After arriving back at the parking lot behind the office, we got out of the car and hurried toward the building. Since it was summer, the sun was still up, but it was already nearly 5:00 PM. According to Yuta-san, Kiritani-san’s office stayed open until 6:00. Considering we had traveled to a remote mountain and made it back before 5:00, it was an impressive result, but I wanted to talk to Kiritani-san for a bit, so we didn’t have much time to spare.
I needed to apologize for making such absurd demands in our overexcitement, consult him about finding a reasonable property recommended by a professional, and make an appointment for our next visit and viewing... I wondered if an hour before closing would be enough.
“Still, getting back at this hour is truly surprising, no matter how many times I experience it. I believed what you all told me, but to be honest, I thought we’d be lucky to get back by midnight.”
“Haha, well, I suppose it would seem that way to someone who doesn't know.”
“Normally, it’s a four-hour trip one way to that mine. I’d heard that explorers could move quickly, but I figured that cutting the time in half would be the best-case scenario...”
“If you factor in two or three hours for the round-trip drive, four hours on the mountain trails, and an hour for the viewing... then yes, you definitely wouldn't have been back until late tonight.”
On the way to the office, Yuta-san spoke to us with a look of surprise, sounding quite excited about our unexpectedly early return. Well, if you went somewhere thinking you’d be lucky to make it home before the day was over, only to return while the sun was still out, that would be the natural reaction.
From a real estate agent’s perspective, this probably proved that even properties previously avoided because of the sheer travel time could be viable for explorer clients. It must have felt like his business horizons were expanding.
“Exactly! To think we’d be back while it’s still light out... This is incredible. We really should start handling properties for explorers in earnest.”
“It’s true that for explorers, the time constraints that were previously a bottleneck can be alleviated to some extent. However, those who can move at our speed are in the high-level explorer class, you know? For low-level explorers in the beginner class... moving that quickly is difficult,” Yuji advised.
“I see... In that case, we’ll have to prepare listings with those factors in mind.”
Yuta-san looked up at the sky with a contemplative expression as he listened to Yuji’s advice.
Personally, I figured that anyone looking to build a dedicated training ground would likely be from the corporate groups, intermediate explorers, or the veteran class of early adopters, so I didn't think he needed to worry that much.
“Well, let’s discuss all of that, including those details, with Kiritani-san as well.”
“Right... let’s do that. Ah, I can see the office.”
And so, while we were chatting, we arrived back at the office.
A quick glance at my watch showed that it was just before 5:00 PM.
Once inside, we sat down in the reception area on the second floor, just as we had in the morning, and waited for Kiritani-san to arrive after Yuta-san went to fetch him. We sipped on the barley tea Yuta-san had prepared for us.
I didn't feel like I had broken much of a sweat, but it was important to stay hydrated.
“Still, that was very educational.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d looked into things beforehand, but being there in person made me realize just how much my research was lacking.”
“You’re right. I was being far too optimistic. We should have moved forward only after looking into things more thoroughly.”
“““...Sigh.”””
Reflecting calmly on our behavior, I realized once again just how overconfident and swept up we had become. It started with us mindlessly jumping at Juzo-san’s suggestion, then casually rejecting a property a professional had recommended without digging deeper, and finally leaping at a property the professional didn't recommend—even if it did match our criteria—without bothering to ask why... Yeah, from an outsider’s perspective, we were acting like overexcited idiots.
Well, I suppose it was better that we realized it before we suffered a fatal wound—like actually signing a sale agreement.
“We should take a bit more time to examine things before we buy a property.”
“Yeah. Besides, we need to study up on real estate knowledge, too.”
“The way we are now, we’re lacking in every area.”
When you recognize your own immaturity, you make an effort to compensate for it. That’s what we’ve done up until now. This time was no different; we just had to reflect on it and make sure we didn't repeat the same mistake.
That being said, there are limits to what an amateur can learn from books alone. Since we’d managed to establish a connection with a professional, we should ask for his guidance throughout this purchase.
“Hm? Sounds like they’re here.”
I heard footsteps coming from outside the office. It seemed Yuta-san had brought Kiritani-san. We straightened our posture and turned toward the door.
A few moments later, it opened, and Yuta-san and Kiritani-san appeared.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. How was the viewing?”
“Haha, we learned the hard way exactly why you said you couldn't recommend it, Kiritani-san. It turns out we really should have listened to professional advice.”
“Haha, I thought as much... Well, it did meet the criteria you provided, but it was a rather difficult property, after all.”
Hearing Yuji’s thoughts, Kiritani-san wore an expression that said he'd expected as much. I mean, there wasn't really any other way to feel about it.
Kiritani-san and Yuta-san sat down in the seats across from us. Once they were settled, we bowed our heads and apologized for the trouble we had caused in our excitement.
“Um, well... Kiritani-san, Yuta-san, we’re very sorry.”
“Hmm?”
“Eh?”
Since we had bowed while apologizing, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san both looked puzzled. I suppose it’s confusing to have someone suddenly apologize without context.
We raised our heads and explained our reasoning.
“Well... Kiritani-san, Yuta-san. Even though we’re total amateurs when it comes to land sales, we rejected the places you went to the trouble of picking out, and then we made you tell us about that strange location, causing all sorts of trouble...”
“No, no, please don’t worry about it. To begin with, the clients we deal with in this job are almost entirely amateurs. Professionals do come by, of course, but they are the minority. Furthermore, buying land is a major purchase, so our clients’ preferences are naturally very particular. The act of searching for a property that satisfies you isn't 'causing trouble,' so please rest easy.”
