And so, in the helicopter that came to pick her up, Inari found herself facing two familiar faces she hadn't seen in a while.
"Oho, thou art... Maruse and Takano, was it?"
"It’s Maruyama and Takui." (T/N: Mistakenly translated to Takai before)
"My name only had the ‘Ta’ right…"
Indeed, it was Tadashi Maruyama and Yuichi Takui—the same two who had once come all the way to that abandoned village to meet Inari. It seemed they were the ones assigned to fetch her this time, but Inari still confirmed, just in case.
"And so, thou art my escorts?"
"Yeah. We’ll explain the details on the way. Hop in."
Thus, once Inari boarded, the helicopter immediately lifted off toward their destination. Inside the cabin, Maruyama wasted no time.
"We're short on time, so I’ll be brief. The job this time is search and rescue. If possible, focus on retrieval."
Tokyo’s fixed dungeons—there were several—and they each underwent periodic "large-scale raids."
These weren’t necessarily attempts to clear the dungeons entirely; rather, they were about thinning out the monsters inside.
If monsters were left alone for too long, dungeons had a tendency to overflow—spilling monsters onto the surface in what were called "Monster Disasters." Large-scale raids were meant to prevent that.
However— Tokyo’s First Dungeon was a different case.
It had never been cleared. Though officially treated the same as the others, in truth, it might very well be a temporary dungeon in disguise.
And now, the large-scale raid launched against it... seemed to have failed.
That was the root of why this job had come to Inari.
"I see... And why hast this request come to me?"
"…Because a major clan among the Ten Great Clans failed."
The Ten Great Clans of Japan—There was no official certification; they were simply referred to that way because no one could deny their overwhelming power and scale.
The names: Fuji, Tendou, Breakers, Flash, Genesis, Takemoto Bushidan, Sunline, Dragon Eye, Mage Federation, and Echigo Trading Company.
Each had different policies and methods, but all were undoubtedly worthy of being called "Great."
"But this time, a large-scale raid team from Echigo Trading Company has gone missing. Five days, and no contact. Normally, they should’ve returned within three days, no matter what."
"Awakener Phones work even inside dungeons, do they not?"
"That's how it’s supposed to be. But... there’s no such thing as ‘no exceptions.’"
"Aye, that is sound reason."
Even Awakener Phones, after all, were based on technology derived from dungeons themselves. If something inside a dungeon existed that could suppress or overpower their functions, Inari wouldn’t find it strange at all.
Even a simple barrier spell from Inari herself could probably disable them.
"Echigo is the weakest in combat among the Ten Great Clans, being focused on economic activity. Even so, they have enough strength to deserve their place. Yet they lost contact. And worse—their Clan Master was among the missing."
Maruyama produced a file and showed Inari a photograph.
A girl with short, straight black hair and glasses. Her name: Echigo Yaeka.
At just 20 years old, she was the genius leader running the massive Echigo Trading Company.
The company’s success, focused on distribution powered by Awakeners' abilities, relied heavily on Yaeka’s superhuman administrative skill granted by her "Merchant" job class.
Of course, the company could function even if Yaeka were absent—but her position as Master of a Great Clan was something everyone in Japan coveted.
If Yaeka were to die… The resulting internal struggle and the massive disruption to national logistics would be unavoidable.
Thus, it was imperative to ensure her survival.
"…That’s the story from the Awakener Association’s Japan HQ. However, some are already fantasizing about taking her seat for themselves."
Indeed, thanks to their meddling, top-level Awakeners were flooded with jobs they couldn’t immediately abandon.
For instance, the famous magic dealer known as the "Black Witch" was currently in Hokkaido.
Moreover, the authorities didn’t want this information spreading widely.
"If word got out that a Ten Great Clan’s raid party got wiped out at Tokyo Dungeon No. 1, the economic impact would be devastating. We need to spin it as ‘a difficult mission, but we made it through.’"
"Hmm…"
And so, the arrow of fate had been aimed at Inari.
That said, even Inari could not bring back the dead.
Moreover, there was another issue.
"Thou canst not put a gate on men’s tongues. Even if I save the girl, the tale will surely leak from somewhere."
"Yeah. Apparently, that’s acceptable. Right now, the only priority is that she lives."
"Well, fair enough."
Inari agreed. If she lived, everything else could be sorted out later.
Let the smart ones clean up the aftermath. For Inari, things were best kept that simple.