It had been one week since we revised our search criteria to address the various issues we discovered during the practical site visits. We were currently visiting the Kiritani Real Estate office again. Between preparing for the school festival and re-examining the information gained from the viewings, the past week had been incredibly busy, making time feel like it was flying by.
After a brief meeting at the office to finalize the changes to our requirements, we set off for our third site visit, swaying in the car driven by Yuta-san. This property, which had been suggested under our previous criteria, consisted of several islands floating in a marshland. While the concept felt quite romantic, it was questionable in terms of practicality. After all, the only land suitable for building was on the islands themselves.
"Thank you for your help again today, Yuta-san," I said.
"Ah, sure. Though my help mostly consists of driving you near the properties."
"Haha, that's not true. We’re truly grateful to you, Yuta-san, for putting up with our absurd site visits every time."
"Haha, it's true that these viewings have been a non-stop series of shocking first-time experiences for me. Oh, right. About that video—everyone at the office watched the footage from the last visit, and the reaction was incredible."
Yuta-san began to describe the screening of our site visit footage with a wry smile and a slightly distant look in his eyes. However, his tone wasn't one of excitement; it suggested he was exhausted just thinking about it.
Well, yeah, I could imagine... it was probably a non-stop reel of "shocking footage" to them.
"First, there were screams... or maybe gasps of admiration? Right at the start of the first visit. Seeing you guys dash up the mountain slope at incredible speeds while dodging trees made everyone worry you'd slam into one and get injured. Well, about a minute in, once they realized there wasn't the slightest sign of you hitting anything, they transitioned into being impressed. It was very much an 'as expected of explorers' vibe."
"So that was the reaction? From our perspective, we were just moving at a bit of a jog..."
"...That was a jog to you?"
"Yes. I was carrying you, Yuta-san, and it wasn't like we were in a huge rush."
Yuta-san looked surprised for a moment, but then he nodded as if something had finally clicked.
Perhaps he remembered the time Yuji went to buy a shovel. Based on the wait time, Yuji must have been moving about as fast as a car back then. Compared to that, our speed while climbing the mountain slope was probably nearly twice as slow.
"Well, let's just leave it at that. Putting that aside, the real problem came after. There were genuine screams during the scene where we encountered the bear. It seems no one expected us to run into a bear during a property viewing."
"Ah, that's true. Unless you go to a zoo or something, you don't really get a chance to see a bear in person. Come to think of it, do real estate agents not usually run into them when accompanying clients on these visits?"
"Normally? No. That was my first experience encountering a bear, too. At our firm, we prioritize showing properties that are as safe as possible—specifically, properties where wild animals don't really hang around. If we do introduce that kind of property, we recommend hiring someone from the local Hunters' Association to accompany the visit. To put it bluntly, there are very few clients like you who specifically request properties where lots of wild animals live."
"Haha, when you put it like that, I suppose you're right."
Yuta-san gave us a sidelong glance with half-closed eyes, his expression laced with a hint of reproach as he explained that they don't normally show properties with such dangerous conditions. I felt a pang of guilt. I’m sorry for making you tag along and giving you such a scare.
Thinking about it again, encountering a bear is a life-or-death situation for ordinary people. They would normally avoid those kinds of properties from the start and take full safety measures like animal-repellent gear or hiring hunters. And yet, here we were.
"Well, the bear encounter ended up being just an unlucky event since nothing happened, but what came after caused even more of an uproar. I only half-understood what was happening because I had my eyes closed at the time, but I broke out in a cold sweat when I actually saw the footage. I had no idea things were like that..."
"Uh... we just moved from one spot to another, right?"
"Yeah. It's true that from your perspective, you were just moving, but from an outsider's point of view, those actions can only be described as falling or jumping off a cliff. If I had to compare that footage to anything, it would be skydiving... or maybe base jumping?"
