We stepped through a gap in the guardrail and started down a narrow dirt path carved into the hillside. While the incline wasn't particularly steep, the unpaved ground was bone-dry and quite slippery. Since we had come straight for the viewing after our meeting at the office, I was only wearing sneakers; I had to watch my footing carefully to avoid taking a spill.
I didn't exactly need full-on hiking boots, but I figured I should probably pick up some detachable crampons for the future.
"Yuta-san, is this part of the property too?"
"Yes. Everything beyond the guardrail... basically, once you start down the slope, you’re on the site," Yuta-san replied.
"So that means there wouldn't be any problem if we paved or leveled this path after the purchase, right?"
"Correct. However, please keep in mind that if your grading causes a landslide that damages the national highway above, the landowner could be held liable. You'll want to be careful."
That made sense. If private paving work caused a public highway to collapse, it was only natural that they'd demand repair costs. If the collapse resulted in injuries, it could even escalate into a criminal case with legal penalties.
Just like Yuta-san said, even on private land, any work—even simple leveling—required serious foresight.
"Everyone, the slope is about to level out. This is the first candidate site for building simple structures, like a storage shed."
"Yuta-san, how much space are we looking at here?"
"Let’s see... roughly ten meters square? Even if you don't build a shed, it would make a perfect temporary depot for the materials you’d bring down from the entrance."
"True, hauling everything from the highway to the bottom of the valley in one go would be a nightmare. It’ll be much easier if we have a place to stack supplies nearby."
About three minutes into our descent, we reached the cleared, gently sloping area Yuta-san had mentioned. It wasn't remarkably large, but it looked spacious enough to hold our equipment without issue.
That said, even a gentle slope was still a slope. If we were going to use it as a depot, we’d need to level it off a bit. It would be a disaster if a poorly stacked crate went tumbling all the way to the valley floor.
"It’s a decent size. We can definitely make use of this as a staging area."
"Yes. While bringing in heavy machinery would be a struggle, you could easily use this as both a depot and a workspace."
"For explorers like us, as long as we have the right tools, we can basically do the work of heavy machinery ourselves," Yuji noted. "If we have a place to store materials and a wide enough workspace, manual development is perfectly doable."
"I see. Since this is sloped land, just getting heavy equipment here is an ordeal. You'd have to do construction just to prepare for the actual construction, if you follow my meaning."
Yuta-san was right. If a normal person wanted to develop this terrain, they'd have to start by building access roads and staging areas for excavators. It wouldn't be surprising if the prep work alone took a year before the actual project could even begin.
From that perspective, being able to perform major labor that usually required heavy machinery using only our bodies and basic tools was a massive advantage. I wondered just how much time and money an explorer could save on land development.
"We’re deep in the mountains here, far from any neighbors," Yuji said. "But if you could gather explorers with specialized knowledge and skills, wouldn't large-scale development be possible even in a remote place like this?"
"...I hadn't considered that. Certainly, as Hirose-kun says, if there were a construction firm composed of explorers, it might work."
"It would come with the caveat that they'd need to be intermediate rank or higher, but I think it’ll happen eventually. For example, if general contractors or construction firms start hiring student explorers who graduated from civil engineering programs... I see. A student’s record as an explorer might actually become a major asset during job hunting in the future."
Yuji seemed to have a sudden realization as he spoke, an expression of surprise crossing his face. Hiiragi-san and I felt the same way.
Until now, I had assumed that the title of student explorer was only beneficial when applying to dungeon-related companies that handled drop items. But thinking about it, the places where one could utilize explorer specs weren't limited to the dungeon industry. As long as they could adapt to traditional roles, the range of career paths available to student explorers was likely wider than I had imagined.
"I remember interviewers asking me over and over what I worked hard on during my student years," Hiiragi-san said. "In the future, I guess student explorers will be answering those questions with their activity logs."
"I wonder if they’ll tell the interviewers things like, 'I reached the Xth floor of the dungeon during my junior year!'"
"Or maybe, 'I specialized in hunting such-and-such monsters'?"
It sounded like it would make for some very interesting interviews. Depending on their achievements, they might make the interviewers' faces twitch—in a good way.
And if the details of those high-spec hires got out, maybe it would even discourage power harassment from bosses...
"Indeed. Well, that’s probably a few years off yet."
"True. But it’s a future that's definitely coming. I should probably discuss this with the President once we get back," Yuta-san mused.
"Does Kiritani Real Estate plan on hiring explorers?"
"I’m thinking that given the future demand from explorers, we should probably have someone on staff who can properly vet their specific needs. Our job is to find properties that fit our guests' requirements, after all. In that sense, helping you find a place is proving to be a great learning experience for us."
It was a relief to hear him say that. Since we had been constantly shifting our criteria after each viewing, I was worried we were becoming a nuisance. But since we couldn't really judge a site's potential until we saw it through an explorer's eyes, our requirements naturally evolved. One of the biggest takeaways from these viewings was realizing that even "difficult" mountain properties could be made viable through the sheer brute force of explorer specs, as long as the commute wasn't too long.
