[Vatican State — The Curia — DRDC]
The Dungeon Crusaders, a force formed by the Three Great Chivalric Orders, had prioritized clearing dungeons across Europe that had appeared around historical landmarks and important roads and thus needed to be fully erased. European dungeons were being cleared one after the other at the hands of the Crusaders, reborn after centuries, but they had yet to touch any dungeon over Rank C. The members of the Crusaders themselves were still stuck at Rank B, which could explain this, but more than that, they respected the decisions of the Curia.
“Our situation is different from that of Dungeon Busters, which has been focusing on Japanese dungeons. There are forty-one countries in the EU. If we add the Rushian Federation, the Osmanian Republic, and the Britannia Kingdom despite them being Protestant, we go up to sixty countries. The Lord does not discriminate, and His trials are to be faced by everyone, even those who do not share our faith. We have to cooperate with each other, regardless of our beliefs.”
A new Dicastery (DRDC) had been created within the Curia to handle the dungeons and the activities of the Crusaders. The man at the head of this Dicastery was Cardinal Sakaguchi Stefano Hiroshi. He had been born and raised in Japan but had given up his Japanese citizenship to become a citizen of the Vatican State. Sakaguchi, as a former Japanese citizen, was diligent and flexible. He coordinated requests from every country and had managed to expand the Dungeon Crusaders’s field range, which now extended all the way to North Africa.
One could say that the request from Brezil, the South Gamerican country with the most Catholics, reaching the Vatican had been inevitable. Sakaguchi had immediately summoned the Crusaders.
“Rolf Schnabel, reporting for duty.”
“Thank you for joining me today,” Sakaguchi thanked the Crusaders.
In addition to the First Army led by Rolf Schnabel, additional candidates had been selected from the young members of the Chivalric Orders and Catholic believers, and boot camps were currently being held inside a dungeon located in Rome. The members of the First Army had managed to reach Rank C in the blink of an eye. The candidates had not grown as fast, though, and only some of them had managed to get to Rank D. Sakaguchi had quickly informed the members of the First Army of this fact before getting into the true topic of the day before getting into the true topic of the day. Alberta Reigenbach shook her head, a forced smile plastered on her lips.
“Well, they may not prove to be as outstanding as you are,” the Cardinal said lightly.
“No, that’s probably normal. If anything, we—or rather, Dungeon Busters—are the strange ones. To be precise, Herr Ezoe, who’s in charge of Dungeon Busters, is insane. He told us we wouldn’t die if we did not shower and locked us inside a dungeon for two weeks straight. I thought I would go crazy...” Alberta recalled, a distant look in her eyes.
She let out a dry laugh. Sakaguchi also let out a little laugh and took a sip of his lukewarm espresso.
“Now, now. Let me tell you why I’ve gathered you here today. We have received a request from a certain South Gamerican country with a large Catholic community.”
The Crusaders’ expressions soured in an instant. In Europe, the terrorist who was making use of the greatest crisis to befall humanity—the appearance of the dungeons and the possibility of the Monster Stampede—also made the news almost every day.
“Did the Brezilian government send in a request?”
“Brezil is the largest South Gamerican country, and most of its inhabitants are Catholics. The number of believers in South Gamerica and Africa has been on the rise in recent years. There are almost 1.3 billion believers around the world, and out of them, 170 million are Brezilian. As the Roman Catholic Church, we cannot ignore the plight of the Brezilian people. I would like to task the Crusaders with the mission of defeating Joker.”
“Hang on!” Marco cut in, raising his hand.
He was sitting with his legs crossed, and although his manner of speech was as casual as ever, his eyes showed how serious he was.
“If you’re asking us to go clear the Brezilian dungeons, we’re happy to oblige. However, I have a feeling that’s not it, is it? By ‘defeating Joker’ you mean ‘kill him,’ don’t you? He’s a person, not a monster,” Marco added.
Sakaguchi remained silent.
Marco was right. They would become murderers. The reason Dungeon Busters had yet to make a move was that Ezoe, a civilian, couldn’t kill Joker, another civilian. If he did, he’d be charged with manslaughter. It didn’t matter how evil Joker was. The law was clear: killing someone was murder, and it was a crime—unless it was under very specific circumstances.
“Brezil will have naturally reached out to Japan as well. A lot of people of Japanese descent are citizens, after all. Still, Monsieur Ezoe decided to prioritize Southeast Asian dungeons. Well, I’m guessing that he did not refuse to act but rather could not act, which is why we, who are technically an army recognized by the Vatican State, are being asked to make a move...” Léonard Chartres, the French priest, said, making the sign of the cross.
The other members also wore grim expressions. They had accepted joining the Crusaders in order to clear dungeons. If the enemies were monsters, they wouldn’t hesitate one second to join the fight, even above ground. If the enemy they had to slay was a human, however, it changed everything. Times had changed, even if they called themselves Crusaders. It wasn’t the Middle Ages anymore, an era in which people died without anyone batting an eye.
“This is nothing more than the mumbling of a seventy-year-old man, but...” the Cardinal started softly.
After seeing the faces of the young men and women in front of him, the older man, who had plenty of life experience, had decided to speak up.
“I sometimes wonder whether Joker truly intends to destroy our world. What do you think?” he asked.