After stepping off the shuttle bus at the rotary, we made our way leisurely toward the reception desk, taking in the sight of the plaza bustling with explorers preparing for their dives. since we were staying overnight, we didn't have to worry about the commute home, which meant we could take our time in the dungeon.
As we strolled along, I noticed that the crowd seemed to have a much higher percentage of students than usual.
"There are... a lot more kids here than usual," I noted.
"True. Maybe more schools are off tomorrow?" Yuji replied.
"Could be. Their sports festival might have been yesterday too, just like ours," Hiiragi-san suggested.
"So there's a lot of people thinking, 'Tomorrow's off, let's go on a dungeon attack!' just like us..."
As we discussed the increase in youths, Mika and Saori-chan nodded deeply and joined the conversation.
"Yeah, definitely. If you have school the next day, the fatigue from the dive makes morning classes a real slog. Right, Saori-chan?"
"Yeah. Science is the worst; it's so hard to stay awake..."
"Exactly. I've wondered so many times why that class had to be on that specific day."
Hearing their complaints, we recalled how the classrooms were when dungeons first opened to the public. Ah, that's right... I remember seeing guys getting chewed out for dozing off during class after a holiday. So that was why. It was exhaustion from exploring. Since we rarely felt physical drain ourselves, we'd completely overlooked it. Recovery speed must scale with level.
With awkward looks, the three of us put our heads together and whispered so the girls wouldn't hear our discussion.
"Should we give them more breaks?" I asked.
"Maybe, but it's probably more about the post-dive recovery," Yuji suggested.
Hiiragi-san nodded. "You're right. We might have been skipping the proper cooldown stretches."
"Maybe I'll buy a massage machine for the house," I added. "It wouldn't just be for Mika; the whole family could use it."
We reached a quiet consensus: until their levels reached a point where sleep could fully offset their accumulated fatigue—likely around level 20—we’d increase their downtime during dives and ensure they got proper care afterward. We'd see how it went once we put it into practice.
Before we knew it, we arrived at the warehouse where the reception desk was located.
"Let's get checked in first. We're just in the way standing here," I said.
We'd been so preoccupied with our talk that we'd stopped right in front of the entrance. With other explorers approaching from behind, we quickly filed inside. The line was a bit long—about twenty people—but compared to how it used to be, it felt like nothing. Our turn came about fifteen minutes later.
"Checking in, please."
"Yes. I'll take your cards."
I handed over the Explorer Cards I'd been holding for the group. Everything seemed normal until the Staff-san processing our check-in suddenly stopped and looked at us.
"Ah, excuse me... are you Kokonoe-sama, Hirose-sama, and Hiiragi-sama?"
"Uh, yeah. That's us. Is there a problem?"
"My apologies. We're actually holding a message for the three of you."
"A message? From who?"
"I'll provide you with the slip. You can check the sender and the content there."
"...Understood."
A bit of a hassle, but I figured it was a privacy protection measure.
The Reception Staff printed a slip, folded it into thirds to keep it private, and handed it over.
"Here you go. And if you could just sign here to confirm receipt..."
"Ah, okay."
I signed the tablet he held out and collected our Explorer Cards and locker keys.
"Stay safe out there."
"Thanks."
We moved to a quiet corner by the wall to check the paper. I leaned against the wall while the others circled around me like a human shield.
"Alright, I'm opening it," I said.
"Go for it," Yuji replied.
"I wonder what it could be," Hiiragi-san mused.
"The delivery was certainly dramatic," Mika added.
"Must be something important," Saori-chan chimed in.
I unfolded the paper and scanned the text.
"Let's see... The sender is... Kaburagi Tokushu Ryutsu Bussan? Never heard of them. Anyone know the name?"
"Not me," Yuji said.
"Me neither," Hiiragi-san added. "But 'Special Distribution Products' is a name that makes you want to ask what on earth they handle."
"Probably just dungeon loot," Yuji guessed.
"Wait, I've heard that name before," Saori-chan spoke up.
"Really?" we all asked in unison.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I've seen their name in advertisements—either in a newspaper or a magazine."
So it wasn't a fake name or a prank. Yuji nudged me. "Well, Daiki? What does it say?"
I silently read the message.
"..."
After finishing, I folded the slip and massaged the bridge of my nose. The content was a surprise, yet entirely predictable.
"So? What was it?" Yuji asked.
"Here." I handed the slip to him. "Keep your voices down. Basically, it's a scout offer for the three of us."
"A scout offer?" the girls whispered.
"Yeah. They say that since we're consistently hauling high-demand items out of the dungeon, they want us to join their company."
They didn't shout since I'd warned them, but they all wore looks of pure shock.
"High-demand items?" Saori-chan asked.
"Basically stuff from the 20th floor and down. Like the minotaur meat everyone’s crazy about. According to the letter, there aren't many teams capable of diving that deep in small groups and bringing back a steady supply."
"I see. So they want you guys because of that, Onii-san?"
"Seems so," I replied as Yuji handed the paper to Hiiragi-san.
"Hard to say if these conditions are actually good or not," Yuji noted.
"For most people, they probably would be," I said. "But for us? Honestly, it's pretty mediocre."
Yuji and I shared an awkward look.
Hiiragi-san skimmed the offer and handed it back, sharing our sentiment. Mika was practically vibrating with curiosity.
"Hey, Onii-chan! Don't make that face! What does it say? Let me see!"
"Fine, just stay quiet." I handed it over. "I'm planning to decline. What about you two?" I asked my teammates. Given my situation, I wasn't interested in being tied down.
"I'm out too," Yuji said.
"Me too," Hiiragi-san added.
"Thought so."
Yuji thought for a second. "It says to contact them if we're interested. If we're not, can't we just ignore it?"
"Probably for the best," Hiiragi-san agreed. "Getting in touch might just give them a foot in the door. Let's just leave it."
"Got it. I signed for the receipt, so they'll probably take our silence as a refusal anyway."
"Wait, really?!" Mika and Saori-chan hissed in surprise after reading the offer. "You guys are turning this down?! These conditions look amazing!"
I took the paper back from Mika. "I mean, they look good on paper, but there's no real appeal for us. The rewards are about what we make normally, and the equipment loans are useless since their stuff is lower quality than what we already use. They even offered to cover gear costs for overnight expeditions, but we can just pop in and out whenever we want, so we don't need that either."
The girls stepped back, looking a little shell-shocked.
"I mean... if you say so..." Mika trailed off.
"I... I see..." Saori-chan added.
With that settled, we headed to the changing rooms. Hiiragi-san led the still-dazed girls away while Yuji and I followed, sharing a wry laugh. Once we’d changed and stretched, we joined the massive line at the Entrance Gate. There were nearly a hundred people ahead of us, so we had plenty of time to go over the day's goals.
"So, the plan is to dive to just before the 7th floor and let Mika and Saori handle the combat experience, right?" Yuji asked.
"Yeah," Hiiragi-san agreed.
I looked at the girls. "You heard them. Focus on fighting as many monsters as possible to get your experience and levels up."
"Got it!" they replied.
"And to wrap things up, we're going down to the 7th floor for a single encounter with a humanoid monster. Start preparing yourselves now."
The girls tensed up. They both seemed to know about the Sieve.
"Listen... if you want to keep being explorers, everyone has to face this eventually. If you can't handle it, you'll have to either quit or stay in the surface layers forever."
"...Right. I'll do it," Mika said.
"...Understood," Saori-chan added.
Our turn came soon after.
"Next, please!"
"Ah, coming."
We passed through the Entrance Gate. I walked in as I always did, while the girls followed with stiff, nervous steps. Our dungeon attack had officially begun.