Chapter 5

"Then, please turn to the cover of the pamphlet."

The man named Yamane, who was introduced earlier, began to speak.

Of course, I had already flipped through the pamphlet and finished skimming about half of it.

I understand that learning at the same pace as others is a waste of time.

Studying at the same pace as others is meaningless because the ability to absorb knowledge depends on how much one has trained their mind in daily life.

Therefore, while I feel bad for the instructor who is trying to teach at an average pace, I will learn at my own pace.

"Then, please turn to the first page."

I remember that the first page contained the total number of dungeons and the number of dungeons in each country.

607 in Japan alone.

When it was explained earlier, it was said to be 600, but that’s probably within the margin of error.

Incidentally, it seems that the areas with a high number of dungeons are mostly located in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

According to the United Nations research agency, they are concentrated in areas with frequent earthquakes.

If you think about it, this means that 90% of the world's dungeons exist in Japan.

Not only dungeons, but Japan seems to be a land that faces various issues.

"Well, there are 666 confirmed dungeons in countries including Japan. Ninety percent of them are in Japan, and the Japanese government has been taking measures against them."

"―Hey! I heard that if no measures are taken, monsters will come out of the dungeons!"

A woman sitting in front of me asked the male Self-Defense Force officer who was giving the explanation.

She looked to be in her 20s.

Her hair was dyed brown, but from the fact that she was wearing a recruitment suit, she seemed to be more professional than Sasaki.

"Yamane-senpai, are you dissing me?"

"It's just your imagination. You're being overly self-conscious. What do I gain by dissing someone like you?"

"No, you said 'someone like you'…"

"You need to control your self-consciousness."

He has a sharp intuition.

Maybe it's the sharpness of youth.

"Please rest assured. The Self-Defense Force is responsible for culling the monsters in the dungeons, so they won't come out."

"O-Oh, I see…"

The woman let out a relieved sigh.

But, isn't that a big problem?

In other words, it means that if they don't cull the monsters, they will come out of the dungeons.

So, if there aren't enough people to cull them, what happens? That's what it means.

It shouldn't be a situation to be relieved about.

Well, from what I can see, no one around here seems to have noticed…

"Yamane-senpai."

"What?"

"Isn't that it? If the monsters in the dungeons are left alone, a monster stampede will occur, right?"

"―Hm? Ah, yes…"

"Isn't that pretty bad?"

"Yes, it's bad."

It seems Sasaki is also picking up on things more than I thought.

Still, with 607 dungeons in Japan alone, managing them must be quite a challenge, right?

I can kind of understand why they are putting so much effort into recruiting for the Self-Defense Force.

I remember that the number of Self-Defense Force members when the immigration control law was passed was around 250,000.

Subtracting the number of personnel needed for defense against other countries, the number of personnel available for domestic dungeons, even by a layman's calculation, shouldn't be very large.

"According to the United Nations research agency, dungeons have not been confirmed to exist in the seabed. Also, they do not exist in densely populated areas, even in regions with frequent earthquakes."

"Hmm…"

I nod along, listening to Yamane's explanation while flipping through the pamphlet.

It says that the country with the second-highest number of dungeons after Japan is the United States.

They are concentrated on the west coast.

The rest are scattered around the world, mostly in places where people rarely go, but there doesn't seem to be any discernible pattern.

Incidentally, it says there are 0 dungeons in the Lemuria Empire Peninsula.

There should be earthquakes in the Lemuria Empire Peninsula, but it's quite mysterious.

"In Japan, dungeons do not appear in urban areas, but they do appear in rural areas. Therefore, the Japanese government buys the land around the dungeons from the landowners and manages it to protect the lives of the people living in Japan."

"Hmm…"

It's reasonable.

I think the real reason is to avoid criticism of the government if someone gets hurt by entering a dungeon without permission.

"Here is the main topic. Explorers are people who dive into dungeons managed by the Japanese government to cull the monsters."

"I see…"

In other words, the government is not trying to advance deeper into the dungeons but is working to maintain the current state and prevent injuries.

In that case, I predict that the income won't be that high.

In games, the more difficult the dungeon, the more money you can earn.

That's the general rule.

But reality isn't that kind.

Given the existence of death, taking risks in dungeons where there is a danger to life is a foolish act.

So, it's quite reasonable to think that culling alone is sufficient.

"Um… I heard that people who explore dungeons earn a lot of money…"

Sasaki, who was sitting next to me, raised her hand and asked.