Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #119
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 119: The Longest Day of My Life (3)
After
leaving the elementary school, I decided to fly along the train tracks to increase
the number of teleportation points, so I could quickly pick up anyone whenever
I received a pickup request.
Since
the areas around Tachikawa and Hachioji are easily accessible through flying
from the already existing teleportation points, I headed towards Tokyo along
the Chuo Line1.
This
would also bring us closer to Dad's workplace, so I was killing two birds with
one stone.
As
I reached the Mitaka2 area, a group that had
finished picking up their family members appeared.
It
was, as expected, or rather, as you'd expect, the Hachioji Station group led by
Ono.
The
Hachioji Station group had a relatively large number of students compared to
other stations, partly because it was close to Tachikawa, where the high school
was located. Nevertheless, they were faster than groups from closer stations
like Hino, which had fewer students, which was quite impressive. Ono must have
been cracking the whip to hurry them along.
As
soon as I teleported to Hachioji Station, I saw that the evacuation had
progressed considerably, and the crowd that had been so dense that the ground
was invisible had visibly thinned out. There were still quite a few people
left, but there was no sign of particular chaos.
A
short distance away from the line of evacuees, I saw Ono and the others waving
their hands in my direction.
"Yo, as expected, your group is the
first."
"Heh, of course."
Behind
Ono, who was puffing out his chest with a smug look, I saw the students'
families, each carrying only a backpack.
He
must have half-threatened them, giving them no time to prepare, just grabbing
an emergency bag and evacuating them. ...And that's the right thing to do.
At
that moment, Shinomiya-san came running up to me,
"Maro, can I have a word?"
"Shinomiya-san. What's wrong?"
"Uh... it's about Shizuka."
At
that, I realized that Ushikura-san was not among the people who had evacuated.
...I
see, she must have gone to the Guild. Well, considering the circumstances,
that's the safer option.
There was a time lag before we could pick her
up. It's a pity, but it can't be helped...
Just
as I was thinking that,
"You see, when we went to Shizuka's house,
no one was there..."
Shinomiya-san
said with an unusually serious expression.
"...? Didn't they just take refuge in the
Guild?"
"I thought so too at first, but just to be
sure, I opened the front door and found it unlocked, and this was inside..."
As
she said this, Shinomiya-san took something out of her pocket, and my face
involuntarily turned grim.
It
was a rosary of the Star Mother Association.
"This is..."
"And this too..."
What
was handed to me next was a slightly thicker envelope. Peeking inside, I saw
the D-rank cards I had asked Shinomiya-san to pass on.
A
note inside read, 'You're so kind, but I'm sorry. I don't need these cards,
so I'm returning them.'
Neat,
steady Kaisho-tai3 writing. Her beautiful
handwriting, a bit uncharacteristic of a girl, perhaps due to her calligraphy
practice, was undoubtedly Ushikura-san's.
"I didn't even know Shizuka had joined the
Star Mother Association, and I was wondering why she didn't tell me..."
"........................”
Since
the announcement of Kudan's prophecy, the Star Mother Association had been
rapidly expanding its influence.
This
was largely due to their early announcement of the prophecy, ahead of the
government, but the biggest reason was their shelters and defense capabilities.
The
Guild's shelters can't accommodate everyone either. Even in Hachioji, with a
population of 500,000, the maximum shelter capacity is only 100,000. They might
be able to cram in about three times that number temporarily, but even then,
they can't accommodate all the residents.
Those
who lose the musical chairs game will have
to wait for the Self-Defense Forces to rescue them at their homes or shelters
other than the Guild, but not everyone lives in a shelter-equipped house, and
shelters other than the Guild have questionable defense capabilities.
That
was why people set their sights on the huge shelters for believers that the
Star Mother Association had been advertising all along.
The
Star Mother Association had been building massive shelters in preparation for
Angolmois for some time, and they advertised that they owned several shelters
nationwide capable of accommodating up to one million people.
In
terms of defense capabilities, they also widely publicized the cards they owned
on their website, which included a wealth of cards with subordinate summoning
abilities and cross-space type, and it was said that their accommodation
capacity, including cross-space cards, was comparable to of the Guild's shelters.
