D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared Volume 6 (eBook)

Kono tsuranori (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-5150-9 (ISBN)

Infos

America and Japan prepare twin responses to a crisis in Yokohama Dungeon, with D-Powers and Team Simon caught in the middle. Plus, Keigo and Miyoshi prepare to go public with one of their greatest secrets. And a chance encounter answers all of their questions about the origin of the dungeons, and then some?! The clock is ticking. Get ready, get set, go research!

Textauszug

Chapter 7: Yokohama Peril

January 18, 2019 (Friday)

National Security Adviser Uchitani’s Residence, 1:30 a.m.

“Ibe...do you have any idea what time it is?” Uchitani asked groggily.

He had picked up the phone in bed, and now cast his eyes over to his bedside clock. The day had just barely changed over.

“I’m sorry,” Ibe answered. “This is a matter of the utmost urgency.”

The utmost urgency? So urgent it couldn’t have waited until morning? Uchitani blinked.

“Not just for the cabinet,” the prime minister continued, perhaps sensing his conversation partner’s hesitancy. “Perhaps for all of Japan.”

Ibe wasn’t normally one prone to exaggeration. Uchitani flipped a mental switch, and was suddenly in work mode.

“This doesn’t seem like the kind of conversation we’ll be able to have over the phone, does it?” came Uchitani’s wry answer.

“Sorry,” Ibe responded.

“Your office?” Uchitani asked.

“No. I’m gathering everyone at Tomigaya. There shouldn’t be any reporters snooping around there at this hour, but just in case, try to keep a low profile. If word gets out that I’ve called the National Security Adviser to my private residence in the middle of the night... Well, you can imagine.”

Uchitani could. In times of crisis, one could accidentally exacerbate public alarm by being too open early on. And this was, from the prime minister’s words, certainly such a time.

“I’ll be over shortly,” he responded. “Although I’m not sure how low a profile I can keep.”

There was only one entrance, and security was going to be tight.

“I’ll tell security to let everyone through like they would any other guest. No fuss. You’ll be fine.”

Uchitani steeled himself for what lay ahead. He had forgotten that the prime minister could sometimes think a bit like a child.

Tomigaya, Shibuya City

“Telling us to come here in the middle of the night, in cars the media wouldn’t recognize... What the hell’s going on?”

Director of Cabinet Intelligence Murakita wasted no time trying to get abreast of the situation upon opening the door to the prime minister’s private address.

“Et tu, Murakita?” Uchitani asked.

Surprised at being called out to by Uchitani, who had apparently arrived just before him, Murakita’s voice wavered in his response. “U-Uchitani? They called you out here too? Good god, this really must be some kind of national crisis.”

“Personally, I’m still hoping it’s a prank.” Uchitani flashed a strained smile.

Some sort of difficult issue faced them—that much was clear—but it continued to elude Murakita why only he and the National Security Adviser had been summoned. Murakita checked his watch. “Nearly 2:30,” he mumbled.

“Think we’re going to see a ghost?”

It was almost the witching hour.

“At a meeting of career politicians? It’s a given we’ll see some people halfway there.”

“Aha, you’re not wrong,” Uchitani chuckled.

The two were still sharing a laugh when Ibe arrived a moment later carrying a tray of tea. So, there’s at least time for a drink, Uchitani thought. That alone filled him with some relief.

“Sorry, this is all I’ve got on hand.” Ibe passed his guests their cups.

“No, this is quite perfect,” Uchitani responded. “But what on earth is it, at this hour?”

Ibe stared at the floor for a moment, then looked up. “I’ll get right to it. What are my options for ordering an evacuation of the area surrounding Sakuragicho Station?”

“E-Excuse me?” Murakita stammered. No public notice, no official recommendation, straight to an evacuation order? “Why?”

“I have a reason,” Ibe answered. “But I can’t say what it is.”

Ordering an evacuation without providing a reason? It would be a field day for the press, and for the opposition party—it could even call into question Ibe’s mental capacity to serve.

“Well,” Uchitani began cautiously, “in the case of an evacuation order for a natural disaster, you could use Clause 1, Article 60 of the Basic Act on Disaster Management to have the mayor of Yokohama order an evacuation. Or have her designate a danger zone under Clause 1, Article 63...”

