After seeing Uwajima-san and his team off, we called Kiritani-san to inform him that the investigation had concluded and headed back to the office. He told us he wanted to discuss the details in person.
Well, given the situation, it made sense. Kiritani-san would naturally want to speak face-to-face rather than over the phone.
"Alright, shall we head back to the office, everyone?"
"Yes."
Once we climbed into the car, we set off.
For a while, no one spoke, and silence filled the car. Perhaps unable to bear the atmosphere any longer, Yuta-san finally spoke up tentatively, as if he had braced himself.
"I tell you, today was quite the ordeal. I never imagined we’d actually find a dungeon..."
"Indeed," Yuji replied. "While dungeons have appeared all across Japan, I never thought we would be the ones to discover one."
"Right? I mean, I knew the possibility existed, but to actually be involved... Honestly, if I was going to hit the jackpot, I wish it had been with the lottery instead."
"Haha, you’re right about that. Finding a dungeon is nothing but a hassle when you think about the aftermath."
Yuji and Yuta-san shared a wry smile, their expressions suggesting mutual exhaustion. As for finding a dungeon, this was actually my second discovery. Truly, whether it was the first time or the second, while there were benefits, the cleanup was nothing but a chore.
The Drawer Dungeon at my house... I really needed to start thinking seriously about what to do with that soon. This incident was a good opportunity, so I planned to use it as a reference for the future.
"That’s true," Yuta-san continued. "Still, now that we've found it, we have to handle it properly, or it might lead to different troubles later. I'll have to push through until the transfer procedures are all finished... Sigh, I wonder if I’ll have to give up my days off for a while?"
"Haha, good luck. If you ever need our—testimony, was it?—please let us know. We’ll cooperate as much as we can."
"Haha, hearing you say that is a big help."
They were already helping us look for land for our training ground, and considering the ordeal Kiritani Real Estate was about to face, cooperating with an inquiry was the least we could do.
Besides, this was a rare chance to see the dungeon transfer process firsthand, so I definitely wanted to hear any relevant information. While assisting as a joint discoverer, I intended to learn exactly what steps were involved.
"Well then, the President is probably back there waiting for us with bated breath, so let’s hurry."
"Right, it would be a pity to keep him waiting too long."
And so, we hurried back to the office.
When we arrived, Kiritani-san greeted us with an expression of utter exhaustion. Well, I suppose that was only natural. Seeing us, Kiritani-san gave a weary, wry smile and guided us toward the reception area.
Meanwhile, Yuta-san excused himself and headed toward the breakroom to get some tea.
"Should I start by saying 'good work'?"
"Haha, I suppose so," Yuji replied. "We ended up finding something unexpected. Sorry for the trouble we've caused..."
"No, no, please don't apologize. It’s not like you did anything wrong. Besides, since it was found on a property we manage, it would have been discovered eventually anyway. If anything, thanks to you being on-site, we were able to confirm it was a dungeon relatively safely. If you hadn't been there, our employees or other prospective buyers might have wandered inside without any prior knowledge, which could have led to a serious incident. Thinking about that, as bad as I feel for you, I’m glad the dungeon was found this way."
"It's true that back when dungeons first started appearing, we often saw news stories about people who weren't explorers wandering into undiscovered dungeons and having accidents," I noted.
Whether it was truly entering without knowing what it was, or being driven by greed after hearing rumors of expensive drop items... the circumstances varied, but the common thread was that they were tragedies caused by ordinary people entering defenseless and unwary. In other words, when entering a dungeon, one couldn't ensure even a minimum level of safety without being an explorer or an ordinary person who was extremely well-prepared.
Considering that, Kiritani Real Estate was fortunate that explorers like us were accompanying the viewing, allowing them to report the discovery without any accidents.
"Exactly. That brings me to the point—for this matter, I'd like to frame it as us having formally requested you to conduct an internal investigation of the dungeon... What do you think?"
"Eh, a request?"
"Yes. I’ve heard the report of the discovery from Yuta-kun, but I thought it might be a bit problematic if the records showed you decided to investigate the interior on your own initiative."
"Ah, you're right... Despite the circumstances, it was short-sighted of us."
Understanding what Kiritani-san was implying, we lowered our heads slightly with awkward expressions. From the perspective of Kiritani Real Estate, it would look as though they had forced a dangerous investigation onto minors, even if they had simply accepted our offer of goodwill. From an explorer's perspective, our actions could potentially set a precedent that explorers should undertake investigations of undiscovered dungeons for free in such cases.
It might be overthinking it, but people who nitpick over such details tend to crawl out of the woodwork. To prevent that, it was safer to make it look like Kiritani Real Estate had requested a formal investigation from us as explorers in exchange for compensation.
"I’m glad you understand. Regarding the reward, would a discount on the land purchase price be acceptable? I spoke with Yuta-kun, and he mentioned that would increase the options for land we can show you."
"Yes, please. We appreciate the consideration."
"Think nothing of it. It’s an apology for dragging you into a mess caused by our lack of prior research. Don’t worry about it."
If we were stubborn here and created a precedent that disadvantaged explorers as a whole, people might come to harass us later. That was why Kiritani-san was trying to set up the formal appearance of us having investigated the dungeon interior upon request from a real estate company. He was doing this even while knowing he might face criticism for giving a "dangerous request" to student explorers, despite us being among the top high-level explorers in the private sector.
