While Mika and Saori-chan were raising a celebratory toast—or something like that—in Mika’s room, I headed back to my own and got in touch with Yuji and Hiiragi-san. I had to make sure I kept up with the protocol of reporting, communicating, and consulting. First up was Yuji.
After a few rings, Yuji picked up the phone.
“Hello, Yuji? I’ve got something I want to talk to you about…”
Once he was on the line, I briefly explained Mika and Saori’s request and asked for his thoughts.
In the end, he told me that while he would have liked to participate in the evaluation himself, he was willing to leave the final judgment to me. However, he insisted that the criteria be strict. Well, that was a perfectly reasonable demand.
“Got it. I’ll let you know once we have the results. Good luck with the meeting.”
“Yeah, good luck to you too.”
After a short farewell, I hung up.
Alright, that was the first one cleared. Next…
“Ah… Hello, Hiiragi-san? I have something to discuss with you…”
Hiiragi-san seemed to be helping out at the shop; it took several tries at different times before I finally reached her. Since she was in the middle of work, I kept it brief. After we talked it over, she gave her approval with the same conditions as Yuji. She wanted me to judge not just their combat skills, but also whether they were maintaining proper situational awareness and keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
“Understood. I’ll make sure to keep a close watch on their peripheral vigilance as well.”
And with that, negotiations with the second person were cleared too. Whether the restrictions on their actions would actually be relaxed depended entirely on Mika and Saori, but being given the authority to make the call was a significant achievement.
I gave my body a light stretch to work out the stiffness in my shoulders before leaving my room and heading toward Mika’s.
“Hey, Mika? Can I come in?”
“Hm, Onii-chan? Yeah, come in.”
I knocked on the door and entered after getting Mika’s permission.
Inside, Mika and Saori-chan were chatting over juice and snacks.
“I managed to get a hold of Yuji and Hiiragi-san. It’s conditional, but I’ve been given permission to relax the restrictions depending on how the next exploration goes.”
“Wait, really?!”
“Really. Though they did tell me to keep the evaluation criteria strict.”
““Yes!””
Hearing my words, Mika and Saori-chan both threw their hands up and cheered.
“You two, it hasn’t been decided that I’ll give the okay yet, alright? It all depends on how you perform during this next trip.”
“I know. But if we do well, we’ll get permission, right?”
“Just having a clear chance makes me happy,” Saori added.
They claimed to understand, but both Mika and Saori-chan had massive smiles on their faces, clearly already imagining life after the restrictions were eased.
“I see… But I don’t want you to misunderstand. When I say it depends on your performance, I don’t mean the results you get from the dungeon; I mean your conduct during the exploration. No matter how much of a haul you bring back, if there are flaws in your behavior during the trek, I won’t give my approval.”
I made sure to emphasize this, hoping to rein them in. If they thought it was only about results, they might do something reckless to rack up drop items or neglect their surroundings in a rush to move forward.
But that wasn't what we were looking for.
“Oh, uh, right.”
“Y-Yes.”
“I wonder if they’ll be okay…”
They seemed a bit dubious, but I figured they’d be fine once they calmed down. Despite my slight anxiety over their reaction, I moved the conversation along to the details of the upcoming dungeon trip.
We couldn't just dive in without any preparation.
“Sigh… Anyway, let’s check the schedule. Is the day after tomorrow okay for the dungeon? Tomorrow is a bit too sudden, after all.”
“Hmm, yeah. Even if you told us to go tomorrow, we’d just be scrambling to get ready.”
“I think that works for me too,” Saori agreed.
And so, it was decided that we would go to the dungeon in two days. By the way, the dungeon we planned to visit wasn't the one we usually used, but a local one near where Mika and Saori lived.
Since it was summer vacation, the number of users had increased, making it time-consuming just to enter. Considering the travel time, using our usual dungeon would leave us with too little time for actual exploration, especially for a day trip.
“Also, just to be safe, I should tell you that I don’t plan on helping you during this trip. Keep that in mind when you’re preparing—specifically regarding the amount of gear you bring.”
“Eh?! You’re not going to help us?!”
“Of course not. You two usually move as a pair, which naturally limits how much you can carry. It’s important for you to have a firm grasp of how much weight you can handle without it interfering with your combat movements.”
One way or another, I wanted to avoid being turned into a pack mule. Besides, it was pointless to gather a massive amount of drop items if you were so greedy and weighed down that you couldn't actually fight monsters.
Self-control in that regard was also one of the criteria for this evaluation. There was a proper amount for everything… unless you were an exception with Spatial Storage.
“I thought if Onii-chan was coming with us, we’d be able to bring home way more…”
“Greed will literally be the death of you, I'm serious!”
“I know, I know. I usually think about these things properly.”
Mika pouted and looked away as she spoke.
I doubted she truly understood, but I decided to move on anyway.
“I see. Setting that aside, how are the tasks going?”
“Hm? You mean the thing about going around helping rookies who are in trouble?”
“Exactly. Is it going well? Well, I suppose it’s a bad thing if it’s going too well…”
If the assignment was going well, it meant there were that many newcomer explorers falling into dangerous situations.
I suppose that was still better than the alternative of them not being saved, though.
“Yeah, it’s going well… I know I shouldn't say that, but it is.”
“Since the start of this month, we’ve been rescuing about five rookie parties per trip,” Saori added.
“An average of five, huh… I wish the Association would be a bit more proactive about spreading the word regarding the Beginner Workshop.”
I knew they used posters and gave verbal guidance, but since attendance wasn't mandatory, explorers often ignored it. Newcomers in particular were often so caught up in the excitement or had such tunnel vision that they hurried into the dungeon, ignoring the advice to take the workshop.
Honestly, I thought they should just make it compulsory.
