kscans

Chapter 39 - Interlude: The Dungeon Agency's Marathon

Interlude: The Dungeon Agency's Marathon

Perspective: None

This is a record of the Dungeon Agency employees who worked to organize the "Awakened Person Competitive Marathon."

In the Dungeon Agency’s offices, located in the Central Government Building in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo.

Once again, employees had gathered in a conference space set up in a corner of the room, their faces grim as they talked.

"Based on the surveys we conducted online and over the phone, the backlash against the restrictions placed on Awakened Persons, especially former athletes, is growing by the day."

"I’ve been monitoring various forums, and it looks like a lot of stress is building up. They’re about to explode."

The department head covered his mouth with one hand, the frown lines on his brow deepening at his subordinates’ words.

"...Perhaps we really should hold a sports tournament for Awakened Persons."

"But is that really our job? I would think that falls under the jurisdiction of the Sports Agency."

The department head shook his head at the subordinate holding a tablet.

"The head of the Sports Agency himself told me. Anything related to Awakened Persons is now our jurisdiction."

"So if something happens, it’s our responsibility?"

Without denying the statement, he continued.

"However, this also means we can take the lead. Does anyone have an opinion on holding a tournament exclusively for Awakened Persons?"

No objections were raised, and the meeting moved forward.

"If we’re going to do it, what kind of event should it be?"

"Direct combat sports like boxing or judo are absolutely out of the question. If Awakened Persons did that, someone would definitely die."

"How about an obstacle course? I think it would be quite a spectacle."

"No, but some of the participating Awakened Persons are adventurers who have raised their levels. We wouldn’t know where to set the standard."

"Before that, what if we separate them into classes by level? Even if we lump them all together as ‘Awakened Persons,’ the skill gap is huge."

"Hold on. That would cause the schedule and budget to swell. We don’t have that kind of leeway."

"And if Awakened Persons are going to be running, we’ll need a venue. Even if we used an entire track and field stadium, it might still be too small."

"...As for the location, I have an idea."

The department head operated the tablet on the desk as he spoke.

"There are currently about five hundred dungeons in Japan. And the two-kilometer radius around a dungeon gate is an evacuation zone. No civilians live there."

"You don’t mean... around the dungeons?"

"That’s right. In some areas, multiple evacuation zones overlap. I’ve marked the relevant locations, so I want you all to check."

His subordinates each took out their own devices and opened a map showing the distribution of gates.

"...I found one. In Saitama Prefecture, there’s an area where three dungeons have appeared in very close proximity. And there’s another one about a kilometer away."

"We’ll look for other candidates, but that seems like our best bet."

"Isn’t it dangerous? A dungeon overflow could happen."

"All three of those dungeons are F-Rank. One is a Matango dungeon. There are no signs of an overflow. We’ll have the SDF... no, we’ll have private adventurers cull the monster population beforehand as a ‘quest.’"

"We’ll probably still get some criticism for that..."

"But if we use three, or even four, evacuation zones, what about contacting the original landowners?"

"We shouldn’t need permission for that. We’ll only be using the roads. In the unlikely event of damage to a house, we’ll determine if it was due to negligence and have either the Awakened Person responsible or our agency provide compensation."

"Do you think the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will approve this? Someone could destroy the roads with a skill."

"Ah, I’ll handle those negotiations. I have a colleague in the ministry."

"Alright, I’ll leave it to you."

"We’ll also need to contact and get permission from the police, the prefectural office, the relevant city, and the surrounding municipalities."

"Oh, I can handle the Saitama prefectural office."

"I’ll take care of negotiations with the relevant city and its neighbors."

"Then I’ll be in charge of the police. It’s my old stomping grounds, so I have connections."

"A considerable number of adventurers might be involved, so should we give the Ministry of Defense a heads-up?"

"Good point. I’ll go talk to them."

The meeting continued, hashing out the details, but...

"...It’s no good. Even if all the negotiations go smoothly, we don’t have enough ‘budget.’"

An employee who had been running calculations on his tablet scratched his head.

"Even if we simplify the event to just running?"

"No divisions for level or race. We’d have to separate by gender, of course, but even then, we’re still short on budget. And not by a little. We’re short by a lot."

"We have other duties, and those need funding too..."

"When it comes to dungeons, you can never have enough money."

Everyone, including the department head, held their heads in their hands.

Budget. That single word was, frankly, the Dungeon Agency’s greatest enemy.

The agency was newly established, and politicians hated getting involved with it. They were held responsible every time an overflow occurred. As such, they were rarely favored in budget meetings.

Still, their budget was expected to increase next fiscal year due to the growing number of dungeons and other factors. But they needed the money now.

"...Should we just ask corporations for donations?"

"What?"

The department head’s eyebrow shot up at the suggestion from one of his subordinates.

"That’s... well, not a bad idea. Continue."

"Yes, sir. While the main goal here is to let former athletes who are Awakened blow off some steam, the partial deregulation of drop item sales has increased the ‘demand for adventurers themselves.’"

"Ah, because countries and corporations everywhere are looking for ‘personnel who can secure large quantities of drop items.’"

"Couldn’t we ask those organizations for financial contributions? This tournament offers them a huge benefit."

The employee with the tablet clapped his hands in understanding, and the one who had made the suggestion nodded emphatically.

However, an employee holding a laptop shook his head.

"But wouldn’t that just encourage the overseas drain of Awakened Persons? Plus, I’m concerned that domestic companies and organizations gaining that much power could lead to a decline in public safety."

"But we can’t manage them all anyway. The situation is already beyond our control. The same goes for international recruitment."

"Is it really okay for us to be saying that?"

The employee with the tablet gave a wry smile at the department head’s words.

