Late at night, after the adults’ banquet had wound down and everyone was tucked into their futons, I felt a presence leave the house. It was right around the time the date was about to change. Since we were in the outskirts far from the concrete jungle, the nights were relatively cool, and I’d left the window open. That was likely the only reason I noticed.
It didn’t feel like anyone was entering the property from the outside, so I figured it wasn't a thief and tried to go back to sleep, but...
"…Hey, Onii-chan? Are you awake?"
"…What, were you up too?"
"Yeah."
Mika had apparently woken up as well, and she whispered to me from across the room.
Our parents were out cold after all the alcohol they’d consumed; there wasn't much of a chance they’d wake up from something minor. That said, speaking too loudly was still a bad idea.
"Well, the presence came from inside the house, so it’s probably not a thief. Maybe someone went out to do some farm work?"
I wasn't very familiar with a farmer's daily schedule, so for all I knew, there were tasks that had to be done late at night. I’d often seen segments on TV about harvesting crops before sunrise.
Then again, Uncle and the others had also been drinking quite a bit, so they hadn't looked like they were in any state for night shifts.
"I wonder…"
"I don't know for sure, but there’s no point in worrying about it."
"I guess so, but…"
It wasn't that I didn't find it a bit odd, but it didn't seem worth investigating. Whoever it was didn't mean us any harm.
I closed my eyes again and tried to drift off, but...
"…Onii-chan."
"…Yeah, I know. It’s probably Taiga-niisan."
I opened my eyes. I felt a presence in the yard moving violently, accompanied by the sound of heavy, turbulent footsteps.
Was this… night training?
"..."
"..."
Mika and I stared at the ceiling in silence for a while. Then, making sure not to wake our parents, we quietly slipped out of our futons and left the room. With such a rough aura being projected right outside, I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to.
I also couldn't help but recall the hollow, resigned expression Taiga-niisan had worn during dinner. I was worried he might be pushing himself through some reckless solo training. If the reason for his sudden change of heart lay in our sparring session, then we weren't exactly uninvolved parties.
"..."
"..."
Mika and I suppressed our presence and peeked out from the shadow of the rain shutter casing on the veranda. We looked out into the yard to confirm the identity of the person projecting that agitated aura.
As expected, it was Taiga-niisan.
"…Haa… haa…"
Taiga-niisan was in the yard, swinging a length of gas pipe with an L-shaped fitting on the end as if it were a sword. To be blunt, his form was crude. Since it wasn't an actual blade, he didn't need to worry about the edge alignment, but his swings were oversized and full of openings. Against a technical opponent, he’d be wide open for a counterattack.
His breathing was heavy as he swung the pipe, but as I watched, I realized it wasn't from physical exhaustion. It was from impatience.
"…Hah!"
Taiga-niisan took a heavy step toward an imaginary foe and swung the pipe down from an overhead position with all his might, as if trying to crush whatever was in front of him.
...Yeah, his swings were definitely too large and messy, likely because he was putting too much raw power into them. At that rate, he was just begging to be countered.
"..."
"..."
Mika and I watched Taiga-niisan’s "training"—his venting of frustration—for a while. Eventually, we retreated back into the house before he could notice us. He didn't look like he was going to do anything dangerous enough to cause an injury, so we decided to leave him be for now.
Besides, I wouldn't have known what to say to him even if he had caught us.
Once back inside, we didn't return to the guest room where our parents were sleeping. Instead, we moved to the empty, dark living room. After seeing Taiga-niisan in that state, I didn't think I’d be able to fall asleep immediately. I needed a change of pace, even if it was just a bit of conversation.
Since we couldn't let Taiga-niisan notice us, Mika and I sat down in the living room, which was lit only by the faint moonlight, and talked in low whispers so as not to wake the adults.
"The reason Taiga-onii-chan changed his mind really was us, wasn't it…?"
"Probably. Based on his behavior, there’s no doubt that the gaze we felt during our practice was his."
"Sigh…"
"Sigh…"
The room was dark, but our moods were even darker. We hadn't done it on purpose, but from one perspective, Mika and I had just crushed Taiga-niisan’s dream. We’d heard about Uncle’s concerns, so I’d been making preparations to act as a mediator so they could find common ground and reconcile. To think that a simple practice session meant to kill time would end up pulling the rug out from under him...
Since we hadn't directly done anything to him, we weren't in a position to apologize, which was incredibly frustrating. If we were to apologize now, it would be like mocking his decision. It would be rubbing salt in the wound… I wouldn't have blamed him if he’d blown up at us.
"Hey, Onii-chan. What kind of face am I supposed to make the next time I see him?"
"…I don't know. But whatever you do, don't look at him with pity, okay?"
"…Right."
It sounds harsh, but when someone has realized they can't reach a certain height and feels discouraged, having the person who broke their spirit look at them with sympathy is just gouging the wound.
Especially when it’s family.
"…The only thing I can think of is to act as normal as possible. Try not to act like you’re walking on eggshells."
"…Yeah, you’re right. Acting like we don't know anything is probably better than being awkward about it."
"..."
"..."
Both of us wore bitter expressions. In the end, we reached the resigned conclusion that we’d just have to play it by ear.
I wondered if I’d even be able to look him in the eye tomorrow...
"Let’s get some sleep…"
"Yeah. Though I’m not sure I actually can..."
Don't worry, Mika, neither am I. Still, if we stayed here any longer, we might run into Taiga-niisan as he finished his night training. I wanted to put a little more time between us before we faced each other.
