As we stepped through the dungeon entrance, the artificial glow of the ceiling fixtures flooded my eyes. We finally exhaled, letting go of the tension we had been holding. Having finished such a long-distance exploration, I was overcome by a sudden urge to shout "Goal!" at the top of my lungs, but I bit it back. Shouting in a place like this would only make us stand out for the wrong reasons.
After passing through the hygiene management area, we stepped out of the building and into the open air.
"I’m glad the sun is still up."
"We really did rush..."
"I thought the way back would be more crowded, so we were lucky to make it through so smoothly."
Though the sun was beginning to sink toward the mountains, it still bathed the area in light. It was proof that we had made it back while it was still day. It had definitely been worth the effort of rushing.
After taking a moment to appreciate the sunlight for the first time in a while, we headed toward the changing rooms.
"Well, Hiiragi-san, see you in a bit."
"Yes, see you later."
Parting ways with Hiiragi-san, Yuji and I entered the men's side. Although we had kept ourselves clean inside the dungeon using the Cleansing skill, we still opted for the coin-operated showers to soak in the hot water.
Still... yeah. A shower alone felt a bit lackluster. I really wanted to soak in a proper bath.
"I wish they’d add some kind of bathing facility here soon..."
"It sounds like requests have been made. But apparently, there are various hurdles."
"I see..."
As we changed into our civilian clothes, Yuji and I talked about the dream of an expanded bathing facility. I suppose the desire for a good soak after a hard day's work is a very Japanese sentiment. Since we were deep in the mountains, I wondered if they’d hit a hot spring if they started digging.
Then again, since there’s a dungeon right here, they probably wouldn't get permission to drill. In that case, they’d have to use a boiler. If they installed a Core Crystal power generator, they could probably use the waste heat to provide hot water.
"All right, finished changing. You ready, Yuji?"
"I’m done too."
"Okay, let’s go wait for Hiiragi-san at the benches."
"Yeah."
Having finished our business in about twenty minutes, including the shower, Yuji and I moved to the waiting area. Hiiragi-san didn't seem to be out yet.
"Yuji, I’m going to grab some drinks. Any requests?"
"Hmm? Oh, a green tea, please."
"Got it. For Hiiragi-san... black tea should be fine. I'll be back. Keep an eye out for her."
"Sure, thanks."
I gave Yuji a light wave and headed toward the vending machines.
The corner was crowded, so it took a little while, but by the time I returned with the drinks, Hiiragi-san had emerged from the changing room and was talking with Yuji. It was a good thing I'd had him wait.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I grabbed drinks for everyone."
"Thanks, Daiki."
"Thank you, Kokonoe-kun."
I handed them their bottles, then took an empty seat and twisted off the cap of my own.
"Now that we've changed, I finally feel like a human being again."
"True. Though we still have things to do, so we can't completely relax yet."
"You're right. In a sense, the biggest headache is still ahead of us."
"Haha, yeah..."
The "biggest headache" Hiiragi-san referred to was the cashing out process. We had tucked away the more suspicious drop items in my Spatial Storage, but depending on what we submitted now, we might still draw unwanted scrutiny. At the very least, the total payout might flag us.
But, well, we wouldn't know until we tried.
"W-Well, we've already prepared everything we're turning in, so whatever happens, happens."
"I guess so."
"Right..."
"Sigh..."
The atmosphere, which had finally lightened, turned heavy and gloomy again as we faced our last big task of the day. But we couldn't sit here forever. I drained the rest of my canned coffee and gave my cheeks a light slap with both hands to psych myself up.
"Let's go, you two. Let's finish this quickly and go home."
"...Yeah, let's get this headache over with."
"Yes, let's go."
With melancholy expressions, we dragged our heavy bodies out of our seats and left the waiting area with leaden steps. I really hoped the exchange process would go smoothly without any drama...
After handing over our drop items at the counter, we sat back down in the waiting area to wait for the appraisal to finish. We only managed to find seats because someone had just left; the number of parties waiting to cash out was enormous. Even though the number of reception windows had increased significantly compared to the early days, the fact that there was still such a long wait meant that the number of explorers had grown even faster.
After about twenty minutes, we were called to the window.
"Thank you for waiting. The appraisal is complete."
The Staff-san at the window bowed, but his expression looked slightly strained. Why was he making a face like that?
"This is the total appraised value for the current items. As for the pieces requiring separate appraisal, the results will be sent to you at a later date."
"Ah, thank you."
I fought to keep my own expression neutral as the Staff Member looked at me as if he were seeing something impossible. I took the sheet and looked down at the figure.
I immediately understood why he was staring.
"Um... is this amount for real?"
"Yes."
"...Wh-What?"
I glanced back and forth between the appraisal sheet and the Staff-san several times before shooting a frantic look at Yuji and Hiiragi-san. Both of them were staring at the paper with the same look of disbelief.
The purchase appraisal for this single run was... approximately 3.92 million yen. And that was excluding the magic items and skill scrolls.
"..."
"...Um, are you all right?"
