I spotted two figures who were almost certainly Yuji and Hiiragi-san, yet I hesitated to approach. The reason lay in their appearances as they stood talking in front of the ticket office. Yuji was decked out in black pants, a white shirt, and a sleeveless black vest. Combined with his brawny frame, a mustache, and sunglasses, he radiated an "approach at your own risk" vibe with every fiber of his being. Conversely, Hiiragi-san looked every bit the clean-cut college student, wearing a simple white dress accented with a thin black belt, a shoulder-length black wig, and makeup.
The sight of the two of them chatting familiarly... yeah. I couldn't imagine them as having anything other than that kind of relationship. In fact, the other commuters were buying their tickets as stealthily as possible, clearly trying not to draw the pair's attention.
「……」
As I agonized over how to call out to them in such an awkward scene, Yuji spotted me first and raised his hand.
「Over here, over here! You’re late!」
When Yuji called out, the eyes of everyone in the vicinity locked onto me for a split second before darting away. Given my current attire, I looked like I was cut from the exact same cloth. I took a shallow breath, steeled my resolve, and approached Yuji and Hiiragi-san while giving a light wave.
I felt like crying at the cold reality of how the other station users hurriedly cleared a path for me as I walked.
「...Sorry, it took some effort to get my hair right.」
「Well, with that hairstyle, I bet....Is that held in place with spray?」
「More or less.」
I replied to Yuji's question while running a hand over my head.
Hiiragi-san tugged on the sleeve of Yuji’s white shirt and spoke with a gentle, if slightly strained, smile.
「Now then, Hirose-kun. Since Kokonoe-kun is here, let’s get moving. We’re attracting quite a lot of attention.」
「「Hmm?」」
Prompted by Hiiragi-san, Yuji and I scanned our surroundings, only to have the many commuters who had almost made eye contact with us wrench their heads away....It was truly a sight that made me want to weep. We were being treated like a total biohazard.
I suppose that to the people in the station, we looked like a Young Head and his Mistress, plus their Subordinate... or something to that effect.
「Let’s go. If we stay here, well... it feels like we’re bothering the other passengers.」
「Ah, yeah.」
「Yes, let’s.」
As we began moving toward the ticket gates, I heard several audible sighs of relief from behind us. I’m... really sorry for being dressed like this, everyone.
Offering a silent apology, I tapped my IC card on the reader, passed through the gate, and headed for the platform.
The situation didn't improve once we reached the platform. Even though it was before the peak evening rush, there were still plenty of people around, yet a strange empty zone formed around us as no one dared approach. Thinking that standing in the middle of the platform would make this void a nuisance, we moved to the very end where the lead carriage would stop. However, the station staff member who watched us approach desperately suppressed a look of sheer discomfort while averting his gaze.
Sigh... This outfit really was a mistake.
「Hey, Yuji...? Can we stop wearing these?」
「I’d like to say yes... but if we want to hide our true identities, it’s hard to give these looks up...」
「I mean, you’re not wrong... but my mental fortitude is going to wear thin before we even reach the dungeon.」
「...Me too.」
When Yuji and I let out heavy, exhausted sighs, we heard the station staff member—who was still looking away—audibly gasp, which only made us more depressed.
Since we were aiming for a disguise, we had gone with the flow and picked clothes we’d never normally wear, but that had backfired. Sure, no one would think it was us, and no one would approach us out of choice, so in a sense, it was a success. However, it was dealing a devastating blow to our own spirits.
I should have gone with something more low-key...
「You two, there’s no point in complaining about it now. You chose these clothes yourselves, so you’ll just have to endure it for the rest of the day.」
「...I guess so.」
Hiiragi-san, the only one in a relatively modest disguise, gave us a look of pure exasperation for choosing and buying such strange clothes in the heat of the moment. Honestly... there was no way to argue back. However, while she was looking at us like that, her own appearance took on a somewhat peculiar quality just by being associated with Yuji and me... but I decided to keep that to myself.
As we waited for the train in a melancholy mood, an announcement signaled its arrival, and the train pulled into the platform about a minute later.
「Well, it’s here, but...」
「「……」」
As we waited by the side of the door for the passengers to disembark, I saw people who had been planning to exit through our door hurriedly scramble through the train car to try and leave through a different one. The passengers remaining inside wondered what was happening and looked outside; upon seeing us, they quickly began shifting to seats further away.
...Is it really necessary to be that repulsed?
「Yuji, isn't it your outfit that’s scary? I mean, come on, the mustache and the sunglasses...?」
「Look at yourself, you Intellectual-looking Thug. My outfit might be more intimidating, but didn't they run away because they thought you were going to shake them down?」
「「……」」
Yuji and I glared at each other in silence, trying to intimidate the other into admitting it was their fault the passengers had fled. We weren't releasing any actual bloodlust, but because we were staring each other down with such intensity, the pressure must have reached the other passengers. The few people remaining in the lead car scrambled to move to the next carriage.
By the time the doors finally opened, we were faced with a situation where no one was in the lead car and no one was getting on. Hiiragi-san let out a heavy sigh.
「You're both as bad as each other. It’s not just one person; everyone is avoiding the group.」
Leaving us with those words, Hiiragi-san stepped into the now-empty lead car.
Taking that in, the glares Yuji and I were exchanging lost their strength, replaced by pathetic expressions.
「...Shall we get on?」
「...Yeah.」
Yuji and I followed Hiiragi-san onto the train with dejected footsteps.
During the ride, we were subjected to curious glances, but no one spoke to us, and we reached our destination without incident. There was a bit of a stir when we got off the train, but I was used to it by now.
Stepping onto the platform, I noticed that unlike our local station, people weren't paying much attention to us. As expected of the closest station to a dungeon located within a city. Whether it was the station staff or the passengers, they all seemed to have nerves of steel... or rather, since so many explorers whose status isn't apparent by their looks use this station, very few people seemed intimidated by us just because of our appearance.
