The rhythmic tapping of keys on computer keyboards echoed through the room until the chime announcing the start of the lunch break rang out. My morning duties, which felt both interminable and fleeting, had finally come to an end. I, Minako Kitagawa, stood up and stretched my back, which had grown stiff from sitting for so long. I worked as an office clerk at Kiritani Real Estate, battling chronic back pain on a daily basis.
Setting my aches aside, it was time for my break. An hour wasn't particularly long, so I had to make the most of it.
"Finally, it's lunch. Minako-chan, do you want to go grab a bite?"
"Sure, that sounds great. Where were you thinking today?"
"Let's see... how about the Chinese place?"
"The one near here? Got it."
One of my senior coworkers had invited me out, and we headed to a Chinese restaurant located a short walk from the office. It was a fairly authentic establishment, but they offered affordable lunch sets that we often relied on. Their dinner courses were quite pricey, so the only time I ever ate them was during the company's year-end parties.
Once we were inside and had placed our orders, we killed time chatting until our food arrived.
"By the way, Minako-chan, the President mentioned during the morning assembly that he wanted us to watch a video this afternoon. Did you hear anything about what it is?"
"No, I haven't. But since we're watching it during work hours, it probably isn't a movie. It's likely a training video, don't you think?"
"Training, huh... If it's for a real estate company, maybe it's something about legal matters, like land registration?"
"Who knows? Oh, but I remember seeing Yuta-kun checking out a full set of filming equipment yesterday to use for a property viewing. Maybe we're going to see the footage he recorded then?"
I recalled seeing Yuta-kun’s equipment request and shared my theory with my senior.
"Footage from a viewing... I wonder if there was some kind of trouble. Illegal dumping, maybe? Or a landslide?"
"That seems plausible. A lot of the properties we manage are deep in the mountains, so perhaps a landowner called in a report..."
"If that's the case, then today's screening is probably so we can all brainstorm countermeasures together."
"Most likely."
Even if I were asked for my opinion on illegal dumping, all I could suggest would be tightening security by installing surveillance cameras or placing barricades on the access roads. Usually, the only way to solve those problems was to catch the perpetrator in the act, and since we couldn't have someone stationed there around the clock, a real solution was difficult to find. Unless the crime was captured by chance on camera, you rarely heard about the culprits being caught after the fact.
To be blunt, I felt like making everyone watch it was a bit of a waste of time.
"Thank you for waiting. Here are your Mapo Tofu and Sweet and Sour Pork set meals."
As we were discussing the screening, the clerk brought our orders. They were substantial meals, complete with rice, soup, a main dish, a salad, and even dessert. Considering it cost less than a thousand yen, it was an excellent deal for a lunch at an authentic restaurant.
"Well, now that the food is here, let's eat while it's hot."
"Right. Let's dig in."
After a quick word of thanks, we began our meal. I had ordered the Sweet and Sour Pork, while my senior had opted for the Mapo Tofu.
I started with the salad. It consisted of several types of shredded vegetables tossed in a Chinese dressing, providing a pleasant acidity that stimulated my appetite. Next, I took a bite of rice to prepare for the main event and reached my chopsticks toward the pork. The meat, clad in a fragrantly fried batter and coated in a glossy sweet and sour glaze, shimmered like a jewel under the restaurant's lights. When I took a bite, I first noticed the thick, hot sauce and the delightful texture of the coating, followed by the sweetness and tang of the glaze as the savory flavor of the pork spread through my mouth. I found myself shoveling down extra rice—surely the only appropriate reaction.
Once I had finished the mouthful of rice and pork, I took a slow sip of the steaming Chinese soup. The thick consistency kept it piping hot, and the blend of chicken and vegetable stocks created a rich aroma and flavor.
"It's so good..." I murmured in admiration.
"It really is. There's a world of difference between cooking for yourself and restaurant food," my senior agreed, her expression softening into a happy smile. We came here often, and I honestly felt that everything on their menu was delicious.
After that, we stopped talking and focused on savoring our meal.
By the time we finished our lunch, the break was nearly over, so we hurried back to the office to ensure we weren't late. There was still a little time left, so while a few people hadn't returned yet, most were already back at their desks.
Parting ways with my senior, I sat down and spent the remaining minutes checking the news on my phone and preparing for the afternoon's tasks. And then...
"Ah, it's time."
The chime signaling the start of the afternoon work session rang out. However, the President hadn't returned yet, so the screening would likely be a bit delayed. With that in mind, I decided to resume my morning work until it was time to start.
A short while later, the President returned to the office with a somewhat awkward expression.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone. We'll start the screening in about ten minutes, so please get ready."
With that, he pulled a projector out of a cabinet and began setting it up. Seeing this, those of us who could stop our work immediately jumped in to help, while the others hurried to reach a good stopping point. Since my work was easy to pause, I helped by closing the window curtains.
Ten minutes later, the projector was ready, and everyone was in their seats.
