In a conference room at Sakuradamon, the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo.
"That concludes the report on last night's Operation Cleanup."
"Now, I declare Operation Cleanup a complete success!"
At the podium, Tachibana Kirika, the commander of this operation, braced both hands on the lectern and announced the end of her report.
As her words fell, thunderous applause erupted below.
The representatives of the various factions seated there all applauded. Daichi Fujiwara, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries seated in the place of honor, finally breathed a sigh of relief as they began their closing "performance."
Once everything was over, Daichi Fujiwara saw off the representatives of the various factions and finally sat down, wiping his sweat-covered forehead with a handkerchief.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Nothing unexpected happened."
Daichi Fujiwara patted his chest, calming himself while casually leafing through the report in his hands.
Heaven knew how terrified he had been last night.
On the one hand, he had worried that the operation would be exposed to the public and affect his future votes. On the other, he had worried that the losses would be too great and the various factions would come after him, their nominal leader.
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly. The Ghouls had been eliminated, apparently not much funding had been spent, and personnel casualties had been low. Everything really had worked out.
While Daichi Fujiwara was feeling relieved, however, Administrative Vice-Minister Akira Fukuda, sitting beside him, addressed a senior Self-Defense Forces officer with a somewhat troubled expression.
"Dead guardsmen... how am I supposed to submit a report like this to our superiors?"
Hearing this, Daichi Fujiwara, who was standing nearby preparing to leave, froze and turned to look at Akira Fukuda.
"Fukuda, what happened? Did I just hear that 117 people died?"
As he spoke,