Designation of a danger zone would allow for the mayor to issue an evacuation order accompanied by monetary fines for failing to heed the order. Other approaches would only allow for softer “recommendations.”

“Mori?” Ibe asked.

Fumiko Mori had first been elected Yokohama’s mayor in 2009, and had maintained power across three consecutive elections. At first her ties to major parties had been complicated by various stances she had taken, but recently the Democratic Liberal Party had given her its endorsement, which would make it easier for Ibe to call in a favor.

“I’ve heard she was reluctant to give up the bid for the casino resort development.(4) Maybe I can dangle some backing as a carrot...”

“Mr. Prime Minister, that’s...” Uchitani began. There had been no earthquake, no approaching tsunami, no typhoon. No heavy rain or flooding rivers. There could be no invoking a law on disaster management without a disaster occurring. “That is to say, we can’t offer an appropriate means of calling an evacuation if we don’t have any information,” he corrected himself. “For example, there are other laws that can be used for appointing a danger zone. There’s Article 21 of the Flood Control Act, Article 28 of the Fire Service Act, and Article 114 of the Civil Protections Act. But each one has its own stipulations for use.”

“Civil Protections Act?”

The Civil Protections Act—full name “Act Concerning the Measures for Protection of the People in Armed Attack Situations”—pertained to civil defense in armed conflicts. If a nuclear weapon were brought into Yokohama, that could certainly be argued to fall under an “armed attack situation.”

However, Ibe couldn’t use that as his reason for calling for an evacuation. Right now, he didn’t even know if the bomb would actually be employed.

“You see, the thing is,” he started, “some hours ago I received a call from President Handler.”

***

“Shinzo, I’m talking about probability here,” Handler’s voice oozed over the phone.

It was the middle of the night, yet the president of the United States had called Ibe directly. What was more, the contents of the call left him at a loss for words.

Back when he’d worked for Kobe Steel, Ibe had spent some time at the New York branch office, picking up a reasonable level of English. However, he wasn’t sure he had the confidence to summon the vocabulary he now needed.

“I—b—”

What President Handler had informed him of was a potential countermeasure to a certain problem in Yokohama. At the same time, he’d been sent data containing details on the situation, various predictive models, and multiple potential response plans.

Both the JDA and the Japanese government’s Dungeon Agency had received Falcon Industries’ report at 4 p.m. on January 17, and municipal offices had closed at five. It was now 1 a.m. on the eighteenth. The information hadn’t yet reached the cabinet or the prime minister’s office.

As the JDA was already actively working on contacting the necessary parties, the Dungeon Agency had somewhat underestimated the speed with which the situation was changing. Additionally, they had been hoping to entrust most of the response to the JDA anyway. The JDA, of course, had no direct line to the Cabinet Office.

In comparison, bureaucratic processes in the States appeared to have moved with great speed, identifying the situation as an urgent threat and advancing plans straight to the president’s desk for approval.

It was the last of those potential options that had given Ibe pause.

“B-But nuclear weapons... Surely...”

“Shinzo, I don’t like it any more than you. And I know how Japan feels about nuclear weapons, but look,” Handler crooned, “this is like a contagious disease. If we don’t nip this thing in the bud, it’s going to spread to other countries.”

If a contagious illness wasn’t contained, it had the potential to cause a problem for the entire human race. If it were a deadly virus, America wouldn’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons to scorch the infected location. Not if the alternative was humanity’s extinction.

But the problem this time seemed far less severe in comparison. It was just one monster in a dungeon, dividing once every six hours. That was all.

Even after twenty-four hours, there would still only be sixteen individuals. Containing the situation would be a simple matter of defeating them. That was a job for the JDA and Ministry of Defense. If they’d identified the situation as being a potential danger, they would likely already be on the move.

And if they failed?

Ibe hadn’t had time to think that far yet, with the official report yet to reach him. He’d only heard what the US president had presented. He still couldn’t even...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.6.2024
• Reihe/Serie: D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared
• Illustrationen: Kono tsuranori
• Übersetzer: Kono tsuranori
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: adult protagonists • Dungeons • Light Novel • Military • Science Fiction • Slice of Life
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-5150-X / 171835150X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-5150-9 / 9781718351509