Having reaffirmed our vow of secrecy, we left the taxi stand at the rotary and headed toward the dungeon facility, following the signs along a newly renovated sidewalk. A three-story parking garage stood next to the rotary, but it was so packed that, at a glance, the first floor didn't have a single empty space—likely due to the high volume of dungeon users.
"There sure are a lot of cars parked here," I noted.
"Yeah. Even though it’s a weekday, plenty of people are using this place..."
As we walked, Yuji and I both marveled at the sheer number of vehicles. We couldn't see the status of the upper floors from the street, but the situation on the ground floor made the rest easy to guess.
Hiiragi-san, who had been following quietly behind us, offered a bit of insight.
"I looked into this dungeon a while back. Since it appeared right in the heart of town and the access is so good, it seems a lot of people commute here in their own cars. Even the taxi we just took came via the main road, didn't it?"
"...That’s true. We didn’t have to navigate any narrow backstreets to get here."
"The dungeon we usually visit is deep in the mountains," she continued. "The narrow mountain roads are restricted for general vehicles, but here, there’s a shuttle bus from the station and plenty of space for private cars and bicycles. It’s incredibly convenient..."
Hiiragi-san was right. In terms of transportation alone, this dungeon was night and day compared to our usual haunt. I couldn't say the same for its safety regarding social entanglements, though.
I had noticed something earlier at the bicycle rack attached to the parking garage: several bikes had our school’s parking permit stickers on them. As expected, many students from our school who worked as explorers seemed to favor this place. With an explorer’s stamina, this was a distance easily covered by bike.
"Well, it’s certainly convenient, but... as a regular spot, you know?"
"Yeah," Yuji agreed. "If possible, I'd prefer a dungeon where we don't have to worry about schoolmates or acquaintances. It's better for avoiding resentment and envy."
"I agree with that," Hiiragi-san said. "However, unlike the early days when everyone was crammed into the shallow floors and fighting over scraps, people are fairly well-distributed across the floors now. Don't you think we could make use of this place? Fortunately, it seems no one from school has reached the floors we usually hunt on yet."
Hiiragi-san stole a glance at her wristwatch. I followed suit; only about thirty minutes had passed since we left the station. Thirty minutes... considering it took an hour and a half one way to reach our usual dungeon, we could save three hours of travel time on a round trip. That alone was a massive argument for moving our base of operations here.
However...
"It’s just like Hiiragi-san says—the chaos seems to have settled now that the explorers are properly spread out. The atmosphere doesn't even feel particularly tense. We could consider moving here, but..."
"There's the risk of trouble when we cash in our loot," Yuji countered. "If people see the kind of money we usually pull in, someone's going to try to meddle. If that someone turns out to be from our school, it’ll be a nightmare."
When Yuji and I raised our objections, Hiiragi-san let out a small sigh. It seemed she had already recognized those drawbacks.
"...You really think so?"
"Yeah. It's unfortunate, but the types who pick fights are always going to pick fights."
"Basically, the more an explorer earns, the higher their rank—meaning they're high-level and strong. Even so, there's always a certain number of fools who don't know their place."
Incidentally, the repeating students were the kind of fools who did know their place. They didn't pick fights with upperclassmen; instead, they expanded their influence by recruiting and training non-explorers in their own grade. They were a real pain, honestly. If they opposed us head-on, I could crush them in an instant.
"So, I'm against making this dungeon our home base."
"I'm with Daiki on that," Yuji added.
"I suppose you're right," Hiiragi-san admitted. "The proximity and convenience are attractive, but considering the baggage that comes with it, it’s better to stick with what we know, even if it's a bit inconvenient."
Standing before the entrance of the towering dungeon facility, the three of us let out a collective sigh. Seriously, why is everything such a headache?
Once we stepped inside, we found a long queue of youths in school uniforms waiting at the reception. I could clearly see the uniforms of our own school among them. As we took our place at the very end of the line, the group of students in front of us stiffened instantly. Their lively conversation died out as if it had never happened.
"Sigh..."
"““““!?!?””””"
When I let out a weary breath, the shoulders of the students in front of us jerked up. It was a reaction I’d seen all day, but I still wasn't used to it. It really started to weigh on me.
"As I thought, it’s this getup..."
"Yeah..."
As Yuji and I hung our heads in dejection, Hiiragi-san shot us an exasperated look.
We stood in line for ten minutes, feeling like we were on a bed of nails under all those wary gazes, until it was finally our turn.
"P-Please present your cards."
"Here."
Prompted by the nervous staff member, we handed over our Explorer Cards. The man held them over the reader, but when the information appeared on the screen, his face twisted into a mix of confusion and shock.
"Ah, um..."
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
"Ah, no..."
He was clearly stunned by our ages and the registered ID photos. I leaned toward the receptionist and spoke in a low voice.
"(We’re in disguise for certain reasons.)"
"Ah, o-oh! I see... Yes, everything is in order."
"Thank you."
We took our cards back and left the counter. At that moment, I could have sworn I heard a collective sigh of relief ripple through the waiting line. No, it must have been my imagination. It had to be.
Telling myself that, I made my way toward the changing rooms.
"See you in a bit, Hiiragi-san."
"Yes, see you later."
We parted ways with Hiiragi-san at the entrance. Yuji and I took a deep breath to psyche ourselves up for the next hurdle and stepped inside.
