to fight, you HAVE TO fight. War is blind after all.

There is also the issue of my safety, if I have this power, I can just defend this position until the hour has passed and I get the mission rewards. It looks like where I am isn't a priority target for the invaders.

And yet…

"Let's go, we will go by the ground. I don't want you to be targeted by their heavy artillery."

"It doesn't matter, my shield should be enough."

"I see, but I want to go."

She seems taken aback and is about to retort.

"I can't take any good decision if I am hiding in a corner, I must go!"

And even then, my die isn't worth that much anyway.

[But if you die, she will disappear]

Well, that's a problem. No suicide maneuvers for me then.

[…]

"Understood." She seems unwilling to oblige, but her loyalty seems to be compelling her to obey.

I don't like this; I know in videogames you can always control the actions of the characters you are playing with. But her reaction makes me feel as if I were filth… well a different kind of filth from the one I am.

Regardless, I won't relent. She needs to vent, so I must see all of this happen.

"I don't want to run from anything anymore, okay? That's why I am going."

Looking at her eyes with all the seriousness I have, she appears to calm down and accept the situation.

[Life Action: Calmed a companion in a stage of rage - 100 Life Points]

Stop it, my actions aren't just for the sake of getting points.

[Sorry, those are the rules]

The System seems to be apologetic enough, so I can't stay mad at it.

And yet, I dislike this taste in my mouth. I am not good enough to receive these benefits.

"Let's go."

"Indeed."

And we march into peril, a Contractor and his Hero, who is only following orders.

This is messed up, I don't like it, but people are dying and I have the solution, I would be worse than scum if I only use the bonus for my protection, and Nevola seems to be confident enough of her capabilities that maybe she might even terminate the whole invasion.

Yeah, she can save everyone without issues, right, I am just holding her back.

But I don't want to order her to do so. I don't want to order her.

Because I see pain, as in she is just lost. I don't know how, but she is so tied by orders and loyalty, that even her title says that it is her biggest trait. A war veteran that has gone through so many battlefields…

Just following orders.

I hate it. I despise it. I scorn it.

But I have to order here, as her Contractor, and that makes my blood boil in conflict.

Maybe she was always cursed to serve under someone.