Chapter 99 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (7)

“Hina! Why are you here!”

Kusaka raised his voice while propping the door open with one hand.

“O-nii-chan?”

The biggest girl among the children looked at Kusaka with tears in her eyes.

“Oh! Onii-chan! Onii-chan!”

She stood up and clung to Kusaka.

“You were okay… thank god.”

Kusaka embraced the child tightly.

“Kusaka’s sister?”

“Didn’t you say she was at school?”

Gasaraio and I were standing next to them and looking at Kusaka.

“Let’s talk about that later. It looks like there are some small children. Hello everyone, I’m a police officer, everything is okay now.”

Police Officer Doggy passed by Kusaka and his sister and bent over to enter the dome slide.

“Furball, I’ll scare them, so calm the kids down.”

“Not to brag, but kids don’t like me either. Let’s just leave it to the her.”

We’re no help.

Gasaraio and I clearly look like bad people.

As Gasaraio says, I am aware that I have a very villainous face, and Gasaraio is a lion.

If two such people go inside, we’ll frighten the crying children even further.

“… A police officer?”

“Mama… I’m scared.”

“Everyone is going to be okay. The police officers came.”

The children each had their own reactions and stopped crying a little.

“Yes, it’s not scared anymore. You guys did well. See those guys over there? They look really strong, right?”

Officer Doggy smiled gently and hugged the cowering children in front of her.

“Uuueeeeeeeeh.”

“Scary… scary…”

“Hina nee-chan, it’s dangerous outside, so let’s hide here… uuuu”

The children started crying all at once.

“Oi, furball! I’m wondering! They’re crying!”

“Don’t say that to me! Um, look, Gaaaa!”

What was he thinking? Gasaraio suddenly let out an intimidating roar and made the children cry even louder.

“You idiot!”

“But, but…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Officer Doggy spread out her arms.

A total of six small children clung to Officer Doggy.

2 boys and 4 girls?

“Hina, why are you here? You said you were going to go to the library.”

The Kusaka siblings who were still hugging separated from each other, and the brother wiped her sister’s tears.

“U-un, I was looking for a book to read next time at the child welfare facility and I was going to bring it after I found it. At that time, these children were playing in the park and suddenly a lot of trees attacked. So I came here without thinking.”

What a remarkable child.

Was she protecting the younger children?

“Then the doors wouldn’t open and I tried to calm down these kids so they won’t cry. Uuueeeeeh!”

“Yeah! Good job Hina, you’re amazing. Everything’s okay now!”

I wonder if Hina is now afraid, and once again she buried her face into her brother’s chest.

“Ah, so they were able to run away, but couldn’t get out after the growing trees entangled this slide? How unlucky.”

“Idiot. Read the atmosphere, furball.”

You should praise their hard work first.

“Guoooooooooo!!”

“Hiii!”

Hina let out a short scream because of the sudden strange sound and her shoulders stiffened.

It’s Ruten!

It seems that that guy can’t read the atmosphere either!

“Let’s go inside for now! We’ll think of a plan later!”

Gasaraio and Kusaka nodded at my voice, and dived through the entrance in order.

“I’m sorry everyone, it’s a bit cramped.”

There were now seven children and four adults, so it became cramped.

Kusaka still had a stature of an elementary school student, but Gasaraio was too big.

“Hey furball! Don’t you have some sort of shrinking magic tool? You’re way too big!”

“Stop saying stupid stuff! Of course, there’s no such thing!”

With a stampede of footsteps, we managed to squeeze everyone inside.

Two boys and one girl was on Gasaraio’s lap. Kusaka was holding his sister, Officer Doggy was hugging two girls and there was one little girl on my lap.

We were arranged so that the adults were against the outside wall and the children were on the inside so they could move easier. But it doesn’t change the fact that it was cramped.

At any rate, it was eleven people. Normal playground equipment aren’t made to be that spacious.

When I closed the door, the inside became pitch black.

Did these children endure by huddling with each other in such a dark place?

Really great.

I inadvertently stroked the head of the girl sitting on my lap.

The girl raised her neck and seemed to be looking at me strangely.

