I patted Mika and Saori-chan on the shoulder, snapping them out of their daze. They looked like they were about to be swallowed by the heavy, stagnant atmosphere of the place. Thinking too deeply about it now wouldn't do them any favors. For the time being, it was enough for them to simply recognize that such people existed.
……Eventually, they would have to face those realities head-on, though.
"Shall we head out?"
"……Yeah."
"……Yes."
With dejected expressions and heavy steps, Mika and Saori-chan began walking toward the stairs leading to the 6th floor. Gaining mental breathing room meant noticing the things they had previously been too overwhelmed to see. It was a painful realization, but if they intended to continue as explorers, it was a reality they had to grow accustomed to.
We climbed the stairs one step at a time, leaving behind the explorers loitering in the staircase plaza.
Though we paused briefly at the 7th-floor staircase plaza, we continued our ascent without incident. Since we were following the general flow of traffic along the shortest course, we didn't encounter a single monster on the way back. Occasionally, the line of explorers slowed down or the sounds of distant combat echoed through the halls, but we never had to draw our weapons.
"Peaceful, isn't it?"
"Onii-chan, this isn't 'peaceful.' It’s 'boring.'"
"There really is nothing happening at all."
Simply put, the journey back was incredibly dull. I kept a sharp eye on our surroundings, of course, but staring at the backs of the party ahead of us as we trudged through endless, dimly lit corridors was mentally taxing. It wasn't exploration; it was just a commute.
Wearing slightly fed-up expressions, we kept our legs moving rhythmically while engaging in harmless small talk to pass the time.
"By the way, Mika, Saori-chan. Do you have any plans for the holidays after Obon?"
"After Obon? Hmm, nothing in particular so far, I guess."
"I don't have anything special planned either. Why do you ask?"
To kill time, I brought up an upcoming event.
"Heh, I didn't know they did events like that."
"Is it like a corporate briefing?"
"I looked it up briefly. It doesn't seem that formal. They’ll have food stalls selling things made with dungeon food and stuff like that. Of course, the companies are hoping to scout promising explorers, but their main goal is just increasing name recognition."
The girls' eyes lit up with curiosity. It was a large-scale event—well, as large as they got in these early days. It was rare for several dungeon enterprises to host a joint event like this. Usually, it was just the Dungeon Association running small PR campaigns.
Since it was happening nearby, it was only natural to want to check it out.
"Most people just think of dungeon enterprises as companies that hire explorers to gather drop items for the market. They don't really know what the day-to-day work involves. That's why even when these companies try to recruit or scout, people hesitate because they don't understand the job."
"Well, nobody wants to join a company when they have no idea what it actually does," Mika noted.
"True," Saori-chan agreed. "Even if a company treats its employees well, if no one knows who they are, they just get lumped in with all the other 'shady' businesses."
They both nodded as if it all made perfect sense. The event was clearly an attempt to fix that lack of promotion—a way to drum up interest among potential employees. For high schoolers looking to become professional explorers or university students nearing graduation, it could be a deciding factor in their career paths.
"Anyway, I'm planning to check it out. They’ll have plenty of food, so I figured it would be fun to just walk around and eat. If you're free, do you want to come along?"
The two girls looked at each other and gave a spirited, cheerful reply.
"I'm in!"
"I’d love to go too!"
"All right, then the three of us will go."
So, our plans for the post-Obon holiday were set. I thought about maybe inviting Yuji and Hiiragi-san to make it a group outing.
As we continued our idle chatter through the dim passages, we eventually found ourselves back near the entrance. Time really did fly when you were talking.
Once out of the dungeon, we changed in the locker rooms and headed to the building housing the purchase window to have our drop items appraised.
On the way there, I spotted some familiar faces.
"……Is that Kajihara-kun's group?"
"Eh? Ah, you're right. They made it out safely."
"They did. But……"
They were sitting at a table in the breakroom area, huddled together with grim expressions. We were relieved to see them safe, but the atmosphere around them was wrong. Kurata-kun and Tsutsui-san were shaking their heads apologetically; Kajihara-kun sat with his head down, fists clenched in frustration; and Kawahara-san looked utterly lost, as if she couldn't process what was happening.
Judging by the awkward, pitying glances from the other parties nearby, their conversation was heavy. Most likely……
"Do you think they're talking about whether to keep being explorers?" Mika whispered.
"……Probably," I replied.
"I mean, after what happened……" Saori-chan's voice trailed off.
They watched the scene with sad eyes. To me, it was a common sight, but Mika and Saori-chan had never seen a party they’d just rescued immediately discuss disbanding. Whether witnessing this was a good thing or a bad thing for them, I couldn't say.
Still, it wasn't a pleasant thing to linger on.
"Let's move on, girls. Standing here and staring at them like this is just being nosy."
"Yeah…… you're right."
"Yes…… let's go."
