Inside a 50-square-metre conference room at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
A long rectangular table stood in the centre of the room, flanked on both sides by rows of folding chairs without desks.
Non-representative attendees, such as Suzuka Dairenji, Director Kiyonaga Matsumoto, and members of the Public Safety Commission, sat on these folding chairs.
Of course, Meer had also quietly blended into this crowd, sitting directly behind Luo Shu.
'So the Intelligence Division Director isn't sitting here, but I am? What the hell?'
While mentally complaining, Luo Shu glanced around at the seated attendees.
At the head of the table sat Daichi Fujiwara, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries—nominally the convener of the meeting. To his right was his administrative vice-minister, Akira Fukuda.
To Fukuda's left sat Kirika Tachibana, while across from her was Director Ito of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Judging by police ranks, Kirika was technically Director Ito's subordinate, yet she occupied the first seat on the left. This subtle arrangement drew no visible reaction from anyone present, as if it were entirely expected.
To Kirika's right sat Luo Shu, facing Dogen Takayanagi, the representative of the Metropolitan Police Department Bujin-shū—an elderly man with a particularly gloomy gaze.
Meanwhile, Natsuki Minamiya, representing the Onmyou Agency, sat to Luo Shu's right, while across from her was Nurarihyon.
'Who on earth thought it was a good idea to seat Takayanagi and Nurarihyon—two people with a grudge—next to each other?'
Even Luo Shu, who only half-understood the situation, found it absurd.
Compared to these two, Kotoko Iwanaga and the Vampire Elder Council's Asato Ichijo, seated at the far end, seemed to be in the perfect position.
These ten individuals occupied most of the long table, while the rest could only sit on the folding chairs to listen in.
This status left Luo Shu somewhat uneasy.
Especially when Kiyonaga Matsumoto, whom he had met once before, was staring at him with an extremely peculiar look.
That gaze carried the unmistakable vibe of 'discovering your classmate is the principal's son'.
'Is the SDS Director's position really this high-ranking?'
As Luo Shu silently mused, Daichi Fujiwara at the head of the table adjusted his glasses after reviewing the documents distributed by Akira Fukuda and announced:
"Alright, let's begin."
"Everyone here is a relevant party, so I assume there's no need to explain terminology."
"As for the UN's Demon Slaying Order, many of you are far more familiar with it than I am."
Nurarihyon and Asato Ichijo's eyebrows twitched slightly.
How could they not be familiar? They had almost ended up on that list themselves!
Well, actually, most non-human races attending this meeting were already on the list—just at the lowest E-rank.
E-Class refers to races with low danger levels to humanity that can be controlled within limits, monitored by the nation or regional power where they reside.
Japan's yokai and vampires happen to fall under E-Class, nominally under surveillance by official organisations, while also cooperating with authorities when required.
To some extent, they could be considered subordinate races to humanity.
"Based on current assessments, Ghouls have been classified as a B-Class hazardous race. Hence, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss effective extermination measures."
"That is the objective today."
After Daichi Fujiwara finished speaking, he repeatedly glanced towards Akira Fukuda.
Taking the hint, the latter smoothly interjected with a smile:
"Minister, allow me to take over from here."
Hearing this, Daichi Fujiwara exhaled in relief, coughed lightly, and said:
"Very well. I do have a slight cold today, after all."
Akira Fukuda nodded, then immediately directed his first question to Kirika Tachibana:
"Director Tachibana, I understand your department has full oversight on the Ghoul investigation report. Could you disclose SDS's internal findings regarding Ghouls?"
At this, Kirika Tachibana raised an eyebrow. Contrary to Fukuda's expectations, she didn't answer directly; instead, she glanced at Luo Shu.
"Why look at me?"
Luo Shu was somewhat exasperated by her move. Wasn't this basically announcing he was the one who gathered the intel?
"If Deputy Director Fukuda needs intelligence support, just provide it."
In response, Kirika Tachibana said nothing, merely raising her hand to clap twice.
Understanding immediately, Meer retrieved a stack of documents from a case by her feet and swiftly distributed them like a secretary.
"Thank you." Akira Fukuda accepted the files, politely thanking Meer before reviewing them. His brow soon furrowed.
"Total population: 20,000?"
Daichi Fujiwara, seeing the precise figure for the first time, was startled:
"Tokyo's population census last year recorded 14 million residents. The Ghoul ratio is nearly 1 in 700?"
As elected officials reliant on public votes, ministers were intimately familiar with demographic statistics, especially voter numbers.
Thus, Fujiwara's first thought was calculating how many votes 20,000 Ghouls represented.
Wait, no—why would he want Ghouls' votes? These creatures consumed one voter's worth per month, 12 annually. How horrifying—what kind of race operated like this?
Meanwhile, Nurarihyon also expressed surprise upon reading the documents:
"My my, consuming at least one adult human monthly?"
"That's 20,000 missing persons monthly, 240,000 over a year. At this rate, Tokyo would be emptied in fifty to sixty years. No wonder they're rated B-Class."
Nurarihyon did quick mental math. While many man-eating yokai existed, most preferred harvesting humans' Fear—the spiritual energy released during terror.
Similarly, Asato Ichijo's vampires subsisted on power extracted from human blood.
Consequently, the Nura Clan under Nurarihyon dominated Tokyo's entertainment sector—theme parks, nightlife establishments and such.
Meanwhile, Asato Ichijo leveraged Vampiric arts to expand influence within medical institutions.
Although there were individuals within both races capable of mass killings, the majority relied on humans for survival.
However, Ghouls—a race that purely fed on humans to survive—were exceptionally rare and terrifying.
"This is troublesome."
Director Ito's expression darkened as he read the document's contents. The high-ranking officials from the Metropolitan Police Department and the Public Safety Commission behind him also wore grave expressions after receiving the report.
20,000 murder cases per month—this was no joking matter.
As the highest-ranking official in the Metropolitan Police Department, Director Ito was well aware of the internal statistics.
According to the official internal report, the death toll across Tokyo's 23 wards last year was 110,000.
This figure included natural deaths, accidental deaths, and homicides.
Actual murder cases were exceedingly rare. Apart from the bizarrely high numbers in Beika Town, the total number of homicides across the other 23 wards—and even nationwide—was only 307 cases.
Now, that number was set to skyrocket to 24,000 per year.
An 800-fold increase—how many more officers and how much additional funding would be needed just to maintain current public safety?
The mere thought of those numbers made Director Ito's heart race.
Realising the same, the Metropolitan Police Department personnel seated at the back immediately began whispering among themselves.
Comments like "The Investigation Division would need to expand at least 1,000-fold to cope," "Funding is severely insufficient," and "Once Ghouls start acting, there's no way to keep it from the public" intermittently reached Luo Shu and the others.
In an instant, the officials felt their scalps prickle with dread.
Especially Daichi Fujiwara, who knew he would be shouldering the blame, muttered to himself:
"This responsibility is too heavy... I don't think I can bear it, man."