Dungeon's Final Boss: Banished by My Boss, the Goddess, to Earth—So I'll Continue My Past Life - 7

Chapter 7: Reaction

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『Hello, everyone! It’s time for Ururun’s D-Tuber News. Today’s topic is the mysterious old man in a suit who saved a rookie D-Tuber. What could this be about? It’s a mystery!』

『The incident took place on ●/✖ at the Kichijoji Dungeon. Three D-Tubers—Yune, Yinling Jones, and Mimimi Amanokawa were doing a collaboration livestream. You can check the details through the link in the description.』

『At first, everything was going smoothly, with each of them showcasing their strengths. However, when it was Mimimi Amanokawa’s turn, trouble struck. A Spriggan Giant managed to get dangerously close to her.』

『For those unfamiliar, a Spriggan Giant is classified as an A-rank threat. According to the standards announced by the Ministry of Dungeons, an A-rank monster is one that a party of around four A-rank Awakened should be able to defeat. A rather vague standard, isn’t it? I can’t wait for the arrival Scouter device like in Drag*n B*ll!』

『Anyway, I think you get the point—Spriggan Giants are strong. According to the public information on their channels, the three of them are C-rank Awakened. There’s a detailed explanation video about the ranking system of Awakened, so please check that out for more information.』

『An A-rank monster versus C-rank Awakened—the outcome was obvious. Yune and Yinling Jones ran away. But Mimimi Amanokawa didn’t. She was so focused on mining magic stones, her specialty, that she didn’t notice the approaching threat.』

『By the time she realized it, it was already too late. Just as it seemed like things were about to take a turn for the gruesome turn, a mysterious man in a suit appeared. And no, not a hero suit. A business suit. A wrinkled, worn-out one, the kind you’d see on any overworked office worker crammed into a packed commuter train would wear. This man instantly destroyed the Spriggan Giant—and even let Mimimi Amanokawa deliver the finishing blow. Unbelievable, right? He even left behind the magic stones.』

『Who is this mysterious old man capable of instantly taking down an A-rank monster? Strangely enough, there’s no information on him anywhere. It’s hard to believe that someone this powerful has been operating in secret until now. Could he be a foreigner? We’ll update this channel as soon as more information comes out. That’s all for today’s news. See you next time! This was Ururun.』

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The Ministry of Dungeons. In a certain conference room. A video, now the subject of quiet discussion, was playing on the screen. When the footage of Mimimi Amanokawa’s moment of voluptuous glory appeared, an awkward silence filled the room. However, skipping that part wasn’t an option due to the timeline of events. Immediately after, the scene of the Spriggan Giant being destroyed in an instant played. The video was paused.

“Now then, do you understand what happened here?”

Gin Niitaka, the one who stood at the top within the Minister of Dungeons, turned to address the person watching with him. His gaze landed on a woman in a suit. She had an unassuming presence, her appearance plain and devoid of embellishment. Yet, she was one of only four S-rank Awakened in Japan. Her name was Rinko Samejima.

“I don’t know exactly what that person did, but I do know what was used.”

“Oh?”

“He threw shards of magic stone as projectiles and destroyed the Spriggan Giant’s limbs.”

“What!?”

Is that even possible?!

Niitaka was not only a government minister but also an A-rank Awakened. He could catch bullets fired from a gun with his fingers, yet he hadn’t been able to track the trajectory of the magic stone shards in the video.

“I was only able to see them though. If I were to be in that Spriggan’s place, I doubt I could react before he killed me.”

“That would be a problem. You are a vital asset to Japan.”

“I’m honored to hear that.”

“So, do we know who he is?”

“His face is clearly visible. We ran a facial recognition search through the My Number system and found a match. His name is Jiro Hasegawa. Thirty-five years old. Resident of Tokyo.”

“Is he an Awakened?”

“No. A company health checkup five years ago confirmed that he wasn’t.”

“Then did he Awaken after that?”

“Highly unlikely. His medical records up until last month show prescriptions for allergy medication.”

“Ah. Awakened don’t suffer from illnesses like hay fever anymore. If you ran his data through the My Number system, does he have a driver’s license or a passport?”

“He doesn’t. He had a passport in college, but it expired and was never renewed.”

“Hmm. That means he hasn’t been operating abroad as an unregistered Awakened either?”

“Until recently, he was working as an ordinary company employee.”

“Did he quit?”

“Yes.”

“Then did he Awaken before or after that?”

Gin Niitaka considered that possibility, but when he thought back to the moment he awakened and manifested his own abilities, he deemed it was impossible. Even if one became stronger through their abilities, maintaining composure in battle and taking precise actions required experience. In the video currently paused, Hasegawa calmly restrained the Spriggan Giant, pointed out its weak spot, and let Mimimi Amanokawa deliver the finishing blow.

“That doesn’t seem likely.”

“No.”

“Then, who is he?”

Why did he choose not to defeat it himself? Did he want to make Mimimi Amanokawa stronger? 

Awakened individuals grew stronger the more they fought, but it was rare for them to surpass the rank assigned to them during the Awakening Exam. Did he give up the source of strength—commonly referred to as experience points—that could be gained from a major opponent like the Spriggan Giant to Mimimi? Even Niitaka wouldn’t be that generous.

Is it the complacency of the strong?

“Everything about him is a mystery… Now, what should we do?”

“I’d like to monitor his actions for a while. I request permission to assemble a dedicated team to monitor him.”

“Right… That might be our only option.”

A mysterious individual who might be even stronger than an S-rank. A single misstep in handling him could lead to disaster.

“Crimes involving Awakened individuals always draw intense criticism.”

He didn’t think the man was a criminal, but depending on how they handled him, unfortunate accidents or incidents could occur. The rigid, bureaucratic approach only worked because they were the stronger side. But when dealing with human-shaped weapons like Awakened individuals, that approach carried risks. Misjudging the situation could lead to an explosive disaster of unimaginable scale. And the man had already proven himself to be at least on the level of a living tank. Depending on the situation, he might be at the level of an unimaginable monster that wouldn’t even pay any heed to what the Ministry of Dungeons had to say. Sending police officers against him would be as foolish as sending them against G*zilla. That was something they absolutely had to avoid.

“I understand your concerns.”

“Well, not as much as you will since you’re the one on the front lines. For now, I’ll leave the surveillance to you.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll report to the Prime Minister and request that Public Security and the police refrain from taking action.”

“Understood. Please take care of it.”

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Unaware that such movements were taking place in the world…

“Fufufufufu.”

Alone in my apartment, I reveled in my success. To earn money, I had come up with an idea: obtain magic stones in dungeons, use my ability to convert them into valuable items, and cash them in. The problem had been figuring out how to acquire those magic stones. But after the incident where I saved that woman, an idea came to me. And after about a week of thinking and crafting, it had taken shape.

“It’s done. The Dungeon Convenience Store.”

If I couldn’t obtain magic stones myself, then I just needed to make others pay me in magic stones. I would open a store that accepted magic stones as payment. If I conducted normal financial transactions, I’d have to leave behind a whole lot of records. But if I only dealt in unconverted magic stones, I would be leaving no paper trail. 

The dungeon economy only truly began when magic stones and other goods left the dungeon.

What happened inside was unregulated.

“Now, the only question is which dungeon to set my convenience store up in.”

Which dungeon nearby would be the best option?

For the first time in a while, I picked up my smartphone and searched for a good dungeon nearby.

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