Dungeon's Final Boss: Banished by My Boss, the Goddess, to Earth—So I'll Continue My Past Life - 59

Chapter 59: Request

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

It happened on the way back from clearing a request to clear a dungeon immediately from the Ministry of Dungeon. Inside the high-speed helicopter, Hadano, the leader of the D-Ministry’s strike team, shared a rumor with me.

“Hasegawa-san, have you heard about this?”

“Heard about what?”

“The robot that attacked the auction house before.”

“No, nothing about that.”

I had completely forgotten about the auction itself. Apparently, the payment had already been deposited into Piroane’s account. Even Piroane, whose sense of money was questionable at best, had been excited at first by the sheer amount, but by now, she had likely forgotten all about it. She might have even forgotten about the account itself, but payments to people like Ira-san were probably being withdrawn automatically by the system, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

Unless she made some absolutely foolish purchases, the money wouldn’t disappear anytime soon. Even if I roughly assumed that half of it had been taken by taxes, that still left five hundred billion yen. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how one would go about spending that much.

Back to the robot. It was piloted by a young lady named Claire Saloon. Even as a toy for the daughter of a global tycoon, it felt excessive, but I supposed there could be at least one such absurdly rich person in the world. After all, robots were the stuff of dreams.

“Did something happen with that robot?”

I recalled that I had told them we had recovered the sword, but the robot had escaped. With that in mind, I urged him to continue.

“Apparently, it was spotted in the Kingdom of Peschel.”

“The Kingdom of Peschel?”

I had never heard that name before. Hadano must have noticed my confusion, as he explained further.

“The Kingdom of Peschel is a small island nation in northern Europe. It’s quite small, so it’s not well known in Japan.”

“Huh… And the robot was seen there?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of trouble could be brewing in such a small island nation?”

“…Hasegawa-san, are you familiar with Orichalcum?”

“Well, yes.”

Orichalcum. It was a high-tier material that sometimes dropped from dungeons as weapons, armor components, or ingots. But it was rare. It had never appeared in any dungeon currently existing on Earth. No… But if Hadano had brought it up just now…?

“Are you saying it was found in the Kingdom of Peschel?”

“Yes. The Kingdom of Peschel has a population of around a thousand people and only a single dungeon. But that dungeon has existed since dungeons first appeared worldwide twenty years ago.”

A thousand people… In Japan, that would be no more than the population of a small town, but in some places, that was enough to be a country.

“…There were no Awakened individuals to clear it?”

“That might have been a factor, but it seems they’ve at least been able to acquire magic stones from that dungeon, so there must be some Awakened among them.”

“And that’s where Orichalcum was found?”

“In very small quantities, it seems. Research suggests it could have value as a rare metal for next-generation CPUs.”

“So there’s a competition to obtain it?”

Orichalcum being used in CPUs… Computers, then. Maybe even for supercomputers.

“There are already people attempting to take de facto control of the country in order to monopolize the Orichalcum for their own nation.”

“Their military?”

“Not openly. But there are reports of harassment and covert conflicts between personnel sent from various countries.”

“That sounds dangerous… But why is the robot involved in this?”

“That’s the part we don’t understand. It seems to be involved in these covert conflicts, but we don’t know which faction it belongs to.”

“I see.”

So, the robot was in the Kingdom of Peschel. That much was clear, but what did it matter? Even if Japan decided to join the struggle, I doubted military action would be their first approach. Or was I just too caught up in the perception of Japan as a “peace-addled” nation?

Either way, it wasn’t something that concerned me much at the moment. Hadano, too, seemed to have brought it up just as a way to kill time during the ride, as he soon launched into a passionate discussion about the military applications of robots. If a country were to develop the world’s first bipedal combat mecha, it had to be Japan.

After reaching that conclusion together, we arrived back at the Ministry of Dungeon.

“Hasegawa, you have a visitor.”

As soon as we returned, Samejima-san was waiting for me.

“A visitor? Who is it?”

“You’ll see when you meet them.”

With that teasing response, I followed Samejima-san. Maybe the conversation with Hadano had been a premonition of fate. It felt like something significant was about to happen, but in reality, it was probably just more trouble for me.

The person waiting in the room was Claire Saloon, looking composed as ever.

“Nice to meet you, Mister Hasegawa.”

She greeted me in fluent Japanese with an air of mystery.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Claire.”

“I saw you at the auction house, but seeing you up close, I can tell you really are something else.”

“Is that so? So, what business do you have with me?”

Surely, she hadn’t come just to see my face.

“Yes. I’d like to hire you for a job.”

“A job?”

“Yes. You work for Japan’s Dungeon Ministry, but at your core, you’re a freelance Awakened, aren’t you? Then I should be able to hire you for a job.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

I glanced around the room, but no one else was there. Samejima-san, who had guided me here, had left immediately after I entered. Even though she was from a globally wealthy family, if she had no business with the government itself, then of course, the minister wouldn’t be here, nor would any other officials be present.

“It’s fine. I’ve taken countermeasures against eavesdropping, so whatever we discuss here won’t leave this room.”

Claire said that as she showed me a small, button-sized device.

“It depends on the nature of the request.”

“You’ve already peeked into my secrets. Couldn’t you at least be a little more friendly?”

Thud.

A noise from outside. I held up a finger to signal Claire to be quiet, then silently moved to the door and opened it.

“Oh?”

“Hello.”

“Are you finished with your conversation already?”

“No, not yet.”

“I see.”

I closed the door.

“You may be able to block machines, but you can’t block an Awakened’s ears.”

“Seems so. Should we change locations?”

“Fine by me.”

“You just came back from a dungeon, didn’t you? You must be hungry.”

“I suppose so.”

“Then let’s have dinner in my hotel room. Just the two of us.”

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

Seriously, if you’re already caught, why are you still eavesdropping?

Under Samejima-san’s suspicious gaze, I followed Claire out of the Ministry of Dungeon. Waiting outside was a chauffeured luxury car. As we got in, I finally spoke.

“Trying to act like Mine Fujiko at your age doesn’t suit you.”

“Mine Fujiko? Who’s that?”

“A sort of Madonna for middle-aged Japanese men, I’d say.”

Every now and then, I watched old movies and anime on streaming services, hoping to recall my past self. That anime was truly a masterpiece.

“If you’re saying I’m not attractive, that’s quite offensive. Or… Could it be that you’re gay?”

“No. My preferences align with my gender.”

“That phrasing is discriminatory, you know?”

“If a machine doesn’t function according to its specifications, do you just accept it?”

“Machines and humans are different.”

“Then, what standard do doctors use when practicing medicine?”

“…That’s a deep question.”

“The very fact that such things are permitted already indicates that humanity, as a whole, sees itself as a privileged existence.”

I shook my head. This debate was pointless.

“Anyway, that’s not what you wanted to talk to me about, is it?”

“You’re right. Forget the details for now. Let’s get to the main point first.”

“Go ahead.”

“I want you to help me protect the Kingdom of Peschel.”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー