Our brief but lively rest day came to an end, and today was just another day for dungeon exploration. Yesterday’s tasting session had been an unexpected turn of events, but the lizard meat dishes were so delicious that I felt foolish for having been so terrified. I really had to thank Eiji-san for his skill; even on such short notice, he’d cooked it perfectly.
Still, the ending wasn't exactly ideal...
"I mean... even if it was meant to be a surprise, that was on you, Daiki. You were hesitating to eat it yourself, weren't you? If you kept quiet until after she finished it... well, you know?"
"I agree. It’s not something people eat on a daily basis, so I think you should have given her a heads-up first."
"Yeah, true. You're right..."
On the bus ride to the dungeon, I brought up the spat I’d had with Mika during dinner as a way to kill time. Yuji and Hiiragi-san both gave me half-lidded, exasperated looks, chiding me for taking my prank too far.
Yes, I’m aware, and I’ve reflected on it.
"That's why I apologized right away. I told her I was sorry for keeping her in the dark, but..."
I put a hand to my forehead and let out a weary sigh as I remembered what happened next. Seeing me like that, Yuji and Hiiragi-san both let out sighs of their own.
"...I guess you can't even have a simple sibling spat when you're both explorers."
"To think that instead of the person you hit being the one in pain, the chair you were sitting on is what cracked..."
"...Yeah, that really caught me off guard."
When I revealed the true nature of the meat used in the karaage, Mika let out a small shriek. She covered her mouth and glared at me while I tried to stifle my laughter. In response, I apologized with a sense of accomplishment for pulling off a successful surprise, but my apology apparently sounded insincere. Mika, looking thoroughly displeased, slapped me on the shoulder. Of course, I could have avoided it or blocked it if I’d wanted to, but since I was the one who played the prank, I chose to take the hit... though in hindsight, I probably should have dodged.
The moment Mika, her face a mask of disgust and anger, brought her palm down toward my collarbone, a dry, snapping sound echoed through the living room.
"At first, I thought it was the sound of my bones breaking, but there's no way the bones of my reinforced body would break from a single hit from Mika, since she's just a newcomer explorer."
"Mika-chan might be an explorer too, but there’s a massive level gap between us—especially between her and you, Daiki. If she were holding a weapon and actually intended to wound you, it might be a different story, but for a bare-handed strike during a tiff..."
"She just doesn't have the attack power to deal a telling blow to Kokonoe-kun."
Their assessment was reasonable, but hearing it made me feel strangely pathetic. I mean, I did take a hit strong enough to break a chair... I'd appreciate it if they at least asked if I was okay.
Well, I suppose asking for sympathy would be a bit much, so never mind.
"Well, it's fine since I wasn't hurt... but the broken chair made things messy. Mika looked panicked, like she’d really screwed up; Mom was stressed because she’d have to go buy a replacement; and Dad gave me a lecture about keeping my surprises within reason."
"You should have just been honest about the karaage from the start."
"Your attempt at a surprise backfired on you."
"...It really did."
I slumped my shoulders and looked out the window with a distant gaze, watching the cloudless summer sky where the sun shone brilliantly.
I hoped we’d get to the dungeon soon so I could clear this funk...
Once we arrived at the dungeon, we headed to the reception to go through the usual entry procedures, but things didn't go as planned. When I presented my Armed Exploration Permit for ID verification, the receptionist’s expression sharpened, and the process came to a halt.
Then, in a slightly stiff voice, the receptionist spoke to us as if to confirm something.
"Um... are you Team NES?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. That’s us... Is something wrong?"
"There is someone who wishes to meet with you. Would you be able to spare a bit of your time?"
"A meeting...? With who?"
As we exchanged confused looks, the receptionist leaned over the counter slightly and lowered her voice.
"A representative from the Explorer Rank Management Department wishes to see you."
"Rank Management?"
"I don't know the details, but a notice was sent out asking us to contact them as soon as you arrived."
"I... I see. Understood."
"Then, my apologies, but please wait a moment."
With that, the receptionist picked up the receiver and began contacting the department via the internal line.
Even so... a summons from the Explorer Rank Management Department? Did we do something? While wondering about this, we stood there tilting our heads and waiting until the receptionist began writing something on a memo pad.
"Yes, thank you. Sorry to keep you waiting; I’ve reached the person in charge. They would like to meet with you now..."
"Oh, that's fine. Where should we go?"
"Thank you. Since they want to keep this private, they’ve requested the meeting be held in a conference room in that building over there."
Since it wasn't being held in the rental meeting rooms explorers usually use for pre-dive briefings, it seemed this was something they didn't want others to overhear.
As an ominous atmosphere began to settle over us, the receptionist handed over the memo.
"This is the location of the conference room and the name of the person in charge. If you speak to someone at the office on the second floor, they will assist you."