It seemed that joining us was giving Yuta-san a chance to see exactly how much could be accomplished through that explorer brute force. As they say, seeing was believing.
"In that case, we'll have to do our best to provide Kiritani Real Estate with some good data."
"Haha, you've already given me more than enough 'experience' to last a while."
Yuta-san gave a weary smile at Yuji's joke and started walking further down the narrow path toward the valley floor to continue the inspection.
After passing several more flat areas that could serve as building sites, we finally reached the bottom: a wide, stony riverbank. As we had been told, the bank stretched about fifty meters wide from the base of the slope to the water's edge.
The footing was rough because of the loose stones, but it wasn't impossible to walk on. Since there was nothing flammable nearby, it looked like a perfect spot for barbecues.
"This is the valley floor. The area bordered by the river over there and the national highway we just descended from is the property boundary."
"It took a while to get down here. What's the height difference between here and the highway? Seventy, eighty meters?"
"At the steepest point, it's a little over seventy meters. Roughly equivalent to a twenty-two or twenty-three-story building."
"That's a massive elevation change... You could practically fit an entire residential subdivision in here."
Since it was all slope, you couldn't build on a single plane, but if you terraced the buildings, you could probably fit a hundred average houses.
Though I had no idea if there was any demand for houses in a remote mountain valley with such poor access.
"In terms of physical space, it would fit, but this isn't suitable for residential use. As you can see, this riverbank is twice as wide as the current stream. That means when heavy rains fall, the river floods this entire area. There’s no proper embankment work here, so in the worst-case scenario, the water could gouge out the hillside beneath any houses and cause a collapse."
"Ah, right. The width of the bank itself is the warning. It definitely isn't meant for housing."
"Exactly. If you do decide to build anything, I’d suggest staying on the upper half of the slope, between the midpoint and the highway, where the mountain is more stable."
Considering the risk of flooding, Yuta-san’s advice to build higher up was common sense. I briefly considered building stilt houses like the ones in tropical resorts, but since we weren't building a vacation home, there was no reason to make things unnecessarily difficult.
We approached the water as Yuta-san continued his briefing.
"Usually, as you can see, the water volume is low and the flow is calm. There’s a small dam further upstream."
"I see, a dam."
"Yes, which brings me to a few warnings. Before the rainy season or typhoons, they release extra water, so the river will swell—be careful not to get washed away. Also, in a place like this, there are no sirens to announce a discharge. If the water level starts rising suddenly, assume the dam has begun an emergency release and get to high ground immediately."
"Understood."
We all nodded solemnly. Water accidents were reported every year; no matter how peaceful a river looked, you couldn't afford to be careless.
"Well then, let’s walk along the river to confirm the boundaries. Everything between the water and the highway is yours."
"Got it. Lead the way."
We spent the next ten minutes walking slowly along the riverbank, following Yuta-san's lead as we inspected the site.
Hemmed in by the river on one side and the highway on the other, the place felt like a secluded island.
"To get to the land on the far bank, you'd have to either wade across or take a massive detour across a bridge upstream and follow a mountain trail, so you won't have to worry about prying eyes from that direction."
"What about people looking down from the highway?"
"There aren't any landmarks or signs up there, so unless someone happens to stop their car or bike, they’ll likely drive right past without ever noticing this place exists. It’s just one of many identical-looking mountain paths."
"True. Without something to catch the eye, it’s just a stretch of road people want to get through."
Recalling the drive here, the road had been an utterly unremarkable mountain pass. In a place like that, people would definitely just breeze past unless there was a reason to stop.
While we wouldn't be completely invisible, it didn't seem like we'd have to worry much about being watched.
"Considering all that... this place looks really promising."
"Yeah. The access isn't too bad either. For a place that offers this much privacy, being able to reach it by bike or public transit is a huge plus."
"I can't say for certain until we see everything, but I have a very good feeling about this one," Hiiragi-san added.
Looking back on all the properties we had viewed so far, this was the first one that felt right. The location and accessibility were within our tolerances, and the space was more than enough for our training.
Like Hiiragi-san said, it was the first property I felt was worth a truly deep look.
"I’m glad to hear you’re pleased. Let’s keep moving, then. Let me know if any specific spot piques your interest."
"...It’s not so much about a specific spot," Hiiragi-san said, "but I’d like to perform a thorough sweep of the entire grounds, including the wooded areas. It would be a disaster if we ran into the same situation as the last property."
"Ah... right. Of course."
"I don't expect it to happen twice in a row, but I want to be sure."
At Hiiragi-san's request for a "thorough sweep," Yuta-san’s face twitched as he gave his consent. He was likely reliving the nightmare of the paperwork he’d been buried in after our last "discovery." Given the string of complaints he’d let slip on the way here, his reaction was perfectly understandable.
However, as Hiiragi-san pointed out, we absolutely wanted to avoid the scenario where we bought the land only to find a dungeon afterward.
"Understood. Let's continue the viewing."
We spent the rest of the time scouring the property. Once we had confirmed there were no signs of anything resembling a dungeon, we concluded the inspection and headed back to the Kiritani Real Estate office.