[Kasumigaseki — Ministry of Dungeons — Ishihara Yukie]
Several countries had implemented a civilian adventurer initiative, including Japan, the countries of the EU, the Oriental Republic of Sina, Australis, Muangtai, Malaysha, the Kingdom of Saud Arab, and the Osmanian Republic. Indonesios, a country of over two hundred and sixty million inhabitants and over thirteen thousand islands, was still in the midst of setting up their initiative, due to logistical difficulties. Most other countries, including the ASEAN countries, were finally on track and set to launch their respective initiatives in 2021.
Japan was the only country that had managed to make its adventurer initiative profitable from an economic standpoint, however. The cyclical hydrogen energy power plant, which had started operating in August in the prefecture of Chiba, produced cheap and clean energy in spite of its one-million-kilowatt capacity. Second and third plants were already being built, and experts estimated that Japan would be able to rely exclusively on hydrogen energy by 2030.
It seemed like smooth sailing from the outside, but Japan also had issues to tackle, the main one being the mining rate of magic stones. It simply couldn’t keep up with the demand. Theoretically speaking, there would be no issue with the supply in the domestic market if three thousand adventurers each mined around fifteen tons of magic stones a year. However, reality didn’t quite work that way. For an adventurer to mine fifteen tons of magic stones in a year, they would need to constantly fight in the dungeons. Naturally, anyone who was that diligent would rank up to Rank D and, eventually, Rank C.
To put it bluntly, achieving something like that required extraordinary motivation, and those who only were after money did not have that. As such, the average adventurer only brought up two to three tons of magic stones a year.
“Then, wouldn’t increasing the number of adventurers be an easy fix?” you may ask.
Well, no. Let’s assume for a minute that the number of adventurers suddenly increased five times its current value—fifteen thousand. The next step would be to divide them between the dungeons located on Japanese soil, which would mean around twelve hundred people per dungeon. Even if twenty of them were allowed to enter at a time, that would still amount to over sixty groups, exceeding the current capacity. Expanding the facilities surrounding the dungeons was also next to impossible, as there was no free land available.
All in all, the Ministry of Dungeons concluded that the current situation would not allow Japan to reach its goal of gathering forty-five thousand tons of magic stones a year.
“Nagoya Dungeon being cleared right now, when the supply simply cannot meet the demand, is great news. It also means we can finally welcome a new buster group besides your own. Hopefully, the people who were criticizing us and warning us not to let Dungeon Busters monopolize all the Japanese dungeons will calm down a little.”
I was currently on the phone with Ezoe Kazuhiko, the leader of Dungeon Busters. I had made use of a few spare moments in between my evening meetings to video call him.
The man on the screen whispered how much he wished he could have been the one to go to Nagoya. I wondered whether he was unhappy at the birth of a new buster group for a second, but I soon found I was completely mistaken.
“The dungeon is in Imaike, right? They have Misen-style Taiwanese ramen, pig uterus, green vegetables... Oh, and I wanted to try the tonkatsu meal set from Yabakatsu... Their chicken wings are famous too...”
“I’m going to hang up if you keep messing with me,” I warned him.
I can’t believe this guy. Does he think going to clear a dungeon is a fun field trip? I still remember how he fooled around in Sapporo at the beginning of the year... Guess it’s my turn to tease him a little.
“It’s the first time a Japanese buster has reached Rank B outside of your group. As the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Dungeons, I’m very interested in him. I think I’ll go to Nagoya this weekend and pay him a visit. Thank you for recommending some nice things to try.”
Heh heh heh. Nice frustrated face you’ve got there.
✦ ✦ ✦
[December 2020 — Nagoya — Ishihara Yukie]
Among the adventurers who were currently registered with the IDAO, only twelve people had reached Rank B or above. Six of them belonged to Dungeon Busters, and five were members of the First Army of the Dungeon Crusaders, which answered to the Vatican. The First Army had originally been made up of six members, but Léonard Chartres had lost his life fighting Joker, and only five of them remained.
