Inside an air-conditioned office bathed in brilliant sunlight, I held the receiver to my ear and bowed slightly as I hung up, my body still taut with tension. I caught myself wondering why I bothered bowing to someone who couldn't even see me, but it was a reflex at this point. I could only give a wry smile at the ingrained habits of my trade.
Once I was sure the line was dead, I let out the breath I’d been holding and muttered a quiet complaint.
"Phew... No matter how many times I talk to him, that man makes me feel like I’m under a microscope, even over the phone."
I leaned back into my chair and stretched, trying to work out the stiffness that had settled in my shoulders. One of my subordinates working nearby looked up from his desk with a concerned expression.
"Good work, President. You seemed exceptionally tense during that call. Who was it?"
"Hm? Oh, someone I’m deeply indebted to. He’s my literal lifesaver—a man named Juzo Hirose-san."
I answered while staring off at the ceiling with distant eyes. My subordinate’s eyes widened, and he looked at me with a bewildered expression.
Well, I suppose I’d react the same way if my boss suddenly started talking about lifesavers.
"Wait, your lifesaver? President, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Hmm, it might sound like one to you, but it’s the honest truth."
Man, I really was a reckless idiot in my younger days. If Juzo-san hadn't stepped in back then, who knows where I’d be now? I learned the hard way that you should never jump at a "lucrative deal" without doing proper research first.
As I spoke with a philosophical air, my subordinate’s curiosity got the better of him.
"The honest truth? What exactly did you do back then, President?"
"Well... I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. In a way, it’s a good cautionary tale."
I sat up straight and began to recount the story of my past, though I made sure to skip over the details that were better left unsaid.
"The gist of it is simple. It happened back when I first started in real estate. I got involved in the sale of a certain property and ended up caught in a world of trouble."
"Isn't that just a normal risk in this business? We’ve dealt with similar headaches recently..."
"No, you don't understand. The scale of this mess was terrifying. It literally turned into a life-or-death situation."
Remembering those days, I felt a dark aura radiating from my body. I turned a look like a dead fish toward my subordinate.
Seriously. I have no idea why such a Special Calamity Case was handed to a rookie realtor like me. Actually, I do know—it was because I was a rookie. They figured I’d be easy to "clean up" afterward.
"So, here’s the thing. When I was younger, I was full of myself—driven by an intense, blind ambition. Embarrassing as it is to admit now, I genuinely believed I could become the top realtor in the country overnight."
"That sounds like a fine goal. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of."
"Haha, maybe. But the way I went about it was all wrong. I thought only about the bottom line. I started handling all sorts of shady properties and dangerous cases that other realtors wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole."
I scratched my cheek, feeling my face heat up. I had to look away from my subordinate. Talking about the "wild days" of my youth was actually pretty cringeworthy.
I cleared my throat to reset the mood and turned back to him to continue.
"Then, one day, the inevitable happened. I was riding high on my own ego when an acquaintance—one of those 'shady contacts'—told me about a juicy deal and asked if I wanted in. At the time, every project I touched turned to gold, so I was overflowing with overconfidence. Without a shred of evidence, I assumed I could handle it easily and took the job without any research. As it turned out, I’d put my hands on a deal involving a criminal organization, and I got dragged into a massive nightmare."
"..."
"Man, I really wonder how I managed to stay alive long enough to meet Juzo-san."
Recalling those events, even I found it a miracle that I'd survived. My subordinate looked like he didn't know how to respond to my sudden melancholy.
"Um... well, please try to keep the dangerous stuff to a minimum from now on."
"Don't worry, I know. The lesson is etched into my bones. Anyway, I met Juzo-san in the middle of all that chaos. He hid me while those guys were hunting me down, and then he went and 'had a talk' with them so they wouldn't come after me anymore."
"That’s incredible. This Juzo-san sounds like a powerful man."
Of course, it turned out his definition of "having a talk" involved a heavy dose of physical force. A few days after I told Juzo-san the whole story, I saw a headline about that organization being wiped out in a gang war. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Every last member was rounded up by the police and thrown in a cell. The paper called it a conflict between rival groups, but the identity of the "other side" remains a mystery to this day. I'll take the secret of why I nearly wet myself while watching Juzo-san smile at that newspaper to my grave.
"Yeah, he is. Well, ever since then, I’ve never been able to hold my head up high around him. I still take on requests for him from time to time—at a fair price, of course. Juzo-san isn't the type of man to exploit a favor or make unreasonable demands."
"I see..."
Sensing that my subordinate was worried I was being extorted, I tried to reassure him. Juzo-san could be outrageous, but he was a man of integrity who followed a strict code of honor. Plus, he had mellowed out a lot in his old age.
With the trip down memory lane finished, I moved on to the actual business at hand.
"The request from the phone call was about Juzo-san's grandson. He’s looking to buy a mountain, and Juzo-san wants me to give the boy a bit of an education."
"A mountain? And his grandson is the one buying it?"
"Yeah. Apparently, the grandson is an explorer, working with a group of friends from school. They’ve made a decent amount of money and want to build a dedicated training ground in the mountains to level up their skills."
