Even after wrapping up the preliminary investigation with Kawakita-san and the others from the Dungeon Association, we were kept busy running around. We had to double-check the points Kawakita-san’s team flagged, conduct our own planned survey of the coastline, and check with the Fisheries Cooperative Association to see if there were any active fishing grounds near the property. We also had to verify the area's history of natural disasters. Since a training ground for explorers was a first for everyone, both we and the team at Kiritani Real Estate were left scrambling, identifying and resolving issues one by one.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and eventually, we found ourselves gathered in the reception room of Kiritani Real Estate, looks of exhaustion on our faces.
"Good work, everyone. For the time being, we've mostly finished verifying and addressing the issues raised during the Association's preliminary investigation."
Hearing Yuta-san’s declaration, the tension in our expressions finally began to melt away into sighs of relief.
The results had arrived about a week after the preliminary investigation. The points flagged as problematic or requiring improvement were quite numerous. Most were the same issues Kawakita-san and his team had pointed out on-site, but actually implementing fixes for problems of all sizes required constant coordination and meetings with Kiritani Real Estate.
"This investigation has been an incredibly valuable experience for us as we look into handling explorer-oriented properties in the future," Kiritani-san said. "There were so many unexpected points unique to explorers that we never would have considered for a general-purpose property. I intend to study these points closely and turn them into institutional know-how."
"No, we’re the ones who should be thanking you," I said, feeling slightly guilty. "We were just feeling our way through this as we went. You've handled it so thoroughly. I honestly thought it would have been perfectly reasonable for you to turn down such a troublesome project..."
"Haha, please don't worry about that," Kiritani-san replied with a mix of a smile and a wry grin. "We're looking to expand our business for explorers anyway, so these kinds of hardships are just growing pains. It’s a lot of work now, but once we overcome this, we'll have a major leg up on our competitors."
As we lowered our heads in apology, Kiritani-san reassured us that our efforts weren't in vain. Seeing his professional resolve, we realized that apologizing further would be rude, so we accepted his words with our own wry smiles.
"If that’s the case, then at least our hard work is for something. I hope lots of other explorers end up coming here..."
"Indeed. We’ll be putting our best effort into advertising and sales on that front. Once we’ve established a solid track record as a precedent, I’m sure people will come out of curiosity."
"I agree," I said. "I don't know any other real estate agents that handle land for private training grounds. Given the current shortage of facilities, explorers who want their own place—like us—might come seeking you out. I hear you still can’t even get a decent reservation at the official training grounds... Should we try putting out some flyers?"
"It might be worth asking the Dungeon Association if we can post flyers at their branch offices or the field offices near the dungeons," Yuji suggested. "If we present a private training ground as an option to other explorers, some might jump at it... It’s worth looking into, right?"
On the bulletin boards I saw when visiting dungeons, there were often advertisements for local restaurants alongside Association notices. I figured they’d probably let a real estate agent post a flyer if they asked nicely.
While many people probably ignored them, those who were sharp and looking for an edge usually read everything. I thought it could be effective.
"Even if only a few see it at first, they'll spread the word," Yuta-san added. "Everyone loves a good rumor, and the training ground shortage is a serious problem. You often hear about beginners diving into dungeons without practice and getting hurt. Because of the equipment they use, they can't just practice anywhere; they need a proper environment. If explorer groups and the corporate faction start securing their own training grounds, it should free up space for those beginners."
"True. This investigation showed me how many hurdles there are to owning a training ground, but those regulations exist for a reason," Kiritani-san noted. "If we can create a trend where established explorers own their own facilities, the whole market might shift."
"If it becomes a trend for the corporate faction and high-level groups to have their own grounds, then owning one might become a status symbol for mid-level groups," I said. "The Association might even get on board if we play our cards right. Depending on how we pitch it, they might actually help us out just to solve the shortage problem."
Fortunately, there hadn't been any major incidents involving explorers training in unauthorized areas yet, but it was only a matter of time. In fact, it was likely that such incidents had already happened and were just being kept quiet.
If that was the case, the Association would probably be eager to support a trend that solved the issue before a major disaster occurred.
"I see. Negotiating from that angle might work," Kiritani-san said, rubbing his chin with a slightly predatory smile. "Explorer-oriented housing near dungeons is selling like crazy right now. If private training grounds become the next big thing, the purchasing power will be massive."
"And like we found during our search," I added, "the best spots are deep in the mountains or on the coast—places that used to have almost no commercial value. If you snap them up now, you'll make a fortune."
"Haha, you're right. On top of that, we now have a decent grasp of what conditions a property needs to meet to be certified. We can spot the winners before we buy. This really is a golden opportunity."