While
the Guild probably possesses cross-space cards as well, they don't disclose
which cards they have or how many, so their capacity remains unclear.
For
this reason, more and more people were joining the Star Mother Association as
an insurance policy.
However,
while anyone can enter the Guild's shelters, the Star Mother Association's
shelters are naturally for believers only, and the treatment within them varies
depending on the degree of faith.
The
degree of faith... is, in other words, the degree of contribution to the Star
Mother Association.
The
contribution level can be bought to some extent with money in the form of
donations, but to rise above a certain rank, you must contribute to the
association in ways other than money.
Among
these, the conversion of one's family was considered the highest form of
contribution.
Recently,
there had been concerns with overly zealous believers who, after donating their
homes, land, and all their wealth to the Star Mother Association, even sell off
their families to the association—though that might be a slightly malicious way
of putting it—leading to online discussions about how 'the cult has finally
shown its true colors!'
I wonder if Ushikura-san's family joined the
cult in the same way.
The Star Mother Association's shelter would be
much safer than being holed up in house shelter...
Still, to not say anything to her best friend,
Shinomiya-san...
As
these thoughts swirled around in my head, and I was unable to offer any words
to Shinomiya-san, who had a gloomy expression...
"Hey, when are we evacuating?! We were
rushed here without being able to grab anything!"
A
pompous-looking middle-aged man in the back of Ono's group shouted in a shrill
voice.
I
was quite annoyed by that, but it was true that we didn't have time to
leisurely dawdle.
It can't be helped... I'm quite concerned, but
we'll talk about it later.
"Sorry, I'll send you guys first for now.
We'll talk more later."
"Okay.......”
After
sending Ono and the Hachioji group to the school with the Hamelin's Flute, I
received a call from Ichijo-san and the Takao group before I could hear the
rest of the story from Shinomiya-san.
After
sending the Takao group, it was Hino's turn. After Hino, it was Kokubunji, and
with the continuous stream of calls, my mind gradually became absorbed in the
task at hand.
"We made it in time..."
Having
returned to the school just before the monsters flooded the surface, I breathed
a sigh of relief at the feeling of the ground beneath my feet.
I
had finished picking up all the group members and their families, and had just
sent off the students who wished to evacuate to the Guild.
Although
there is still much to be done, I feel a bit of a weight has been lifted from
my shoulders.
.
But before we take a break...
『Eliza,
Myra. Sorry, but could you do one more flight?』
The
last big job. I'll have Eliza and the others head to my dad's workplace to pick
him up.
『Yes,
Master.』
『Understood.』
Now, what's next... Oh right, I need to ask
Shinomiya-san about Ushikura-san.
"Vice-President
Kitagawa, thank you for your hard work!"
As
I was thinking about that while seeing Eliza and Myra off, I was called from
behind.
When
I turned around, there were two female students wearing first-year ribbons.
I
wondered if they were from a sports club. They were both unusually proper, or
rather, for some reason, they were standing at attention, looking quite
nervous.
"Um...?"
"President Kanou has asked that you come to the club room once
the student escort is settled!"
Seriously?
I was about to go talk to Shinomiya-san... what
should I do?
The
shadow of the Star Mother Association was looming throughout the Hound User incident.
It's
not like there's any proof that the Star Mother Association was behind that
case, and objectively speaking, the Star Mother Association was the victim.
The
only reason I find them suspicious is that the ending was too convenient for
them... but regardless, they're quite fishy.
At
the very least, I distrusted them enough that I would definitely stop anyone I
knew if they tried to join.
If
Shinomiya-san persuades her now, we might be able to bring Ushikura-san back,
at least.
However,
Anna's business probably isn't just a simple info, and it must be a matter
concerning all of our futures.
About
Phase 3. Future measures. About my secrets and the strength I possess. And...
the fact that Teacher was a national spy.
All
of these are issues that I have to be there myself.
But I'm also worried about Ushikura-san...
At
that moment, an idea flashed into my mind,
Right! How
about having Audrey go to Shinomiya-san?
