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Chapter 194 – Urgent Request
That day, things had been tense since the morning.
It wasn’t me.
It was the world.
The people walking the streets seemed to be going about their business as usual.
But I, who had become sensitive to signs, could tell.
The normal salarymen, the normal housewives, and the normal students, wearing their usual expressions, were all feeling anxiety, confusion, and, in some cases, extreme excitement.
The cause was this.
I opened the weekly magazine I had bought at the convenience store at the train station.
‘Behind the collapse of the dungeon was a nuclear missile crisis! The secretly formed UN troops were about to turn the 30km area around Okutama Lake into a scorched earth zone―the editorial staff has received an exclusive copy of the forbidden top secret plan!’
‘Prime Minister Orimura’s worst post-war surrender to the US! We get to the bottom of the shocking national disgrace and the truth behind the acceptance of nuclear attacks!’
The weekly magazine has uncovered the truth behind the Okutama Lake Dungeon collapse incident.
It’s the so-called “Bunshun Cannon.”
It is said that the leak was made by an anonymous Self-Defense Force officer.
On the Internet, it is said that it may have been someone connected to the Aegis ships or ground troops (such as anti-aircraft artillery units in various locations) that were mobilized to shoot down the missile.
Judging from the details of the leak, it is almost certain that they are high-ranking officers. There are also rumors that the Self-Defense Forces have been searching for the culprits since this morning.
To sum up the situation, in order to prevent a global crisis caused by the collapse of the dungeon, the US, China, and Russia secretly formed a UN force and tried to drop nuclear weapons on every city within tens of kilometers of the Okutama Lake dungeon.
And the Shukan Bunshun article contains almost exactly the same information.
…Yes, this is bad.
Even I, who am not well-versed in politics, can understand it.
They “tolerated�� a nuclear attack on a Japanese city by another country and then covered it up after things calmed down.
Incidentally, the shocking fact that some of the missiles launched “as planned” despite the collapse of the dungeon were shot down by the Aegis system of the Self-Defense Forces also never made it to the surface.
Whatever the reason, it is inevitable that they will be accused of betraying the people.
It may have been a difficult political decision for Prime Minister Orimura, but it was a difficult situation.
Will his own party lose the upcoming elections for the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors on the same day? It’s a close call.
Public opinion will probably swing strongly in favor of nuclear armament, but I don’t think the opposition parties, which are mainly left-wing, will be able to ride that wave.
Even if the current government of Prime Minister Orimura falls, if security becomes an issue, it is possible that the ruling party will even gain seats.
In addition, there is also an article in Bunshu called,
‘Monster of unknown origin shooting down nuclear missiles? Is it a Japanese explorer’s summoned beast? The mysterious explorer’s summoner shadow hides in the background of the incident.’
But so far, this article doesn’t seem to be getting as much attention as the first one.
* * *
For the first time in a long time, I’m in the headquarters of the Explorers’ Association and not in the dungeon.
I enter with my Paladin Knight ID and make my way to the floor where the guild room is located.
When I entered the guild room, Serika and Haitani-san were already waiting for me.
“Sorry, am I late?”
“No, you’re right on time. Thank you for coming.”
Haitani-san answers in her usual tone.
“I hear you have an urgent request? Is it about the press?”
“No, it’s something else, although that is also a problem.”
This was Serika.
“I called you here because it has to do with the Men’s Association.”
I couldn’t help but frown at Haitani-san’s words.
“I’m sorry, but this wasn’t something that would affect you, Kurashiki-san…”
“No, if there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me.”
“It would be a great help if you could.”
“So you mean there’s a risk of the Men’s Association running into the Women’s Association in the dungeon?”
As for the Men’s Association’s activities on the surface, which can hardly be called a street campaign or a protest, that’s the police’s domain, not mine.
What Haitani-san pointed out earlier was that the members of the Men’s Association and the Women’s Association, who see each other as enemies, might attack members of the opposing organization in the dungeon.
It’s strange that they both end up using violence, even though their arguments are completely opposite.
“It could be more serious than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you go back to the beginning, the root of the problem is a post on the Internet that is not even certain to be true. It says, ‘Kandori of the Women’s Association is developing biological weapons in a top-secret lab in the Umihotaru Dungeon.'”
“A top secret lab? Inside the dungeon?”
“That’s just a rumor, but at least the Men’s Association seems to believe it to be true.”
“Isn’t that just a conspiracy theory?”
“The problem is that it’s not entirely clear. It seems to be a fact that the female exploration party of the Women’s Association frequently goes in and out of the Umihotaru Dungeon. Representative Kandori is especially often seen going in and out.”
“Excuse me, who is this Kandori?”
