CH 104

Government policy

***---***

After finishing the meeting with the teachers at the garrison quarters in Volzard, I moved to Japan to show up at the Investigation Headquarters.

When I stopped by the site of the school building, prayed for the deceased, and looked inside, it seemed that the number of media outlets had increased compared to last time.

The media are also pushing in front of the police station.

Does the fact that the media is increasing mean that the information has not been released?

I thought Sudou-san was waiting for information from me, so I hurriedly moved to the Investigation Headquarters, but contrary to my expectations, he didn't seem to be in a hurry.

On the contrary, the number of desks and chairs had decreased, and it seemed that the people remaining in the Investigation Headquarters were watching the live video in front of the TV.

"Oh ... hello ..."

"Oh, Kokubu-kun ..."

When I called out to him, Sudou-san took a position in front of the TV and beckoned me.

"What are you looking at?"

"It's an interview with Chief Cabinet Secretary Shida."

When I looked at the screen, the scenery of the familiar press conference was projected.

[ ... We will continue to hurry to identify the location and do our best so that everyone can return. That's all from me. ]

[ As a result of analyzing the letters that are said to have arrived from the students, the analysis results show that the paper and ink used do not exist on Earth, do you think the place where the students are at is another world? ]

[ We have not confirmed the analysis, so we will refrain from commenting. ]

[ In the students' letters, there is a description that magic can be used ... ]

[ We have not confirmed such facts. ]

The reports were bombarding with questions one after another, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Shida answers in a way that avoids getting to the heart of the matter.

While watching the broadcast, Sudou-san lets out a few words.

"It's a farce ..."

"Eh, is this a farce?"

"Yes. After all, both sides know that the missing people are in another world."

"Eh, what's going on?"

"Even if we know that the missing people are in another world, the government can't officially admit it. If they admit it, they will also admit that there is a way to exchange goods with other worlds, and they will be required to disclose information about it."

"Is that about me?"

Sudou-san nodded and explained.

"Kokubu-kun is cooperating in this way, but you are also a victim of the incident, so you should be protected. We have no intention of allowing the media to make you into their toy. At the very least, it seems that the Japanese government has no plans to officially recognize another world until there is a prospect for the other people to return."

In response to Sudou-san's words, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others nodded in agreement.

"The mass media knows it vaguely, so they're doing it after knowing that they won't admit it to each other."

"I see, when you say it that way, it's certainly a farce."

"But there are some reporters who can't read that kind of atmosphere ..."

It was a relatively young female reporter who raised her hand and started asking questions.

"There is information that Funayama-kun, the only one whose safety has not been confirmed, is already dead. What do you think?"(TN: Not sure why this stuff isn't double-quoted cause it's from the TV ...)

"As I've told you before, please ask questions based on accurate information ... Our staff has not yet been able to confirm the whereabouts and safety of the two hundred and seven people."

"I'm sorry, one of the people whose safety could not be confirmed, Funayama-kun died ..."

"Have you confirmed that? Has anyone checked the body and has he been diagnosed by a doctor as dead? I will not comment on information that has not been confirmed. If there are no more questions, I will end with this."(TN: End of TV broadcast, again ... not sure why it's not double-quoted.)

When Chief Cabinet Secretary Shida left and the press conference ended, I was overcome with a feeling of dread.

"Um ... Sudou-san."

"What's wrong, Kokubu-kun, you're pale."

"Umm ... what about Funayama's family ...?"

"We have only informed Funayama's family that his safety has not been confirmed."

"Then, saying he's dead?"

"There are statements in the testimonies of the classmates and in the reports compiled by the teachers, but it is not possible to announce that the body has died without confirming the body, and even if the death is recognized in the future, it will take a certain period of time. You'll need ... Kokubu-kun, are you okay, you're sweating a lot."

When I remembered the time when Funayama lost his life, I was seized with a feeling of guilt.

Surrounded by the people I met in Volzard, and being in a situation where there are three cute bride candidates, I thought it was a good thing that I was summoned.

At the dinner party, I didn't remember Funayama at all.

"At that time ... I was able to move via the shadows and use healing magic. If I cast healing magic in the middle of the night, Funayama wouldn't have had to die. It's like I killed Funayama ..."

"Stop it. Did you put your hand on Funayama-kun? I don't think so. Did you take the food away from Funayama-kun? I don't think so."

"However, even after Funayama died, he was not even buried ..."

"That story was also written in the report, but did you see it, Kokubu-kun?"

"No, I didn't see it directly, but there was a pool of blood in the Devil's Forest ... something like pieces of meat ... Goblins don't even leave bones behind ..."

