An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 63

Chapter 63: A Major Intervention

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And so, I was summoned to the headquarters of the Dungeon Management Agency in Kasumigaseki on my day off. 

“I was actually planning to do another collaborative livestream with Miku Kanamoto, but Nanoha asked me to come, so it can’t be helped. Koto also said she wanted me to prioritize getting this thing done first.”

It seemed they were calling me to talk about the auction. They mentioned that they would contact me once they had decided on the date of the auction, but I didn’t expect they would want to talk about it in person in this day and age. I thought they would just email me or something. 

I was filled with various doubts in my mind as I introduced myself to the staff at the reception desk of the headquarters. The front desk staff confirmed my identity and another staff came to guide me. 

“This is the director’s office.”

“Huh?”

But to my surprise, I was led to a luxurious floor on the top floor. This floor had a different vibe from the other floors. It looked much more expensive. 

The director…? The director of the Dungeon Management Agency…?

“Wait, wait, wait. Why the director’s office?”

“Well, it’s because the director is waiting for you. Please, go in.”

I wasn’t sure if she was a secretary or something, but the woman who had been guiding me opened the door. She completely ignored my confusion and just prompted me to enter the room. 

And so, I stepped inside, albeit reluctantly. There were three people waiting for me in the room. One of them was Mizusawa-san, someone I had already met before. He looked really tense. I never saw him look this tense before. And then, my niece, Nanoha, was there too. Contrary to Nagao-san, Nanoha looked pretty relaxed. At least, she was relaxed enough to give me a light wave. And… The last person was probably the director. She looked much younger than I expected. Judging from her appearance alone, she should be in her 30s, but there was no way someone that young could become the head of a government agency. That being said, maybe she was actually around 40 years old? She didn’t look much older than me at least. 

Upon noticing my presence, she stood up from behind her desk. 

“You must be Kenichi Nishida-san. I’m Rinko Nagao, the director of the Dungeon Management Agency.”

True to her name. She sounded really dignified. I see… This woman… She was an explorer too. Not to mention, it was clear to see she had been through plenty of dangerous situations. I could see that from her subtle demeanor. Most likely, she was able to achieve this position at such a young age due to her great achievements as an explorer. 

“I sincerely apologize for calling you all the way here. Unfortunately, there’s something that I must convey to you in person.”

She began explaining.

“This is about the item you acquired, Nishida-san. I know that item was originally planned to be put up for auction, but… We received a major intervention.”

“Intervention…?”

“Yes. To be precise, from the Great Ameria Country.”

“From Ameria…?”

The Great Ameria Country. It was the current largest and strongest nation in the world. It was truly a great country, both in name and in reality. 

“We received a direct message from the government. They expressed their desire to purchase the said item.”

“Seriously? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. Apparently the rumors were true.”

The rumors. There were rumors that the president, someone who reigned at the top of Ameria’s cabinet, was trying to use items acquired from the dungeon to become young again. It turned out, those rumors weren’t mere baseless rumors. After all, he was already over 90 years old and yet, he still continued to handle the duties of an active president easily. The duties of a president should be taxing for someone his age and yet, he didn’t even look his age. If anything, he looked like someone in their 60s instead.

“As you already know, our country has had a friendly relationship with Ameria since the world war. However, that’s only on the surface. In reality, we have been forced to submit to Ameria, unable to oppose them. This has become even worse since the advent of the dungeon era.”

Nagao-san explained. From the tone of her voice, it seemed she had witnessed first hand some of the bitter truth between our country and Ameria. 

“To be honest, it’s incredibly frustrating that we need to comply with their demands, but we at the Dungeon Management Agency don’t have much choice. I hope you can understand, Nishida-san. I know you’ve expressed your desire to put that item on auction, but we really can’t do anything much about it. We are deeply sorry for this, Nishida-san…”

“No, no. It’s okay. I don’t mind at all.”

“They said they have prepared a decent remuneration for you. It’s 20 billion yen for the item.”

“20 billion…”

Although I could probably sell it for a higher price at the auction, but to be honest, I didn’t really need that much money. 20 billion was more than enough.

“Wow! Uncle Kenichi, you’re a billionaire!”

Upon hearing the number, Nanoha became really excited. 

“Yeah… Well, I don’t really have any use for it though. If there’s anything you want, I can buy it for you.”

“Really!? Then what if I want a car?! If possible, a foreign car!”

“A car, huh…? Uncle also doesn’t have a car. Maybe we can go look for a car later.”

“A fresh graduate is asking for something like that… How boorish…”

Mizusawa-san sighed, seemingly exasperated before hee continued on. 

“She’s still as spoiled as ever…  I probably shouldn’t have brought her here.”

“Well, how you spend your money is entirely up to you. So, Nishida-san, do you have time now?”

“I guess. It’s my day off, so I’m pretty much free today.”

“Very well. Then let’s go to the Ameria Embassy right away.”

“R-Right now?”

And so, it was decided that I would be heading to the embassy right away. 

“I want to go tooooo~”

Nanoha whined as we parted ways. I went to the Ameria Embassy together with Nagao-san. There were only three of us in the car. Me, Nagao-san and the driver. 

“Is it really okay to head there right away?”

“Yes. When I contacted them earlier, they said they are more than happy to welcome us.”

It didn’t take long for the car to arrive at Ameria Embassy in Akasaka district. Normally speaking, I would need to go through a long and thorough security check to enter an embassy, but we were allowed to enter the premises without any hassle, probably because Nagao-san was with me. 

“There’s no point in doing the standard security check on an explorer anyway.”

“Ah, I see…”

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