Before Kajihara-kun and the others noticed us, we walked away with slightly heavy hearts.
After pulling a numbered ticket from the machine near the purchase window, Mika and Saori-chan slumped into some empty seats and let out deep, exhausted sighs.
"Hah…… I don't know."
"What's wrong, Mika? That was a heavy one."
"I mean, Onii-chan. We went to all that trouble to save them, and now this……"
"It's a disappointing outcome, maybe, but at least they all made it out alive. If we hadn't made it in time, some of them wouldn't have come back at all. Compared to that, returning as a full group is plenty lucky."
I couldn't speak for their mental well-being, though. I tried to explain that even if they quit and disbanded, it was still a better ending than the alternative. Mika and Saori-chan listened, their faces a mix of logical understanding and emotional conflict as they stared at the floor. They knew I was right, but their hearts hadn't caught up yet.
After a long silence, Saori-chan slowly looked up.
"You're right. Just being able to come back together is lucky. That's the reality for explorers……"
"……Yeah."
"……It's a harsh world, isn't it?"
"It is."
Saori-chan fell silent again, her hands clenched into fists on her lap.
A somber mood settled over us, but Mika eventually broke it by slapping both of her cheeks with her palms.
"All right, enough! No more of this! If we keep talking about it, we’re just going to get more depressed! Let’s talk about something else!"
"Uh, right."
"Y-Yeah…… let's."
Mika's blunt subject change left Saori-chan and me a bit dazed, but she was right. If we stayed on that topic, the gloom would never lift. As forced as it was, a sharp break was exactly what we needed.
We chatted about lighter things for a while until our number was finally called.
"Ah, that's us."
"That was fast. Or was it? Well, whatever. Let’s head to the window. Make sure you don't forget any of the items."
"We're fine. I have everything ready in this bag," Saori-chan said, holding it up.
We walked over to the purchase counter.
"Thank you for waiting. How can I help you today?"
"We'd like an appraisal for purchase, please."
"Understood. Please present your Explorer Cards and the items for appraisal."
We followed the staff member's instructions, placing our cards and the bag of loot on the counter.
"I'll take these. We’ll call you once the appraisal is complete, so please wait nearby."
"Thank you. We'll be waiting."
With the intake finished, we stepped away from the counter.
Now, I wondered just how much we actually made today……
The appraisal was done in about five minutes. It made sense; we only had some crystals, a bit of meat, and a single skill scroll. It wasn't exactly a massive haul.
"Thank you for waiting. The appraisal is complete. Here are the details."
"Thanks."
I scanned the document. The total for the drop items didn't even reach ten thousand yen. This, of course, excluded the skill scroll, which was still awaiting a formal assessment. As I’d feared, the basic loot was pretty pathetic. If we hadn't found that skill scroll, we would have barely broken even.
An explorer's income really did come down to the luck of finding high-value drops.
"……Ugh, I figured it would be something like this," Mika groaned. "Sorry. Please go ahead with the purchase."
"Understood. Shall I split the transfer three ways, or put it all on one card?"
"I don't need a cut, so just split it between the two of them," I told the clerk.
"Very well. I’ll process the transfer to the two cards now. As for the skill scroll, we will notify you of the final appraisal results at a later date. Please review this deposit receipt and sign here."
"Okay."
Saori-chan took charge of the paperwork for the scroll while Mika collected the transfer receipts from the clerk.
Phew. I guess that's it for today's exploration. Honestly, it was exhausting in so many ways.
We caught a bus from the dungeon entrance and rode it back to the station. Since I’d promised to treat them to a celebration, I wanted to get back to an area with better restaurants. There were places to eat near the dungeon, but I didn't want to risk another awkward encounter with Kajihara-kun’s party.
"All right, we're back at the station. What’s the plan? We’ve been moving all day, so we should eat, but I’d avoid anything too heavy."
"Good point," Mika said. "It's a little early for a full dinner, so maybe a cafe for some snacks? What do you think, Saori-chan?"
"Yeah, I'd prefer that."
So, we decided to find a nice coffee shop. I left the choice entirely up to them.
The two immediately pulled out their phones and started scouting for a good spot nearby. I just hoped they’d pick somewhere quickly.
"How about this place? This looks amazing in the photo."
"Let me see…… Ooh, it does. But is it too expensive for a treat?"
"Don't worry about the price," I chimed in. "If you found a place you like, let's just go there instead of overthinking it."
"Really?! Yay!"
"Um, are you sure?"
"Yeah, positive."
We headed to the shop they’d picked, but I would later come to regret not checking the menu myself. I had no idea that the "amazing" signature parfait Mika wanted cost nearly three thousand yen a serving.
Having already played the generous big brother and told them to order whatever they liked, I couldn't exactly back down. My wallet took a significant hit that day.
If we hadn't found that skill scroll, I would have definitely been in the red.