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Tl: Sam

…

“Ayagawa, thank you very much for your help. I’d like to talk to him alone for a moment, so could you give us a minute?”

“Yes, sir. “

　Rin bowed her head and went to the entrance of the courtyard and waited there.

　There is also a person who looks like an SP who is guarding Mr. Dojima at that spot.

“Well, ……, what should I start with?”

Dojima-san cut down the huge pine tree with a huge pair of scissors that looked like a weapon.

　The scene does not look like he is tending to a bonsai tree. It was just logging.

“I was surprised when I saw on the news that Dojima-san had become a minister. I thought you were going to be working in the field for a long time.”

　Mr. Dojima was originally the first director of the “ Monster Subjugation Division.”

　However, he suddenly gave up that position to his successor and became Minister of the Ministry of Demon Control.

　Mr. Dojima is a rugged fighter. Desk work is out of place for him.

　So I remember feeling quite surprised.

“I didn’t want to be a minister either. But a minister has to be a man who knows what it is like on the ground. I understood that at that time.”

“That time is …….”

“Ah. I’m talking about the last time you and I dived together in the Imperial Palace dungeon.” (Tl: I need this man’s backstory)

　I had not heard that name in a long time, and my heart ached deep in my chest.

　I have dived hundreds of dungeons in my life, but that dungeon was special to me.

“It’s been seven years now. At that time, when there were fewer dungeons than now, the largest dungeon in the world was born in the basement of the Imperial Palace. That dungeon, which was named “The Imperial Palace Dungeon,” had a peculiar characteristic.

“……It was a terrible time. Even today, it doesn’t happen so often that monsters flood the ground.”

　Normally, monsters don’t come out of dungeons.

　The reason is that the environment on the ground, where there is little magic essence, is difficult for monsters to survive. It is said that magic essence is to monsters what oxygen is to humans.

　However, there are some monsters that can survive in an environment with little magic essence. However, such monsters are only weak monsters in the upper levels, and strong monsters never appear on the ground.

　Until the Imperial Palace dungeon appeared.

“The total number of victims was 24,000. That many people were killed by the monsters in a few days. Ayagawa’s parents were among them.”

“It was a tragic incident. I still get chills when I remember it.”

“Yeah, me too.”

　Thanks to the collective efforts of the explorers, the monsters on the ground were exterminated.

　However, monsters continued to appear from the Imperial Palace dungeon.

　Normally, destroying dungeons is not recommended, because the resources that can be taken from them are valuable.

　However, when the monsters came out of the dungeon, it was a different story. The government decided to destroy the Imperial Palace dungeon.

“A total of 300 skilled explorers gathered to destroy the “dungeon core,” the key element of the dungeon. Even thinking about it now, that team was the strongest lineup. I, your Master, Amatsuki ……, and you were all very talented.”

“I would appreciate it if you would stop talking about …… master.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It is understandable that you cannot accept it.

　The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just take it all in.

　Without that person, I would not have been able to become this strong. I don’t think I could ever repay that debt.

　However, the opportunity to repay that debt will never come again.

“The difficulty of the Imperial Palace dungeon was far beyond our imagination. The hordes of vicious monsters we had never seen before, the scenery that changed every few seconds, the dense magic essence that consumed our bodies,……, one by one our companions lost their lives. We finally succeeded in neutralizing the dungeon, but only seven of us made it out alive.”

　I, Dojima-san, and Amatsuki were among those seven.

　It was great news at the time, but because of Mr. Dojima’s consideration, my story was not reported.

　Because I was underage, it was not reported that I and Amatsuki were in the dungeon in the first place. Well, Amatsuki made it public when she joined the Subjugation Division.

　Thanks to that, Amatsuki became as popular with the public as Dojima-san.

“I managed to make it back alive. I understood that Japan did not have the power to overcome a similar situation in the future. That is why I decided to become a minister and make this country stronger. I believe that is my mission.”

　After becoming minister, Mr. Dojima created a stir in the National Assembly and the nation’s TV screens many times with his bold policies, one after another.

　But thanks to him, explorers in this country have become stronger, in my opinion. I believe that the average level of explorers in this country is not inferior to explorers in other countries.

　As I was thinking this, Dojima-san looked at me and gave me an apologetic look.

　I wondered what was going on.

“I was so focused on the task at hand that I didn’t have time to pay attention to you. It’s been a lifetime mistake. I never realized that you, whom I thought of as my son, had suffered so much.”

“Dojima-san……” (I really need that part of the story)

　Mr. Dojima is probably talking about the fact that I was working in the black labor market.

　But it’s not surprising that Dojima-san didn’t know about it. He had his job as a minister, and Suda was falsifying documents.

　So Dojima-san has nothing to feel sorry about, but I guess that’s not possible because of his personality. He has always been a man of principle.

“I was foolish. I am truly sorry. As you see.”

　Dojima-san bowed deeply to me on the spot.

　Seeing this, I hurried to stop him.

“Dojima-san!　You don’t have to go that far!　You are a minister!”

“I am a person before I am a minister. A head that cannot be lowered has no value.” (Tl: This is an S-Rank quote that I’m definitely stealing)

　Dojima-san says this with a serious expression on his face.

　He has never changed. He is as cool as ever.

“I’m glad you feel that way. But I’m okay now. It was certainly hard at the time, but I’m really enjoying it now. So please lift up your head.”

　When I said this, Mr. Dojima finally lifted his head.

“I’m sorry, for making you feel uncomfortable. If you have any trouble from now on, don’t hesitate to rely on me. No matter what kind of a pain in the ass you’re dealing with, I’ll beat him to silence.”

“Haha, that’s too bad for the other guy. Your fist hurts, Dojima-san.”

　We laughed like in the old days.

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