As I was starting my third cup of tea, the shop’s front door swung open. A man walked in carrying several shopping bags. He wore a black T-shirt and an indigo apron emblazoned with the shop’s logo. I figured this had to be Hiiragi-san’s father.
He didn't notice us at first, calling out to Miyuki-san as she worked in the kitchen.
“Man, what a headache. Sorry I’m late.”
“Welcome back, dear. You were gone a long time. What happened?”
“I ran into Kida-san and we ended up talking forever.”
“I see.”
Based on Miyuki-san’s reaction, there was no doubt—this was Hiiragi-san’s father.
He stepped behind the counter, pulling off his apron as he began transferring the contents of the shopping bags into a small refrigerator in the kitchen. It was only when he looked up that he finally noticed us sitting at the far end of the counter.
“Hm? Oh, Yukino. You’re back.”
“Yes. We’ve been here for a little while.”
By “a little while,” she meant we’d been waiting for nearly an hour. Still, it wasn't a waste. During that time, Hiiragi-san had successfully persuaded Miyuki-san and even secured her help in convincing her father. I’d call that a win.
“I see. And who are they?”
“They’re Yukino’s friends,” Miyuki-san answered for her.
The moment Eiji-san’s eyes landed on us, his gaze sharpened. I wondered if he saw us as "bad influences" buzzing around his daughter. We didn't actually have that kind of relationship, but I could guess what he was thinking.
“Father, let me introduce them. These are the boys I go into the dungeons with. This is Daiki Kokonoe-kun and Yuji Hirose-kun. Boys, this is my father, Eiji Hiiragi.”
“Is that so? So you’re the ones looking after my daughter. I’m Eiji Hiiragi. Nice to meet you, Kokonoe-kun, Hirose-kun.”
“I’m Daiki Kokonoe.”
“I’m Yuji Hirose.”
Eiji-san reached out for a handshake. When I took his hand, he gripped it with everything he had. It didn't hurt in the slightest—I was a Rank D explorer, after all—but I assume it was his way of trying to assert dominance.
I didn't quite know how to react, so I just kept a neutral expression while he continued to squeeze. Gradually, Eiji-san’s face began to turn a bright, embarrassed red from the exertion.
Once he finished shaking our hands, he turned back to Hiiragi-san and Miyuki-san.
“So, Miyuki. Is it settled? Did you talk some sense into her?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
Eiji-san clearly assumed that Miyuki-san had convinced Hiiragi-san to quit the explorer profession. Unfortunately for him, he was mistaken.
“That’s not what happened, dear.”
“Hm?”
“Yukino is going to keep being an explorer.”
“What?!”
Eiji-san whirled around, his face flushing even deeper as he confronted his daughter.
“Yukino! What are you talking about?! I told you to quit!”
“...Father.”
“Did you see the morning news?! The dungeon is a place where even kids can die!”
“Father.”
“The price of dungeon ingredients has finally stabilized. There’s no reason for you to go back in there! Just listen to your father and quit!”
“Father!”
Unable to take his one-sided rant any longer, Hiiragi-san raised her voice. Startled, Eiji-san fell silent, though he continued to glare at her, his face still red with frustration.
Hiiragi-san looked him straight in the eye and stated her position clearly.
“No matter what you say, Father, I have no intention of quitting.”
“Don't be foolish!”
“I’m not being foolish. This is a decision I reached after a lot of thought.”
“...!”
Eiji-san was left speechless by her firm, resolute attitude. He probably never imagined his daughter would reject his demands so point-blank.
“If I don’t have to collect orc materials for the shop anymore, then I’m going to pursue the explorer profession on my own terms.”
“W-wait a minute, Yukino! Are you serious? You really won't quit?”
“Yes. At the very least, I won’t quit immediately like you want me to.”
“...”
The flush in Eiji-san’s face slowly began to fade, his skin returning to its normal color. Seeing the shift, Hiiragi-san pressed her advantage.
