The senior explorers flanked the troublemaking students to ensure they couldn't flee, leading them out of the dungeon. Honestly, they got exactly what they deserved.
Once the commotion had settled, we noticed several other student explorers who happened to be nearby starting to tidy up the staircase plaza, so we decided to lend a hand. It would probably help the overall image of our demographic if more student explorers were seen helping with the cleanup. It sent a message that while a few idiots had acted out, the vast majority of us were serious about our work.
"Man, look at all this damage..."
"The tables are totally trashed. There’s no way to fix these."
At a quick glance, the casualties included three tables and about ten chairs. The furniture originally installed in the plaza was the plastic sort you’d find at an amusement park or a food court. The brawlers must have rampaged quite violently; shattered fragments were scattered across a wide area.
We gathered the broken pieces and stuffed them into the large plastic trash bags we carried. We’d likely be the ones lugging these out of the dungeon...
"The Association will get a report on the incident, so I'm sure the furniture will be replaced eventually, but..."
"It won't be anytime soon. Given the location and the costs involved, it'll take time."
Installing furniture sets in a dungeon was easier said than done. The tables and chairs themselves probably cost twenty or thirty thousand yen each, but once you factored in the cost of hiring contractors for transport and installation, the total would be astronomical.
And that bill would be sent straight to the students who started the fight. I’d seen their gear; it was the kind of cheap lineup someone puts together when they're just trying to look the part. If you asked me whether they could afford those fees, I’d say it was unlikely. That meant replacements were probably a long way off. While the blame lay with the instigators, the rest of the student explorers would likely face the fallout of being associated with them.
"...Alright, I think that’s most of it."
"Yeah. We’d need a broom for the smaller bits, but this should be enough."
"Now we just have to get this back to the surface, but..."
I flicked my gaze toward the other student explorers who had helped with the cleanup. Everyone looked hesitant, unsure of what to do with the bags of debris. They were all here to explore and find drop items. No one wanted to trek through the dungeon carrying bulky trash, but leaving it here was out of the question—basic etiquette dictated that you carry out whatever trash you produce.
In other words...
" " " "..." " " "
A silent battle of wills through eye contact began.
Given the enhanced physical abilities of explorers, a single party could easily carry the trash out. If you added another party as an escort to ensure a safe trip to the surface, a minimum of two parties would be needed for the task. If two parties volunteered to draw the short straw, everyone else could continue their exploration in peace.
" " " "..." " " "
" "..." "
The student explorers continued their silent standoff, while the other explorers watching from the sidelines adopted an "it's none of my business" attitude, glancing over occasionally while making sure they didn't get dragged into it.
The atmosphere was turning sour, and the situation had reached a complete stalemate. Amidst the silence, we held a strategy meeting via eye contact.
(...What should we do? It doesn't look like anyone's going to move unless someone speaks up.)
(I mean, I get it... Nobody wants to get stuck with the short straw.)
(Even so, we can't just stand here staring at each other forever. It's a waste of time.)
(Which means if we want to break the deadlock, we're the ones who have to volunteer...)
(I don't really want to stand out, but I guess it can't be helped. We were heading home anyway, so even if our load is a bit heavier... it shouldn't be an issue.)
(Sigh... I figured we'd end up there.)
We reached our conclusion and looked down in shared resignation.
As the staring contest dragged on, I slowly raised my hand.
"Uh, hey. Look, we're heading back to the surface now anyway. We don't mind taking this trash with us."
" " " "!?" " " "
At my words, the student explorers' faces lit up with joy—finally, someone had volunteered to draw the short straw. With the ice broken, the situation began to move. It seemed everyone had just been waiting for an opening; two other parties who had also finished their day's work stepped forward to serve as our escorts.
With the roles decided, we took charge of the bags, and the cleanup crew disbanded.
Once we had the trash, we exchanged formal greetings with the groups who would be accompanying us back.
"Man, you really saved us. If you guys hadn't stepped up, we'd probably still be back there glaring at each other."
"Yeah, seriously! Thank you so much!"
Our escorts consisted of an all-male party and an all-female party. The leader of the guys was Norio Kagawa, an athletic third-year high school student. The leader of the girls was Suzu Hibari, a bright and energetic first-year. It turned out Kagawa-san and his team had started exploring as soon as the dungeons opened, making them veterans. Hibari-chan and her group, on the other hand, were rookies who had just debuted this summer.
"Don't worry about it. It helped us out, too. If I'd volunteered to change the mood and nobody followed, we would've been right back where we started."
"We were planning to head home after resting here anyway. Even if you're officially 'escorts,' you're really just companions for the walk back."
"Well, we feel lucky to have such reliable people to walk with!"
After the quick introductions, we decided to get moving before we got sucked into any more weird trouble. The longer we stayed, the more likely it was that something annoying would find us.
"Alright, let's head out."
"You got it."
"Yes!"
It was only a two-floor trip, but our temporary group set off from the staircase plaza in synchronized steps.
