A little before it was time to clock out, I, Yuuki Tagawa, was summoned to a small meeting room by my superior, the section manager. While I wracked my brain trying to figure out if I’d made some kind of blunder, I arrived at the room a few minutes early to find that I wasn't the first one there.
"Oh? Fuyuki-san and Kondo-san? Were you two called in as well?"
Already seated in the meeting room were two of my colleagues: Motohiro Fuyuki, who had joined the company the same year as me but was in his late twenties, and Reina Kondo, a fresh-faced university graduate.
"Hmm? Ah, Tagawa-kun. Were you called here too?"
"Yes. I don't know the details, but I was told to come."
"I see."
When I asked them about it, it turned out that neither of them knew why they had been summoned either. I couldn't help but wish the manager had given us a brief heads-up, but I figured the meeting would start soon enough anyway.
While waiting for our boss to arrive, we decided to kill some time with small talk and catch up on things.
"By the way, Kondo-san, how are you finding the place? Are you used to the job yet?"
"Ah, yes! I'm still a bit shaky in some areas, but I think I’m getting the hang of it!"
"Good to hear. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me, okay?"
"Yes! Thank you so much, Tagawa-san!"
Sitting across the table from me, Kondo-san gave a vibrant, professional response typical of a new hire. I wondered how many more months that fresh-faced energy would last...
As I was chatting with her, Fuyuki-san, who was sitting next to me, nudged me in the ribs and whispered.
"What’s this, Tagawa-kun? Are you trying to make a move on Kondo-san?"
"No... I’m just looking out for the rookie."
"Hoh... you seem awfully kind for 'just looking out' for her."
"Geez, please don't get the wrong idea..."
I glanced over at Kondo-san. She was watching our exchange with a puzzled look, her head tilted to the side. She really was cute... maybe I should try my luck?
As I was dodging Fuyuki-san's teasing, the door to the meeting room swung open.
"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Thanks for coming."
"Oh, no trouble at all. We just got here ourselves, so please don't worry about it."
"Is that so?"
Entering the room with a brief apology was our superior, Section Manager Masaya Wakita. Manager Wakita set a tablet and a stack of paper documents on the table before taking a seat at the far end, right next to Kondo-san.
"Now, since we’re short on time, I’ll get straight to why I called you here. First, take a look at this."
Manager Wakita handed out the documents. It was a thin booklet consisting of several stapled A4 sheets. The title on the front cover read: Investigation Plan for Explorers of Interest.
Wait, an investigation?
"As you can see, the reason I’ve gathered you here is to investigate a certain group of explorers. Actually, this afternoon, someone cleared the Advanced Zone of the trap training facility within our jurisdiction."
"Heh, it’s been a while since someone cleared the Advanced Zone. But why does that suddenly warrant an investigation? I understand they'd draw attention as rare clearers, but isn't starting a full investigation a bit hasty?"
Fuyuki-san voiced the exact concern I had. If we were starting an investigation after a few days, I could understand, but to jump into it the very next day when there hadn't been an actual incident seemed... excessive.
"Well, you're not wrong. It’s only natural to think that when we’re starting so soon after the fact. However, there’s a reason we have to move quickly. First, open the booklet and check the details."
"Ah, yes sir."
Prompted by Manager Wakita, we picked up the materials and turned the cover. On the first page were brief profiles of three people, complete with photos....Wait, the targets are high schoolers?! Are you telling me high school students actually conquered the Advanced Zone?!
I recalled the layout of the trap training facility’s Advanced Zone and stared back and forth between the photos and the age column.
"As you can see, the targets of this investigation are high school students," Manager Wakita said.
Shaken, I shifted my gaze from the profiles to the manager.
"Manager Wakita... did these kids really clear the Advanced Zone?"
"Yeah. It’s hard to believe, but it’s a fact. It’s in the training facility’s official logs."
"I see..."
Fuyuki-san, who had asked the question, looked just as stunned as I felt.
"Ahem! Now then, let me explain why we have to start tomorrow. The issue is their activity style as explorers combined with the fact that they are students."
"Their style and the fact that they're students? Um, what's the problem with that?"
"Well, they only dive into dungeons on the weekends, usually once or at most twice a week."
Once or twice a week? That was low even for the average high school explorer. Most dedicated student explorers went almost every day, and even the national average was three or four times a week.
But still...
"But Manager, if that's the case, we don't have to go tomorrow. We could just do the investigation next weekend..."
"Actually, we can't do that."
"Eh?"
Why not?
"The high school they attend is holding its sports festival next weekend."
"...Ah."
Now that he mentioned it, it was that time of year.
"They seem to be quite cautious—or perhaps just laid-back—but their style is to never push themselves. If they have a sports festival on the weekend, there’s a high probability they won't go to a dungeon at all next week. That would push the investigation to the week after... two weeks from now."
"If you need a report quickly, that’s too long of a gap."
A two-week delay for an urgent matter would be bad. Submitting a report half a month late would definitely reflect poorly on the department.
"Exactly. So, I’m sorry for the short notice, but I want you three to accompany them on their dungeon crawl tomorrow and observe them."
"I see... but Manager, why were we chosen for this? Don't we have professional investigators for this kind of thing?"