I took out the smartphone from my chest pocket, a little light returns inside due to the screen.

Because moving the arm in such a narrow space was an obstacle, I switched to speakers.

“Mikuma, are you there?”

I called out to the smartphone that has been connected since earlier.

“Yup, I’m here. I was listening to the situation. Everyone is amazing, this person is very strong so please don’t worry.”

A woman who can remember her lip service. That is Mikuma Yunno. Smiles have returned to the faces of the children.

Unfortunately, I’m not really strong.

“How about it? Did you learn anything?”

“Not much about Ruten. As Gasaraio-san said, it’s standard practice to ignore the boss of Tusk Crag, so even the professional people on the Underground Hunter bulletin board don’t talk about it much. I mean, maybe there aren’t any hunters who’ve fought it other than the initial ones.”

I wonder if that bird has been ignored for a while and that’s why it’s holding a grudge.

“Furball, do you not know?”

“To speak frankly, even without any weaknesses, my big brother and sister can beat it at their level. It can’t do anything if you pay attention to its lunge and wind breath. So I didn’t worry about its weaknesses. That was the first time we went there, but when I looked it up, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a big deal, so I stopped doing it halfway.”

What kind of monsters are your siblings?

“Ah, just to tell you, I’m not as strong as my siblings, so it’s impossible, ya know?”

“I know, idiot.”

“So Mikuma, did you collect any information other than Ruten?”

“Yup, somehow when I checked my conjecture with the information on the bulletin board. It’s not conclusive evidence, but I’ve come to understand why Tusk Crag became like this.”

As expected of the brain of the Kazamachi family.

She’s so excellent that it’s dazzling.

Ah, was the smartphone screen this dazzling?

“What does that mean? Is there a reason?”

Gasaraio looked at the smartphone.

The kids were quiet, probably because they could tell that we were talking about something important. What clever kids, looks like they have a promising future.

“Yes, first of all, there’s something I would like to ask Officer Doggy”

“What is it?”

“How many hunters are participating? There is information on the internet that the hunters are helping. Do you know how many?”

The treasure hunters other than Gasaraio and his siblings?

I didn’t see anything along the way. I feel relieved because it seems they’re working.

“Um, there was a little less than 100 people in the large-scale survey. There’s the three members from the “Paradise Siblings” who came to this town for another matter, and eighteen members from the association’s personal research team.”

“Are you checking the magic tools, weapons, research materials, and transportation vehicles used in the investigation?”

“Pretty much. There are materials where only drivers with special qualifications can transport. Personal belongings and daily necessities are also quickly checked. What about it?”

“There was a tweet from an ordinary private transportation company, that person was complaining about being caught up on helping the Hunter Association with their transport, which was strange.”

“What’s strange about that? Isn’t that just transporting materials?”

“No, that’s the first I’ve heard of it. It’s strange.”

Gasaraio was the one who answered my question.

“Yeah, when the Treasure Hunters Association transports goods, the company is decided. The goods are dangerous to some extent, and the ones collected from the dungeon are special. For a large-scale project like this one, that’s even accepted checks by the police and government, the transportation company would have to report the vehicle model and plate number. It’s against the rules to hire individual private transportation companies. The bulletin board is suspicious of it, and come to the conclusion that it’s a trick. In the first place, the large-scale survey itself is conducted in secret, so people don’t trust it.”

“… If that’s true, that means they’re secretly transporting materials into this town that they want to keep secret from the police.”

Officer Doggy placed her hand on her chin and began to think.

“And one more thing, Gasaraio-san, this was from another bulletin board.”

“What is it.”

Gasaraio answered with a serious look.

“Are hunters notified when recent dungeon activities have stopped?”

“Ah, of course. We wouldn’t want to go for no reason. Also if we do excessive things it will hinder the magic stone’s revival, and it is possible to bring out the magic stone. There are penalties if you do not report it.”

“Then, did you know that a small dungeon in Aichi Prefecture suddenly stopped its activity the day before yesterday?”

“Hah?”

Gasaraio had a blank expression.

“At the Mikawa Stage dungeon, when the hunter was exploring the destruction of the monster they were fighting against, the dungeon stopped producing monsters.”

