After making a few stops on the way back to the office, we decided to talk about the property we’d just viewed while we waited for Yuta-san to fetch Kiritani-san. We had discussed things in the car with Yuta-san on the way back, of course, but there were some honest opinions you could only voice when you were among your own.
Once we confirmed that Yuta-san and the others weren't coming back just yet, we sat down on the reception sofas and began talking in hushed tones.
"So, what do you honestly think? Personally, I thought it was a pretty good property," Yuji said.
"I’m in agreement. It’s a promising spot. When they said it was a slope, I imagined something so steep I’d be sliding down to the valley floor, but it was gentler than I expected. It seems like it would be easy to utilize."
"I liked it too," Hiiragi-san added. "The lot was plenty large, and it hit most of the conditions we laid out."
"It sounds like everyone has a positive impression of today's site, then."
In response to Yuji’s confirmation, Hiiragi-san and I nodded. While the property had a few minor issues, it was the one that most closely matched our desires out of everything we had seen so far.
While I couldn't say for certain that we would settle on it just yet, it felt like we had finally established a clear benchmark.
"That said, it’s not like there weren’t any problems," Yuji noted.
"We had Yuta-san stop by a home center on the way back to ask if they could deliver, but they told us it was too deep in the mountains," I said. "We've only asked one store, so I can't say for sure that every shop will refuse, but difficulty with material procurement is a definite drawback. If it isn’t clear where we sourced a massive amount of development materials, it’s going to look incredibly suspicious."
"True," Hiiragi-san said. "If we had the materials delivered from a shop, we’d have a purchase history, which would reduce the chances of anyone getting curious... They did say delivery was impossible, but they mentioned they could lend out store vehicles if we transported them ourselves. That’s a silver lining, I suppose. The only problem is that none of us have a license."
"We could solve that by hiring someone with a license to act as a driver for us, but..."
Since we would be the ones loading and unloading the materials, that part wouldn't be an issue, but it would likely be an all-day job. Among the people we knew who had licenses and whom we could ask casually... wait.
Actually, it would probably be safer to hire a local handyman or a similar contractor to do it as a transport job.
"Let’s look into whether we can hire a professional mover or some other contractor to handle the material transport," I suggested.
"Outsource the transport? Well, that is an option," Yuji replied.
"Rather than asking an acquaintance to do it on the down-low, hiring a third party with no direct connection to us as a professional job would leave a record of the transport history. That should prevent people from prying into where all the development materials came from."
"If a record of the purchase and transport is left with a third party, that might indeed stop any suspicious questioning," Hiiragi-san agreed. "But would a contractor take a request from students like us?"
"As long as we provide proper identification and pay the fee, there are plenty of contractors who would take a simple request for material transport. Even students like us might hire someone like that to move gear for an event," Yuji pointed out.
Now that he mentioned it, they probably did handle requests like that from time to time, so it was a viable option. Even at our recent school festival, some classes might have asked a contractor for transport.
If I thought about it, those kinds of contractors were likely used to transport equipment for clubs participating in tournaments. Considering that, they wouldn't just reject us outright because we were students. If we took that into account, we could probably consider the transport issue resolved.
"If that's the case, then the transport problem with this property is settled," I said.
"Yeah. Well, first we have to start by finding a contractor who’ll actually take that kind of request. I hope there is one..."
"Well, let's look for that later. Right now, the discussion with Kiritani-san and the others is the priority."
"Right."
"Agreed."
Sensing someone approaching from outside, we turned our gaze toward the entrance.
Just as we expected, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san entered the reception room and sat on the sofa across from us with pleasant smiles. It was likely because Yuta-san had told Kiritani-san that we had a very positive impression of the viewing.
Or perhaps he was just happy that we had returned without any trouble occurring...
"Well, well, first of all, I'm glad you could return without incident," Kiritani-san said.
It seemed Kiritani-san was happy for the latter reason. Well, after the discovery we’d made during the last viewing, I couldn't blame him. Even though it wasn't our fault, it was a fact that we had caused Kiritani Real Estate a great deal of trouble.
He might have spent the entire time we were out viewing the property terrified that he was about to fall back into the hell of drafting legal documents.
"Um, sorry about that. We ended up finding something strange during the last viewing."
"No, no, that was a pure accident. Besides, that was within a property under our jurisdiction. Even if you hadn't found it, it would have been discovered eventually. If anything, it's we who should apologize for causing you trouble due to our insufficient management of the property. We really should have conducted a total inspection of our managed properties when the dungeons first appeared last year. If we had, we wouldn't have caused you any trouble."
"Haha, that would have been quite difficult. I don't know how many properties you manage, Kiritani-san, but during that period when dungeons appeared and society was in chaos, you wouldn't have had enough time or people to do a total inspection. The last incident was just the result of our luck being either good or bad."
"Luck being good or bad, eh?"
In reality, getting caught up in trouble because we found a dungeon could be called bad luck, but being able to obtain a large amount of money that we could use openly—even if it was technically hush money—could be called good luck.
In our case, we were currently just accumulating items that we couldn't exchange for cash...
"Yes. So, while it was a hassle, we don't feel like it was a burden."
"I see..."
Kiritani-san closed his eyes and took a light breath to calm himself. When he looked at us again, the trace of worry had vanished, replaced by the steady gaze of a businessman.
We also refocused ourselves, straightening our posture and meeting Kiritani-san's gaze to prepare for the negotiation.
"Well then... how was the property you viewed today? From what Yuta-kun told me, you had quite a positive impression?"
"Yes," Yuji replied. "After confirming the property on-site, we felt it was a location that quite fits our desires. There are a few problematic points—or rather, points of concern—but we feel very positive about it."
