Chapter 95 – Reborn Labyrinth Ministry! It Really Seems Hopeless

During a Neсhо-Nechо Video livеstrеаm, thеу wеre holding sоmething like а dеbut revеаl strеаm tо introduсe thе newly арроinted Direсtor-Gеneral and ехecutives of thе Lаbyrinth Ministry.

A man in his siхtiеs named Nakabaуаshi seemеd to bе thе nеw Dirеctor-Generаl.

He wаs а рoliticiаn whо hаd long beеn part оf the ruling party, thе tуpe skillеd in sо-cаlled internаl party рolitiсs.

Оf course, he pоssessеd nоnе of thе field skills his prеdесessor hаd.

Still, it would bе finе if hе hаd high сommаnd аbilitу and wаs сompetent.

“My predecessor failed to listen to the voices of the citizens. I will create a beloved Labyrinth Ministry that stays close to the people and values a citizen’s perspective. First, I will eliminate these excessively strict regulations concerning Dungeons. What I propose is coexistence with Dungeons. Economic development utilizing Dungeons!”

“What he’s saying sounds reasonable, but those strict Dungeon regulations were to prevent casualties, right? Is this really okay?”

“It most certainly is not okay. This person is completely underestimating Dungeons from the get-go. He thinks the situation where Mr. Daikyo kept things suppressed and damage was minimized is the default, doesn’t he?”

“Isn’t that bad?”

Leaning over the PC on the low table, I groaned.

Just then, Shino in his little girl form, with a perfectly natural expression, came and plopped himself down on my lap.

“Ah—! That’s a reportable incident!”

“I’m a Fox, so please don’t mind it~. Besides, your true interest is Ms. Mashiro, right?”

“That may be so, but it’d be trouble if someone saw you like this.”

“I’m a Fox, so it’s fine, it’s fine! But to get back on topic, beneficiaries tend to easily overlook how the benefits they receive are maintained by the efforts of certain people, don’t they? Be it the electricity running this PC, or the streamers who always provide us with enjoyable streams.”

“True… You start thinking of it like air. Air is important, but being grateful for it or something is hard, huh.”

On the screen, the new Director-General Nakabayashi continued announcing one pleasant-sounding policy after another about the future of the Labyrinth Ministry.

This guy, in a way, probably represents the voices of ordinary citizens who felt oppressed by the Labyrinth Ministry until now.

It’s true the Labyrinth Ministry was suppressing society.

What would happen if it were liberated?

The only thing clear is that it would turn into something awful.

But well, people don’t understand until they experience it themselves.

Did Mr. Daikyo understand this and step down from the Director-General position in disgust?

‘Master! It seems the rank of the seals placed on Dungeons everywhere is being lowered! This is a cost-cutting measure, isn’t it~’

Dun-me could check things like that too.

A terrifying piece of information came from Flota, who was glued to her smartphone watching this…!

“Eh—, can they manage like that?”

‘I don’t think that’s good at all~’

Flota said with a voice full of genuine dismay.

After that, restrictions like the ban on commercial use of Dungeons were frozen effective immediately, and it became permissible to use Dungeons deemed relatively low-risk by the current Labyrinth Ministry.

Is this really okay?

“It’s not okay at all~. Ah, by the way, the people currently in decision-making positions at the Labyrinth Ministry are newcomers from other ministries, so they’re complete amateurs~. The fact that Dungeon administration is extremely specialized isn’t something understood from the outside. They’re probably capable people, but I think they’re no good when it comes to things outside their expertise.”

“It’s already over.”

It really was over.

The Dungeons deemed relatively safe suddenly produced a large number of casualties all over the country.

This ‘safety’ is by streamer standards, you see.

Because ordinary people can’t even hold their own against Goblins.

I recall how terrifying even ordinary Goblins were when our former company underwent Dungeonization.

Fortunately, it happened before Dungeons were fully opened for commercial use.

The casualties were businesses that came to check things out, reckless youths who broke through the seals to enter, and drunk, unsteady older men and women who wandered in.

Even so, with about a thousand casualties in just a few days, the Labyrinth Ministry hastily withdrew the policy in a panic.

So, commercial use of Dungeons was banned again.

Furthermore, the Labyrinth Ministry, citing that “streamers had been receiving far too much preferential treatment,” steered towards reducing support and aid for them, and Applications made via Dun-me were clearly taking longer to process.

Because of this, Dungeon Clearing couldn’t be completed in time, and small-scale Stampedes began occurring frequently nationwide.

Moreover, Dun-me used a system that solicited Dungeon Emergence reports from citizens, distributing shopping vouchers etc. as incentives, but this was stopped for cost-cutting.

When they did that, the number of Dungeon Emergence reports dropped to one-tenth.

Ugh!

The current Labyrinth Ministry is no good.

They’re inflicting more damage on this country than the Great Demon Generals.

“This is bad. A company we do business with skimped because deductions for Talismans were reduced, and it Dungeonized in no time and is now suspended…”

“Cost-cutting is really showing its effects all over, huh. It’s a scene from hell.”

Even just hearing stories from Mashiro, it’s clear the new Labyrinth Ministry is wreaking havoc on society.

But, it’s the Labyrinth Ministry the citizens chose…

Every day provides a sample of what happens when Dungeon-related matters are run with a ‘citizen’s perspective.’

The problem is the non-trivial number of casualties occurring.

“The Labyrinth Ministry’s phone lines are constantly jammed now. Aren’t complaints flooding in? But the Labyrinth Ministry froze contracts with streamers they had dealings with during the previous Director-General’s era, so they shouldn’t be able to request Dungeon Clearing anymore. I think they were going with a bidding system to hire the cheapest streamer, right?”

“That’s no good at all!!”

“Yeah, of course it’s failing.”

The streamers who undercut prices to get jobs challenged Dungeons beyond their abilities, and all of them failed their Clearing attempts.

The more capable ones demand appropriate Rewards, you see.

It’s not volunteer work. We have our own expenses too.

“Ah—, another Stampede has occurred. They intended to use Dungeons for economic revitalization, but with frequent Stampedes, the very operation of society is becoming difficult…”

“Ugh, is this going to continue from now on…? I wanted to marry my senpai in more peaceful times.”

“Won’t this collapse before long? Even if they tried to rely on the streamers’ chivalry, they broke the very system for gathering Dungeon information itself. The anger will all be directed at the Labyrinth Ministry.”

And so, the launch of the new Labyrinth Ministry was shaky.

Its operation was the worst.

Society had plunged into utter chaos.