I felt self-loathing and at the same time rekindled my anger towards Camilla, but it also feels like I'm going out of my way, and my head is a mess and my thoughts are in a disarray.

"Kokubu-kun ... Kokubu-kun!"

"Oh ... Yes, what is it?"

"Come over here, and have a seat."

"Yes ..."

Sudou-san invited me with his arm, and I sat across the table.

"Kokubu-kun, what did you think when you heard that Funayama-kun passed away?"

"I knew that Funayama was weak and a mere shadow of his former self, but I never thought he would die ..."

"Was Kokubu-kun always accompanying Funayama-kun?"

"Umm, I went to Lastock for reconnaissance and saw the training twice, but since I was also scouting the situation other than Funayama, it wasn't a long time."

"It would be fine if you lived together, but in that case it would be difficult to foresee Funayama-kun's death."

"Yes, maybe, but ..."

"Whatever I say may sound like comfort, but you're not the one who should feel responsible."

"Then, what should I do ..."

"Kokubu-kun, have you noticed that the number of desks is decreasing?"

"Huh? Ah, yes ... when I came in."

When the topic suddenly changed and I raised my lowered head, Sudou-san was looking at the empty area where the desks were gone.

"The Investigative Headquarters has been scaled down. While we're doing this, new cases are occurring in Tokyo, but the number of police officers to investigate is limited."

"Are you saying they're transferring to a different Investigation Headquarters?"

"That's what it is, but do you know what it means?"

"Eh, what does it mean? Uh ... to improve the efficiency of the investigation?"

"Of course, that's what it means, but this summoning case hasn't been resolved yet ... It was decided that we would be useless even if the Investigation Headquarters were to be reduced."

"Eehhh! That kind of thing is ..."

"That's right. Even if there are fifty or one hundred investigators, none of them can go to another world. The reality is that we can't investigate anything by ourselves."

When I glanced at them, everyone from other ministries and agencies nodded as well.

If this was a case of someone being detained in a disputed area around the Middle East, then there would probably be a turn to go to the site and negotiate, but if the location is a different world, not only the police, but also the person in charge of the ministries or agencies, there is nothing they can do about it.

"Originally, it is our job to find and rescue you. As I said earlier, you are the victim of an incident. You saved and protected your classmates and teachers. Kokubu-kun, you can be proud of your actions. The ones who should be blamed are the people who performed the summoning, the people who treated Funayama-kun unfairly, and we, who are helpless and have done nothing."

I feel that Sudou-san's words, who looked straight at me and spoke, were filled with frustration.

"We have reduced the number of personnel in the Investigation Headquarters, but if 206 people do not return to Japan, the case will not be resolved. If you feel responsible for Funayama-kun's death, please help the others to return."

"Yes, of course, I will do my best to make that happen."

No matter how much I regret it, Funayama will not come back.

At the very least, I rescued everyone from Lastock as an atonement, but if they weren't sent back to Japan, it wouldn't be a true rescue.

I talked to Sudou-san about the application of shadow movement I'm thinking about at the moment and the reverse summoning from Japan, and asked for help deciphering the ancient characters,

"In other words, you can't disclose the information about the summoning technique, but you would like us to cooperate with you in deciphering the ancient characters in other texts ... is that right?"

"Yes, I think it's selfish, but I want to prevent people like us from appearing in the future and prevent information about the summoning technique from spreading as much as possible."

"I see ... I understand the reason well, but that might not decipher the essential text."

Certainly, if we can't decipher the essential text, there's no possibility of returning by reverse summoning.

"As for that summoning technique, judging from the video of the school building the other day, is it a circular scheme?"

"Yes, the magic circle looks like that."

"Ancient characters aren't all written in a circle, are they?"

"Um ... I've only seen the actual ancient letters in the summoning technique, but I think they're probably used as normal strings."

"In that case, how about extracting them as normal character strings from the formula, mixing it with other materials, and requesting it to be deciphered?"

"I see, well, I think it won't activate unless it's in the form of the formula ... I'll go back and discuss it for a while."

After finishing the meeting with Sudou-san, I was about to return to Volzard when I was approached by Kajikawa-san from the Cabinet Secretariat.

Kajikawa-san wears a three-piece suit with a tight fit and looks like an elite from a long time ago, but he is a person who somehow gives me a loose feeling like Klaus-san.

"Kokubu-kun, can I have a moment?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"It's about compensation, but I had a meeting with the others and roughly calculated the amount. Compensation for the bereaved family of the deceased, medical expenses for the injured, alimony, and the cost of removing the collapsed school building. Also, reconstruction costs, etc, etc, we estimate that the total amount will be about 5 billion yen."