“Father, you’re making a huge deal out of that news report about the minor who died, but the dungeons have always been dangerous. How do you think I’ve been getting the orc meat and bones I bring home every day?”
“Eh? Weren't you buying them from the Association with an explorer's discount?”
“I didn't have that kind of money. I went into the dungeon and got them myself by killing orcs.”
“...What?”
Eiji-san’s eyes went wide. Beside him, Miyuki-san—who had been watching the exchange—gasped and covered her mouth in shock.
Wait, did they seriously not know? For real?
I glanced at Hiiragi-san. Her expression didn't change, which suggested she’d known all along that her parents were mistaken about her "procurement" methods. She’d just never corrected them.
“Yukino, were you really fighting orcs? I thought you were just hunting weak monsters, selling their drop items, and using the money to buy orc ingredients at the Association...”
“That wouldn't have worked unless I was finding skill scrolls or magic items every single day. Orc ingredients are cheap now, but remember how expensive they were when I first started bringing them home?”
“Why didn't you tell us!”
“Because if I had, you would have made me quit months ago. And if I’d quit back then, the shop would have gone under. You had no intention of raising your prices, right, Father?”
“...”
“If you still don’t believe me... Kokonoe-kun?”
Hiiragi-san looked at me. I knew the drill. I nodded, took out my phone, and played a video file for Eiji-san.
On the screen, two orcs were illuminated by the harsh beam of a headlamp. They stood with clubs in hand, huffing and letting out low, menacing roars.
“I-is that an orc?”
“Yes. Have you never seen one before?”
“Ah, well... I’ve seen pictures in magazines and on the news, but I’ve never seen one actually moving...”
Eiji-san’s hand trembled slightly as he held the phone, listening to the orcs’ roars. He stared at the screen as if possessed, answering me in a faltering voice.
A few seconds later, Hiiragi-san’s back appeared in the frame. She stepped forward alone, leveling her spear. Eiji-san let out a strangled cry.
“Yukino?!”
The video continued, cold and indifferent to his panic. The two orcs roared and charged. Hiiragi-san fixed her sights on the leader and lunged. With a single, explosive step, she closed the distance and thrust before the orc could even lift its club.
“Hup!”
With a sharp exhale, the spear pierced the orc’s chest. The strike was perfect. The orc died instantly; its eyes rolled back, its knees buckled, and it began to slump toward the ground.
“Ha!”
Hiiragi-san delivered a front kick to the falling corpse, using the force to yank her spear free while simultaneously shoving the dead orc into its companion.
The second orc couldn't dodge in time. It tripped over its companion’s bleeding body and went down hard, losing its grip on its club as it was pinned under the weight of the corpse.
“...”
Ever cautious, Hiiragi-san moved in. She drove the tip of her spear through the downed orc’s brow, right into the center of its head. The monster died without even a chance to struggle.
The video ended there. Eiji-san stared at the dark screen, unable to even groan, completely stunned.
I gently took the phone back from his frozen hands. That seemed to snap him back to reality. He looked up and met Hiiragi-san’s gaze. She watched him, her face calm and unreadable.
“Yu... Yukino...”
His voice was hollow, as if he’d just woken from a nightmare.
“Like you just saw, the orc meat I brought home was from monsters I killed myself.”
“...”
Eiji-san just stared at her, his eyes vacant and speechless.
Hiiragi-san let out a soft sigh, her cold expression softening as she spoke to him gently.
“Hey, Father?”
“Wh-what?”
“Do you remember how much I hated the idea of being an explorer at first?”
“...”
He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. It seemed he’d suspected as much.
“Back then, I’d been talking to Kokonoe-kun and Hirose-kun about the dungeons, and I knew how dangerous they were. Honestly, I had no intention of ever becoming an explorer.”
“...”
“So when you and Mom started believing everything the news and magazines said about how great explorers were, and then asked me to become one just to fetch orc ingredients... I had a lot of conflicting feelings about it.”
