LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 240.1
Chapter 240.1. War Gains
The leaves have already fallen from the trees, and rather than a cool breeze, a chilling wind blows. It reminds people of the month of Shiwasu, when everyone rushes around, busy preparing for winter.
In the northeastern part of Kanto, now renamed the Amatsugahara Special District and ruled by Ameno Sakimori, lies a region simply named after its resident—Shingen. In a bar within this area, a large group of people gathered, eating the food on their tables, holding glasses of sake in one hand, and reading the newspaper.
It’s the former castle of Shingen, “Furin Kazan.” Or rather, just a former chain restaurant. Inside this bar, people were drinking and—rarely—reading the newspaper. It’s not common for people to read the newspaper while drinking, so clearly, something unusual had happened.
“Extra! Extra! The decision has been made to retrieve the prisoners found in the dungeon! Extra news!”
A boy wearing a hunting cap and a fur coat slung a bundle of newspapers over his shoulder, raising the extra edition in his hand as he enthusiastically called out the big news. Many patrons, interested in this rare and exciting article, began buying newspapers.
Seeing how well they were selling, a man sitting in the back called out to the cheerful newspaper boy.
“Hey kid, give me a paper.”
“Here you go! That’ll be 500 yen!”
Shingen, who used to be a regular here, was now busy elsewhere, and the bar had returned to being a place where adventurers gathered. When one of the adventurers raised his hand, the boy skipped over with a spring in his step.
The adventurer frowned at the slightly steep price of 500 yen but handed over the money. The boy beamed and handed him the newspaper with a cheerful thank you.
“What’s it say?”
A large man sitting nearby leaned in with his glass in hand, trying to peek at the paper. The man who had bought it waved him off with an irritated expression.
“Ohki, buy your own. You’ve got money, don’t you?”
“Come on, Baba! Can’t we just pass it around after one of us buys it?”
“That’s exactly why the paper’s so expensive, Ohki.”
The large man, Ohki, scratched his head and laughed sheepishly at his own stinginess, earning a pout from the newspaper boy. If more people bought their own, the price could be cheaper. But in Amatsugahara, selling things at a slim margin just isn’t feasible. Too many people think like Ohki. Today, people seem a bit more willing to spend.
Despite making a fortune from the recent monster fortress conquest, Ohki remained stingy. It was Baba who bought the paper.
Until the residents become wealthier, slim margins won’t work, Baba thought, as he began reading the newspaper, pushing Ohki away as he tried to peek again.
“Hmm. Look at this, a large number of people trapped in the dungeon have decided to move to Amatsugahara.”
“Did the inner city not take in almost 5,000 soldiers? Also, how about you start using ‘gozaru’ at the end of your sentences, Baba?”
“Seems like it. And no, I’m not using ‘gozaru’. Have you ever seen people in a period drama actually end their sentences with that? No, right? Besides, people have been giving me strange looks lately. I’m thinking about dropping it.”
“Yeah, there are more people around these days. My ‘survivor style’ is like an idol, super popular.”
Ohki, dressed like a bandit, shrugged as Baba muttered the news aloud, surprised by the decision.
It was just the other day. During the conquest of the monster fortress, in a hidden staircase behind the throne, they discovered a secret underground altar. There, many people were frozen in ice, seemingly trapped as potential sacrifices. Time had been stopped for them, but they weren’t killed.
Most were soldiers, former members of the Self-Defense Forces—soldiers from before Japan’s military coup, before the country became a military dictatorship.
It had caused quite a commotion when they were found. People were terrified of the demons, but amazed that these soldiers were still alive when the ice was broken. They had survived, frozen in time for 20 years.
“Since they were former SDF soldiers, I thought the inner city would take them in.”
“Seems like it’s difficult for them to get along with the ones who led the coup. They don’t trust each other, so they can’t bring them into the inner city.”
The newspaper boy chimed in, and Baba nodded, smirking cynically. The inner city was always like that. The rich only cared about protecting themselves. They wouldn’t hand over weapons to a large force that might criticize the coup leaders.
“But we’re talking about 5,000 soldiers, right? You wouldn’t want them under your brother’s command, would you?”
“Probably not. But sending them to Narashino City would be worse. That place is a military base. Handing the SDF soldiers over there would be riskier than leaving them with the CEO.”
Even if the SDF soldiers were handed over to Sakimori, they wouldn’t be more of a threat than the CEO himself. He could take down demons single-handedly. The decision to hand them to Amatsugahara Corporation was a no-brainer.
“Looks like we’ll have 5,000 Urashima Taros waking up. I wonder what they’ll think of this world.”
Ohki leaned back in his chair with a sympathetic look, and Baba agreed.
“They’ll find nothing but ruins. Who knows if their families survived? Life’s going to be tough.”
Though he didn’t say it aloud, Baba knew it would be harsh. They had survived in these ruins for years, losing family, and friends, scavenging for food, hiding from monsters, and fighting other humans.
They had chosen to survive. By their own will. Walking the rusted, broken path of life in this harsh fate.
But the ones who just woke up were different. Before they slept, they fought to protect a peaceful world. They only knew a world where food was plentiful, homes were safe, and they didn’t have to sleep fearing death at any moment.
“They’re going to need counselors.”
“Free booze for counseling? Heh, leave that to me. I’ll need to ask the CEO for the budget.”
Ohki grinned, saying something nonsensical, and Baba tilted his head, unsure what he meant. Then it hit him, and he chuckled.
“You’re mixing up ‘counselor’ with ‘wine cellar,’ you idiot.”
“Huh? A wine cellar?”