[Republic of Sina — Taipei City — Ezoe Kazuhiko]
Two airports served Taipei. One was Taoyuan International Airport, where most planes arriving from Japan landed. The other was Taipei Songshan Airport, located within the city. Dūnhuà Lù, the major street on which a dungeon had appeared, lay right outside Taipei Songshan Airport, so we naturally decided to enter the country through Taipei Songshan Airport this time.
“I have been waiting for your arrival, dear members of Dungeon Busters,”
A staff member of the Japan—Taiwan Exchange Association came to greet us as soon as we were done with our security screenings. Each member had put their frequently used cards in a pouch, then turned the pouch itself into a card. We had transported these with the rest of our luggage, but the method would prove difficult to use in the future. At the moment, few people could materialize cards above ground; the only people who could achieve this in Japan were all members of Dungeon Busters. However, the number of busters would inevitably go up, and international rules—as well as an organization under the IDAO dedicated to checking monster cards, weapons, and verifying the names and means of transportation of every traveling buster—would soon become necessary.
I should make a report to the Ministry of Dungeons about that. I’m pretty sure they’ve already thought of this but it wouldn’t hurt.
“I’m afraid journalists have gathered in front of the airport. If you’d like, I can have the car meet us at the back entrance, so we can avoid them.”
“That won’t be necessary. This is the first time Dungeon Busters has worked abroad. We should go out and face the media. I’m sure it will also give the people of Taipei some peace of mind.”
Only fifteen countries had official diplomatic links with the Republic of Sina. On the other hand, the relationships between Taiwan and Japan as well as Taiwan and Gamerica were confined to private-sector exchanges. Many Taiwanese people felt alone in the face of the extraordinary emergency that the dungeons represented. I wanted to get rid of the dungeon as soon as possible in order to give them some relief and show that they were not all alone.
“Ezoe-shi, are you gonna use the Translation Jelly?”
“No. Materializing cards above ground requires a special permit from the government. If I were to suddenly use a card without going through the authorities, the people here would stop trusting us. Let’s just ask the employee of the Japan—Taiwan Exchange Association to translate for us,” I suggested.
Thus started my talk with the journalists at the airport. I had Akira and the rest go to the hotel ahead of me while I stayed behind to handle the media. Dungeon Busters was not an entertainment agency, so I didn’t care much about us being popular, but I decided to do the talking myself as we did have to avoid arousing doubts or suspicions over adventurers.
“Could you tell us how you feel about clearing this dungeon?” a journalist asked.
“It’s the first time Dungeon Busters is entering a dungeon abroad, and having the Republic of Sina as our first destination is very meaningful to me. I’ve never forgotten how much support Japan received from the people of Taiwan when disaster struck nine years ago with the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Every Japanese citizen, including me, is very thankful for the Taiwanese people’s help. I hope that, this time, I can do my part to repay the kindness you have shown us.”
“Do you believe you will succeed in clearing the dungeon?”
“I’m unable to answer this question until we’ve properly checked the dungeon...” I paused. “I received word that a Safety Zone has been found on Floor 1, however, which indicates the dungeon is unlikely to be a high-rank dungeon. As you know, dungeons come in several ranks, and at the moment, we are able to clear dungeons of Rank B at the most. Please rest assured that we’ll do our utmost to bring peace of mind to the people of Taipei.”
Although I got some amicable questions, others weren’t so nice. For instance, one journalist wanted me to comment on the Japanese government asking Taiwan to relinquish its claim on the Senkaku Islands in exchange for accepting its request.
“I’m a civilian, so I’d like to refrain from commenting on government policies,” I said, trying to keep my answer as noncommittal as possible. “However, I’d like to ask you something. Are territorial disputes, disagreements over historical interpretation, and ideological quarrels issues that must be settled immediately? I believe that now is the time for the world to come together as one and face the dungeons. Can’t these issues wait to be discussed once again after the dungeons have been taken care of? Putting some issues on hold is the mature thing to do here.”
Depending on how you chose to understand my words, they could be taken as an attack on the critics of the current Taiwanese government or as an attack on Japan itself for trying to bring up a territorial dispute here. What I really meant was exactly what I had said, to be honest. I truly wished every country would just put their issues on hold for a few years.
“As you know, Joker, the self-proclaimed Demon King, has attacked Brezil and is currently clashing with the Brezilian army. Do you think you could win if Dungeon Busters was to cross paths with Joker’s Legion?”
“I do not have any data to base my answer on, so I’d like to refrain from giving an irresponsible estimation. I do have one thing to say to Joker, though. Please stop the ridiculous things you are doing...”
I was only talking to the media in front of the airport, so when I felt I’d had enough, I stopped answering. After that, I had to check into the hotel and then go pay a visit to the Army Command Headquarters to get detailed information on the dungeon. We were not here on behalf of the Japanese government, so there was no need for meetings or negotiations. I’d leave that to the Ministry of Dungeons and Ministry of Defense. Our only job was to clear the dungeon.
Well, it won’t be that easy, now, will it...?
As we exited the hotel, we came face-to-face with a crowd protesting our clearing the dungeon.