「...Everyone’s just passing by without giving us a second glance.」
「True. This is my first time here, but being a city with a dungeon, I guess there aren't many people who get cold feet just based on looks.」
「You’re right. It seems the only people avoiding us are the locals or those who aren't explorers.」
After taking a quick look around the station interior—our first time there—we went out to the rotary in front of the station and caught a taxi waiting at the stand. There was a shuttle bus from the station to the dungeon, but with our current appearance, it was likely to cause a scene.
We slipped through the doors, which opened after a slight hesitation, and climbed inside. I took the front passenger seat, while Yuji and Hiiragi-san took the back.
「...Where to?」
The driver, a man in his early thirties, asked for our destination in a tense, stiff voice.
...Yeah, he’s definitely got the wrong idea about us. We were in a cramped car; I couldn't have him getting so nervous he caused an accident, so I decided to speak up.
「To the dungeon, please. Also, we’re just high school students, so please don’t be so nervous.」
「...Eh, high schoolers?」
「Yes.」
「……」
The driver stared at me in blank amazement for a moment before looking at Yuji and Hiiragi-san in the rearview mirror. Realizing the driver was looking at him, Yuji took off his sunglasses and gave a polite nod.
The driver’s eyes darted back and forth for a moment, but once he finally processed the situation, he let out a massive sigh of relief.
「Phew... Give me a break, kids. Honestly, my heart was pounding because I thought I’d picked up some really dangerous customers, you know?」
「Haha. Sorry for the misunderstanding.」
「Seriously, it’s bad for the heart.」
The driver leaned back into his seat as if all the strength had left his body.
However, he quickly remembered he had passengers and gripped the steering wheel.
「Erm, the dungeon, right? Where exactly?」
「Yes. How long will it take? It’s our first time here, so we don’t know much about the area.」
「It’s not far from here. If the roads aren't crowded, we should be there in about ten minutes.」
「Ten minutes?」
「Yeah.」
If it only took ten minutes by car from a station in the middle of the city, it meant the dungeon that appeared in this town was literally right in the heart of it.
「Oh, right. Since we’re starting, could you all please fasten your seatbelts?」
「Oh, right.」
Once he confirmed our seatbelts were buckled, the taxi set off.
As we drove, we asked about the local dungeon as a bit of small talk.
「The place where this city's dungeon appeared was originally a small park near the boundary between the residential and commercial districts. When it first appeared, the whole city was in a total uproar... The residents living near the park were forced into a mandatory evacuation, roads were blocked, and a massive number of police and Self-Defense Forces vehicles gathered.」
「「「……」」」
「And that wasn't just for a day or two. The roads were blocked by traffic restrictions for months, and evacuation centers for the residents were set up in nearby schools and event halls. To make things worse, there was a shopping district in the commercial area that was close to the residential zone. Since entry was prohibited for months... many of the shops in that district couldn't withstand the long-term closure and went under. By the time the restrictions were lifted, you could count the number of shops that could actually resume business on one hand. Of course, new shops have moved into the empty lots now due to the dungeon demand, but... the atmosphere of the old shopping district is completely gone.」
「「「……」」」
The driver spoke about the turmoil of the dungeon's appearance while reminiscing about those days. Hearing his story, we were unable to find any words to say.
As we remained silent, the driver continued.
「Also, my parents' house is near that restricted area. I was worried about them, so I went to check on them many times. I remember those days well. Well, even though I say it’s nearby, it’s still about a kilometer away.」
「A kilometer... that’s quite close. Um, did your parents ever move?」
「Move? No, they didn't. Why?」
「Isn't it worrying to have a dungeon so close? I saw on the news that the government was prioritizing buying up land near dungeons, so I thought they might have had the house bought out and moved...」
When I asked that, the driver let out a sound of understanding before explaining the reality.
「It’s true that they say on the news the government is buying land near dungeons, but that’s strictly for land within the evacuation order zone. Any land that doesn't fall into that zone—even if it’s only one meter away from the boundary—is excluded from the buyout.」
「「「What...?!」」」
「Yeah, exactly. When that was explained at the briefing, everyone let out screams and protests just like you kids did... So, my parents are still living in their house. Of course, there’s anxiety. But you see, the appraisal value for residential land near a dungeon—unlike commercial areas—plummeted compared to before the dungeon appeared. Even if someone were to buy it, there aren't many people who’d want to live there. No matter how much the government says it’s safe, the anxiety of living there outweighs that. If they tried to sell the house now, they’d get less than half... maybe not even a third of what it was worth before the dungeon appeared?」
「「「……」」」
Hearing the driver's story, we couldn't help but look at each other. Everyone was pale.
The driver tilted his head at our sudden silence, but the conversation ended as the taxi arrived at its destination. The taxi pulled into the stop at the rotary and opened the doors.
「Alright, we’re here.」
「...Thank you very much. How much is it?」
「Let’s see... 1,130 yen.」
Yuji and Hiiragi-san got out of the taxi first, while I took 1,200 yen from my wallet and handed it to the driver.
「Could I have a receipt as well?」
「Sure thing. Here’s your 70 yen change and the receipt. Thank you for riding with us.」
「No, thank you for telling us so much.」
「Don’t mention it. Well then, good luck out there.」
I took the change and receipt, gave the driver a small bow, and stepped out of the taxi.
After watching the taxi drive away, one of us muttered.
「We have to keep the secret.」
「Yeah.」
「Yes.」
Having heard the driver's firsthand experience, we were once again struck by the profound impact a dungeon has on its surroundings.
Picking weird disguises for the fun of it resulted in a total disaster; fashion really is a difficult business.