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POV: Togo Miyokichi (Saionji Yasuo)

“Phew…”

Today as well, I found myself smoking in the one-room unit I rented in a hotel. Seven dungeon overflow incidents happened all over the country over the weekend. Three days had passed since then, yet I was still so swamped with work that I couldn’t get any proper sleep. Unsurprisingly, that left me so tired. And tomorrow, I was set to be busy as well, coordinating with “guests” who were working to take advantage of this situation.

…as I puffed out smoke, I organized the information in my head.

In this recent catastrophe, various government agencies—including the police—has lost a great deal of confidence from the public. The opposition party, the mass media, and online forums always had criticisms for these agencies, but in the last 3 days, those criticisms had skyrocketed.

Considering all the casualties and property damage, such a reaction was understandable.

But something felt off. It wasn’t the criticism itself, but rather the very fact that this disaster even occurred.

The police and local governments have always insisted on being short of manpower, but for them to miss 7 whole dungeons? We have secured a number of Awakened Ones who had Superpowers geared toward locating dungeons. And in the hope of preventing disasters like what happened with the Crete Dungeon, we have asked those Awakened Ones to do patrols in a regular basis. But we were only humans and thus were bound to miss some dungeons.

But 7 whole dungeons?? There was definitely something odd about that number. It was like someone deliberately hid them.

Perhaps I was simply jumping at shadows or maybe I just didn’t want to face the possibility that the police messed up big time. But still, I couldn’t shake off this odd feeling.

But assuming my [odd feeling] was correct, the question then becomes who was behind it. Who would stand to gain from dungeons overflowing all over Japan?

“There’s too many of them to narrow it down”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Firstly, there were the foreign powers who wanted to take Japan’s national power down a notch. Terrorist cells within the country. Politicians who would use others’ failures so that they themselves could get elected. The much-talked-about religious organizations. And so on and so forth…

To be honest, my regular workload already kept me too busy. But what if my hunch was right?

…I guess I have no choice but to find the time after consulting my bosses about it. My bed’s getting farther and farther away from my grasp. Haa…

I stubbed my cigarette on my portable ashtray and smiled wryly at how rough things were for me. And I still had to think of the care to be provided for the Awakened One who got caught up in all those overflow events.

Ahh, and I have to follow up with Kyotaro-kun and also ask him about Hanazono Karen.

Despite the rush, I managed somehow to get him checked by a psychiatrist of good renown. He apparently showed signs of light PTSD, but thankfully, he was already on the road to recovery. He had more mental fortitude than I thought, it would seem.

I had to find the time to give him some appreciation for his efforts. His actions saved thousands of lives. For his efforts to go unrecognized was simply unacceptable.

If you looked online, there was hardly any topics about him. A bit off topic but there were plenty of posts about about his Guardian Spirit and Familiar though.

The number of posts about him was understandable, really. While there were surely people he saved directly, there was no guarantee any of them would write about him online. And if there were only a few of them, it was less likely to shared over the more popular topics.

It was the internet, after all. It wasn’t exactly known for its credibility, especially after a major disaster. Still, people wanted to be recognized. Recognized for the fact that they risked their lives and saved others. Even if their friends and families gave them appreciation for their efforts, it just wasn’t enough.

Honestly, I couldn’t offer Kyotaro-kun anything tangible right now except from words of gratitude, but I believed that offering those words were a vast improvement than him having none at all. The next time I met up with him, I was absolutely going to convey my appreciation. Depriving a person of appreciation could set them on the path of depravity, and I wanted to avoid that happening to him. Both as Togo Miyokichi and as Saionji Yasuo.

…but at the end of the day, as important words of appreciation were, they were still only that. I still thought I should give him something else, something more tangible.

I also wanted to ask him about Hanazono Karen.

At the behest of the JSDF, she has been secretly culling A rank dungeons. And when she was on her way back after one such job, she vanished only to suddenly appear before Kyotaro-kun. I haven’t been able to get in touch with her again, so it was looking like I would have to ask Kyotaro-kun about it.

