chapter05 · 134-ep134

Episode 127: Mafuyu Sasaki's Concern

"Wah... wahwahwahwah..."

Roughly one week had passed since the expedition stream where Karin dug up an undiscovered dungeon.

She sat trembling as she stared at her phone in the classroom before homeroom.

And the reason for that was... News about the undiscovered dungeon and Inukai Industries was still being reported everywhere, with no sign of dying down.

But that was only natural.

A dungeon whose existence the government had failed to detect was something that hadn't existed since the earliest days after dungeons first appeared. And one of the country's leading megacorporations had even been conducting illegal experiments inside it. There was no way the media frenzy wouldn't intensify.

(I-I never imagined they were truly conducting illegal experiments in such a sloppily hidden undiscovered dungeon...!? Were they simply that brazen, or did its concealment happen to weaken when I visited, or something along those lines, desu no...!?)

Karin had remained hopelessly confused ever since the Anti-Dungeon Division members stormed the research institute, but whatever the case, Inukai Industries headquarters had undeniably concealed a "dungeon that was difficult to discover" and conducted illegal experiments there.

Add the sensational details being leaked day after day—the forced exploitative labor, illegal operations, and President Yoko Inukai's continued evasion of the Anti-Dungeon Division—and the uproar had grown beyond an uproar into something else entirely.

And Karin had spent the entire time terrified senseless by the commotion her stream had triggered, including the "explosion of one of the country's leading megacorporations." When she heard that the Inukai Group might lose ○ trillion yen in total assets, Karin's mind nearly exploded first.

Beside Karin, who had more or less become a cicada on the verge of death amid all of that, Mafuyu let out an exasperated breath.

"Honestly. An undiscovered dungeon and an illegal experimental facility... Why do you find nothing but bizarre things every single time?"

Then, as though trying to calm Karin, who could now say nothing but, "Urgh..."

"Still, it's not like you need to let it bother you this much. I hear this whole thing helped out Inukai Group's affiliates in a lot of ways too, and even the Dungeon Bureau employees thanked you (with dead eyes), didn't they?"

"W-well, yes, but... the uproar is still far too enormous for me to relax, desu no!"

Karin shouted.

Just as Mafuyu said, there was actually almost nothing in this incident for which Karin bore any responsibility. Inukai Industries headquarters was entirely at fault to begin with, and according to Mafuyu, the various affiliated companies had also been (more or less) saved by it.

At most, the sudden exposure of a major incident had thrown the administrative side into chaos, but even that was far better than allowing the illegal experiments to continue. If Karin had worried about burdening the government, Inukai Industries might have had time to destroy evidence or talk its way out of the charges. Seen in that light, her charge into the institute could instead be called a fine play.

Even so, with every news program dominated by the story day after day and the impact on every quarter becoming immense, Karin—the origin of it all—could not help but suffer stomach cramps. When she considered that the small and medium-sized companies said to have been saved probably didn't have it easy in every respect, she began feeling apologetic about all sorts of things.

"Still, even this uproar probably won't last that long. More importantly..."

Mafuyu's expression grew somewhat serious.

"What concerns me is how this incident has finally created an atmosphere where everyone expects Karin to solve absolutely any case or problem that comes up."

"? Ah, you mean how people are getting carried away online, desu wa ne?"

Karin tilted her head slightly at Mafuyu's words, then recognized what she meant a beat later.

Following the discovery of Inukai Industries' illegal experiments and the company's collapse, the internet had once again begun calling Karin all kinds of things, like Yamadaidarabotchi, Shiva Yamada, and the reason Japan doesn't possess nuclear weapons. But those were mostly the sort of exaggerated internet jokes that also called athlete Sa○ri Yoshida the strongest primate at level one million.

And compared to thoroughly un-Elegant reputational damage like Genocide Ojou-sama or Alien Ojou-sama, these were somewhat better.

"It does bother me a little that such exaggerated assessments are rather far removed from the reality of my inexperience... but as you have told me for some time now, Mafuyu, if I focus once again on delivering Elegant streams at times like this, that strange behavior should eventually settle down, desu wa."

"...Hopefully."

Mafuyu's answer sounded strangely hesitant. At that same moment, the bell rang.

And for the time being, their conversation ended there.

※

"Phew. Mafuyu said the reporting wouldn't last forever, but... even so, when will it finally settle down?"

After school.

Having returned home, Karin let out yet another sigh.

Naturally, the news still pouring in about Inukai Industries was the source of her worries.

"Well, worrying about it endlessly will accomplish nothing. Just as I told Mafuyu, all I can do is continue striving to deliver Elegant streams as I always have."

As she spoke, Karin reached for the TV remote.

Watching the news only made her stomach cramp, so she knew she didn't need to... Yet she couldn't help checking to see whether things had at least improved a little.

And so, hoping that the reporting had lost even a little momentum since that morning, Karin turned a squinting gaze toward the television.

The next instant—

"...Eh? Wh-what is this...?"

Karin's eyes widened involuntarily.

The screen did not show news related to Inukai Industries, which had aired without fail on one channel or another every day. Instead, it showed a horde of monsters covering the ground in a foreign land—and an overseas reporter practically screaming as their words appeared in real-time subtitles.

"This is not fake! What you are seeing is real-time aerial footage from an unmanned drone! A dungeon collapse has occurred at an abyssal-class dungeon in the California wilderness! I repeat! This is not fake! An extraordinary number of monsters are covering the ground!"

"The collapse occurred at Yellow Rock Dungeon, located outside Los Angeles! Anyone living nearby must evacuate immediately!"

"The monsters currently confirmed reach up to deep-layer class! The erupting mana remains confined to a radius of roughly two kilometers, and forces deployed from a nearby air base have joined the nation's finest clans in immediately establishing a defensive line! But if abyssal-class monsters emerge in the second wave, as they did in the recent video from Japan's monster ojohsama, there is no telling how far their attacks might reach! The worst could still happen! Do not let your guard down simply because the dungeon is located far from the city—take action now!"

"Huh!? Ah!? The aerial drone was just shot down!? Th-that was the most durable unmanned craft available, built using monster materials, and it was flying hundreds of meters above the ground...!? I-I repeat! This is extremely dangerous! Everyone in nearby towns must begin preparing to evacuate immediately as a precaution!"

"S-something terrible is happening, desu wa...!?"

No matter which channel Karin checked, the television was naturally dominated by the story.

This was already on an entirely different scale from anything involving Inukai Industries or hidden dungeons.

The beginning of a historic incident that would later become known as the "Man-Made Serial Dungeon-Collapse Terror Attacks" was being reported with enough intensity to drown out news of every other incident and accident.

―――――――――――――――――――――――

Just to clarify, Mafuyu and the other police members do sense that various things about the hidden dungeon situation are suspicious, desu wa.

And I have a small announcement. The truth is, the poor health I've been suffering from since the New Year's period worsened considerably around the beginning of April... If it were something like a cold or a broken bone that would heal with rest, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, it's a very troublesome and incurable illness in which my condition is heavily affected by the smells around me, so I'm currently rather occupied with managing it. (This episode's somewhat shorter length is also influenced by that to no small degree...) As a result, updates to Ojou-sama may be delayed, so I wanted to let everyone know in advance, desu no.

I do have a small amount written in reserve, so hopefully my condition will improve before I use it all up, desu wa ne...!

(※My health later recovered, and I've been able to continue writing without issue, but I'll leave this afterword here for now...!)