Once we’d showered and changed, we grabbed the cooler bags packed with drop items and waited in line at the counter to cash them out. It was only about thirty minutes later than our usual time, but the number of people waiting was significantly higher.
"Twelve parties ahead of us. Once it passes 6:00 PM, the number of explorer parties emerging from the dungeon really spikes, doesn't it...?"
I toyed with our numbered ticket, grumbling about having to wait twice as long as usual.
In reality, it was only about a thirty-minute wait. Still, I was exhausted and just wanted to get home as quickly as possible.
"Well, complaining won't change anything. Let’s just be patient."
"He’s right. It’s not like you have other plans later, do you?"
"Well, no, but still."
I pulled out my phone and shot a message to my family to let them know I’d be late.
It probably wasn't strictly necessary, but it was a safety precaution. Since they knew I was at the dungeon, if I didn't show up at the scheduled time without any word, there was a chance they’d fear the worst and cause a scene.
"Sending a text?"
"Yeah. If I don't let them know I'm running behind, I don’t want them panicking and thinking I went missing in the dungeon."
"I see... I guess I should send one too."
"Me too."
Sitting on the chairs in the waiting room, we killed time by sending unnecessarily long emails to our families.
Even so, that only occupied about ten minutes of our time.
Having finished our messages and officially run out of immediate distractions, I looked around the waiting area. There were plenty of student groups, but there were also several prominent groups who looked like new corporate hires, carrying a slightly different aura.
"There are a lot of corporate groups today..."
"Hmm, now that you mention it, yeah."
"Since it’s Golden Week, maybe they're just here with friends from their school days to earn some extra cash?"
"Extra cash... Do they really not make enough from their salaries?"
I initially thought Hiiragi-san’s comment about working on the side was unlikely, but we live in an era of non-regular employment. Since the explorer profession allowed one to make a lot of money in a short span if they had the skills, perhaps the term "earning extra cash" wasn't far off the mark.
"Ticket number 63, Hiramura Food Procurement Department. The purchase appraisal is complete. Please come to counter number seven."
A party name that sounded like a corporate entity was called out.
Hiramura Food, though... I’d never heard of them. As the thought crossed my mind, three young men and one middle-aged man sitting a short distance away stood up.
"The Procurement Department... I wonder if food companies are moving into dungeon exploration as a corporate venture?"
"Looks like it. I hear that even though the distribution of dungeon ingredients has increased, most of it goes to major food companies and wholesalers. They probably established a specialized department to handle their own procurement."
"That makes sense. The wholesaler my family’s shop uses said they'd be limiting purchase quantities for a while because their own stock was low."
I nodded at Yuji and Hiiragi-san's observations, following the corporate group with my eyes as they walked toward the counter.
"I see... but that's a pretty high-risk strategy they've taken."
"Yeah. Integrating explorers as a department within an existing company carries a lot of risks in several ways."
"Yes. I saw it on a talk show—they said large corporations usually create subsidiaries or affiliates specifically for dungeon exploration to mitigate that."
I remembered seeing that same show.
"If I recall correctly... if an explorer employed by a company is killed or injured in the dungeon, it’s treated as an occupational accident, right? It falls under worker's comp, which triggers inspections by the Labor Standards Inspection Office, hikes up insurance premiums, and causes negative publicity..."
"Plus, the worker's compensation insurance rate changes, which increases the company's financial burden," Yuji added, having clearly watched the same program.
But they also mentioned that only large-scale companies could afford to establish those specialized subsidiaries; it was difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises.
"Well, it's not like it's any of our business."
"True enough."
"Yeah."
It wasn't our place to second-guess a company policy they had presumably settled on after careful consideration.
Currently, civilian explorers generally had two paths: become sole proprietors like us, or join a company that specifically hired explorers. Incidentally, the temp agencies that students often used for part-time work didn't seem interested in sending staff into dungeon exploration given the extreme risk of injury. So far, no recruitment ads for that kind of part-time work had appeared.
Because of that, most students registered themselves as sole proprietors.
After waiting another twenty minutes, our turn finally came.
"Ticket number 78. Please come to the reception counter."
"...Phew. Finally."
"About time."
"Come on, let's go."
We grabbed our gear, stood up, and headed to the counter.
"Thank you for waiting. Are you here for a drop item appraisal?"
"Yes."
"Then, please present your Explorer Cards."
We handed over our cards for verification.
"Alright. Verification is complete. Please submit the drop items for appraisal."
"Here."
I placed the cooler bag on the counter.
"Yes, we have received them. Please wait a moment while the appraisal is conducted."
"Thank you."
After handing over the bag, we briefly returned to the waiting area.
"Phew... By the way, Hiiragi-san, what are you going to do with your skinning knife?"
"? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you got a new, high-performance skinning knife today, right? I was wondering if you were going to sell that bronze knife you've been using to the Association."
"Oh, I see. For now, I plan to sell it once the new knife is officially returned to me."
Hiiragi-san answered my question casually.
"Even second-hand, it's still a magic item, so it should fetch a decent price. Depending on the sale, I might finally have a clear path to paying off my debt."
"Wait, Hiiragi-san, how much debt do you have left?"
"About 300,000 yen."
We’d been diving mostly around the 20th floor and deeper lately, so she should have been making plenty from minotaur meat and other relatively rare items...
Then again, she took most of the minotaur meat home for the shop, and she usually spent the money from the items she did exchange on buying orc materials.
"I see. I hope it sells for a lot."
"Yes. If the sale price is even a fifth of what I originally paid, I can clear the debt in one go."
I see. Though, I doubted the resale value would drop as low as one-fifth.
Once our conversation settled, Yuji spoke up.
"Hey, Daiki."
"What’s up?"
