34. Struggle.

If they manage to gather 100 million stats smoothly, its value would be a whopping 1 trillion dollars. Almost on par with the annual defense budget.

 

“Hmm… I understand for now.”

 

The President groaned with a somber face, then paused to collect his thoughts.

 

If they have to concentrate all of this on a single person, the screening criteria to be applied become extremely stringent.

Of course, efficiency must be high, and they must never betray the United States. And even if they are loyal to the United States, they must not possess a reckless personality like Yu-eun-ssi.

 

 

Naturally, there won’t be many people who meet all these conditions.

 

“For the time being, let’s continue to gather stats and select candidates based on the talent information coming from various regions.”

“Speaking of candidates, how about the current Chairman Agnes? She’s not out in the field, but before Yu-eun-ssi appeared, wasn’t she the strongest adventurer of mankind? Moreover, her husband died because of Yu-eun-ssi. Could there be a more certain candidate than her?”

 

 

Some people nodded at the words of a senator, but the head of the US branch immediately denied it.

 

 

“She won’t do.”

“Why not? If nationality is the problem, can’t we just win her over?”

“First of all, she has an extremely arrogant personality. Don’t you know how she became the chairman?”

“Hmm….”

 

 

The fact that Agnes killed the chairman and usurped the position was naturally not known to the outside world. There were people who tried to deliver information to their affiliated organizations, but they were all purged by Agnes’s informants before they could take action, and of course, their superiors were all fired as well. Thanks to this, a series of mysterious deaths occurred among high-ranking executives, but this was also buried.

 

Of course, it’s impossible to completely block it, so some countries with strong intelligence capabilities know about it, but there was no point in messing with the chairman of D10 who was already on the throne, so they are keeping quiet.

 

 

 

“But isn’t that just part of a power struggle? If she pledges allegiance to our United States, we can just let her continue to be the chairman of D10.”

“The problem is that she might want more than that. And that’s not all. Although her husband was killed by Gung, there is intelligence that her daughter is actually working for Gung.”

“If she’s working for Gung, does that mean she’s a maid?”

“Yes. She’s also being mindful of her position, so she doesn’t appear in the Harem Pole. But since it’s highly reliable information, it’s right to assume that Chairman Agnes is at least being threatened by Gung in some way.”

 

 

People sighed.

If what the branch manager said is true, Agnes can never be a candidate.

If she’s being held hostage by Gung in any way, she’s not a card they can use.

 

 

“Then it’s truly hopeless. When will we find someone like her and select a candidate?”

“Before that, if even the chairman of D10 is being influenced by Gung… I really feel like I’m realizing what despair means.”

“Didn’t she stay overnight at Gung after visiting Korea before? Maybe at that time….”

“Surely, even if that’s the case, it wouldn’t have gone that far, would it?”

 

 

The room became noisy.

It’s only natural, since they heard the worst possible news that D10 might already be in Gung’s hands.

 

 

“Alright. Calm down, everyone. We don’t even know if that’s really reliable information. It’s said to be highly reliable, but unless it’s 100 percent certain, let’s refrain from unnecessary worries. And anyway, she was going to be an enemy of the United States someday, even if it wasn’t because of Gung.”

 

The President quieted the chairman and continued.

 

 

“Just looking at the fact that she’s moving the center of D10 from the United States to Europe, it’s clear that conflicts with the home country will intensify in the future. She might even try to change the currency in Dungeon City to the Euro instead of the Dollar.”

“That’s….”

“That’s something we can never allow. So, even if she becomes one with Gung, there’s no need to be shaken. She was never going to be someone who could be with us from the start.”

“Hmm….”

 

Everyone quietly nodded at his words.

 

 

“For now, let’s focus on gathering stats and securing talent. We’ll deal with other matters when they arise.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A solemn atmosphere flows through the auditorium.

A large Japanese flag hung on the wall behind the platform, and rising sun flags about a quarter of the size hung on the left and right.

 

 

Hundreds of people stared at those flags with tearful faces, gritting their teeth.

A space that was more than solemn, even majestic.

 

In the midst of that, a middle-aged man came up onto the platform.