“Mm?”

At that point, I got a call on my work phone. However, when I looked at the screen, the caller was completely anonymous, their number was not even shown. I switch gears in my mind and activated the anti-hacking app developed independently by the Public Safety Commission. Next, I visually checked the door and windows. Both were locked tight, and the curtains were even drawn.

…but then again, if an Awakened One was seriously out to kill me, no amount of security on my side was enough to stop that. At any rate, with as much vigilance I could muster, I answered the call.

“Yes, hello”

<<Hey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I believe nowadays you go by…Togo, right?>>

Recognizing the voice, my eyes widened.

“Is that you, Arikawa?”

<<Yup. The last time we talked like was high school, wasn’t it?>>

Arikawa Rurio. The current Dungeon Countermeasures Minister. And my old friend.

“How did you get this number?”

<<Oh please. This is nothing for an incumbent minister. If anything, it’ll be weird if a minister didn’t have access to the government-issued numbers of government employees. Of course, it’s a different matter for private numbers.>>

“…right, let’s go with that”

<<Yeah, it’s better for the both of us>>

Yup, totally not a worrying thing to say.

This guy, as far as I could remember, was quite terrible at reading the room. Even back when we were students, I thought he ought to fix that if he wanted to call himself a politician.

“And what made you to make this call? To invite me to a class reunion?”

<<Much as I want that to be the case, it’s because of something else. I have a request.>>

“Hoh…an incumbent minister is asking a mere government employee for a favor?”

<<Please don’t tease me. Besides, what’s a minister but another government employee?>>

After letting out a small chuckle through the phone, he continued to talk, his tone unchanged.

<<I want you to investigate the Society of the Sages for me.>>

“You mean that religious group?”

<<That’s right>>

…I see.

“Does it have anything to do with the recent dungeon overflow incidents?”

<<I’m glad you’re so perceptive. I’ve heard some interesting gossip from some Diet members I’m close to. Like who stand to gain the most from the most recent tragedy.>>

“You’re framing it like you’re the one asking for a favor, but by the sound of it, this’ll be something I’m going to be thankful for. If so, I must ask: what do you want in return?”

<<Ultimately, I only wish for the peace of nation…to that end though, maybe you can help me secure my position? Specifically, I want you to leak some information on the corruption of those who are clearly against me.>>

“You’re quite the evil politician, aren’t you?”

<<Hahahahaha! There’s no such thing as a politician who hasn’t dirtied their hand, you know. And besides, Japan will be done for if I were to lose my position. The only alternative to my current post is to be the Prime Minister again>>

He sure spoke confidently.

To hear him speak like he did during our student days made me feel a little bit relieved, to be honest. Observing him from afar for all these years, I got the impression that he was always in a hurry. But with this conversation, it would seem like he probably didn’t change much from our younger years.

…suddenly though, I felt something was off. It was hard to put into words. It was probably only about something trivial, but still…

“Well, I’ll think about it, oh great magistrate.”

<<Do as you see fit, Echigoya.>>

“On a different note, I see you haven’t changed much from when we were students”

<<Really? I’d be jumping for joy if that were truly the case. Being perceived as youthful is a great boon to any politician, you know.>>

“Is that so? In my opinion though, I would rather you learn how to be a bit calmer.”

<<Slowing down, much less stopping altogether, means death though. Both for me and for the country.>>

“And I believe you. Back then, that guy said the same thing, didn’t he? The two of you really were a restless duo.”

<<—wish I can object to that>>

Again, another odd feeling.

“Say…come to think of it, have you picked up smoking? Because I remember you promised back in our student days that you absolutely will give it a try when you become an adult. So, any brand you can recommend?”

<<Not really. Being a politician is all about one’s image, so I had to refrain from smoking. Any smoke I had, I had already thrown away.>>

“What a waste. If you were going to throw them away anyway, you might as well have given them to me. Cigarettes are quite expensive nowadays, you know.”