The return journey was smooth as we took the shortest route to the surface. We reached the 1st floor quickly, but since walking in silence was boring, we chatted about the latest dungeon news to pass the time.
"Huh... so the purchase prices for food-related items have dropped that much?"
"That's the way it's going. Back... well, about six months ago, items in good condition could net you several thousand yen each, but lately..."
"There's been a huge increase in corporate explorers who specialize in food items," Kagawa-san added.
"And since things like skinning knives make it easier to gather ingredients, large groups can secure massive quantities of specific foods. That's what's causing the market crash, especially for edible drops."
"..."
Hibari-chan and her friends listened with wide eyes. As rookies, this kind of economic reality was clearly a shock to them.
With a small sigh, Hibari-chan let out a dejected mutter.
"Man, that’s such a bummer. If I’d started being an explorer a little sooner, I might have actually made some decent money..."
"...Well, that was just the initial bubble. Once a supply chain is established, prices naturally drop. If anything, there are plenty of people struggling now because they can't adjust," Kagawa-san warned her gently.
Once your standard of living goes up, it’s hard to bring it back down. I’d heard stories of plenty of explorers who were still spending recklessly, clinging to the glory days of the past. Unlike the period when you could make a fortune just by dipping into the shallow floors, these days you can only earn pocket change there unless you're incredibly lucky. Because of that, many people without the skills to back it up were taking reckless risks in hopes of a big payday, leading to serious injuries or crushing debt from buying expensive recovery potions.
"But Kokonoe-san and Kagawa-san, you guys must have made a killing back then, right?"
"...Well, I did okay."
"Most of mine went right back into maintaining or upgrading my gear," Kagawa-san said.
"..."
Both Kagawa-san and I awkwardly averted our eyes from Hibari-chan's envious gaze.
The mood had grown a bit heavy, so I cleared my throat to change the subject.
"S-So, Kagawa-san. You said you're a third-year. Is it okay for you to be in the dungeon during summer break? What about your entrance exams?"
"Oh, that? It's fine. Actually, everyone in my party was headhunted by a certain company, so we’ve already got jobs lined up. Exams don't really matter for us now. If anything, diving during the summer to raise our levels is considered a sort of pre-employment internship."
"Wait, what?! Kagawa-san, you guys got scouted?!"
Hibari-chan practically pounced on the topic. Making a name for yourself as a student explorer and getting scouted by a corporation was a dream career path for many students. Being an independent explorer was a brutal grind unless you were exceptionally lucky or talented.
For us, given our secrets, it was a path we wanted to avoid, but to Hibari-chan, it was clearly something to be admired.
"Yeah. The offer came through the Association back in the spring."
"Wow, that's so cool! I'm so jealous!"
"Y-You think so?"
Kagawa-san looked embarrassed to be the object of such hero-worship, but he clearly didn't hate it.
After all, there aren't many high school boys who would feel bad about being praised by a cute girl.
"So, Kagawa-san. Which company scouted you?"
"Eh? Oh, it’s..."
Kagawa-san hesitated, looking a bit reluctant. Ah, maybe he’d been told to keep the name under wraps?
After a moment of internal debate, he lowered his voice and spoke the name, provided we kept it to ourselves.
"Masai Foods..."
I never expected to hear that name from him. Masai Foods... that was the company where Sakuoka-san, the man who’d been sizing up Baba-san from Hazama Shoji, worked.
That meant there was a real chance our activities might eventually get back to Kagawa-san and his team through Sakuoka-san.
" " "..." " "
While Kagawa-san’s and Hibari-chan’s groups continued their lively conversation, the three of us fell into a gloomy silence. To think there was a pitfall like this waiting for us at the very end...
Watching the light from the dungeon exit ahead, we followed the cheerful groups toward the surface, our steps feeling considerably heavier.
Once we exited the dungeon, we explained the situation to the security guards at the Entrance Gate and asked where to dispose of the bulky trash. They seemed to already know about the students who had been hauled out earlier and gave us directions to a disposal site along with their thanks.
Evidently, clearing trash out of the dungeon was a major headache for the staff as well.
"Thank you. We'll make sure it gets to the designated spot."
"Much appreciated. Sorry you had to handle the cleanup when I'm sure you just want to go home and rest."
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't that much trouble."
After saying goodbye to the guard, we left the entrance building.
Stepping out into the sunlight for the first time in a day, it was time to part ways with Kagawa-san and the others.
"Thanks for the escort on the way up."
"No problem. We were heading this way anyway."
"And we were lucky enough not to run into any monsters."
After a quick exchange of farewells, we hauled the remains of the tables and chairs to the garbage collection point. Now that we were outside the dungeon, we didn't need guards.
Once the trash was gone, we found a bench in a quiet nearby rest area and sat down with some drinks.
"Haaa... That was one miserable dungeon stay."
"Yeah. Seriously, I'm exhausted to the bone after this trip."
"Physically it wasn't that bad, but mentally... that was draining."
We leaned back against the bench and looked up at the cloudless blue sky, venting our frustrations.
Seriously... I'm beat.