“You know, the one who was bothering me and Hisui-chan in the lobby here on the day of the welcome party. That’s her.”
“Oh…”
I remember that she was wearing a lab coat.
I never thought she was actually a scientist.
If someone dressed like that came and went, it would be easy to spot.
“So you’re saying there’s really a lab in there? In the dungeon?”
What could you possibly do in a dungeon if you had a lab there?
It would be a lot of work just to get the research materials and equipment in there.
Of course, a dungeon doesn’t have electricity, Internet, or running water.
“Kandori-san is a researcher for Mamo.”
Serika says.
“Mamo…?”
“It’s called Mamo, and it means magic moss.”
Haitani-san adds a little more, but it’s still not very clear.
“Mamo… Does it have something to do with dungeons?”
“You know, the walls of dungeons look a bit dark, right?”
“Yes, the higher the rank of the dungeon, the darker it gets.”
The low-ranked C Thicket dungeon is bright, while the slightly more authentic C-ranked Black Swan Forest Water Park dungeon is a bit darker.
The B-ranked Hikarigaoka Park dungeon is even darker.
The walls of C-ranked dungeons are about the same gray as concrete, but A-ranked dungeons are a much darker gray.
“The thing called ‘mamo’ is what is extracted from this darkening.
“Is that something that can be extracted?”
It is common knowledge that the walls of dungeons cannot be destroyed.
Well, I could melt them with the Demon King’s powerful magic, but it would only melt the surface, and they’d be repaired in a few days.
“Normally, that’s impossible. However, there are some places in the dungeons where parts of the walls and ceilings have peeled off. Normally, they’d be repaired right away, but for some reason, sometimes they stay peeled off.”
“So that’s how you get the magic moss from the peeling parts of the walls.”
“Kandori-san is a researcher of magic moss. Well, she used to be.”
“Used to be?”
“She claims that a male professor in her lab stole her research. She was forced to leave the university because of this claim, and that’s how she got involved in the formation of the Women’s Association.”
“So it’s not impossible that she has a lab in a dungeon…”
“Yes, it’s not impossible at all.”
“That’s not all. The male professor Kandori-san accused of stealing her research results died in an ‘accident’ while researching magic moss.”
“That’s��� dangerous. Wasn’t it investigated as a case?”
“An investigation was conducted, but no charges were filed. After all, the cause of death was unknown.”
“How did he die?”
“The man’s behavior suddenly became strange, and he was taken to the hospital for a brain scan. The doctors suspected a small stroke, but when they looked at the images, they saw that part of his brain was completely hollowed out.”
“Like when your brain shrinks from drugs or alcohol?”
“No, it was a real gaping hole. In the end, the cause remained unknown, and the hole slowly grew larger. The professor could do nothing to stop his own brain from deteriorating. In the end, he was left in a vegetative state, with only the brain stem necessary for life support remaining. Since it was determined that there was no hope of recovery as long as anything other than the brain stem was lost, in the end…”
Haitani-san furrows his brow and shakes his head.
“Didn’t they do an appraisal?”
I asked, worried about the Brain Eaters.
“It seems that they used Appraisal to check that the professor wasn’t suffering from a status abnormality. However, they can’t use Appraisal on the inside of the brain…”
“An autopsy was performed by an expert, but nothing was found in the brain.”
The status displayed by a normal Appraisal doesn’t show that you’ve been parasitized by a Brain Eater.
Perhaps a Detailed Appraisal would show it, but I don’t know if anyone else has that skill.
It’s not impossible that if they had cut open his head and performed an Appraisal on his brain, they would have found the Brain Eater.
I wonder if the Brain Eater (or something else) disappeared after they effectively “killed” the host at the end.
“That incident is also a concern, but this is a different matter.”
Haitani-san brought the conversation back on track.
“Representative Kandori’s research topic was that the magic moss has a microorganism biome called the magic moss organism cluster.”
“You mean there are living things in the moss?”
“Representative Kandori said that they were not living things, but microscopic monsters. Representative Kandori was researching how to cultivate those monsters.”
“She was doing such dangerous research…?”
“I wonder about that…”
“What do you mean?”
“To begin with, there are doubts as to whether or not the magical moss organism cluster actually exists. Or rather, no one but her has been able to observe the magic moss organism cluster.”
“Uh, what does that mean?”
“According to her, ‘If you firmly believe that there is a monster there and observe it, you will be able to see the amazing and rich ecosystem of the magic moss organism cluster.'”
“…That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It seems that the deceased professor said that as well. He rejected the idea that the moss was just a part of the dungeon’s magic that got stuck.”
“…Wait, didn’t he steal the research results?”
“He stole them and then crushed them to keep the knowledge to himself…”
“Hmm…”
How am I supposed to take this?