"Five billion yen ... I can't imagine that amount at all."

"Well, that's right. If you convert it to pure gold, it's roughly 1 ton."

"Hmm ... 1 ton of pure gold isn't something you can imagine, is it?"

"Well, if you live normally, it's an amount you'll never see in your life."

It seems that the people who were present at the Investigation Headquarters had the same impression as me.

"So, regarding this reparation, Kokubu-kun said that he would collect what he brought out of his own accord and have Princess Camilla confirm it ... but hvae you started taking it out?"

"No, I haven't started yet, and it's a bit unknown if I can bring it out."

"If you say unknown, is it that Resenburg doesn't have money?"

"Yes, I haven't confirmed it yet, but it seems that titles have been sold to quite a few people."

"Ahh ... that sounds like they're completely financially stuck."

"Yes, so I don't think they have enough fortune to obtain a ton of pure gold."

"Hmm ... I'm glad you haven't started yet, but I'm worried about the lack of financial resources."

Kajikawa-san placed his right hand on his chin and began to think.

"Um, is it no good to just take out treasures?"

"Yeah, frankly, I would be fine with that, but since it's an incident like this, it's not good to have things dug up later and find something to blame."

"In other words, it's not good to take it out without permission and have it confirmed ..."

"That kind of thing, like the reporter who can't read the atmosphere just now, it's possible that they will poke their nose where they shouldn't and start nitpicking."

I think what Kajikawa-san said is reasonable, but then Camilla will only pay the amount voluntarily, and how many years will it take to pay 5 billion yen ... As for me, I'd like to settle this quckly and enjoy my life in Volzard.

"Kokubu-kun, do you have anything that looks like it's from a different world?"

"Something that looks like it's from a different world ... I have it. Magic stones ... Minotaur's horns ..."

"Minotaur horns?"

"Yes, last night, a herd of nearly 200 of them attacked Lastock and I subdued them."

"A Minotaur, that bull-headed axe-wielding guy?"

"Um ... I guess it's more like a cow-like monster that can walk on two legs."

"Can you bring that horn next time?"

"I can bring it out right now, but ..."

"Really? Can you show me a little."

"Okay. Please wait a minute."

When I took one out of the shadow storage and put it on the desk, everyone who was there let out a cry of surprise.

"Eh ... is it this big?"

"If the horns are this size, how big is their body?"

"You said there were close to 200 of them. Was everything okay?"

I also took out one Minotaur magic stone and placed it on the desk.

As for the size, it feels one size larger than a softball."

"This is the Minotaur's magic stone."

"Magic stone, is it something like a mass of magical power?"

"I guess so. I don't know the details either, but it's said that it's near the heart of a monster and that it's filled with mana."

"How do you use these magic stones?"

"In general, they're like fuel for operating magic tools, like a battery, or something like that ..."

"Magic tools ... do you have any?"

"No, I don't have any magic tools."

"I see ... you don't have any ..."

Kajikawa-san made a blatantly disappointed face.

There seems to be a high demand for magic tools.

"Umm, Kajikawa-san, isn't it okay to use magic tools and magic stones in place of reparations?"

"What kind of magic tools are there?"

"There are many things, but most of them are used as daily necessities. They can be used to create lights, produce water, make fire, blow wind, cool things ..."

"Do they all use magic stones as a power source?"

"No, there are also things that humans pour magic power into."

"Huh ... Humans can also pour magic into them. That's interesting."

Kajikawa-san seemed to be quite interested in magic tools.

"Hmm ... if those magic tools were to be used in Japan, it would be like magic that twisted the laws of physics, and researchers would race to get them, so it would be worth it."

"Well, it seems like it can be a substitute for compensation."

"No, unfortunately, it will be difficult."

"Eh, is it no good?"

"Certainly, magic tools would have great value in Japan, no, on Earth. But, it's a daily necessity in the other world, right?"

"Oh, I see ... is it like selling daily necessities for billions of yen?"

"That's right. The value here is also important, but if the value over there is too low, the meaning of compensation will fade. However, depending on the situation, magic stones may be an alternative."

If Resenburg doesn't have enough assets to pay the reparations, I thought about using magic tools instead, but it doesn't seem to be any good.

There seems to be a demand for magic stones as research materials, but I'm worried that bringing them in large quantities might have some kind of negative effect.

"Then, there's no point in bringing magic tools with me ..."

"No, no, Kokubu-kun, come on! Can you please go and buy some."

"Well, I guess I can ... I'll buy a set of each magic tool."

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. Is there anything you want instead?"

