[Edogawa City, Shishibone — Dungeon Busters Headquarters]
After forty years, I had naturally developed bonds and obligations toward people. This wasn’t a bad thing, though. People couldn’t survive all on their own. We lived in a society, a world of give-and-take. That’s why, when someone asked something of me, I did my best to help them. I sometimes made requests as well; that was just how relationships worked.
“I’m so sorry Kazu-chan... Asking for something so...”
Iwamoto, my lifelong friend—we had met during the first year of primary school—had come to our headquarters. He was a Zainichi Woorian and owned a chain of pachinko parlors located in Chiba. The relationship between Japan and Woori was pretty bad right now, but many Woorian people still saw Japan in a favorable light. On top of that, Iwamoto had obtained Japanese citizenship more than twenty years ago and had been a Japanese citizen for a long time. While I did have issues with Woori’s handling of the dungeons, I could still claim loudly and proudly that Iwamoto was my best friend.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee from the Woorian Residents Union.”
“I’m Ezoe from Dungeon Busters. Please, take a seat.”
Iwamoto had brought a representative from the Woorian Residents Union, an association often simply referred to as the Union for short. Around seventy percent of the Woorian people living in Japan were members of this association, which was active all over the country. One of the branches was even located in Higashi Matsumoto, Edogawa City.
Iwamoto had been naturalized as a Japanese citizen twenty years ago, so while he wasn’t part of the Union, his position as the proprietor of a chain of pachinko parlors did result in a lot of contact with the Zainichi Woorian community. It seemed the Union had asked him to act as a mediator due to his connections to both sides. Iwamoto had told me beforehand that they were likely to request something ridiculous and that I was completely free to turn them down. Since he was trying to change his line of business, this whole ordeal was probably a hassle for him too.
“I would like to make it clear that, while Iwamoto is a precious friend of mine, I am first and foremost the administrator of Dungeon Busters and collaborate very closely with the Japanese government. I may not be able to respond favorably to your request, Lee-san,” I said.
“My role was to make sure the two of you could meet and have a discussion. As for what’s next, I’ll leave the decision fully in your hands, Kazu-chan. You’re all right with this, right, Lee-san?” Iwamoto asked.
Upon starting our discussion I learned that Lee-shi, the representative of the Union, had come with two requests. First, he wanted us to convince the Japanese government to allow Zainichi Woorians to become civilian adventurers in Japan. Second, he wanted us to help the Republic of Woori put a civilian adventurer initiative in place.
I took a look at Iwamoto’s expression and noticed he seemed not only dumbfounded but also a bit mad at their requests.
“Lee-san! This is too much!” he all but yelled.
Even the ever-calm, mild-mannered Iwamoto was outraged. I raised my right hand as if to tell him to calm down.
“Iwa-chan,” I started, “I’m sure even Lee-san knows how ridiculous what he is asking is. I’m guessing the Woorian government tasked the Union with convincing us to assist.”
I continued.
“I am truly sorry, Lee-san, but I will not be able to help you. These are important international matters. The Republic of Woori should be making a formal request to the Japanese government. As for your other request regarding the Zainichi Woorians becoming adventurers, I’m afraid Dungeon Busters is not in a position to make demands of the Japanese government. We do receive requests from the government, but we do not make any of our own. I’m afraid our position would become misunderstood if we started trying to coerce the government. The Union supports the Constitutional Democratic Party, if I’m not mistaken. You should reach out to them.”
Lee-shi simply nodded, most likely having understood from the very start that things wouldn’t work out. He probably just wanted to bring these topics up with me so he could say he had tried.
I promised Iwamoto I would have a drink with him when I got the chance and ended our reunion.
✦ ✦ ✦
<They’re at the end of their rope,> said Ishihara, who I was speaking to using an online video chat service. <Currently, Woori is extremely divided between supporters of the current president and those who oppose him. Their economy continues to deteriorate too. If this keeps up, the county may end up collapsing all on its own before the Monster Stampede even happens.>
Ishihara was also surprised at what the Union had dared to request. She told me the Woorian government had also tried a similar approach with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense but had been rejected both times.
<We’ll consider this matter again after the elections. When the Ministry of Dungeons is finally in place, we’ll be the ones dealing with these sorts of requests. Anyways, have you decided on your next target? Which dungeon will you be clearing next?>
There were seven dungeons left in Japan. Going from the north to the south were Sendai, Shishibone, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata, and Miyakonojo Dungeons. The monsters that appeared on the first floor of each of these dungeons had already been checked, and we had a pretty good idea of their ranks.
“The dungeons in Sendai, Hiroshima, and Miyakonojo are the most urgent. These are most likely all Rank B. Hataka’s is Rank D, Nagoya’s is Rank C, and Shishibone’s and Osaka’s are both Rank A or above. I think we’ll handle the dungeon in Hiroshima first. It seems to be slightly easier than the one in Sendai.”
<Understood. Oh! I meant to tell you. Someone has managed to get quite deep into Nagoya Dungeon, and all on his own! I was quite surprised to hear he had reached Rank C already. His name is Satou Souta. Do you know him?>
“Him, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes as I nodded. He was trying to take on the S-Rank Osaka Dungeon to avenge his father, the first victim of the dungeons here in Japan. He tended to act rashly at times. Perhaps his youth prompted this behavior, but I had a feeling he might try to dive into Osaka Dungeon as soon as he earned the title of Buster.
<Knowing you, I thought you’d jump on the opportunity to try to recruit him. You don’t want to talk to him?>
“Just keep an eye on him for me. There are counselors around every dungeon now, so I guess he won’t get any weird ideas. Either way, Nagoya Dungeon is Rank C. Clearing it alone is almost impossible. If he finds himself stuck, we’ll be happy to lend a hand.”
No rule stated that only Dungeon Busters was allowed to clear dungeons. If anything, I thought it was a good thing to have other teams, like the Crusaders, working on it too. Ishihara seemed to have a different opinion, though.
<As a government official, I must say that we’d much prefer having all the busters with these supernatural powers of theirs under one centralized management. Many people can’t help but worry about the consequences of letting an immature young man hold that much power.>
“He’s over twenty, so he’s an adult. He can just take responsibility... Well, I guess it’s not as easy as that, huh? I do intend to have a talk with Satou Souta again. In the meantime, please do pay attention to him and the other adventurers.”
The issue of the adventurers’ place in society was finally starting to surface.