"What are you doing with the vial? Keeping it? Or selling it?"
"The vial, huh..."
Yuji was being vague, but he meant the high-grade recovery potion.
When I weighed the pros and cons of owning a high-grade recovery potion officially documented by the Association...
"I’m not going to sell it. I’m going to keep it."
There were downsides, but I believed the benefits of ownership were greater.
By having even one officially documented high-grade recovery potion on hand, I would have a "cover" to use the other high-grade recovery potions currently sitting idle in my Spatial Storage.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Considering what happened with Shinohara-san and the others, things like that might happen again. I think it’s better to have an officially recognized one, even if I have to deal with the minor inconveniences. Even if I don't use it in the dungeon, I can use it if something happens to my family in our daily lives. Having one that's documented acts as insurance for the worst-case scenario."
In this era, you could be in a car accident or face some other danger at any moment. Having a high-grade recovery potion you can use openly is invaluable. If it hasn't gone through the proper legal procedures, you can't exactly use it in public.
If we were injured in the dungeon, we could just use the ones hidden in Spatial Storage, but that wouldn't fly out in the real world.
"I guess you're right."
"True. You can't say the chance of a family member needing it is zero. Traffic accidents are on the news every single day..."
"Better safe than sorry. It’s just that kind of insurance."
The two of them nodded in agreement with my choice. I’d been worried they might prioritize the downsides and oppose it, so I felt a bit relieved.
"Ticket number 78, Team NES. The purchase appraisal is complete. Please come to counter number seven."
"Hm? That was fast."
"We were prioritizing depth today, so we didn't have a huge quantity. That probably made the appraisal easier."
"Probably."
Called again, we stood and walked to the counter.
"Thank you for waiting. This is the breakdown of the purchase appraisal. Since several magic items were included, those will be sent to the head office for transfer appraisal. You will receive the appraisal notice once that is complete."
While listening to the clerk's explanation, we scanned the breakdown.
As expected, the recovery potion, the skinning knife, and the Ruby of the Pass were marked for transfer appraisal.
"The notice will be mailed in about a week. After you confirm it, please proceed with the steps to either collect the items or sell them... Are you familiar with the procedure?"
"Yes. I've done it before, so I'm fine."
"My apologies. Then, how would you like to handle the items in this appraisal? If there are any you wish to withdraw, please let me know."
I looked up from the sheet to check with Yuji and Hiiragi-san.
Noticing my look, they both gave a small shake of their heads, indicating they didn't want anything. Well, our goal today had been progress, so there wasn't anything particularly enticing in the loot.
"Nothing for us. We'll sell it all."
"Understood. How would you like the payment? A full transfer into a single account?"
"Could you split it into three equal parts and transfer them to our individual accounts?"
"Certainly. Please sign these documents."
The clerk handed us the purchase consent form, the magic item deposit receipt, and the transfer paperwork. We reviewed the documents, signed them, and handed them back.
"Alright. I’ll process the transfer now, so please wait a moment. Oh, I'm returning this to you."
"Thank you."
In exchange for the paperwork, the empty cooler bag was returned. It had been a long time since I got the bag back empty; usually, there was some kind of meat left in it.
After submitting the forms, the transfer was completed in about a minute.
"Here is the transfer statement. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Actually, may I ask one thing?"
As I took the statement, Hiiragi-san addressed the clerk. It was likely about the buyback for her old skinning knife.
"Does the Association buy back magic items that an explorer has already taken home?"
"Yes, we do. Since an initial appraisal has already been recorded, we can facilitate a buyback as long as we can verify the transaction history."
"Really?"
"Yes. However, please be aware that as a second-hand transaction, the price will be lower than the initial appraisal value from when it was first brought out of the dungeon."
So, a second-hand market for magic items had already formed.
I suppose once it's used, it's a used product.
"I understand."
"Would you like to sell something now?"
"No, not today. I was just curious..."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Nothing."
"Understood. Thank you for your business today."
"Thank you very much."
We gave a polite bow and left the counter.
Once we were outside the prefab building, I threw my arms up and stretched.
"Man, finally done."
"No kidding."
"School tomorrow, huh... You’d think they’d just give us the middle days off during Golden Week."
"It can’t be helped. On the calendar, those are still weekdays."
"I know, but... sigh."
I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
It felt like the excitement of the long holiday was being dampened.
"Now, now, Daiki. If we just get through school tomorrow and the day after, we have five days off in a row. It's not so bad."
"Exactly. Besides, even if tomorrow were a holiday, it’s not like we’d be coming here, right?"
"I guess not."
We had already decided that the first half of Golden Week was for the dungeon, and the second half was for family. Since becoming explorers, we’d spent almost every Sunday at the dungeon, after all.
As we walked toward the bus stop, we discussed our plans for the rest of the break.
"Yuji, what are you doing for the rest of Golden Week?"
"Me? I don't really have anything specific planned. What about you, Daiki?"
"I don’t have any family trips planned. I’ll probably just be stuck carrying Mika’s bags while she goes shopping."
"Haha, rough luck."
Yuji let out a wry laugh at my answer.
Thanks to the level up effects, the physical weight wasn't an issue, but the mental drain of a long shopping trip was another story.
"What about you, Hiiragi-san?"
"I'll be helping out at the shop. Golden Week is our busiest time."
"Oh, I see."
Hiiragi-san answered with a bright tone and a smile.
It seemed her family situation was back on track. I suppose our little persuasion mission the other day really did work.
"Oh, the bus is here."
Just as we reached the stop, the bus pulled into the rotary. I’d never used the bus at this hour before, but our timing was perfect.
"Well, shall we head home?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
We boarded the bus and began the journey home.
The first half of the Golden Week holidays was over. The second half would be for family.
The recovery potion was set aside for emergencies.