Chương 101: Chapter 30 Damn It! Fooled Again! (Part 1)

Fooled Again! (Part 1) The morning after eating yakiniku, having conveyed my safety and apologized for not being able to see my wife off. The hotel room, which had become empty and spacious now that my wife was gone, was somehow lonely. There was no point in letting my mood sink just because I had woken up feeling down, so I took a shower and finished getting ready for the morning.

"Baito" was rolling around in the room, but strangely enough, it did not demand walks or food. In fact, if I did not speak to it, it did not even make a sound. Since it was originally a monster, it was probably fine. Maybe I should try putting it in the bath sometime. While stroking the dog and smoking a cigarette as I thought about that, Mochida arrived.

"Good morning. You're wearing something colorful today, which is unusual for you."

"Good morning. I thought I'd change things up for once." My underwear was black, but today I had boldly chosen a light-blue short-sleeved one-piece dress. Since the hem was short, I did not forget to wear knee-length shorts underneath. My hair was a hassle, so I had casually tied it into a ponytail that left my nape visible.

"I see. It suits you. We can fix your hairstyle later, but Chiyoda-san wants you to come."

"I figured it would be about time, but is this outfit a problem? I'll change into a suit."

"No, no. It's probably another closed-door meeting, so I think you'll be fine as you are. Also, please take this. Just in case, it has anti-counterfeiting measures as well." What I received was 100 business cards. My name and status were written in black on a white background. They even had anti-counterfeiting foil lines, but did a business card really need something like that?

A business card was something you handed over, and what happened to it afterward did not really matter unless something was seriously out of the ordinary... Well, until now, I had never had a job that required business cards, so perhaps they were necessary from the perspective of people who actually used them. I stored the business cards in my ring, and Mochida drove me to the Metropolitan Police Department.

It had been a while, but thinking about it now, I wondered if Mochida had somehow talked me into coming here... Having my hair styled into a chignon made me look slightly less childish, but combined with today's outfit, it attracted an absurd amount of attention. Hey, police officers, stop looking over here and do your jobs.

"Chiyoda-san is waiting here. Cute Tsukasa really was the center of attention, wasn't she?"

"I want to live quietly... From next time on, I'll come in a suit." In the room I entered after parting with Mochida, Chiyoda was sitting there as usual. His hairstyle was all slicked back again this time. Had he decided to reserve the seven-three part for his family? Well, as long as they were getting along after that whole uproar, that was all that mattered.

"Good morning. First, my apologies for the other day. Please take this."

"What is this...? I'll return it, so please burn it." What he handed me was a photograph of someone undergoing the "ishi-daki" punishment, with stones piled on them. The stone underneath them was probably not real, but the stone resting on their thighs seemed to be genuine. This was probably the person who had jumped to conclusions, issued the orders, and was the person who had been made to kneel and apologize at the intersection mentioned in the news the other day.

It was already over, so I did not care, and I certainly did not need a photograph like this. If anything, it felt as though Chiyoda was the one who was more unable to stomach what had happened.

"I understand. What I asked you to come here for today concerns the advisor role. The selection is 30 people, and we are envisioning a format consisting of classroom lectures and practical training. Here are the scheduled members. Please." The list I was handed contained the names of 30 people, along with their brief positions and occupations. Judging by the sound of the names, there seemed to be quite a few women... As expected, every one of them was a public servant.

There were names associated with the Self-Defense Forces and the police, but no civilians appeared. Since we could not exactly scout people, and investigating everyone's background from scratch every time would be difficult, I thought that was unavoidable to some extent. Still, there needed to be room for civilians to participate.

"I approve of the members. Then, from my side as well. Please allow Miyafuji-san and one other person from the private sector to participate in this. The selection has already been made. Miyafuji-san can get in touch with the two of them." When I said that, Chiyoda made a face as though he had bitten into a bitter insect. Probably, just as I had thought before, the intention of those above him had been to operate this as a state-run system.

Certainly, management would be easier that way, and public servants could be operated at a fixed cost. It would even save them the trouble of creating new laws. However, that would not do. If everything was monopolized, our combat strength would be depleted every time a stampede occurred, and Sweepers would never develop. Yesterday, Tachibana had finally reached the Intermediate rank, but if we lost him, we would once again have to deal with things using people of the Lower rank.

Taking up a Class and raising one's rank was not something that could be done as easily as in a game. It was something one reached after accumulating experience, suffering setbacks at times, and nevertheless walking forward again. Tachibana had actually appraised a Gate and fallen into a coma, and even so, he entered the Gate and managed to become Intermediate.

"... Your moves are fast. Are those two worthy of our trust?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Unless there is cooperation between the public and private sectors, this country will lose its combat strength again, following what happened in Akihabara. A stampede will not happen immediately, but every time one occurs, we have to avoid consuming excellent human resources.... If we do not thin things out and also raise civilian Sweepers, we will gradually run out of options. You have managed to organize the information to some extent, haven't you?"

"It was a Unique. A crystal larger than the others was discovered from that one. When a research institution analyzed it, generally speaking, even the smallest one contained about 50 times the amount of energy found in a normal crystal. Just one of these would easily keep Tokyo's electricity supply running for a month." That was a number that energy-related companies were probably going to hate. Thinking about it simply, fifty crystals would last a month. Monsters that were defeated reliably dropped crystals.

In short, the people who made their living from energy-related industries would lose their jobs, and the people who lived lavishly off those vested interests would also lose their source of income. Sorts had said that resource acquisition wars would disappear, and certainly, if this amount of energy could be produced from the Gates, there would be no more resource wars. Other resources could be obtained as well, so indeed, conflicts between nations over resources would disappear.

