Chương 103: Chapter 30 Damn It! Fooled Again! (Part 2)

Fooled Again! (Part 2)

"Chiyoda-san, I want you to make this certain. After the advisor role is finished, I will return home. I will absolutely return. Please guarantee it." It would be a problem if, after this work was finished, I were told, "Now, here are the next students," and was dragged along and made to stay behind. In the first place, I had been given the position, but what exactly it entailed was still undecided.

I did not even know what organization I would belong to, or whether I would be independent, and I had only just been told about those matters now. Certainly, there had been a concept for it, but just as when I was given the position, it would be a problem if they simply gave me orders on a single sheet of paper.

"... The Gates can be relocated, correct? Relocation, establishing the headquarters building, recruiting and training personnel... I would like you to give it at least six months to a year. We will allow temporary returns home and the like, so could you somehow manage with that...?" Chiyoda bowed deeply... Sigh. If it were the head of a stranger, I could kick it away, but as expected... somehow, I did not want to kick the head of this guy I talked with every time...

Maybe I was being soft, but I too had the responsibility of having accepted the Gates, even if reluctantly. And I also had the responsibility of accepting the position instead of turning it down. My own abilities were by no means exceptional. In the first place, I had not even gone to university, and I was bad at English. All I had done was selfishly decide that there was no problem with being the "someone" who did the work that someone was going to have to do, and then go ahead and do it.

If I had acted on my own initiative, then it would only make sense for me to take responsibility for it myself.

"I understand. Please raise your head. I was originally planning to accept the advisor role anyway, and I was also lacking composure. You are not the one who should be bowing your head. In the first place, where is the Special Specific Harmful Beast Countermeasures Headquarters supposed to belong? The way we proceed will be completely different depending on its scale."

"At present, the government, the police organization, and the Self-Defense Forces are all fighting over it."

"Not trying to push it onto each other?"

"Yes. You should assume that a meeting will be held soon. Every organization wants to expand its organizational chart. Taking you in alone would not suddenly make the organization leap forward, but at present, you are also the only person holding that position." People were people no matter where you went. Well, they were human, so it could not be helped. Now, what did each organization want Sweepers for, and what were their respective objectives?

In the first place, I felt that holding two positions at once would be fine... Well, it was probably about vested interests. I would listen to what they had to say and think about it afterward. And then there was the matter of that thing.

"I understand the situation. Now, I have a question. How much is the reward this time?"

"That is being paid by the government. This fiscal year's government budget was set at 114 trillion 381. 2 billion yen. Of that, 80 billion yen was allocated to the reconstruction of Akihabara, and 1. 2 billion yen of that was designated as rewards. However, at your request, 800 million yen was made into condolence payments for the bereaved families.

"Also, there are the proceeds from your stream and the condolence money from the government, so it comes to roughly 20 million yen per person. Your own reward is 400 million yen. In addition, as a national civil servant, you hold a position and salary equivalent to that of an Administrative Vice-Minister. If you act in response to a Special Specific Harmful Beast countermeasure request from the government, you also have the right to negotiate your reward.

Beyond that, you have considerable authority regarding Gate-related matters."

"The top within a ministry... It seems the outer moat has been filled in, but I understand the matter of the salary and rewards." Even if I was called the top, I was still just one person. Before I knew it, I had become a national civil servant. Still, in a sense, this meant that my position was now on solid ground. I had already had a certain amount of influence, but it felt as though that influence had been reinforced.

I also had the right to negotiate, and when the next stampede occurred, I would have to make sure they considered condolence payments for the bereaved families, just as they had this time. No matter how much of it was considered self-responsibility, that only applied to what happened inside the Gates. If something happened outside, then appropriate compensation and mourning were necessary. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Well, we've settled most of the matter. Please take care of the matter concerning Miyafuji-san and the others. When does it start?"

"According to the schedule, it is planned to begin three days from now. The day after tomorrow, meet with the instructors and work out the details of how it will proceed. The location is planned to be Meguro Garrison. Since Mochida-kun became a Sweeper and acquired an S Class this time, we will keep her assigned exclusively as your SP."

"I understand. So I have time until the day after tomorrow. I have somewhere to go."