She has secretarial skills. She'll be able to
get more detailed information from Shinomiya-san than I could, and convey it to
me later, word for word.
Yeah, let's do that.
Oh, before that, I need to thank them.
"I understand. Thank you.”
"Not at all! Thank you for your hard work on the
mission!"
After
my simple thank you, the junior girls, their cheeks flushed, ran off.
...Yeah, something's definitely off. They're
calling it a mission. Are they intoxicated by this crisis situation?
While
tilting my head in my mind, I sent Audrey to Shinomiya-san's side and headed to
the club room myself.
Even
along the way, I passed students who were behaving oddly formal. ...Just like
the junior girls from earlier.
After
the promotion exam, there were students who made way for me and bowed, but that
feeling had intensified even more. The way they looked at me seemed to contain
more than just a simple hierarchical relationship; there was a sense of awe.
The
fact that the adults who seemed to be their family members were looking at me
with such strange eyes also proved the abnormality of this atmosphere.
Thinking,
'Anna's done something again, hasn't she...' I arrived at the club room.
In
front of the club room, there was a crowd of people who seemed to be regular
students and their families, and students who seemed to be new club members
were standing guard at the door, blocking their way.
“Ah, Vice-President Kitagawa! Thank you for your
hard work!"
The
new club members, noticing me, bowed and cleared a path to the door.
Seeing
this, a middle-aged woman, who seemed to be a parent of one of the regular
students, approached me, apparently realizing I was from the Adventurers'
Club—but before she could speak to me, she was stopped by a student who
appeared to be her son, who said, ――"Wait, Mom!"
"What are you saying? That child
is from the Adventurers' Club, right? If so, you have to ask him to let you in
too."
"I told you it’s fine!"
The
male student, who had restrained his mother, made way so as not to obstruct me,
and bowed his head.
Seeing
this, the other students' families seemed to understand something and didn't
call out to me, just watching from a distance.
While
sweating profusely at that whole scene, I bowed silently and entered the club
room as if fleeing.
"Anna, what on earth is this situation?"
I
said as soon as I opened my mouth.
Anna,
who was probably trying to say, “Thank you for your hard work,” tilted
her head in confusion, her mouth still in the shape of 'o'4.
Instead
of her, Teacher asked me,
"This situation? What's wrong, Maro?”
"What do you mean, what's wrong..."
I
sighed and said,
"Every student I pass was acting weird...
like they were addressing a company president or a military superior."
"""Ah ......."""
They
nodded, as if everyone understood what I was saying.
"We're experiencing the same thing
too."
"Though I doubt it's to the same extent as
you, Maro."
"I mean, it's almost entirely your fault,
Senpai."
"Me......?"
When
I reflexively asked back, not only Oribe but all three of them nodded.
"Well, if you think about it calmly, in
the midst of the anxiety caused by Angolmois, you stood before everyone, calmed
their fears, prepared a safe place, and picked up the students' families.
Naturally, anyone would think, 'Amazing!' and 'If this person is
here, we'll be alright!' "
"Yeah. Plus, the fact that you sent the
elementary school children to the Guild is gradually spreading too."
"Stepping up to help complete strangers,
especially children, makes you look good, you see~"
"Oh... I see."
After
understanding, I slumped into a chair.
Certainly,
hearing it from someone else, I had done quite a good job, even if I had to say
so myself.
Even
though 99% of it was due to the Hamelin's Flute effect, it's a fact that I
helped the students and their families.
Those
students and their families, who had never delved into a dungeon or experienced
teleportation before, might have mistaken the phenomenon of teleportation
itself for my power.
It's
only natural that they'd feel a sense of awe and respect, and at the same time,
become dependent.
"By the way, where are my mom and
Ai?"
"If it's your family, they are over there,
with Sayo's family..."
Then
Anna turned her gaze to one corner of the room, where a worn-out pot was
placed.
This is... the Kochū
no Ten?
Kochū
no Ten, to put it simply, is the Chinese version of Mayoiga. While its exterior
is just a pot, its interior is a magnificent building, and it's a card where an
old man, who serves as the core, entertains you with delicious food and drinks.