The eyes of those in the auditorium were focused on him.

 

 

 

 

“Everyone, thank you for coming.”

 

That was the first word.

With just that, those gathered here lowered their faces and trembled their shoulders.

 

 

 

After Japan became a colony and fell to a mere autonomous region, the Empire issued a temporary ban on gatherings throughout Japan.

Unless it was due to extremely ordinary daily life such as school or work, no one was allowed to gather more than 10 people.

 

 

This, which was issued like martial law, was to prevent the actions that those here wanted to do.

 

An movement where many people gather to save the country.

There is nothing more annoying to the ruler than that.

 

 

Therefore, those who violated this ban on gatherings were subjected to extremely harsh punishments, and in severe cases, their lives could be threatened.

 

 

 

 

Those here are gathered for a great cause despite such dangers.

They are here to regain the usurped national sovereignty and revive the glory of old Japan.

 

 

 

“Currently, our Japan has been deprived of its country by that detestable Yu-eun-ssi’s group through an absurd and shameless method.”

“Keuheuk!”

 

The middle-aged man’s words stimulated people’s hearts as if they were a switch, and sounds like suppressing tears were heard from here and there.

 

“Not only do they insult the great Imperial Family and hold Princess Seiko hostage, but they are also mercilessly defiling her!”

“We can never forgive them!”

“You sons of bitches!”

“Is that all?! They forcibly lowered the flag of our Great Japan and even forbade us from using the name Japan! They! Are now calling us by the ridiculous name ‘Mount Fuji Autonomous Region’! Does this make sense!!”

“It doesn’t!!”

“We must kill those Gung bastards!!!”

 

Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Yaren, who was the first to be dismissed as the Self-Defense Forces were being dismantled, gave an enthusiastic speech, gathering people’s sympathy and anger.

 

 

“Even though the country is in this state, those politicians are not saying anything because of their own petty interests! They are just sitting quietly and selling the country as those detestable groups lead them! Selling the people! Selling the national name! Even selling the national flag, handing over this Yamato race root and stem!!!”

We must rise up! We! We must rise up and inform the world of their wickedness and injustice, and awaken our people to fight back!”

“That’s right!!”

“Uwoooo!!”

 

 

 

The lieutenant general’s increasingly intense and rough speech ended only after about 30 minutes.

 

Most showed enthusiastic reactions, but some had ambiguous faces.

They agreed with saving the country, but they had a aversion to excessively right-wing remarks.

 

 

“‘Patriotic Restoration Society’, even the name itself… doesn’t feel good.”

“Still, we have to join forces to get our country back first.”

“That’s true, but….”

 

 

 

 

 

The ‘Patriotic Restoration Society’, which was formed around former Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Yaren, began to gather former Self-Defense Forces officers based on the lieutenant general’s connections, secretly receive support from defense industry companies, and equip themselves with weapons. At the same time, they focused on increasing their size by recruiting a large number of Japanese adventurers who were affiliated with D10.

Although a ban on gatherings had been issued, Japan is larger than Germany, so if they were determined to hide and gather, there was nothing they couldn’t do.

 

 

Of course, it is unknown whether the Empire really doesn’t know and is just leaving them alone.

 

 

 

 

 

The ‘Patriotic Restoration Society’ was not the only organization that rose up to save the country after Japan became a colony, but as time passed, they began to unite into one Patriotic Restoration Society.

They judged that it was the most likely because its scale was overwhelmingly larger than other groups and there was a military figure named Lieutenant General Yaren.

 

 

However, this caused one problem.

Too many boatmen gathered in one group.

 

 

It inevitably caused conflict, and in particular, the conflict between Lieutenant General ‘Mutaguchi Yaren’, the leader who led the military figures and the chairman of the Patriotic Restoration Society, and ‘Hashimoto Kyouzaki’, who led the adventurer-born figures, was very severe.

 

Lieutenant General Yaren was an extreme right-wing figure with a very strong right-wing tendency, and Kyouzaki was a person who hated such right-wingers.

 

 

 

 

But anyway, they gathered in one place to save the country.

With various pending problems, the Patriotic Restoration Society was preparing for its first activity.