"Ah, thank you."
"Not at all. Thank you for sparing your valuable time. Also, the dungeon entry procedures are already complete, so you may head straight into the dungeon once your talk is over."
"Understood."
And so, we ended up having a discussion with the Dungeon Association before our dive. It seemed the topic was about our ranks... I just hoped that was all.
We gave a light bow and left the counter, heading toward the building that housed the windows for selling drop materials. We felt some curious gazes from the explorers lined up behind us, but we decided to ignore them. It's not like we were called in because we caused trouble... probably.
Ignoring the explorers loitering in the waiting room, we climbed the stairs to the second floor. Unless you had specific business, there was no reason to go up to the administrative floor.
Unlike the bustling first floor, the second floor was a quiet space where Association staff sat at desks, staring intently at their computer screens. I almost felt bad for interrupting the silence. However, I couldn't just stand there forever...
"Um, excuse me."
"...Yes, how can I help you?"
A female clerk sitting near the counter responded. Her tone was a bit listless, but I brushed it off.
Checking the memo, I quickly stated our business.
"The staff at the entry reception told us to come here... Is a Mr. Makabe from the Explorer Rank Management Department available? I believe they already contacted him about our arrival."
"Makabe from Rank Management? Please wait a moment."
She turned and called out toward the back. "Section Chief Makabe, you have visitors." Her voice echoed through the quiet office. I guess they don't bother with the internal lines when everyone is in the same room.
As I was thinking that, a sturdy-built middle-aged man with sharp eyes—presumably Makabe-san—stood up and walked toward us.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Makabe. Are you the members of Team NES?"
"Ah, yes. The receptionist told us you wanted to speak with us, so we came by."
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. I’d like to discuss the details in a conference room, if that’s alright?"
Even though Makabe-san knew we were high school students, he was polite and didn't talk down to us. If he were the arrogant type, he’d have tried to assert dominance the moment he saw our age.
I’d been a bit uneasy about the summons, but this professional treatment suggested the business wasn't anything bad.
"Yes, that’s fine."
"Then I’ll show you to the room. Um... Kosaka-san, I need to grab some documents, so could you please guide them to Meeting Room 3?"
"Ah, yes. Understood. Everyone, please follow me this way."
The clerk, Kosaka-san, seemed to get a bit tense after seeing how respectfully Makabe-san treated us. It looked like she’d realized she needed to treat us as important clients. I didn't think we were anything that special, though.
After leaving our guidance to Kosaka-san, Makabe-san walked quickly back to his desk to gather his things. Well now, a discussion where a section chief comes out instead of a regular staff member... I wondered how this would go.
We were led to Meeting Room 3, a small room with six chairs. In the short time before Makabe-san appeared, we held a whispered consultation.
"Hey, what do you think this is about?"
"Our opponent is in charge of explorer rank management, so it's got to be about our ranks."
"The most obvious thing would be a rank-up, right? Despite how much we earn, we’ve never applied for one."
"Ah, I see... So they've finally run out of patience?"
Among the explorers using this dungeon, we undoubtedly belonged to the top group. Even in terms of earnings, we likely outpaced other student explorers and even many pros.
Yet our ranks remained at the D-rank we were assigned when the rank system first started.
"It looks bad for the Association to have to say, 'In our dungeon, a D-rank is at the top!' If we were A or B-rank, they could use us for promotion..."
"So it’s about keeping up appearances for the other branches and the public?"
"If word spreads that a D-rank is our top explorer, people might think this place is in the middle of nowhere or that the dungeon is so barren that high-rankers won't give it a second look. Then new explorers and companies won't gather here. Thinking about it that way, they definitely need the top explorers to be at a certain rank."
Whether or not they wanted to use us as promotional material, having top-tier explorers remain at D-rank probably caused friction in various places.
If you have the power, people expect you to hold a corresponding status... that was likely the gist of it.
"But about the rank... yeah, I don't really feel like raising it."
"Well, so far, there hasn't been much of a benefit to it."
"I've heard that at high ranks, companies will give you delivery requests... but we don't really need those. If anything, accepting them would just restrict our freedom during exploration."
"If you accept a request, you have to prioritize fulfilling your collection quota. It’s true that making a name for yourself while you’re a student increases your chances of being scouted, but we’re already turning down every scout as it is."
"Plus, if we get into a position where we're taking requests from companies and then keep turning them down, our reputation might end up suffering."
Yeah. The more I thought about it, the less I felt like raising our rank. At least while we were students, staying at our current rank felt more relaxed. Well, it depends on what Makabe-san has to say... but unless there’s a huge benefit, I doubt we’ll be ranking up.
As the three of us waited and talked, Makabe-san appeared in the conference room carrying a laptop and a stack of documents.
I suppose it was only natural that an "invitation" to rank up would come eventually... right?