Thinking that all I could do was offer my sincere gratitude, we bowed to Kiritani-san to show our appreciation.
"Now then, shall we set that aside and move on to the talk about the dungeon?"
"Yes. Let me explain the situation at the time of discovery once more."
With that, Yuji explained the circumstances of the dungeon's discovery to Kiritani-san. Since he had likely heard the gist of it from Yuta-san already, it was a concise summary.
"...I see. In a way, it was for the best that it was in a remote area where no one ever goes. If someone had entered the dungeon without permission and an accident had occurred, it might have been blamed on our management responsibility."
"Ah, you're right. People might start saying things like that, even if it was an accident resulting from trespassing on private property."
"They certainly would. Simply being able to avoid such a situation in advance makes this a win for our company. Even if the aftermath is a bit of a hassle."
"Since the law dictates that dungeons are national property, you have to transfer the dungeon and its surrounding area, even if it is for a price. Have you already contacted the landowner?" Yuji asked.
Since the handling of dungeons was decided by law, Kiritani Real Estate didn't really have the option not to transfer it. If they protested and faced administrative intervention or had their business license revoked, it would be a disaster.
However, the problem was the reaction of the landowner who owned the forest where the dungeon was found.
"Yes. Right after I received the report about the provisional certification from Yuta-kun, I contacted the landowner and told them I have an important matter to discuss, asking them to come to the office. I didn't think it was appropriate to convey this kind of news over the phone, and there’s the matter of confidentiality as well."
"That makes sense. If word of this leaks to the wrong places, it'll cause an uproar."
"Fortunately, the surrounding area is all uninhabited forest, so there won't be any talk of immediate evacuations. But considering the development trends around previous dungeons, it could turn into a speculative bubble. It was land that was worth next to nothing until now; if news of a dungeon discovery leaks, people will surely think they can make a profit and try to buy it up before the price rises. Both good people and bad."
"...We'll keep quiet about today as well," I promised.
The earlier talk about making the internal investigation a formal request likely included the intention of binding us to confidentiality. Once we accepted the talk as a professional job, we had an obligation to maintain secrecy. He was quite thorough—or perhaps I should say we were just naive...
Kiritani-san was likely trying to protect the landowner at the same time he was protecting us.
"Thank you. The landowner is scheduled to visit tomorrow, so our company will officially begin the dungeon transfer talks then."
"Understood. If the landowner says they want to hear from us as the discoverers, please let us know. As the explorers who received the investigation request, we'll make time to meet. However, if possible, we'd appreciate it if you could avoid times when we have school classes."
"Of course, I’ll take that into consideration. Well, I intend to settle the matter as much as possible on our end so as not to cause you any trouble."
"Thank you very much."
We bowed to Kiritani-san, thanking him for taking on all the troublesome tasks. For now, it seemed like we could leave the dealings with the Association and the landowner to the professionals.
Since we were involved as the first discoverers, I decided I would just check in on the progress of the dungeon transfer occasionally from a distance.
Once we had finished the general explanation of today's events and discussed what could be done at this stage, we took a breather, drinking the tea Yuta-san had brought. Since the procedures basically involved waiting for a representative to be dispatched from the Association, there wasn't much more we could do right now.
After our break, Kiritani-san began to talk about our future plans.
"Anyway, setting the dungeon matter aside for now, regarding your search for land..."
"Ah, about that, Kiritani-san," Yuji spoke up with an apologetic expression, giving a light bow. "Given the current situation, would it be possible to wait until October before we do the next viewing?"
"Hmm? I don't mind at all, but why the sudden delay?"
"Well, it's not a secret or anything, but our school festival is at the end of September. We need to start preparing for it soon, so we won't have much time to spare..."
"Ah, I see. Right. I suppose the school festival is the highlight of the high school experience."
Kiritani-san looked convinced by the reason for postponing the viewings and readily agreed to Yuji's request with a pleasant smile.
Oh, did he perhaps forget that we were high school students? That's entirely possible, which is a bit troubling...
"Yes, so we'd appreciate your patience."
"Understood. Then we'll resume viewing new properties once October starts. I’ll send the materials for the properties we’ve picked out based on the new criteria to your house, Hirose-san."
"Please do."
"No need to worry. Actually, the timing is quite good. I was planning to have Yuta-kun handle the dungeon case as the discoverer’s representative. If we have until October, the transfer talks should be fairly well settled by then."
As he spoke, Kiritani-san maintained a pleasant smile, but he directed a sharp, piercing glare toward Yuta-san. Receiving that look, Yuta-san’s face twitched for a moment, but he immediately composed himself and gave a brief reply with a shallow bow.
"I’ll do my best."
"I’ll handle the workload distribution, so I’m counting on you."
For a split second during their exchange, I thought I heard a voiceover saying, Since you're the one who brought back this headache, you're taking responsibility until the end... but I must have imagined it. Yeah.
We pictured the mountain of work about to bury Yuta-san and gave him a pitying look for an instant, but immediately shook our heads and spoke up to conclude the meeting.
"Ah, well... we won't be going on any viewings for a while, but we look forward to working with you again soon."
"No, no, we’re the ones who should apologize for getting you involved in such trouble. We look forward to working with you as well."
We and Kiritani-san's group exchanged light bows.
And so, after being caught up in an unexpected ordeal, our search for a training ground came to a temporary halt... or rather, it was postponed.