“That’s right. Our job is to help our customers find a property they can be happy with. We don’t consider it a nuisance, so please don’t let it bother you.”
“““...Yes.”””
To our apology, delivered with downcast expressions, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san responded with gentle smiles and professional, mature attitudes.
After a somewhat awkward silence, Yuji asked Kiritani-san about something that had been bothering him, hoping to break the tension.
“O-Oh, by the way, Kiritani-san! This is just a hunch, but... did my grand—did my grandfather ask you for anything else besides introducing us to properties?”
“Oh, yes. He asked me to give you a bit of a social lesson.”
“““...”””
As Kiritani-san revealed Juzo-san’s request with an effortless smile, we were struck speechless and could only stare at him. Um, that smile is actually a little scary...
Watching our reaction with a wry grin, Kiritani-san began to explain the circumstances.
“I can understand Juzo-san’s concern. Land transactions involve large sums of money. Furthermore, with land that has complicated circumstances like the one you viewed this afternoon, if you buy it, you have to constantly worry about whether something will happen. It’s the kind of property that’s very hard to sell even if you want to. Since you all jumped at Juzo-san’s suggestion so easily, he was worried that you might be deceived by someone with malicious intent. Given that you are explorers—and high-level explorers who can earn a significant amount—there’s no telling when a scammer who has caught wind of that might approach you. He wanted me to show you an actual site and teach you that there are cases where people will maliciously try to sell you land that looks good at first glance but is actually worthless.”
“I see...”
“It’s shameful to admit, but it is a fact that some agencies do engage in the kind of behavior Juzo-san was worried about. With properties like that one, there was a type of fraud in the past called wilderness fraud that claimed many victims...”
Kiritani-san took on a slightly embarrassed expression while giving off an air of irritation, nodding several times as if to say Juzo-san’s concern was perfectly justified. It seemed to be one of those problems in the industry that was difficult to solve despite the need to do so. That was probably why Kiritani-san had gone along with Juzo-san’s request to play a bit of a prank—or rather, give us a social lesson.
It was true that if I hadn't seen the actual site and heard Yuta-san’s warnings, I might have bought it based solely on the documents and the price... Even if we were just high schoolers, the fact that we were high-level explorers meant we had to prepare for the possibility of scammers approaching us in the future.
“...Um, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to accommodate our personal situation.”
“No, please don’t give it a second thought. For us, it was a great opportunity to learn what kind of demands high-level explorers like yourselves might have. I heard from Yuta-kun that you covered a mountain path that usually takes four hours in about thirty minutes...”
“Eh? Ah, yes.”
“If that’s the case, it’s wonderful. If we are dealing with explorers, the travel time limitations that have been a bottleneck until now can be relaxed. Generally speaking, mountain forest properties often have unmaintained roads, or sometimes no road leading to the property at all. It’s common for it to take a several-hour journey just to reach the land where the property is located. If that can be mitigated, even if it’s only for a specific customer base...”
The corners of Kiritani-san’s mouth relaxed into a happy expression. Much like Yuta-san, Kiritani-san seemed to have found a new business opportunity.
Cheap, remote mountain properties for explorers, huh...
As closing time was approaching, we asked Kiritani-san once again to help us find a property and then left the real estate office. Even though the sun was still out, we walked down the street with looks of total exhaustion on our faces.
Compared to our usual dungeon diving, this level of fatigue shouldn't have even registered, but this time, I was mentally drained.
“Searching for a property is hard. This experience really drove that home.”
“Yeah, seriously. I didn't think it would be easy, but trying to find a property that fits our criteria...”
“Yes. We didn't expect to decide today or tomorrow, but at this rate, it looks like it’ll take a long time before we decide where to buy.”
Our Dedicated Training Ground Construction Plan looked like it was going to be a more difficult undertaking than we had imagined. That said, if we made a weird compromise, we might end up saddled with a troublesome property like the second viewing, so we couldn't afford to let our guard down. I guess we’d just have to take our time and work with Kiritani-san and Yuta-san.
I let out a soft sigh and then brought up a new topic to change the mood.
“By the way, today’s the last day of summer vacation. It felt long, but I guess it was short, too.”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Summer vacation ends today... It was a much more intense summer than last year.”
“Hehe, true. Well, we weren't doing the explorer thing last year, so of course it would be more intense by comparison. But all in all, it was a pretty fulfilling summer vacation, wasn't it?”
Yuji and Hiiragi-san seemed to agree with my attempt to shift the mood. Thanks to that, the gloomy atmosphere from moments ago vanished instantly, and we got excited talking about everything that had happened during the break—the times we explored dungeons together, participating in events, and the times we went out individually.
As the three of us walked and talked, we reached the crossroads where we would head to our respective homes.
“Well, see you both tomorrow. At school.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, thanks for today. Let’s meet at school tomorrow.”
We lightly raised our hands in farewell and started walking toward our own homes.
Even though it was summer, the sun had already dipped low, and the surroundings were beginning to grow dim.
“It’s starting to get dark, so I guess I’ll hurry a bit.”
After checking the crowd around me, I started running toward my house at about the speed of a bicycle.
Still, summer vacation is finally over. I wonder how everyone at school is doing? I’d hate for the classroom to be full of nothing but bandage-wrapped mummies again, like it was after last year’s winter break.