Eiji-san looked back at her, his voice full of doubt.
“...Then why did you agree? If you hated it that much, you should have just said so...”
“And if I had, would you have given up on making ramen with dungeon ingredients?”
“...No. If we hadn't started serving that ramen when we did, the shop would have failed sooner or later. So no, I wouldn't have given up.”
He hesitated for a second, but Eiji-san admitted that he wouldn't have backed down.
Yuji and I looked at each other, surprised. When Hiiragi-san had told us her story before, I’d gotten the impression that her father was just some reckless "cooking nut" who didn't care about his daughter’s safety.
But meeting him today, I saw a kind father who loved his daughter, even if he was a bit naive about the world. So why was he so adamant about such a high-risk business move?
“You’re right that it was reckless,” Eiji-san continued. “Using dungeon ingredients when they were that expensive and refusing to raise our prices... to anyone else, it would have looked like we were trying to go out of business.”
Exactly. So why do it?
“It would have been safer to wait until the prices dropped to launch the new menu. That’s what most shops did. But I felt that if we waited, we would miss the window.”
“The window?”
“Dungeon ingredients were a revolution for the food industry. They make the food taste fundamentally better. There’s no comparison.”
He had a point. Lately, dungeon ingredients were appearing on menus everywhere. Even the family restaurant we visited after diving had added them months ago. They were expensive, but they were a hit.
“If I waited until procurement was cheap and the quality was perfected, it would be too late. By then, the shops that took the risk early would have already captured the market. If you start when it's new, people come out of curiosity, even if the quality isn't perfect yet. But if you wait until dungeon ingredients are common, there's no novelty. You're just a second-rate copycat. Once you lose your customers, it doesn't matter how good your food is—they won't come back.”
I think I understood what he was getting at. I’d rather go into a shop with a decent crowd than one that’s totally empty. If he had just sat on his hands and relied on "tradition" or his regulars, he might have missed the boat and seen the shop die.
“I planned to use the savings I’d set aside for renovations to keep us afloat until the ingredient prices dropped.”
I see. Hearing his side of it, his actions weren't entirely nonsensical. It was a businessman seeing a shift in the market and taking a massive gamble. A reckless one, sure, but a calculated one.
“So that was your plan...”
“That’s why, Yukino, if you had said no, I wouldn't have forced you. I’m sorry. If I had just explained it properly from the start...”
“No, it’s my fault for not being honest with you either. We’re both to blame.”
The mood had suddenly become quite sentimental. Well, as long as they cleared up their misunderstandings, I wasn't going to complain.
“Besides,” Hiiragi-san added, “thanks to Kokonoe-kun and Hirose-kun, I was never in any real danger.”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
The soft atmosphere evaporated as Eiji-san’s gaze sharpened again.
“Because the two of them were with me, I could get all that orc meat without ever getting hurt.”
“Ho... is that so?”
Seeing the happy expression on his daughter’s face, Eiji-san slowly turned toward us. He had a thin, forced smile on his face, but his eyes were piercing.
Honestly, I’d rather he didn't look at us like that.
“Say, Kokonoe-kun, Hirose-kun. Why don't the men go have a little chat?”
“Eh? Oh, sure.”
“...Understood.”
Yuji and I were led into the staff room by Eiji-san, who was radiating a very strange aura. We spent some time in there having a "man-to-man" discussion.
By the end of it, Hiiragi-san was officially allowed to continue her explorer profession.
After our talk in the back, Yuji and I performed a quick mock battle in the parking lot. Miyuki-san and Eiji-san watched with their jaws on the floor, even though we were holding back significantly.
When we were leaving, Eiji-san pulled us aside and whispered, “I’m counting on you to look after my daughter.” I really hope there wasn't some weird subtext to that.
Communication and honesty really are important. A tiny misunderstanding can turn into a massive disaster if you aren't careful.