"Of course, we shouldn’t say it out loud. But we can’t pretend it’s not true, either. Our job is to reduce dungeon-related damage and prevent crimes by Awakened Persons. If it helps us do that, it’s a disadvantage we should be willing to accept."

"...Understood. But let’s run this by the National Police Agency as well. I’ll go."

"Right, I’m counting on you."

"Um..."

As the department head nodded deeply, another subordinate timidly raised a hand.

"What is it? Do you have a suggestion?"

"When we broadcast the tournament, could we ask the commentators and announcers to emphasize the ‘physical abilities and skill power of Awakened Persons’?"

"Why?"

"Lately, there’s been an increase in bullying against Awakened Persons. It seems to happen most often when a student who wasn’t very noticeable in class becomes Awakened..."

"Ah. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. It’s so true."

The employee with the tablet nodded with a look of genuine understanding.

"So, you want to issue a warning about the power of Awakened Persons. Is that it?"

"Yes. It might encourage a response bordering on persecution, but I think that’s better than provoking a violent outburst..."

"Hmm..."

The department head stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"...Alright. However, we can’t have overly sensational commentary. It will require a very delicate balance."

"I’ll prepare a rough script and use my connections to find someone who’s good at ad-libbing."

"Please do. I’ll look into it on my end as well."

With that, the department head clapped his hands.

"Alright everyone, this is the plan for the tournament. I’ll be assigning tasks, so each of you—"

"Ah, before that."

The employee with the laptop raised a small hand.

"What should we call this tournament? It’ll be inconvenient to contact the other ministries without a name."

"Good point..."

The department head thought for a few seconds before looking up.

"For now, how about ‘Awakened Person Competitive Marathon’?"

"Simple."

"Zero pizzazz."

"I know. Well, this is just a temporary name. If we come up with something better, we’ll change it. Now, let’s get back to assigning roles. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

And so, they set to work.

＊　　　　　　＊　　　　　　＊

Despite facing numerous problems, the Dungeon Agency managed to get the tournament off the ground. With a mix of obstruction and assistance from other ministries, they had finally done it.

In the end, the tournament’s name remained unchanged—or rather, they never had time to change it—and the "Awakened Person Competitive Marathon" concluded.

They felt like having a wrap party, but the staff had no such time. There were thank-you letters and calls to make to the cooperating ministries and the companies that had made ‘donations.’

On top of that, there was paperwork to process, administrative procedures to handle, surveys to send to participants, and a tsunami of phone calls to answer... There was much to do. And their regular duties were still waiting.

Even so, the mood at the post-tournament meeting was relaxed.

"Well, that went well. The viewership ratings were pretty impressive, too. Especially for the women’s division."

"They were. ...Though I have my thoughts on the disparity in those ratings."

A male employee with a tablet laughed heartily, while the female employee next to him smiled wryly.

Awakened Persons tended to be attractive. Their skin and hair gained a certain luster, but that wasn’t all. There was a sort of ‘captivating aura’ about them; they were simply good-looking.

Add elves and half-elves to the mix, and the event became quite glamorous.

The sight of a group of beautiful women and girls running at superhuman speeds was a picture in itself.

Of course, the same was true for the men, but... there had been a significant difference in the numbers.

"Come on, now. It wasn’t just for weird reasons. The sprint to the finish was a big factor too."

"That’s true."

"It was like a scene out of a sports manga."

"I wish I’d had a school experience like that..."

"That was thrilling to watch... My daughter’s about the same age, so my eyes started to well up... Ahem."

Noticing the lukewarm stares of his subordinates, the department head cleared his throat pointedly.

"In any case. Everyone did a great job with the tournament. But our work isn’t over. I want you all to refocus."

"Yes, sir."

"But first, I need a report on the reactions from the various companies and organizations."

"Yes, sir. The companies and organizations that gave donations are already making their moves to recruit. It seems they’re primarily approaching the top ten finishers in both the men’s and women’s divisions."

"Some companies have requested participants’ personal information in exchange for their financial support, however."

"I’ll politely decline those requests myself, so give me the list later. Those were ‘donations.’ We can’t have them demanding more in return."

"Understood."

"We’re storing the participant data offline just in case, but I’ll strengthen our anti-hacking measures to be safe."

"Please do."

"Also... online, there’s been a rise in voices expressing fear of Awakened Persons. It’s hard to say whether this will turn into awe or persecution."

"On the other side, there’s been a slight increase in posts from Awakened Persons boasting about their own power."

"Monitor the trends carefully. Report any unsettling signs."

"Yes, sir."

"Will do."

"Alright, everyone get back to your respective tasks."

"Yes, sir."

The slightly fast-paced meeting ended, as usual.

Amidst the dispersing crowd, the male employee with the tablet approached the department head and spoke in a low voice.

"Sir. About the girl who took second place in the women’s division..."

"Is it a match?"

"I can’t say for certain, but her features do resemble those of the rumored ‘Greatsword User.’"

‘The Greatsword User.’

During the tragedy when a dragon attacked a town and turned it into a sea of fire.

Amidst the catastrophe when wraiths swarmed and assaulted people.

There was a trio of girls who fought to save civilians. According to numerous eyewitness accounts, one of them ‘was small but wielded a greatsword that didn’t match her physique.’

The composite sketch created from interviews with people on the scene, and a shot of her back captured by a security camera. The girl who took second place resembled them.

"By comparing the participant list with the Dungeon Agency’s adventurer list, we’ve already identified her name and address. What should we do?"

The female employee with the laptop joined the conversation from the other side.

"...For now, we just observe. We have reason to thank her, not to investigate her. But keep an eye out to make sure no suspicious individuals try to contact her."

"Yes, sir."

"Understood."

Late into the night, the lights in the Dungeon Agency’s office remained on.