"All right, let's begin. The footage you're about to see was filmed by Yuta-kun during a property viewing for a certain group of clients. These clients are in the explorer profession, which has been in the news quite a bit lately. I want you to use this as a reference for understanding the requests of explorer clients, as we expect their numbers to increase in the future. Also... it contains a series of rather shocking images. Try not to be too startled, and go into this with the mindset of watching an action movie."
"An action... movie?"
"Yes. You're all aware from television and such that explorers possess athletic abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, right? These clients are top-tier explorers, even within their profession. Their movements are on an entirely different level compared to the explorer entertainers you see on TV, which is why I told you to prepare for an action movie."
In other words, we were going to see explorers moving like they were in a blockbuster film? If I were shown something like that without warning, I probably would have cried out in shock.
But a different level from explorer entertainers... I already thought those people were amazing with their superhuman movements.
"The commentary for the video will be provided by Yuta-kun, who accompanied them. We'll have a Q&A session after the video, so please save your questions for then. Yuta-kun, it's all yours."
"Right. Then, without further ado, let's begin the screening. The footage I'm about to show you is from a viewing I attended just the other day with some explorer clients. They are quite young, but they are top-tier explorers. Some parts of the video are a bit shaky, so please don't force yourselves to watch if you start feeling unwell."
Standing in for the President, Yuta-kun provided the basic context for the video. It was a recording of him accompanying three young explorers on a viewing of a property located deep in the mountains. He planned to provide detailed explanations at various points throughout the footage.
"Starting the video now."
The lights were dimmed, and the image appeared on the screen.
The footage showed what looked like an ordinary mountain range. Since Yuta-kun was holding the camera, the backs of three teenagers—two girls and a boy—were visible in the frame.
【"Well then, Yuta-san, we're heading out, okay?"】
【"I'm in your hands."】
"The angle is a bit strange, but at this point, I'm actually being carried on the back of one of them," Yuta-kun explained. "The reason is that the travel speed of an ordinary person like me and explorers like them is just too different."
As Yuta-kun provided commentary, the teenagers in the video started walking toward the mountains. At first, they moved at a pace comparable to a normal hiker, but their speed gradually increased until the footage showed trees whipping past at a dizzying rate.
...It really did look like a high-speed action movie.
"I found out later that even though they were moving at this speed, it felt like a light jog to them. It would be a mistake to put ordinary explorers on the same level as these top-tier ones, but they did mention that an ordinary... mid-tier explorer should be able to manage a similar pace."
"They can actually move that fast normally...?"
The words slipped out of my mouth, but everyone was so glued to the screen that no one noticed. It wasn't surprising; no one had expected to see such shocking footage during a routine company screening.
The travel sequence ended after about a minute, and the video cut to them taking a break. The location seemed to be near a summit, as the peaks of other mountains were visible through the gaps in the trees. However, the recording time displayed in the corner of the screen was bizarre. Only a few minutes had passed since they started moving. Before I could process that, a new surprise appeared.
"A-A bear!?"
"Eek!"
Screams erupted from all corners of the room at the sudden appearance of the beast. Yuta-kun’s own scream could be heard on the recording, conveying the raw tension of the moment. Since the real Yuta-kun was standing right there explaining the video, I knew things had turned out fine, but I still found myself swallowing hard as I watched.
And yet...
Wait, what?
In the video, one of the three teenagers spoke to the bear. The animal looked startled for a moment, then, as if it had been persuaded, it stood still and quietly watched them pass.
Wait... did they really talk it down? Involuntarily, I—along with everyone else in the room—turned to look at Yuta-kun.
"...That was a bear that can be reasoned with," Yuta-kun explained with a distant, hollow look in his eyes. What on earth did he mean by "a bear that can be reasoned with"?
Before we could recover from the shock of the bear encounter, the video continued, showing a sheer cliff face. My stomach lurched at the sight of the camera peering down into the abyss. If you fell from there, you wouldn't just be injured; you'd be dead.
"Everyone, please brace yourselves for this next part. What you're about to see is quite shocking..."
?
Shocking? The bear was already plenty shocking. What could possibly top that?
Yuta-kun's warning was answered immediately by the footage.
"Waaaaah!?"
"Kyaaaa!?"
Screams even louder than before echoed through the room. For a split second, the boy's body seemed to lift, creating a sense of weightlessness in the video, and then he vanished—plummeting straight down the cliff. The camera's microphone picked up the roar of rushing wind as the footage showed a terrifying, high-speed descent toward the valley floor.
The fall lasted for several seconds, long enough for everyone to assume the person filming was done for. But they weren't. When the footage finally steadied to show the teenagers standing safely at the bottom of the cliff, smiling and chatting about how the descent was "fun, like a free-fall ride," the entire office was struck dumb.
"Apparently, they enjoyed it," Yuta-kun added in an exasperated, deadpan voice. Of course, I was too stunned to even form a thought, let alone an opinion.
The video continued after that, featuring things like a massive boar, but by then we were all so exhausted from the constant surprises that we could barely react.
"Well, that concludes the first half of the footage. I'll take any questions before we move on to the second half. Does anyone have anything they'd like to ask?"
What!? That was only half of it? There’s more!?
I think we’ve all had more than enough!