"Um, what about compensation for the bereaved families of the deceased and the injured?"

"Ah ... well, unfortunately that's in an untouched state."

When it came to talking about the people who were affected by the collapse of the school building, Kajikawa-san turned sour.

"Because it wasn't a natural disaster, no disaster condolence money was paid by the local government, and since the cause of the accident has not been determined, life insurance and accident insurance claims have been delayed."

"I'm going to buy some magic tools, so can't you ask them to go ahead with that?"

"Hmm ... Well, the cause of the accident can't be made public, but we were able to identify it, and although it's impossible to get the money paid immediately, I'll try to take measures behind the scenes."

"Thank you very much."

"So, Kokubu-kun, don't you have anything you want? For example, games or manga."

"Honestly, if you ask me if I want something like that, I would like it, but I don't have time to slowly enjoy it right now ..."

"I see ... I'm sorry about that. We're in a situation where we have no choice but to rely on Kokubu-kun, so I'm going to try to make it as convenient as possible, so if you need anything, please don't hesitate to tell me."

"Understood. Then, I'll go back and proceed with purchasing magic tools."

"Ah, wait a minute, I have received some letters from the families, also I have prpared the solar charger and tablet you asked for, so can you bring them with you?"

"Yes, thank you very much."

The solar-powered charger was a full-fledged one that is supposed to be used in the event of a large-scale disaster, and there are 6 panels about the size of half a tatami mat, and 2 sets were prepared with a control panel attached to them.

There are five tablets for playback, and if there aren't enough, they can add more, so I'll use one.

Also, about 30 high-capacity mobile batteries were prepared.

"They can charge smartphones and other devices directly, but I wonder if they can charge the mobile batteries at the same time and store the generated power without wasting it."

"I see, I understand. Then ..."

"Oh, wait, wait, I still have something I want you to carry, this cardboard box."

What Kajikawa-san pointed to was a cardboard box with the publisher's name on it.

"Eh ... this, is it?"

"Fufu ... That's right, you are still at the age where you can receive compulsory education, and we have a duty to prepare that environment."

"Ugh ... but I have to move around a lot ..."

"Ah, Kokubu-kun, please get a document from your teachers stating that you received the textbooks."

"Kuh ... I understand. Mart, Mirt, Murt, help me carry it."

"Understood, Goshujin-sama."

Since there are quite a few cardboard boxes, I decided to ask Mart and the others to help me carry them.

The people at the Investigation Headquarters were surprised with wide eyes at Mart and the others who suddenly appeared from the shield of darkness.

"Kokubu-kun, that ... what are they?"

"These are my undead kobolds."

"D, didn't they speak Japanese just now?"

"Yes, I have strengthened them so that they can understand Japanese."

"Goshujin-sama taught me."

"I can talk too."

"Goshujin-sama, please pat me after I carry it."

Contrary to their cute looks, they are powerful and carry the heavy cardboard boxes full of textbooks without difficulty.

Kajikawa-san watches the situation intently.

"Kokubu-kun, that undead kobold ... can you give me one of them?"

"I'm sorry. I refuse. Mart and the others are my family, so they can't be transferred like an object."

"Somehow or another..."

"Impossible. These guys can hide in the shadows, so even if I leave them behind, they will come back."

"I see ... so it can't be helped ..."

While saying that, Kajikawa-san has an expression that he won't give up.

"Goshujin-sama, it's over."

"Thank you for your help."

"Goshujin-sama, something is wrong with the air here."

Mart and Murt also nodded at Mirt's words.

"What kind of difference is there with the air?"

"Hmm ... I don't really want to stay ..."

"Murt wants to go home too ..."

I don't know why, but all three of them have unpleasant expressions on.

"Okay, thank you, you can go back to the shadows."

"Goshujin-sama, pat me properly."

"Yes, yes, I'll pat you in turn, so please wait."

Normally, they would come up to me, but Mart and the others quickly dived into the shadows.

"Do you not feel anything, Kokubu-kun?"

"That's right. I don't feel anything wrong with it, but I feel like it's a little difficult to use magic."

"Is it difficult to use magic?"

"Yes, opening the doorway from the shadows is the same as usual, but when I bring out the shield of darkness from here, I feel like I'm using more magic than usual."

"Does that mean that the air here doesn't contain magic power?"

"Well ... I can't say for sure, because I can't feel the amount of magical power in the air, but it's possible."

If that's the case, I might not be able to return to Volzard if I use magic enough to cause my magic power to turn out in Japan.

If I can't go back, I won't be able to get all of my classmates back here.

It seems that I have to be careful with this.