After a long silence, Ishii finally burst out:
"How dare he..."
"We invited them, and they refuse to help?"
The officials wore strange expressions.
Finally, Vice-Minister Yoshida Kei couldn't help whispering to his foolish superior:
"Minister, the SDS is an American private company."
Yoshida emphasised the words "private company".
Ishii blinked in confusion:
"But I heard the SDS is always first to respond during those Abyss Descent incidents? And they have some priority rights..."
"Priority exploration rights," Yoshida said, seemingly accustomed to the minister's stupidity - this wasn't his first minister after all.
Given Japan's annual ministerial rotation, this was his seventeenth "Madam Cow".
"The SDS's priority exploration rights pertain to sudden Abyss Disaster incidents and Abyss Descent incidents, granting them first access to intelligence and authority in handling such events."
After speaking, Yoshida Kei immediately realised the minister might not grasp the concept, so he quickly clarified:
"Simply put, most Abyss Descent incidents come with certain benefits—such as Abyss Artefacts or special Abyss Materials. The SDS holds priority exploration rights in these cases, and no organisation in Japan can prohibit their involvement."
"But this incident is different. It's a fight between two sorcerers. To put it bluntly, setting aside supernatural factors, it's essentially a brawl between two individuals—a civil or even criminal matter. The SDS has no legal grounds to intervene here."
"So, in this case, they fundamentally cannot interfere."
Hearing this, Ishii Kazuo was momentarily stunned:
"So they take the benefits, and we handle the mess?"
"How did we ever agree to such terms?"
At this, Yoshida Kei offered a benign smile: "Because the SDS is an American enterprise."
With the military base in Okinawa standing there, and the SDS being the shadow financiers behind the garrison, why do you think they agreed to such harsh terms?
Ishii Kazuo frowned. "But I recall rumours that the Union is trying to suppress the SDS?"
Yoshida Kei's only response was a smile—it could only be a smile:
"Are we the Union?"
Never mind the whispers about the Five Great Powers wanting to curb the SDS—is Japan part of the Union?
Ishii Kazuo's face darkened. "So even if the SDS refuses to lift a finger, we have no way to hold them accountable?"
"There is one way," Yoshida Kei said with a smile. "For example, dying at the gates of their garrison."
Ishii Kazuo glared at Yoshida Kei, his expression thunderous, but he couldn't afford to clash openly.
After all, the vice-minister was backed by the civil service system. Everyone knew that while ministers came and went, the bureaucrats remained.
If it came to a power struggle, even as the Minister of Land, Ishii had no real leverage over Yoshida Kei.
"So what do we do now? Let terrorists run rampant in Taito Ward?"
Finally hearing a sensible question from the minister, Yoshida Kei sighed:
"We'll have to mobilise the Bujin-shū, coordinate with the Cabinet Direct Unit and the Ministry of Environment Countermeasures Office to consider expelling the targets."
"Beyond that, request support from the Nura Clan, the Vampire Council, and the Onmyou Agency."
"Conventional forces will focus on civilian evacuation."
As the vice-minister spoke, the officials below couldn't help but ask:
"Then what's our bottom line?"
Yoshida Kei paused, tapping the table with his index finger:
"Our bottom line is to confine the scale to Taito Ward and keep the public quiet as much as possible."
"Warn the media to treat this as a sudden disaster."
"Additionally, ensure all witnesses to the combat are dealt with thoroughly—coordinate with the Metropolitan Police Department. Under no circumstances can this incident be exposed!"
His tone grew dark, almost threatening:
"Tell the Metropolitan Police Department that if this leaks, it won't just be the Cabinet's will coming down on them—it'll be the will of the Five Great Powers!!"
At Yoshida Kei's level, rumours carried weight.
For instance, the peaceful order of the surface world is the exclusive preserve of the Five Great Powers!
For example, there are rumours of something extremely terrifying that requires the vast majority of humanity to be immersed in this peaceful order to be activated.
To ensure the deterrent power of that thing, the Five Great Powers absolutely cannot allow any issues with the surface order.
Therefore, any discordant noise must be suppressed!!
"What about the SDS?" Ishii Kazuo seemed to be making one last attempt.
Yoshida Kei was already tired of this 'Madame Cow'—political families that produced generation after generation of ministers always had a few fools among them:
"Minister Fujiwara from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries seems to be on good terms with that Director Luo. Why don't you ask Minister Fujiwara to do you a favour and act as an intermediary?"
Upon hearing this, Ishii Kazuo immediately shook his head like a wave:
"That would mean taking sides with the Fujiwara faction? No, absolutely not!! If the Fujiwara faction produces another prime minister, I'm finished."
Members of political families might include fools who couldn't tell one grain from another, but when it came to choosing sides, they were acutely sensitive.
They'd rather make mistakes than casually align themselves.
Having precisely gauged the minister, Yoshida Kei swept his gaze over the assembled meeting attendees and said:
"Proceed according to the arrangements just made. Meeting adjourned!"
The management staff immediately rose to their feet at the command, bowed towards the head seat, and then swiftly departed to address the emergency.
...
Within ten minutes of the meeting's conclusion, the intelligence had reached Li Yizhou, the director of the Chinese consulate.
Staring at the critical information written in code, the bespectacled and neatly dressed Li Yizhou in his black suit removed his glasses to wipe them, then turned to his secretary Gao with slight surprise:
"That little fellow townsman from the Hidden Management Department refused to mobilise. What exactly is the situation?"
Secretary Gao promptly replied: "Ambassador Iman would have more specific intelligence on this matter."
Li Yizhou nodded, then asked: "And what does our little grapevine say?"
The so-called 'little grapevine' naturally came from friendly individuals within the SDS who were willing to communicate with China.
Such friendly individuals naturally couldn't be named, hence their information could only be considered grapevine.
After all, how could China possibly plant spies?
Understanding the rules, Secretary Gao remained composed:
"The grapevine says unknown operatives from a covert organisation attacked a member of the Hidden Management Department. That little fellow townsman is currently providing emergency treatment to the wounded and can't spare time for mobilisation. Meanwhile, the previously summoned Demigods seem to have returned to their respective jurisdictions."
"I see." Li Yizhou wiped his glasses in realisation, then asked again: "And within the Hidden Management Department itself? Any grapevine there?"
At this, Secretary Gao's expression showed hesitation for the first time:
"The internal personnel of the Hidden Management Department... don't seem particularly friendly."
Li Yizhou looked surprised: "Oh? So our little fellow townsman has quite the skill... To have built such an impenetrable department."
"It seems the Security Bureau might need to add 'skilled in organisational management and operations' to his profile..."
Secretary Gao didn't contradict this, as in his view, the Hidden Management Department did indeed seem oil-proof and watertight.
The friendly sources still hadn't figured out how many members this newly established SDS department had or who they were – quite an unusual situation.
Just then, Li Yizhou put his glasses back on and glanced towards Taitō District's direction:
"Little Gao, have our Security Bureau comrades pay closer attention to matters in Taitō District. Remember to investigate the identities of both parties in the conflict, and have the Security Bureau assess the destructive capabilities of those Demigods."
"I suspect that old fox Iman is probably doing the same thing right now. While we can enjoy watching the Japanese make fools of themselves, we mustn't fall behind on serious matters."
Secretary Gao nodded in response:
"Understood, sir!"