Seeing us speechless at the unexpectedly high amount, the Staff-san spoke up with concern. He probably thought we’d be jumping for joy. Instead, we had fallen into a stunned silence. I suppose it was only natural for him to worry.
I shook my head, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.
"Y-Yes, we're fine. Sorry, it was just a bit more than we expected..."
"Oh, no, please don't apologize. Ah, and here are the details for the appraisal. Please confirm the contents."
"Thank you."
I quickly scanned the breakdown. It looked like the primary reason for the high valuation was the crocodile skin. It was absurdly expensive... Well, considering the rarity, it might be justified, but the price was still an outlier. Six hundred thousand yen per piece? Was some luxury brand planning to turn these into designer bags or something?
"..."
"Is there anything you wish to take back with you? If not, please sign these documents..."
"Aside from the herbs, we don't need to keep anything. Please purchase the rest."
I checked with Yuji and Hiiragi-san with a look, then signed the consent forms.
"Understood... Yes, everything is in order. I'll process the payment now, so please wait a moment."
"Thank you."
Two minutes after returning the forms to the Staff-san, the transaction was complete.
"As requested, the payment has been divided into three and transferred to your registered accounts. Here are your transfer receipts."
I checked the slips. Sure enough, the money had been deposited. Roughly 1.3 million yen per person... and that was before the magic items and skill scrolls were added. Once those were finished, we’d probably each clear 2 million yen.
Yeah, this definitely wasn't the kind of money a high school explorer party should be making in one go.
"Regarding the items currently undergoing appraisal, the results will be sent within a week. Once you've reviewed them, please complete the remaining procedures at your nearest local office or Dungeon Association branch."
"Right, got it."
"Then that concludes everything. Thank you for your hard work."
"Ah, thank you very much..."
"Thank you..."
After a brief bow, we clutched our documents and hurried away from the counter, trying our best to hide our inner turmoil. Just as I feared, things had gotten complicated at the very end.
Once we moved to a secluded spot and confirmed no one was around, we all let out a collective sigh. We looked over the appraisal details again.
"I never would have guessed crocodile skin fetched that kind of price."
"Yeah. Based on what we got for lizard skin, I figured 300,000 would be the ceiling. My estimate was way too low."
"It's double what we thought... If we had known, we should have only turned in one piece."
We all held our heads at the unexpectedly large sum. Our initial estimate for the total run—including the rare items—had been around 3 million yen. Instead, we had hit nearly 4 million without even counting the best loot.
This amount was far too high for an independent party to cash out at once. Especially for high schoolers.
"If this was what we earned over an entire summer, we could probably pass as a very dedicated party, but..."
"Earning it all at once is the problem. A normal party couldn't do this. This is the kind of revenue a top-tier large party or a corporate explorer party brings in."
"And we're a small group... The Association already has its eyes on us since they forced that rank-up. They might try to interfere again."
"..."
We fell into a grim silence at the unpleasant thought. We were already being monitored; this would only give them more reason to tighten their grip. Given the secrets we were keeping, we wanted to stay as far from the Association’s inner circle as possible.
We stood there with our heads down for a moment, but then the sharp sound of a kashiwade clap rang out. Yuji and I looked up at Hiiragi-san.
"There's no point in being depressed about it, you two. What's done is done. If the Association tries to interfere, we'll deal with it then. Worrying about it right here won't change anything."
"...You're right. No sense in overthinking it now."
"Yeah. But we should probably have a baseline plan for how to respond. For now, let's just focus on the fact that we made it back in one piece."
"Exactly. That's a much better way to look at it."
We shook off the dark thoughts and started talking about the trip home.
"Haha, fair enough. Let's save the difficult stuff for later. I want to have a celebration for finishing the exploration, but it'd be easier to do it near home rather than around here, right?"
"Agreed. Much less of a hassle for the trip back."
"In that case, do you want to have it at my family's shop? The new ramen only exists because of your help, so I'd love for you both to taste it."
Hiiragi-san's invitation was a welcome one. We hadn't picked a place yet, so neither Yuji nor I had any reason to refuse.
However...
"That new ramen is the extremely spicy one, right?"
"Yes. Are you bad with spicy food, Kokonoe-kun?"
"Well, yeah. I can handle some, but I'm really not good with 'extremely spicy' stuff."
"I see..."
Spicy was one thing, but "extremely" was a different beast. Hiiragi-san looked a bit disappointed, then turned her gaze to Yuji. He gave a small nod.
"I’m fine with it. Daiki, she went through the trouble of inviting us, so let's just go. They have other things on the menu besides that."
"Yeah, true. Hiiragi-san, is that okay with you?"
"Of course. I'm the one who asked."
"Then it's settled."
With our plans decided, we headed toward the bus terminal, each of us making calls to our families to let them know we'd be home a little late.
"That's done. How about you two?"
"I got through. No problem."
"My side is fine too. They're going to hold a table for us, so they just want me to call when we reach the station."
"Got it. Then let's not keep them waiting. Shall we get moving?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
With that, we boarded the shuttle bus entering the rotary and left the dungeon behind.