Kiritani-san and Yuta-san stared at us, their expressions caught somewhere between shock and confusion. They remained stunned for several seconds, but they were professionals; they quickly regained their composure and began probing for the true intent behind our proposal.
They recovered remarkably fast, considering how out-of-the-blue the suggestion was.
"Um, could you explain exactly what you mean by that?" Kiritani-san asked.
"Certainly," Yuji replied. "As I mentioned, our current status as students and our age create a lot of legal and social hurdles compared to adults. These are problems that will solve themselves in a few years, but for now, they are difficult to bypass."
"That's true. The limitation of age is something only time can solve."
"Exactly. But even if it can only be solved by time, it would be a waste to let the intervening years slip away unproductively. If there's a way to use this period effectively, we want to take it. And I imagine you feel the same way, Kiritani-san?"
In these early days of the Dungeon Era, falling behind by even a year or two was an unacceptable loss. The reason Kiritani Real Estate was treating high schoolers like us with such sincerity was undoubtedly because they were hungry for data on explorers.
If that was the case, it made more sense to rent the property in exchange for providing that data rather than rushing into a purchase while we were still hampered by legal restrictions. We still needed to secure a training ground, so there was no reason to cancel the plan entirely—just change the format.
"You're right," Kiritani-san admitted. "To be honest, we previously viewed explorers as ordinary customers who simply possessed high athletic ability. We’ve seen the news reports about certain individuals displaying physical feats far beyond the average person, but until we saw your movements with our own eyes, we didn't realize the disparity was quite this vast."
"In our case, our levels are higher than the average explorer, so the difference is more pronounced," Yuji explained. "However, as time passes, the average level of the explorer population will rise. Eventually, the way we move today will become the standard for many others."
"A world where anyone can do that as long as they're an explorer... It's a bit difficult to wrap my head around."
"But if the current trend with dungeons continues, I think you'll find that day isn't far off."
I’d heard that the number of teenage explorers was steadily climbing. For the next few years, explorers might still be considered a novelty, but as the decades passed, a generational shift would occur.
Looking at the history of IT development, it was clear that once something was deemed profitable or convenient for daily life, its integration into society happened at a breakneck pace.
"...I see. You're right, this trend isn't going to stop."
"Yes," Yuji continued. "And as society adapts to the existence of explorers, the things people demand will change. Even our social systems will eventually be overhauled to account for us. That’s why we’d prefer to secure a training ground through a lease for now, rather than committing to a purchase in such a transitional period."
"I see. I understand your perspective. Given the way the world is moving, staying flexible with a lease might indeed be the wiser choice than rushing into a sale."
"Thank you."
It looked like we’d managed to get them on board with our logic.
However, we had originally been discussing a purchase. To suddenly pivot to a lease was a big change. To ensure we didn't leave a bad taste in Kiritani Real Estate's mouth, we needed to offer some tangible benefits. They were losing the immediate profit from a land sale; for the sake of our future relationship, it was only right to compensate for that loss in another way.
Once the agreement to switch to a lease was settled, we took a short break for tea before getting back to business.
"So, regarding your offer to provide data," Kiritani-san said, leaning forward. "What specifically are you thinking?"
"Essentially, more of what we did during the site viewing today," Yuji said. "As a real estate agent, wasn't it useful to have proof that even remote mountain areas—locations previously thought inaccessible—can be traversed with relative ease by a capable explorer?"
"Extremely useful," Yuta-san chimed in. "Because of that footage, we’ve already identified potential uses for managed lands that were once considered worthless due to their isolation. Usually, just getting construction equipment to those sites is an ordeal, so nobody wants to touch them. But if we can assume explorers will assist in the development, those lands suddenly have value."
"I'm glad to hear it. In that case, wouldn't you be interested in data regarding exactly how much development capability a small group of explorers actually has?"
Kiritani-san and Yuta-san leaned in simultaneously.
In the dawn of the Dungeon Era, opportunities to measure the raw labor potential of high-level explorers like us were virtually non-existent. For Kiritani Real Estate, this was gold. It would give them a massive advantage when pitching properties to other explorers. If they had a baseline, buyers could actually estimate construction timelines.
"Ho... so you're saying you intend to develop the land with your own hands, without hiring contractors?"
"Yes," Yuji confirmed. "If we're leasing the land for development, that's the plan. It doubles as practice for our skills."
"Skills? If you don't mind me asking... what kind?"
"Keep this between us, please," Yuji said, lowering his voice. "We're still figuring out the details ourselves, but we've had the opportunity to acquire an Earth-type skill. Part of the reason we wanted this training ground was to find a place to practice it. We could do it in a dungeon, of course, but you never know when a monster might jump out, and we don't know the limits of the skill yet. We need a safe environment. To use skills legally outside of a dungeon, we're limited to Association grounds or permitted private land. And depending on how much we improve, this skill might allow for work on a massive scale... so practicing in a backyard is out of the question."
