A month had passed since the dungeon entry restrictions were implemented. Despite the various internal problems the system harbored, time flowed on, and March arrived.
Although the explorers diving into the dungeon still dealt with frustrations and feuds, the restrictions had been effective. Explorers were steadily raising their levels and reaching deeper floors, which led to a healthy dispersion across the various layers. People were starting to say that the lifting of restrictions wouldn't be far off at this rate, but this very progress brought about its own set of problems.
Thanks to the hard work of the explorers, the variety and volume of dungeon-derived items steadily increased. Prices that had once skyrocketed due to high demand finally began to stabilize. However, while price stability was generally positive, it also meant that the purchase prices for drop items—excluding magic items—fell. This gave rise to a new complication: a decrease in explorer income. It even became a news story when a group of explorers, who primarily hunted on the surface floors, staged a protest against the Dungeon Association, demanding that purchase prices be maintained or increased.
The Association responded by stating that the reduction in purchase prices was a legitimate response to the laws of supply and demand and that they had no intention of retracting it. In response, the group of explorers demanded the establishment of a minimum purchase price for drop items and the introduction of the Explorer Activity Support Subsidy System. Neither side was willing to compromise, and the discussions had reached a total deadlock.
After finishing my training with Juzo-san and returning home, I spent some time after dinner watching TV with my entire family for the first time in a while.
Until recently, Mika had been cooped up in her room studying for the final push of her high school entrance exams, so it felt like ages since we had all sat together like this. The program we were watching was one of those collections of funny home videos.
"Still, Mika. You’re looking pretty carefree. Are you sure you’re okay with the exams?"
"Hmm? Of course, I’m fine. When I checked my answers against the keys, I’d scored between eighty and ninety percent. Unless the average for this year is insanely high, I should be safe."
"I see."
She was remarkably confident. Well, it was better than her being unusually depressed, so I was relieved. Before the exams, she had been so high-strung and irritable that it was hard to even say hello to her.
Just as I was about to accept Mika's explanation, Mother interjected from the side with a wry smile.
"What are you talking about? You did say the entrance test went well, but weren't you clutching your head in worry because of your school records?"
"Wait, Mother?!"
"Heh."
"T-That’s not it! Honestly, Mother, why would you bring that up all of a sudden!"
At Mother's revelation, Mika hurriedly tried to shut her up.
So she was just putting on a brave face. But seeing her messing around with Mother now, it seemed like there was no real need for concern.
As I watched the interaction between mother and daughter with a warm smile while sipping my tea, I caught Father’s eye; he was watching them with a similar expression.
"That reminds me, Daiki."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"How are things on your end? You haven't seemed to go to the dungeon much lately."
"Oh, yeah. It’s been hard to get an entry reservation. I’ve only been in twice since the restrictions were put in place."
"I see. I hear there have been quite a few injuries; are you all right?"
"Yeah. We’re being careful and working within our limits, so we haven't had any major injuries so far."
Since Father asked with a worried look, I gave him a smile to reassure him.
I did get a light bruise once when I was knocked back by a red boar, but it had healed without a trace by the next day, so it wasn't a lie to say I hadn't sustained any major injuries, right?
Besides, given our levels and combat experience, I didn't think we'd suffer any real injuries unless we fell into a trap that spawned multiple monsters at once, like a monster room. In fact, we’d made it through the goblin room unscathed—even if we did end up covered in an incredible amount of blood...
Hearing that, Father let out a breath of relief. Seeing him like that made me realize that even if I wasn't getting hurt, I was still causing him a fair amount of stress.
"...Still, being an explorer is quite lucrative, isn't it? I never imagined your income would come close to exceeding the dependency deduction limit."
"Err, oh, that... sorry. If I had talked to you sooner, we wouldn't have had this trouble."
"Well, things worked out for this year, so it's fine. But if you're going to keep earning at this rate, it'll be bad if I don't consult my company about it..."
Father scratched his head and fell into deep thought.
Honestly, I felt terrible about this. I had completely overlooked the income limit for dependents. Since I was a minor, I was currently treated as Father's dependent. Fortunately, the fact that I didn't go to the dungeon during winter break paid off; the amount I earned up until December 31st had narrowly stayed under 1.03 million yen. It wasn't an issue this time, but considering that I would continue to dive, we needed to take measures.
"...Daiki. I want to confirm, do you plan to continue being an explorer and diving into the dungeon?"
"Yeah. For now, I don't have any intention of quitting."
"I see. Then can I assume you'll be going with the same frequency as before?"
"Yeah. Right now, it's just a matter of going whenever I can get a reservation. Once the restrictions are lifted, I'm thinking of going on weekends like I used to."
"I see."
Father confirmed my intentions and began to rack his brain. Seeing him so troubled made me feel even guiltier. Mother joined in as Father pondered, and the conversation moved forward.
"In that case, we'll first need to remove Daiki from the dependency deduction. Does that mean we'll have to separate his insurance too?"
"That's right. Assuming Daiki maintains his current income, there's no way he'll qualify as a dependent. He'll also fall outside the requirements for my social insurance, so he'll need to switch to National Health Insurance."
"I really should consult the company."
"Yes. Rather than just guessing, it's better to consult a specialist."
Things were starting to get complicated.
Talking it over thoroughly with my parents, I realized that being a minor and a dependent made things messy. If I were an adult who was already independent, it would be a relatively simple matter of having changed jobs to become self-employed, but being a minor dependent brought up various issues.
For example, if I were removed from Father's dependents, the amount deducted from Father's salary would increase. It was effectively a tax hike for him. Additionally, if I were removed from Father's social insurance, I would have to join National Health Insurance, and those premiums were eye-wateringly high. When I used a calculation formula I found online with an assumed annual income, it came out to the maximum limit—hundreds of thousands of yen per year.