Kiritani-san looked every bit the shark-like businessman. Well, as long as he stayed on the right side of the law, I wished him the best of luck.
"Um... could we get back to the matter at hand?" Yuta-san interrupted politely.
Realizing we had drifted off-topic, we all looked a bit embarrassed. Yuta-san cleared his throat and refocused the room. He placed a document before us detailing the improvements made based on the investigation.
"Now, as a result of the survey, there are several things we need to fix to obtain a skill use permit. First is the damaged boundary fence. An initial estimate to remove the old fence and replace it with a new one came out to nearly ten million yen."
"I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that," Yuji muttered, shaking his head. "There was no way we were paying that much."
I felt the same. Hiiragi-san and I had both frozen up when we saw those numbers. Even at a "discount" rate from a contractor friend, the sheer length of the perimeter meant disposal and installation costs were astronomical.
"Understandable," Yuta-san said. "So, we’ve decided to postpone the full renovation and go with a stopgap solution to pass certification. We've patched the holes by stretching new wire mesh over the damaged sections. It was significantly cheaper. Thank you for your help with the physical labor, by the way."
"No, thank you for providing the materials," I said.
"Honestly, we should have maintained it better," Yuta-san countered. "So thank you for helping us bring it up to code."
Hiring a professional would have taken a month just to get through the paperwork. Instead, Kiritani Real Estate supplied the mesh, and we provided the muscle to patch it up as an emergency measure. The materials only cost about 200,000 yen. We could worry about the full-scale renovation after the lease was signed.
"I think the fence is fine for now," Yuta-san continued. "It's old and doesn't look great, but as long as the gaps are sealed, it's functional."
"Agreed," the three of us said in unison. It had taken us an entire day just to patch the holes; the thought of doing the whole thing was exhausting.
Yuta-san took a breath and moved to the next item.
"Regarding the fishing grounds... after checking with the local Fisheries Cooperative Association, they confirmed there are no active grounds in that specific area. However, they can't guarantee that private boats or fishing vessels won't wander in. They've agreed to notify their members to steer clear of the training ground's coastal zone."
"It's a relief that there's no commercial fishing there," I said. "But private boats approaching the shore is a real concern. We'll have to be extremely careful with stray shots, as Kawakita-san warned."
"I doubt many boats would aimlessly approach a rocky coastline where they could run aground, but caution is definitely needed," Yuta-san said.
"Maybe I should put up a 'Danger' sign on the shore..." I mused.
Then again, a sign like that might just attract the wrong kind of attention from curious idiots. If a warning sign actually drew people toward the danger, it would be the height of irony. It was probably better to let the warning spread naturally through the local cooperative. If people stopped going there, the problem would solve itself.
"That's a possibility," Yuta-san agreed. "I'll ask the Fisheries Cooperative Association to make the warning as clear as possible."
"Please do."
Since we didn't have a better idea, we left it at that.
"And finally," Yuta-san said, "we have the provisional report from the expert regarding the underground cave."
"That was fast," I noted.
"The formal report isn't done, but the provisional conclusion is in. As with the earlier survey, they say there are no structural issues as long as we aren't building something heavy, like a hotel. However, when it comes to explorers using skills for training, there is very little baseline data. They can't officially guarantee that the ceiling won't collapse or that the ground won't sink if things get too intense."
Basically, it was safe for normal exercise, but they didn't know what would happen if a high-level explorer started cutting loose. There just wasn't enough data on skill-based impacts. The Self-Defense Forces probably had that kind of data, but they weren't sharing.
"I see... I'm a little worried about whether we'll pass certification with that kind of 'maybe' attached," I said. "I guess we just have to lean on the part where they said it's structurally sound for general use."
"Exactly," Yuta-san said. "Since this is uncharted territory for the experts too, we have to hope the Association accepts 'safe for now' as a passing grade."
The three of us shared a look of lingering concern. In the end, it was all down to the Dungeon Association’s discretion. Since they hadn't flat-out rejected us, we just had to believe it would go through. It felt a bit uneasy to have it come down to luck at the final hurdle, but there was nothing more we could do.
"There are some lingering doubts, but we've done everything we can," I said. "Let’s apply for the final certification investigation."
"Right," Yuta-san agreed. "Agonizing over it won't change anything. I'll submit the application. For the schedule, is every Sunday starting from the earliest available date still okay?"
"Yes, please."
"Understood. I'll head over to the Dungeon Association and handle the paperwork immediately."
It was still early afternoon, so he had plenty of time to get to the office. Unlike last time, we had Kiritani Real Estate’s full cooperation, so we’d be ready even if they scheduled us for this coming weekend.
If this passed, we were just one signature away from signing the lease.
Everything was ready. It was time for the final certification!