Both of these organizations were incredibly famous worldwide. However, one other person had reached Rank B and did not belong to either: Satou Souta, the leader of Rising Sun, a party based in Nagoya.
I was currently at a coffee shop close to Nagoya Station to meet the members of Rising Sun for the first time. I had been curious about the man sitting in front of me, Satou Souta, for the longest time, but since he resided in Nagoya, I hadn’t had many opportunities to see him.
“Congratulations on clearing the dungeon located in Imaike. As a member of the Ministry of Dungeons, I would like to say we’ll be paying close attention to your future endeavors. I’ll cut to the chase. We hope to dispatch researchers to Nagoya Dungeon, and—”
“I’m sorry,” Souta immediately cut me off. “But please ask Dungeon Busters for this kind of stuff. We’ll be entering Osaka Dungeon as soon as possible.”
I wanted to ask them to help our research team access the Final Floor, but he shot me down on the spot. Instead, he asked me to open up the Rank S dungeon located in Umeda, Osaka—which was completely closed off currently—in exchange for handing over the rights to Nagoya Dungeon. I assumed he wouldn’t mess around in Osaka Dungeon, since he had cleared a C-Rank dungeon already, and decided to accept his request on behalf of the Ministry of Dungeons.
“I see. That’s too bad. Well, I heard that the members of Dungeon Busters were also interested in Nagoya Dungeon, so we’ll ask them to escort our researchers,” I said before looking around the café.
I focused my gaze on him once more.
They’re both busters, but he’s very different from Ezoe Kazuhiko. I guess that’s youth for you.
Ezoe Kazuhiko was already a middle-aged man in his forties. He had also been in the workforce for quite some time. Although the way he handled things wasn’t always perfect, he definitely put some thought into choosing a place to meet with a Vice-Minister. He wouldn’t have picked a regular coffee shop at the very least, even if it did have private rooms. The place didn’t quite adhere to formalities, and more than anything, it was the perfect place for information to leak.
This lack of awareness was also apparent in their choice of lodging. Dungeon Busters would have picked one of the high-end hotels in the area for their stay, thinking of the morale of their members. On the other hand, the members of Rising Sun stayed at a regular business hotel. It wasn’t the cheapest option around, but it was far from luxurious. It didn’t make any sense for them to not have the means to afford better. After all, the quantity of magic stones they’d brought out meant they must all be quite well-off.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” I said. “Why didn’t you join Dungeon Busters? Their goal is to clear every dungeon. Osaka Dungeon is included on that list, of course. Their funds, information network, facilities, connections... Everything is top-class. Only the Crusaders, who are managed by the Vatican, can compare. I would think joining Dungeon Busters would bring you closer to your goal. Wouldn’t it be a shortcut of sorts?”
“That’s no good. I don’t want Dungeon Busters to clear it for us. We have to clear it by ourselves. Dungeon Busters—or rather, Ezoe Kazuhiko—is trying to clear every single dungeon. Osaka Dungeon is just one dungeon among others to him. To me, Osaka Dungeon is the absolute priority. I don’t care about the rest. I won’t listen to Ezoe’s orders. I only move according to my own will.”
In the end, what he means is that he wants to focus solely on Osaka Dungeon, huh? If I remember right, this kid is barely over twenty. This may end up being a little dangerous. I’m worried about his mental state. I should try to stop him from hyperfocusing for his own good.
“Let me tell you something. You won’t be able to clear Osaka Dungeon as you are now. Even if you train for a hundred years and defeat ten billion monsters, you’ll still fail.”
Satou Souta’s expression turned grim. As I thought, he was so obsessed with Osaka Dungeon that he couldn’t see anything else. Ezoe Kazuhiko had also gone through a similar phase. This boy clearly needed a holiday. I decided to inform him of that.
“Look, what I’m about to tell you is only known by a handful of busters and their parties. To become an A-Ranker, one must first clear a Rank B dungeon,” I said.
Their faces betrayed their shock.
Ah, youth... I’d better keep the fact that I already had this room checked for bugs yesterday to myself.