I had the Earth Magic skill, but I hadn't practiced at all, so it was currently useless. There just wasn't anywhere to test it. It wouldn't be much of a joke if I tried practicing in a neighborhood park only to get hauled away after leaving behind a giant crater and a mound of dirt.
Since I had the magic, I wanted to train it properly.
"An Earth-type skill... is that like the dungeon-derived magic they show on TV sometimes?"
"Exactly," Yuji said. "Though since we haven't trained it, we can't do anything as impressive as what you might be imagining."
"But conversely, that means with enough practice, you might be able to handle large-scale projects?"
"The possibility is there. Personally, I think it’ll be incredibly useful if we can eventually level out paths or dig tunnels."
Our group was already stacked when it came to combat, so I really wanted more utility. If I could create walls or furniture, I could ditch the bulky tents and equipment I carried as a "cover" for my Spatial Storage. I could just tell people I didn't need them because of Earth Magic.
But while I had my own reasons, Yuta-san and Kiritani-san were clearly envisioning a more commercial application. Their eyes were practically glowing.
"If magic can do things like that, the value of 'useless' land will skyrocket! Development projects that used to require massive budgets, years of time, and hundreds of workers could be handled by a small team of explorers!"
"Even if you don't do the whole thing, just having a small group capable of clearing a road to a development site would be a revolution!"
"Well, yes," Yuji cautioned. "But again, we haven't trained it yet, so we don't know if it'll actually go that far. It’s entirely possible the magic ends at just throwing rocks."
Yuji tried to temper their expectations. We really didn't know what the ceiling for the skill was. He calmed the two agents down and steered the conversation back to the logistics of the data reports.
"My apologies," Kiritani-san said, wiping his brow. "We got a bit carried away."
"It's fine. As for the data, we can provide mobility reports for mountain terrain and progress reports on the land development. Since we have school and our actual dungeon exploration to attend to, we'd probably submit these monthly rather than daily."
"That sounds reasonable. Based on what we know of your schedule, that frequency makes sense... but can you actually make progress on land development at that rate?"
"It depends on the scale, but as long as it's not a massive project, it shouldn't be an issue. Explorers of our level can essentially act as heavy machinery as long as we have the right materials."
Honestly, with a single shovel, I could probably outwork a medium-sized excavator. If I added an industrial-use skill like Earth Magic into the mix, I might even outperform a fleet of dump trucks and heavy loaders.
The "one-man construction company" explorer... it was a viable career path.
"When you put it that way... I suppose a small group could finish the work in a very short time."
"Depending on the scope, we could probably clear a small field or build a shed in a single day, provided we weren't too picky about the quality. We aren't experts, after all, so without research or professional advice, it would just be amateur work."
"That's to be expected," Kiritani-san said. "We're real estate agents, but if you told us to build a house, we couldn't do much more than a crude imitation. If you need data in that area, we can arrange for professional advisors to assist you."
"That would be a huge help," I said. "I plan to study up on development, but having an expert guide us would be much better for safety and quality."
I had zero experience with construction. The last thing I wanted was to build something based on a book and have it collapse or cause a landslide. Learning the ropes now would be invaluable for when I eventually bought land for a real home.
"Very well. It sounds like your development capabilities won't be an issue. Since you can't spend all your time on it, we'll keep the data requirements flexible. However, we'd appreciate it if you could prioritize any specific requests for data we might have."
"Understood. We'll do our best to accommodate you. Just keep in mind that our primary goal for the development is simply maintaining the training ground and the access paths."
"I see. So if we want data on explorers building structures like cabins, we'll have to specifically commission you to build them."
Kiritani-san nodded, accepting the reality of the situation. Our goal was a training ground, not a luxury resort. Since the tools we used for training were technically dangerous goods, we couldn't leave them at an unattended site anyway. We’d be bringing them back in Spatial Storage every time. That meant there was no real need for permanent buildings; a simple tarp for shade would suffice.
Unless Kiritani Real Estate specifically asked for it, we probably wouldn't bother building anything significant on our own.
"Understood. From our perspective, getting any data at all from high-level explorers is a win. If you're willing to cooperate, I'm sure this will be a very productive partnership."
"We'll cooperate as much as we can. We look forward to it."
And so, the data-sharing agreement was finalized.
Kiritani Real Estate got access to rare data from high-level explorers, and we gained a place to train along with the chance to learn development techniques for the future. It was a perfect win-win.
With the exchange of mutually beneficial terms, the lease agreement was officially settled.