<<Hey, hey, are you—a police officer—seriously asking me—a politician—for a gift? The media would have a field day if they ever had sniff of it.>>

“I’m going to be the one in deeper trouble with my job, you know. So then, how about some lighters? I go through them quite quickly too.”

<<Don’t have any of them either. They would have been just a bother to keep when I’ve stopped smoking.>>

“Is that so…what a shame.”

I did what I could to keep my voice down and the hand holding my phone from trembling.

“Alright, I think it’s about time to hang up now. I have work that a certain someone just dropped onto me.”

<<Ohh, ok, I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Officer. The peace of Japan is on your hands.>>

“Right back at you, Mr. Politician. Let’s do our best for the future of our country.”

<<But of course. I am the man who will forever change this country, after all>>

That was something he said even from way back then.

Upon hearing those words, I said goodbye similarly to how I did when we were young and ended the call.

“…phew”

I looked up at the darkened ceiling and sighed.

<<They would have been just a bother to keep when I’ve stopped smoking>>

Memories, over time, faded.

For treasuring those memories even to this day, maybe I was just more sentimental than him. Still, I couldn’t shake this odd feeling.

That voice and the way he talked aligned with the Arikawa Rurio in my memories…the one I talked to was my friend. These odd feelings, these doubts, they were nothing more than some delusion of mine. Or perhaps, all this doubting was a form of occupational disease.

I was busy even under normal circumstances, so it wouldn’t be a surprise that I didn’t have the time to obsess over this. And so, I decided to concentrate on my official duties instead.

And as though to stop me from further finding a way out of those duties, my fingers dialed a number unrelated to that doubt.

I could only hope that the odd feeling I had was nothing more than me overthinking things.

* * *

POV: none

In a vast room in a certain mountainous region, several men have gathered for meeting.

“Things went rather smoothly for the recent matter, didn’t it?”

“Yes. This time as well, all went according to Akatsuki-sama’s guidance.”

“We are expecting an increase rise in our follower count as well as the offerings we receive by 1.5 times.”

This group was part of the religious organization known as the Society of the Sages. However, if one were not given this information and only looked at the faces these men who were in leadership positions were making, one wouldn’t even think they were supposed to be clergymen.

On the seat of honor was Koyama Kosuke, otherwise referred to as Akatsuki-sama. He also had a similar smile as the men around him.

“With any hope, those unenlightened, inferior species would finally notice how powerless they are. That they should think nothing more of themselves than animals kept for our convenience.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Yes, it is as Akatsuki-sama says.”

Upon the mention of “inferior species”, Koyama Kosuke was met not with disapproval but rather praise and flattery. But who did that slur refer to?

“Those non-Awakened monkeys, nothing but failures in Awakening in the Return to the Age of Myths.”

“It’s one thing if they simply Awaken later, but if they don’t Awaken at all, what value is there to their lives other than to serve us?”

“They shouldn’t even be treated as people if they can’t Awaken! When will they get that we are the ones pushing the world forward now?”

Obviously, everyone in there was an Awakened One. Not only that, each of them were categorized as High-tier Awakened Ones, which were Awakened Ones with a stat average of B rank and above.

For additional information, those with a stat average of D rank and below were categorized as Low-tier Awakened Ones, while those in the range of D+ to C+ were categorized as Mid-tier Awakened Ones.

In the Society of the Sages, one’s standing wasn’t determined by their administrative skills or economic know-how. Rather, it was all about their abilities as an Awakened One.

“Well then. How many [bullets] do we have?”

“Sir! We have 3 remaining in the Kanto region. 4 each in Tohoku, Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu. We have about 3 months left before the next overflow incidents.”

If there was any government people, no, even just any person with decent moral viewpoint in the room, they would have their eyes wide open at those words, on top of doubting the sanity of the men assembled here.

After all, if what they said was true, the recent dungeon overflow incidents all over Japan were induced by their schemes. Worse yet, they seemed to be planning more of dungeon overflow incidents.

