Episode 122: Small and Medium-Sized Seeker Enterprises
“What’s this about an emergency? Aren’t we supposed to be on standby above ground?”
Kanzaki grumbled, scratching his head in dissatisfaction. The three members of D-Minor had been assigned to security within the dome, but they were suddenly summoned to the fourth-floor hall of the ‘Central Management Center.’
After passing through the building’s entrance and taking the elevator to the fourth floor, they found a large gathering of Seekers and related personnel.
“There’s a lot of people here. Were we all called?”
“Something must have happened,” Yuma said, looking around with a puzzled expression. Entering the hall, they found an even larger crowd.
The people present seemed to be uninformed, and everyone wore a bewildered expression.
“Ah! President, look…”
As Tanaka pointed, Kanzaki turned his gaze to the stage, where Honda-san, the General Manager of Elceed Corporation, was standing.
Honda-san stood before the lectern, adjusted the microphone, and cleared her throat.
“Thank you all for gathering. As some of you may already know, we received an urgent communication from a Seeker Clan aiming for the hundredth floor, and we are taking immediate action.”
The people gathered in the hall began to stir. The fact that they had been specifically called meant that the situation was beyond the capabilities of the top-tier Seeker Clans alone.
Sensing the growing unease in the hall, Honda-san smiled and continued, “There’s no need to worry. The trouble is simply that there are more Monsters than initially anticipated. Major Seeker Clans can handle it adequately, but we’re raising the alert level as a precaution.”
“What are we supposed to do specifically!?”
One of the participants raised their voice. Honda-san smiled sweetly and replied, “We would like you all to stand by on the first floor of the Dungeon. Not immediately, of course. We have received reports that Monsters will be ascending to the shallower levels tomorrow morning. Please gather at the Dungeon entrance at seven o’clock tomorrow morning. We have also requested reinforcements from the Self-Defense Forces to ensure that no Monsters escape. We are taking every precaution, so please rest assured.”
With a gentle expression, Honda-san stepped down from the stage, and an Elceed Corporation employee took her place to announce the detailed schedule, after which the gathering was dismissed.
◇◇◇
“Seriously! What is Ishikawa doing!?”
On the way back to the accommodation building from the Central Center Building, Kanzaki cursed, “What a pain!”
“There are already over a hundred top-tier Seekers, right? There’s no way we’ll have a chance to do anything! We’re being forcibly summoned, and they want us to show up early in the morning? Give me a break!”
As Kanzaki continued to complain, Tanaka tried to calm him down, saying, “Now, now.”
“From what I heard, the problem is that there are so many Goblins and Orcs that the top-tier Seeker Clans can’t focus on the stronger Monsters.”
“Goblins and Orcs, huh…”
Hearing Tanaka’s explanation, Kanzaki made a visibly disgusted face.
“Are they such strong Monsters?” Yuma asked, feeling uneasy.
“No… their individual strength isn’t much. But they’re intelligent Monsters. They attack in groups, coordinating with each other. They usually reside around the seventieth floor. It’s unheard of for them to come up to the first floor…”
Yuma worried about having to fight those Monsters tomorrow morning, but even more than that, he was concerned about Rui.
–If there’s trouble in the Dungeon, he must be facing it head-on. I hope he’s alright.
Whether he knew Yuma’s feelings or not–
“Well, there’s no use complaining. Tomorrow’s early, so let’s get to bed!”
As Kanzaki said that, Yuma and Tanaka exchanged glances and replied, “Yes,” before returning to the accommodation building.
◇◇◇
The next morning at six o’clock– Many Seekers gathered near the Dungeon entrance and on the first floor.
Honda-san had requested additional Seeker reinforcements from Elceed Corporation, but it seemed unlikely they would arrive in time. Instead, outside the dome facility, Self-Defense Force personnel and combat vehicles from the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Tsuchiura and Katsuta garrisons had arrived as reinforcements.
Forces were also deployed around the “Seeker’s Town,” and preparations were made to intercept Monsters in areas where Mana was thin.
Absolutely no Monsters would be allowed to escape outside–
That was the common goal of Elceed Corporation, the Self-Defense Forces, and the government.
The three members of D-Minor, ordered to stand by on the first floor of the Dungeon, felt that tension and determination acutely.
“There are probably about forty Seekers on this floor alone.”
Under the scorching sun, Kanzaki squatted down, resting his Hexagonal Rod on his shoulder, and grumbled, “It’s so hot~.”
Looking around, he saw Seeker Clans from various companies gathered.
There were Seeker Clans consisting only of rugged men, and others composed of young women.
Some groups looked like lanky researchers, making one wonder if they were really Seekers.
As Yuma was pondering this, Kanzaki clicked his tongue and stood up.
“Those guys are here too, huh…”
“Those guys?”
Wondering what he meant, Yuma turned around and saw five men and women walking towards them.
Many Seekers from small and medium-sized enterprises wore casual clothes or work uniforms. However, this group of men and women were wearing existing protectors called battle suits and equipped with Magic Enchanted Armaments, so Yuma assumed they were a reasonably capable Seeker Clan.
The man walking at the front looked straight at Kanzaki, a faint smile on his face.
“What do you know, D-Minor’s here too. Tough luck, Kanzaki. Being called to a place like this when you don’t have any decent Seekers.”
“Huh!? Okawara, are you here to pick a fight? I’ll take you on anytime!”
Kanzaki glared at him, and Okawara raised both hands with a “good grief” expression.
“Don’t get so worked up. I’m just worried. You only have a Water Magic user with low Magical Power, right?”
“So what?”
“We have two Water Magic users with a Mana Index exceeding 1000, and two Seekers who use Thunder Magic.”
Okawara looked back and gestured with his chin.
The men and women there snorted derisively.
Looking closely, there was a man chewing gum loudly, a man glaring menacingly, a woman twirling her blonde hair with her fingers, and a woman smirking while playing with her phone.
They didn’t exactly look refined.
Okawara himself was about the same age as Kanzaki, but he had a visual kei rock band hairstyle.
Quite the striking appearance.
“So I thought I’d offer to help if anything happened, but you’re being awfully confrontational.”
“We don’t need your help! We’ll never need your help. Get lost!”
Kanzaki waved his hand dismissively, and Okawara said, “Alright, alright, I get it,” before turning around with his members.
“President, do you know them?” Yuma asked, and Kanzaki made a visibly disgusted face.
“Yeah, well. Okawara is the president of a company called ‘IBI.’ We used to be in the same Seeker Clan.”
“Oh, is ‘IBI’ a big company?”
“Nope! Just a small and medium-sized enterprise. A little bigger than our company!”
Kanzaki irritably took out a cigarette from his chest pocket, lit it with a Zippo lighter, and began to smoke.