Episode 171: The Prime Minister’s Secretary
The Cabinet meeting ended, and Prime Minister Iwaki left the conference room, heading towards his office.
His Principal Private Secretary, Hatano, followed behind. Hatano was a nervous-looking man with sharp eyes, a former lawyer. Among the secretaries, Iwaki trusted him the most.
“Hatano… what do you think about the Black Armor matter?”
Hatano, when asked, replied without changing his expression.
“Yes, I share the Prime Minister’s view. Any existence that only brings negative impact to the administration should be eliminated. However…”
“What is it?”
Iwaki raised an eyebrow.
“Although the fact that Black Armor was human has not been made public, many are aware of it. If we kill a citizen without legal basis, we cannot deny the possibility of criticism against the administration.”
“That’s bad. We should avoid unnecessary troubles before the House of Councillors election.”
“Exactly. The next House of Councillors election is in a difficult situation, with whispers of the ruling party losing its majority. We must not make any mistakes beforehand.”
“Indeed.”
Iwaki opened the well-worn door of his office and entered. He sank deeply into the leather sofa in the center of the room.
He took out a cigar case from his pocket, cut a Dominican cigar with a cigar cutter, and put it in his mouth.
Hatano, who had been waiting, skillfully took out a lighter and lit the cigar.
Iwaki inhaled the smoke and slowly exhaled.
A purple haze spread around, and Iwaki closed his eyes in a relaxed manner. Recently, he had been receiving nothing but stressful reports.
He deserved some rest.
While savoring the smoke, he quietly opened his eyelids.
“Even so, the people will not be satisfied if we let Black Armor live. We must get rid of him as soon as possible.”
“Yes, but there are problems to solve in order to do so.”
“Problems? What else is there besides the legal basis?”
Prompted by the Prime Minister, Hatano replied, “Yes.”
“One is that Elceed’s people are against killing ‘Black Armor.’ Their reason is that Black Armor could be a necessary force to fight against powerful Monsters that may appear in the future.”
“Hmph! Nonsense. Even if he’s strong, the situation won’t change just because there’s one more person.”
“I think so too, but some overseas Seekers and some scholars have come out in agreement. We cannot completely ignore them.”
“Hmm… troublesome bunch.”
Before the groaning Iwaki, Hatano continued, “And another thing.”
“There is the question of whether Black Armor can be easily killed. If he survives in a half-baked state, there is a risk of him rampaging.”
“I see, that’s true.”
Iwaki nodded in agreement. He put the cigar in his mouth again, inhaled the smoke, and slowly exhaled.
He extinguished the cigar in a black ceramic ashtray and crossed his arms as if troubled.
Hatano, sensing Iwaki’s thoughts, respectfully suggested.
“Prime Minister, how about investigating Black Armor first before making a decision? If we know for sure that we can kill him, we can get rid of him then. While we are investigating, I will persuade the people who are against it and lay the groundwork so that there will be no problems later. Ultimately, it would be best to eliminate the concerns for the House of Councillors election and avoid making waves.”
“…I understand. I’ll leave it to you.”
“Thank you very much.”
Hatano bowed and left the room. Hatano, out in the corridor, slightly loosened his cheeks.
His job was to deal with problems from behind the scenes. This time, as always, he would eliminate the obstacles.
That was all there was to it.
◇◇◇
“Whoa!”
A part of the white wall opened sideways, and a meal on a tray came out. Rice, miso soup, fried fish, vegetables, and a carton of milk.
“It’s like school lunch.”
Yuma thought, “Well, whatever,” and carried the tray to the bed in the center of the room.
Since there was no table, he sat on the bed and started eating with the tray on his lap. He shoveled rice with chopsticks and drank miso soup when a voice came from the speaker.
“Hello, Mitaka-kun. Excuse me for interrupting your meal. If you have any requests regarding the meal, please let me know. I will do everything I can.”
“Ah, thank you. For now, it’s fine as it is.”
Yuma replied languidly. The one who spoke to him was a researcher named Fujinami. He had started talking through the speaker last night.
Fujinami explained the current situation in detail to Yuma, who had no idea what was going on outside.
The date and time, what happened after the fight with the Seeker. That this was a national facility located somewhere in Tokyo.
When Yuma asked questions such as how to go to the toilet and brush his teeth? What about the bath? What will happen from now on? Fujinami answered politely.
“I don’t know about your future either. But I’ll talk to the higher-ups so you can get out of here as soon as possible.”
“I would appreciate that.”
When he finished eating the rice and took the tray to the wall, a part of the wall slid open.
It seemed that the door would close and clean up the tray as it was.
–It’s convenient, but it’s kind of bland.
While thinking about that, Yuma returned to the bed. At that moment, his stomach rumbled.
“Ugh!? Suddenly my stomach hurts…”
Yuma pressed his stomach and grimaced.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no, my stomach… I’m going to the bathroom.”
“Oh, I see. If you feel sick, tell me right away. I’ll prepare medicine anytime.”
“Thanks…”
Yuma hurried to the wall on the opposite side of where he had put the tray. When he held his hand over it, the part that had been the wall opened sideways, revealing a unit bath with a toilet and a bath.
It was quite small, but this was no time to complain.
Yuma hurriedly closed the door.
◇◇◇
In the monitor room, three researchers were taking notes. The man who called himself “Fujinami” was looking at the computer screen and entering data.
“The laxative mixed in the meal seems to be working. The sleeping pill I put in dinner last night also seemed to be effective, so so far he’s no different from a normal human.”
“Yeah, the question is whether the lethal poison will work.”
The one who answered was a tall male researcher. He poured coffee from a pot into a cup while looking at the monitor.
“Honestly, I can’t believe that’s ‘Black Armor.’ He just looks like a normal young man.”
When the man playing Fujinami said that, a woman sitting at the desk behind him joined the conversation.
“I’m considering candidates for the poison right now. But if we’re not that wary, won’t he die from a single gunshot? I don’t understand why we’re being so careful.”
Hearing that, the tall man chuckled lightly while sipping his coffee.
“The higher-ups are worried about various things. It’s our job to eliminate those worries.”
After a while, the door opened, and Mitaka Yuma came out. “Fujinami” pressed the switch in front of him to connect the audio.
“Mitaka-kun, are you okay? If anything happens, tell me right away. I’m on your side.”