[Japan — Ministry of Dungeons — Ezoe Kazuhiko]
“I’m sorry for suddenly asking you to come in so late...”
Japan’s central government ministries and agencies had an incredibly toxic work culture. Official announcements stated employees worked around thirty hours of overtime a month, but many actually went over one hundred fifty. It was considered fully normal to arrive at seven in the evening and leave at two in the morning the following day. Naturally, the newly established Ministry of Dungeons worked the same way. This was the drawback of a bureaucracy-led government. The Ministry of Dungeons, in particular, was often the target of questions from Diet members, and the young bureaucrats were forced to pull all-nighters, sometimes several days in a row. The most toxic company in Japan was undoubtedly the government itself.
“It reminded me of my twenties. It’s been a while since I was last woken up at such a time. Anyway, what happened?”
I currently sat in a meeting room of the Ministry of Dungeons. At slightly past four it was early morning rather than nighttime at this point, but every high-ranking bureaucrat, including Vice-Minister Ishihara, had gathered. I could only assume something big had happened.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” she started. “The Vatican sent the Dungeon Crusaders to face Joker, but they lost. Their leader, Rolf, and four other members managed to retreat, but Léonard Chartres, the French clergyman, was killed. The Brezilian army was annihilated, and the federal government is ready to surrender.”
The room was silent.
For the first time in my life, my brain refused to comprehend what I had been told. The Crusaders were only B-Rankers, but they were very well equipped. They also had plenty of combat experience and did not fall short compared to Dungeon Busters’s team leaders. I couldn’t believe they had been utterly defeated.
“I have footage from the reconnaissance satellite. Take a look.”
She projected a black-and-white picture, but there was no mistaking the monster in it.
“A dragon...”
“According to Rolf Schabel’s report, it’s an S-Rank monster. It killed Léonard Chartres with a single attack, then breathed fire on the Brezilian army, destroying their formation. Machine guns, rockets, anti-tank cannons... None of that had any effect on him. Tens of thousands of soldiers lost their lives in that battle. Brezil lost any means to continue the war. The mental damage must also be quite great. Either way, they decided to surrender. This is the latest report we’ve heard from the Brezilian government.”
“How are Rolf and the others?” I asked.
The Crusaders and the Busters were allies who fought against the dungeons. On top of that, I had trained Rolf and the other five myself. I was very worried about them, considering they had just lost a comrade.
“I can only tell you that they’re safe,” Ishihara stated. “Rolf Schabel made his report when they were still in Brezil, and they haven’t reached out since then. I’m guessing they’re being careful and avoiding communication until they reach their homeland. The Vatican contacted us first to let us know the situation. Do you understand why?”
“To make sure the Dungeon Busters are ready to join the Crusaders and fight Joker, if need be... Right?”
“Exactly. Still, we can’t make that decision at the Ministry of Dungeons. It’s a crucial political issue. A large country with a population of two hundred million inhabitants that is also part of the G20 just lost a war against the Legion. This news will shake the world. Everyone will try to control their country’s adventurers.”
“Japan too?”
“Prime Minister Urabe is a cautious man, but the media will surely band together. We can expect to hear something along the lines of ‘Dungeon adventurers are dangerous. We can’t allow individuals to decide the fate of whole countries. We need to lock down every dungeon and restrain adventurers...’”
“If that happens, the world will simply succumb to the Legion... A good chunk of people won’t see how dangerous he is until that danger comes knocking at their doors. That’s normalcy bias for you. They’ll surely worry more about adventurers in their own country rather than Joker’s Legion, which is halfway across the world. Well...” I paused. “What are your plans?”
“Gamerica, the EU, the Oriental Republic of Sina, and Japan will stand together and stress the importance of dungeon adventurers. Aside from the Oriental Republic of Sina, however, we are democratic countries. We can’t afford to ignore public opinion, no matter what. For now, we just need to refrain from making any strong statements. If journalists ask you what you think of Joker, just say that you feel indignation at what he’s doing. If you receive any other inquiry, go through us before making a statement.”
“You don’t want me stirring up public opinion. I get it, but still...”
I looked at the picture once again. We had no way to know how many Rank S monsters Joker controlled. One single monster had been enough to annihilate a modern army. Our JGSDF would also lose against a dragon if they tried to fight one now. If nothing was done, the world would fall because of humans.
“I’ll do something to sway the government and the public,” said Ishihara. “You focus on clearing Japanese dungeons for the time being.”
I nodded, thinking about Rolf. I’d give him a call when he returned.