I’d have to talk to Yuji and Hiiragi-san about this tomorrow.
The next day after school, in our nearly empty classroom, I brought up the tax issue with Yuji and Hiiragi-san. Both of them took on expressions of weary resignation.
It seemed they had both already dealt with a similar uproar at home.
"Oh, that... Yeah, it caused a bit of a stir at my place too," Yuji said.
"Me too," Hiiragi-san added. "When I showed my parents the bankbook where the money was deposited, they told me I was working too hard."
"Working too hard, huh..."
"They said I'm fine within the dependency range for this year, but for next year, they'll have to calculate it with me removed. They said they'd consult the tax accountant who handles our shop, so I think it'll be fine, but..."
"It was pretty much the same for me," Yuji said. "We're also going to consult our tax accountant."
It seemed things had been quite troublesome for everyone.
I tried looking back at the textbook I’d received during the Explorer License Training, but the Special Dungeon Act didn't say a single thing about the income of minors. Of course, there wasn't a single word about special measures for the dependency income limit either. It seemed they intended to stick with the normal tax system.
I wondered if this was a tactic the government had come up with to deter minors from entering the dungeon, similar to the Firearms and Swords Act. If a minor was about to exceed their dependency limit, their parents would stop them from going or persuade them to reduce their frequency.
Thinking about it that way, perhaps the reason the dungeon was opened to the public in October was specifically aimed at that timeframe. If they really wanted to, they could have waited until January to start the year fresh.
With that thought, I remembered something. I took out my smartphone to look it up and then asked the other two.
"...Yuji, Hiiragi-san. Is it possible that the ranks in the Explorer Card system are determined by the amount of taxable income?"
"Huh...?"
"! That... might actually be possible," Hiiragi-san said, looking like she’d had a sudden epiphany.
When we’d checked our ranks at the Association window while exchanging drop items for cash after our first post-restriction dive, we were Rank D.
In other words, I suspected that explorer ranks were divided by income brackets: S (40 million+), A (18–40 million), B (9–18 million), C (6.95–9 million), D (3.3–6.95 million), E (1.95–3.3 million), and F (up to 1.95 million). If you looked at it that way, the meaning behind opening the dungeon in October became clear.
I did some quick math. If a minor wanted to earn more than the 1.03 million yen dependency limit in just three months, they would have to earn more than 340,000 yen a month. And if they could earn that much, their annual income would exceed 4 million yen, easily surpassing the average annual income of a salaryman in their twenties.
If that happened, no matter how much of a minor they were, they could hardly be called a dependent.
"...If your guess is right, Daiki, then explorer ranks aren't just titles; they’re serious, real-world ranks, aren't they?"
"...Yeah," Hiiragi-san whispered. "Suddenly, the ranks feel like they have a lot more weight."
Realizing that what we thought were just titles in a game were actually something much heavier, the air around us suddenly felt oppressive.
Sigh. Why did I have to worry about this kind of stuff as a high schooler?
Pulling ourselves together, we finished preparing to head home. As the three of us walked toward the shoe lockers, I noticed that some bright decorations were still left in the building.
"Is that left over from the graduation ceremony?"
"Probably," Hiiragi-san replied. "It was at the start of this week, so they must have forgotten to clean it up."
"Graduation, huh... Speaking of which, I heard a rumor that a few of the seniors ended up in the hospital and couldn't attend the ceremony."
Oh, that rumor. I’d heard that one too.
Supposedly, they had been going to the dungeon during the period in February when there were no classes. It was true that there were fewer reservation holders on weekdays, so it would be easier to get in. From what I’d heard, the seniors in question had formed a party and set out to explore, but they were overwhelmed during their first goblin hunt and sustained injuries. Fortunately, it was only a few broken bones and nothing life-threatening, but they all reportedly suffered some kind of trauma along with it. They were mentally unstable and ended up skipping the graduation ceremony. Even though it was their big day, they had my sympathies.
Still, I wondered if those seniors had pushed themselves too hard and dived into the lower floors. Or perhaps they’d hesitated when faced with humanoid monsters and were struck during that moment of weakness.
"It must have been such a shame not to be able to attend their graduation," Hiiragi-san said.
"Yeah. But it really seems like whether or not you can defeat a goblin is a dividing line for being an explorer. I wonder if those seniors will quit, or if they'll continue?"
"With the way things are, they'll probably quit, don't you think?"
"But maybe that's for the best," Yuji said. "If they kept diving into the dungeon while carrying that trauma, it could turn into something life-threatening next time."
Yuji was right. They got away with broken bones this time, but there was no guarantee it would end with just broken bones next time. It would be one thing if they trained to sharpen their skills and tried again, but if they let their trauma fester and kept charging in recklessly...
They would either be seriously injured or die.
"Well, it's not really a problem we can do anything about."
"True. In the end, it's something they have to decide for themselves."
Yeah. No matter what we said, we were ultimately just outsiders.
After changing our shoes and leaving the building, Yuji suddenly brought up a topic as we walked toward his house.
"By the way, Daiki, wasn't Mika-chan graduating this year too?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, but where did that come from?"
"No, it's just that I see her every time I go to your house. I was thinking of getting her a graduation gift or something."
"Oh?" Hiiragi-san said. "In that case, maybe I should prepare something too."
"Uh..."
The two of them pelted me with questions about what Mika liked, and I answered as best as I could. As a result of the discussion, we decided to hold a celebratory party after the results of the high school entrance exams were announced.
Hmm, well, I was planning to do something to celebrate anyway, so I guess this worked out perfectly.