The four of us discreetly boarded the government-provided vehicle, heading for the Ikomasanjo Amusement Park.
Shortly after we began our journey, police cars from the Kyoto Prefecture gathered around us, leading our convoy.
Their sirens blared as we passed through intersections, cautiously ignoring the red lights.
We even entered the highway with the police still escorting us, drawing quite a bit of attention.
-0-
Tension filled the car. Anxiety about what lay ahead and the question of why the four of us had been summoned weighed heavily on all our minds.
Earlier, we discussed the situation, speculating that it might be related to the dungeon in the ruins of the Kusaka Amusement Park. However, deep down, I couldn’t help but feel otherwise.
Danpon had explicitly warned the government not to get involved with that investigation, almost pressuring them to stay away. I doubted they would so easily go against that.
-0-
As we traveled along the Shigi Ikoma Skyline, we finally arrived at the Ikomasanjo Amusement Park.
I had only ever come here on foot or by cable car, so this was my first time arriving by car.
But the scene at the amusement park was far from ordinary.
The entire area was shrouded in tarps, and helicopters were forbidden from flying overhead.
The changes to the park were far more drastic than I had imagined.
It felt less like an amusement park and more like a military base.
We were led into what had once been the park’s restaurant.
Of course, the place wasn’t operating anymore.
Various pieces of equipment had been brought in, likely making this the command center.
And there, in the back of the restaurant, he stood—a man in his fifties, just as muscular as Gyuuzou-san.
Something about him seemed familiar.
「My apologies for the sudden summons. I deeply appreciate your cooperation as civilians.」
The man stood up and bowed his head deeply.
「It’s been a while, Oshino-san. And Milk-chan too.」
「It has, Minister.」
「Long time no see, Uncle Uematsu.」
Wait—Minister? Uematsu?
……..!?
I suddenly remembered. Defense Minister Uematsu!
Of course, it made sense that Hime knew the defense minister.
When I had to deal with the monsters that poured out of Mount Fuji, I had interacted with him through King-san.
They must have met back then during the cleanup operation.
But why was Milk also familiar with him?
「Uncle Uematsu is a disciple of Gramps Shingen, just like my dad.」
Milk whispered to me.
Ah, so Uematsu was Gyuuzou-san’s fellow apprentice disciple.
I knew the defense minister had once been an accomplished explorer, but I didn’t know about that connection.
「Sorry to get straight to business, but could you look at this?」
Uematsu said, handing us a document.
The paper was filled with lines of text.
It contained various languages—English, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and more.
Among the names listed, I noticed ours as well.
I could barely make out the English section, and I guessed they were names, likely of people.
Next to the names were countries.
But what was this list about?
「This is a list of people across the world who have been chosen by Danpol to enter the Black Dungeons.」
「——!?」
Chosen by Danpol!?
「We received a message from Danpol. From 1 p.m. tomorrow for a period of 24 hours, only the people listed on that document will be allowed entry into the dungeons they’ve created. If the core of the dungeon’s tenth floor is destroyed within that time, humanity wins. If not, humanity loses.」
「And what happens if we lose?」
「Monsters will appear outside the dungeon.」
This lined up with what Mikoto had mentioned earlier.
「Although Danpol did hint at some sort of salvation even in the event of failure.」
「Ano…..were we selected because we were noticed by Danpol during the investigation at Kusaka Amusement Park’s dungeon?」
「No, that’s not it.」
Hime answered before Uematsu could speak.
She had been staring at the documents for some time now.
「This situation has nothing to do with the Kusaka Amusement Park dungeon investigation.」
「We largely agree with Oshino-san’s conclusion.」
What was going on?
What had Hime noticed?
「Look at the people listed here. Party members range from a minimum of one to a maximum of four. In every case, one of my siblings is present.」
Siblings—wait, that means… King’s children?
King has lovers all over the world, and he’s fathered numerous children with them.
In other words, King’s offspring are scattered across the globe.
I looked at the list again.
Hi’s name wasn’t there.
Each dungeon had one party, and no two people from the same country were listed. It seemed like each Black Dungeon had one assigned group.
「So, what did Daddy—King Campbell—say? You must’ve contacted him by now, right?」
「Yes, as soon as Danpol’s message was received, the list was shared with all UN member countries. The U.S. government realized that King Campbell’s children were involved and tried to contact him immediately. But they couldn’t reach him.」
「Couldn’t reach him?」
「There’s a record of him entering the Manhattan Dungeon, but when they tried to communicate with him via the distribution crystal, it failed. There’s no sign of interference, which means he likely hasn’t activated his crystal.」
Even if you possess a distribution crystal, unless it’s activated, you won’t see any incoming messages.
It’s like carrying a smartphone that’s been set on silent and left in a bag—you can’t receive any calls or notifications that way.
No wonder they couldn’t reach him.
「Japan has no conscription. As civilians, none of you are obligated to risk your lives. However, I implore you—please, enter the dungeon. We will provide anything you need to ensure your safety. We have substitute bracelets, the finest equipment in the government’s arsenal, and whatever else you may require. Anything we can do—we will do it. Please…」
Defense Minister Uematsu bowed deeply to us as he said this.
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