Yuta-san turned slightly pale, likely remembering the video. Well, it couldn't be helped. He'd probably flatly refuse if he were ever put in that situation again. In fact, he had looked even paler right after we descended the cliff. Nobody wants to experience a human-powered free-fall twice.
Seeing Yuta-san's expression, I reflected on the fact that we really should have explained things properly and gotten his consent beforehand.
"And then, everyone was speechless when the boar did that belly-up surrender. It was just a collective 'What is this?' feeling..."
"H-Haha, I see. So that's why Kiritani-san reacted that way at the office..."
"Y-Yeah. Though in the President's case, it was more like he felt 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' He had this very distant look in his eyes. You know, since President Kiritani seems to know Yuji-kun's grandfather quite well."
"Ah, right. So that's what that reaction meant..."
Yuji nodded, his cheek twitching, as if he had been convinced by Yuta-san's reasoning.
Considering that the sight of a boar performing a belly-up surrender led to a comment about bloodlines, I wonder what kind of things Juzo-san had shown Kiritani-san in the past. Could it be that Kiritani-san has seen Juzo-san make something—or someone—perform a belly-up surrender? I couldn't say for sure that he hadn't.
"Anyway, that was the reaction to the first site visit footage. Do you want to hear the impressions of the second one?"
"Haha, I've had my fill just from the first one."
"No, no, please, you have to hear it. We should all share the burden of this mental fatigue, right?"
"Is that how it works...?"
Yuta-san shot us a momentary, dead-eyed look that said he wouldn't accept a refusal, so we had no choice but to agree to hear about the second video.
Once he confirmed our nods, Yuta-san began to recount the office staff's reactions to the second recording.
"Well, since they started watching it as a continuation of the first one, everyone was honestly a bit sluggish. They were 'surprise-exhausted.' but then, as we prepared to start the river ascent in the rubber boat, cries of condemnation broke out from all over. Mostly directed at me, though."
"At you, Yuta-san?"
"Yeah. Things like, 'It’s reckless to enter a river that's flooded and flowing this fast!' Looking at the footage again, it really wasn't a situation where you'd launch a boat. At the time, I was just so pushed to the limit after that first viewing that I thought... well, it'll probably be fine."
"So that's why you seemed strangely calm—or rather, resigned—back then..."
During the previous visit, Yuta-san hadn't particularly objected when we decided to head upriver. Normally, if a river is that swollen, you'd give up on the ascent even if it meant rescheduling. Or rather, no matter how capable we seemed, an adult accompanying us as a representative of the real estate agency should have stopped teenagers from attempting a reckless river climb.
And yet, far from stopping us, Yuta-san had given the go-ahead, thinking it would probably be fine. Yeah, it was definitely a case of him being mentally drained and reaching a breaking point.
"Yeah. And amidst those cries of condemnation, we set out onto the swollen river in the video."
"...Was it okay?"
"People screamed. They thought we were going to be swept away... but that only lasted until you guys started rowing."
Yuta-san gave a wry smile, perhaps remembering that moment.
"The moment you started rowing, a plume of water shot up from the back of the boat, and the footage showed us surging up the river. The people who had been shouting condemnation just sat there with their mouths hanging open in silence. Man, the contrast was something to see. Haha!"
"I-I see..."
"After that, everyone just watched the river ascent scene with awkward expressions. If you only looked at that part, it was just a regular boat trip up a river."
Yuta-san described the scene almost cheerfully, looking somewhat refreshed. He must have been harboring a lot of frustration from being scolded for his actions when his mental state was so pushed to the edge. I felt truly bad for driving him to such a state.
"The rest wasn't much different from the first visit. The mountain viewing itself followed a similar pattern."
"Is that so...? Even the part with the deer?"
"Yeah. How should I put it... They looked at you with eyes that said, 'Oh, so you react like that too? Is that just how explorers are?'"
Yuta-san looked at us as if to confirm our current state while recalling the staff's reactions. Naturally, our reaction was to hold our foreheads as our cheeks twitched. I felt like we were creating a massive misunderstanding about what explorers were.