With that, Mika and I returned to the room where our parents were sleeping and crawled back into our futons, even though sleep felt miles away. We were both likely going to be exhausted tomorrow.
The next morning, while I had managed to drift off at some point, I was still definitely sleep-deprived and felt a lingering drowsiness. Mika looked just as bad, her face a mix of sleepiness and gloom.
After a short while, we all gathered in the living room for breakfast. Naturally, Taiga-niisan was there as well.
"Wow, these pickled cucumbers are delicious."
"I’m glad you like them. I used cucumbers from our own garden for these."
"How about the tomatoes? I’ve been trying out a new variety lately."
"Let’s see… mm! They’re small, but they’re incredibly juicy and sweet."
"Right?"
The adults were having a pleasant conversation about the homegrown vegetables on the table.
In contrast, the "kids' table" was...
"..."
"..."
"..."
We were completely silent, focus purely on moving our chopsticks. It was an excruciatingly awkward breakfast.
It had been fine when we exchanged morning greetings with Taiga-niisan, who was already at the table, but since then, he hadn't opened his mouth. He occasionally stole glances at Mika and me with eyes full of a complicated mix of emotions. Fortunately, I didn't detect any hostility, but the tension was stifling. It would have been easier to deal with if he’d just complained or vented.
"..."
"..."
"..."
I was reaching my limit for this awkward silence. I took a shallow breath and took the plunge to speak to him.
"T-Taiga-niisan."
"…What is it?"
"Umm…"
I was momentarily intimidated by the lifeless, dull eyes he turned toward me. But since I’d already started, I couldn't just say nothing, so I brought up a light topic.
"Well, I didn't get to hear the details yesterday, but you said you were planning to be a full-time explorer. Were you planning to join an explorer-type company? Or were you going to start a business as a party?"
"Oh, right. Yesterday's talk ended with me saying I was quitting, so I didn't get into that.…In our case, it was neither."
"?"
Taiga-niisan gave a self-deprecating smirk as he explained it to us.
"What we were planning to do was sign with a management company."
"Does that mean a management contract?"
"Yeah. The plan was to start a business as a party, then sign with a management company so they could mediate corporate commissions and things like that for us."
"Mediate…"
"Basically, we’d keep progressing through the dungeon like any other explorer, but the management company would provide work… specifically, collecting and delivering items requested by corporations."
It was possible to accept item delivery requests from corporations through the Dungeon Association as well. However, those requests were irregular and far from stable. While major corporations could gather their own explorers to ensure a stable supply of items, small and medium-sized enterprises or private shops couldn't afford to do that. Furthermore, even if an SME put out a delivery request to the Dungeon Association, there was no guarantee an explorer would take it unless the conditions were perfect, making stability a major issue.
Management companies were created to solve that by acting as a bridge between corporations and explorers. Because an intermediary was involved, it was more expensive for the company than going through the Association, but the delivery requests were guaranteed to be accepted. For the explorers, it meant they could get high-paying delivery jobs even if they had to pay a management fee.
"Unless you're a top-class explorer party, you don't get designated requests from corporations. On the other hand, the collection requests the Dungeon Association handles are basically first-come, first-served, so it’s hard to get the really good ones. That’s why you look into signing with a management company."
"But Taiga-niisan, don't those collection requests have strict deadlines? Wouldn't you have to do something reckless to meet them…?"
"It’s true that if you miss a deadline, you might have to pay a penalty. But don't worry, the system is designed so they only assign you projects that fit your party’s strength."
"..."
To be honest, I found that "appropriate assignment" part highly suspicious. If they were using explorer rank as the standard for strength, I didn't think it would be very reliable. Even among explorers of the same rank, the actual ability varied wildly. There were parties that had ranked up through luck with drops, and parties that had done it by steadily fighting monsters… in terms of combat power, the latter would be far superior.
Naturally, in a dungeon teeming with monsters, your injury rate would skyrocket if your combat power wasn't up to snuff. I seriously doubted that a profession as new as "explorer" had a reliable way to gauge appropriate workloads.
"What’s wrong, Daiki? Are you interested in management companies?"
"Y-Yeah. Well, a little bit."
"I see… then I’ll give you a pamphlet before you leave. If you’re curious, you should take a look."
"Oh, thanks, Taiga-niisan…"
If asked whether I was interested or not, I suppose I was, in a way. It was possible that one of the previous scouts who’d pestered us had been from a management company.
After that, with the ice finally broken, Taiga-niisan seemed to regain some of his composure. The awkward atmosphere dissipated, and we were able to enjoy a normal conversation between relatives for the first time in a while.
A while after breakfast, we loaded our bags and the souvenir vegetables into the car. Uncle and the others gathered to see us off as we prepared to leave. If we left my father’s childhood home before noon, we could make it back to our house by evening.
"Next time we visit, we’ll try to stay a bit longer."
"Alright. We’ll show our faces again at the end of the year."
"Good luck, Taiga-niisan."
"Thank you for having us."
As we got into the car, we each said our goodbyes.
Uncle and the others waved their hands as they called out to us.
"That’s right, make sure you stay longer next time."
"Take care, everyone. Come back soon."
"Next time you're here, let’s take our time and have a real drink."
"I’ll have even more variety in the cooking for you next time."
"Yeah, you two work hard too, Daiki and Mika."
And so, with the farewells finished, we departed from my father’s childhood home.
Our Obon homecoming—which felt both brief and strangely dense—had come to an end, though the holiday itself was still continuing.
Explorer parties signing with management companies in search of lucrative projects… I just hope they don't get greedy and take on requests far beyond their capabilities.