"That's good to hear. In that case, could you tell me what those points of concern are? Finding a property involves crushing a client's worries one by one to find the ideal location, after all."
"Yes. Regarding the concerns that came up during this viewing..."
Yuji began to explain the problems that had arisen to Kiritani-san and Yuta-san. Hiiragi-san and I chimed in with our opinions from time to time as we shared our impressions of the viewing.
After about fifteen minutes, we finished reporting the results of the viewing to Kiritani-san and Yuta-san.
"I see, I understand. Your concerns are all quite natural, if you think about it."
"No. In a way, they're all concerns that would almost never happen if it were used in a conventional way," Yuji said.
"Even so, these are valuable opinions for us if they're concerns stemming from being an explorer."
"I don't think these are concerns that would apply to all explorers, though," Yuji said with a wry smile, warning Kiritani-san and the others not to overevaluate explorers.
While our input might be a useful reference, it would be a disaster if they based their ideas of explorers on exceptions like us. If they used us as a standard, they'd be dealing with top-tier explorers on the level of those in the police or the Self-Defense Forces. It would be inappropriate if they were targeting explorers belonging to average dungeon-related companies.
"Well, regarding that, we'll just have to gather various data over time while getting help from other explorers. It's what you'd call know-how."
"I'm relieved to hear you say that," Yuji said. "If what explorers want was based solely on our data, it would lead to all sorts of discrepancies. It feels strange saying this ourselves, but we are in the top-tier of civilian explorers. So, we're hardly in a position that could be called average."
"We've seen the footage Yuta-kun took of the viewing, so we understand what you mean," Kiritani-san said. "Your abilities are quite different from the general explorers introduced on TV and such."
"The explorers you've likely seen are probably mid-level explorers," Yuji explained. "If possible, it would be safer for your business if you based your considerations on their abilities. Once they reach the mid-level, their income from drop items stabilizes and they have some breathing room. If they want to improve further, they'll likely want to have a training ground outside of the dungeons, just like us."
While there was the option of simply repeating real combat inside a dungeon, if they wanted to safely check their level-up modifiers, the abilities of new skills, or practice coordination with party members, they would want a dedicated place outside the dungeon. When facing monsters inside a dungeon, even a moment of carelessness increases the risk of injury or equipment damage. While a light injury that can be cured with a recovery potion is one thing once or twice, if it happens fifty or a hundred times, the expense becomes enormous. Even a cheap recovery potion costs ten thousand yen, and if you're in a party of several people, that cost multiplies by the number of members.
Because of that, I thought there were quite a few parties and companies that would consider having a training ground outside the dungeon from the start.
"There are training grounds provided by the Dungeon Association, but they have time limits and are constantly overbooked. A training ground you can use freely would look very attractive to explorers aiming for the top," I added.
"I see, that's good to know. It might be worth considering placing advertisement flyers at the Association's counters for people troubled by the lack of such training grounds. If we can get them to recognize us, the number of people visiting to look for a training ground might increase."
"I think that's a great idea," Yuji said. "Oh, that's right—if you could also handle the proxy application for training ground certification from the Dungeon Association, the number of explorers considering buying a training ground might increase even more. There are people who avoid it because the application procedures are such a hassle."
"If you aren't used to filing documents, it's easy to end up going back and forth because you're missing this or that. But once we create a template, it shouldn't take much effort, so that's a perfectly fine suggestion. Indeed, being able to say 'we also handle proxy applications' would be a great selling point."
Kiritani-san wore a smile that said he had just found a great business opportunity, but Yuta-san, who was listening beside him, reflexively made a face as if he hated the idea before quickly hiding it. It was a moment that vividly showed the difference between Kiritani-san, who gave the orders, and Yuta-san, who handled the actual work.
Handling proxy applications meant his workload of tedious tasks would increase, after all.
After we finished the report on the viewing, we took a short break, and then I brought up the topic the three of us had discussed while viewing the property.
It was a bit difficult to bring up, but it was something that would have a major impact if we didn't say it.
"Kiritani-san, I have a request—or rather, a consultation—if that's alright?"
"A request? What would it be?"
"Yes. By going to see several properties, we've solidified our vision for what we want in a location, but concerns—or rather, anxieties—have surfaced on another front..."
"Anxieties and concerns, you say...?"
Seeing us with slightly apologetic expressions, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san also looked puzzled and prompted us to continue.
Yuji then spoke up as our representative, voicing the request with resolve.
"Yes. We've keenly felt that in our current position, there are various restrictions, starting with not having driver's licenses. I think it's a major shackle when it comes to developing mountainous land and building a training ground."
"Certainly, the fact that you can't use a car for material transport is a problem when performing development," Kiritani-san agreed.
"Even regarding means of transportation, an explorer moving by bicycle is not much different from using a moped. With the number of student explorers increasing lately, we don't know when a licensing system or usage restrictions might be introduced for the sake of traffic safety. Therefore, we'd like to wait and see for a while."
"I see. Based on what you've told me, that is indeed a possibility," Kiritani-san said, though he looked disappointed. He likely thought we were about to cancel the deal just when the budget had increased and it was becoming a large-scale transaction.
However, what we wanted to ask for wasn't the cancellation of the land purchase.
"No. It's not that we want to cancel the purchase. We want to discuss whether we can lease the land for a few years. We'll be adults in a few more years, and most of the shackles we're currently feeling will vanish. Once that happens, our freedom of choice and our budget will have even more range than they do now. Also, during the period we're leasing the land, we'd like to cooperate as much as possible with data collection as a test case for mountain development by explorers."
At Yuji's proposal, which they clearly hadn't expected, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san both wore looks of sheer surprise.