The moment we entered the men's changing room, the air chilled, heavy with tension. Those who had finished changing scurried out, and those in the middle of it scrambled to finish as quickly as possible.
"“...”"
It was exactly what I’d expected, but the sight still made me feel incredibly guilty. Sorry... if only we hadn't chosen these disguises on a whim. Heavy with apology, we scanned the room and headed for the lockers in a deserted corner.
"...Let's just change."
"Yeah."
Under the weight of several darting glances, Yuji and I opened our lockers and began to strip. Once we were down to our underwear, the unapproachable aura we’d been projecting seemed to thin out. When I pulled my favorite jersey from my bag and put it on, the atmosphere softened even more. Of course, between the slicked-back hair, the mustache, and the sunglasses, the "intimidating thug" vibe hadn't vanished entirely.
Next, I pulled out my armor. I donned the sham protective gear I’d picked up at a discount shop—marketed as "Ultra-Thin Composite Body Armor," it had zero defensive value and was strictly for show. It was a mass-produced, cheap-looking item, but it was just enough to look like legitimate explorer gear. Since our real defense came from the jerseys we were wearing underneath, the body armor was practically useless.
Because of that, the aesthetics-focused armor we were wearing was a stylish, form-fitting set that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie.
"This stuff looks good, but... it's just the looks."
"True," Yuji agreed. "The defensive power is basically paper. I'd never wear something like this if it weren't for this disguise."
"It's just a cosplay prop for people who want to feel like explorers. It was a clearance item on sale, so we can't really complain."
"Well, it was certainly cheap."
The armor had been piled high in a bargain bin with a half-off tag. For all three of us, the total cost had been under 3,000 yen.
Once we were fully geared up, we checked each other’s fit since it was equipment we weren't used to.
"Yeah, looks good. It's on right."
"Yours looks fine too, Daiki. Even if it feels flimsy as hell."
"Don't remind me."
After confirming everything was secure, we attached our usual equipment, like our lights. Since the armor was different from our regular gear, some parts were a bit tricky to mount, but we managed without any major issues. We ran a quick light test and confirmed everything worked.
"Alright, prep complete. Now for the weapons..."
I pulled the final items from my bag. For this excursion, I had prepared a machete and a hand axe from the discount shop. Both had thick blades more than twice as wide as my usual sword; it was easy to see that if the pre-reinforced Shiranui had clashed with these, it would have snapped like a twig. Well, I had a feeling Juzo-san could probably cut through iron with them regardless, but I decided not to dwell on that.
I secured the machete and axe to my belt in their sheaths.
"You ready, Yuji?"
"Ready."
Yuji had two machetes hanging from his waist; his combat style for the day would be dual-wielding.
With our preparations finished, we shouldered our backpacks containing emergency rations and water, then clicked our lockers shut.
"Alright. Shall we?"
"Yeah."
We locked up and walked through the changing room toward the exit. To my surprise, the piercing, wary stares we’d been getting earlier had vanished as if they’d never existed. Yuji and I looked at each other and sighed.
"I guess without the flashy clothes, this is all we get."
"Yeah. In this gear, we just look like ordinary explorers."
My slicked-back hair was hidden under a helmet, and I’d ditched the obnoxious clothes and accessories that gave off the "shady intellectual" vibe. Yuji had taken off his sunglasses, so with just the mustache, he looked perfectly normal.
To think that people’s treatment of us could change this much based on an outfit...
"Fashion really is everything..."
"Yeah... seeing this, I believe it from the bottom of my heart."
Yuji and I reaffirmed the importance of style and swore to ourselves that we would never make such a twisted choice on a whim again.
Sigh. The thought of being subjected to those stares again on the way home made my heart heavy. Maybe we should just go home in this gear? No, that would defeat the purpose of the disguise. Sigh...
Exiting the changing room, we felt a profound sense of relief at not being the center of attention. We sank into some chairs to wait for Hiiragi-san. I saw a few groups that looked like students from our school, but since no one called out to us, it seemed our cover was intact. Though, since we weren't really close with them, I couldn't be sure if they just didn't recognize us or simply had no reason to talk to us.
"It's so peaceful..."
"Yeah. I never knew that not being stared at could be so relaxing..."
"True."
Freed from the burden of those curious eyes, our tension evaporated. We slumped into the backrests, both of us staring up blankly at the ceiling lights.
Then, a voice called out to us.
"What are you two doing?"
"“...Hm? Ah, Hiiragi-san.”"
"It's not 'Ah, Hiiragi-san'! What is this pathetic display from both of you?"
We looked down from the ceiling to find Hiiragi-san standing there, looking utterly exasperated. When had she even come out? It seemed we had relaxed so much that our Presence Detection had gone completely lax.
"No, it's just, we stopped getting those weird looks, and we kind of just lost our edge..."
"Sorry," Yuji added. "We let our guards down way too much."
"I'm sorry," I muttered.
I tried to come up with an excuse, but since Yuji had apologized so honestly, I gave up and bowed my head as well. Hiiragi-san let out a long sigh.
"I can understand the feeling, but you're being far too careless. Honestly... come on, finish your warm-ups. We're heading into the dungeon."
"“Yes!”"
Yuji and I replied instantly, grabbed our gear, and stood up.
Sigh. I really need to get my head back in the game.