Side: Prime Minister's Office

The Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, and a handful of senior officials from various ministries had gathered at the Prime Minister's Office.

Officially, it was one of the Prime Minister's rest days. In secret, however, a meeting concerning the dungeons was underway.

"There's no telling when or from where the Paranormal Space — the dungeons — might be exposed and made public."

"For now, every nation agrees on preventing leaks. That said, it's hard to call any of them truly unified…"

The reports from the relevant parties continued, but every expression was grim, and the mood in the room hung heavy.

In the mid-twentieth century, in an age before television even existed, things might have been different. But in the modern day, when anyone at all could broadcast information to the world, global information control was simply impossible.

Honestly, the fact that they had managed to keep it secret this long was already more than anyone could have hoped for.

At first — out of fear and unease toward the unknown, perhaps — the nations of the world had banded together to conceal and seal off the dungeons. But as the years passed and it became clear the danger was low, they had shifted toward investigating them.

It wasn't that the risk of unknown pathogens and the like had been entirely ruled out, even now. But the people who had set foot in the dungeons in the early days still showed no symptoms whatsoever, and that had dulled the sense of crisis.

If anything, repeated surveys had revealed a clear benefit — improved physical ability — and that had pushed dungeon investigation forward.

On top of that, it was thought there were still many dungeons in the world that no government had identified, and the downsides of keeping them secret were steadily mounting.

Amid those reports, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued with his own concerns.

"Dungeons that have appeared in conflict zones are not under the control of the local governments. In some places they've become an open secret. There are reports of armed factions occupying dungeons and boosting their soldiers' physical abilities… It's beginning to affect the balance of power with local governments."

The report made everyone in the room frown.

"Is the difference really that great?"

"Prime Minister, studies abroad show physical ability improving to levels that would put Olympic athletes to shame, and in some cases people are even able to use paranormal phenomena — what's colloquially called magic. We still don't understand much about the paranormal phenomena — about magic itself — but as for physical ability, we've reached the point where we have no choice but to classify it as a threat. If we don't formulate countermeasures quickly, it could compromise our current defense policy."

The official from the Ministry of Defense was making the case that the world had already entered a different stage than before.

Better than dying. For those living in poverty or in the middle of civil war, that was the reality — and the supplies and food to be had from a dungeon mattered more than some future danger.

Added to that, the power dungeons granted, beyond the limits of ordinary humans, had a huge pull. In some regions, religious groups had taken control of them, calling it a trial or a blessing from god.

The currents of the world were quietly beginning to shift.

To begin with, in the modern day, militaries and the Self-Defense Forces were organizations built around weaponry, and defense policy operated on long-term strategy. Building up the arms you planned for in peacetime was no easy task. Naturally, changing defense policy meant a mountain of issues to work through — procedures, budget allocation, and the rest.

Even so, the impact of regions across the world beginning to put dungeons to military use was not something that could be ignored, and the time had come for a fundamental reexamination of defense policy.

"I understand what you're saying, but public opinion, you see…"

The Prime Minister's response, though, was sluggish. For a democratic nation, there was nothing harder than carrying on the business of government while keeping matters of importance hidden from the people.

The upper management of the major media outlets was outwardly going along with concealing the dungeons, but internally some were quietly making moves with the information they'd gathered. There were factions in every country that wanted to turn the matter into a political battle.

"I'll find a way to manage the additional budget for now. Have every ministry continue its detailed surveys and research."

Some were dismayed by the Prime Minister's decision to maintain the status quo, but there was a limit to what the Japanese government could do about a global problem.

Side: Amahashi Kakeru

After I got back from the athletic park and ate lunch, it seemed I'd dozed off for a while.

It's been a while since I was this worn out.

When I woke up and went to the living room, Filia and Sanctina were there. Filia was sewing some clothes, and Sanctina looked to be helping her.

I'd gotten a little used to having women in the house, too. At the very least, whenever I came to the shared space, I made sure to assume someone was there and not slouch around in sloppy clothes, and I didn't forget to knock on the washroom or toilet door.

"Where are Pricia and Noctia?"

"Pricia said she was going out for a bit of a run. Noctia's in her room."

She was on the move all morning and it still isn't enough? That's Pricia for you. I knew she liked moving her body, but still.

Sunday was nearly over. There was something I wanted to do, so I headed to the garage.

There was no car, naturally, but there was a bicycle, plus a few farming tools — a shovel, a hoe, that sort of thing. Grandma and I had gotten them ready to turn the yard into a vegetable garden.

I'd left it all untouched, never able to work up the motivation, but I figured I'd try planting something in the yard, late as it was.

"It's not really good soil, though."

The previous resident had used one spot as a flower bed, but honestly, the soil wasn't all that good. It looked like I'd have to start by building the soil up. I wonder what Grandma would've said if she saw this dirt…

First things first — let's till it! I swung the hoe at the hardened earth. Hmm. Yeah, the feel coming back through my hands was no good.

This won't do without some fertilizer or something.

I put my hips into it, digging the soil up properly and tilling it over. Back home we had a cultivator, so it was easy, but I hadn't brought it with me. The yard wasn't that big anyway.

"Oh my, are you planting something in the yard?"

I'd been working away mindlessly for a while when the lady next door called out to me.

"Yes. I haven't decided what to plant yet, though."

"You were down after your grandmother passed, but those homestay kids came and it seems like you've perked up. I'm sure she's relieved, too. She must be."

Unlike the countryside, there wasn't all that much in the way of neighborly contact here. Still, I'd gone around to introduce myself with my uncle when I moved in, and we'd make small talk now and then whenever we ran into each other.

It seemed she'd been a little worried about me. Pricia and the others were on her mind, too, apparently.

"Good afternoon~."

"Good afternoon. My, your Japanese is excellent~."

"Yes, we majored in Japanese at school."

It wasn't quite a case of speak-of-the-devil, but Pricia came back from her jog, and the lady next door seemed to switch her small-talk target over to her.

This was hardly the big city either, and a foreigner you couldn't even communicate with would be on anyone's mind, I supposed.

Yeah — the lady started telling Pricia all about the local supermarket and whatnot. Listening with half an ear, I figured I'd get back to my farm work.

She's a princess from another world, though. I wondered what kind of face the lady would make if I told her.