After a short pause to regain his composure, Yuji let out a small sigh and posed a question to Yuta-san.
"...Um, Yuta-san? You did explain to them that we're in the upper tier of explorers, right? I feel like we're causing some sort of misunderstanding regarding explorers in general..."
"I did tell them, for what it's worth. I told the President that since Yuji-kun and his friends are high-level explorers, he should hire other explorers to do a comparative study."
"I see... Do you think he'll listen?"
"I think it'll be fine. After seeing that footage, even President Kiritani said that we should definitely do a comparative study."
That was a relief. We weren't even giving it our all, but if we were used as the standard, people would remain misinformed about the abilities of an average explorer.
After all, our "casual pace" is barely different from a low-level explorer's full power. In other words, there's that much of a gap in our physical enhancement rates. If they introduced a place that someone like us struggled with, they would undoubtedly be hit with a barrage of complaints from everyone else.
"Anyway, those were the office's reactions to your site visit screening. Thanks to that, the President also agreed that it was no wonder you wanted to change your search criteria. Because of that, we were able to pick out a few promising properties. I'll introduce them to you back at the office once today's viewing is over."
"Thank you, we're looking forward to it."
"Yeah, look forward to it."
I was a bit mentally drained from hearing the reactions to the screening, but my mood improved slightly upon hearing that new properties would be introduced. I just had to tell myself it was fine as long as the footage didn't leak outside.
More importantly, let's finish this next viewing quickly and reliably so we can head back. Then we'll get to see the new properties.
Once we arrived at the point nearest to the third property accessible by car, we prepared as we had before. Yuta-san, equipped with his recording gear, was hoisted onto Yuji's back, and we began the piggyback dash toward our destination. Since this was already his fourth time, Yuta-san seemed quite used to it, gazing at the surrounding scenery over Yuji's shoulder.
That being said, even with Yuji holding back, the intense movement continued, and Yuta-san's complexion was gradually starting to pale.
"Are you all right, Yuta-san? Should we take a little break?"
"Ah, no, I'm fine. Besides, we're almost there. I'll rest once we arrive."
"I see, understood. If it gets unbearable, don't hesitate to say so."
"Yeah, I'll count on you then."
After running for a while, we finally arrived at the third property. Just as the documents stated, a vast marshland spread out before us with islands floating within it. The ground beneath our feet wasn't exactly a quagmire, but it felt like a sponge that had soaked up a great deal of water. We had purchased and were wearing highly waterproof shoes beforehand, so we didn't have to worry about water seeping in, but I realized it would certainly be difficult to build a structure on this ground.
We proceeded through the marshland, taking care not to step through the surface, as we aimed for an island that looked capable of supporting a building. However...
"...Hey, Yuji?"
"...What?"
"Do you get... a bad feeling about this?"
"A bad feeling?"
How should I put it? As we approached the island, I began to strongly feel a familiar atmosphere. My body naturally tensed up, and I unconsciously began to monitor our surroundings. I could see that Yuji, to whom I'd addressed the question, was trying to act unconcerned on the surface, but he was already circulating power through his body with perfect efficiency.
Then, once we reached a certain distance from the island, we discovered the source of that familiar atmosphere.
"Oh, come on. You've got to be kidding me."
"Wow... No way."
"Give me a break..."
"Eh? What? What's wrong, everyone? Why are you all clutching your heads all of a sudden? Do you know what this is?"
We clutched our heads as we felt a massive headache coming on, imagining the trouble that would follow, while Yuta-san was bewildered and shaken by our reaction. To Yuta-san, the thing in front of us was likely just an unidentified structure, but we knew exactly what it was.
I mean, look...
"Yes, we know. This is... a dungeon entrance."
Right before our eyes, situated in the center of the island, sat the entrance to a dungeon.
Why on earth is something like this here?
A dungeon sitting in a marshland deep in the mountains... what is this, a final boss stage?