"Huh. That’s quite the investment for a kid."
"Tell me about it."
Explorers. The job had become a sensation since those dungeons appeared last year. While battling monsters was dangerous work, it was a profession where you could strike it rich if the right drop items fell into your lap. A lot of people, especially the younger generation, were getting certified and diving in.
The drop items they brought back were being used in all sorts of industries and were acting like a shot of adrenaline for the economy. With the government backing the industry, this dungeon boom wasn't going away anytime soon.
"So, I need to pick out several properties that fit the grandson's criteria and show them to the group. However, Juzo-san specifically wants me to let the kids lead the discussions as part of their learning process."
"Letting the kids take the lead? A mountain isn't exactly an entry-level purchase."
I nodded in agreement. If amateurs went into a deal like this with shallow thinking, they’d usually end up with a useless piece of land and a lot of regret. It was always better to consult an expert.
"Exactly. That’s why Juzo-san wants to use this as a learning experience. He said that even if they fail, it’ll be a good lesson for them. They’re high schoolers, and since they’re successful explorers, he’s worried that all sorts of vultures will start circling them soon. Since they have no real social experience, they might get scammed. He’d rather have them experience a safe failure now than a catastrophic one later."
"I see... He’s a strict man, but he clearly cares about them."
"Yeah, something like that."
My subordinate and I shared a look, silently acknowledging that Juzo-san was a bit of a hard-ass. He was basically throwing his own grandson into the deep end.
In any case, the kids were supposed to show up the day after tomorrow, so I needed to get to work picking out some recommended listings.
A few days later, while I was organizing paperwork in the office, the buzzer from the shop downstairs announced a visitor. I checked the security camera and saw a trio of high schoolers—two boys and a girl. For a split second, I wondered what kids were doing here, but then I remembered my appointment. I stood up so fast my chair screeched against the floor. This had to be the grandson’s party.
I saw the receptionist getting ready to greet them, so I quickly intervened.
"Ah, sorry! I’ll handle those customers. They were referred to me by an old friend. I’ll take care of it, so you can stay here."
"Oh, okay. But they look like they’re just in high school. Are you sure they didn't wander in by mistake? I could check first..."
"No, it’s fine. I was expecting them. Thanks anyway."
I grabbed the binder full of property data I’d prepared and hurried downstairs.
Just as I reached the door, the thought that I was about to meet Juzo-san's grandson made me so tense that I accidentally flung the door open with way too much force. Crap, I thought, but since I’d already made a scene, I decided to lean into it with an exaggerated greeting.
"Terribly sorry to keep you waiting! I was just finishing up some business upstairs!"
"Oh, no problem. Um, I’m Hirose. I called ahead about coming in today."
"Ah! My apologies!"
The tallest boy in the trio appeared to be Juzo-san's grandson. I bowed my head slightly in apology and guided them over to the sofas in the consultation area. After that, I handed out my business cards and gave a formal introduction.
"Please forgive the clumsy entrance. My name is Haruki Kiritani, and I’m the president of Kiritani Real Estate. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."
The trio introduced themselves in turn. There was Yuji Hirose-kun, the grandson; another boy named Daiki Kokonoe-kun; and a girl named Yukino Hiiragi-san. They were all so polite that I found myself wondering why Juzo-san wanted to play such a "prank" on them. It seemed like he could have just given them a normal recommendation.
Well, worrying about it wasn't my job. I decided to get straight to it. I started by asking how they’d come to the decision to buy a mountain.
"I see..."
Apparently, the lack of available training grounds for explorers was the primary driver. With the dungeon boom in full swing, the number of explorers was growing every day. If everyone tried to use the same public facilities, they’d hit capacity immediately. It made sense for successful explorers to want their own dedicated training ground.
Actually, I’d recently had several dungeon-related corporations asking about mountain properties too. They were probably looking to use them for training as well as corporate retreats.
"Since I received your criteria in advance, I’ve picked out five candidate sites. Let’s start with a brief overview of those."
"Yes, please. Thank you."
I began going through the properties that matched the conditions I’d been given. The first one was a real gem—the roads and the forest were both well-maintained, and it was close to public transit. It was a perfect spot for a private campsite.
Once I finished the rundown of all five properties, I suggested we take a short break to let them process everything.
After the break, I checked back in to see how they felt. Since they were referred by Juzo-san, I was confident that I’d picked out some top-tier options within their price range. These were the kinds of prime listings I usually reserved for VIPs.
"So, what do you think? Did any of these catch your eye?"
Contrary to my expectations, their expressions were a mix of guilt and hesitation. I kept my professional smile firmly in place while I listened to their feedback. As it turned out, none of the properties were quite right... they didn't really fit what the group was looking for.
I’d picked them out based on the criteria I’d heard... but since Juzo-san was the middleman, there might have been a game of telephone going on. I’d have to re-verify their needs and find a few more options, or my reputation would be in the gutter. For now, I needed to buy some time.
"I see... In that case, why don't we go take a look at the sites in person? You might feel differently once you’re actually on the land."
I’d have to get back to the drawing board while they were out on the tours.
Kiritani-san... you really were a handful in your youth, weren't you?