“No, no, that’s impossible. When we went four months ago, the magic stone should have had enough magical power to last for another ten years. And that information didn’t come, it usually arrives the next day.”

Gasaraio shook his head to deny it and his mane moved dynamically along with it.

The boys sitting on his laps were reaching out at it with interest.

“When the hunter in the Mikawa Dungeon went to the innermost place and confirmed it, the magic stone was gone. Although I reported it, there was a reply that there was no notification of progress report from the association. After that, there was a lot of denial on the whole bulletin board, which ended up being a hoax.”

“Unauthorized collection of magic stones is a criminal offense! Isn’t that serious!”

Hey, I know you couldn’t help but bark at Mikuma. But the children are startled, so stop it.

“Gasaraio-san, what would happen if that missing magic stone was brought into Tusk Crag?”

“Well, if it was the same type of magic stone, then it’ll resonate…”

“No way.”

Gasaraio stiffened.

Officer Doggy touched her mouth in surprise.

I, Kusaka, and the children were looking on blankly.

It became a little difficult to keep up with.

“Fusion, growth…”

“Oi, oi, that”

I finally caught up, so in short…

“Yup, that person from the private transportation company, was probably transporting a magic stone. I think they brought a magic stone to open the ‘Inside Dungeon’.”

“Then isn’t this uproar all because of the Treasure Hunters Association?”

That’s right!

My intuition was on the mark! More importantly, what is the inside dungeon?

“What… transferring magic stone without the permission of the state, that would be a felony, right?”

Officer Doggy held her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“…The Mikawa stage is the same as Tusk Crag, and it is made of a magic stone with the earth attribute. I see, the goal was the “inner dungeon”, it seems that’s what Chairman Bemon was thinking.”

Gasaraio scratched his mane.

It seems that it’s something that these guys weren’t told.

“Kunpei-kun, can you turn the speakers off?”

“A-aah”

I turned the speakers off, as told.

“Okay.”

“In dungeons, there’s a hidden level called the inner dungeon, that opens only when the magic stone’s power is strong. It’s usually closed, so the inside is untouched, so it feels like a treasure room. There is a tendency for strong monsters to appear due to the accumulation of magical power, so the association may have judged that Aoi-chan is hiding there.”

Ah, I see.

Come to think of it, you can get to the top of Tusk Crag by helicopter.

Since they knew in advance that there was no dragon on the top, they searched for another possibility.

“If the magic stones brought in were fused and the “Inner Dungeon” was opened, I can understand why Ruten is here. The stronger monsters in the “Inner Dungeon” took over the authority of the boss monster, and the top floor was probably extended to a higher level. At that time, Ruten was released from that passage and rushed out of Tusk Crag, looking for Kunpei-kun who’s fresh in its memory. That’s my guess.”

No, you are really amazing.

“… Yeah. That sounds about right, thanks.”

“It’s too early for thanks, if you don’t manage to deal with Ruten, the whole area there will become a danger zone. The boss’s rights have been transferred, but the magical power that flowed to Ruten should still be shared with the magic stone. Maybe if Ruten is defeated, the expansion of the forest may stop… This is also just a guess, so I’ll investigate further.”

“Ah, I’m counting on you. You really are reliable.”

“I’m glad. I was praised by Kunpei-kun. Has Aoi-chan and Shouhei-kun not contacted you yet?”

That’s right. For now, I’ll know immediately when a call comes in.

“Not yet. If Aoi is there, monsters are not a threat, but I’m still worried.”

“It’s okay, that girl won’t allow the twins to be in danger. Now we just have to think about how you guys can escape from this situation and evacuate to a safe place. I’ll collect information about Ruten’s sightings and tell you when to leave, so don’t hang up.”

Someone who can do anything.

Thank you.

“Roger that.”

“Then, see you later.”

We exchanged words with each other shortly and I put the smartphone back in my inner pocket.

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Officer Doggy turned on the penlight that the holster was furnished with.

The children followed the light and looked at the ceiling.

Jaja, Nana, Shouhei, Aoi, Yuri-san.

Please be safe.