041-060 · 059-ch52
Chapter 52: A Story About How Restructuring Organizations Is Incredibly Annoying
The pathogens infesting the Dungeon Association and Explorers Union had been almost entirely eradicated.
The chairman of the Dungeon Association, the head of the Explorers Union, and others who hadn't committed any clear wrongdoing but had been happily siphoning off generous salaries from their positions were still there, but such people no longer held any power.
Therefore, it could be said that thanks to the Dungeon Ministry's efforts, a certain degree of health had been restored to the Explorers Union and Dungeon Association.
But this raises one question.
During the nearly 10-year period since dungeons appeared and basic legal frameworks were established, why had these two organizations been left to rot to such an extent?
To explain that, we first need to understand the position of these two organizations and the normal operations of the Dungeon Ministry.
First, the Explorers Union and Dungeon Association were each operated as organizations independent from the ministry.
This was due to the negligence of bureaucrats who, when creating the Dungeon Ministry and its subordinate organizations, wanted to secure even one additional position and leave a place for their golden parachutes.
And it was also because they wanted to grant strong authority to each respective domain, believing that the dungeon industry—which would support the very foundation of the world from now on—should not be shaken by strong external interference.
With these designs in mind, the Dungeon Ministry, Dungeon Association, and Explorers Union were created.
For this reason, the Explorers Union and Dungeon Association were equipped with such independence that even the Dungeon Ministry couldn't easily intervene.
Furthermore, by making independent the organizations that managed the dungeons and explorers—the main elements of dungeon exploration—the Dungeon Ministry lost most of its power related to them.
And what emerged was a pathetic entity that handled only matters like research management of dungeon-produced items, logistics of items, and creation of new products and industries using dungeon-produced resources—a Dungeon Ministry that had nothing to do with dungeons.
Incidentally, most citizens didn't care about ministries or government agencies back then.
Because it was the dawn of dungeon exploration, rather than paying attention to the unions and associations as organizations, people were fascinated by the items and resources brought back from dungeons, and—since there was no filming technology in dungeons at that time—the heroic tales heard directly from those who had actually explored them.
And while the general public's attention was elsewhere, the Dungeon Union and Explorers Association that were convenient only for those running them were established.
Organizations that were rotten from the very beginning continued to rot smoothly.
That was the course of events thus far.
"Are there any of you with questions?"
In the large conference room where many staff members had gathered.
At the words of the inspector in a pantsuit speaking before them, the staff members of the Dungeon Association and Explorers Union looked at each other.
In the two organizations where most people were involved in corruption, only those who had refused to engage in wrongdoing and couldn't advance their careers, or young people who hadn't yet advanced because of their youth, were present in this room.
Therefore, none of them could make proper decisions considering the entire association or union.
Even so, among them were passionate young people who would raise their hands straight up and ask questions of the inspector.
"So what should we do from now on?"
The one who asked was a young man who, while still young, carried a certain dignity.
Though perhaps "dignity" isn't the right word—it might be more accurate to call it the dignity of an explorer rather than that of a bureaucrat.
At the young man's words, the inspector broke into a pleasant smile.
"Good question. What's your name?"
"I'm Takatsukami Shinji. I belonged to the Dungeon Environment Department at the Dungeon Association. My main work was safety confirmation of the upper layers."
At the young man's words, the inspector's smile deepened.
"Ho? I thought the budget allocated to that job was being siphoned off by those idiots. How did you manage to confirm the safety of the upper layers?"
"Because the budget wasn't provided and we couldn't commission explorers, I went around checking with my own eyes. Is there some problem with that?"
In other words, the young man was saying that because the money for commissioning explorers had almost completely disappeared through embezzlement and they couldn't commission explorers, he became an explorer himself, entered the dungeon, and observed it with his own eyes.
People like this, when given power, greatly change the world.
The inspector knew this well because she herself had been such a person.
"No, you all bear no responsibility for your lack of power regarding the previous matters. Those responsible for the wrongdoing are all in our custody. By the very fact that you're here, you have committed no fault whatsoever."
"Yes, sir. My apologies. So, what should we do from now on?"
At the inspector's words, not just the young man but many of the gathered staff members paid close attention.
As to what would happen to them from now on.
This was a situation where, if things went wrong, they might even lose their jobs.
It was natural for them to be desperate.
"You will all be undergoing training at the guild headquarters and branches in America and England, starting one month from now."
At the inspector's declaration, silence fell over the room.
This was because most people couldn't understand what the inspector was trying to say.
"Japan has never had a proper organization to manage dungeons and explorers until now. But it would take too long to build one from scratch now. Therefore, I want you all to bring back everything you can gain from six months of training. And within the next year, we will establish a new guild headquarters by merging the Dungeon Association and Explorers Union."
"I believe it's highly likely this will end without achieving its goals."
The young man calmly told the inspector, who was declaring grand things, that it wasn't realistic.
But the inspector smiled with a ferocious grin.
"Not at all. We're fully prepared. At least we of the Dungeon Ministry are."
"...You say?"
"From the day our power was taken away, we continued preparing solely to rebuild these rotten organizations while watching them."
The inspector, who had been talking while facing the young man, announced as she turned her gaze back to the entire conference room.
"The rest is up to you. I'm convinced we can build the organization as long as you all return with practical experience from actually working at guild headquarters and at branches in the regions where each dungeon is located. Is that acceptable, Takatsukami-kun?"
"Understood. I'll study English."
At the young man's words, voices like "Well, that makes sense," and "Going abroad suddenly a month from now" spread throughout the room.
Among them, a loud bang echoed sharply.
The female inspector had struck the whiteboard in front of the conference room hard.
"Those who don't want to do this can quit. In fact, the Dungeon Ministry from now on, and the new guild headquarters born from the corpse of the old Dungeon Association and Explorers Union, don't have time to deal with such baggage."
And then, she once again addressed the staff members here.
"Until now, we have betrayed the trust of explorers time and again. Therefore, from now on, you all have a responsibility to work in a way that earns the trust of explorers for the sake of sound dungeon exploration. Only those who understand this should go to the training starting one month from now. That's all from me. By the way, during this one month, we will handle the reception work at Shinjuku Dungeon. We'll pay you for one month's worth of salary, so study English desperately."
After saying this much, the inspector left the conference room, taking her subordinates with her.
What remained behind were the low-level staff members with expressions of complete confusion.
And, a hope that things might get a little better now.
Afterward, similar announcements were made at the branches of the Explorers Union and Dungeon Association that existed in various regions, and the staff members were forced to choose their own paths.
However, for the now-decided-to-be-buried Dungeon Association and Explorers Union, this was a necessary thing.
Side stories that are connected will be posted daily for the time being.
Once that settles down, I think I'll proceed by taking a few days off and then continuing with another connected series of stories.
For now, this is the end of the first part about restructuring the government agencies.
Next, since people have been saying they want to see growth, I think I'll write a few chapters about them, touching on John's early streaming days.