“Good. Public servants are bound to give more effort than before in sniffing around, so instruct all our followers to be alert.”

“Yes!!”

“Akatsuki-sama. The route we talked about is now complete and ready. There will be no problems in moving our goods…”

“Ahh, yes. I’ll have you take care of that too.”

Koyama Kosuke looked around and saw the men trying to hide their vulgar smiles but to no avail. He then slowly nodded his head.

“That goes for you all as well. Don’t let your guard down against these public servants who refuse to accept the new world order. That being said, don’t wound yourselves too much. There are so many loopholes to the laws, after all.”

In this room full of men who didn’t at all looked like clergymen, the founder Koyama Kosuke then gave the greediest-looking smile of all.

“And in any case, there is freedom in religion in this country.”

* * *

POV: Koyama Kosuke

I walked alone in a corridor empty of people.

By now, the other executives have retired in their rooms and was enjoying the company of their mistresses. Truly, what a foolish bunch.

Money, power, and some women, that was all it took to entice those materialistic fools. Unlike me, they are nothing more than greedy men who indulged in their worldly desires.

But well, I still needed them to work for me. And I fully intended to squeeze every last ounce of use out of them.

I swiped my card key and passed through a door that had all sorts of technological and magical security measures. I repeated so until I passed through a total of 7 doors and stood before a pure-white door.

I was still by myself. I was, after all, the only one permitted to have an audience with [that person]. I was so elated with that thought that my breathing threatened to become ragged, so I took a moment to keep it under control. I also did some light personal grooming while I was at it.

I shouldn’t show any sign of discourtesy. After all, once the [end] came, I would be that person’s husband. If I did anything to make them dislike me, then our married life later as well as…our management of the world would be negatively impacted.

And so, after using a hand mirror to make sure such things as my eyebrows were presentable, I knocked and announced myself.

“Your Majesty, it is I, Kosuke. Might I enter?”

<<…proceed>>

Even though there was supposedly a thick door between us, we could hear each other’s voices perfectly. Upon hearing her sweet, clear voice, my heart skipped a beat. All of a sudden, I was like a lad in his youth again.

“E-excuse me!”

After carefully opening the door, I saw a room furnished with the best items we could gather from those inferior species. And yet, for all that wealth and beauty, it paled to the one sitting in the center of the room. That one being [my goddess].

“I’ve come to report on our plans, Your Majesty.”

“Good. I’ve been looking forward to it, Kosuke.”

She gave me a beautiful smile, and my own face slackened.

Such beauty. The world all over was clamoring over Yuki-onna, yet before my goddess, they were but mundane wenches. Before my goddess, they might as well be crude clay dolls.

Her blonde hair, as though they were gold dust that bonded together, was as smooth as silk. It extended all the way to her feet, but through magic, the ends of her hair gently floated in the air and never got dirty.

Her skin was more beautiful than a ground covered in freshly fallen snow, making the crimson of her lips stand out more. In contrast to her youthful appearance—looking as though she was only in the latter half of her teens—the sexual appeal she gave off was something no human could hope to match.

Her perfect facial features was the very definition of the perfect ratio. Even with an eyepatch covering one eye, my goddess’s beauty was unparalleled in this world.

And, dressed in white clothing that bore a great resemblance to those worn by the ancient gods, she welcomed me in with open arms.

“Your Majesty. We have found a girl who likely has the [Fruit of the gods]…the fruit that comes from the World Tree. She is far more likely to possess it than any of the previous candidates.”

Upon hearing my—the chosen one’s—report that the fruit she was looking for might have been found, the goddess smiled.

Ahh. My destiny. The one who saved me from this monotonous world. If she wished for it, I would have no reservation even burning down the world as it currently is.

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TL note: regarding Echigoya, it is a name typically used for an evil, scheming merchant in period dramas. Moreover, they are often depicted working together with an evil government official of high rank. Typically, a magistrate would be that official.

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