“I’m sure things will improve over time, but it feels like a major accident is going to happen before then…”
“Actually, we’ve encountered scenes close to that a few times already.”
“They don’t explicitly ask for help, so it’s really hard to judge the timing of when to intervene—whether they can handle it themselves or if it’s truly dangerous…”
“So you have to wait until someone gets hurt before jumping in to avoid kill-stealing, huh…”
As a matter of etiquette among explorers, you couldn't just meddle unless help was explicitly requested. Especially during busy times like this, encounters with monsters were precious. Since engagement rights generally belonged to the party that encountered the monster first, jumping in uninvited could lead to disputes. And disputes between explorers could literally lead to bloodshed.
Back in the early days of the dungeons being opened, brawls between explorers broke out occasionally for that very reason.
“Well, it’s a difficult thing to judge. Just help out as much as you can when you see them.”
“Yeah. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to just abandon people when they're in trouble.”
“It would be best if we didn't run into those situations at all, though…”
“I’m counting on you.”
Mika gave a reluctant nod to my request, and Saori-chan nodded as well with a tired, wry smile. Ideally, this was an issue the Association should be actively addressing. Still, looking at information online, it seemed there were other parties besides us doing rookie protection activities, so the Association would probably move eventually. If they didn't, I’d consider submitting a petition. They were already calling me in personally for rank-up requests; they’d at least listen to a request coming from a prominent explorer.
While there was an element of building our circle's reputation in this activity, it was always better to have fewer victims.
“Alright, we’re heading to the dungeon in two days, so make sure your preparations are perfect.”
“Got it!”
“Yes!”
A bit of a heavy atmosphere had settled over us, but the two of them responded energetically to my final confirmation, as if shaking off the mood.
On the appointed day, blessed with clear skies, Mika and I stood at the entrance of our home, both carrying packs filled with our exploration gear.
“Mika, did you forget anything?”
“Nope, I checked everything yesterday, so I’m good! What about you, Onii-chan?”
“I’m fine. I did my check yesterday too.”
Since I was exploring with Mika and Saori this time, I couldn't use Spatial Storage. For the first time in a while, I had stuffed various items into a regular backpack. The pack was bulging; thanks to an explorer's high physical abilities, I didn't feel the weight, but… maybe I should have cut back on the luggage a bit more?
I stared at the backpack that looked like it was about to burst and wondered if I’d messed up the packing.
“Alright, shall we go?”
“Yeah!”
“Be careful, you two.”
As Mika and I were confirming things, Mother came to the entrance to see us off.
“Yeah, we’ll be back around evening.”
“We’re off!”
Mika and I responded to Mother and left the house. We had promised to meet Saori-chan at the station. There was still some time before the scheduled meeting, but she might have arrived early, so we hurried.
On the way to the station, Mika asked about today’s dungeon trip.
“Hey, Onii-chan? How deep are we planning to go today?”
“Hm, I haven't really decided. Given the time, the 10th floor seems reasonable… but I guess making that judgment is part of the evaluation. You need to gauge your own condition and decide when to turn back.”
“I see. That makes sense…”
Hearing my answer, Mika slowed her pace slightly, placing a hand on her chin and looking down at the ground as she fell into thought.
If they couldn't judge when to turn back on their own, there was no way I could relax their restrictions. If they got greedy and kept pushing further and further, something terrible would eventually happen. They needed strong self-control to pull back without being swept away by curiosity or a desire for fame. It was difficult, but if they couldn't do it, operating as just a duo would be too dangerous.
“It’s dangerous to walk while looking down. Even if you’re thinking about something, keep your eyes forward. If you do that inside a dungeon, you’ll walk right into a trap without realizing it.”
“Eh, ah, right. Sorry, I’ll be careful…”
Mika looked flustered at my warning and cut off her train of thought to look ahead. Yeah, I’m not going to dock points for something like this, so don’t give me that pleading look.
I looked away from Mika’s gaze and widened my stride to step a pace ahead of her.
“Anyway, we’re almost at the station. Mika, has Saori-chan messaged your phone?”
“No, nothing yet.”
“I guess that means we’ve arrived before her since we’re still early.”
Mika checked her phone and answered quickly. I had only wondered if Saori-chan would have sent a message if she was already waiting at the station. Seriously, don't be so desperate.
Once we arrived at the station, Mika and I decided to wait in the concourse by the ticket machines in front of the gates.
“Onii-chan, should I message Saori-chan and tell her we’re waiting?”
“No, I think it’s fine. It’s still before the meeting time, so there’s no need to make her feel rushed.”
“Hmm, I guess you’re right. Then if I do it, I’ll wait until after the meeting time.”
“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
So, Mika and I decided to wait leisurely for Saori-chan to arrive.
That said, she showed up at the meeting spot in less than five minutes.
“I’m sorry! I kept you waiting!”
“Don’t worry about it. We just got here way too early. Right?”
“Yeah. Besides, it’s still before the scheduled time.”
Seeing Saori-chan run toward us and apologize as her first greeting, I hurriedly tried to soothe her. You haven't done anything wrong, so you don't need to apologize… and besides, the stares from the people around us are starting to get uncomfortable, so please stop.
I tried to act natural despite the surrounding gazes and gave Saori-chan a morning greeting.
“More importantly, good morning, Saori-chan. How are you feeling? Are you ready for the dungeon?”
“Eh?! Ah, yes! I’m in perfect condition!”
“I see. Then I’ll be in your care today.”
“Yes, I look forward to working with you too!”
The lingering gazes from the people nearby still bothered me, but seeing Saori-chan’s energetic response put me at ease.
And perhaps because that feeling showed on my face even slightly, Mika pouted and dug her finger sharply into my side, which I suppose was par for the course.