I
imagine that the two families are enjoying Chinese cuisine and deepening their
relationship with each other right now.
"To prevent people from making various
demands because they're the families of the Adventurers' Club's core members, I
had your family and Sayo's family isolated. Fortunately, your family had a
small cross-space card, so we put them there."
As
expected of Anna, she was very thorough in what she did.
I
thanked her for her thoughtfulness.
"By the way, I have a question for
you..."
"...What is it?"
Anna
glanced at Teacher...
"What was that conversation with
Kannadzuki-senpai about? Where exactly did you go?"
...Phew. So, we're finally getting to that
conversation.
Where should I even begin?
As
I hesitated, Teacher spoke up,
"I'll explain that."
"...Please do."
Anna
nodded expressionlessly, urging him to continue.
"Yes. First, as you probably already
guessed, I transferred to this school at the request of the government... I'm
an investigator."
""..................""
However,
neither Anna nor Oribe showed any particular reaction to Teacher's words.
It
seems they both had already figured it out.
Especially Anna's recent attitude has been
quite obvious... ever since I passed the practical test and the Adventurers'
Club could enter the school's dungeon without Teacher, she's been actively
trying to exclude him.
Seeing
their cold reactions, Teacher continued with a wry smile,
"The purpose is to investigate Maro, who
likely holds the key to the dungeon's disappearance."
"...And did you find anything?"
"I'm about to ask Maro that now."
Teacher
then turned his gaze towards me. Following him, the two juniors also looked at
me.
I
gave a small sigh and answered,
"Yeah. I know how to make the dungeon disappear."
"""......!?"""
I
could see the shock in everyone's eyes.
Even
though they might have thought I knew, they were still surprised to hear me say
it definitively.
"Maro! Does that mean you've fully
recovered your memories?!"
"Yeah... apparently, once you enter
through the proper method, the memory alteration gets undone."
"W-wait a minute! Memory alteration!? What
are you talking about?!"
Oribe
asked in a clearly flustered and shocked voice.
"Calm down. I'll explain everything in
order."
So,
I told them everything in chronological order.
About
using the Distress Magic Card in desperation when attacked by the Hound Master.
As
a result, I had illegally entered the core room of the dungeon.
That
I was able to enter the core room because Renge was a special card called a
Discarded Card Key.
In
the core room, as a result of touching the Lycanthrope card, I obtained the
card and the dungeon disappeared shortly thereafter.
After
that, my memory was falsified and I forgot about the core room and how to enter
it...
"I remembered everything when I went to
the dungeon with Teacher and used the Distress card at the lowest floor
earlier."
At
that point, I stopped talking.
It
was to give everyone time to process the information.
After
a full minute of silence, Teacher finally asked me quietly,
"Why didn't you make the dungeon disappear
earlier, Maro?"
"That's......"
I
hesitated, unsure if I should tell them, but ultimately decided to.
I
wanted to know what everyone else would think.
"It's because the dungeon is a mechanism
to digest people's misfortunes."
"What?! W-what do you mean...?"
To
Teacher, who was clearly shaken, I described the scene I saw in the core room.
The
bubbles with cards floating inside. The scene of 'unfortunate accidents'
floating within those bubbles. And the relationship between the dungeon's
monsters and misfortunes that I heard from Renge...
After
hearing that, everyone fell silent with difficult expressions...
"There are many things I want to ask, but
first, just this: can you put this school's dungeon into a complete Calm
state?"
"No, the clearance level of the card key I
have is only for D-rank dungeons. I can't make C-rank or higher dungeons
disappear or completely pacify them."
"I see..."
Anna
went silent, but Oribe spoke up in a cheerful voice,
"But this is good news! Just being able to
eliminate or completely pacify D-rank or lower dungeons significantly reduces
the threat of dungeons! If we can survive this Angolmois in Phase 3, there's
still hope!"
Oribe
was practically giddy, rattling off these optimistic remarks, but Anna shook
her head with a flat expression.
"I don't know about that, Sayo.
......Kannadzuki-san, has this been reported to the government yet?"