“So the magic moss organism cluster is just a fabrication, a falsification, and a delusion by Kandori-san?”
“That’s the most reasonable way to think about it, but there is one point that remains a mystery.”
“A mystery? Ah, I see. The method of killing the male professor.”
If the magic moss organism cluster is just a fabrication or an illusion, then the question is how Kandori killed the professor.
If the story of the magic moss organism cluster is false, then the method of the professor’s murder is unknown.
However, given the circumstances, there is a good chance that Kandori killed the professor, and in that case, as she claims, the magic moss organism cluster does exist―or at least Kandori knows something similar to the magic moss organism cluster and is able to cultivate dangerous monsters from it.
“At this point, all we can say is that the matter is shrouded in mystery. However, it is also true that the story has given some credence to the rumors on the Internet.”
Haitani-san turns her laptop over to us.
“This is the social media of the Men’s Association. Take a look at this.”
I squint at the screen, where red text is flashing.
“The Jorogumo has finally shown its tail! Kandori of the Women’s Association has created a new type of virus-like monster that only kills those with Y chromosomes and is trying to spread it across the Earth! It’s a plan to wipe out men! No joke, the Men’s Association will eliminate the representative of the Women’s Association, Kiriko Kandori, by any means necessary! Life and death are irrelevant! This is a holy war to protect Japanese men! Gather together, Japanese men! Our enemy is in the Umihotaru Dungeon!” [T/n: Jorogumo (Japanese: 絡新婦 (kanji), じょろうぐも (hiragana)) is a type of yokai, a creature of Japanese folklore. It can transform into a beautiful woman, so the kanji that represents its actual meaning is 女郎蜘蛛 (lit. ���woman spider”)].
“…It’s a bit tricky, but it’s quite convincing.”
Let’s not make the comment, “Did spiders have tails?”
“There are several things to doubt. For example, the main body of a virus is a gene without cells, so whether it can be called an organism or not depends on the definition. Recently, it is more common to say that it cannot be called an organism. On the other hand, monsters can be said to be something that looks like an organism. If you collect the body tissue of a monster during battle and examine it under a microscope, you can see that it has cell tissue that is very similar to that of a normal organism.”
“I didn’t know anyone was doing research like that.”
Monsters disappear when you defeat them.
It’s a system that doesn’t allow you to use monsters’ bodies as materials, like in common otherworldly reincarnation novels.
In real life, I don’t want to do a gross dissection of monsters, so I think it’s good that they disappear.
“When you defeat a monster, the body tissues you collected also disappear. What’s strange is that the body tissue also disappears from the data and photos you take of it.
“Oh, that reminds me, the portal to the dungeon doesn’t show up on my smartphone’s camera either.”
That’s why it’s not possible to record the battle inside the dungeon on video.
To be precise, it is possible to film, but the moment you defeat the monster, it disappears from the video.
All that remains in the video data is a slightly surreal image of the explorers desperately fighting an invisible enemy.
For this reason, it seems difficult to monetize dungeon exploration video content on MyTube…
Even the high school student who lives next door and is a MyTuber doesn’t upload dungeon exploration videos.
“I doubt that you can cultivate monsters that disappear when you defeat them, but even if you could cultivate monsters, I doubt even more that there could be virus-type monsters.”
“I think so.”
I’ve created monsters using the Dungeon Management function in Dungeon Master.
It seems rather suspicious that monsters would spontaneously appear from something like magic moss.
It seems to me that the appearance of monsters in dungeons is more of a “feature” that was added to the game.
“Of course, there is the possibility that an unknown virus could be born in the dungeon… and if that were to happen, there would certainly be a huge commotion. However, it is also true that since the dungeon appeared on the surface, there has never been an epidemic originating from the dungeon.”
“So what should I do? Should I stop the rampaging Men’s Association?”
“We’ve increased the number of ways to neutralize people peacefully, but if we just want to suppress the members of the Men’s Association who are so obsessed with Kandori that they’re going crazy, then the old knockout strategy will suffice.”
Even if the claims of the Men’s Association are true and Kandori is creating dangerous biological weapons, it’s still the same.
“I’m sorry. Actually, this is something that the Inspection Bureau should take the lead on…”
“Is there a problem?”
“There is a part of the Umihotaru Dungeon that no one has ever entered before.”
Haitani-san said.
“Umihotaru is an A-rank dungeon, right? If you’re an S-rank explorer…”
“There are places even S-rank explorers can’t go. It seems that Kandori-san’s top-secret laboratory is beyond that point.”
“Even S-rank explorers can’t go further?”
Haitani-san nodded at my question.
“Yes. There is a part of the Umihotaru Dungeon that is completely underwater.”
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