The problem was that the conflict would erupt domestically rather than between nations... Speaking of which.

"In Akihabara, things other than monsters came out as well, right? Technology and weapons, for example. What happened to those?"

"Sharp-eyed... No, you were a shrine maiden, weren't you? You must have heard that story from them too."

"Shrine maiden? What's that?" An unfamiliar word had come from Chiyoda. I had no memory of ever wearing shrine maiden clothes, and in the first place, the clothes I usually wore were mostly black. If anything, I had been running around in gothic lolita clothes, about as far removed from Japanese clothing as you could get.

"You're the only person who was able to negotiate with them, and you actually did negotiate with them, so there are people who call you a shrine maiden. Beautiful to behold, transcendent, and mysterious even if you consider just a single one of your abilities. Shall I worship you too?"

"That's probably the Imperial Household Agency, isn't it? I'm not going to do a naked dance like Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. Even if I did, I wouldn't open the Rock Cave. They can call me that if they want, but tell them not to spread it. Now, where did the items go?" Chiyoda was speaking lightly, but he was suspicious. Extremely suspicious. There was no reason to bring up the nickname here of all places. If anything, he could have simply named a few of the items that had appeared and answered the question.

So why had this guy reacted as though he did not want to talk about it?

"The total number is unknown, so I can only say that they have as many as there are. Superintendent Tachibana is working like a cart horse, since there are almost no Appraisal Specialists."

"Ah, about that, he's an Appraisal Specialist now. He became Intermediate yesterday, and Mochida-san, who went into the Gate with him, is an S-ranked Sakimori." Come to think of it, since it had only happened yesterday, I had not told him yet. Tachibana aside, Mochida was a rookie Sweeper and an S. She was currently serving as an SP, but perhaps she might get involved in this matter as well. Well, I did not know how long they would keep an SP assigned to me, and maybe I needed to rent an apartment soon?

As a single-person assignment...

"Both of them are VIPs... You should have told me sooner."

"The government intends to secure S Classes?" I could understand the logic. S Classes were extremely rare, and when one appeared, their usefulness was immeasurable. Tachibana was practically working like a cart horse already, and Mochida's ability, when you thought about it normally, was quite a terrifying one. If things went badly, the very nature of war could be overturned by a single person.

In fact, if it were her, someone who could feel pain in her heart for people whose faces she did not even know, she might bring down an enemy nation all by herself. After all, distance did not matter.

"To put it plainly, ever since the Gates appeared and the Akihabara incident occurred, politicians in every country have been scrambling to secure human resources. Especially Chloe. It would not be strange for you to receive an invitation from somewhere around the United Nations soon, you know?" If I were called to the United Nations, what would they expect me to say? Certainly, a young girl had given an environmental speech before, but there was nothing for me to give a speech about.

Even if I were invited, I would either politely refuse or just wave with a smile.

"I'm an ordinary person. I would respectfully like to decline... I hope... Anyway, what were the items that came out? If you're diverting the conversation this much, they must be some pretty dangerous things, right?"

"... Resource etc. Inventory. The one you prepared, and of which you still possess the original. It was in there, wasn't it? The Event Horizon Power... This is probably the most dangerous thing that came out this time. Detailed instructions for creating it." Event Horizon Power? A black hole? Power... an engine? The Gate turns into a black hole when it is destroyed. In other words, Sorts can handle black holes. Thinking about it that way, are the Gates powered by black hole engines? No, before that.

"... Roughly speaking, a degenerate reactor? The one with a different definition in science fiction? What? Energy... crystals? No, the amount... What? If you stockpiled enough of it, it could actually be put to practical use...?"

"As of now, that information is known only within our country, and even there, only by an extremely small number of people. As the negotiator assigned to you, before I knew what was happening, the outer moat had been filled in and I was made to hear this story... Let's think positively. It's fortunate that this appeared in the country where you are. The documents are being kept as top secret..."

"Personally, I would have preferred it if someone who couldn't understand it had unknowingly discarded it without realizing what it was. Or rather, please discard it. It's something that dangerous."

"... The Blacksmith is a person from Tokyo University of Science. That person made the discovery... The document was in Japanese as well." We looked at each other and sighed. The fact that the Blacksmith had come up meant that the government might be secretly trying to make it. No, it was still only a possibility. It was not confirmed. In the first place, even if they made it now, there was no benefit to doing so.

I might have to go meet the Blacksmith, just to make sure my "orei" did not turn into an "orei-mairi"... Either way, I had wanted to meet them.

"I'm going to smoke a cigarette for a bit. My stomach is starting to hurt... I'm unrelated to this matter, right?"

"Let's say 'for now.' As the Director of the Special Specific Harmful Beast Countermeasures Headquarters, this is something for the future, but you made a public declaration. You put forward your position that you would not tolerate Gate-related crimes, and the country is trying to entrust you with the management of Gate-related excavated items, the suppression of crimes, and the management and operation of Sweepers, including civilians. Especially until those who follow can be properly trained."

"Are we raccoons and foxes or something...?" If I said this, he said that; if he said that, I said this. No, the people who follow would, for the time being, be the people coming to this training... though I wasn't sure whether that was really the right way to put it. If I did all that, would I get a ticket to return home...? No, I needed to make this certain. Otherwise, I really couldn't keep doing this. If necessary, maybe I should consider kicking everything away and making a run for it with people close to me.