"No... I tried to report it, but I
couldn't get through."
"I thought so..."
Oribe
glared at Anna in response to her words,
"What do you mean, Anna? Do you know
something?"
"I don't know anything. I'm just wondering
why we haven't seen any Self-Defense Force personnel, even though it's been
several hours since Angolmois started."
"That's..."
Oribe
was speechless and started thinking hard, beads of sweat forming on her
forehead.
"That's right, it's definitely strange...
why hasn't the Self-Defense Force mobilized yet? They should already be sealing
off D-rank or higher dungeons and guiding residents to evacuate... especially
since this is Tachikawa, where a base is located!"
If
this was a matter of minutes, that would be one thing, but a delay of over an hour
means that an extremely critical and serious problem has occurred.
If this is just a case around Tachikawa, that's
fine. But if this is a nationwide case, then it's not a problem, but perhaps...
"...Were we abandoned?"
Anna
muttered quietly.
"Nonsense!"
"Do you really think so? If you're as
smart as I think you are, Sayo, the moment you realized it was Phase 3, that
possibility crossed your mind, didn't it?"
"...!"
Oribe's
lips trembled as if she wanted to argue, but ultimately, no words came out.
Indeed,
considering that the government, unaware of how to eliminate the dungeons or
completely Calm them, might very well abandon the general populace once they
realize it's Phase 3.
The
C-rank cards distributed to each shelter were, at best, a measure to prolong
Phase 1 as much as possible.
Once we enter Phase 2, shelters other than the
Guild will turn into coffins.
Now that we're in Phase 3, it's even more so.
But...
"No... Even if it's like that, it's
strange that they don't even receive my call. This is a direct line. No matter
how busy they are, they should have enough time to hear a word or two."
I
nodded inwardly at Teacher's words.
Yes. That's what's strange.
Even
if they abandoned everything and fled, they would still want to know the
information about the dungeon's disappearance. So, they should at least keep
Teacher's line open.
But the fact that they're not even answering
that means that a serious problem has occurred within the Self-Defense Forces
themselves.
"In any case, we should observe the
situation for now... let's think about these things after confirming that the
SDF is functioning properly. Thinking about ending Angolmois or preventing the
next Angolmois can wait until we survive this time."
"That's... true. We have to survive first,
right?"
"Yeah."
Oribe
opened her mouth as if to say something, but then nodded, convincing herself.
I
followed suit.
Why
were the dungeons created? What is Angolmois? Is the being that created the
dungeons good or evil? What are Card Keys? Who exactly is Renge?
The
questions are endless, but the reason I don't ask them to Renge is because, in
the end, they are not directly related to surviving the present.
The
fact that she hasn't explained it herself proved that.
She
only taught the method to make the dungeon disappear and completely Calm it.
She probably thought that those two things are the minimum requirements to make
it through.
Just like how you don't need to fully
understand the creation or mechanism of a smartphone to use it... knowing how
to erase and completely Calm the dungeons is all we need for now.
If that's the case, learning about the future
of the world or its truths can wait until things have settled down.
"But, before that... there's something we
need to clarify."
With
that preface, Anna gave Teacher an absolutely chilling look.
A
look as stern as a king or queen looking at an enemy from another country, yet
as inorganic as an insect's gaze...
As
the atmosphere in the room rapidly tensed, she said,
"I'll ask you about your decision first:
Kannadzuki-san, what are you planning to do from now on?"
[Tips] Approximate Number of Inborn Skills per
Rank:
A: 5 or more
B: 4～5
C: 3～4
D: 2～3
E: 1～2
F: 1
As
the rank increases, it often incorporates the skill effects of lower ranks,
leading to a performance gap that widens beyond the actual number of skills.
***
Notes:
1 The Chuo Line is an east-west railway crossing through the heart of Tokyo.↩
2 A bit more than halfway from Hachioji Station to Tokyo Station. ↩
3 Square style of writing. It is a formal style of Japanese/Chinese calligraphy. ↩
4 She tried to say "Thank you for your hard work," which is お疲れ様です (otsukaresamadesu) in Japanese.↩
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