Finally, lunch. I'll be honest—I was sleepy.
Yesterday's class had actually been three years ago for me, so I was in total Urashima Tarō mode. The lesson naturally picked up where last time left off, but I barely remembered any of it.
My grades were only so-so to begin with, and after three years away from studying, my academics have clearly slipped.
Well, whatever. Lunchtime.
Our high school has a cafeteria, and the school store sells boxed lunches. Of course, you can bring your own, too.
"Homemade rice balls again today?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
Kitamura, the guy at the desk next to mine, glanced at the onigiri on my desk with an awkward look.
It's a private school, which means most kids here are at least comfortable. Plenty of rich ones, too. I'm probably the only one in class who only brings rice balls.
"My guardian just passed away, so…"
Right—three years ago I was living alone after Grandma died, and my meals naturally got simpler. It's not like I couldn't afford the cafeteria.
Funny—I told him stuff like that? I don't remember the small talk very well.
"Also… I just like onigiri."
There's the fact that I'm doing what I did before, but in the other world I hardly ever got to eat rice. I'm simply happy I can eat proper rice again.
Kitamura made a face like "is that so?" and headed to the cafeteria. I bit into my onigiri alone, listening to the classroom chatter.
Ahh, the taste of nori and salt—so good. Really tasty. The filling is umeboshi I pickled with Grandma. Mouth-puckeringly sour, but that's the charm.
I wonder if everyone at home is okay. I did prep the food so all they have to do is heat it in the microwave.
I polished off the first rice ball and reached for the second when…
A prickling sensation. Like the danger-sense skill I gained as a Hero was reacting, if only slightly.
"Was that an earthquake?"
"Yeah, they've been happening a lot lately."
Some girls in class noticed it too, but kept eating without much concern. It was just at the threshold of feeling it. The emergency alert didn't go off, either.
Yesterday I confirmed I can still use the skills and magic I had as a Hero. The Demon Lord advised me not to use them, though. Roughly speaking, my physical ability is about a tenth of what it was when I fought her—which is still way above my original self.
Does danger-sense react to earthquakes too? I never experienced natural quakes over there. I'll ask Filia or the Demon Lord when I get home.
Out the window, I saw a large flock of crows flying off somewhere.
Side:Kasumigaseki
A heavy mood hung over the conference room.
It was a meeting between members of the Cabinet Office's ultra-secret "Office for Paranormal Phenomena Countermeasures," established a few years ago, and elite picks from various ministries and agencies.
"Still no idea what's causing them? This is becoming a problem."
One man tossed a stack of papers onto the table. The cover read, "15th Interim Report on Medium-Term Analysis of Supernatural Spaces," followed by "Provisional Name: Dungeons."
"So—science has failed?"
"Hard to say. There's room to think we might be able to analyze them in the future."
"Isn't that just scholars angling for budget?"
"There aren't many academics cleared to handle classified material. It can't be helped."
Some wore expressions that said they were fed up. Not everyone became a civil servant out of a desire to serve the country and society. Plenty did it for themselves—for a stable life.
Some resented being hand-picked for this inexplicable task force. If it yielded results, great—but with the secrecy, who knew if it would even help their careers.
"The one bit of good news is that they're harmless as long as you don't go inside. We've confirmed eight across the country so far. We should keep them under wraps."
"And the budget for the weapons and ammunition burned up by dungeon surveys? We can't keep siphoning funds off the books forever. And what about the unidentified enhancement of physical abilities? Are we talking, colloquially, about people 'leveling up'? Any aftereffects? Long-term impacts? If we can't guarantee the future and safety of SDF personnel, the Self-Defense Forces will pull out!"
"I don't know! At this point, we'll have to leave it to the Prime Minister!!"
There was simply too much that defied reality.
One thing they could say: for now, there didn't seem to be major damage—nothing that rose to an existential threat to the nation. For now.
That half-baked situation made decisive action difficult and left them stuck with surveys and ad-hoc measures.
"Cut the pointless bickering. We're not politicians. More importantly, I hear some countries are considering going public?"
"They just want to make noise so they can squeeze countermeasure funds out of Europe, America, and Japan. I'd like to believe no country currently wants to create a global uproar that would shake the very foundations of the world."
"From an economic perspective, the majority opinion is that we should go public at some point. There are mountains of unknown substances under analysis. It doesn't take a genius to see the gains from releasing that information."
"Hold up—there's no guarantee the things inside won't come out, right? And who's going to manage them and protect the public? Think that through first. With missiles and the defense of the Nansei Islands, the SDF is short on budget and personnel as it is. We're not a handyman service."
"Dungeons are still increasing worldwide. Sooner or later, the world will find out."
Each ministry's representative laid out their view, but in modern society there are limits to what you can accomplish while keeping information secret.
Especially in Japan, which is mocked as a developing country when it comes to counter-intelligence against spies, both domestic and foreign.
"Since ancient times, they say the world has had specters, demons, and non-human beings. I used to dismiss that as unscientific fantasy, but maybe we should start there?"
"We haven't informed the Imperial Household. If this leaks to religious circles, secrecy will be impossible. How would you even investigate—hire historians? If there were anything to it, you'd expect a bigger fuss already."
Situation still unpredictable. In the end, that was all they could agree on.
Of course, they were doing what needed doing—running simulations assuming disclosure, considering legal frameworks, and so on. But for now, the only thing decided was the date of the next meeting.