"... Where?" If there were going to be situations conducted in a practical format, I wanted to investigate the area beforehand. Besides, after entering the Gate yesterday, it seemed the Witch wanted to do some cleaning as well. Conveniently, I had also accumulated quite a bit of frustration. In that case, let's go farther ahead. Now that I knew the escape item was charge-based as well.

"It's fine. I have no intention of leaving the country, nor of returning to my hometown. It's the Gate. I'll tell you in advance, but this time I'm going ahead alone. I also need to check the actual practical-training site. And, do you have the usual thing?"

"That thing... If you mean the outfit, we have it as equipment. I'll bring it. I'd like to put a guard on you, but this time, I suppose it can't be helped. I can assume you have a way to escape, correct?" When I answered that I did, Chiyoda nodded once and left the room. Apparently, the Witch had taken a liking to the gothic lolita outfit and said that if we were going, that was what she wanted.

The Sage also said that motivation was important, so I changed into the combat uniform—gothic lolita—that I received from Chiyoda and put myself under self-hypnosis for the first time in a while. The goal was the 35th floor. Judging from the intervals at which the exit Gates were installed, there should be one there. The Sage said to bring the dog along too, so I was thinking about stopping by the hotel when, before I knew it, it was sitting at my feet.

Well, as long as it was harmless, I supposed it was fine, but my feelings were complicated. Apparently, it could go into the ring, so I stored it there as it was. Was it being treated as spoils? It was supposed to be my partner, though. Maybe it was about time to switch with the Witch.

"Chro... e?"

"Oh, Chiyoda, what is it? The conversation is over, isn't it? We're going on a fun picnic now."

"No, please take this with you. It's a collar-type action camera. It was made by repurposing a crystal and can operate for about three days."

"Heehee, a collar, huh? Should I bark like a dog? Obediently, obediently... Put it on me." I lifted up the hair I had let down while changing and exposed my nape. I could hear a sound from Chiyoda like he was swallowing saliva, but I did not care.

"It's ready. Then, let me see you off—""No need. I'll fly there." From the rooftop of the Metropolitan Police Department, I made a single leap while riding the sasumata. I flew straight into the Gate and began descending from the 15th floor. Ah, this is fun. 『Witch. Don't do anything too strange outside, and don't say anything strange either. 』 『It can't be helped. That's just how it is. I'm the Witch, you know? 』 『Right, right. You're the Witch, so it can't be helped. You should rest once in a while, too.

』 Because she was the Witch, it couldn't be helped... As usual, these two—or whatever they were—offered no explanation. Perhaps the time would eventually come when I would have to seriously face them. But for now, I wanted to indulge in some entertainment. Witch, Sage, as long as we're inside the Gate, there won't be any damage outside, right? Go ahead and do whatever you like.

"Ah, wonderful... Baito, my Servant, you may do as you please too." Now he had also moved over to the side that watched. Until there were instructions, I would leave everything entirely to the Witch, but once in a while, I should work too. Still, well, even this might be cramped as it was.

"If you exhale a single puff of smoke, what you see beyond the mist will be the form you imagine. Ah... so that's what you choose. The monster appears to look like a dog." Boring days without anything of interest. The Baito I had acquired during those days was enveloped in smoke and became a large dog made of purple haze. Ha, it seemed his manifestation was extraordinarily strong. Strong enough to make even trash obey him.

"I wonder how much he'll let me get away with?" 『He said you could do as you please. It's shallow here, and the destination is close, but I think it's fine to let a certain amount out, don't you? 』"That's right... I've decided. Let's annihilate them. You should simply assume that you're supposed to be capable of doing it." He was somewhat shaken, but apparently had no intention of stopping me. Yes, there was nothing here that could make him rack his brains, nothing troublesome that could get tangled up with him.

He could think as selfishly as he wanted. He was doing his job.

"Fufufu, if you believe you can do it, the cleaning will be finished smoothly. Fill it. You went to the trouble of creating this floor—this domain—yourself. Though there are differences in degree, we originally belong much farther down." He thought, I can do it. I can do it. The Witch reinforced everything. Ah, me? Of course I would use magic. The Witch happily spun her words. She had taken a liking to something that originally had no need for words at all.

After all, restrictions would attach themselves on their own. And because of that, he could picture it in his mind. Even now, look. The extremely fragile trash, regardless of whether it possessed feelings or not, was being erased. It vanished so completely that not even a crystal remained.