"Ah, about that..." Manager Wakita looked a bit sheepish as he explained. "The regular investigators are all tied up with another case right now. There’s no one else available to take this on."
"Another case?"
"Yeah. An individual on the Watchlist caused a bit of an issue. We had to deal with it immediately, so we’re short-staffed."
"I see..."
"That’s why the choice fell to you three, since you all hold an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures."
Looking at Manager Wakita’s face, it was clear that whatever was happening with the Watchlist person was a major headache, and he truly had no one else to send.
It was true that if you wanted to monitor someone inside a dungeon, you couldn't do it unless you were a licensed explorer yourself.
"But Manager, we haven't had any surveillance training. Let alone tracking someone inside a dungeon... if we're not careful, they might think we're trying to PK them."
Fuyuki-san looked troubled, questioning if we were really the right people for the job. If you followed an explorer inside a dungeon and got caught, there was a very real risk they would assume you were a player killer and counterattack.
Besides, since we weren't pros, we’d probably mess up and get spotted even outside the dungeon. However, Manager Wakita offered a reassuring smile.
"You're right, that’s a distinct possibility. That’s why I’ve already secured permission."
"Permission?"
"Permission to identify yourselves and explain the situation if you're spotted or suspected of being PKs."
What? We were allowed to just tell the targets we were monitoring them?
"Is that... okay? For a surveillance mission, is it alright to be noticed and just explain it away?"
"Yeah. I was surprised when I heard it too, but apparently it’s fine. It seems they already underwent an Association investigation once before. This one is, for all intents and purposes, just a formality."
They'd been investigated by the Association once before? What did that mean? Had they done something problematic?
"Turn the page. I’ve attached a brief summary of the previous investigation."
Following the manager's lead, we flipped the page. As we read the contents, our eyes went wide.
"What?! They defeated an area boss with just three people?!"
"And on a day trip?!"
"Wa-Wait a minute! These kids are listed as Explorer Rank D, but it says their actual track record is on par with A-rank! They just haven't applied for a rank up yet?!"
The three of us were completely shaken, scouring every inch of the report and forgetting that the manager was even there.
"...Are you about done?"
" " "!? S-Sorry!" " "
"Well, I can't blame you for that reaction. I did the same thing when I first saw it." Manager Wakita looked off into the distance for a moment. "The last time they were investigated was right after they killed that area boss. After several days of observation, they were judged to be good, sensible people with no behavioral issues. In fact, they even provided their own recovery potions to help save explorers who had been attacked by PKs."
"Ah, it says here they rescued the victims and caught the PKs themselves..."
Who the hell were these kids? How could high schoolers rack up a record like this by only going to dungeons once or twice a week?
"So, as I said, if your cover is blown, I think they’ll understand if you just explain things honestly."
"You 'think'?"
"I can't say for certain, of course....But I’ll make sure you get a special allowance for this, so please, I'm counting on you."
Manager Wakita bowed his head, his hands pressed together as if in prayer.
Manager... if you’re going to act like that, just ask for an extension on the report and send the pros.
After the thirty-minute meeting ended and the manager left, the three of us stayed behind to discuss the assignments and preparations for tomorrow.
"We’ve been saddled with a bizarre job..."
"Really. And how are we even supposed to do surveillance?"
"Who knows? I guess we just follow them and try not to be seen. That’s about all I’ve got."
"True..."
Fuyuki-san and I were at a loss as to how to handle the unreasonable task our boss had pushed on us. Since we didn't know where to start, we were struggling to take any real action.
However, while Fuyuki-san and I were hesitating, Kondo-san was busily filling out the equipment loan forms at the back of the booklet.
"...Um, Kondo-san? What are you writing so intensely?"
"Eh? This? I'm putting in an additional request for the equipment we’ll need for the job."
"...An additional request?"
When I asked, Kondo-san looked at me as if I had just asked if the sky was blue.
"Yes! The items listed in the standard pack are just for basic dungeon diving. We need to request the proper tools for surveillance too."
For some reason, a chill ran down Fuyuki-san’s and my spines at Kondo-san’s cheerful smile.
"Um, Kondo-san. Do you... have experience with this kind of thing?"
"Yes. Embarrassingly enough, back in my university days... I heard a rumor that my boyfriend at the time was cheating. I did a bit of work to find out the truth."
"H-Heh... I see."
"In the end, the rumors were true. I gathered the evidence, confronted him, and we broke up."
I couldn't bring myself to look directly at Kondo-san as she went back to her paperwork. Cold sweat pricked my back, and I felt my face start to twitch. I wasn't alone; when I caught Fuyuki-san's eye, his face was just as cramped as mine.
A few minutes later, Kondo-san finished the forms.
"Done! If we turn these into the Equipment Department, they’ll have everything ready for us."
"R-Right. Thanks."
"You're welcome!"
Looking at Kondo-san as she gave us a smile that held no hint of shadow, I made a firm decision. Yeah. I’d thought about asking her out... but that was a hard pass.
After that, we decided on our respective shifts, picked up our requested gear from the Equipment Department, and headed home.
"I have to be up at four tomorrow..."
I felt a deep sense of unease about the unpredictable day ahead, but I went to bed much earlier than usual.
An unreasonable demand from the boss, delivered as an official order. Even if you want to refuse because you lack the skills, there’s no saying no when a penalty is on the line.